It was forty years ago today ...

Why is The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" still the most important album ever made? Sure, it fairly reeks of pot smoke and teeth-clenching LSD drops. It is the hallmark and to some extent the nadir of the hippie culture that ultimately failed completely to change anything. Hell, it isn't even the best Beatles' album, so what's the big deal?

Well, first, it changed rock music from pop to art. By pushing their profoundly dense and stupendous talents, skills, and imaginations, The Beatles decided to push the studio as far as it could go. They basically invented most every single recording technique that musicians and listeners take totally for granted. Sure, they weren't the first to do many things in this little arsenal of technical wizardry. As far back as the late 50s musicians were double tracking vocals, etc. But, the Beatles used the considerably wonderful studio at EMI as an instrument itself, creating something that could only be created on stage ... many years after it was recorded in the studio. (Paul will frequently recreate these sounds with "Wix," the keyboard wiz, on stage ... but that exists mainly as recordings).

It isn't the greatest concept album ever, either. It's actually not a concept album in almost everyway. As John said, "It worked because we said it worked." And, really that is how it should be remembered: The Beatles at the height of their popularity and power and creativity.

Track for track, this record doesn't really give you the impression of what it all means, apart from the twisted brilliance of "A Day in a Life" ... which still stands as one of the most amazing pieces of music of all time. From opening listesslessness, to Ringo's incredible drumming (Phil Collins said, "How do you fill a song like 'A Day in a Life'?"), to the mind blowing 4-layers (recorded 4 times on tape) of an orchestra just playing a rising cacophony of insanity.

The music is not only good, but actually sophisticated, even for the Beatles. No band today ... and I stand by this ... could have done what the Beatles did in 1964, i.e., stand on stage and sing in 3-part harmony with little amplifiers and no effects ... flash-forward 3 years and these proficient players and prolific song-writers wanted to make something more than a mere pop phenomenon. In fact, it's almost a pity that the hippie movement came to pass, because it ties the music to something which is fundamentally idiotic.

The many many times I've listened to this album has only given me more inspiration. I have read The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970 by Mark Lewisohn so many times that it has become my bible.



It recounts in tiny detail each thing put on tape and how, at times, The Beatles themselves made the technicians "invent" things to do what they had in their heads. For me, it was the roadmap for learning how to record music.

But, even if you don't care about when Paul dubbed a bass line on such and such track, or when the technicians had to link up several 4-track machines to get more sound out of the primitive equipment, all the listener needs to do ... is listen. Pick out Paul's bassline and you will realize that no one ever played bass like that. Pick out the harmonies and realize that this is more than just pop music. Listen to the imaginative, almost child-like lyrics and you will hear that this is much more than an ode to childhood or a hippie mantra. This is art.

And, like Bach or Beethoven, will live on for hundreds of years.