At the moment, I’m listening to WGBH radio in Boston, which is playing “The Two Sides of Sgt. Pepper”, a documentary on the making of the album and its impact and influence, then and now. It’s pretty good, and is available for listening online. [Link]
4 thoughts on “The Two Sides of Sgt. Pepper”
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There’s one guy toward the end of the NPR commentary verbally kicking himself for cutting out the cutouts! I heard this after I posted the above. He sincerely sounds sorry! Yes, I heard that comment about “Albert Hall” during the commentary and it made me sad as well. As a kid, I thought it was clever, because to me it meant “how much air,” or “how many invisible holes,” or perhaps it was a reference to Paul’s “I’m Fixing a Hole.”
My admiration for “A Day In The Life” was dimiished somewhat after I was old enough to realize that the small holes filling the Albert Hall weren’t some sort of surreal reference, but a–holes. Lennon was crude and clever, and normally I didn’t mind that, but his wordplay in ADITL bugged me as being needlessly vulgar.
Yes, there was a cardboard insert included with the album. It had a photo of the band and moustaches. There aren’t too many copies of Pepper that are considered to be valuable in a collectible sense. Probably the most sought after is the Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs 180 gram vinyl pressing.
I’m blown away listening to the NPR comments. One, a lot of our peers (boomers) have had their kids late. Also, the wide range of opinions of my peers on the album. Like me, many felt that “Revolver” was far superior. Still, I have a great deal of affection for “Sgt. Pepper” as most of us call it. Oddly, I have no patience for “Lucy in the Sky,” unlike most of my friends. I like Ringo’s friendly voice on “With a Little Help from My Friends.” Even back then, I was also impatient with Paul’s self-indulgence on such tracks as “When I’m Sixty-Four.” I sided with the parents in “She’s Leaving Home!” I absolutely adored “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.” Remember, I had no control over what order I heard these songs, as ALL Beatles albums belonged to our eldest sister, and were played exclusively by her. We were absolutely NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH THEM, though I think we were given turns reading the lyrics against the bright red background. Am I wrong, or were there cut-out moustaches included? They’d catch a nice price on e-Bay now! My favorite song, like many, is “A Day in the Life.” It is a perennial.
I’m really enjoying the commentary, except that they don’t use snippets of the songs to underlay their points. Some of the guys are just too young to really remember what they are talking about! (“My babysitter brought the record over every time she came.”) Naturally, there are the snobs who feel that it wasn’t much more than a grandiose platform for Paulie’s sentimental vaudevillian tributes (seen again in songs like “Honey Pie” on the “White Album,” and they DO have a point). I’m surprised how many people picked sided with the parents in “She’s Leaving Home” even when they were teens! The gist of the song was that the girl had a miserable life at the home and the parents were clueless.