Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band



I listened to The Beatles a lot growing up. My parents were big fans of their music and naturally I became one too. I remember listening to their songs on long road trips down to Los Angeles. And to this day I still listen to their music. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to me was their best album. It changed the way artist looked at making music. After this album was released more artist were experimenting with their music. 
The Beatles got tired of touring because it got dangerous. When they were in the Philippines they almost didn’t get out because they refused to meet with the President and the First Lady of the Philippines. The government wasn’t doing much in helping their people, yet they were living a comfortable rich lifestyle. After the incident in the Philippines, they decided not to tour anymore. They wanted to create a album that would tour for them. As a result they created Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. 

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a concept album. It was one of the first major concept albums ever created. The Beatles essentially created this band as their alter ego. They were not The Beatles, they were characters. After the success Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, many bands started to experiment and come out with albums as their alter egos. The most notable bands to try this are The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Pink Floyd.

The track listing to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is interesting. In the beginning of the first song, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, it sounds like you are in a auditorium with people just getting settled into your seats. Then the band starts to play. John Lennon is singing, and introduces that they are Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. When he introduces the band the audience applauds. Then after the applause, there is some laughter. This makes you think that either John. Paul, or George did something funny. They never tell you what they did, they leave it up to your imagination. Here are some lyrics from "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band:
 
We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

We hope you will enjoy the show

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sit back and let the evening go

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
  
The lyrics make you feel like you are about to listen to them live. Towards the end of the song they introduce Billy Shears who is Ringo Starr’s alter ego. He is the lead singer of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. After they introduce him, it leads to him singing the song “With a Little Help From My Friends”. It is one of the few songs where Ringo gets to sing, and it’s one of my favorite songs on the album. After that song the album does not follow the concert format until they get to the second to last song, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)”. Here are some lyrics from that song:

We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 

We hope you have enjoyed the show 

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 

We're sorry but it's time to go 

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
These lyrics tell you that the concert is over, but it isn’t the last song on the album.The last song on the album is “A Day in the Life” It is a song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. They were essentially two songs by John and Paul that were unfinished. They gave it to their producer George Martin who mashed the songs together. The first part of the song by Lennon. He sings about car crash he read in the newspaper. The second verse was McCartney’s. He sings about his morning routine which is completely different Lennon’s verse. And the final verse is by Lennon. He sings about potholes in a town called Blackburn. The song is not suppose to make any sense or even sound good, but it does.


The Beatles - A Day in the Life
  

To me Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the greatest album of all time across all genres. It was innovative and changed the way artist looked at music. Is this one of your favorite Beatle albums? If not what is you’re favorite Beatles song and album?

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