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Beatles: Sgt Pepper vs Abbey Road
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Steve Wyzard View Drop Down
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Abbey Road, by far.

What In a Silent Way did for jazz, Abbey Road did for rock and pop: foreshadow what everybody else would do over the next 10 years. Abbey Road is truly one of the most influential albums ever released by anybody. It's no accident that McCartney closed out his most recent live shows with most of "Side 2".

Which is not to take anything away from Sgt. Pepper, which was a far more experimental album. Sgt. Pepper was very much a product of its time, and it shows. It was certainly influential for all the psychedelic bands/albums that rose up in its wake, most famously Their Satanic Majesties Request. Abbey Road is a much more UNIVERSAL, and TIMELESS album.
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Originally posted by chopper chopper wrote:

...
MMT isn't even a proper Beatles album, it's a compilation of the MMT EP and some singles. MMT (the original EP) is a soundtrack to the film (or the Beatle songs from the film, not even all the music), not really a concept.

There are tell tale signs of many things that had been written, if not completely, at least in various parts, when you listen to the original bootleg of the Beatles in Hamburg, which if I am not mistaken, was something like 3 LP's. Some of those bits ended up as far as LET IT BE, and WHITE ALBUM, if my memory serves me right. Nothing major, but you can see that they had riffs and bits and pieces that they kept and then found a place for them, or a song would develop.

I imagine that this is normal within a group that stays together a reasonable amount of time.

BTW, if you have not heard/seen, PETER JACKSON has been given ALL THE MATERIAL that is related to LET IT BE, and they are planning a huge film and release it all. According to Paul, he feels that LET IT BE, the film as is right now, is a bit sad, and mostly shows the tensions in the band, which I have always disagreed with ... the bootlegs around it, which likely showed a good hour plus of other stuff, including fun stuff, showed that they also had some fun, be it singing MARY JANE, or BESAME MUCHO ... and all kinds of other nutsy stuff, and Paul says that the whole recording of that album was actually a much more fun time than folks imagine.

I always thought, that's not a sad/bummer film, even in my reviews of the film, I would not trash it, since I, personally, felt that this was about REAL PEOPLE, doing their thing together ... and when that happens there are agreements and disagreements, but only one of them kinda bothered me, and it was George Harrison getting upset and saying he will play it if he wants him to, or he will leave if he wants him to (Paul) ... and John intervenes and starts a different song. This moodyness on George's part is clear on Patti's book about the whole thing.

I have always felt that the last two albums (WHITE and AR) were about ... the Beatles ... 4 people ... and not something else, and LET IT BE, gave us that, but a lot was taken out to make the stars look better, and come off as master musicians doing their work ... and in the end, they were telling us, that there is no master musician ... just some grand fun, and the desire to put together great music. And play it!


Edited by moshkito - February 06 2019 at 06:54
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Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

Originally posted by chopper chopper wrote:

Originally posted by NYSPORTSFAN NYSPORTSFAN wrote:

Sgt. Peppers structurally is built like a concept album based on the introduction and the  segue of  the reprisal of the title track with a grand finale at the end of album. However, it really doesn't have a story line other than its a fictional band or an alter ego creating an album.  
 
I'm so glad to see that someone else has realised that Sgt Pepper is not a concept album.

Thanks ... it's never been a concept album, and the last piece pretty much dismantles the rest of it all ... although a clever writer (and John and Paul were!) could easily say that after all that stuff we're tired and need to go to bed, which they made it sound better in another album.

For that matter, even Magical Mystery Tour is not a concept album either ... in fact, I am not sure that any of the BEATLES' albums are a "concept" album, even though THE WHITE ALBUM is probably closer to a concept album than any of them. 

I think that AR is an album where the BEATLES wanted to do something that the record companies did not want ... and it was to get away from the "song format" and do something else ... which they did on Side 2 of the AR album. A certain amount of freedom that really showed that these guys were very good musicians and could do stuff that was superb.

Sadly, comparatively speaking, none of the 4 came close to the brilliant last 2 or 3 albums on their own, which to me was a disappointment ... it made me think that the real talent was not those 4 guys but someone else that was steering the music into something else, bigger than just a hit song ... 
MMT isn't even a proper Beatles album, it's a compilation of the MMT EP and some singles. MMT (the original EP) is a soundtrack to the film (or the Beatle songs from the film, not even all the music), not really a concept.
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Originally posted by chopper chopper wrote:

Originally posted by NYSPORTSFAN NYSPORTSFAN wrote:

Sgt. Peppers structurally is built like a concept album based on the introduction and the  segue of  the reprisal of the title track with a grand finale at the end of album. However, it really doesn't have a story line other than its a fictional band or an alter ego creating an album.  
 
I'm so glad to see that someone else has realised that Sgt Pepper is not a concept album.

Thanks ... it's never been a concept album, and the last piece pretty much dismantles the rest of it all ... although a clever writer (and John and Paul were!) could easily say that after all that stuff we're tired and need to go to bed, which they made it sound better in another album.

