FIRST Listen to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band & Analysis - Still recovering from this...

[@crispwater7294]

As you're heading into The Beatles' final albums, I recommend you listen to Let It Be before Abbey Road, despite Abbey Road coming out first. They recorded 95% of Let It Be before Abbey Road, and they meant for Abbey Road to be their Goodbye album. Many Beatles fans agree that Abbey Road is their true final album, and me and many others recommend you listen to that one last.

[@bfish89ryuhayabusa]

Agreed. I always place Let It Be before Abbey Road. Actually, I use a version from Albums That Never Were that uses the original title Get Back.

[@MrBananaCheeks]

Yes, I agree. Plus, having The End/Her Majesty be the last songs in their catalogue is just too poetic to pass up!

[@billpranty]

Let It Be is their worst album, so you don't want to end your career that way. Abbey Road is one of their best, a great swan song.

[@lynottlives]

@@billpranty I have to say, I really like Let it Be. But I agree that Abbey Road is their true final album and should be listened to last.

[@guyjerry]

100% CORRECT. That’s a must

[@appledane]

Getting Better is the best way to point out the difference between Lennon and McCartney. Paul: "Have to admit it's getting better. It's getting better all the time." John: "Can't get much worse."

[@HobGungan]

It's "Can't Get No Worse", which is a minor distinction with little difference but to me is better indicative of hope despite dripping with cynicism.

[@Mr62Lincoln]

@@HobGungan You're correct in the wording - I'm glad that @Jesper Nielsen pointed this out - so many first time listeners miss this subtlety in the song.

[@sarahfullerton6894]

@@HobGungan ...and I always thought it was "Can't get any worse".

[@1monki]

They loved their reversals: hello, goodbye; within you and without you; etc. Why just tell you something is up when they can say it's both up and down at the same time. They love that trick

[@yohannbiimu]

@@sarahfullerton6894 That'd be the proper grammar version of the song...

[@redsquirrel1086]

What The Beatles produced in under a decade and how they advanced popular music in that relatively short space of time is truly phenomenal. They are, and are likely to remain, the most important band in the history of the genre.

[@itkojecockot]

no doubt they are the most influential band in rock music, but certainly not the best...... there are bands which pushed the envelope even more than Beatles

[@redsquirrel1086]

@@itkojecockot That's a point of view, but 50 years from now will still be talking about The Beatles. Whether they will be talking about any of the bands that you are alluding to is another question.

[@itkojecockot]

@@redsquirrel1086 you're talking about popularity, I'm talking about innovation..... popularity doesn't mean anything.... Justin Bieber is more popular than Beatles now..... does that mean he is better :D:D

[@redsquirrel1086]

@@itkojecockot I haven't mentioned the term popularity. I'm talking influence and legacy, which are beyond question. Anything else, including "pushing the envelope" is purely subjective.

[@itkojecockot]

@@redsquirrel1086 no, it's actually the other way around :D:D pushing the envelope can be to certain extend measured from technical point of view.... legacy is subjective, because there are people who don't even like Beatles..... and if your argument is that many people do, then you're obviously mean popularity :D

[@SpiderPotterFan]

Oh, her trying to figure out the lyrics of 'I Am the Walrus' will be so much fun

[@appledane]

That's easy. The walrus was Paul.

[@bluepeng8895]

And the lyrics to Revolution 9

[@simonmarcotte2432]

@@appledane yeah but she'll learn that later on with the White Album 😄

[@tomcochran6616]

Me also

[@DaveRod76]

@@bluepeng8895 That has lyrics? LOL

[@nordvegfigg7746]

Ringo's drumming on this album is absolutely stellar.

[@murphy6700]

And brutally difficult to conceive the percussion parts, but Ringo did it. The best drummer the Beatles could have had throughout their career. Very musical as Caroline has pointed out often..

[@bassioelmucho]

Fantastic!

[@grahammcbean6362]

Right through to Abbey Road

[@scottfrench4139]

Yes, but that can be said of nearly every Beatles album. One of the most underrated drummers, except by the Beatles fanbase and other drummers.

[@frankdiscussion2069]

Ringo is one of the greatest studio drummers of all time. He'd work 16 hrs a day in the studio. Nobody ever told him what to play. He just happened to play with the greatest band of all time. How lucky they were to have him.

[@krautgazer]

For me, "A Day in the Life" is the best song in the whole universe. It just conveys the human life experience in such an epic way - the mundane, the irony, the chaos, the futile, the melancholy, the spiritual (or dream state), and it is descriptive and figurative but also quite abstract (impressionist and expressionist at the same time).

[@SunsetLights]

I think I may just agree with you

[@dctbass]

Nailed it

[@jayclick3225]

Very well put 👏

[@Rowlph8888]

I want you (she's so heavy), Strawberry Fields, Tomorrow never knows and oh, darling are better in my opinion. A day in the life was alwways my favourite from the beginning, but over time, the others still sound fresh, even Though I listened to them all roughly the same amount of times. Maybe it's because a Day in the life is not really saying anything, it's more of just a piece of art, a story, and the best of all, thier story songs, that they all created, and are still masterpieces, In many cases. Whereas the others have clear as well as ambiguous meanings open to interpretation, but are also art. For example, the meanings e.g. I want you, She's so heavy, seems to me to get to the point of different intensities, of desire, and also admiration, But in a totally unique way, even for the Beatles

[@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek]

​@@Rowlph8888 no way is Oh Darling better... its an average blues song...

[@1monki]

Lennon's lyrics become more poetic around this time. He's less interested in telling a story than using words and music to create a mood. Paul is getting better at telling stories like, "She's Leaving Home." And George is now expressing his spirituality in his music. It all expands the kinds of sonic adventures you'll find on a Beatles album

[@Turtledove2009]

Yes, yes, yes.

[@orchidwave2574]

Earlier Beatles: "You Can't Do That." Later Beatles....Let's try it anyway!

[@cjmacq-vg8um]

... i think its more of a word salad kinda thing. dylan once told lennon - if you can't think of a word that rhymes, just make one up. and lennon goo-goo-ga-joob did. george martin compared lennons lyrical style with savaldore dali's visual style. lennon presented surrealism and lewis carroll fantasy word-play absuditues into his lyrics. mccartney did the same - keeps her face in a jar by the door - is a very surreal visualization.

[@illadrobici]

Much more poetic to say "face that she keeps in the jar by the door" than "... the teeth that she keeps in the jar by the door...".

[@eggman5106]

Ringo: bong bong bom pow

[@dennydowling2169]

As many will no doubt have pointed out, the more negative lyrics of "Getting Better" were written by John Lennon with the more positive lyrics having been written by Paul (who was the principal write of this song.) John and Paul had different ways of looking at life. During their solo careers John and Paul would sometimes write lyrics intended as a message to the other. In John's final album, "Double Fantasy", there is a song that he wrote for his son Sean titled "Beautiful Boy". A line in that song says "Every day in every way it's getting better and better." Paul believes that this was a message to him from John saying that Paul's way of viewing life was after all the better way and that he was passing along that point of view to Sean. Sean has said that he treasures every moment he has with Paul as that is the closest he can ever feel to being with his father.

[@VeryUsMumblings]

If you listen carefully, Paul sings "it's getting better all the time." while in the back vocals John sings "It couldn't get no worse."

[@larryoishi6600]

0

[@Talisman09]

We can work it out/life is very short. I also like to think that McCartney says hello and John says goodbye. That's not a joke about John dying btw! Why why why wha wha wha wha, do yer saaay goodbyyye goodbyyyye

[@charlesbunch8383]

@@Talisman09 I saw Alistair Taylor speaking at a Beatle Fest. He said Paul came up to him one day and said, "Let me show you how easy it is to write a song. Everything I say, you say the opposite. 'Hello!' 'Goodbye!" etc. So Alistair jokingly took credit for cowriting that song.

[@debjorgo]

Beautiful Boy "Close your eyes, have no fear. The monster's gone, he's on the run, and your daddy's here." Band on the Run? Is Paul the monster here? Or is John talking about his somewhat tortured soul here, the scary one who used to beat his woman? Probably not either. All kids have their monsters under the bed.

[@RadCenter]

Fifty-plus years later, "She's Leaving Home" still makes me cry.

