SGT. PEPPER was originally constructed as an album that was to represent their childhood, their upbringing in Liverpool. "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane", which were the A- and B-sides of a single they released earlier in the year, represented this concept. In later years, fans would often try to include the songs within the line-up to see how they may have fit in.

When it came to record the album, some of the ideas were still there, including some of the references in "Getting Better", or the meter maid that was "Lovely Rita", but they decided to abandon it and just record songs from ideas they were putting together at the time.

The one thing that did remain was the concept of the album being a show created by a fictitious band. The Lonely Hearts Club band were what you were seeing, and the show was about to begin. Billy Shears, as played by Ringo, wanted to tell his new "friends" about what was to come. However, upon hearing "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", it was obvious that the song had absolutely nothing to do with the so-called concept.

However, the songs were put together in a cohesive manner and thus there was a steady flow. When the Lonely Hearts Club Band told everyone "we're sorry but it's time to go", that was the end of the show. Goodbye, everyone. But with all shows, you have to have an encore, and that came in the form of "A Day In The Life", which in many ways has nothing to do with the 33 minutes of music that came before. The song was a combination of ideas from John and Paul, which in itself is unique since a lot of times were often only John's or Paul's. They weren't sure what to do, and when they realized the two songs could be put together, they tried it out and it worked. John's reading of his local newspaper was suddenly interrupted by the orgy of sounds, leading to Paul waking up and going into a dream. As Paul sings "aaaah..." (I used to think it was John until it was revealed Paul was the one who did that portion of the song), it leads to John again, still reading his newspaper. It was nonsense, but within it he revealed "I'd love to turn...you...on". After that, the song of course has 24 bars that were meant to be filled. That role was given to George Martin, who basically told the orchestra to play the lowest note on their instrument and gradually go up until you play the highest note. Just that build up defines the album in itself, or at least is identified with being one of many SGT. PEPPER moments.

Was there a true concept? No. A theme? Not really. As Lennon said in an interview (that can be heard in the ANTHOLOGY documentary), the only thing that truly held it together was the concept of it being a show. The music in between had nothing to do with each other, and yet the group did want people to listen to the album as one. It became something to be listened to "as one", and that in itself is what kept the album together. Or as Paul has said, if the group were not going to tour, the studio was their factory, and they were now able to put the album on tour. SGT. PEPPER was their show, with a beginning, an end, and an encore. The Beatles and George Martin knew very well how to construct an album, with The Beatles love of excitement, and Martin's way of producing an album in a fashion that shows what an album was originally meant for, a documentation of a performance, even an audio performance.

The Who's TOMMY, Pink Floyd's THE WALL, those are true "concept" albums where there is an obvious storyline involved that starts, goes through the motions, and comes to a conclusion. With that said, critics ate it up and called it everything from a concept album to "rock opera", which lead to groups such as the Mothers Of Invention and The Fugs to play with this "high art" and reveal it as a bit of bullshit.

Of course, when it came out, every other band wanted to create their own PEPPER, and that idea exists to this day.















JOHN BOOK'S MYSPACE
http://www.myspace.com/crutmusic

THE RUN-OFF GROOVE
http://www.musicforamerica.org/node/114473

BOOK'S MUSIC Podcast
http://booksmusic.podomatic.com/

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND
http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/index.php?vst=45730