WildheartXXX said:

i think the beatles have made more emotionally invested music, sure...though i wouldn't say sgt. pepper is completely detatched songwriting. i think the production and the inventiveness is what sells the album for me. it's playful, and for the time it was unconventional pop music, and for me, the colorfulness and creativity of the album still holds up. it's fantastic ear candy. if i want soul baring, i'll go listen to joni mitchell's 'blue' or something. listening to sgt. pepper is like flipping through a really fun, well drawn comic book. i guess if i regarded it outside of the qualities for which i appreciate it, i might find it overrated. but for what it is, it's one of my favorites.

I don't think this album is overrated because it is a "blueprint" of sorts.

AlexdeParis said:

That's exactly it. Song for song there are better albums. But back then the album concept was pretty new. And Sgt Pepper was an album like no other. Even today, try to find an album that so seamlessly blends so many different sounds.

The orchestra, synthesizer, Indian instruments, jazzy elements, psychedelic sound effects, and typical rock instruments flow into each other without ever sounding abrupt. On Revolver, all those elements occur in what are perhaps superior songs, but those songs don't sound like they fit together quite as well--ditto The White Album.

Jimi did amazing albums, of course, but I don't think he or anyone else ever matched that. It's easy to overlook today, but the authority with which they presented the totally new sounds of Sgt Pepper and the cohesiveness of it is the reason it's not overrated as an album, despite the fact that it's not their best collection of songs.

all i know is, this thread has inspired me to finally load all my beatles 'anthology' discs on to my iPod

Anxiety said:

Eleanor Rigby (Strings Only)

What do people who post on YouTube have to say on this subject?

AlexdeParis said:

Yellow Submarine has come to be a children's classic. I first learnt it in nursery aged four. Children all around the world have been singing that song for decades. Now, "Lovely Rita" on the other hand.....

Cinnie said:

that's a sweet outtake...though i'm afraid it launched a million lousy mashups.

Cinnie said:

Yeah, I'd go out on a limb and say that What's Goin On might not have been the same if the Beatles hadn't paved the way for such artistic freedom.

And specifically the mix of orchestral & pop sounds was a major thing for the Beatles

Anxiety said:

I think that's one of my favorite parts of the album. What I liked abotu the anthology was the songs in demo nonsegued format.

Cinnie said:

I love the evolution of Strawberry Fields.

That's another thing about Sgt. Pepper. Strawberry Fields & Penny Lane are from the same sessions, they were left off because it wasn't "proper" back then to include the singles on the albums.

I wonder how they (the two best songs of that era, arguably) might have fit on the album.

superspaceboy said:

that's what's got me breaking out my copy of the anthology discs right now.

superspaceboy said:

Of course that's the best part of the album! Anx is crazy. Those songs weren't great on their own, but side 2 of Abbey Road is a masterpiece.

I don't consider it an "overrated" album. I think that any great album eventually gets that stamp as it becomes a standard of what good music should be. It's a great album amongst many other great albums.

I think the reason it gets the allocades it does was the experimental nature of getting those sounds to exist where no one had heard such things before.They were trying different stuff in the studio that was pretty much thinking outside of the box. I mean who in their right mind would cut up a recording, toss it up in the air and splice the bits back together and have it actually sound decent? As someone who makes music, I know that's not the norm. Of course all it did was cause others to push the envelope in terms of music.

NDRU said:

oh my GOD, you people. i like how it's put together. it just makes for an awkward experience when you only want to hear one part of it. i think it's brilliant, but not the most user-friendly example of putting songs together in the history of popular music. okay?!

superspaceboy said:

defintely, and they presented it as if they'd been doing it for years!

Anxiety said:

oh, you mean like listening on shuffle? No it doesn't work that way very well

NDRU said:

this thread is going to make me cry.

NDRU said:

oh yeah me too. I was trying to remember how they titled the take with just Ringo's bangin-ass drum solo.

Anxiety said:

I got it the first time you posted, I just didn't respond.

NDRU said:

Magical... can be a better album... to some extent at least

Anxiety said:

All right let me try again. So you like the medley, you like the songs, but you would like to be able to listen to them one at a time (and perhaps wish they were longer)?

SirPsycho said:

I remember now...


So Sgt. Pepper took you by surprise
You better see right through that mother's eyes
Those freaks was right when they said you was dead
The one mistake you made was in your head

dammme said:

I've already made Anx cry, but do you mean Magical Mystery Tour can be a better album than Sgt. Pepper?

NDRU said:

jus a suggestion

and a personal choice

NDRU said:

modest subsequent album or a great album on its own?

dammme said:

I have tried to argue this but alas... it isn't a real "album" that the Beatles made... it was compiled by the label.

dammme said:

I just wasn't exactly sure what you were saying. I thought maybe you meant the songs were magical and Sgt pepper could be better with them on it.

I think Magical is maybe a better collection of songs, but not as good as a cohesive album.

Cinnie said:

really?