Enough has been written about Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band that it could fill the Royal Albert Hall… and then some. 2017 was the 50th anniversary of arguably the most talked about album ever and as such, the deluxe editions were rolled out to celebrate. A six-disc super deluxe edition came out along with a 2CD deluxe edition. With the former trending close to $200, we opted for the latter. On this edition, the original album features a new stereo remix by Giles Martin and Sam Okell along with an extra disc of outtakes + extras.
The sound that Martin and Okell produce here is extraordinary and far exceeds the 2009 stereo remaster. The relatively simple “With A Little Help From My Friends” sounds expansive, like its growing from the middle outwards. “She’s Leaving Home” is warm and tender before “Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite!” breaks in and somehow sounds louder. Never really a favourite of mine, this version sounds downright menacing and surreal. One of our favourite album tracks, “Good Morning” gets a rollicking version and Paul’s countdown in “Sgt Pepper’s (Reprise)” is as thrilling as ever. It’s amazing to think that even after the embarrassment of riches preceding it, one of the greatest songs ever in “A Day in The Life” closes out the album.
Oftentimes with these types of releases, the disc of extras may get listened to a few times before being filed away. Here, the extra disc is an absolute joy from beginning to end. “With A Little Help From My Friends” appears in an instrumental that does not sound too dissimilar to the theme song from Welcome Back, Kotter. “Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds (Take 1)” is missing the chorus but it’s nearly impossible not to sing along to the empty space. There is a rawness to some of the recordings “Lovely Rita (Take 9)” and elegance to others “She’s Leaving Home (Take 1 – Instrumental)”. “Within You/Without You (Take 1 – Indian Instruments)” carries on from Revolver’s “Love You To” however in instrumental form it can start to drag. At the end of the day, it is a fascinating listen to some of the most talented musicians ever working through some of the greatest songs ever. The inclusion of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” in both stereo remixes and outtake form makes this an absolute essential purchase for fans of The Beatles either in this deluxe edition or the super deluxe.
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Album Disc 1 – 10/10
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Outtakes Disc 2 – 10/10
Masseduction is St Vincent’s fifth album and first with acclaimed producer Jack Antonoff who is everywhere at the moment. Similar to past releases, this is a mix bag of sounds from the talented and capital A artist, Annie Clark. First single “New York” was a song of the year choice for us from the second we heard it and second single “Los Ageless” has a killer chorus: “how can anybody love you and lose you and not lose their minds too?”
After a seven year hiatus, Toronto supergroup Broken Social Scene reconvened to record Hug of Thunder, their fifth release. “The gang is all here” is a most fitting expression for this as 18 musicians are credited on the album including all the usual bigger name suspects such as Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Emily Haines, Feist, etc. After a short instrumental the band hits the floor running with “Halfway Home” whereas the modern folk tinged “Skyline” sounds straight off a TV commercial that has people reaching for Shazam to figure out who sings it.
In Lizzy Goodman’s excellent book, Meet Me in the Bathroom, The National are cast as lesser characters in the NY/Brooklyn scene of the early 2000s. While The Stokes, Interpol and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs hit the ground running, The National took longer to find their footing. But over time, they have risen above their more popular colleagues from that era to become critical darlings and festival favourites. Back in September the National released their seventh studio album, Sleep Well Beast. Their last album, 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me, felt like the end of a trilogy which would make this a new beginning or at least a transitional one.
Back in 2014 the shoegaze band Slowdive reunited for live dates and continued on to record their fourth album, the self-titled Slowdive. Since hearing a b-side on a random blog years ago, Slowdive for me have been on the longlist of bands to check out after missing them the first time around. So, I started backwards with the latest release, one that sound tracked many late summer walks, with an eye on collecting their older albums.
The Light Appears 