T1B

...is 40 years old this year, which means we are further away from it than it was from the Wall Street Crash.

If you're lucky enough to get Mojo magazine in your neck of the woods, you'll find an extremely long and brilliant article about the making of the album, which points out that from the late 60s to the early 80s, it was widely seen as the best album ever, whereas nowadays it's not even in the Top 5 of Beatles LPs.

Personally, I think it's fucking ace. Especially Getting Better, Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite and Lovely Rita. I would love to know what it must have been like to buy it in a record shop on June 1st, 1967 and playing it to virgin ears. Especially if they had kept back Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane. There's an amazing description in said article by an American writer who was travelling across the country on the day of release who said that no matter what channel he was listening to, they were playing the entire LP non-stop.

I would love to know what it must have been like to buy it in a record shop on June 1st, 1967 and playing it to virgin ears.

I've often thought that myself. Personally, I think that beginning with Rubber Soul, all of their releases are brilliant. However, Rubber Soul and SPLHCB seem like two entirely different bands...and they were released less than two years apart.

SPLHCB was shockingly different, and wholly brilliant.

I think my dad has the album. I'm gonna look for it next time I go to their house.

I don't even think I've ever heard the whole thing? The only thing I remember are a few songs and then the movie, which we had on video and used to watch all the time when I was wee.

patsy stone wrote:I think my dad has the album. I'm gonna look for it next time I go to their house.

I don't even think I've ever heard the whole thing? The only thing I remember are a few songs and then the movie, which we had on video and used to watch all the time when I was wee.

Are you kidding me?

Wow, I suddenly feel VERY old.

BSmack wrote:Are you kidding me?

Wow, I suddenly feel VERY old.

I know my brother had this on Vinyl. I'll have to ask him if he still has it.

No need to grab your brother's old LPs. If you don't have this gem, grab it here.

http://download.yousendit.com/5D0A854C0EBD485B

That album came out two weeks before I did. Which along with its own merits, I'm sure its reputation in its era wasn't hurt by its release coinciding with the onset of the Summer of Love.

As a young'un, my folks were huge, huge Beatles fans(and Elvis fans...and Mom used to bust out the Neil Diamond when Dad wasn't home). I guess I was fairly spoiled, looking back...much Beatles filled the air in Dinsdale's House of Dysfunction. My folks were quite familiar with the Beatles before they moved to the US, and then having the Beatles become so popular in the USA, I'm sure was a welcomed dose of familiarity for them.

Oh, and since I try to never disappoint...[ZYSDALE]My Mom's cousin was the head of security for the Beatles.[/ZYSDALE]. Which is how I know that over 95% of "Beatles autographed" memorabilia is junk. The Beatles didn't autograph that stuff, their security staff did. Hell, there's so much of it out there, the security gaurd's signatures have been "verified" as authentic. But...my Mom did get a real autographed-by-the-band promo picture. Gave it to my oldest sister(this was before I was born...my oldest sister is several years older than I am). Somehow, it got misplaced in what was a hurried-up move to the other side of the world. Once they got settled in, my Mom talked to her mother, and inquired if she found that Beatles pic. "Yeah, I came across that, and thought it was junk, so I threw it out." Oh, probably over ten years ago, we saw a show about a memorabilia auction, and that exact same promo pic, with the real signatures on it, went for something like $150,000 at auction...way back when. Thanks, Nana...you nasty old biddy(who died like 26 years ago).

Matter of fact, I think I have an original pressing of Pepper's sitting around here somewhere. Complete with the cardboard cutouts for the fake moustaches and everything. That album cover also helped feed the "Paul is dead" conspiracy.

All-time great album. Although groundbreaking, I still think that musically, Abbey Road blows it away-imo. Which takes me back to the Good Old Days, when Abbey Road was always called upon to fufill our requirement of "Beatles for breakfast" after a long night of hallucinogen use.

Sgt. Peppers has way too many Paul songs on it. Its good, but not White or Abbey Road or Revolver good.

While Paul can certainly be cloying, SPLCHB has his best songs, imo-btw. Getter Better is his best song ever, followed by Lovely Rita.

i think get back or maybe back in the USSR or Paperback Writer are probably Paulie's best songs, IMO. some of his Wings stuff is pretty good.....but he cheesed out in the latter Beatles.

if you took all the Lennon songs off the White Album and printed it with the ballad of John and yoko (with Paulie doing yeoman's work on the drum kit and bass--last time they were in the studio together allegedly), that would be the greatest rock record ever made. hands down.

not to make this 420 bait, but i have a good friend who's parents were Hsight/Ashbury hippies and hung out with the dead and the Airplane. after they split, mom's was still selling high level marijuana to senators and such.

but his dad was a decent musician and played studio on a couple Jefferson Starship records when Paul Kantner was still in the band....but one time smoking us out (really) he told us about the day Revolver came out.

and how they all listened to it all night. side 1, side 2. side 1, side 2. for 12 hours....in utter awe.

to me, that's just great. that guy was a real shitbag of a dad to my buddy.......but i can't hate a guy who listened to Revolver for 12 hours the day it came out in 66?.