Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [VINYL]

Product Information

The standard line about the album is that, at its centre, it’s a work of tremendous warmth and inclusion, that attempts, as Ed Vulliamy writes in the accompanying book, to “embrace everybody – ‘the man from the motor trade’, ‘the girl with kaleidoscope eyes’”. There are moments where it sounds like a high-water mark of hippy-era optimism before disillusion set in. Their fans are lovely and the band want to take them home, life is getting better and a splendid time is guaranteed for all – including traffic wardens, worried parents of errant teens and cosy sexagenarian couples.

Finally, the bonus album contains a version of “A Day in the Life” with the originally-conceived ending: a large group humming an E natural. The band concluded that, after the song’s monumental orchestral crescendo, ending with a hum was anti-climactic. After listening to this ending, you’ll no doubt agree. The group decided instead to deploy an array of keyboards (mostly pianos) hammering a single E major chord in unison. The rest, as we know, is history.

I had built my own amp, mixer and speakers, so I was already a minor hi-fi buff. But it really got me thinking that I want to get into this business, this process. It was a life changing experience. I thought, “There’s something going on there I want to know more about.” I had albums before that – but this one came along, and it was a combination of everything I had been listening to. Such a clever production - it grabbed me. Inspirational is the word. BW: So moving on to the Audio-5 Sgt. Pepper, what was that day like – when you first received the tapes? My father was an American advertising executive assigned to Japan Air Lines, and had been transferred to Yokohama. And my mother was a bit of a bohemian - born in Paris during the 1920’s, her parents were members of the Lost Generation. She was happy to be in Japan, but realized we still needed a connection to home. So one hot summer day, we rode a crowded train to a Tokyo theater specializing in American movies.

DB – It’s more artistically correct, and quite a nice atmospheric effect. Whereas with the early Rubber Soul it’s an extreme technical pan, and it just sits in place.Revisiting Sgt. Pepper is also a lot more fun than mere nostalgia . Start with the cover, a witty, iconic work of art. Next, the conceit it depicts: the Beatles’ death and replacement by an alter-group called Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The concept is entertaining and original, but it also serves to liberate both the musicians and the listener from any ingrained expectations. Nor have the hummable melodies, assorted musical styles, day-in-the-life tales, or now-serious/now-sardonic lyrics lost any of their appeal. In short, Sgt. Pepper has aged but it’s never gotten old. I also mastered an AC/DC project for the Albert group. Ted Albert attended the session and spent time with me while I mastered the album. I also mastered a direct to disc recording one weekend – Crossfire, Direct to Disc. It was very successful, did very well, and it was an exciting process. Charles Fisher produced that one as well. So for five years I was cutting at CBS, with all kinds of fantastic music – ELP, Eagles, the Doobies, product from Europe, from Polydor, Bob Dylan, and all the Columbia classics. In those days we had to master at least four albums a day. You were not allowed to change the sound at the time, but were told to make it as loud and clean as possible on the lacquer master. Apple Corps and Universal Music will next month reissue The Beatles‘ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as a six-disc super deluxe edition box set, 50 years after the original album was first released.

DB – They were quarter inch 30 IPS tapes. I was amazed at how it corresponded with that first record I had been listening to. I thought it would be more open and detailed, but there was very little difference in terms of those early vinyl recordings, which is a testament to how good they were. That’s the thing about this album – how well it was recorded and produced. And how the tape sounded like the original vinyl issue – there was so little difference. The tape was nearly identical. I basically said “Wow!” and chatted with Richard for a few hours, and he eventually said, “I think we can do something.” So I put my name and number on a piece of paper, and didn’t think anything else of it. He called a week later and said: “When can you start?” My family was cautious about it at the time – “when you get a job with the government, it doesn’t get any better.” But that’s how I started at the Australian Record Company. BW - You certainly got the right tapes! Did you talk with Abbey Road directly, or did they send something to you on their own? If the new mix and stereophonics were equally laudatory, this album would be a watershed event. Sadly, this is where the younger Martin fails us. He boosted all of the vocals—as well as certain instruments—to the point where they’re right in your face. And there’s no letup. So rather than the Beatles’ carefully-plotted journey through emotional highs and lows, Martin gives us an album that’s unremittingly aggressive. Rather than inviting you into a fascinating world, as even the lousiest-sounding predecessors did, the new edition pushes you away.

The Origin of The Rarest and Most Sought After Pressing of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

DB - In the end, RCA decided to close the factory and I was sent to EMI, as I was told they might have a position for me. I now had quite a bit of experience. When I arrived, EMI said they’d heard about my reputation, and were offering me a job. And I said, “Um, what have you heard?” In steps Giles Martin, son of the Beatles’ indispensable producer George Martin and a proven producer himself. Martin thought it would be nice if we Sgt. Pepper fans could experience the album in a stereo version that more closely hewed to the Beatles’ musical vision. The result of his efforts, which purportedly involved months of research, is this Anniversary Edition. Yet for most fans the Anniversary Edition’s promise is for greater authenticity, better sound, and less clunky stereophonics. For me, it’s a split decision. First, the sound. The original LP and CD of Sgt. Pepper are quite similar sounding. They share thin tonality and pond-flat dynamics. The CD is worse due to sharp highs and pervasive edginess that make it hard to listen to. A 2009 CD remastered by Guy Massey and Steve Rooke smooths and fills things out. Rhythms have more drive, dynamics have some life, and the superior transparency makes details more audible. Not surprisingly, since it was made from the very same digital remasters, the LP found in The Beatles 2012 vinyl box set sounds very much like this CD. Both constitute worthy upgrades over their predecessors. One rare version has been out of reach: the Nimbus Supercut pressing, said to be one of the best. But in the course my research, I came across a lesser-known Australian audiophile release from 1983, the EMI Audio-5. I have come to realize that, from a sound quality perspective, this may be the most valuable and best sounding of them all. And so, it also began for Don Bartley. One of the top sound engineers in Australia, Don first heard Sgt. Pepper’s…. upon its release in 1967, and decided then and there to enter the music business. As a result,, he eventually came to master what many consider the “holy grail” of audiophile Beatles records: the “Audio-5 Sgt. Pepper’s”.

So I believe they mixed it in two days for stereo. It’s an incredible mix as well, and it’s quite different. Interesting how they did something like that in such a short time. In those days, people were questioning stereo, and saying that mono was still the way to go. In stereo, it’s moving around a bit, which makes it interesting in one respect – but the mono mix is a different experience. And they were using 4 channels of a Studer tape machine, and bouncing it across to achieve the mixes - this is a difficult process.

We arrived and took our seats, the aisles crowded with expatriates. The first film was “Marooned,” about astronauts stranded in space. The special effects were state of the art, with our friends the Russians saving the day at the end. But then the second feature started to roll - the movie was “Yellow Submarine.” The DVD and Blu-ray include ‘fully restored’ version of the 1992, 50-minute documentary The Making Of Sgt. Pepper and 5.1 surround and hi-res stereo mixes of the album, plus Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. The content is the same on the DVD and blu-ray, but the latter will offer lossless 5.1 and improved visuals. DB – When I started mastering in 1971, I was told to leave the recordings alone – no EQ or other changes allowed! The priority was to transfer the audio on to the vinyl without distortion. And if you have a good clean vinyl of a traditionally cut record, you’ve got a bit of gold there, because they don’t age. Vinyl is a very accurate physical representation of the audio modulations etched into it.