Sgt Pepper 50th anniversary edition

[slodge]

 

 

I was too young to ever have it be an either/or thing. Love both the Beatles and Stones.

 

Love them both, too.

 

But I was about 10 years old when I first started getting into popular music, and the Beatles were much more easily digestible.

 

There are a couple of artists whose catalog I would bring to the proverbial deserted island ahead of the Beatles, but the Beatles are more a part of musical DNA than any of them.

[Vito Corleone]

 

Yeah, I'm exactly your age, and it was Led Zeppelin vs (insert other band) for us.

 

I remember debating with a buddy that Led Zeppelin was better than Kiss. That seems hilarious now.

 

 

 

I remember it being Zeppelin vs Aerosmith. I remember arguing with some guy about whether Page or Perry was a better guitar player.

 

Obviously, I argued for Zeppelin/Page and won....

 

I didn't really start to get "into" the Beatles until the late 70s. And while I was up on all the current Stones stuff, I didn't really go back to their 60s catalog until they all got put out in CD.

 

Bringing it back to this thread, I remember when Capitol released Sgt Pepper's on CD for the first time in 1987 with a big "It was twenty years ago today" campaign. It seem THEN like that album was so old. Twenty years earlier seems unthinkable.

 

Now it's FIFTY years old? Crazy.

[slodge]

As is 'Sgt. Pepper.'

 

Yet I agree with both of these statements.

[Vito Corleone]

Yeah, "Sgt. Pepper" was never my favorite Beatles album. I always figured it was a "you had to be there" thing to love it so much. I certainly understand the cultural significance of it in 1967.

 

But, like I said, this new mix opens up a new appreciation of it for me.

[Vito Corleone]

Love Cheap Trick too. "Heaven Tonight" is still one of my favorite albums.

[Vito Corleone]

Actually, no.

 

It's a flawless double album. Not a bad song on it, and it creates an overall ambiance. It's really the essence of rock and roll, including blues, country, gospel, etc.

 

It walks all over the White Album.

 

 

Even Jagger thinks "Exile" is over-rated.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...on-main-street

 

I understand a lot of people love it. I just never got it. Tried many times, but can't get into it the way the 4 albums before it are all great for me.

 

But to each his own. That's why the record store (used to be, when they had them) is so damned big.

[Vito Corleone]

 

Keith > Mick

 

Without Keith, the Rolling Stones would be Emotional Rescue.

 

Jagger thinks it's over-rated because they mixed his voice to the level of the instruments, which is part of it's ambiance.

 

 

That and he claims he had to finish the album himself because Keith and Jimmy Miller were so out of it.

 

 

[Vito Corleone]

 

No, that was Goat's Head Soup.

 

 

No, it was Exile.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/apr/25/stones-exile-on-main-street

 

Which is why that one didn't achieve the same heights as the previous four

 

They both went to #1 in both the UK and the US and both sold great.

[Gromit]

Listening to the 50th anniversary remix of one of my favorite albums on Amazon Prime right now; pretty damn impressive.

 

Do yourself a favor and give it a listen, best Beatles' stereo mix I've ever heard.

 

I've just bought the CD. Now all I need to do is get my CD player working.

 

[arcadesonfire]

I need to look into this. I ONLY know the original stereo mixes. Owing to the hard panning of the gdamn drums(!!!), I couldn't get into the Beatles till after playing for 6 or 7 years. I had to convince myself this was art, not rock, in order to enjoy the unorthodox drum mixes--and worked out, cuz Ringo's drums on those albums aren't exactly ... orthodox.

 

At first, I would think it heresy to remix such iconic works... buuut maybe it'll be worth it.

 

The 5.1 surround mix though sounds like a truly brilliant idea! Seems like it could feel like the cover photo come to life.

[Vito Corleone]

I need to look into this. I ONLY know the original stereo mixes. Owing to the hard panning of the gdamn drums(!!!), I couldn't get into the Beatles till after playing for 6 or 7 years. I had to convince myself this was art, not rock, in order to enjoy the unorthodox drum mixes--and worked out, cuz Ringo's drums on those albums aren't exactly ... orthodox.

 

At first, I would think it heresy to remix such iconic works... buuut maybe it'll be worth it.

 

The 5.1 surround mix though sounds like a truly brilliant idea! Seems like it could feel like the cover photo come to life.

 

 

The cover on the box is in 3D as well

[Vito Corleone]

I know a lot of Stones fans who swear by "Goat's" I'm not a big fan of either. Give me "Some Girls" over both of them all day long.

[slodge]

 

 

I remember it being Zeppelin vs Aerosmith. I remember arguing with some guy about whether Page or Perry was a better guitar player.

 

Obviously, I argued for Zeppelin/Page and won....

 

I didn't really start to get "into" the Beatles until the late 70s. And while I was up on all the current Stones stuff, I didn't really go back to their 60s catalog until they all got put out in CD.