[@relayerdave]

John's vocals on this track are superb...

[@andreas.4764]

When I heard this song as a kid, I always viewed it from the girl’s perspective. Now that I have my own kids, I can empathize a bit with the parents.

[@alonenjersey]

The words can still be exact in today's world 57 years later.

[@briandonovan1584]

That song still makes m3 cry every time. Not at first because I was only 3 and though I was in love w The Beatles some of their songs I just didn't understand.

[@briandonovan1584]

That song still makes m3 cry every time. Not at first because I was only 3 and though I was in love w The Beatles some of their songs I just didn't understand.

[@jaredf6205]

Are we all in agreement that since this is a chronological listen she needs to listen to Let It Be before Abbey Road? It was released afterwords, but recorded before. Plus Abbey Road makes for a better ending anyway.

[@thoroakenshield7283]

Agreed.

[@b4rter]

for sure

[@HobGungan]

I may have mentioned it before

[@ivanjulian2532]

Yes, I agree too.

[@Vince_Steele]

Most definitely.

[@miklosittzes8901]

In my opinion, A day in the life is one of the most breathtaking piece of music ever written. Loved the video as always!

[@izzonj]

I think it's Ringo's best percussion. It's off the charts good.

[@timothybolshaw]

I have the same view. The song has a chaotic beauty that is unique, as far as I know, in popular music. The only comparable pieces are some of the more successful efforts by ambitious 20th Century classical composers.

[@Alpha_7227]

@@izzonj Definitely Ringo's drumming on Revolver onwards is fantastic and has inspired many.

[@Alpha_7227]

Indeed.

[@alonsoquirosgranados7568]

You wise man

[@cremetangerine82]

People who sleep on “Within You Without You” should have their ears revoked, this songs slaps and many have been many people’s introduction to classical Indian music. The duet between the “Western” (cellos, violins, etc.) instruments and Indian (sitars, dilrubas, etc.) instruments is sublime. “When I’m 64” makes me a little sad since half the band didn’t reach that age, am I the only one who thinks that?

[@acslater017]

Within You Without You is my favorite song! I think it helps to have done psychedelics to appreciate the lyrics.

[@cremetangerine82]

@@acslater017 I’ve take a couple of undergraduate philosophy classes, and the lyrics remind me of that experience.

[@tcac1687]

I never used to like but now its so brilliant maybe I've caught up with it

[@JC20XX]

Well now I'm thinking that :(

[@johnmarshall2722]

@@acslater017 or meditation

[@michaelt6218]

Sgt. Pepper is easily the most important and most influential record ever released - and thus the greatest *album* of all time. Yes, there are other collections of songs on other albums that might be equally good, or even better, but nothing has ever equaled the powerful impact of this one. It's impossible to overstate how huge an influence Sgt. Pepper had, not only in the world of music, but in the world of fashion, art, and on popular culture in general. No one who lived through that time was quite the same afterwards.

[@822nivla]

Indeed it was. Let's not forget that it was the first album to open with a double sleeve and to publish the lyrics on the back cover. The cover art itself was also something else.

[@deirdre108]

"All summer long we were dancing in the sand Everybody just kept on playing Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

[@phila3884]

@@deirdre108 Yes. And Johnny Rivers recorded and released that song in 1967, just months after the The Beatles dropped Sergeant Peppers on the world. Talk about impact.

[@sx20Ramar]

I was 21 when Pepper dropped. It changed how I looked @ life and changed music & most other things, forever. The most important album in music.

[@Meine.Postma]

With that logic shouldn't it be Pet Sounds which inspired The Beatles to do make it?

[@FiremanSam60]

"There are human years, dog years and Beatles years." Take a minute to consider what's gone on here in terms of rate of growth...the musical and intellectual evolution from Please Please Me in 1963 to this, 4 years later, is insane. George Harrison has just written Within You at 24, nailing some Eastern philosophical concepts for Western minds and doing it against an amazing interpretation of Indian classical music, while telling Indian musicians what to play. John is writing one of the most incredible songs ever, Paul's driving the album and finding new musical vistas, from psychedelia to pastiche, pushing himself, his mates and George Martin ever harder, and Ringo totally understands the assignment. It's a creative peak, but it's probably the last time John and Paul are emotionally and intellectually yinning and yanging so completely. It's not my favourite Beatles album, but it's a seminal moment in time, when the Beatles so perfectly reflect their world back at everyone. What the f***

[@jnagarya519]

As for George's "religiosity" and spiritual condescension -- "I'm enlightened -- but you ain't": how did it work out with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi? Eastern "philosophy" was already in the air from the 1950s-60s "Beat" "poets".

[@roscius6204]

@@jnagarya519 and your contribution to the collective consciousness is....?

[@jnagarya519]

@@roscius6204 Critical thinking. I stopped relying on pop music for sound "philosophy" ages ago. The basic flaw in fans is the unexamined assumption that songwriters and writers are writing autobiography -- so the belief that George's "religious" songs were actual and accurate reflections of who he really was in real life and actual behavior. Have you actually LISTENED to the lyrics of "While My Guitar Genty Weeps"? He is being judgmental of OTHERS, from a SUPERIOR -- CONDESCENDING -- position, not of HIMSELF. It's said that when George quit "The Beatles" for that week or so it was because Patti had left, because he brought another woman with whom he was having an affair into the home. Meanwhile his IMAGE was as an anti-materialist focused on the spiritual. And his judgment concerning Maharishi Mahesh Yogi turned out to be seriously, even laughably, flawed. And one wonders why John, who finally saw through him, turned around and fell for Allen Klein.

[@annakermode6646]

@@jnagarya519 YES! This! He was SO condescending and such a freaking hypocrite.

[@scottamichie]

Yes and yes. However…it’s time we all stop with the Beatles “as simple pop bubblegum artists” at start and THEN they “grew”, as if by magic. Everyone who parrots that needs to pause and give a fresh listen to their early songs. You’ll hear WHY they BLEW THE DOORS OFF popular music-from THE START. They had something to say to us from their very beginning. So many songs whipped your head around first time u heard it. “ I called you on the phone they said you were not home, that’s a lie.“ NO ONE in popular music was recording anything like that in 1964. And songs like The Word. “The word is love.” That’s what they were all about-from the start-and it GRABBED us.

[@tagoldich]

Revolver is almost always the critics choice album, but something some critics undervalue about Sgt. Pepper is how simply joyously fun and entertaining it is.

[@analogblues]

Excellent point! I hadn't thought of that before, but I agree.

[@JordiPujadesGirona]

Like John said: "a splendid time is guaranteed for all".

[@davidfinn3362]

For about 30 years Sgt Pepper was regarded as their high point, but then some clever people who worked for the music press decided it would be fun to come up with a new theory that Sgt Pepper wasn’t really a concept album and that Revolver was more innovative. As is often the case, the critics were wrong.

[@alonenjersey]

Same here. Both LPs are still 100% MASTERPIECES. I'd give "Revolver" the edge as #1.

[@alonenjersey]

Both LPs knocked listeners on their butts after they'd first listened to them. However I'll never understand why Ray Davies didn't "Revolver" when he first heard it.

[@Shep139]

Caroline, your reaction to "She's Leaving Home" reduced this sixty-five year old to tears. Your responses are a joy.

[@aleg2716]

We all cried with that one. I still do sometimes

[@TheBlackQueen]

When this album came out, it changed EVERYTHING! There was so much innovation with tape loops, album themes, lyrics, instrument choices, compositional liberties, and technological advances. Everyone took inspiration from this album going forward as it pretty much invented Progressive Rock.

[@goldtown6747]

Absolutely! As Caroline herself said about the Beatles: They did what they wanted to do.

[@patricknelson5151]

First rock album with printed lyrics and for good reason.

[@karolk7711]

Yes, but prog rock is crap

[@TheBlackQueen]

@@karolk7711 No u

[@michaelblaydes2259]

In She's Leaving Home, Paul's melodic conclusion is some of the greatest music in popular music history.

[@daleviker5884]

It blows my mind that Paul wrote this based on a story in the newspaper about a random girl who had run away from home. Many years later it emerged that in real life he'd actually met the girl, and it is recorded for history. In the early days of the Beatles Paul was a judge on some British talent program or whatever, and he awarded the prize to this particular girl, who was very young at the time. Surely the last thing on his mind at the time was that a couple of years later he would write one of his most beautiful compositions about this same girl.

