It Was 20 Years Ago Today... - Page 3

lindyhop · 06-02-2007, 11:29 AM

I was trying to listen to the NPR piece about this last night but there was so much static because I was waiting to get past the pay station in the Mickey & Friends parking structure. But there is no static in my memories.

I remember my best friend and I going to Al Kalie's Music in Downey to buy this album the first day it came out. The poor clerk was just pulling it out of the box when we got there. We took it home and listened to it over and over and over again that summer, usually with one ear up against a speaker so we could hear George counting before starting to sing or the footsteps (we thought) in another song. The Beatles layered all that sound so we could take it apart, right? Really we were just obsessed and since it was the first Beatles album in what seemed like forever we had to absorb every molecule.

I haven't listened to the album as a whole in ages but the opening notes of Sgt. Pepper and the whole of A Day in The Life are still as transcendent as ever. (I had to pull out my iPod so I could listen to A Day in The Life again right now.) Abbey Road is probably my favorite album but Sgt. Pepper was transforming and still has power.

Forty years ago? Holy crap.

Bornieo: Fully Loaded · 06-02-2007, 11:55 AM

Besides "1" its the only Beatles CD I have - and yes I too was introduced to it by a wonderfully, underrated film by the same name.

It's great music even if George Burns is singing it.

Kevy Baby · 06-03-2007, 10:03 AM

Chris Carter is playing the mono version of Sgt. Peppers this morning on Breakfast with the Beatles

eeyore19 · 06-03-2007, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boss Radio

Best album cover to play "Where's Waldo with major historical and pop cultural figures" ever. And the vinyl record came with cool cut-out toys.
And Paul was OPD, according to his patch on the interior gatefold.

Countless hours of fun.

Actually, Paul's patch says "OPP". It's the official insignia for the Ontario Provincial Police.

Here's what the Wikipedia says:

The 1967 Beatles Album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, contains cover art with Paul McCartney wearing an OPP patch on his fictional uniform (more easily seen in the gatefold picture). The patch was given to John Lennon the day after their 1966 concert in Toronto, by a summer student working in the garage of the OPP Headquarters; when the Beatles were being transferred to a police van for the trip to the airport.

Many "Paul Is Dead" enthusiasts have misread the patch as "OPD" (the way the patch was slightly bent on McCartney's sleeve in the gatefold picture, the bottom of the "P" was not visible) and took it to mean "Officially Pronounced Dead."

flippyshark · 06-03-2007, 02:52 PM

I just bought this album for my Mum. I have it on my iPod and listen to it (in toto) at least two or three times a year.

There is hardly a week goes by without listening to some or all of Abbey Road, by now pretty obviously my favorite album.

Ghoulish Delight · 06-07-2007, 05:02 PM

I heard two seemingly conflicting perspectives from NPR on this, though if one thinks about it they probably are less conflicting than simply geographically determined.

In the first, which was simply the musings of David Dye, host of NPR's "All Songs Considered", he mentioned that he's been asked how amazing it must have been to have heard Sgt. Pepper's on the radio when it was new. His take was that he didn't really hear it on the radio. FM barely existed, and no one really knew what to do with this whole "album" concept thing. The Beatles didn't release any of the tracks as singles. So stations weren't playing it. For him, it was all about the actual album, hearing at a friend's house for the first time.

The second, a broader piece aired on All Things Considered (yes, those are 2 separate NPR programs), was from the New York perspective. Mr. Dye didn't mention where he was in the US in 1967, but judging from his experience, probably not in a major city. While FM was indeed new and undeveloped, it was starting to take hold. With the FCC mandating that media companies no longer simply simulcast their AM programming on whatever FM band they owned, they were at kind of a loss as to what to do with the frequencies. They didn't see much profit in it, so a lot of them just kinda stuck a DJ on there and said, "Do what you want." These were the DJs that played it, often the whole album. So from the perspective of this story, it was all about the influence of radio and the influence of the album on radio.