 

Bringing it back to this thread, I remember when Capitol released Sgt Pepper's on CD for the first time in 1987 with a big "It was twenty years ago today" campaign. It seem THEN like that album was so old. Twenty years earlier seems unthinkable.

 

Now it's FIFTY years old? Crazy.

 

The Beatles CD roll out was a big deal.

 

There was controversy over whether they would use the US or U.K. Versions.

 

Beatles have been late to the game for every new format.

 

Oddly enough, so have AC/DC.

[slodge]

As we speak, I'm watching 'Eight Days a Week' on Hulu.

 

My 14 year old is mesmerized and neglecting her homework.

 

This is why I'll always be a 'Beatle Guy.'

[Hoot Owl]

Well now, that was entertaining. Dig the hair.

[Vito Corleone]

Henry Rollins' review has the best title:

 

Henry Rollins: This New Sgt. Pepper Stereo Mix Is So Good I Almost Forgot About Trump

 

http://www.laweekly.com/music/henry-...-proud-8212611

[gubu]

No, it's wrong. I don't like it.

 

Kill it.

 

Kill it with fire.

 

The unorthodox panning was one of the things that made this album so great in the first place. I don't care that everything sounds a bit clearer on these new remixes (does it really? The bass guitar doesn't). It's all in the wrong place, and the magic fairy dust is conspicuous by its absence.

 

If Sir George Martin were alive today, he'd give his son a deserved slap upside the head.

 

I'm down as far as Lovely Rita, and I've winced my way through every single track.

 

Never heard anything so wrong in my entire life.

 

 

*fetches original CD release to cleanse ears, HiFi, and air in the building*

[flemtone]

No, it's wrong. I don't like it.

 

Kill it.

 

Kill it with fire.

 

The unorthodox panning was one of the things that made this album so great in the first place. I don't care that everything sounds a bit clearer on these new remixes (does it really? The bass guitar doesn't). It's all in the wrong place, and the magic fairy dust is conspicuous by its absence.

 

If Sir George Martin were alive today, he'd give his son a deserved slap upside the head.

 

I'm down as far as Lovely Rita, and I've winced my way through every single track.

 

Never heard anything so wrong in my entire life.

 

 

*fetches original CD release to cleanse ears, HiFi, and air in the building*

 

I haven't heard the new mixes yet. That being said, the way I first heard the album (and played to death) is the way I 'know' the album. It's the first album I heard where the recording process and the songs melded together to make a 'whole' - a huge part of the artistic merit of the album is the way it was mixed down. That's just the way I'll always want to hear it - exactly the way it was when it was first introduced to me.

 

I'll give the remixes a listen, but I'm not optimistic. It's sorta like 'Star Wars' - it was great as it was, so why tinker with it?

 

(that being said, I still prefer 'Pet Sounds' by just a little bit...)

[gubu]

 

I haven't heard the new mixes yet. That being said, the way I first heard the album (and played to death) is the way I 'know' the album. It's the first album I heard where the recording process and the songs melded together to make a 'whole' - a huge part of the artistic merit of the album is the way it was mixed down. That's just the way I'll always want to hear it - exactly the way it was when it was first introduced to me.

 

I'll give the remixes a listen, but I'm not optimistic. It's sorta like 'Star Wars' - it was great as it was, so why tinker with it?

 

(that being said, I still prefer 'Pet Sounds' by just a little bit...)

 

It's like an act of artistic vandalism. Maybe that's too strong. Maybe more like those postcards where they make a funny out of a Van Gogh or a Da Vinci.

[E-money]

No, it's wrong. I don't like it.

 

Kill it.

 

Kill it with fire.

 

The unorthodox panning was one of the things that made this album so great in the first place. I don't care that everything sounds a bit clearer on these new remixes (does it really? The bass guitar doesn't). It's all in the wrong place, and the magic fairy dust is conspicuous by its absence.

 

If Sir George Martin were alive today, he'd give his son a deserved slap upside the head.

 

I'm down as far as Lovely Rita, and I've winced my way through every single track.

 

Never heard anything so wrong in my entire life.

 

 

*fetches original CD release to cleanse ears, HiFi, and air in the building*

 

 

Everybody is entitled to an opinion; but you're so wrong it's not even funny. The original stereo mixes for Pepper were goofy. That panning was terrible.

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

The panning on Pepper was goofy due to the limitations of the gear. If you're using two four track decks and bouncing madly between them, stereo tracks are a luxury you can't really afford... which means lots of parts are going to be sharing a track. Wherever one goes, the others also have to go, unless there's a break where you can change the panning as a mix move. Stereo multitrack mixes really don't make sense until you're at 8 tracks or higher... then the limitations become far less notable than they are with a 4 track.

 

I suspect Giles went back to the unbounced tracks and compiled everything, then mixed it from those tracks, as opposed to using the bounced four track master.

