AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Pepper, with its self-conscious maturity and readymade narrative of erstwhile-boy-band-ascends-to-adulthood, was a musical masterpiece that doubled as a masterpiece of timing. Released into a cultural environment increasingly interested in trumpeting rock ’n’ roll’s virtues as art, Sgt. Pepper was as much a statement of professional self-determination as it was self-conscious artistry. Canada and Mexico without the prior consent of the Manager or the Artists.” From this perspective, the unprecedented emphasis on the unity of the LP in the case of Sgt. Among the concessions the band won was that “the material recorded under this Agreement … shall not be changed in the United Kingdom U.S.A. (For instance, in 1966 the American version of Revolver left off “I’m Only Sleeping,” “And Your Bird Can Sing,” and “Doctor Robert.”) In late 1966, the Beatles announced they were retiring from touring, and in early 1967, they reupped their deal with EMI. Since the Beatles’ stateside breakthrough, Capitol had been issuing “American” versions of Beatles LPs that differed drastically from the British versions. (In the days and weeks after the album’s release, many stations simply played the whole thing start to finish.) In dispensing with the single model, the Beatles made a clear statement about the integral importance of the LP format to the work at hand, a statement prompted by a number of material factors, the most prominent perhaps being the treatment of the Beatles’ previous LPs by Capitol Records, EMI’s North American subsidiary. Pepper without owning the whole, and no clear indication which songs radio stations should prioritize. Pepper was the first major rock ’n’ roll album to be released without a designated single, a song that would be sold individually in 45 RPM form, along with a B-side, and pushed to radio.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |