Anniversary poll: How many good songs are there on Sgt. Pepper's?

Sgt Pepper is the sound of a band running at maximum synergy

I disagree, I'd say Rubber Soul and Revolver were the last records where all of the members of the band were all on the same page.

tape speed tricks go back to the invention of tape as a recording medium

"maximum synergy" is corporate speak for "high", right?

xxpost:

Exactly.

Lots of novelty records/comedy records used tape manipulation tricks and sound effects, the end result being (in the words of Andy Partridge of XTC) "psychedelia in square clothing"

Pinky and Perky, Alvin and the Chipmunks etc.

The Purple People Eater was 1958, Pinky and Perky slightly earlier... I'm sure there's even earlier examples.

12

Lots of novelty records/comedy records used tape manipulation tricks and sound effects, the end result being (in the words of Andy Partridge of XTC) "psychedelia in square clothing"

Pinky and Perky, Alvin and the Chipmunks etc.

― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican)

possibly, but i would argue that those seeking the psychedelic ross bagdasarian would be better served by the bluebeards' cover of "come on-a my house".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__1il8hOH0A

Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry's earliest tape-manipulation works date back to 1948, I believe.

Bing Crosby, the first pop artist to record w magnetic tape, was modifying tape speeds to match different pitches in 1950:

Since Bing did not read music and sang by ear, one take of a song could be in a different key from the second take. This change in pitch posed a problem when using segments from different recording sessions to make one complete piece of music. Today matching the pitch is easy with digital technology, but in 1950 it was different. To do the matching one tape was slowed down and the other was speeded up until the pitch was the same. However, the change in tape speed led to timing problems; so after the splice was made the tape was then slowly returned to its normal speed. Unless one was listening very closely it was not detectable. With the advent of the Ampex 300, Jack Mullin worked with Ampex to develop a unit to correct the Ampex 300 recorder tape speed. The unit produced an 18 kHz control signal modulated by a 60 Hz reference. On playback it then used the 60 Hz signal to control the speed of the Ampex 300 capstan motor. Not only did it adjust the timing problem, but it was able to correct some of the low frequency wow effects. It was now possible to record a tape on one machine and play it back on a different machine without speed changes that caused changes in the pitch of the music. It also was used to change the tape speed to match the different pitches.

ultimately this all comes back to nazi germany's invention of magnetic tape, which makes adolf hitler the true godfather of psychedelia

NPR previews the remix with Giles Martin:

http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2017/05/23/528678711/why-remix-sgt-peppers-giles-martin-the-man-behind-the-project-explains

The new stereo panning of the organ that opens Lucy in the Sky could get on my nerves.

that's the way we use it rushomancy. and by high, I mean all of our key metrics are at or below baseline

Turrican, it's debatable, like everything else I guess. I get the feeling Sgt Pepper was the last time everyone was on the same team, even if they were on the downward slope to breaking up.

I think of Sgt. P as Paul's album, and as a result I think the album as released subtly ensures that the Paul stuff comes off best. I adore John's contributions but one has the sense that his work on this was... grudging. I like six or seven of these songs.

With A Little Help From My Friends
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Getting Better
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
When I'm Sixty-Four
Lovely Rita
A Day In The Life

I know we're supposed to love the George sitar stuff but I'm afraid it bores me tits off. Ringo's spotlight moment is more hummably charming than "Within You," sorry not sorry.

The Beatles themselves had already played around with varispeed effects on "In My Life" in '65 and "I'm Only Sleeping" in '66.

ultimately this all comes back to nazi germany's invention of magnetic tape, which makes adolf hitler the true godfather of psychedelia

new board description

'Strawberry Fields Forever' it certainly isn't.

Most music would fail by this standard.

Voted 13 - there are some lesser songs here but none I outright dislike. As for the title track: great guitar, really great vocal from Paul.

great guitar pulls & skronky sound in the title track, chorus is super heavy

Not the lightest of all albums ever released.

Yeah, I love the lead guitar tone in the title track. And those studio effects and arrangement don't sound 'so what' to me in 2017.

dunno if it's the best song here but "with a little help..." is ringo's best and most moving performance ever, imo

Picked 10. Could be more, could be less. I don't truly hate any of these songs.