[@nza1804]

@@daleviker5884that’s so crazy and I thought the coincidence about Eleanor Rigby was mad

[@mst3ktemple421]

Ringo's drum fills on A Day In The Life are the best ever. So good they make me tear up, and that is not my character, but I love it.

[@davidbweiner]

Also, on Here Comes the Sun on Abbey Road. In the bridge he has a 'regular' pop beat which becomes an Indian rhythm and back again all in one line. Absolutely incredible.

[@sx20Ramar]

He Is a fantastic drummer and deserves his place in the greatest band that ever will be.

[@dennismason3740]

Sorry, 'scuse me, coming through...can we just give a nod to Ringo's insanely brilliant work?

[@brianjeffries1961]

Totally! So much feel and variation. Also, I think this is the album where Ringo is quoted as saying "I learned to play chess during this album". (He sat around a lot while waiting for his parts to play)...

[@Bassman2353]

YEEEESSSSSS! The 50th Anniversary remix did wonderful justice to Ringo's genius work.

[@dennismason3740]

@@Bassman2353 - I've heard so many crap mixes in the last 30 years I could spit. Hard to tell which mix Caroline is listening to but it sounds good on the surface.

[@billoram4526]

Rings there’s none better.

[@dennismason3740]

@@billoram4526 - agreed, thank you.

[@NicholasWarnertheFirst]

I subscribed just to see your reaction. As a 64 year old musician, a violinist I had the.privilege to do a concert in an orchestra that played the original score for all these tracks, hand written and conducted by the great composer and conductor on the day, the fifth Beatle George Martin, a sound man, musician and one time employee of the BBC Radiophonics workshop. Thanks for the video, well edited and wonderful musical analysis. Great Work. Thanks Again. X.

[@andrewdoubtfire4700]

You know, it's been a bit of a rubbish week with lots of problems to sort out, so I cannot tell you how good it is to see you post this Vlog. Your enthusiasm is very uplifting and your knowledge of music is a pleasure to listen to & learn from. Thank you.

[@gribwitch]

Feeling down, Andrew ? You know the solution - slip on a Beatles CD. Guaranteed to cheer you up in no time. Always works for me.

[@andrewdoubtfire4700]

@@gribwitch thanks Graham, exactly what I did on my drive home. Now, I Feel Fine!!

[@gribwitch]

@@andrewdoubtfire4700 Better than any anti-depressant isn't it ? Need more Help?....you know my name, look up the number....

[@bobblackburn2187]

@@gribwitch number nine, number nine .....

[@casaraku1]

Its like listening to them for the first time...she can also play and read music so her appreciation is duly earned... as none musicians can only go so deep... she can go a lot further.... another reason for music lovers to learn to play something... it gives perspective. Love her smile and energy.

[@Danjoker.]

Crazy how much their sound developed in 4 years.

[@niggato23]

Exactly From Please Please Me oh yeah to Turn off your mind relax and float downstream in 3 YEARS

[@KenOtwell]

Just as crazy is how much of their willingness (and talent) to embrace such a huge swath of musical emotional landscape and bend it to their creativity - that we rarely see anymore. There are a few more bands who have attempted such feats (Pink Floyd... Jethro Tull... Moody Blues...) but they all followed the path originally blazed by the Fab Four.

[@thomast8539]

Well, not four years, but 10. John and Paul met and began playing together in 1957.

[@Danjoker.]

@@thomast8539 I know that, I'm just referring to their studio albums.

[@sourisvoleur4854]

@@thomast8539 I'd say their music changed much less between 1957 and 1964 than it did between 1964 and 1967. Like, powers of ten more. In 1957 through early 1962 they were a cover band.

[@kirksworks]

A Day in the Life is the greatest song the Beatles ever wrote (mostly John, but Paul wrote the center transition). There’s a number of orchestral versions of this song, which shows how well respected it is. I like the fact that it doesn’t just come right out and tell you what it’s about. It’s the tone of the song and the instrumentation that gives it the feeling of human life and the surprises that we live through, hence the orchestral rise and crash. It just doesn’t get any better than that. A masterpiece.

[@johnorgan3]

paul's idea for orchestra explosions.

[@raycornford283]

I remember vividly going to a party the day after Sgt Pepper was released and discovering that the album had been bought by one of the part-goers. Once the initial dancing had tailed off, the album was played. And repeated time and again. We could not properly get our heads round what we were hearing. Music changed that night.

[@mgman6000]

When this album.came out I was overseas off Vietnam nam and didn't get back until August almost the first thing I did was buy Sgt Pepper we played over and over again trying to analyze it and then with headphones that it really opened up. I first heard. A Day in the life on the car radio in early 67 and didn't believe it I hope the version you are listening to is in stereo it makes a big difference

[@ronniechilds2002]

I know what you mean. I was 15 when it came out, and I didn't quite "get it" until a little later. This marks the point when, instead of kids dancing to their music, they started sitting down and actually listening. Closely. Stoned, often.

[@freddythecat3203]

I agree. I was 18 ,I went round to my friends place, he lived in a caravan in the woods. there were four of us, we rolled a joint and put this one. By the end you knew you had just listened to apiece of musical history, and the theme album format had just been born. This was the first album to have one single continuous track as one side of the album. There were two other moments in my Youth when i got the same feeling. One was when i heard Mike Oldfields "Tubular Bells", and the second time was when I heard Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" . All three instances were new paragraphs in the history of music.

[@Kaleidoscopia]

With a band like The Beatles, having historical and cultural context only makes these already great sounding songs even better. You then start to realise that they're not just fun songs, they're iconic, groundbreaking, genre-defining, culture shifts neatly packaged into a brilliant album

[@iamrightandyouarewrong2064]

Well said!

[@drusilla3882]

This album must have blown peoples minds back in 1967 (?) because it blew my mind back in 2019...it's so creative and complicated and yet so listenable.

[@billh.1940]

Yes, it did. A whole generation responded to them.

[@pauldirac808]

@@billh.1940 Oasis comes to mind .

[@rainblaze.]

@@pauldirac808 You takin the piss??

[@dennykeaton9701]

​@@pauldirac808 Fair point. I love both bands

[@redadamearth]

It changed everything.

[@brianparker663]

Well, I'm 64 in a few weeks' time - and not a month has gone by, since I got this in '67, when I have not listened to it at least once. It was like it arrived from another planet at the time and let no one tell you any other album by anyone, ever, surpasses it.

[@joannevincent2035]

The best thing about your reactions is your new eyes and ears on an "old" work of art. We boomers need validation (at best) or fair criticism (at worst) to remind us that we also once lived through the fresh experience of these songs.

[@CowmanUK]

I watch these videos every month or so. It's my go-to videos to make me happy. Nobody does it better than Caroline.

[@dk7934]

This was a brilliant analysis and first listen. Sincerely, Mr. Kittle.

[@Fuzcapp]

LOL - although I think it's spelt Kittel ....

[@CallMeCaroline]

LOL

[@GrandIntellect]

@@Fuzcapp For the benefit of Mr Kittel, there will be a show tonittel?

[@dk7934]

@@Fuzcapp You are correct. I really should remember how to spell my own bloody name.

[@jimwit8090]

@@dk7934 I love Sgt Pepplers Hearts Pub Band

[@BigToeify]

I’ve had a very difficult week with a best friend of mine passing away suddenly. Your personality, passion and of course the Beatles have put a smile on my face today. Thank you.

[@CallMeCaroline]

I’m so sorry to hear about your friends passing. I send you all the good vibes that I can.

[@johnbyrnes7912]

@@CallMeCaroline great send me some too ! 🤡

[@lawrencegleason4666]

I never thought it would be so much fun to watch a young musician listen to the Beatles for the first time. You're a delight. Thank for posting. Just discovered your channel.

[@movienut710]

Caroline, YOU are the girl with the sun in her eyes. Tell Your parents they should be very proud.

[@justincasarrubias2001]

Ikr

[@leninsanchez7167]

Revolver was a groundbreaking achievement in music history, but sgt. pepper’s is an absolute masterpiece.

[@karolk7711]

Revolver is too

[@cuckoofan]

I definitely agree. For me, their best album and one of the 5 best pop albums of all times. Just PER-FECT! But let's not forget George Martin who was just as important as the Beatles themselves for the creative evolution of this band and their sound. Without him, I don't think "Sgt Pepper's..." would have sounded so clever and brilliant.

[@leninsanchez7167]

@@cuckoofan George Martin is definitely the 5th beatle.

[@ricardoidrovo7750]

For me revolver was the ice breaker, but sgt peppers is just a better constructed album.

[@Bubdiddly]

Revolver way better

[@ConglomerationCat]

Caroline's reaction looking through her window when she studied "She's Leaving Home" actually brought tears to my eyes. You always hear songs you're own way but to see someone else's reaction brings it to a totally different level.

[@beatletech1]

I agree. And 50 years from now another young lady will hear this song for the first time and turn and look out the window with thoughtful sadness. Then that will make it 100 years since this brilliant song was written .

[@KebabMusicLtd]

I thought she would have been better served looking through her window (yeah) during the entirety of the album. Save the analysis for another day when you're more familiar with the songs.

[@johnwilson9483]

What makes this album a total masterpiece is also the context. In 1966 the Beatles helped create and solidify psychedelia with Revolver, which is why that album is also too revolutionary and important, although you may not have liked it as much as Sgt. Pepper. In 1967 good music was made but nothing new be it ballads, folk, country or classic rock and roll, what makes The Beatles the most revolutionary, influential and important band of all time is precisely that they dared to do new things and not staying in their comfort zone, which is what most would have done, you know? The Beatles the most successful band in history that in the 60's you could sell the saliva of one of them to the fans and they would buy it. Imagine that you have the fame and success of The Beatles, what would you have done? The easiest thing was to continue with her classics as she loves you or eight days a week, continue with her great fame and earn a lot of money, they did not have the need to change, on the contrary they risked that by making such a drastic change they would lose fans or would be harshly criticized by music critics, but that's one of the things that makes the Beatles the best, for daring to do things that no one would have thought to do, defying the barriers of popular music and doing things so experimental and beautiful while same time, introducing new instruments, introducing oriental music into western music. The making of this album that is considered the first Concept album, creating soundscapes in the songs and creating atmospheres in the songs. Who would create a circus experience in 1967 ??? Nobody These and many other reasons are what make this the best album of all time. And the Beatles the best band in history. Without the context it is an excellent album. But with the context it is an insurmountable masterpiece. That is why this is the most influential album in history because it was the album that changed pop music.

[@michaellewis9167]

This makes me recall once again Tom Petty's response to the question which has often been batted around, "Which is the better band, The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?" Petty famously replied that while The Stones are a great band, The Beatles changed the world.

[@scottborenstein8291]

The Stones along with just about every band in the 60’s were eclipsed by the Beatles at the time. And to this day we are still talking about them and they are selling more records then a lot of today’s artists because their songs are iconic. They will be listened to and appreciated forever.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

John Fogerty said "do you know how cool it is to hear YOUR song played between the Beatles and the Stones!"

[@kevdmiller]

Yeah The Stones are great, but I can't comprehend seeing them as competition for The Beatles.

[@jippyhound]

Beatles owned the decade. Hard to know how the '70's would have played out had they held it together. The Stones best work came in the very late sixties and early seventies from Let It Bleed to Exile On Main St (I'm partial to the Mick Taylor era). And then, of course, there's Led Zeppelin's peak with Led Zeppelin III, IV & Houses of the Holy. Zeppelin, btw, also outsold the Stones by something like 100 million records in the end. You'd almost have to call The Rolling Stones - at the very most - the third best band of the era.

[@waynemarvin5661]

@@kevdmiller The Beatles had NO competition (I'm 69, and remember). As Paul once said, the only band he considered to be on their level was the Beach Boys, but "competition"? No. The Beatles led, and everyone followed. By the time everyone else caught up with them, they were on to something else. "I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus."

[@victortorrecillas8507]

A day in the life is probably the best song of The Beatles. Thanks You so much. It was great. You are very Smart.

[@johnorgan3]

what about You Know My Name?

[@DavidTurchickVEGAN]

That someone is able to convey such a musically and emotionally complex song like “She’s Leaving Home” is, in and of itself, a great feat of humankind. That a 24-year-old did that is just mind blowing.

[@kurniadi9829]

and "When I'm Sixty Four" was written by Paul when he was 14. Crazy.

[@scottandrewbrass1931]

The tune was written when he was 16. The words came later in 1966.

[@jnagarya519]

"She's Leaving Home" -- wonderful counterpoint between lead story and background singing -- how they are in response to each other, and also in conflict.

[@stevebills5716]

I love those lines "How could she treat us so thoughtlessly? How could she do this to me?" "She..." "We never thought of ourselves".

[@jimc6486]

@@stevebills5716 Lennon's lines came from his childhood.....

[@izzonj]

As the father of a daughter (about Caroline's age) I cannot listen to this song without crying. It brings back the fears of losing her during her delicate adolescent years and tears of joy that we have a wonderful relationship with her now

[@buddyneher9359]

@@stevebills5716 you have just made me notice for the first time how starkly these lyrics show the very lack of self-awareness of the parents here!

[@jnagarya519]

@@jimc6486 It seems probable. Brings back knowledge of his troubled childhood as if fresh. The overall tone of the song -- the theme -- is very much Lennon. Where Paul rarely sang about conflict, it was always raw with Lennon.

[@aj9c]

Your comment "wow" after She's Leaving Home. You get it now don't you. You get The Beatles now. You had fun listening to this one. I had fun listening to you. You are right, so much to unpack.

[@rome8180]

"She's Leaving Home" has some of the best lyrics Paul ever wrote, in my opinion. It reads like a brilliant short story. It shows you a situation from two perspectives and makes you understand and sympathize with them both.

[@awol2602]

beautifully put

[@brianruppert1071]

This was based in part on a true story. Look it up on KZbin, because there’s a nice interview with the woman herself, who for a time had no idea it was about her!

[@jamesmarshall3521]

I read that Lennon told Paul at one time that “Here, There and Everywhere “ was a great song. Yes; in 1970 John told Jann Webber that “Run for your Life “ was his worst song. Funny, but when I first heard the album (US Version that didn’t have “Drive my Car”) without paying attention to the words, it was my fave track cause it just rocked like so good, so much jump

[@jerrytroyanna5090]

Elenore Rigby was great too. Those lyrics are still studied to this day at the college level as a literary accomplishment

[@paulevans9036]

Paul Mccartney wrote this song after reading about a runaway girl in the Daily Mail newspaper. Unbeknown,Mccartney had actually already meet the girl,Melanie Coe,on an episode of the old tv pop show Ready Steady Go.He was judging some girls dancing. She won.

[@nordvegfigg7746]

Sgt. Pepper is everything to me. It's The Beatles at the absolute pinnacle of their creative powers. This album changed popular music forever. Many new genres had their roots in Pepper. No one had ever heard anything like it before. I like to listen to it from start to finish rather than one song here and another one there. The album flows so beautifully from beginning to end. For me, A Day In The Life is the greatest song ever written. Its genesis was John reading a newspaper. Mr. Kite was literally a poster John had advertising a coming show from years and years before. The names and some of the lyrics were taken directly off the poster. The chaotic middle section was made up of random audio tapes of circus sounds that George Martin tossed into the air and all over the studio floor. He then instructed his assistant to cut the tape into random lengths, then randomly edit them together. The chaos part in A Day in the Life was an orchestra brought in to Abby Road and given sheet music that just showed a starting low point and a high end point. They were told to take their instruments from low to high any way they wanted. The middle eight in Day IN A Life was an orphaned bit of music and lyrics Paul had kicking around and offered it up to John as the middle eight. The ending Emaj chord is five (I think) pianos all hitting and holding an Emaj and being mic'd with the soundboard mixing levels going up as the pianos fade out. The audio levels are turned up so high that you can actually hear the Abbey Road studio air conditioning unit humming in the background. So much more to say, but I won't write War and Peace this time. So I shall stop. Just wanted to add, that I've come to really enjoy your video reactions. You have such a natural laid back feel and while you take the music seriously, you don't take yourself as serious. Oh and PS: your hair looks especially great that way. Completely random, I know.. but it just does.

