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

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Maidenpriest, Sep 17, 2009.

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  1. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    This is what George Martin suggested if "Strawberry Firleds" and "Penny Lane" were not released as a double-sided single. With this track list, Sgt. Pepper would have become the greates album of all time. You will notice that "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "Lovely Rita" were replaced by the two stronger tracks on Side 2 while Side 1 remained intact.

    SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (VINYL)
    Side 1
    1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
    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. Within You Without You
    2. Strawberry Fields Forever
    3. Penny Lane
    4. Good Morning Good Morning
    5. Sgt. Pepper's [reprise]
    6. A Day in the Life

    Who knows? Maybe "When I'm Sixty-Four" / "Lovely Rita" as a single would have fared better on the UK chart against another saccharine song, Engelbert Humperdinck's "Release Me".
     
  2. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    I recall reading that, in reality, George had little to do with the Pepper sessions. That, combined with his reportedly relieved remark on the plane back from SF in 1966 that "I'm no longer a Beatle" would lead one to believe that he pretty much wasn't one when Pepper was recorded. Note that none of his songs were on the single before (SFF/Penny Lane) and after (All You Need/Baby) Pepper and none of the group other than him appears on WYWY.
     
  3. Greg1954

    Greg1954 New Member

    Location:
    .
    That's an excellent track list. Would've flowed great, and each side would have nicely weighted in favor of Paul and then John.

    Phooey on their single, I wish it had been like that.
     
  4. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Only A Northern Song is one of the worst songs in the Beatle canon....and to think it towers over anything Lennon wrote is hilarious. The whole thing just sounds so forced.

    Three Harrison songs on Revolver was two too many.

    In fact...other than Something, Here Comes The Sun, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Taxman and maybe Old Brown Shoe I'd consider the rest of Harrison's Beatle songs pretty much throwaways.
     
  5. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul

    Location:
    Long Island
    I just read the chapter in Anthology about his 1 day trip to Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. Pretty sure this is a picture of George and his wife on that day.
     
  6. Trainspotting

    Trainspotting Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Harrison didn't think too much of Sgt Pepper's, the whole 'music as entertainment' thing didn't jibe with his newfound interest in all-things-Eastern. Remember, he only played one guitar solo on the entire LP (McCartney played the one on "Good Morning Good Morning"). and shake maracas on "A Day in the Life" and add harmonica to "Mr. Kite." He did other things on that album too (tamboura on "Getting Better" & "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"), but one could say his input was minimal.

    The only times he picked up a guitar in 1967 were for recording sessions. He was studying the sitar at the time.
     
  7. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

    So Lennon never wrote a weak song? For Pepper he wrote some fantastic material such as "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," and some real filler such as "Good Morning Good Morning" and "Mr. Kite."

    I wouldn't want to be without "I Need You," "Think for Yourself," "If I Needed Someone," "It's All Too Much," "Blue Jay Way," "Long, Long, Long," "Savoy Truffle," etc.
     
  8. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul

    Location:
    Long Island
    "If I Needed Someone" is one of The Beatles greatest tracks IMO. They even played it live!
     
  9. DrJ

    DrJ Senior Member

    Location:
    Davis, CA, USA
    This is a funny thread in that it's just so clear personal taste is the main issue, there's no objective measures for this type of stuff.

    "Mr. Kite" filler??? Inspiration may have been humble but it's one of my favorite tracks on the album, remarkable.

    "Only a Northern Song" towering over John's songs? One of George's absolute worst in my opinion. George wrote a lot of great songs that get no credit - "If I Needed Someone," "The Inner Light," "Piggies," and even "Don't Bother Me" being some of the least heralded great ones - but "Only a Northern Song" was a throwaway.
     
  10. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    The same can be said to "Think For Yourself" which I like much better than "Only a Norther Song".
    "Think For Yourself" is a very underrated George Harrison song.
     
  11. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

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  12. Greg1954

    Greg1954 New Member

    Location:
    .
    +1

    My favorite from Rubber Soul. As soon as I hear that snarling fuzz bass, I gotta turn it up.:thumbsup:
     
  13. pencilchewer

    pencilchewer Active Member

    Location:
    far and away
    yeah, i would agree with you there.... lots of interesting little sounds going on all over the place.....i can't listen to it now and it's been a while, but my mind keeps mixing it up with "It's All Too Much"... they're very similar, aren't they?


    yup, and the harmony is great, as it usually was, too.... Think For Yourself is an awesome song...
     
  14. sgtmono

    sgtmono Seasoned Member

    But SFF / Penny Lane is arguably one of THE greatest singles of all-time, and Sgt Pepper is still considered one of the greatest albums of all time.

    My only regret is that SFF / Penny Lane ended up buried on Side 2 of Magical Mystery Tour. I prefer hearing that single in it's original context: either on it's own, or added to the chronology of singles on Past Masters.
     
  15. porieux

    porieux plook me now you savage rascal

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I'm glad to see Sir Martin saw it my way. Those are the two songs I would have axed, and I do think that would be a much better album.
     
  16. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Sure Lennon wrote a weak song, but I can't think of any I dislike more than Only A Northern Song.

    Mr. Kite is one of the centerpiece cuts on the album. Sheer genius.


    All those songs are harmless enough, but I really wouldn't miss a single one of them if they were replaced by another Lennon or McCartney composition or just not on the album at all. IMO, with the exceptions I mentioned, George just wasn't even close to being in the same league as John and Paul as songwriters or as a lead vocalist.
     
  17. joelee

    joelee Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Houston
    Guy in right frame of b&w picture looks like Lennon's homeless friend he found sleeping in his bushes in '71.
     
  18. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul

    Location:
    Long Island
    That picture was taken right before George had to run for his life and high tail it back to the airport.
     
  19. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

    We'll have to agree to disagree on that one. It's funny that you consider Harrison's songs to be "forced" and "throwaways," yet in 1970 John Lennon had this to say about the sheer genius that was "Mr. Kite":

     
  20. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Whatever John lennon said, he created a Victorian beauty in "Mr. Kite."
     
  21. Greg1954

    Greg1954 New Member

    Location:
    .
    JL said this as well about 'Kite.'

    "I shoved a lot of words together, then shoved some noise on, I just did it. I didn't dig that song when I wrote it. I didn't believe in it when I was doing it. But nobody will believe it. They don't want to. They want it to be important."
     
  22. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

    Cutting up a bunch of sound effects tapes and stitching them back together randomly over some oom-pah piano playing sure created a real masterpiece. :sigh:
     
  23. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    That's the genius of producer George Martin and the engineering team.

    The Beatles was not just a great band. It was a great music entity.
     
  24. DragonQ

    DragonQ Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Moon
    Sssshhh, that song is genius. The bass needs to be mixed higher though since it's the main melody (as in the Love mix) - without it, the tune seems a bit bare.
     
  25. Greg1954

    Greg1954 New Member

    Location:
    .
    A lot of that could be credited to George Martin's ingenuity, cutting up the steam organ tapes, etc.
    I agree it is a nicely done track. Not utilizing one of Lennon's stronger efforts at the heart of it.
     
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