The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's 50th Anniversary (Content, Sound Quality & Discussion Thread Only!)

OMG, Noooooooo. Must keep all controls cranked to 10 at all times, 11 if your amp goes that high Ron

 

FINALLY with Sgt Pepper's 2CD set in hands, and for my surprise, here, Universal just import the UK version, but thank God, this edition is wonderful.

 

It is a packing case, as reported in the sleevenotes.

 

But in the recording there are just drums. The sleevenotes must be wrong.

Edit: there is a strange tapping sound in I'll Follow The Sun and no drums, that could be the suitcase. I guess the sleevenotes just confused the two songs.

Ondra

 

Growing hate for this remix. Predictable as the 'uncompressed' vinyl version verges on pretty awful. Even if Kite was the only track they ruined that would still make it unacceptable to me. The feel and atmosphere is just squeezed out of the recording.

 

I'm playing the stereo version* right now and I can clearly hear, as I’ve always been able to, a percussive sound which is clearly something other than a drum kit. It was said that this was to emulate the sound of Holly’s 'Everyday'. What I am however at pains to hear is are drums (which return in force for the next track 'Honey Don't).


*From the 1973 Made in France (for UK) pressing, which sports YEX142 and YEX 143 -1 and sounds wonderful.

 

OK, I know what you mean.
The normal drums are in the left channel. It's just bass drum, hi-hat and snare drum (with some muffling just like in What You're Doing).
There are some overdubbed percussions in the center. These emulate the sound of Holly's Everyday as they also play on beats. Always sounded like handclaps to me, but maybe that is the suitcase.

BTW, that 1973 Made In France Beatles For Sale stereo LP is my only source for the tube cut! It really does sound wonderful.

Ondra

 

Yep. Over a year I managed to track down each and every one of those Pathé Marconi pressings and now have the whole collection. They all sound pretty great especially The Beatles. Strangely, the only disappointment were the harder to find Red and Blue compilations which clearly did not use British plates and sound woeful.

 

(Edit: I hadn't seen some of the above messages before I posted this.)

I've seen it mentioned several times that Ringo played both drums and "suitcase" on "Words of Love". Some sources say "packing case." The only reference I can locate at the moment is from the "Beatles Bible" (which may or may not be gospel truth. ):

"Words Of Love was the final song recorded on 18 October 1964, during which they recorded seven songs in nine hours in a rush to finish the album. The Beatles recorded the song in two takes, along with a vocal overdub. Ringo Starr played a suitcase along with his drums, in homage to Jerry Allison's performance on Holly's Everyday."

Anyway, back to the pleasant and soothing Sgt Pepper remix discussion!

 

Unfortunately, that is not the case. :/

 

This is not necessarily true. Other forums do have a substantial amount of negative comments. I would also suggest that most people making comments on this forum have equipment that is working properly. Just saying.......
P.s. Count me as one who doesn't understand this particular mix. 5.1 mix to be more specific.

 

That's because this here is the best audiophile forum, so the standards are higher.

 

This remix is HEAVY. The bass is booming and Ringo's drums pound like never before. The guitars rock hard. All the instruments fight for attention, like they're trying to outdo each other. I actually like some heavy rock and some metal as well. This album overwhelmed my senses and I quickly became fatigued listening to it. I can get though 2 songs and then I'm done. In my mind the Beatles were not a heavy rock band. They were pop rock and rock n roll but not heavy rock. Just my 2 cents.

 

Ooh be careful with such pronouncements. Some of the more vocal folks here have no gear profile listed and under forum etiquette rules should refrain from talking about audio standards (praise or condemnation) . That being said, some of the forum's very best are obviously not thrilled with the stereo remix. I have much respect for those who state their opinion clearly and without resorting to over-the-top hyperbole. When members say that the remix is amateurish or a hack job it goes well beyond the pale. Ron

PS The 5.1 mix is well-done, but not nearly as adventurous as it could have been. Of course, if Giles went crazy with the 5.1 remix, folks would bemoan that too. He's really in an unenviable position.