[@scottamichie]

Yes. Five pianos-with two ppl (four hands)-on the same chord on each piano, hence the power.

[@robertalenrichter]

I was seven when the song A Day in the Life hit the airwaves, and even at that age, I experienced it as a brilliant piece of work. Now 63, I still feel exactly the same way. Re-hearing She's Leaving Home, I'm struck at what a delicate, sensitive song that is.

[@dafmor]

Congratulations for being able to hear the 'unpleasant high squealing sound' at the end - I'm 51, and my old cloth-ears can't hear it anymore - the air just feel a bit 'dry' at that point. Fun fact : It was included specifically as a bonus treat for dogs (honestly!). The 'never gives me any other way' bit was a jumble of nonsense cut from some tapes they recorded just being daft. It was originally located as a loop right at the end of the record - in the "locked groove' on the vinyl next to the record label - which, in theory, would mean the album would never end (until you took the needle off the record).

[@patricknelson5151]

Yes, it’s a dog whistle that McCartney put in for his dog. I used to be able to hear it but can’t anymore.

[@gribwitch]

@@patricknelson5151 You shouldn't have been ABLE to hear it, Patrick. Only dogs can. The frequency range is too high for the human ear to register.

[@johnnytremp]

@@gribwitch And yet the reactor in the video clearly heard it, as do I.

[@gribwitch]

@@johnnytremp Then either you both have extraordinarily good hearing ability, or more likely the sound was not a true dog whistle.

[@MrBananaCheeks]

@@gribwitch depending on the remaster, it may be more audible than other versions. But some humans are able to hear dog whistles, especially younger people. My entire life, I've been able to hear it in this song, regardless of the version I have playing. Though one mix in the 90s tuned everything down, so it's very loud.

[@BensMusic]

caroline, once again, another lovely review. i am currently an 18 year old musician that has never known a time where i didn't have every beatles song memorized front to back. they were my absolute favorites as a small boy that knew nothing about music and they're still my favorites today. since i was 7 i have spent a lot of time learning how to play many different instruments and how to produce my own music. i'm slowly getting to a point in my time as a composer/instrumentalist where i've been able to pick out the different instruments/key changes and how they affect the songs as a whole. i find that i can listen to the beatles over and over and enjoy them endlessly because of how creative they were for their time and in general. every time i hear a little bass riff or vocal harmony or mixing choice that i've heard 10000 times before, i still get excited about it just due to how well everything works and how clever everything is put together. watching you react to these songs i know so extremely well, and pull them apart in a similar way to how i've been doing so in my head recently is MASSIVELY entertaining and it is so refreshing to know that there are people out there that admire their creativity in an extremely similar way as i do!! thank you so much for making these videos, caroline! they make me feel like i'm hearing them for the first time again, even though i'm anticipating every little riff i know you'll comment on and chuckling every single time i know you're getting a prediction wrong (or right!) i have a suggestion. after you get through the beatles discography, if you haven't heard them yet you should take a listen to the Beach Boys. mainly Pet Sounds, but it would be good to catch a few of their albums beforehand to experience their evolution. the arrangements and harmonies of the Beach Boys' music are much more symphonic and intricate in nature and i know you'd have a blast with them. people always held the Beach Boys up with the Beatles and i never gave them any thought until last year- but Pet Sounds finally clicked with me and i definitely think it's right up there along with this album. sorry for the gigantic comment caroline but something about your open-minded reactions and your thoughtful analysis just really connects with me from a composer and human standpoint and i really wanted to give you my kudos. i wonder what you'll make of the White Album!

[@RobbiesVideoArchives]

I've been patiently waiting for Caroline to discover The Beach Boys, most especially the Pet Sounds album. From my own experience with Brian's masterpiece much of it is too complex to fully absorb on first listening but it should still make for a fascinating reaction video.👍😃👍

[@emeraldcity_]

I second the pet sounds suggestion. Also curious how she’ll like number 9 and also if she’ll break apart the medley in Abbey Road

[@mrnobody3161]

Another Album that is bundled with Pet Sounds and Revolver is the Odessey and Oracle Album by The Zombies. Recorded in Abbey Road Studios 2 weeks after the Beatles finished Sergeant Pepper, features John Lennons Meletron which was left behind in the studio. Definitely worth purchasing.

[@ohctascooby2]

The trippy thing is a true Beatles lover enjoys each new song they hear more than the last no matter what order they hear them in because they bring something unique and beautiful to each one. The journey is the destination.

[@TTM9691]

We all couldn't wait for you to get to "Revolver" because that is the entrance point into their more progressive work. The diversity. The using the studio as an instrument. We all knew THIS album would blow you away! It's a dazzling album! For me, it has two of my least favorite Beatle songs back to back: Lovely Rita and Good Morning, Good Morning (although I love the end of Lovely Rita) and those two follow "When I'm 64" which I like, but not as much as I love the rest. "Mr. Kite" also is a fantastic production, but not my favorite song. But I still love the album, I wouldn't trade those songs for anything! "Revolver" is a little more consistent on repeated listens (for me, anyways). Anyways, Caroline, I'm in my studio right now, I've been recording all night, and taking a break to watch this was VERY inspiring! You are the BEST!

[@hippojuice23]

Yeah, I think Revolver is a more consistent album. Pepper sags in the middle a bit - a victim of its own excesses!

[@karolk7711]

How can you dislike lovely rita tho, it s one of my faves

[@Zackasaurusify]

Interestingly enough, George Harrison always considered RUBBER SOUL/REVOLVER as The Beatles first double album!!!

[@braemtes23]

She's Leaving Home is up there with some of my favorite Beatles' songs. Paul had incredible insight into the struggles of women: Eleanor Rigby, Blackbird, Lady Madonna. etc.

[@deepermind4884]

Also, "Another Day", arguably the first song about the inner life of a single working woman.

[@braemtes23]

@@deepermind4884 Forgot about that one. Thanks.

[@thesilvershining]

It might be blasphemous to most, but “She’s Leaving Home” is my favorite track on the album.

[@naymello]

Daytime nightime suffering is on this list as well

[@keithmills862]

@@deepermind4884 - John trashed "Another Day", which is weird, considering at the time John was into his "femminist" phaze, and this was one of the first "femminist" songs. It's probably because, at the time, John and Paul were fueding, so John had to put him down.

[@JsscRchlDrsy]

Being a musician, this album changed my life. I’m on this journey with you until the end. What I gift to experience it again through another’s ears.

[@alainakustyktak865]

Remember how "old" they were when they composed all these songs... pure geniuses !

[@kurniadi9829]

"When I'm 64" was written by Paul when he was 14

[@jnagarya519]

The contrast between Paul and John: Paul: "I have to admit it's getting better"; John: "It can't get no worse".

[@山口山彦-n2t]

この後 Hello Goodbye が作られると云うね ザ・ビートルズは面白いねぇ

[@ashith1297]

@@山口山彦-n2t ほんと

[@bonnielennnox]

I didn't realize that watching people discover new music, especially music I love, would be so wonderful and joyous! I'm so happy to see this video!

[@jemahl123]

Lennon openly acknowledged his mysogny in his early life and became a real advocate for womens rights as he got older, I always saw this as a development from the jealous attitude of Run For Your Life, an admission of guilt and a promise to do better.

[@jamesmarshall3521]

Lots of people feel the same way about the lyrics in the song but the line about doing his girl in is straight out of “Baby Let’s Play House “ by Elvis (and others). I’ve read this was the last track done and was rushed and Lennon just made reference to that ‘other’ rock song. This is a something he did often.

[@NxDoyle]

*misogyny

[@jori1]

About a month before he died, John Lennon said this about Getting Better: "It is a diary form of writing. All that 'I used to be cruel to my woman, I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved' was me. I used to be cruel to my woman, and physically... any woman. I was a hitter. I couldn't express myself and I hit. I fought men and I hit women. That is why I am always on about peace, you see. It is the most violent people who go for love and peace. Everything's the opposite. But I sincerely believe in love and peace. I am a violent man who has learned not to be violent and regrets his violence. I will have to be a lot older before I can face in public how I treated women as a youngster."

[@gibiscus]

Actually, it was the first Rubber Soul song recorded besides Wait left over from Help!...

[@LawsonMovies]

I remember reading somewhere that Run for your life was meant as satire based on the Elvis Presley song Baby, Lets play house. It had the lyric, "I'd rather see you dead little girl, than to be with another man."

[@margaretharrison4369]

Caroline, I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying your journey through the Beatles music! I’m probably older than your parents, but you’re pointing things out in the music that I hadn’t paid attention to before. Keep up the good work!!!

[@NiteOwl74]

I'd forgotten just how much I love this album. Ringo's drumming on this is SO good.

[@Dudlow]

There's a brilliant video on youtube where the harpist on She's Leaving Home, Sheila Bromberg, talks about recording the song, and how she had to work with McCartney to arrange the part. It's a really nice snapshot the life of session musicians in the 1960s.

[@lazyatthedisco]

Saving this comment

[@johnhenson8862]

Sheila Bromberg died August 17, 2021. Three months ago aged 92.

[@kennethlatham3133]

@@johnhenson8862 Now available for duets with Harpo. Heaven just gets better and better.

[@davidbaise5137]

Caroline again, thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings about music that has meant so much to so many. You are a genuine sincere presence on YT, and your smile is terrific!

[@analogblues]

At some point during your listen to Sgt. Pepper, did you ever think "Wow! They've come a long way from "Love Me Do" just 4 years earlier!" I hope you're appreciating the extraordinary evolution The Beatles offer - it's one that has sent ripples of influence throughout all of popular music for the past 50 years.

[@Turtledove2009]

I really enjoy Fixing a Hole both musically and lyrically. To me, he's doing a mundane task and following a stream of consciousness, letting his mind wander about his mood and current annoyances. He says fixing a hole keeps his mind from wandering but it's acutally doing the opposite. Love the flow musically too.

[@phila3884]

NIce insight. I love the dichotomy. I think there was some not-so-subtle drug implication about trying to concentrate on a task while under the "influence".

[@stevenfimmel6933]

I've always thought FIXING was one of Paul's best. Such a unique melody, which that great George Martin keyboard intro that really sets an ethereal feel to the tune. I love the way Paul's vocal is so clear, yet strong and expressive in this track.

[@Turtledove2009]

@@phila3884 Oh I agree knowing Paul's fondness of a particular substance for many years.

[@Turtledove2009]

@@stevenfimmel6933 And the bass is wonderful and hypnotizing.

[@Turtledove2009]

@@phila3884 I also thought that perhaps f"ixing a hole" and "filling the cracks" keeps the outside world at bay thereby insulating himself, while "painting the room in a colourful way" allows him to create his own comfortable environment, his own nest.

[@williamkanegateshead]

I was crying at "She's Leaving Home" just as you mentioned it. It gets me every single time. God, I love The Beatles.

[@jaimetabilo2005]

A Day In The Life is my favourite Beatles song, it's a masterpiece

[@analogblues]

I think it's a masterpiece, too. I wish she had enjoyed it.

[@Turtledove2009]

@@analogblues She may yet. It's only her first listen.

[@InParticularNobody]

Good to see you're carrying on with this - thanks for your reactions & insights. ACCEPT NO IMITATIONS, PEOPLE :)

[@cae2525]

I really like your reactions with all the commenting. Many people on youtube who react to music just listen to a song and say two words, but with you it's obvious that you're enjoying it. Also- it's not controversial to say that you're enjoying this more than Revolver. Most people have Sgt. Pepper's, Revolver or Abbey Road as their favorite album, so nothing weird about this.

[@joecuthbert8637]

I agree. Abby Road is my favourite Beatles album but I'd also agree the Beatles best album is a toss up between Pepper and Revolver. First of all there is no way it should be possible for anyone to make Revolver with the technology of the time. The Beatles, George Martin and their engineers invented the techniques they used to make that album on the spot ... tape loops, backmasking etc. Add to that it had some amazingly good songs and that is why many music critics/journos rate Revolver as the greatest album of all time and therefore the Beatles best album. Pepper improved on the techniques and is considered pop music's first concept album (John and George have both said it wasn't a concept album), plus (if you include the singles) it included 4 song's that are regularly mentioned in the "Greatest Beatles Song" list in Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, Lucy in the Sky and Day in the Life ... and one that should be in She's Leaving Home. Even the Ringo track on this album, With a Little Help from My Friends technically and sonically a masterpiece. Without taking into consideration the moment in time that was Pepper (most of the world's greatest artists of the time talking about listening to it on repeat and then re-evaluating their own art ... Hendrix performing the title track hours after first hearing it etc) it's easy to see why it was and still should be considered the greatest moment in pop music.

[@feedigli]

@@joecuthbert8637 Well, hell, Joe; you sold me. Came out on my 16th birthday; first heard it on the Bay Bridge, driving into San Francisco...it had an impact unmatched.

[@Spaced92]

Most people have Revolver and Abbey Road above Sgt. Pepper's these days, whereas it used to be the other way around. Honestly I just think a lot of people just change their minds a lot.

[@samguberman2288]

Another astonishing album , I'm addicted to your Beatles analysis, got a huge smile on my face You should be on our TV screens

[@st.armanini9521]

ah ah I bet you're still recovering... it will probably be a neverending feeling!

[@gregoryrish8505]

I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO! Thank you Caroline! Tell me any other artists who produced 3 masterpieces in a row comparable to Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper? What they did in a 2 year period was phenomenal! I knew that “She’s Leaving Home” was going to affect you! It always brings a tear to my eyes when I hear it again! My only complaint about Sgt. Pepper is that “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” were not on the album! Can’t wait to watch your next video!

[@beckygrant2258]

When this album was released, it had been a while since we had heard much from them. Rumors that they had quit were swirling. No…they were WORKING! Lol what a masterpiece. They played all the songs on this album endlessly on the radio for weeks and months. Like the greatest album anyone had ever heard at that time! Incredible.

[@doriskray1430]

I’m sitting here in awe in watching you hear this album for the 1st time. As I was in awe on June 1st, 1967. Good thing it was released during summer/school vacation. I would of never made it away from the record player to get to school. BTW, I was also floored with the artwork of the album, their Sgt Pepper Uniforms, and, wow, mustaches. Something men were not wearing at the time. Then to listen AND READ the lyrics on the back of the album…many, many firsts, musically and culturally. Goosebumps all over again.

[@michaelbeckwith6177]

Caroline you are so much fun and "That's the one thing money can't buy"!! On Monday my favorite album is "Sgt Pepper" on Tuesday it's "Rubber Soul' on Wednesday it's "Revolver" on Thursday it's "The white album" and on Friday it's "Abbey road". Honorable mention to "A hard day's night" and "Help"!!!! There will NEVER be another Beatles period!!

[@Goodall10]

You liking She's Leaving Home the most was such a no brainer. :) I've always thought the song was such an interesting choice for them, especially considering so much of their audience was teenage girls. It's not really a cautionary tale about running away from home, it really just sends the message of "Are you sure? Have you thought things through from other people's perspectives?" I'm glad you're having so much fun with this journey, Caroline.

[@neostroll9992]

Fantastic review as ever, had me laughing out loud and brought tears to my eyes as well..........to think this album is over 54 years old, they were certainly miles ahead of their time :)

[@williamhild1793]

Been listening to this albums for literally DECADES now, and I STILL discover new things each time I listen.

[@MikeVlcek]

She's Leaving Home.. what's left to say? A masterpiece. Really enjoyed this video. Keep up with the series. I've got a felling (no pun intended) it is going to be a reference point to a whole new generation of Beatles' fans.

[@instadc]

The discordant orchestral crescendos were Paul’s idea-he had each instrument in the orchestra start from its lowest note and work its way up to its highest note, with the pacing at the discretion of the player. It’s a wild, chaotic effect-then that tension is released with the final chord, which was played on multiple pianos simultaneously by members of the band. It just goes on and on. Then that final odd noise is actually a recording in the runout groove of the record, so it will repeat over and over (it’s the shiny part in the center of a record where the needle stays at the end of the album). John wanted to see if they could intentionally put sound in that portion of the record, and they could! He also put a dog whistle leading into it, to prank listeners with dogs. The idea behind the album was that because the Beatles didn’t want to tour anymore, they’d send the album (and the Lonely Hearts Club Band) on tour for them, and really pump up the creativity in the studio. I’d say they succeeded, wouldn’t you ?