 

I haven't heard it yet... was thinking about waiting until June 2, which will be exactly 50 years since I heard the original (stereo - which was bigger here in the USA at the time than it was in the UK, as has already been pointed out) mixes.

[gubu]

 

 

Everybody is entitled to an opinion; but you're so wrong it's not even funny. The original stereo mixes for Pepper were goofy. That panning was terrible.

 

Listen to the original stereo mix of Within You, Without You, and the remixed version, one after the other, and tell me which one is the better mix, and listening experience.

 

One or two of the tracks sound 'different' in a marginally interesting way - LSD and ADitL spring to mind. But the rest of it is pure schlock. May as well listen to Miley Cyrus.

 

And that's not to denigrate Giles Martin, or his chops. I WISH I could get a gig mixing Miley Cyrus.

 

The fact is that the record was already a perfect piece of art, funky panning and all. There is a polish on the remixes that rather dulls the raw and realistic sonics of things like George's guitars and Paul's bass playing. That rawness is part of what made the record so great in the first place. It's immediate, and Sir George's arrangements and mixes (ably informed and assisted by the band themselves) only serve to highlight the pop genius that the 4 of them were able to achieve together from their basic skiffle band fundamentals.

 

I've nothing against reworkings or reinterpretations of great art at all (Dub Side of the Moon and the Rodeohead medley spring to mind as two great examples), but these remixes just don't do it for me.

 

Maybe I need to put on my flares, drop some acid, and listen to the 5.1 versions.

[E-money]

 

Listen to the original stereo mix of Within You, Without You, and the remixed version, one after the other, and tell me which one is the better mix, and listening experience.

 

One or two of the tracks sound 'different' in a marginally interesting way - LSD and ADitL spring to mind. But the rest of it is pure schlock. May as well listen to Miley Cyrus.

 

And that's not to denigrate Giles Martin, or his chops. I WISH I could get a gig mixing Miley Cyrus.

 

The fact is that the record was already a perfect piece of art, funky panning and all. There is a polish on the remixes that rather dulls the raw and realistic sonics of things like George's guitars and Paul's bass playing. That rawness is part of what made the record so great in the first place. It's immediate, and Sir George's arrangements and mixes (ably informed and assisted by the band themselves) only serve to highlight the pop genius that the 4 of them were able to achieve together from their basic skiffle band fundamentals.

 

I've nothing against reworkings or reinterpretations of great art at all (Dub Side of the Moon and the Rodeohead medley spring to mind as two great examples), but these remixes just don't do it for me.

 

Maybe I need to put on my flares, drop some acid, and listen to the 5.1 versions.

 

Nope, just get your ears checked. Old age is a bitch.

 

[gubu]

 

[Vito Corleone]

 

Listen to the original stereo mix of Within You, Without You, and the remixed version, one after the other, and tell me which one is the better mix, and listening experience.

 

One or two of the tracks sound 'different' in a marginally interesting way - LSD and ADitL spring to mind. But the rest of it is pure schlock. May as well listen to Miley Cyrus.

 

And that's not to denigrate Giles Martin, or his chops. I WISH I could get a gig mixing Miley Cyrus.

 

The fact is that the record was already a perfect piece of art, funky panning and all. There is a polish on the remixes that rather dulls the raw and realistic sonics of things like George's guitars and Paul's bass playing. That rawness is part of what made the record so great in the first place. It's immediate, and Sir George's arrangements and mixes (ably informed and assisted by the band themselves) only serve to highlight the pop genius that the 4 of them were able to achieve together from their basic skiffle band fundamentals.

 

I've nothing against reworkings or reinterpretations of great art at all (Dub Side of the Moon and the Rodeohead medley spring to mind as two great examples), but these remixes just don't do it for me at all.

 

Maybe I need to put on my flares, drop some acid, and listen to the 5.1 versions.

 

Actually, the stereo mix was never a "perfect piece of art" and that was part of the problem. It was the mix most of us grew up with, but it was never exactly what the artist intended. This is an attempt to get back to that original intent, to some degree, while modernizing the sound a bit.

 

The band didn't "ably assist" on the stereo mix BTW. They were there for the mono but not for the stereo. Also, the engineers spent something like three weeks for the mono mix and then three days on the stereo

 

For some people with 50 years of listening to one mix, anything else will be sacrilege. I have never liked the stereo remixes of Help! and Rubber Soul that were made in 1987 even though my objective self knows that they are, in many ways, superior.

 

For me, the new mix is jarring at times, but the increases in clarity and detail makes me a new fan of the album.

 

As far as the surround mix goes? Depends on your tastes and expectations. Personally I would have pushed the limits further. Surround fans are a niche market anyway, so why not be more aggressive to please them?

 

But, Within You, Without You is a stand out track in surround. With the Indian instruments in the front and the orchestra in the rears, its sounds great cranked way up. It sounds like I'm sitting right next to the sitar player

 

The surround mixes of A Day In The Life and Strawberry Fields Forever are also quite good.