Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

My parents used to tell me that the "Summer Of Love" didn't really exist in the UK unless you were part of the swinging London scene. For the rest of the country it only existed in the news and on the radio... and maybe in the relaxing (and railing against) of more traditional attitudes towards a more progressive outlook. Fashion became a little more daring, skirts became shorter, but there were still strict parents there trying to make sure their groinfruit didn't partake in such subversive behaviour. For people like my parents growing up in the midlands, it's was less drugs and free love and more like a couple of pints of bitter (with wine or a fruit-based drink for the ladies) and a fumble in the pub car park.The one things that virtually everybody, everywhere, on planet Earth recognised as a major sign that the world was changing was Sgt. Pepper. I was fortunate enough to gain the use of the family record player and my parents' modest, but respectful, collection of LPs from quite an early age and one of those records was Sgt. Pepper. It was, along with Hey Jude (the LP) and Let It Be, the album that made me a Beatles fan the moment I heard it at the age of, I think, around seven. The crowd music, the different singers, the harmonies, the eclectic instrumentation, the sheer ambition of the record... it was unlike anything I'd ever heard before. It shone. It was a magical record, played by these long haired, moustachioed wizards in their colourful outfits. I wanted to look like them. I wanted to be like them. Hell, I wanted to BE them.The only "problem" with Pepper is that it was so highly rated and overplayed over the years that it inevitably (yet unfairly) was the victim of a (mild) backlash, with even staunch Beatles fans repeating the mantra of "Pepper is overrated", with very few in the cult of Fabdom daring to say that their favourite Beatles record was Pepper, for fear of not looking like a "real" fan. Thing is, Pepper is a perfect record; its loose concept opening up the possibilities of any kind of music appearing on a pop record - vaudeville, Indian, psychedelic-circus music resplendent with backwards tape loops... with Sgt. Peppers' troupe of musicians, anything was possible. The fact that Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane were recorded in the same sessions and could have been part of the album instead of a standalone single is even more mind-blowing.The collective offering of the Pepper songs were an artistic apex they'd, until that point, never achieved. Fixing A Hole, with its dreamy, spacey vocals and meandering bassline, She's Leaving Home, one of Paul's very best kitchen sink dramas, Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite which still sounds unlike anything else released before or after it, George's utterly beautiful Within You Without You which, quite honestly, might be my favourite track on the whole thing and the reprise of the Pepper theme which then segues into the grand finale, A Day In The Life, which is surely peak Beatles.All four members shine so brilliantly on this album; Ringo's "turn" as Billy Shears on With A Little Help From My Friends as well as some truly superb drumming (especially on A Day In The Life), Paul's precocious growth as a songwriter (Pepper, With A Little Help From My Friends, She's Leaving Home, Lovely Rita), but still having his work Lennonised and improved (Getting Better) and vice-versa for John with Paul providing the supremely melodic, soaring bridge in A Day In The Life and his inspired. Lennon's Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds is a psychedelic masterpiece and his interpretations of a circus poster (Mr. Kite) and a breakfast cereal box (Good Morning, Good Morning) showcased his talent for taking something relatively ordinary and elevating them to glorious heights. George's lead guitar work is out of this world on Pepper and his solitary songwriting composition was also other-worldly. It was arguably the last time (apart from perhaps Abbey Road) when all four Beatles were still a single "Beatles" unit instead of four individuals making music together.Simply put, Pepper is a masterpiece. It is THE album that virtually every other album is compared with ("Sure, it's good, but it's no Sgt. Pepper"). The genius isn't just in the songwriting, it's the presentation, the Peter Blake cover, the daring concept and the colourfulness. It was the end of the black and white sixties and the dawning of a brighter, more youthful age. It's not just a record, it's a cultural milestone, a happening, an event; you can define music as pre and post-Pepper such was its importance. It remains the toppermost of the poppermost, being the height of all that is fab and gear. It takes me to another world when I listen to it, a world full of fixing metaphorical holes, of dancing psychedelic horses, of newspaper taxis and looking-glass ties, of sobbing heartbroken parents and cottages in the Isle Of Wight, of people blowing their minds out in cars and orchestral orgasms. There's no other record like it. Others have tried and failed, but there is only one Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

So here we go a 50 anniversary edition of Sgt Pepper. Is it worth buying again, in one word definitely. The original Stereo version was mixed with none of the Beatles or George Martin involved,this was the chance to sort out the balancing issue with vocals panned to one channel and it so has.Giles Martin stated he created a stereo version as close to the mono version which is how the Beatles wanted you to hear this record. I imagine everyone buying this is re buying it, so I won't go on about the music. What has been achieved is going right back to the original tapes and using the notes from the mono master to make a breathtaking stereo version making the old Stereo version obsolete .What you hear is so clear and surpasses many modern recordings. The vocals are all placed in the center, You hear a rumbling bass on Sgt Pepper opening track, and on Sgt pepper reprise you hear vocal parts lost on the original stereo version which I have never heard before. She's leaving home is now at the correct speed as per the original mono version and the strings sound amazing. This mix gives the music space to breath instead of being squashed on the 4 track so available at the time.A Day in the now sounds out of this world with the Orchestra sounding like a full Orchestra not squashed like on the original Stereo version.The original stereo version may as well be deleted,(that's my personal view) no care was taken when the engineers mixed it by hard panning of vocals and instruments to one channel only.On the second disc you get the re mixed Strawberry Fields forever and Penny Lane along with some demos from the recording sessions. The extra discs on the super deluxe are an extra disc of demos, the original Mono mix from 1967, not sure why not the re-mastered mono version, from the Mono box set, and then a Blu-ray and DVD (they have the same content) with the main album re-mixed in 5.1 DTS sound, a Documentary recorded a while back including input from George Harrison and videos of Penny lane, Strawberry fields and a Day in the life.This version done by Giles Martin son of George is done with love and understanding, and the to disc set is a must for any fan. The question is will any other Beatles other albums be re mixed. I imagine maybe in time, if this is the result.I am sure there may still be arguments that the originals should not be messed with,or this is just to make more money for the record company. However the knew mix has nothing added or taken away it is just mixed correctly with the notes from George Martin and the technology that was not around in 1967 . If you only buy the single disc you won't be disappointed. The double disc has penny lane and strawberry fields re mixed again just brilliant. Along with demos from the sessions. Sgt Pepper was never my favorite Beatles Album that for me was Abbey road, but this is like listening to Sgt Pepper for the first time. Well done Giles Martin.Apparently the White album is now being re mixed