WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU ACTUALLY

listened to Sgt. Pepper? I mean, properly listened to it? The album’s familiarity is such, the songs so ingrained in our collective consciousness, that it’s an almost impossible task. And yet, Giles Martin’s new mix of Pepper genuinely provides us all with the opportunity to listen to The Beatles’ most influential album afresh. Sitting in Abbey Road a few months back, that experience proved revelatory, Giles’s restoration underlining the sonic adventurism on offer. So, as Paul McCartney revisits 1967 (see page 64), we celebrate Pepper reborn! Listen to it closely, but be warned! It may well blow your mind all over again…

PHIL ALEXANDER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF