Sgt Pepper

Just some random thoughts on Sgt. Pepper, as it is the 50th anniversary since its release on June 1 1967.

I have to admit that its not my favourite album, although l do recognise its impact and influence on the gear shift of music v art from '67 onwards....

Its not so much that have l always considered Revolver as the major change in the Beatles musical direction, but that I have never really been sold on the idea that Sgt Pepper was the 'first' concept album. I first bought the vinyl version in about 1979 from WH Smiths if l recall, and it came with cardboard insert and the double fold with the words on the reverse, yes it was slick and very colourful but as an art student I always saw it as a bit tacky and contrived.. easy to say only 12 years after it was released. (ONLY 12 years!!!)

There's only a couple of tracks I really enjoy (Lucy and Day in the Life) as I felt the majority of the others were 'B' side fillers, apart from George's Within You, and l probably haven't listened to it fully for about 10 years. In fact l prefer to listen to the anthology out takes as they seem less polished and give more depth to the artistic flow that was pouring from them from '66 onwards. Once the first couple of tracks are played there's just a group of songs without any real connection to each other until the Pepper reprise comes at the end, hence my hesitation to see it as a 'concept' album. 

Perhaps the concept is more to do with the packaging and design which is of course innovative and at the same time 'old fashioned'; or maybe its a narrative lyrical connection to the lost youth of the mid 1960's, who felt like they were being given a voice for the first time. Of course, l can't take away the albums impact on all the other musical artists who initially heard it for the first time all those years ago, and went on to explode and change the pop/rock scene forever, I suppose that is its real legacy and it can't ever be taken away from them or change its historical / social importance.

There was a recent good programme on BBC2 where Howard Goodall showed some real insights into the construction and deconstruction of some of the more well known tracks, and his composing and classical musical knowledge puts it up there with Mozart and Beethoven in its genius. As with most milestones in the history of social and artistic genres sometimes it's being in the right place at the right time -  I feel this is it with Sgt Pepper, it was the pinnacle of the Beatles success as the creative and top selling songwriting/fashionable/hip/gear/style/trend setting group of the 60's. After the albums adolation came the artistic criticism and the slow decline and eventual break up, a path that was inevitable as far as I can see....

The summer of love was indeed a very short love affair. Looking back 50 years I admire the optimism and forging of a new world that the young thought they had, but it was never going to last. I'm too much now of a hardened pessimist and can recognise that the flower power and hippy mood of the mid-sixties was, as with other fashion trends, just a hijacked marketing ploy designed to sell the idea to a rather immature and short-sighted youth... things never really change do they?

Like other art concepts the Sgt Pepper cover has been much plagurised, even Ringo reused the idea on his 'Ringo' album in 1973, which is very nearly a 'Beatles' album in itself...

It always seemed a shame to me that the whole album wasn't took 'on the road' as a live show, I know there's reasons why most of the songs were never played live or promoted through a film or video, but with the use of backing tapes l'm sure they could have toured and made it the last real live worthy appearance. A last tour would have been worthy of retiring from and leaving us an even bigger lasting legacy for future fans to see and enjoy.... but it never happened and we have the short little bits from Magical Mystery Tour to live off, or indeed whatever the Bootleg Beatles show us as the possibilities....