[@dj71162]

Baby stuff compared to what Brian Wilson was doing. Youre talking about the ending of one song. Brian was working with the top studio band (The Wrecking Crew) and as a kid, telling them how to play an entire album of groundbreaking and intricate arrangements in pop music while also producing the album. Just on another level.

[@korganrocks3995]

@@dj71162 You must be fun at parties.

[@dj71162]

@@korganrocks3995 Whats that supposed to mean? You dont have any response so you just make a joke.

[@q-man323]

actually, George Martin vetoed Paul's idea for the orchestral section as it was almost unbearable to listen too. He arranged that every member of the orchestra play a rising melody, 4 beats at a time, and end on a particular note, but start on any note they pleased. This created more of a controlled chaos, it's very fascinating

[@pfarden5836]

@@dj71162 Sgt. Pepper actually drove Brian Wilson mentally ill.

[@leonardblush2557]

This album is a "visual" album. With the exception of perhaps It's Getting Better and A Little Help..", each number connotes imagery. You can see Mummy and Daddy on the stairs, the circus of Mr. Kite's show, Rita and sisters on the sofa, digging the weeds, making the bus in seconds flat, painting a room in a Peter Max way and, of course, a boat on a river and girl with kaleidoscope eyes. BTW Caroline, the final sustained chord is 3 grand pianos and a harmonium. John, Paul, Ringo and George Martin.

[@gingerlacey738]

Outstanding melodic bass playing {on a Rickenbacker} by Paul,they are little tunes in themselves,love your reactions,what an album,

[@kennethlatham3133]

Especially that line throughout "A Little Help....." Flits around the rhythmic drums and keyboards like an iron butterfly 🦋.

[@mathewbyoung]

If the crescendo of A Day in the Life freaks you out, it’s going to be interesting to discover if you can make it all the way through Revolution 9 or not.

[@joedebaun4547]

Revolution 9 was rubbish.

[@joedebaun4547]

Revolver is my favorite,, White Album worst.

[@mathewbyoung]

@@joedebaun4547 Easy there, edge-lord.

[@hommanama1157]

@@joedebaun4547 not as bad as yellow submarine for sure XD

[@rockingirl_82]

I wonder that myself, personally I love Rev 9 but I'm quite alone in that 😊

[@paulsto6516]

Sgt. Pepper's is still my favorite Beatles album. 'A Day In The Life' is a gateway drug to Prog, where I have lived ever since. Thanks for posting.

[@mrnobody3161]

I can see that. I was a young musician who didn't find my comfort zone until I heard 'Music of the Spheres' recorded by Argent. Then it was Prog all the way. I co-founded a progrock band in 1980.

[@markhodge7]

In the Summer of 1967 I was 7 years old, and a big Beatles fan, but only knew the songs that were on the radio. Although there were lots of those, the more experimental were unknown to me. Some friends of mine and I rode our bikes to the local library where they had new albums on tape that you could listen to on headphones. Sgt Peppers had recently been released and we wanted a listen. That experience is still fresh in my mind 50+ years later and changed the way I listened to music. I can't say it's my favorite album because I have no Beatles' favorite, as I love them all. Leave it to George to write one of the most spiritual songs of all time, Within You Without You. The Beatles wrote about every theme of the human condition with this album being no exception. They would be done recording 2 years later!! Mystery Tour, White Album, Yellow Submarine, Hey Jude (compilation), Let It Be and Abbey Road. What an incredible and explosive amount of music they were about put out. Unparalleled. What a ride we were on.

[@Glyn75]

Best reaction yet! On the subject of She’s Leaving Home, one of the curious things about it is how you empathise with the daughter when you are young, but much more with the parents as you get older. Genius songwriting. Also, as someone once said, there should be more songs that use the word “clutching”.

[@tektoniks_architects]

When the album came out, it was released on vinyl...there were no CDs. There was a groove in the vinyl so that when that final note in A Day In The Life was played, it would play infinitely, as long as you kept the turntable on. It would play that note forever.

[@abc456f]

I've heard that final chord, E major, as the sound that occurred after the big bang. Pretty cool idea.

[@250278]

@@abc456f And then your Mac OS starts running.

[@mintybadgerproductions]

I'm not sure that's true, vinyl doesn't work like that especially as the final chord isn't the last thing you hear on the album anyway. The only way I can Imagine that would work is it if it stuck on loop, but then it's not a clean "infinite" loop, but a jarring repeat.

[@250278]

@@mintybadgerproductions Indeed.

[@renonauta]

@@mintybadgerproductions WHEN THE RECORD ENDS, THE RECORD IS CLOSED AND SOUNDS INFINITE UNTIL THE TURNTABLE IS TURNED OFF. WHY ARE YOU TALKING IF YOU DON'T KNOW???? BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SEE WHAT YOUR LADY IS DOING!!! ???

[@The_Races_Are_On...3...2...1]

It’s the greatest album of all time. Haha. So no, it’s not controversial to say you enjoy it more than Revolver. You are a blessing Caroline.

[@subconcioussongsvid]

"Fixing a hole" is probably one of my fav songs to sing myself.

[@martinburch]

Caroline: these videos are simply delightful. Watching and hearing you react to the music I've known all my life is helping me reconnect with The Beatles' music in new and positive ways. Thank you.

[@fromtheblonx]

Same here mate😊

[@Archipelington]

The story of She’s Leaving Home came from a newspaper story Paul read. Coincidentally the girl in the story, Melanie Coe, was someone he’d presented a prize to on the tv show Ready Steady Go a few years earlier.

[@johnhenson8862]

Melanie is still around. She didn't meet a man from the motor trade but she says pretty much everything else in the song was about right. Sheer guess by Paul. The parents lines in the song were mostly John's. He said, "they were the things said around his house." He didn't have to invent them.

[@kenttheaker7904]

@@johnhenson8862 John basically transcribed all the things his Auntie Mimi had said to him in his youth.

[@Archipelington]

@Leon Erin I used to have a VHS of some Ready Steady Go episodes from when they were repeated in the 80s. It was on there, and I watched that tape to death. Four girls miming to Let’s Jump The Broomstick and Melanie was judged best by Paul if I remember rightly.

[@brianruppert1071]

Now that I have a child and am in my late 50s, I must say-having listened to this album many many times-that “She’s Leaving Home” makes me emotional. It is so difficult to raise children even in the best of circumstances, and the Beatles captured that difficulty so accurately. They also capture the daughter’s feelings.

[@kevinmac2200]

I actually find the lines "Our baby's gone" and "We didn't know it was wrong" quite heartrending.

[@kennethguilliams5207]

Lol ... Pardon me for laughing .. but I am old and can remember when all these came out and what was said back then .. now watching you ... Is great

[@Malacandra]

One of the standouts of this album that I kept hoping for you to comment upon was just how propulsive Paul McCartney’s melodic bass playing is throughout this record. Also, Ringo’ s drum fills on “A Day in the Life” are extraordinary. And John’s vocals on that track still can send shivers up my spine. It’s amazing that when Beatles started out, they were essentially a “boy band”, and although they were a global phenomenon, they were not taken seriously as musicians by any but the most discerning “grown ups” (like Leonard Bernstein). It’s a real testimony to them that they continually pushed themselves to innovate, experiment, and incorporate more diverse and obscure influences. Every album was them taking a risk that they’d lose their large and lucrative audience, and no album was a bigger risk than this one. The concept of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band” was that they could shed the burden of the Beatles persona, with all the expectations that went along with that, and paint on an entirely fresh canvas. As it turned out, their audience enthusiastically followed them on their journey of discovery, and that was especially true of those who were (or would become) musicians as well.

[@randalovcen9811]

When you're finished going through their album library be sure to watch the just released Peter Jackson 3 part video project "Get Back." You will see the incredible minds and talent of The Beatles at work as they develop complete #1 hits from just a thought or a short sentence. Don't cheat by watching it until you've finished the album library!

[@Turtledove2009]

Agreed but she should watch the Anthology first, don't you think?

