Pepper Press release
THE BEATLES CELEBRATE ‘SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND’
WITH SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY EDITION RELEASES
‘Sgt. Pepper’ Presented with New Mixes in Stereo and 5.1 Surround Audio; Expanded with Previously Unreleased Session Recordings, Video Features & Special Packaging
Previously Unreleased 1992 Documentary Film, ‘The Making of Sgt. Pepper,’ Restored for Anniversary Edition’s Super Deluxe Boxed Set
London – April 5, 2017 – It was 50 years ago this June 1st when The Beatles’ John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr astonished and delighted the world, ushering in the Summer of Love with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, a groundbreaking masterwork that became popular music’s most universally acclaimed album. To salute the occasion, The Beatles will release a suite of lavishly presented ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Anniversary Edition packages on May 26 (Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe). The album is newly mixed by Giles Martin and Sam Okell in stereo and 5.1 surround audio and expanded with early takes from the studio sessions, including no fewer than 34 previously unreleased recordings.
“It’s crazy to think that 50 years later we are looking back on this project with such fondness and a little bit of amazement at how four guys, a great producer and his engineers could make such a lasting piece of art,” says Paul McCartney in his newly-penned introduction for the ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Anniversary Edition.
“‘Sgt. Pepper’ seemed to capture the mood of that year, and it also allowed a lot of other people to kick off from there and to really go for it,” Ringo Starr recalls in the Anniversary Edition’s book.
For Record Store Day on April 22, Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe will release an exclusive, limited edition seven-inch vinyl single of The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane,” among the first songs recorded during the ‘Sgt. Pepper’ sessions, which began in November 1966. Rather than being held for inclusion on the album, the two songs were released as a double A-sided single in February 1967. Amidst intense media speculation about the band’s next move, the single bridged what was then considered a long gap between the Revolver album, released in August 1966, and ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ which followed 10 months later.
This is the first time Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band has been remixed and presented with additional session recordings, and it is the first Beatles album to be remixed and expanded since the 2003 release of Let It Be… Naked. To create the new stereo and 5.1 surround audio mixes for ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell worked with an expert team of engineers and audio restoration specialists at Abbey Road Studios in London. All of the Anniversary Edition releases include Martin’s new stereo mix of the album, which was sourced directly from the original four-track session tapes and guided by the original, Beatles-preferred mono mix produced by his father, George Martin.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Anniversary Edition releases include:
A CD featuring the new ‘Sgt. Pepper’ stereo mix, complete with the original U.K. album’s “Edit for LP End” run-out groove.
Deluxe: Expanded 2CD and digital package features the new stereo album mix on the first CD and adds a second CD of 18 tracks, including previously unreleased complete takes of the album’s 13 songs, newly mixed in stereo and sequenced in the same order as the album. The second CD also includes a new stereo mix and a previously unreleased instrumental take of “Penny Lane” and the 2015 stereo mix and two previously unreleased complete takes of “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
Deluxe Vinyl: Expanded 180-gram 2LP vinyl package features the new stereo album mix on the first LP and adds a second LP with previously unreleased complete takes of the album’s 13 songs, newly mixed in stereo and sequenced in the same order as the album.
Super Deluxe: The comprehensive six-disc boxed set features:
CD 1: New stereo album mix
CDs 2 & 3:
– 33 additional recordings from the studio sessions, most previously unreleased and mixed for the first time from the four-track session tapes, sequenced in chronological order of their recording dates
– A new stereo mix of “Penny Lane” and the 2015 stereo mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
CD 4:
– Direct transfers of the album’s original mono mix and the “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” singles
– Capitol Records’ U.S. promotional mono single mix of “Penny Lane”
– Previously unreleased early mono mixes of “She’s Leaving Home,” “A Day In The Life,” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” (a mix thought to have been erased from a tape in 1967, but discovered during archive research for the anniversary edition)
Discs 5 & 6 (Blu-ray and DVD):
– New 5.1 surround audio mixes of the album and “Penny Lane” by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, plus their 2015 5.1 surround mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
– High resolution audio versions of the new stereo mixes of the album and “Penny Lane” and of the 2015 stereo mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
– Video features: 4K restored original promotional films for “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lane,” and “A Day In The Life;” plus The Making of Sgt. Pepper, a restored, previously unreleased documentary film (broadcast in 1992), featuring insightful interviews with McCartney, Harrison, and Starr, and in-studio footage introduced by George Martin.
