The wind carries questions of Beatles to my long-decayed ears and the resurrection begins anew. The bones creak as the dead rise again. Slowly. My putrified inner organs begin re-forming and re-aligning, and I am born again to speak to another generation about.....
BEATLES
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1) What made the recording style/way used in SGT.Peppers so groundbreaking?
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Sgt. Pepper. How can anyone accurately document all the monumental changes brought into the recording industry by this one album?
1) The first true concept album from beginning to end. Previously, music bands simply recorded singles and these singles were later pressed into albums. After Sgt. Pepper, EVERYBODY began to sit down in the studio and record albums instead of singles. Monumental shift in philosophy.
2) Fantastic cover art, where the art outside is equal in importance to the music inside. The cover art was conceptualized and created by Peter Blake as the Beatles are made to represent another band giving a concert in the park. Peter Blake asked each Beatle to supply a list of people (living or dead) they would want to be at this fictitious concert. John's list included Ghandi, Jesus, and Hitler (all of them either painted out or not used). George's list was all gurus. Since some of the people were still living, EMI Records had to get written permission to use their likenesses. Actor Leo Gorcey demanded a fee and was removed (moron!). Actress Mae West initially refused outright (she didn't want to be associated with a lonely hearts club), but the Beatles wrote her a nice letter and she changed her mind. Also, this was one of the first albums to include printed lyrics and a gatefold sleeve.
3) Unparalleled studio techniques. Nearly everything was distorted, limited, heavily compressed, and/or excessively equalized. Some of the innovations include microphones stuck down into the bells of brass instruments, microphones attached to headphones and then placed around the body of a violin, vocals sent through the revolving Leslie amp in a Hammond B-3 organ, chopped and spliced tape loops (the first example of musique concrete in popular music), a 15Khz tone put at the end to annoy the dog, and nonsense chatter in a lock-groove at the end of the album.
4) Undeniable drug influence.
5) Facial hair. Paul was the first to grow his mustache in the Fall of '66 as an attempt to hide the scar on his top lip after his moped accident. The other Beatles followed suit so as to help him blend.
6) Psychedelic clothes.
7) Creative effort. The Beatles' first album, "Please Please Me" was recorded and mixed down in less than 10 hours. "Sgt. Pepper" took over 700 clock hours to complete. By the way, the original order of songs for Side A was supposed to be 1 - 2 - 7 - 5 - 3 - 4 - 6, and programmable CD players allow us to hear it the way the Beatles really intended.
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2) What instrument is used at the beginning of Strawberry Fields Forever, and why is it so different?
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It was indeed the Mellotron, and you could have ruled the world in 1967 with a 4-track recorder and a Mellotron. Oh yeah, they did that, didn't they? Nice answer, AVoiceOfReason.
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3) What Beatles Cd version is probably the most expensive/rare one to find these days, and why?
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I don't understand the question. Nothing released by the Beatles on CD only and not vinyl is of any value yet, to my knowledge. The most valuable Beatles album is "Introducing the Beatles" - VeeJay - U.S. first album, released before the contract with Capitol Records was ironed out. I have it. What I don't have is the Butcher Baby album.....