DRUMMER CAFE - Community Forum

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.. Sgt Pepper Taught the Band to Play....

Inspired by some of the other threads that took me back a few decades, I'm curious to hear what other cafe members would say about this seminal album.  Sgt Peppers is considered by many to have changed the lanscape of popular/rock music forever.  It is pretty enlightening to listen to the music pre and post.  What a difference!  There were obviously other influencial musicians and bands but possibly none with a bigger impact.  The Beatles had the poplularity (possibly the power) with their previous success to do just about anything and make it significant.  Sgt Peppers is what they came up with and the rest is history.   The song writing, lyrics, production, even the drumming was special...  So much of what we hear today was seeded here.  What do you think?

I like it.  ;D

No, its definately their most recognized piece of work and we've all read how people accepted it as art and music which paved the way for other interesting stuff later on. Its not my favorite they ever did (Revolver), but its their most important. I continue to love it as much as the first time I heard it 30 years ago.

I think the Fab Four said it was their reaction to Pet Sounds (The Beach Boys) which they considered a masterpiece.
I also think Paul rates 'Revolver' higher.

That's interesting - I read that Brian Wilson said Pet Sounds was his reaction to Rubber Soul which he thougth was a collection of songs ... that somehow went together like no album ever made...  Sounds like there was a real cross fertilization going on.

Exactly. they had kind of a friendly rivalry going on for a few years.  The Beach Boys wrote "Girl Don't Tell Me" that they (supposedly) intended to give to the Beatles, but of course, they ended up recording it themselves.  It does have kind of that 1964 Beatles' sound.  As kind of a return, the Beatles wrote "Back in The USSR" with kind of a "Surfin' USA" feel.  I think the friendly rivalry helped push each band further than I think they would have gone individually, not that either would have been one-hit wonders.

Also, another semi-interesting piece of trivia, Paul and Brian Wilson were born only two days apart of the same year and each played bass for their respective band, although bass was far from their first instrument.  They only picked them up out of necessity, although I'm sure that part's pretty much common knowledge.

Obviously with Sgt. Pepper (and Magical MysteryTour), they took the studio recording process to an entirely different level.   I do remember seeing an interview with Paul saying they knew Sgt Peppers was going to be quite special when he saw Jimi Hendrix covering Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band when the record was released just a few days before.  Despite all the great records by The Beatles before and after, Sgt. Peppers probably represents a generation of time, place and culture like no other.  To me ,the chronological catalog from Hard Days Night to Abbey Road were all groundbreaking records, but each in a different way. I am anxiously awaiting the remasters.

I was born about 10 years after this came out, but it was still a big influence on me. I was a guitarist in a metal band while in high school, but we always wasted away our rehearsals playing Beatles songs instead of focusing on our material  ;D

The Beatles really gave me an ear for singing harmony. I used to put on their albums and try to pick out all of the different harmony lines on the choruses until it became second nature.

i think they shoulda never made the movie with peter frampton & the bee gees ;D

most all of the beatles' music was the soundtrack to so many peoples' lives. i think it's a commentary on the times and the band, that they were able to take such a big musical departure and not shoot themselves in the foot. nowadays when something breaks free of formula an artist takes his/her life in their hands.

it's weird; i go back and forth with the beatles. sometimes i love hearing that stuff, coz it brings back happy childhood nostalgia. othertimes it makes me feel sad. maybe coz they captured a tumultuous era.

regardless, the band & that album will always be a part of music history.

Smile was supposed to have been the answer to Sgt Pepper's as well.

Hmm?, Sgt Pepper wasnt my fave. I like alot of Beatle tunes but my favorite album?, probably Let it be. I remember as a kid hearing Paperback writer for the first time and it sent chills down my spine. Chris Whitten got to play with Mcartney, i hate him ;).

I think the album was released in June and I got my first kit in July.  Pretty big musical summer for me.  I can still remember going to the record store, returning home and listening to the album for the first time on a sunny, summer vacation afternoon.  This was between 8th and 9th grades, when summer vacation actually seemed like it was going to last forever.  You also got more to like back then.... cover art.  The cover is still one of the best ever, you got words that were printed in type bigger than the 2 pt. type you get in CD's these days.  The larger format for photos and print was at least one reason vinyl had it over CD's.

Me too!
I know it was unhappy for the moptops, but I can't help liking the music.
'I've Got A Feeling' is one of my favourite songs by ANY band.
My Mum took me to see Help and A Hard Day's Night when I was about 6 years old. I knew I was going to be a musician from that point.  :)

Thank you guys for the History lesson and bringing back some memories.  I used to love Let it Be.  I am still really liking the White album. I have it on Tape.  I would love to get their music on CD's. I guess all of the albums have hit after hit and I think music in general was influenced by them.  I think it is very cool that Chris got to play with Paul.  What a treat.
                           Nutty

Interesting that 'Let It Be' is getting some props here. I feel its their weakest effort (even more so than 'With The Beatles' and 'Beatles For Sale'), but even it is still enjoyable.

Also, Paul mentioned the cover art. I wish I had a mint copy of Sgt. Peppers with the moustache cutouts and so forth, along with the posters in the White album and the booklet in the Magical Mystery Tour. Good stuff, but mine have been gone for a long time.

Most Beatles fans would agree with you.
Probably my favourite McCartney song is 'The Long And Winding Road'. As I said, I also love 'I've Got A Feeling'. The rooftop version of 'Get back' is fantastic, especially Billy Preston, and I've always been a sucker for documentaries about albums being made.
 :)

I think the coolest thing about the Beatles was the quality of there albums and the prehistoric recording equipment that they used. I have been told by some of my musician friends that are about 10 years older than me that they sounded just as good LIVE.
                                         Nutty

Of course a large part of the credit for the sound and sound quality (at least on recordings) goes to their producer Sir George Martin.  He may have been THE most important member of the band.  He's responsible for most of the string arrangments, much of the keyboard writing and playing as well as achieving that super high quality they had. 

Hip hip Huray.  The Cafe is back up!!!
                           Nutty

I dont think Let It Be was a Beatles effort for world domination to begin with. It is what it is. When Mcartney and Lennon get together genious happens. Let IT BE just has an emotional tie with me that overshadows other work. I cant explain it. Across the universe can @$%# near make me cry. For the longest time i detuned my snare and put thin plastic on it to get that Let It Be sound. The entire recording moves me. The Beatles were, are, and will ALWAYS be the greatest song writing team the world has ever known IMO. Sweet Rosetta fat she thought she was a cleana, but she was a frying pan. That album was very emotional for me.

This is what I think :

It has long been "rumored" that the Liverpool Lads embarked on the creation of Sgt. Pepper as a result of being influenced by Zappa's ...

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I've been into the Beatles since day one. I think this fact is the reason I prefer their earliest (pre-Hard Day's Night) stuff. I feel same about Rolling Stones material. I sense a pattern. Now that I think of it, most bands I like I prefer their earlier works. This seems to be the pattern for me - if I got into the band from the very start. Example : Even ELP themselve confess that the Brain Salad Surgery effort was their creative peak and I love it to death, but darn if I don't love their debut release best of all their stuff. I'm weird. Anyone else?

I can see where Marcos is coming from. My friends always had a running joke about asking people if they like a certain band and their answer was often , "Sure I like their old stuff" So many people don't like when bands change. However, I've noticed that I like bands albums on a bell curve. I tend to like their middle albums (i.e. Revolver, Dark Side of the Moon, etc...)