It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years since The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. In celebration of this Anniversary, Capitol Records has pulled out all the stops!
“The album is newly mixed by Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell in stereo, sourced directly from the four-track masters at Abbey Road Studios in London, and guided by the original, Beatles-preferred mono mix produced by his father, George Martin. This extensive collection gives an unprecedented insight into how The Beatles made their ground-breaking album. The box set features a new stereo version by Giles Martin and 33 tracks from the Sgt. Pepper sessions that place you in the studio as the group develop the songs.
4 Audio CDs:
A new stereo mix of the album by Giles Martin. Sgt. Pepper Sessions on 2 CDs with over 100 minutes of audio illustrating how the album was created. Newly mixed from the original four-track tapes, most of the material is previously unreleased. Also contains the original 1967 mono mix of the album and bonus tracks including three previously unreleased mixes.
Blu-Ray/DVD:
Fully restored 1992 documentary The Making of Sgt. Pepper, including interviews with Paul, George and Ringo and fascinating in-the-studio footage introduced by George Martin. Restored promotional films for ‘A Day In The Life’, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Penny Lane’. 2017 Giles Martin 5.1 surround sound mix and high-resolution stereo audio in 96KHz/24bit of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band plus ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Penny Lane’.
144-page hardback book featuring an introduction by Sir Paul McCartney, comprehensive song-by-song details and recording information, in-depth essays about the design of the cover, the album’s musical innovations and its historical context… and much more. Illustrations include photographs from the recording sessions, handwritten lyrics and Abbey Road documentation.
Plus a replica of the original card insert and two bonus posters.” All of this for a mere $117! This set goes on sale tomorrow. What’s your favorite Beatles song?
Disc: 1
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (2017 Mix)
2. With A Little Help From My Friends (2017 Mix)
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (2017 Mix)
4. Getting Better (2017 Mix)
5. Fixing A Hole (2017 Mix)
6. She’s Leaving Home (2017 Mix)
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (2017 Mix)
8. Within You Without You (2017 Mix)
9. When I’m Sixty – Four (2017 Mix)
10. Lovely Rita (2017 Mix)
11. Good Morning Good Morning (2017 Mix)
12. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (2017 Mix)
13. A Day In The Life (2017 Mix)
Disc: 2
1. Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 1)
2. Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 4)
3. Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 7)
4. Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 26)
5. Strawberry Fields Forever (Stereo Mix – 2015)
6. When I’m Sixty – Four (Take 2)
7. Penny Lane (Take 6 – Instrumental)
8. Penny Lane (Vocal Overdubs And Speech)
9. Penny Lane (Stereo Mix 2017)
10. A Day In The Life (Take 1)
11. A Day In The Life (Take 2)
12. A Day In The Life (Orchestra Overdub)
13. A Day In The Life (Hummed Last Chord, Takes 8, 9, 10 and 11)
14. A Day In The Life (The Last Chord)
15. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 1 – Instrumental)
16. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 9 And Speech)
17. Good Morning Good Morning (Take 1 – Instrumental, Breakdown)
18. Good Morning Good Morning (Take 8)
Disc: 3
1. Fixing A Hole (Take 1)
2. Fixing A Hole (Speech And Take 3)
3. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (Speech From Before Take 1; Take 4 And Speech At End)
4. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (Take 7)
5. Lovely Rita (Speech And Take 9)
6. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Take 1 And Speech At The End)
7. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Speech, False Start And Take 5)
8. Getting Better (Take 1 – Instrumental And Speech At The End)
9. Getting Better (Take 12)
10. Within You Without You (Take 1 – Indian Instruments Only)
11. Within You Without You (George Coaching The Musicians)
12. She’s Leaving Home (Take 1 – Instrumental)
13. She’s Leaving Home (Take 6 – Instrumental)
14. With A Little Help From My Friends (Take 1 – False Start And Take 2
15. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Speech And Take 8)
Disc: 4
1. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Mono)
2. With A Little Help From My Friends (Mono)
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Mono)
4. Getting Better (Mono)
5. Fixing A Hole (Mono)
6. She’s Leaving Home (Mono)
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite! (Mono)
8. Within You Without You (Mono)
9. When I’m Sixty Four (Mono)
10. Lovely Rita (Mono)
11. Good Morning Good Morning (Mono)
12. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Mono)
13. A Day In The Life (Mono)
14. Strawberry Fields Forever(Original Mono Mix)
15. Penny Lane (Original Mono Mix)
16. A Day In The Life (Unreleased First Mono Mix)
17. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Unreleased Mono Mix – No. 11)
18. She’s Leaving Home (Unreleased First Mono Mix)
19. Penny Lane (Capitol Records U.S. Promo Single – Mono Mix)
Disc: 5
1. The Making of Sgt. Pepper DVD Music Video
Disc: 6
1. Blu – Ray Audio Music Video
Really nice – but do we/you need it?
My favourite song is of course ” With A Little Help From My Friends” – sung by Joe Cocker …
Wolf, I’m interested in listening to hear SGT. PEPPER’S in the new remastered sound. Love Joe Cocker’s version of “With A Little Help”!
Wolf, I was going to mention that too! We got to see Joe Cocker twice in recent years (2009 and 2012) and he was still great.
Jeff, I have a bunch of Joe Cocker CDs that I play all the time! Of course, it sounds like he gargled with razor-blades!
