Comment: Sgt Pepper鈥檚 at 50 Published on: 25 May 2017 Dr Adam Behr is among The Conversation panel of experts providing their perspectives on The Beatles鈥� Sgt Pepper鈥檚 Lonely Hearts Club Band, which turns 50 on June 1. Sgt Pepper鈥檚 Lonely Hearts Club Band : is this the best popular music has to offer? , , ; , ; , ; , ; , , and , The Beatles鈥� Sgt Pepper鈥檚 Lonely Hearts Club Band turns 50 on June 1 and the anniversary of this legendary album will be . But has this classic work - named by Rolling Stone - stood the test of time? We asked six writers for their perspectives. More than just mythology While the cultural impact of Sgt Pepper鈥檚 Lonely Hearts Club Band is hard to ignore, 鈥済reatest of all time鈥� debates have the potential to obfuscate as much as clarify. White noise over Sgt Pepper鈥檚 place in some kind of dubious canon distracts us from its musical qualities, and its well-documented radical experimentation can be over-hyped in the melee. Thankfully, there鈥檚 more to the album than novelty and mythology. Sgt Pepper鈥檚 outsized reputation stems partly from the sense that it paved the way for rock and pop鈥檚 subsequent expansion into more 鈥渓ofty鈥� realms of artistic expression. The album captured the world鈥檚 imagination thanks to its central conceit (the band鈥檚 alter ego that in truth only relates to the first two songs plus a reprise near the end), the creativity and variety of its psychedelic song-writing, production techniques and striking cover art, and its bold forays into territory such as avant-garde and Hindustani classical music. Yet for an album considered so forward-looking, it drew heavily on its time, place and even past. Frequently (and somewhat ) labelled the first 鈥渃oncept album鈥�, Sgt Pepper鈥檚 was not so much a trailblazing bolt from the blue as a direct response to the Beach Boys鈥� brilliant (1966) - itself inspired by the Beatles鈥� Rubber Soul, (1965). While the album鈥檚 palpable drug-haze augured the 鈥淪ummer of Love鈥�, the Edwardian flavour of the eponymous military/variety band thread could hardly be more disjunct with the times (at least on the surface). Both When I鈥檓 Sixty-Four and She鈥檚 Leaving Home are imbued with affection and empathy for older generations, a decided break from the norm in 1960s rock and pop. Perhaps due to the combination of such idiosyncrasies with genuine experimentalism, the idea prevails that Sgt Pepper鈥檚 value lies in a perceived contribution to advancing musical 鈥減rogress鈥�. Some critics detect pretension and a kind of clinically manufactured zaniness to the whole project. So it鈥檚 worth examining at least one track - the very last one, A Day in the Life - to find something from the world of emotion in Sgt Pepper. Famously a hybrid of two separate song ideas 鈥� the melancholic opening coming from John Lennon, the middle section from Paul McCartney 鈥� the song is widely considered the album鈥檚 best. Its epic feel arises from the juxtaposition of contrasting mood and tempo, along with the experimental 鈥渆nd of the world鈥� orchestral crescendos and the ten-hand/four-keyboard power chord that closes the album. While inventive within the context of commercial music at the time, these novel elements alone fail to explain our constant returning to the song. It could equally be subtleties such as the way Lennon鈥檚 poignant lyrics, drawn from a newspaper, manage to evoke the universal through the particular. It could be the opening melody circling through a major-minor progression (bright to pensive), the sadder harmonies corresponding to wilting lyrics such as 鈥淚 read the news today, oh boy鈥�, or the way Ringo Starr鈥檚 sensitive drum fills seem as much concerned with gently reflecting the text as laying down a beat. For this listener, these countless details of songcraft put Sgt Pepper鈥檚 into a category of music that never gets old, tired or boring - ultimately, the most likely reason for its longevity. -Liam Viney Can we please move on? Sgt Pepper鈥檚 is a very good album. I like it; most people like it. It was undeniably innovative, and helped to change the idea of what a rock album could do. That said, the way this album, and this band, along with a small group of their (white, male) peers from the same era, have come to dominate the rock canon and discussions of what constitutes good music needs to be challenged. The famous Sgt Pepper鈥檚 album cover. The constant refrain that this is the best that popular music has to offer not only erases the African influences that led to The Beatles in the first place, but serves to devalue everything that has come since. The fact that we return so often to this band, and this era, also means there is so much less space for the music of today鈥檚 youth. It is often said these days that rock is dead, or at least dying, and our increasing tendency to look backwards musically, and to fetishise the past, is part of what has brought this about. The initial spirit of rock and roll was supposed to be about rebellion, change, and a celebration of not doing things the way they had always been done. But the deification of The Beatles is the opposite of this. No band could possibly be as good as the myth of The Beatles has made them out to be. It鈥檚 time to find some other music to talk about. -Catherine Strong Forever young Fifty years since the release of Sgt Pepper鈥檚, The Beatles continue to attract new fans. Though their role as contemporary symbols of youth culture has long since passed, one of the band鈥檚 most significant legacies is how their music, style, and sensibilities continue to encapsulate the verities and complexities of 鈥渂eing young鈥�. It is this album that showcases that legacy most eloquently. Though Sgt Pepper鈥檚 reflects the ethos of 1967, the reveries of youth spring eternal through its songs. Young people鈥檚 search for both belonging and independence sound out in With a Little Help From My Friends and She鈥檚 Leaving Home. The psychedelia of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and A Day in the Life mirror the fearlessness of youthful adventure and risk-taking. Questions of identity and life鈥檚 meaning (present and future tense) are expressed in the wildly different Within You Without You and When I鈥檓 Sixty-Four. And just as Getting Better speaks to the optimism of youth, Good Morning Good Morning depicts the presumed dullness of adult life. Trailer for the 2007 film Across the Universe, which is built around Beatles鈥� songs. These ideals and imaginings are embedded in a diverse soundscape that encompasses the carnivalesque and the sober; the flirtatious and fantastical. The inclusion of and notes that seem to echo forever demonstrates this experimentation best. Such sonic explorations created 鈥測oung sounds鈥� that endure. As a Gen-X Beatles fan, this was the first of their LPs that I heard and it remains one of my favourites. As a youth culture scholar, it is clear to me that this album speaks a language that translates across the generations. So whether 17 or 70, today鈥檚 Beatles enthusiasts are all part of Sgt Pepper鈥檚 band. -Christine Feldman-Barrett A change blowing in the wind Sgt Pepper鈥檚 1967 release represented, as 鈥減op鈥檚 slow climb out of a cultural ghetto鈥�. This explosion of musical colour was significant in foregrounding the album as a statement of artistic intent. The creative strides that the Beatles made were an apogee of a larger shift that also saw musicians making use of the studio as a creative tool, not just a place to set down their songs. Sgt Pepper is, however, also an important illustration of a wider cultural and political context. Changes in education saw the rising influence of , with popular musicians conceiving of what they did as more than just entertainment. As post-war austerity (and national service) receded, the 鈥淪ummer of Love鈥� also aligned with the ascendancy of a more open, political culture and came amid Harold Wilson鈥檚 socially reforming government. 1967 saw the , the legalisation of following on from 1965鈥檚 abolition of the death penalty and Wilson鈥檚 attempt to take Britain into the European Economic Community. Sgt Pepper鈥檚 success was in hooking this forward-looking attitude to a sense of the past. The mysticism of Within You Without You and overt psychedelia of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds sat alongside echoes of music hall and cross-generationally accessible songs such as When I鈥檓 Sixty Four. Its experimentalism pushed forward pop鈥檚 boundaries but simultaneously spoke to a country that was shaking off the dustier aspects of a more deferential and restrictive post-war culture. As John Lennon was : Whatever wind was blowing at the time moved the Beatles too. I鈥檓 not saying we weren鈥檛 the flags on the top of the ship. But the whole boat was moving. -Adam Behr A still powerful concept In December last year, I purchased a record player for my wife as a birthday present. It had been two decades since I owned one. Buying vinyl is a very different experience from CD: the art counts. It鈥檚 the classic listening experience of this format that contrasts with CDs, playlists and even streaming services, which now invite songs to be skipped and shuffled out of their original order. The key to vinyl is that we listen to the album the way the artist intends: the order matters to the musical and lyrical story that unfolds. This was certainly the case when The Beatles released Sgt Peppers. What makes a concept album is a larger meaning that unifies the order and themes of the music. The collection is more than simply a range of individual tracks. Concept albums became a scarce commodity as vinyl sales all but evaporated with the rise of digital. But with vinyl鈥檚 recent resurgence, we are reminded that music can still be presented as an immersive story. In Sgt Pepper鈥檚, The Beatles take us on this rather experimental journey 鈥� perhaps more so because it was never meant to be toured. (The band actually planned to stop at the conclusion of their final August 1966 US tour after tensions were mounting). The reprisal of its title track towards the album鈥檚 close (known as bookending), and the thematic 鈥渕ilitary band鈥� alter egos walk us through the album鈥檚 various stages. Listening to it, you can sense the specificity of the concept they imagined. Now, 50 years on, it is no less powerful. -James Arvanitakis The album as (dated) art If Sgt Pepper鈥檚 towers over the landscape of modern music, it鈥檚 not as the pinnacle of pop. It鈥檚 for predicting progressive rock: that loose genre praised and derided in equal measure for its musical, lyrical and, importantly, visual concept albums. Its lush arrangements and overwrought production, along with its celebrated album art, pointed the way to the sights and sounds of the Moody Blues, Yes and Genesis. But Sgt Pepper鈥檚 concept is thin and was actually contrived after recording commenced. Its elusive Edwardian threads connect only the title track and its reprise to the vivid circus imagery of Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite! and the fusty When I鈥檓 Sixty-Four, but are woven large by designers Sir Peter Blake and Jann Haworths and donned by the band on its cover. The vinyl and album art for Sgt. Pepper鈥檚. , The sleeve鈥檚 gatefold cover with lyrics was an immersive canvas that invited train-spottery. In matching visual detail to multi-layered sounds, the concept of connecting audio to art soon became de rigueur. The big bands of the 70s were especially monogamous with their preferred designers: Pink Floyd had Hipgnosis; Yes had Roger Dean. However, the sleeve-as-canvas was mortally wounded by the introduction of the CD in 1982. The rise of the immaterial MP3 then delivered the fatal blow. Sgt Pepper鈥檚 visual imagery has not survived these ravages well. Rather, Pink Floyd鈥檚 Dark Side of the Moon 鈥� which owes a massive audio engineering debt to The Beatles 鈥� bears a comparatively simple sleeve that predicted the nexus of shrunken packaging and time poverty. Sgt Pepper鈥檚 cover was nostalgic in its own day, but it鈥檚 merely obscure and arcane now. - Stuart Medley The Beatles will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sgt Pepper鈥檚 Lonely Hearts Club Band with on May 26th. The authors of this piece will be available from 11am to answer your questions - post them below , Piano Performance Fellow, ; , Lecturer in Popular and Contemporary Music, ; , Senior Lecturer, Music Industry, ; , Lecturer in Cultural Sociology, ; , Professor in Cultural and Social Analysis, , and , Associate professor, Design, This article was originally published on . Read the . 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