The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper - Why was Harrison only allowed One song?

Harrison says in the Anthology TV series that he wasn't that interested in the Sgt. Pepper album at the time, that his heart was still in India.

 

That's crazy talk! Only a Northern Song certainly isn't any stronger those those, imho.

I'm sure the suggestion that George was only alotted one song because he had 3 on Revolver was tongue-in-cheek.

The Pepper album is great, but dang, it would have been even better (and maybe more timeless) with SFF and PL included. Still, neither of those are George songs and I'm not sure what would have gotten bumped to include them. I've always felt that Good Morning was the weakest song on the LP, tho I'm sure others will disagree with me.

Like other said, I think George was into Indian culture maybe even moreseo than music at the time. I don't think writing was that important to him at that point in time and he didn't have much to offer for the album.

 

What mdekoning said. George was in the thick of his Ravi Shankar/India period, and spending nearly as much time in Bombay and northern India as in London. I believe McCartney actually played more electric guitar on the album (is this right, Lewisohn aficionados?)

"Within You Without You" is a stunning achievement; a transcendent moment on an already pretty intimidatingly fantastic album. It flew over the heads of nearly everybody at the time (even the other Fabs and George Martin, who were sort of tolerant of George's contribution); but now, with the Western world more familiar with Indian culture, many now hear its greatness. Even George Martin now says he's glad they did it.

More importantly, it's my favourite song on the album.

 

I agree, and I don't much care for She's leaving home or Mr. Kite either....which means I don't like most of the album. I have always said it is their worst release.

 

I think looking at it in a different way, if Within You Without You weren't included on SPLHCB, the album wouldn't be quite as great as it is, and is an extremely important part of the album as a whole, IMHO.

 

it's not one of my favorites, either, and i used to think it would just grow on me but that never happened.... i wouldn't say it's a bad song, but not one of George's better ones....

 

On the contrary, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite is a MASTERPIECE, IMO.
One of my faves

 

Perhaps it would be top of The Beatles poll with this track selection.

side 1
1 Sgt Pepper
2 With A Little Help From My Friends
3 Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
4 Getting Better
5 Fixing A Hole
6 She's Leaving Home
7 Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite

side 2
1 Penny Lane
2 Strawberry Fields Forever
3 When I'm Sixty Four
4 Lovely Rita
5 Good Morning Good Morning
6 Sgt Pepper (reprise)
7 A Day In The Life

 

Nope, it's missing "Within You Without You".

Seriously, that transcendence is essential to the album's vibe, and how it related to the zeitgeist of 1967.

 

Thing is as a 'song' OaNS may not be that great, but as a sonic experiment it is pretty damn awesome. Which IMO is a lot more than you can say for the three songs I listed as my least faves (Lovely Rita, With A Little Help, & When I'm 64).

 

Problem was...George did not benefit musically from dropping acid like Lennon or McCartney.

"It's Only A Northern Song" deserves it's place on "Yellow Submarine" for what it is - a weak unreleased tune. And "Within You Without You" is only saved by the music.

His 1967 output was piss poor compared to that of 1966 and 1968.

 

The only songs on Sgt. Peppers that rival OaNS from the standpoint of 'sonic experimentation' are A Day in the Life and Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite. I think that aspect may be being missed. It's a groundbreaking track; I think a lot of people here should go listen to it again.

Whereas a several of the other songs are just corny filler which really bring nothing to the table.

All just opinions of course.

 

Ughhh - Horrible IMO ! for a start Strawberry Fields comes before Penny Lane, why don't people get that - maybe they need to go to Liverpool for themselfs to find the answer, there is a reason why the official listing is the way it is!!!!

 

WI64 and ALHFMF, the most popular songs on SGT Pepper, yet some here don't think they should be on the album, yet they fit the concept perfectly. You may not like them lyrically or the style, but musically they showed invention far above anything George could come up with. Remember the Beatles for millions were a Pop band, many of the tracks derided on this Forum, usually McCartney songs, were the reason the Beatles were popular among all ages. WYWY was always a drag on Sgt Pepper, and a well known one. To be honest, George was lucky to get one song if this was the best he could come up with.

 

OaNS musically has some interesting stuff, it's not GH's best, WWY is i think a pretty cool song, I think the understated interesting musical arrangement gives the album a break from all the sonic lushness of the other songs. I think it works on the album well. I'm curious how they were all getting along at this point, I know george had issues later in their career getting the others to work on his songs. I was wondering if there is a Beatles biography other than anthology that you guys recommend reading on the group...?

I made myself a playlist and just add SFF & PL. I close out side 1 with SFF, open side 2 with PL, is there a reason you guys take off other songs? Due to the vinyl time constraints? Sorry for my ignorance not much of a vinyl guy...

 

'Musically' the songs in question are trite. If you like them better that's fine but there are no musical breakthroughs in 'When I'm 64' et al. In fact Within You Without You shows far more 'musical invention' from the standpoint of a musician.

 

I read this view a lot about what a drag WYWY was on Pepper, but I always liked the song and never skipped it (still love it). I just dson't get what people dislike about it.

 

yes Lennon song, everybody knows.
but you saw that quoted with "black letters" in Pepper is about fantasy
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=4781978&postcount=39
i was answering if Good Morning, Good Morning is about fantasy too and nothing have to do with who sing that song but about fantasy!!!
was one real question. your answer is "yes"(Yeah)?

cheers!

 

ie Lennon was the master of 'Fantasy' songs, anyway Good Morning isn't really a fantasy song, but a song about what was happening in his day! ie he would read the Paper, 'Met The Wife' is on TV, he may go and take a look at the old school, basically its a song about being board and what is playing on TV, something Lennon was good at! the 'fantasy' is just the animal effects!!

 

I always skipped Within You Without You (very easy to do on vinyl, just start at track two on side b) and it wasn't until the instrumental version came out on Anthology that I gave it a good listen. A wonderful song and a highlight of Sgt. Pepper.

 

No. McCartney was ressurecting old musical styles that he felt fitted his concept. You could accuse them of being hackneyed if he'd written a lot of similair things in the past or if they'd been written when music like this was common. Not in '69. Just shows his versatility. When i said 'musical invention', I simply meant his ability to construct a melody.

 

The least dated track on the album.

 

Trite not hackneyed.

 

Be careful what you wish for! If Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever had been included on the album, then the album wouldn't have been Sgt Pepper, because Paul only came up with the Sgt Pepper concept after Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever were pulled from the album.

So ... with no Sgt Pepper the album might have looked more like this:

Side One

1. Getting Better
2. Fixing A Hole
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
4. Lovely Rita
5. With A Little Help From My Friends (minus the Billy Shears bit)
6. She's Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite

Side Two

1. Within You Without You
2. When I'm 64
3. Good Morning Good Morning (chicken cluck segues into intro of)
4. Strawberry Fields Forever
5. Penny Lane (ending cross faded into)
6. A Day In The Life

Still no room for OANS. It's a bit of a dirge, I'm afraid. It's not just the lyrics - Harrison could have been singing about fluffy kittens frolicking in the meadows and the music would still sound depressing.

 

Slow, plodding, not very melodic, the length. Still not a bad song, but certainly my least favorite from Sgt. Pepper. I think he covered basically the same musical territory better with "Love You To".