[@JazzBuff23]

I remember a Friday evening, when The Beatles came out with the Sgt Pepper album, June 2th 1967, we had a party with about twenty or so people waiting as I went to the record shop to pick up the album I ordered. We all sat there in total silence listening to what we thought was the greatest work the Beatles had done to date.

[@michaelwalsh1035]

"A Day in the Life" ,I take as a portrayal of stream of consciousness. It's about all the things running through your mind throughout any single day. You have the dreamy state of Lennon and a running commentary that is disjointed and chaotic. Then the interlude of McCartney with all of the mundane activities getting you through the day. Then back to your consciousness with Lennon ,adding all sorts of thoughts that are hardly formed at all on all sorts of subject matter. The full orchestra players were directed individually to reach the highest note they could and not to worry about a unified effect. I take those orchestration interludes to just echo all of the disparate activities going on in your mind and consciousness. Brilliant composition mostly by John with Paul adding that piece which brings in the bare bones of daily concerns of life.

[@myeckwaters]

It may be stream of consciousness but the inspirations were pretty concrete. Verse 1 (upper class man died in a car crash) and verse 3 (4000 [pot]holes in Blackburn Lancashire) were literal newspaper stories he had read. Verse 3 (the British army had just won the war) was a reference to the movie he had acted in, "How I Won the War".

[@michaelwalsh1035]

@@myeckwaters Consciousness doesn't exist in a vacuum, external events feed into and alter consciousness. McCartney's interlude shows how even having a smoke, catching a bus and combing your hair play an important part.

[@davidbristow69]

@@michaelwalsh1035 Paul explained his interlude while standing in the row house where he grew up during the Carpool Karaoke with James Corden. The interlude described a typical school day where he woke up late, and so on.

[@DAZ61551]

The piano cord at the end is actually 4 pianos played by all of the Beatles hitting cords giving it the long sustain.

[@joecuthbert8637]

@@DAZ61551 Yes. They turned up the mics as the chord faded to keep it going for longer and at the end, you can hear the air conditioner in the studio.

[@loutowers6529]

You don't recover from Sgt. Pepper's - you grow.

[@davegranville128]

Not sure if someone else has said this but She’s Leaving Home is based on a real story that Paul saw in a newspaper. Coincidentally the girl in the story was the same girl that Paul had judged to win a dancing competition on the TV show Ready, Steady, Go! in 1963. Amazing song.

[@daleviker5884]

Apologies - I wrote the same thing elsewhere, didn't know you'd already said it.

[@benoitrenaud519]

This arguably their best album and one of the best of any band ever. It changed the world of music for good.

[@beatlesgirl2782]

I agree - and it wasn’t just the instruments or the lyrics( although no one can beat those) it was that the technology to produce the sound they wanted wasn’t around yet. They had to invent ways to manipulate their sound until they were satisfied with the sound they got. These are techniques that are still used by producers and musicians today. This album changed the way we write, record and listen to music.

[@TrekBeatTK]

This album feels less timeless to modern audiences, which is why in recent years the opinion has shifted to Revolver being “better”. But in 1967, this album was HUGE and there’s a reason or decades it was the default greatest album ever.

[@ronalddobis6782]

That's exactly why I personally give the nod to Revolver. Pepper feels as if it's of its time while Revolver seems to have a timeless quality about it, like it could have been recorded last month. At least to my ears.

[@patricknelson5151]

This was one of the most important albums of the 20th century.

[@loosilu]

Sgt Pepper is still my all time favorite.

[@aquamarine99911]

Yeah. Revolver summed up the Beatles as a rock/pop band. It and Pepper had largely the same ingredients, but the Revolver versions were just better. Eleanor Rigby > She's Leaving Home, Love You To > Within You Without You, Good Day Sunshine > Good Morning. OK, Day in the Life and Tomorrow Never Knows are equivalent masterpieces, but TNK had a bigger influence on Chemical Bros., Beck and EDM generally. What will probably hurt the Beatles legacy in the very long run (another 50 years) is that their songs rarely have a danceable beat. Ringo was a great, great drummer (Day in the Life always blows me away), but he wasn't a funky drummer.

[@alanmusicman3385]

@@ronalddobis6782 Agree yeah - a modern Indie band would be pleased to have written/recorded a lot of Revolver tracks.

[@louisb5563]

I just caught this! As a fellow musician I REALLY enjoyed your analysis and your vibe as well, couldn't help but laugh along as well! This album was considered their masterpiece but after a few decades some people placed it behind Revolver/Abbey Road/Rubber Soul because those recordings "aged well" over time and an appreciation was gained whereas some say it is dated. All a matter of taste really. However, it is good to hear a musician's fresh take on this to remember why it was hailed by most as a definitive work by musicologists. Well done, well done indeed! Got a subscriber!👍😎

[@rorykeegan1895]

Revolver is the perfect album and then along comes St Pepper and just changed the whole game. St Pepper was astonishing at the time.

[@louisb5563]

@@rorykeegan1895 Total agreement 👍

[@jmcosmos]

03:16 The whole _Sgt. Pepper_ album is a miracle of what you can do with overdubs and splicing 4-track tape. (Yes, they laid this down on a _four-track_ . It was the best the studio had.) At the time, a reviewer for _Rolling Stone_ remarked something like "the splices go whizzing past near light speed." He wasn't wrong. 05:04 Of course they love E major! It's just about the dead easiest key to play in on the guitar. 05:20 That four-bar break was the first solo Ringo _ever_ played as a Beatle, and the rest of the band had to fight him to get him to play it. Ringo loved being the timekeeper and in the pocket, not standing out and showing off. 09:03 The _legend_ is that "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was a coded reference to LSD, which all of the band had already tried on. John said that was a bullshit explanation. I could go either way. Certainly this is a typical late-Sixties John lyric, full of wild imagery and wordplay. 19:33 It's all the same story, but with shifting POVs. The first and third verses are through the eyes of the girl who's running away, the second through the eyes of her mother discovering "our baby's gone," failing to understand their daughter's feelings of alienation. The "man from the motor trade" is likely someone who ferries used cars from one shady dealer to another; they were always on the move and could give a runaway a lift to wherever they're going. 24:20 It's exactly a circus show. John wrote the lyric by grabbing phrases almost exclusively from a poster advertising the Victorian circus of Pablo Fanque, which was very VERY popular in Britain during the middle 1800s. (See the Wikipedia article about Pablo Fanque.) Incidentally, Fanque was the first recorded person of colour to own a circus in Britain. 25:54 The "arpeggio" is a standard part of an Indian rag, stating the key he's playing in. 26:36 Of course it's deep. George was the one of all the Beatles who took to Buddhism the most; he practiced it for the rest of his life. This lyric is quite reflective of his deepening understanding. He also felt a strong pull toward classical Indian music, hence his incorporation of sitars (he eventually learned how to play one). This is much more developed than the material with sitars on _Rubber Soul_ or _Revolver_ ; he's pulled in a tabalayi as well as a sitaravadak (I don't think he was yet good enough to play music that complex himself). 31:28 And let's please to remember that Paul wrote this song in 1958, when he was _sixteen fucking years old_ ! Could you have done something so evergreen at that age? I sure as hell couldn't have. The music's absolutely in the classic tradition of the British music hall, and the lyric's not far away either. 33:19 The heavy breathing is a simulacrum of some guy working to reach orgasm. (Sometimes you have to have a dirty mind to know what they were up to.) 34:54 The bugle and the baying hounds are meant to suggest the local foxhunt is riding through the middle of the chaos. 37:04 "What's going on" is that John wrote the beginning and end, but got stuck for a middle section. Paul then dropped in his reminiscence of going to school, smoking fags on the bus, and generally being a teenager. 38:23 The bit you missed about the very end was that the final groove on the vinyl was looped, so it would play the cacophony again over and over until you finally got tired and lifted the needle.

[@NigelT57]

A true sophomaniac. Well done.

[@cremetangerine82]

Great analysis, but George was into Hinduism than Buddhism.

[@ossyable]

I disagree, G to me is the easiest key to work in. Pretty much all open chords. Though different keys work well with different genres and moods

[@calicosky9863]

I just learned that john and paul had wrote more than 100 songs in their teenage years before they got their first hits song. So that's explained why they are such great songwriters