I don’t remember the Beatles myself but my grandparents were kids then and they say they were really big in those days……
Dan, this was the record that launched The Beatles into Iconic Status.
No, I believe that happened much sooner, probably Rubber Soul.
I’ll pass on this bargain. My favorite Beatles album is Beatles ’65. My brain ossified at that point, and while I listened to the music and even bought a couple of the albums, I never really moved on.
Bill, my sisters played A HARD DAY’S NIGHT until the grooves wore out!
My favorite songs on Sgt. Pepper are Getting Better & Fixing a Hole. I couldn’t narrow down my favorite Beatles song to less than 20!
Deb, our Sirius/XM satellite radio just added a station that just plays Beatle’s music 24/7!
Yes! We have two cars with SiriusXM and you know we both used a preset for the Beatles channel. I don’t know what John gave up, but I had to say goodbye to the Raggae channel.
Deb, I really like the Sirius/XM “Soul Town” station and “Chill.”
My Siruis go to station is Little Stevens Underground Garage. I got kind of burned out on Sgt Pepper. My favorite Beatles records are Rubber Soul and Revolver.
Steve, I’ll have to give LITTLE STEVENS UNDERGROUND GARAGE a listen. There are so many channels on SIRIUS/XM radio! I like those early Beatle albums, too!
Of those, I’d say When I’m 64 and Help from friends. I loved the Beatles and my mom saved all my Beatles mags, etc. I saw them in person only once, at the first Hollywood Bowl concert. I went with Ferlin Husky’s oldest son. I wish I had seen them in San Diego, don’t remember why I didn’t.
Maggie, those Beatles concerts were events! And remember when The Beatles appeared on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW!
Of course, I did see the Beatles (for $3!) at Carnegie Hall on their first trip to New York in February of 1964, though I didn’t hear much of them with all the screaming.
Like Deb, I’d find it impossible to pick one favorite song. On SERGEANT PEPPER (and I’ve always preferred RUBBER SOUL), I’d definitely go for A Day in the Life, though I like most of the others too.
An aside: a couple of years ago my brother threw himself a big When I’m 64 party and got a couple of bands to perform and a hundred or so “friends” to attend..
As Bill would say, I miss the old days.
I can remember it like it was yesterday. Around Christmas of 1963, my friend Jan came home with the MEET THE BEATLES album. We listened to it a couple of times in my friend Doug’s house, as I studied the liner notes and tried to identify one from the other. When the tickets went on sale, three of us got tickets for the early show and took the subway to Carnegie Hall.
I was 15.
Jeff, you’re a lucky guy! I think seeing The Beatles is cooler than going to a Super Bowl!
We had balcony tickets.
Jeff, great seats!
In My Life.
Forgotten album? Certainly not. Over-done, unneeded packaged for profit, selling alt takes and such? Yep. I’ll take my CD of the originally released album, which is just the way I heard it when I bought the album, the week it was released, at Licorice Pizza in Newport, CA. They had stacks of them and they were going like (as the saying goes) hotcakes. My roommate and I opened it up, put it on, and listened while looking at the double album artwork and liner notes. Some of it got some getting used to, as it was a departure from the previous album, Revolver, and even further from Rubber Soul and Help.
I was thinking about listening to some older Beatles just the other day. Maybe today. As for a favorite, too many to choose just one.
Rick, clearly this new edition of SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND is aimed at hard-core fans who will pay any price for “new stuff” from The Beatles Archive.
I also find it strange that songs from Magical Mystery Tour are on this set.
Rick, those songs from MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR might have been recorded during the SGT. PEPPER sessions and just carried over.
Yeah, “forgetten” my keester! Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Bob, I’m guessing you’re already listening to this mega-set today!
I will be getting this, no question about it.
Sergio, I’m eager to hear this remastered version! And all the extras!
Among my friends at university in the 60s (some of them played rock themselves) you couldn’t be a Beatles fan – they were too “popular”!
The Rolling Stones were ok, Dylan, the Winter brothers etc too – but the Beatles were just mainstream …
Wolf, I confess: I like The Rolling Stones better than The Beatles.
I just remembered:
During my visits in the second half of the 560s to London I had the chance to see all those movies by/with the Beatles and the Stones – that was sensational!
My friends in germany got really envious when I told them I had seen A hard day’s night etc – of course later the movies were also shown over here but at first …
Though my greatest success was bringing over the Blind Faith album in 1969 (the one with the naked girl …) with Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood – everybody wanted to copy that to tape/cassette …
Wolf, I remember that Blind Faith cover…and the controversy!
Like the Stones a lot, but the Beatles were better. And the Byrds better yet. And Zombies at their best unbeatable, likewise the Yardbirds and the Kinks. A whole lot of wonderful. Animals. War. Miracles. Drifters. The Band. Fairport Convention. The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The Beach Boys. Fanny. Pentangle. The Velvet Underground. Jefferson Airplane. Cocker OK, but I’ve never loved his work. Van Morrison more so.
The original (UK version) HELP! is by me the first great album from them.
Todd, all The Beatles catalog is in the process of being remastered and re-released. The audience for their work, even 50 years later, continues to grow and wants to listen to their songs.
I see by the URL that this was once an Ella Fitzgerald post…
Todd, I had planned on an Ella Fitzgerald post because it’s her 100 Anniversary, but then I saw the new edition of SGT. PEPPER’S was being released the next day so I switched. You’re very observant!