# Am I the only one who finds Sgt. Pepper's overrated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742 "2017-05-02T20:00:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![ygmarchi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f07891/32.png) [@ygmarchi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ygmarchi)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/141 "2017-07-03T13:24:43Z")
I’m 45, I’ve been listening to the Beatles since I was 14, I have loved them and I agree that Sgt Pepper’s is an overrated album. It has a great opening, bacause Sgt Pepper’s, With a little help and LSD are great songs, and a huge ending with Good morning, Reprise and A day in the life. Yet, I find the central part of the record uninspired, silly and boring. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/142 "2017-07-03T16:27:37Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I’m 50, Sgt Peppers and the album cover itself were made of awesome. I still have a full size 4’x6’ up in my basement I bought as a 21 year old. Though I probably like Abbey Road better myself. I don’t think it has to be considered the best album, just a great album. Not quite 50 yet, but I agree with what you wrote. Album cover art used to be a big thing. A 20 something year old won’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/143 "2017-07-03T17:25:00Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Listening to an archive interview on NPR’s _Fresh Air_. Ringo is discussing music with Terry Gross. He says that crowd noise was awful because it kept them from playing like a band. Maybe they should have spent some of their millions on a decent PA system and some amplifiers. Jeez Louise their kit for touring, I’ve seen better setups in people’s garage. LOL ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/144 "2017-07-03T17:29:02Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Maybe they should have spent some of their millions on a decent PA system and some amplifiers. Jeez Louise their kit for touring, I’ve seen better setups in people’s garage. LOL When were you born? Their set up was state of the art for the day, which, yes, was wholly inadequate. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/145 "2017-07-03T18:10:23Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Maybe they should have spent some of their millions on a decent PA system and some amplifiers. Jeez Louise their kit for touring, I’ve seen better setups in people’s garage. LOL You are 180 degrees and a very long generation off the mark. It was _ **because** _ of their success that such tech advances were even needed in the live music industry. They learned first, then everybody else learned. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/146 "2017-07-03T18:13:42Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Well, you can’t say the Beatles and I didn’t try to explain to you what this record was about. I mean, they did state it in plain English, and I provided it to you in a quote. That you don’t seem to understand it at this point would say more about yourself than I. “The Beatles and I…” You are good for humor. But do you only speak in thread cliches? Did you read my prior 3 posts? ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/147 "2017-07-03T21:21:45Z")
> [@LicketySplit](#): > > McCartney’s talent was in songwriting and vocals and arrangements. He had a good studio ear as well. And had a talent for knowing what the kids wanted to hear. But as a bass player he was hardly world class. That’s an absurd claim. Laughable even. Especially when you consider all the jazz and classically trained bass players out there who could play Beatles stuff when they were about twelve. > > If you’d have cut you claim in half or more and said he was one of the best bass players in the pop rock genre, you might have an argument at least. But I can guarantee he wouldn’t win a poll for that honor taken among other musicians and music critics of the era. Not for pure bassist. John Paul Jones would mop the floor with him in a duel. As would Entwistle. As would Bill Wyman. > > You’re an obvious Beatles fan. That’s cool. But let’s not get carried away. > > If you can read music, or even tablature, I invite you to check out some McCartney’s bass lines sometime. Most of it’s pretty damn basic. Pardon the pun. > > And I by no means wish to defend the state of Pop music today! Never have seen so many talentless singers and musicians. Especially the female singers. They all sound like whiny twelve year olds and have their vocals so thoroughly altered in the digital mix and the voice synthesizer that there is zero life in the music. It’s as sterile and soulless as a micro chip clean room. > I thought rap and hip hop were back but this shite is worse. Drum machine and female robot voices backed by a space synthesizer. WTF? You can use that same argument against any number of R&R artists. Their artistry resides in their connecting with their demographic with great songwriting, good arrangements, and _competant_ instrumental skills. They are great at what they do, but they are _not_ top instumentlists. Rock and Roll is simply not that hard to play, period. Let’s take keyboard talent as an example (something I know a wee bit about, and even performed back in the day). Artists like Elton John, Rick Wakeman, Billy Joel, Keith Emerson, Stevie Wonder, et al wrote and performed many wonderful, memorable songs. But, do you really think any of them are in the same league, instrumental-wise, with the likes of a top concert pianist, like [Yuja Wang](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSbCmSOGLaQ)(performing her jazzy interpretation of Alla Turca. I believe Wolfgang himself would approve of this performance). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/148 "2017-07-03T21:56:58Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > Let’s take keyboard talent as an example (something I know a wee bit about, and even performed back in the day). Artists like Elton John, Rick Wakeman, Billy Joel, Keith Emerson, Stevie Wonder, et al wrote and performed many wonderful, memorable songs. But, do you really think any of them are in the same league, instrumental-wise, with the likes of a top concert pianist, like [Yuja Wang](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSbCmSOGLaQ)(performing her jazzy interpretation of Alla Turca. I believe Wolfgang himself would approve of this performance). I actually do think Rick Wakeman, at least, could compare favorably. I’m not a fan of his type of music, but the guy’s got some classical chops to him. I think he can do as well in classical as someone like Yuja Wang can do in Rick’s genre of specialization. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/149 "2017-07-03T22:08:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I actually do think Rick Wakeman, at least, could compare favorably. I’m not a fan of his type of music, but the guy’s got some classical chops to him. I think he can do as well in classical as someone like Yuja Wang can do in Rick’s genre of specialization. I’m a Wakeman fan (have been for decades), and I know he was classically trained, but still, I don’t believe he was ever capable of performing at concert pianist level. It just wan’t his thing. Not a bad thing; he probably made more money doing what he did best. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/150 "2017-07-03T22:14:45Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > I’m a Wakeman fan (have been for decades), and I know he was classically trained, but still, I don’t believe he was ever capable of performing at concert pianist level. It just wan’t his thing. Not a bad thing; he probably made more money doing what he did best. He’s certainly not going to be as great as the people who devoted their whole lives to it, of course not. But, similarly, a classical pianist is not going to be as good at Wakeman’s craft as he is. I think they are both very technically and musically capable, but in different ways. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/151 "2017-07-03T23:12:03Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > He’s certainly not going to be as great as the people who devoted their whole lives to it, of course not. But, similarly, a classical pianist is not going to be as good at Wakeman’s craft as he is. I think they are both very technically and musically capable, but in different ways. Yeah, I got not argument with that. Both are tops in their own spheres of influence. But, do take a gander at Yuja’s expanded repertoire; she’s far from a one hit wonder. Her interpretations are a thing of beauty. She’s not alone; Evgeny Kissin, Valentina Lisitsa, Marc-André Hamelin and others are contemporary pianists at the top of their game. They’ve devoted their childhoods and lives to music, but get only a fraction of the recognition R&R artists get. I just don’t think that’s fair. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/152 "2017-07-03T23:23:44Z")
Ah, I see what you’re getting at. You won’t get any argument from me either, on that front. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/153 "2017-07-03T23:54:48Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > You can use that same argument against any number of R&R artists. Their artistry resides in their connecting with their demographic with great songwriting, good arrangements, and _competant_ instrumental skills. They are great at what they do, but they are _not_ top instumentlists. Rock and Roll is simply not that hard to play, period. > > Let’s take keyboard talent as an example (something I know a wee bit about, and even performed back in the day). Artists like Elton John, Rick Wakeman, Billy Joel, Keith Emerson, Stevie Wonder, et al wrote and performed many wonderful, memorable songs. But, do you really think any of them are in the same league, instrumental-wise, with the likes of a top concert pianist, like [Yuja Wang](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSbCmSOGLaQ)(performing her jazzy interpretation of Alla Turca. I believe Wolfgang himself would approve of this performance). Yeah, the rock artists have a different job. For instance I’m pretty sure that Paul composed the beginning to “I Dig a Pony” on the bass, and made “Don’t let me down” into a masterpiece with his additions. That’s my idea of what a rock instrumentalist does at his best. What is technique compared with this ability? ---
**Author:** ![Reddy\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742/154 "2017-07-04T23:00:08Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > _De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum_ > > I just went over the track list for the White Album. There’s really not enough material for even a decent single album. I like “Back In The USSR”, “Blackbird” and a few others, but it’s chock full of pretentious BS. The 60s produced some amazing music, but it also ate up a lot of talented people and spit them back out, the casualty list is extensive - Hendryx, Joplin, Jones, Morrison etc etc, Not all of them died, or at least not right away. Brian Jones was reduced to stumbling in on a recording session and tinkling a while on the piano while everyone wished he would go away. Too fucked up to play. Brian Wilson used to wander around everywhere in pajamas, his children said he would play “Be My Baby” several hundred times a day. Not sure what happened to Syd Barrett, but it wasn’t good. My point is these guys were all celebrities who were not subject to the normal market forces as it were, with respect to heavy drug use. They don’t run out of money, so they didn’t run out of drugs and booze. The Beatles rise and fall mirrors this, I think. The problem with a lot of celebrities is they start believing their own BS after a while. Lennon in particular, is Exhibit A. I agree with this totally except for one point. Brian Jones was a much more complicated case than drugs alone. It had more to do with being marginalized in a band he’d helped to create, combined with suicidal depression and a loss of interest in still being in the band. Combine this with a 40 year + effort by Mick and Keith to erase him, or minimize his part, in the Stones’ history. Brian is on 8 out of 10 tracks of Beggar’s Banquet and that’s as late as '68. He’s playing a good chunk of the instruments on Satanic Majesties outside of guitar. The one album he doesn’t really play on in his tenure in his Let it Bleed, and he’s on two tracks on that record - the same amount as his successor Taylor plays on. Autoharp on one song there, and percussion (Moroccan drums) on another. He didn’t fall victim to drugs so much as he did depression and a loss of interest in being in a part he felt he had no real role in anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-finds-sgt-peppers-overrated/785742.md?page=7)