Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father
Various Artists
New Musical Express NME PEP LP-100
1988
I picked this up several years ago largely because "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" has been the seminal album of my record collecting life. I've worshipped it since I was a young teen. I had my doubts about this album because I only knew about half the artists on it. I'm a big fan of Sonic Youth and the Wedding Present and a fan of Billy Bragg, Michelle Shocked and the Fall so I figured it would at least be decent although I probably would have bought it even if it was full of covers by the likes of the Eagles, Kansas and Styx. I feel like the original album is indestructible, it resists even the lamest of covers with its indomitable greatness. Actually the album is better than decent and I am happy I bought it. It was a charity record benefiting a child welfare telephone line in England which seems like a very worthy cause although I bought my copy used so my money only benefited a record store. It sticks to the original running order with the title track delivered by the British hip hop trio the Three Wize Men. I don't think that hip hop is a suitable style for the song, but it is certainly different as well as adventurous and sounds better than I would have predicted. The Scottish pop group Wet Wet Wet performs "With a Little Help From My Friends" in a slick poppy style that I find even more disconcerting than the previous hip hop track, but it is done very well if you like that sort of thing. The British soul group the Christians play "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" in a manner that retains much of the psychedelic flavor of the original and it is largely faithful to the Beatles' arrangement. I like it but it is one of the least memorable cuts on the album. The Wedding Present are joined by the wonderful Amelia Fletcher (of my big faves Heavenly and Talulah Gosh) for "Getting Better." Their hyped up version of the song sounds more like the Wedding Present than the Beatles but I love it anyway. It is my second favorite track on the album. The Scottish duo Hue & Cry are given the task of interpreting "Fixing a Hole." It is an interesting jazzy arrangement of the song that is far more dynamic than the original. I'm impressed by it. Billy Bragg is joined by his regular collaborator pianist Cara Tivey for the difficult job of covering "She's Leaving Home" which was a double A-side chart topping single in the U.K. backed with the Wet Wet Wet track (which I suspect drove most of the sales.) Tivey's evocative piano lines carry the song and I consider them an improvement over the orchestrated arrangement of the Beatles' version. Bragg's thick accent and heavy voice undercut the sentimentality inherent in the lyrics and I prefer this version to the Beatles's own version. Chris Sievey's oddball alter-ego Frank Sidebottom closes out the side with "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite." I have to admit I don't get the Sidebottom schtick and find his whiny voice irritating. The arrangement of the song is similar to the Beatles' one minus the psychedelic sound effects, although Sievey inserts a bit of "Twist and Shout" into the middle of the song for some reason. I'm utterly charmed by the way the song reproduces the run-off gibberish from the Beatles' original ending of the album only to be admonished with a sneering "that's on the other side, stupid!" Side two opens with Sonic Youth's spectacular version of "Within You Without You" which is my favorite track. The band is faithful to the original arrangement, but supercharge it with guitar noise and tribal-style drumming. This thrilling track is one of my all-time favorite Beatles covers and the album is worth picking up for it alone. The British jazzers the Courtney Pine Quartet are a well-chosen choice for "When I'm Sixty-Four." They do it as a swinging instrumental taken at a faster tempo than the original. I find it very invigorating which is certainly not the case with the original version although it completely lacks the original's charm. Michelle Shocked sings "Lovely Rita" as a low-key folk song which places the focus on her lovely vocal. I find it very appealing but I do miss the psychedelic stylistics of the original. The Australian alt-rock band the Triffids perform "Good Morning Good Morning" which sounds very 1980s with the mannered vocals and big drums people liked for some reason back then. It sounds more like U2 than the Beatles but I like it anyway especially the rumbling bass line that drives the song. The Three Wize Men return for the reprise version of the title track which sounds a lot like their title track version except that the vocals are heavily processed to the point of being almost indecipherable. It is also more than twice as long as the original reprise version for no good reason that I can discern. The Fall close out the album with my favorite song on the original album, "A Day in the Life." The Fall stick pretty close to the original to my surprise only Mark E. Smith's distinctive voice and vocal style bare any resemblance to the Fall's typical sound. There is yet another version of the run-out gibberish to finish the song, this time in the appropriate place. I find the track a little disappointing yet I have to admit I'm pleased that the song is respectful of the original. Although I would say this is actually a very good album, I feel it proves my theory that "Sgt.Pepper" is indestructible. These tracks are all over the place, often wildly different than the original and yet the result is still coherent and compelling. I think it validates the idea of the concept album since it can survive such a massive disparity of style and sound. Also it is just plain fun to listen to. It is made with love and spirit and I would recommend it to all Beatles fans with open minds and a taste for sonic adventure.