– “A splendid time is guaranteed for all” –
The album’s vibrant artwork, including its extravagant Pop Art cover which finds The Beatles surrounded by a crowd of heroes in a 3D collage, was created by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth in collaboration with the band. The original artwork is showcased across the suite of Anniversary Edition releases, including the album’s pull-out sheet of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ cutouts. Housed in a 12-inch by 12-inch box with lenticular artwork and two bonus posters, the six-disc Super Deluxe set is presented with a 144-page hardcover book. The book includes new introductions by Paul McCartney and Giles Martin, and chapters covering comprehensive song-by-song details and recording information, the design of the cover, the album’s musical innovations and its historical context by Beatles historian, author and radio producer Kevin Howlett; composer and musicologist Howard Goodall; music producer and writer Joe Boyd; and journalists Ed Vulliamy and Jeff Slate, illustrated with rare photographs, reproductions of handwritten lyrics, Abbey Road Studios documentation, and original ‘Sgt. Pepper’ print ads. The Deluxe 2CD digipak is slipcased with a 50-page booklet abridged from the box set’s book, and the 2LP Deluxe Vinyl is presented in a faithful reproduction of the album’s original gatefold jacket.
– “We hope you will enjoy the show” –
Just as many ideas are sparked by chance, ‘Sgt. Pepper’ first sprang from a conversation between Paul and Beatles roadie Mal Evans on an airplane, when Mal’s request to pass the salt and pepper was misheard by Paul as “Sgt. Pepper.” The concept of who such a figure could be took root in Paul’s mind, blooming with the imagination of The Beatles as an Edwardian era military band — “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The Beatles’ creative wellspring for ‘Sgt. Pepper’ also flowed from such myriad sources as The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album, a Victorian circus poster (“Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!”), a TV commercial for breakfast cereal (“Good Morning Good Morning”), a picture drawn by John’s young son, Julian (“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”), a teen runaway reported in the news (“She’s Leaving Home’), and Hindu teachings (“Within You Without You”).
– “Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song” –
Using the standard four-track tape recording equipment of the day, The Beatles collaborated with producer George Martin to achieve “the impossible,” as they dubbed it, to go as far out as they could with arrangements and new technology to realize their collective vision for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. As George Martin described it, “We were into another kind of art form where you were putting something down on tape that could only be done on tape.” The Beatles clocked more than 400 hours in Abbey Road’s Studio 2 to record the album, wrapping sessions in April 1967.
– “I read the news today oh boy” –
Upon its release on June 1, 1967, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band initially spent 148 weeks in the British chart, including a total of 27 weeks at number one. During its first U.S. chart run, the album held the number one spot for 15 of the 88 weeks it appeared in the Top 200. ‘Sgt. Pepper’ won four GRAMMY Awards®, including Album of the Year, and it remains one of the most influential and bestselling albums of all time. In 2003, the U.S. Library of Congress selected ‘Sgt. Pepper’ for the National Recording Registry, recognizing the album as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” ‘Sgt. Pepper’ tops Rolling Stone magazine’s definitive list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Anniversary Edition
Tracklists
CD
(‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix)
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
4. Getting Better
5. Fixing A Hole
6. She’s Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
8. Within You Without You
9. When I’m Sixty-Four
10. Lovely Rita
11. Good Morning Good Morning
12. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
13. A Day In The Life
Deluxe [2CD, digital]
CD 1: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix (same as single-disc CD tracklist, above)
CD 2: Complete early takes from the sessions in the same sequence as the album, plus various versions of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane”
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 9]
2. With A Little Help From My Friends [Take 1 – False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental]
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Take 1]
4. Getting Better [Take 1 – Instrumental And Speech At The End]
5. Fixing A Hole [Speech And Take 3]
6. She’s Leaving Home [Take 1 – Instrumental]
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! [Take 4]
8. Within You Without You [Take 1 – Indian Instruments]
9. When I’m Sixty-Four [Take 2]
10. Lovely Rita [Speech And Take 9]
11. Good Morning Good Morning [Take 8]
12. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) [Take 8]
13. A Day In The Life [Take 1 With Hummed Last Chord]
14. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 7]
15. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 26]
16. Strawberry Fields Forever [Stereo Mix – 2015]
17. Penny Lane [Take 6 – Instrumental]
18. Penny Lane [Stereo Mix – 2017]
Deluxe Vinyl [180g 2LP]
LP 1: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix (same as single-disc CD tracklist, above)