 

That's the very thing I really like about this remix. It brings to light what a great rock band The Beatles actually were. It's not heavy metal (at least not to my ears), but yes, they always were a rock band and this mix brings that out nicely.

 

Oh, when I first listened to "Walrus" I noticed immediately the fake-stereo effect from the "garden szene" onwards. (It probably was not the real Duophonic process, but an immitation of it done at Abbey Road.)
I always liked this effect, because in this song it adds to the "psychodelic" pheel of the song.

Only later I learned that this effect was not made there for purpose, but just out of necessity and because of the need for a stereo re-mix, when for that section only a mono mix existed at all.

But I still like that "fake-stereo" effect there. The sound is muddled, no clear stereo image, and one cannot distinguish the instruments, like in the true stereo section before, but it adds to the feel of the song.

Best regards

 

Maybe not Pepper but...

Helter Skelter
Polythene Pam
I Want You
Yer Blues

etc

 

That was why, I suggested earlier in this thread: Why not include an "adventurous" 5.1 mix, alongside a conservative 5.1 up-mix of the stereo mix, together on the DVDs or Blu Rays? There should be plenty of storage capacity available for numerous mixes and re-mixes...

Best regards.

 

No, really.

The Beatles were nothing like a heavy metal band. Not even a hard rock band. Hell, just listen to the Who, and you will know what a Hard Rock Band sounds like.

Hardness of rock, is not a qualifier for quality of music, though. That's why I don't care.
I like the Beatles for their tunes and chord changes, and for some of their lyrics.
But, I don't buy into the misapprehension they were a real rock band, or even a hard rock band.

Best regards

 

By that measure, then for all these years I must have aurally hallucinated the many beautiful, gentle or oddball Who tracks like Sunrise, Behind Blue Eyes and Boris the Spider, as they surely don't exist.

 

Oh, I didn't want to insult your feelings.

From what I heard on records and recordings from live shows or concerts...

If you were asked to name a prototype hard rock band of the 60s, you'd name the Who. (Or similar bands.)
If you were asked to name a prototype heavy metal band, maybe you'd name the "Led Zepplin".
And so on...
The typical freak-out band probably was Jimi Hendrix or Zappa.

The Beatles... they started too early. They'd play each night on the Reeperbahn for months before the'd aquired their recording contract with EMI.
They'd learned how to do stage shows out of nothing; how to play songs they hardly knew. They'd learned a lot of songs of the rock'n'roll period, as well as "schlager" and pop songs.
When they signed with EMI, they already had some hundreds or even thousends of hours of live performances behind them.

Just listen to "I feel fine":
It starts off with a nice clever guitar lick.
Then, the drums set in. They play nothing like the standard hard rock beat. But an elegant clever off-beat-on-beat combination.
The vocal tune: Of course, it is divided in lines. You sing one line, then you take a breath (and a pause), then you sing the next line. For most songs, it's just a repeat or a slight variation of the first line.
Note, that for this song, the line is longer than usual, and there's not much repetition in that line.
So, the melody, the tune, is much more elegant and more cleverly constructed than most pop or rock songs of the time.

That's why I like Beatles tunes. And that's why I cannot count the Beatles as a "Rock Band". No, they are a "Beat Band".

Best regards

 

That would have been wonderful! Unfortunately, my acquaintances at Abbey Road Studios take their directive from Apple and to a lesser degree from Universal and they weren't given that task. Too bad really. Maybe a more adventurous mix awaits the next film project? To be honest, I would have rather got a revamped, 50th Anniversary "Summer Of Love" multi-disc project than a Super Pepper Set, but if that happened I doubt we would have got 2 discs worth of outtakes. A set like this would probably have been fashioned after the Love set. A 2 CD set offering stereo and 5.1 remixes, probably with a Bluray/DVD with videos and hi-rez mixes. A 50th Anniversary for the "Summer Of Love" will never happen now... such is the nature of these "anniversary" sets. Ron

 

Hard rock band, not really. Real rock band, absolutely!

 

Could be I Need You. There is also a snare overdub on Leave My Kitten Alone if i remember correctly. (which must've been the first time they did it).
Another contender could be Another Girl.