Fantastic: "A Day in the Life," "With a Little Help"
Really Good: title track, "Getting Better"
I Like 'Em All: "Within You Without You," "Good Morning," "Lovely Rita"
Good Songs (without wholeheartedly endorsing arrangement, performance, etc.--the poll specifically says "good songs"): "Lucy," "She's Leaving Home"
Iffy: "Fixing a Hole," "Mr. Kite"
The One Song I Unequivocally Dislike: "When I'm Sixty-Four"

I'm a little out of sync--I find other people generally dislike "Good Morning" and like "Fixing a Hole."

caveat - i've only heard the stereo version

stunning:
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Getting Better
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
Lovely Rita
A Day In The Life

pretty good
With A Little Help From My Friends
Good Morning Good Morning
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)

good
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Fixing A Hole
She's Leaving Home

boring
Within You Without You

don't like
When I'm Sixty-Four

Was in the car today listening to the Beatles, and my younger kid observed that she can always recognize the Beatles by the way they sound. It's a good point, something I was just talking about last week with someone. Just a combination of the players but also that particular producer in that particular room in that particular era. It just sounds like the Beatles. And anybody who approximates any of those things, even minus the songs and players, would come close to the same sound, or at least something Beatles esqye

"good morning good morning" is better in mono

i thought i didn't like "lovely rita" - ridiculous proto-"golf girl" fluff - but listening to the version without the overdubs, it's actually a good performance! most of the stuff i took for gimmicky overdubs was actually played live, apparently. i may have to revise my opinion.

12. I don't like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

13. The poll just says "good" not "great". They're all at least "good". My least favorite is "Within You Without You". Doesn't really work within the context of the record. It's still a good song though.

She's leaving home is not good, neither is when I'm 64.. All the rest I would say are good but it's hard to tell how much of that is just fond memories/attachment with this particular album. Like, if I heard lovely Rita today for the first time I don't think there's a chance in the world I would be like 'thats a good song' but I can't honestly say I don't like it either.

ah. the beatles

7

"challops" etymology = MIND BLOWN
I had vaguely thought of a "challop" as a slovenly ne'er-do-well prone to making empty provocative statements.
Also, Pepper isn't really music after 50 years of intense dissection, I remember aged 10 being almost told to ENGAGE with its CONCEPTS.

'When I'm Sixty-Four' is definitely the closest to a not-good song for me but the bridge totally redeems it.

Someone upthread implied that John comes off as 2nd on this, but Lucy and Kite are the stun-tracks..

Along with "Good Morning", but hey.

also ADitL is all about John's parts

yes.

There's a tendency to apply "one or the other" to songs like "With a little help", which are closer to 50/50 than else.

Seven or eight depending on reprise.

If you think it's less than five hmm lol ilm I guess, keep pushing that rainbow.

Lucy and peppers the best.

Good morning, within you without you, fixing a hole and she's leaving are either annoying or dull

the only song I dislike is 'when i'm 64'. The rest are all at least good, and my standard for 'good' is mostly just that I'd enjoy it if I randomly heard it on the radio while driving, so basically, 90% percent of Beatles songs are at least 'good'.

This is the only Beatles album which, played front-to-back, makes me like the idea of the Beatles as an album act, partly because it's so stuffed with sound and nothing sounds quite like it should.

I'll say 8. These days I skip Within You, When I'm 64, and Mr Kit, as well as the title track and reprise. I love everything else, particularly Rita, Good Morning, and Getting Better, I feel like those are underpraised songs that have a really good kind of sparse, weird, LSD infused feel to them/

"Good" seems a low bar. They're all at least good in context, and a few endure as lifelong personal favorites. When I was eight, I would have insisted that every track is BRILLIANT - with the possible exception of "Within You Without You", which baffled me.

Come on, guys, this is a good album. Overrated, sure. But, really, I don't want to skip any of these songs.

The tape shit on mr kite is so spectacular

the good thing about this album is you can tell it's shit because the cover is also shit

oh my god, so many xxxposts but hearing the mono version of this record COMPLETELY changed my opinion of it. the old stereo mix is garbage

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

7

I love when the news media talks about music. This album was described as 'edgy and experimental' on Sky News this morning. "When I'm 64" wasn't mentioned by name but nonetheless...

I skip Leaving Home / Mr Kite / Within You every time I play this album. Home and Within are too slow and draggy, and Mr Kite is psychedelia in search of a melody.

Such a wonderful post, Mark S. Thank you for writing that.

Lovely post mark s, thank you!

Adding to the chorus. Thanks, Mark.

really that story is the best writing on sgt pep I ever came across

just read it again. still very touching to me.

THe way Paul says Chuck sounds a bit like Ian MacKaye in Minor Threat saying "fuck"