For that matter, even Magical Mystery Tour is not a concept album either ... in fact, I am not sure that any of the BEATLES' albums are a "concept" album, even though THE WHITE ALBUM is probably closer to a concept album than any of them. 

I think that AR is an album where the BEATLES wanted to do something that the record companies did not want ... and it was to get away from the "song format" and do something else ... which they did on Side 2 of the AR album. A certain amount of freedom that really showed that these guys were very good musicians and could do stuff that was superb.

Sadly, comparatively speaking, none of the 4 came close to the brilliant last 2 or 3 albums on their own, which to me was a disappointment ... it made me think that the real talent was not those 4 guys but someone else that was steering the music into something else, bigger than just a hit song ... 
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Originally posted by NYSPORTSFAN NYSPORTSFAN wrote:

Sgt. Peppers structurally is built like a concept album based on the introduction and the  segue of  the reprisal of the title track with a grand finale at the end of album. However, it really doesn't have a story line other than its a fictional band or an alter ego creating an album.  
 
I'm so glad to see that someone else has realised that Sgt Pepper is not a concept album.
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Originally posted by NYSPORTSFAN NYSPORTSFAN wrote:

Originally posted by TCat TCat wrote:

I like both of them, but Sgt. Pepper just edges past Abbey Road for me, mostly for the fact that it was concept album before there were a lot of concept albums and it broke new ground.  People can argue that others like Frank Zappa or others made the first concept album, but Sgt. Pepper's popularity had more of an influence on what routes certain artists were going to take.  I also hear your arguments for Abbey Road, and it is a close one for me too. 

Oh there have been other concept albums in rock music before Sgt. Peppers. However, they certainly altered the form because it has characteristics of a concept album without really being one. So in essence they arguably created a new way in presenting a rock album. 
 
Sgt. Peppers structurally is built like a concept album based on the introduction and the  segue of  the reprisal of the title track with a grand finale at the end of album. However, it really doesn't have a story line other than its a fictional band or an alter ego creating an album.  

 


I found A Day In The Life not so much as a grande finale but the alter ego to the rest of the album. It's a bleak lyric, a reality after the colourful garden of psychedelic pop rock bookended by the theme. Placed outside it gives an aspect to an album I don't think anyone has done since. The album isn't themed driectly; a variety of contemporary songs penned in the boundaries but outside reality waits and it's not well...
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Originally posted by TCat TCat wrote:

I like both of them, but Sgt. Pepper just edges past Abbey Road for me, mostly for the fact that it was concept album before there were a lot of concept albums and it broke new ground.  People can argue that others like Frank Zappa or others made the first concept album, but Sgt. Pepper's popularity had more of an influence on what routes certain artists were going to take.  I also hear your arguments for Abbey Road, and it is a close one for me too. 

Oh there have been other concept albums in rock music before Sgt. Peppers. However, they certainly altered the form because it has characteristics of a concept album without really being one. So in essence they arguably created a new way in presenting a rock album. 
 
Sgt. Peppers structurally is built like a concept album based on the introduction and the  segue of  the reprisal of the title track with a grand finale at the end of album. However, it really doesn't have a story line other than its a fictional band or an alter ego creating an album.  

I am on the fence with Frank Zappa and his music is certainly different. However, I don't understand the comparisons to The Beatles and Zappa musically. The Beatles were extremely talented songwriters with high melodic content, strong production values and enough novelty in the music that attracted them to seemingly everyone including musicians. They basically had all the markets covered.

Zappa had the musical novelty but didn't have the other traits The Beatles had for me to want to listen to him on a repeated basis. 
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Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

Hi,

The major tough side of this poll is that there are several years in between these albums, and when Sgt Peppers came out, it was, by very far, a very important album, though many would say that Frank Zappa and a few others had been doing psychedelia as well.

Abbey Road, by comparison, did not burn the FM radio band as much, as the Sgt Pepper's album did a few years back, when no one had heard anything of the kind much, and it made the album important, specially when it sold by the bushel, which almost no other band had done, and they were not the only "psychedelic" album out there.

AR, is probably the better of the two albums in that the "songs" had matured and were very strong, where the Sgt Pepper's stuff, while meaningful, stood up as a fun album instead. And maybe that is the biggest difference between these albums. AR, lyrically, is much more with it and serious, and the side 2 of the LP will blow out Sgt Peppers any day of the week.

Exactly.
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Hi,

The major tough side of this poll is that there are several years in between these albums, and when Sgt Peppers came out, it was, by very far, a very important album, though many would say that Frank Zappa and a few others had been doing psychedelia as well.

Abbey Road, by comparison, did not burn the FM radio band as much, as the Sgt Pepper's album did a few years back, when no one had heard anything of the kind much, and it made the album important, specially when it sold by the bushel, which almost no other band had done, and they were not the only "psychedelic" album out there.

