"And of course, Henry the Horse dances the Waltz!"

[NightTrain]

I was just poking around Target and came across a CD of SGT. PEPPER selling for just $9.99. So I grabbed it and, for the first time in perhaps 20 years, played the album from start to finish.

I must say, it's held up quite nicely over 37 years. I can well imagine just how many minds SGT. PEPPER must have blown when it first came out. (I have to imagine it because I was still in diapers in 1967.)

As an 18-year-old, my favorite track was "Being for The Benefit of Mr. Kite." As a 38-year-old, it's "She's Leaving Home." I must assume that has everything to do with the mercurial relationsip I had with my parents, and that they both died before we could finish closing the diaspora between us.

As an 18-year-old, my least favorite track was "Within You, Without You." As a 38-year-old, my opinion is the same. At that time, George Harrison was in the thick of his Hare Krishna phase, while his bandmates were following the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (sp?). In my opinion, the effect his teachings had on the band's music was not a good one! :)

I still prefer the Beatles' pre-1967 works to their later albums, but having listened to SGT. PEPPER for the first time in 20 years, I can say that I do like the album and could get into hearing it from start to finish maybe once every 2-3 years.

[WoodrowFan]

1. the one and only Billy Shears

I still like the title song and "Day in the Life" the best..

Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hallll......

[NightTrain]

2. Next, I'll tackle ABBEY ROAD and THE WHITE ALBUM.

Wish me luck! B-)

[CanuckAmok]

3. That insane caliope music...

...is Martin's crowning achievement, even moreso than the orchestral arrangement in "A Day in the Life".

I'm listening to "Mr. Kite" right now. Did you know it's copied nearly word for word from a circus poster hanging in Abbey Road Studios?

PS--and all done on 4-track analogue. Let's see Puffy do THAT!

[NightTrain]

4. No dbout about it: given the relatively limited recording technology...

...available in 1967, SGT. PEPPER was a remarkable achievement. Plus, it inspired Otis Redding to expand his own musical horizons, the direct result of which was "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay!" :thumbsup:

[LanternWaste]

5. Interesting crossover factoid...

Interesting crossover factoid...

When the actor/musicians in the TV group the Monkees decided to write and record their own album independent of Phil Specter and the studio, they came up with a groovy LP called "Headquarters" (and by the way, it's actually some pretty good stuff.

It was very trippy and psychedelic-- definitely *not* what the 13 year old girls were expecting when the new Monkees album came out. It was embraced by Rolling Stone as a mile work of music and it went to the top of the charts for three weeks.

What LP knocked them down from that position, you may ask? It was Sgt. Pepper's, which for all intents and purposes was in the same genre as Headquarters (but light years ahead in texture, form and composition). Mike Nesmith's quote re: getting knocked from the pedestal was, "Hey, man. It was great and all that being number one for a while, but it's even cooler to get bumped by The Beatles"