Is 'Sgt. Pepper' overrated?

chopper wrote: Pelata wrote: Anyone these days insinuating Sgt Pepper is "overrated" is honestly just lacking context and perspective. If it came out today? Who knows. But in 1967 it was utterly and completely groundbreaking and, along with 'Pet Sounds' by The Beach Boys, is one of the most monumental albums in rock music history. - GenX Beatles fan  end of thread.

Davesax1965 wrote: Since you weren't there at the time, and I was barely just there, the album was absolutely revolutionary in it's day, combining a completely different approach to music with - at the time - innovative graphic design and recording techniques.

Davesax1965 wrote: ... Firstly. For god's sake, people, this is a really dull and unimaginative thread which has been asked time and time again for 50 years. ...

Thanks, Ronstein and the erudite Mr Lemming. 

Just going back to ssmarcus for a moment, who seems very "youth person confrontational" - well, he's young, I'm old. The advantage I have over him is that I've been young as well, he's not been old, so perhaps he'd like to come back when he knows what he's talking about, in about 35 years.

Seriously, being "old" is not "I'll sit in a nice comfy chair with the radio on and have an afternoon snooze". It used to be, it's not now. I've met 80 year olds who act like 30, and vice versa. Forget "old" and substitute "experienced". I still mentally feel about 35. I've had nearly 60 years of listening to music, I have a very open mind musically and I've been a musician for 45 years. 

When some youthperson assumes that being "old" is being some dust covered miserable old fart, I feel sorry for them as they are actually broadcasting what they think they'll be like when THEY get old. 

Ageist dig rebuffed....... 

I have two basic problems with this thread, one of which relates to the poor quality of forum posts in general, and the other one which relates to the specific question about Sgt Peppers. 

Firstly. For god's sake, people, this is a really dull and unimaginative thread which has been asked time and time again for 50 years. Please think of something novel, you'll bore us to death. Rehashing "what is and what is not prog" and "Mellotron" and "Is (album X) this ?" is just a sign of an utter mental paucity. Who - as I said - cares ? Questions which have been asked time and time again are dull and boring and unnecessary. I don't care. Even if I did, it's merely personal opinion. You're entitled to yours, I'm entitled to mine, we will prove nothing. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 

Second comment, regarding the album. All right, we have a personal opinion about it. All opinions vary. Looking at the facts behind Sgt Pepper's - when it came out, Northern England (where I'm from and grew up in) looked not entirely different from fifty years before. If you want to google what life here was really like in the "Swinging sixties", you'll find an entirely different picture than that which you might imagine. 

https://confidentials.com/manchester/shelter-nick-hedges-make-life-worth-living-manchester

Try that for size. Poverty, grime, an absolutely dull grey world onto which a completely, utterly different album arrived which looked like nothing which had ever come before, sounded like nothing had before - with the possible exception of some tracks on Revolver - and was recorded using cutting edge techniques at the time. It was utterly groundbreaking and revolutionary. It's impossible to convey the impact it had at the time on the world in general unless you actually lived through those times. 

Fact.

I like Sgt Pepper's. It's not my music, really, but it heralded great changes to come. 

Debating whether it's "overrated" or not makes no sense - overrated judged by what criteria and by whom / compared to what ? It's a boring, boring, tedious dull argument which isn't an argument, it's just a statement of personal preferences. The facts you can't escape, it was a seminal and world changing album. But it doesn't produce an argument - "a series of contradictory statements designed to establish a theory or point" - it produces endless personal opinion disguised as fact. 

Booooooooooooooooooooring. All been done before, solves nothing, heard it all before. Yawn zzzzzzzzzz. 

Edited by Davesax1965 - March 15 2021 at 07:51

Davesax1965 wrote: ssmarcus wrote: Davesax1965 wrote: No one gives a f*ck. Calm down there boomer. I know it's difficult for people your age to handle change and disagreement and stuff. Im sure its scary enough for waking up in the morning seeing America once had a black president. I can't imagine how you must feel with all these kids dissing your dad rock.  Ah, something else I don't give a f*ck about. ;-) Gen X, actually, and not American.  I see you're from Israel, much younger than I am and into Prog Metal. Fair enough, tastes vary, as apparently do manners. ;-)  Sgt Peppers isn't really my sort of "dad" music, sonny. You might have read a bit too much into my erudite statement. Since you weren't there at the time, and I was barely just there, the album was absolutely revolutionary in it's day, combining a completely different approach to music with - at the time - innovative graphic design and recording techniques.  Roll on half a century and discussing if it's "overrated" is meaningless. Or boring. It's been done time and time and time again. When you eventually grow up - if you eventually grow up - you'll get to the stage where you've heard tired old subjects rehashed time and time again. Then you won't give a f*ck, either.  It's great being old. ;-)

Yeah yeah, "Dad rock", thanks. 

Perhaps I should say "I don't give a f*ck" about whether someone considers Sgt Pepper's to be overrated or not. I don't care whether people think Kajagoogoo is prog rock and I don't care whether or not someone thinks Richie Blackmore is better than George Formby. 

Because I am capable of forming my own opinions and not engaging in some kind of idiotic peer appraisal and consensus. 

Who cares whether what the general opinion is ? It's YOUR view that counts, YOUR opinion, you don't have to all agree and it's probably best you don't. Because it gives some kind of hope that people might be able to think for themselves.

How many utterly useless threads are started on this forum when people with nothing to talk about come up with some endless rechurning ? 

Asking whether or not you think Sgt Pepper's is overrated or not is just clickbait. All albums vary due to listeners varying. You can not define art with science and it's utterly pointless to attempt to do so. 

Did you like it ? Yes ? Good. 
Did you not like it ? Yes ? Fair enough, personal taste. 

Who wants or needs an endless dissection after that, FFS ? 

A Crimson Mellotron wrote: Cristi wrote: Davesax1965 wrote: No one gives a f*ck. it seems some people do give a ... because this thread keeps getting resurrected by every newbie  It really does

A Crimson Mellotron wrote: It's iconic but for a lot of people, including musicians (Steven Wilson, for example) the album is slightly overrated. What do you think?

Davesax1965 wrote: No one gives a f*ck.