Neither story was particularly insightful, but taken together I thought they made for an interesting study.

lindyhop · 06-08-2007, 08:59 PM

The AM station here in LA played it, in fact our favorite DJ supposedly was fired for playing A Day in The Life before the album was officially released. We all protested and he was reinstated, I don't know if it was a stunt or not. But listening to the album was the right way to do it, so you could play it all the way through.

06-02-2007, 11:29 AM	#21
lindyhop Swing Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Long Beach Posts: 997	I was trying to listen to the NPR piece about this last night but there was so much static because I was waiting to get past the pay station in the Mickey & Friends parking structure. But there is no static in my memories. I remember my best friend and I going to Al Kalie's Music in Downey to buy this album the first day it came out. The poor clerk was just pulling it out of the box when we got there. We took it home and listened to it over and over and over again that summer, usually with one ear up against a speaker so we could hear George counting before starting to sing or the footsteps (we thought) in another song. The Beatles layered all that sound so we could take it apart, right? Really we were just obsessed and since it was the first Beatles album in what seemed like forever we had to absorb every molecule. I haven't listened to the album as a whole in ages but the opening notes of Sgt. Pepper and the whole of A Day in The Life are still as transcendent as ever. (I had to pull out my iPod so I could listen to A Day in The Life again right now.) Abbey Road is probably my favorite album but Sgt. Pepper was transforming and still has power. Forty years ago? Holy crap. __________________ Hyperbole is the best thing ever!
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06-02-2007, 11:55 AM	#22
Bornieo: Fully Loaded Lego Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Disneyland, USA Posts: 3,704	Besides "1" its the only Beatles CD I have - and yes I too was introduced to it by a wonderfully, underrated film by the same name. It's great music even if George Burns is singing it.
	Submit to Quotes

06-03-2007, 10:03 AM	#23
Kevy Baby Chowder Head Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Yes Posts: 18,500	Chris Carter is playing the mono version of Sgt. Peppers this morning on Breakfast with the Beatles __________________ The thing about quotes on the internet is that you cannot verify their validity. - Abraham Lincoln
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06-03-2007, 02:52 PM	#25
flippyshark Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,852	I just bought this album for my Mum. I have it on my iPod and listen to it (in toto) at least two or three times a year. There is hardly a week goes by without listening to some or all of Abbey Road, by now pretty obviously my favorite album.
	Submit to Quotes

06-07-2007, 05:02 PM	#26
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	I heard two seemingly conflicting perspectives from NPR on this, though if one thinks about it they probably are less conflicting than simply geographically determined. In the first, which was simply the musings of David Dye, host of NPR's "All Songs Considered", he mentioned that he's been asked how amazing it must have been to have heard Sgt. Pepper's on the radio when it was new. His take was that he didn't really hear it on the radio. FM barely existed, and no one really knew what to do with this whole "album" concept thing. The Beatles didn't release any of the tracks as singles. So stations weren't playing it. For him, it was all about the actual album, hearing at a friend's house for the first time. The second, a broader piece aired on All Things Considered (yes, those are 2 separate NPR programs), was from the New York perspective. Mr. Dye didn't mention where he was in the US in 1967, but judging from his experience, probably not in a major city. While FM was indeed new and undeveloped, it was starting to take hold. With the FCC mandating that media companies no longer simply simulcast their AM programming on whatever FM band they owned, they were at kind of a loss as to what to do with the frequencies. They didn't see much profit in it, so a lot of them just kinda stuck a DJ on there and said, "Do what you want." These were the DJs that played it, often the whole album. So from the perspective of this story, it was all about the influence of radio and the influence of the album on radio. Neither story was particularly insightful, but taken together I thought they made for an interesting study. __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
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06-08-2007, 08:59 PM	#27
lindyhop Swing Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Long Beach Posts: 997	The AM station here in LA played it, in fact our favorite DJ supposedly was fired for playing A Day in The Life before the album was officially released. We all protested and he was reinstated, I don't know if it was a stunt or not. But listening to the album was the right way to do it, so you could play it all the way through. __________________ Hyperbole is the best thing ever!
	Submit to Quotes