The Beatles

| Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (2017, 2-CD)

So Giles, son of George, is allowed not merely to remaster but to remix Pepper, his promise being a stereo version of the Fab’s preferred mono mix, since they paid scant attention to the less important stereo release back in 1967. This slightly dull motivation revives some but not all of the known mix disparities—Paul’s shouting over the end of Sgt. Pepper’s reprise, VariSpeeding of several songs ( She’s Leaving Home faster, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds slower)—but misses the flanged vocals on the chorus of Lucy, which remain unflanged here, while he takes liberty with that song’s cosmic Lowry organ line, annoyingly ping-pong pan-mapping its individual notes. So really the main bonus of the new version is the undeniable clarity and tonal bonus over the 2009 remasters, mono or stereo, especially effective on lesser classics such as Getting Better and Mr Kite. It should also be remembered that some of these songs have been remixed from the four-tracks before—for the more interesting results of ‘Yellow Submarine Songtrack’ in 1999, for the Rockband game soundtrack, and for ‘Love’. The new stereo mixes edge it for clarity, but as Giles admits, the original mono remains the reference release.

On the two-disc set you get a full repeat of the album assembled from variably interesting outtakes and studio chatter, plus the Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane single. With the cream of outtakes already on the Anthologies, many tracks here are simple instrumental versions or early-take backing tracks which surprise most by revealing how basic and unremarkable seem many of the bare bones onto which were grafted additional layers to yield the final album of genius. As with the Led Zeppelin ‘Companion Albums’, this second disc will likely get a single play from casual Beatle fans, while collectors will have much of this and more already from unofficial sources… though again, the clarity here is impeccable. Jez Ford