SIDE 1 SIDE 2
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 1. Within You Without You
2. With A Little Help From My Friends 2. When I’m Sixty-Four
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 3. Lovely Rita
4. Getting Better 4. Good Morning Good Morning
5. Fixing A Hole 5. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
6. She’s Leaving Home 6. A Day In The Life
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
LP 2: Complete early takes from the sessions in the same sequence as the album
SIDE 3
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 9 And Speech]
2. With A Little Help From My Friends [Take 1 – False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental]
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Take 1]
4. Getting Better [Take 1 – Instrumental And Speech At The End]
5. Fixing A Hole [Speech And Take 3]
6. She’s Leaving Home [Take 1 – Instrumental]
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! [Take 4]
SIDE 4
1. Within You Without You [Take 1 – Indian Instruments]
2. When I’m Sixty-Four [Take 2]
3. Lovely Rita [Speech And Take 9]
4. Good Morning Good Morning [Take 8]
5. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) [Take 8]
6. A Day In The Life [Take 1 With Hummed Last Chord]
Super Deluxe [4CD/DVD/Blu-ray boxed set]
CD 1: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix (same as single-disc CD tracklist, above)
CD 2: Complete early takes from the sessions, sequenced in chronological order of their first recording dates
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]
CD 3: Complete early takes from the sessions, sequenced in chronological order of their first recording dates
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 – Instrumental]
15. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) [Speech And Take 8]
CD 4: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and bonus tracks in Mono
(Tracks 1-13: 2017 Direct Transfer of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Original Mono Mix)
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]
DISCS 5 & 6 (Blu-ray & DVD)
Audio Features (both discs):
– New 5.1 Surround Audio mixes of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ album and “Penny Lane,” plus 2015 5.1 Surround mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever” (Blu-ray: DTS HD Master Audio 5.1, Dolby True HD 5.1 / DVD: DTS Dolby Digital 5.1)
– High Resolution Audio versions of 2017 ‘Sgt. Pepper’ stereo mix and 2017 “Penny Lane” stereo mix, plus 2015 “Strawberry Fields Forever” hi res stereo mix (Blu-ray: LPCM Stereo 96KHz/24bit / DVD: LPCM Stereo)
Video Features (both discs):
– The Making of Sgt. Pepper [restored 1992 documentary film, previously unreleased]
– Promotional Films: “A Day In The Life;” “Strawberry Fields Forever;” “Penny Lane” [4K restored]
Trailer for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Anniversary Edition:
https://TheBeatles.lnk.to/SgtPepperAnniversaryTrailer
#SgtPepper
Carnival of Light, what a great another missed opportunity.
I hope I not hear again the same takes of A Day in the Life (sugar plum fairy). Disappointing
Well, most of the outtakes came out in the Anthology 2, have a good day!
i think these are not the same tracks from anthology 2.
these are complete takes. i'm thinking of a day in the life take 1 and 2, which were mixed with other takes in the anthology.
when i'm 64, lovely rita, fixing a hole, getting better, she's leaving home and sgt pepper (not the reprise version) are debuting as outtake releases.
"Good Morning Good Morning" [Take 8] and "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" [Take 7] same tracks from Anthology 2
People will be surprised about this box set. Giles and Sam did a wonderful job. Not the same tracks (or quality) as Anthology. Carnival of Light: you dont't want to hear that. It is really just as awful as George Harrison said: "avant garde a clue" and Avant garde was "French for bullshit"
ONLY A NORTHERN SONG – basic recording- 13 Feb 1967
Maybe 'Carnival Of Light' isn't worth putting out? If it's as bad as(or worse than) 'Revolution 9' then why bother? Hari usually knew what was what…
A shame Granada TV's 'It Was Twenty Years Ago Today' isn't on the DVD. A wonderful insight into Pepper and those times. Also hope the set is dedicated to Sir George Martin…
That would be a little tricky, since it isn't strictly just The Beatles…there's other group's on there, and that would require a lotta licensing…still, it should get it's own DVD/Blu-Ray release…
Tracks that were released on Anthology 2:
– Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 1)
– Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 7 + Edit Piece)
– Penny Lane (I think it's take 9, but I'm not to sure)
– A Day In The Life (Take 1, 2, 6, & Orchestra Overdub)
– Good Morning Good Morning (Take 8)
– Only A Northern Song (Takes 3 & 12) [Not issued here]
– Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (Takes 1 & 2)
– Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (Take 7)
– Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (Takes 6, 7 & 8)
– Within You Without You (Instrumental)
– Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Take 5)
Outtakes found on bootlegs:
– Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 4)
– Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 26)
– Penny Lane (Overdub Session)
– Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 9)
The rest of the outtakes have never been released. Officially or on bootlegs. I hope this helps 🙂
Thank you @TheBeatlesFanatic342.
You might also saw: beatlesheadlines.blogspot.nl/2017/04/why-you-may-want-to-buy-2-cd-or-vinyl.html?utm_source&utm_medium&utm_campaign.
Patrick
this is such a rip off. £100 for a couple of CD's of out-takes, two CD's of the same album and a DVD and Blu-ray of the same album and some videos that just amount to DVD extras. The album should be out in mono/stereo stand alone for £15. The Out-takes CD's could be inc for another £10 and the DVD/Blu-ray should cost £20. At most this bundle should be £60 – if you include all booklets and physical extras. £100 is daylight robbery. I don't have to buy it i know – but that doesn't justify the price. If it included the Vinyl I would consider it – and Carnival of Light of course should be in there.
I think it a little unfair to call the deluxe set a rip off. There are other versions available if you don't want the out-takes. Book etc. My o ly issue with deluxe editions that you tend not to play the out-takes very often as they are by their very nature sub standard to the final released versions. For me, the interesting parts of Anthology were unreleased tracks such as Not Guilty , Teddy Boy etc. Same with the BBC Albums the highlights were songs performed that weren't released on albums or as singles.
I also don't think Carnival of Light should be included on a set devoted to Sergeant Pepper.
I think it a little unfair to call the deluxe set a rip off. There are other versions available if you don't want the out-takes. Book etc. My o ly issue with deluxe editions that you tend not to play the out-takes very often as they are by their very nature sub standard to the final released versions. For me, the interesting parts of Anthology were unreleased tracks such as Not Guilty , Teddy Boy etc. Same with the BBC Albums the highlights were songs performed that weren't released on albums or as singles.
I also don't think Carnival of Light should be included on a set devoted to Sergeant Pepper.
Agree about 'Carnival Of Light'…. If Love had never released 'Revelation' it would now be seen as this mythical lost track of epic length. But it took up half of Da Capo and is easily the worst thing Arthur and the boys committed to record. Same goes for 'Goin' Home' off 'Aftermath'. Most people fall asleep before the end of it… I recall somebody from that Indica crowd of 67 (can't remember who) referring to 'Carnival' as a 'Lot of bleeps, farts and stoned out screaming'. Hardly in the same class as anything on Pepper…
For those of us who are definitely buying the super deluxe CD/blu-ray/book set for $100+ the smaller 2-CD set would be superfluous because tracks are all included in super deluxe.
TheBeatlesFanatic342 Thank you for your post. I have nearly 200 Beatles bootlegs and would have had to do some major research before deciding whether or not to buy the upcoming Sgt Pepper release. Thanks to you and your input, I have found that I need the deluxe set, and will definitely buy it.
Again, thank you!
the thing is.. will these pepper outtakes found in anthology be the same mixes and takes in this new pepper release?
for example, in anthology they mixed together several takes of a day in the life into a new mix, but now they are listing them as separated tracks.
i really hope that these new releases will include complete takes, not mash up new mixes.
I wonder if anyone has thought to include 'clean' versions of the remixed, mono, and 5:1 versions of 'A Day In The Life'? Not unlike the one on the 1967-1970 CD?
Or will all 'new' versions include the 'Reprise' applause?
For sure I'm going to downdload the super deluxe version in flac. Going to drop the discs 5 & 6, and the remix album too. I'll keep the 2 and 3 volumes, and I'll put them in the right places between my Purple Chick Deluxe collection.
For sure these will be mashes of various mixes…(sadly)
But they were cutting and pasting even on From Me To You, so it's right in line really. As Giles said they're always aiming for the best listening experience (read £££s) than aiming to please the train-spotters. I guess as long as Paul and Ringo give the nod on these things then it's cool.
I hope the 5.1 mix is a REAL 5.1 mix. Not that "reverb in the rears" crap that was on the Beatles +1 Blu-Ray set.