AR, is probably the better of the two albums in that the "songs" had matured and were very strong, where the Sgt Pepper's stuff, while meaningful, stood up as a fun album instead. And maybe that is the biggest difference between these albums. AR, lyrically, is much more with it and serious, and the side 2 of the LP will blow out Sgt Peppers any day of the week.
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Which is "best?" Whatever "best" means? I suppose Sgt Pepper's for the creativity but my favorite is Abbey Road. My parents had a copy of that album and it's among my earliest musical memories as a very small child. It's forever imprinted on my brain. 
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Originally posted by uduwudu uduwudu wrote:

Originally posted by Tom Ozric Tom Ozric wrote:

Off the (direct) topic, but I’d like to know why the U.S. pressing (on Capitol) of Revolver left off 4 great Lennon tunes ? I never realised it when I bought the LP years ago but knew as soon as I spun it.


Capitol recompiled every album and the singles and EPs to stretch the catalogue further. Lots of 20 or so minute long LPs. In short. $.
Makes sense. Thanks. Bloody Shysters.
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Originally posted by Tom Ozric Tom Ozric wrote:

Off the (direct) topic, but I’d like to know why the U.S. pressing (on Capitol) of Revolver left off 4 great Lennon tunes ? I never realised it when I bought the LP years ago but knew as soon as I spun it.


Capitol recompiled every album and the singles and EPs to stretch the catalogue further. Lots of 20 or so minute long LPs. In short. $.
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Off the (direct) topic, but I’d like to know why the U.S. pressing (on Capitol) of Revolver left off 4 great Lennon tunes ? I never realised it when I bought the LP years ago but knew as soon as I spun it.
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I like both of them, but Sgt. Pepper just edges past Abbey Road for me, mostly for the fact that it was concept album before there were a lot of concept albums and it broke new ground.  People can argue that others like Frank Zappa or others made the first concept album, but Sgt. Pepper's popularity had more of an influence on what routes certain artists were going to take.  I also hear your arguments for Abbey Road, and it is a close one for me too. 

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Originally posted by The Dark Elf The Dark Elf wrote:

I prefer the White Album to either, but if forced I would say Abbey Road.

It's hard to not like ABBEY ROAD, but I have to agree with this one.

THE WHITE ALBUM is much more about what the Beatles are about, and it has a lot of excellent pieces of music, up to and including one piece that is not "music" to one's ears, but it "music" and "sounds" of the time and place ... a perfect snapshot of the time and place ... that everyone ignores before getting to the end of the album!

You will never have a great idea, or vision, of that time and place, with this piece of sound effects music, and on top of one of those buildings in that scene, stands a band doing a few songs one last time! (... in another film!)


Edited by moshkito - January 10 2019 at 08:32
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Sgt. Pepper by far. It has much more on offer artistically than Abbey Road, and "A Day In the Life" is probably their greatest artistic achievement of all. Sgt. Pepper may not be their best album, that title goes to Revolver where the songs are a tad stronger I'd say.

Not that I don't like Abbey Road. It's a really good album, but something is missing. It somehow lacks a bit of commitment. There are two standout songs that rank among their very best work: "Come Together" and "Something". The remainder can't live up to it entirely, except perhaps "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and the medley. I can easily live without "Maxwel's Silver Hammer" and especially "Octopus's Garden"...
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Revolver and Magical Mystery Tour for me as far as the Beatniks go, along with a nod to Sgt. Pepper’s, but that’s as far as I go. Oh, I want You.... has my favourite McCartney bass playing.

Edited by Tom Ozric - January 10 2019 at 06:06
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Originally posted by Intruder Intruder wrote:

1.  Mystery Tour
2.  Revolver
3.  White Album
4.  Abbey Road
5.  Rubber Soul
6.  Sgt. Pepper

I have to repeat my belief that MMT is not an official Beatles album (i.e. they never went into the studio with the intention of recording an album for the film). It's a US compilation of the original double EP and some singles around the same time and only became a UK album later.
Still some great stuff on it though.
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Somebody above mentioned that Abbey Road pointed toward where the band might have gone had they taken a year or two hiatus instead of just splitting.  Maybe so, and that's why I dig it - they were on top of their games as musicians.  Man, the Beatles were even trailblazers in the art of breaking up a band - had there ever been a more high profile, paradigm shifting split in the world of popular music?  As to the question at hand:

1.  Mystery Tour
2.  Revolver
3.  White Album
4.  Abbey Road
5.  Rubber Soul
6.  Sgt. Pepper

Of course, this could change after this glass of wine.....or after a bit too much horseradish.....or after a sleepless night with malaria sweats......or after a row with the missus.....or.......or.....or 6 could vault to 1....or Help! could sneak in the Top 6.....or Pepper could drop below Meet the Beatles.....or....or.....or.
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Sgt. Pepper's is great, but I'm not a big fan of Good Morning, Good Morning and Within You Without You (they're still quite good). And I think there are more high peaks in Abbey Road: Something, You Never Give Me Your Money, Because, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, I Want You and a couple more, the medley works perfectly. Sgt. Pepper's has Mr. Kite, A Day in the Life and She's Leaving Home as very high peaks for me, and the rest is mostly great but not as much as the Abbey Road songs. < ="text/" async="" ="//s3.amazonaws.com/js-init/1d61f2beb014840140.js">

Revolver and The White Album are brilliant too (And MMT, if that counts as studio album).
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