THE BEATLES Sgt . Pepper ' s Lonely Hearts Club Band Deluxe Edition
( Capitol )
We ' ll admit it , we ' ve been Beatle ' d out . Despite the fresh mash-ups from the Love album and the outtakes from the ' 90s Anthology compilations , the Beatles have become the most over-analyzed and overplayed artists in recorded music history . Only Sinatra , Elvis and Dylan have come close . Wisely , the surviving Beatles have kept their catalog free of second-rate live recordings as a peace offering to fans . Sure they ' ve been repackaged to death for new generations of fans peeling back the layers of the glass onion . With the 50th Anniversary Deluxe remix and reissue of Sgt . Pepper ' s , we ' ve been reawakened to the greatness of the Beatles again . Leave it to second generation Beatle producer Giles Martin , Abbey Road engineer Sam Okell and modern studio technology to re-kindle the flame . Going back to the Beatle CD reissues in the late ' 80s to the repackaging of the early 2000s , Beatle masters have seemingly been manipulated by lots of compression and tons of high end frequencies , at least to these ears . Fortunately , Giles Martin had access to the first generation of original 4-track tapes that were later bounced to an additional 4- tracks to fit every layer of Sgt . Pepper ' s psychedelic soundscapes . On the Deluxe edition , the stereo mix of Sgt . Pepper ' s has been finally given it ' s due on the album ' s 50th birthday . Realistically , Sgt . Pepper ' s Lonely Hearts Club Band wasn ' t the Beatle ' s finest moment . It was a benchmark moment where the band became reclusive studio boffins leaving the hysteria of Beatlemania behind . Unfortunately the hippy sentiment of the Summer of Love still weighs down Sgt . Pepper ' s . Granted the bar for the Fab Four is so high , we can quibble about these things . George
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Harrison ' s " Within You , Without You " though groundbreaking in it nods to Indian / world music and his obsession with the sitar , sounds like LSD-induced psycho-babble . Where Pepper really shines is Paul McCartney-penned title track and its end-of-album reprise that jumps out of the speakers like never before – buoyed by Macca ' s amazing bass guitar and Ringo ' s now head-splitting bass drum . Beatles ' 67 have been truly transformed to Beatles ' 17 like never before . The separation of guitars and harmonies on " Getting Better ", " Lovely Rita " are amazing . All the classic Pepper / Beatle (" A Day In The Life ," " With A Little Help From My Friends ") tracks are transformed when listening on headphones , and even notable playing them on an iPhone . Disc 2 shows how Pepper songs (" She Leaving Home ," " When I ' m Sixty-Four ") were built from the demo stage to the final versions , guided by the Fabs producer , George Martin . 2017 stereo mixes of " Penny Lane " and " Strawberry Fields , Forever " are just stunning .
Sgt . Pepper ' s Deluxe Edition is not just notable for it ' s dramatic sonic improvements , it ' s a signpost that The White Album and Abbey Road anniversary editions will be even more impressive .
- John Vernon
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HOOPS Routines
( Fat Possum )
Born in a solo teenage bedroom and nurtured by three cassettes and 2016 ' s self-titled EP , Indiana-based trio Hoops firmly announces its arrival as a sonic presence to be reckoned with on fulllength debut Routines . From opening cut to closer , Hoops deliver shimmering , gleaming guitar-driven psych-pop at its best – think perhaps Foals crossed with Real Estate – featuring songs that lyrically get to the point quickly and succinctly , and driven by instrumentation that sounds larger than it actually is without overkill . This is more than likely the result of the band being comprised of three multi-instrumental singer / songwriters who willingly shift roles throughout this recording just as they continually shift their positions on stage . Nearing mid-point , Hoops is already one of this listener ’ s favored “ discoveries ” of the year , making them a “ must-see ” on their first-ever headlining U . S . tour now underway . One more thing : the name comes from the name comes from the clear plastic dome “ hoop houses ” used by nurseries like the one the band ’ s founder used to work at and not its home state ’ s obsession with basketball . Sorry Hoosiers . Appearing 6 / 3 at Do Division , Chicago .
--David C . Eldredge
7
VARIOUS ARTISTS The Stax Series
( Volt / Rhino )
The 60th birthday of Stax Records is being celebrated with a year-long run of reissues . Each entry in the Stax Classics series spotlights one of the label ’ s classic soul artists . The first wave from Soulsville , USA includes heavy-hitters Otis Redding , Carla Thomas , Sam & Dave , and Booker T . & the MG ’ s . The budget-priced discs include 12 songs apiece , representing eachartist ’ s best-loved singles . The comet of Redding ’ s brief career set the bar for every soul provider that followed him . His disc is represented by soul-baring hits like “ I ’ ve Been Loving You Too Long ,” the infectious dance groove of “ Mr . Pitiful ,” a gritty romp through the Rolling Stones ’ “ Satisfaction ,” and the self-penned “ Respect ” that would become Aretha Franklin ’ s signature song . The disc begins with Redding ’ s chart-topping posthumous single from January 1968 , “( Sittin ’ On ) The Dock of the Bay .” Carla Thomas ’ title as the Queen of Memphis Soul was secured in the earliest days of Stax with “ Cause I Love You ,” a duet with her father Rufus Thomas . Key single “ B-A-B-Y ” was penned by the Isaac Hayes / Dave Porter team that found major pop success with Stax labelmates Sam & Dave . Thomas ’ “ Tramp ” represents the potent duet partnership that was cut short by Redding ’ s untimely death in 1967 . The disc dedicated to Double Dynamite duo Sam & Dave is packed with pop-soul energy . Any one of the tracks including “ You Don ’ t Know Like I Know ,” “ Hold On ! I ’ m A Comin ’,” “ I Thank You ,” “ Soothe Me ,” “ I Can ’ t Stand Up for Falling Down ,” and # 2 single “ Soul Man ” would have earned the pair a place in the pantheon of soul . Booker T & the MG ’ s serve as the house band throughout these discs , and their own CD packs thrills aplenty . The collection features Hammond M3 organ showcase “ Green Onions ,” in addition to “ Hip Hug- Her ” and a blissful instrumental cover of the Young Rascal ’ s “ Groovin ’.” “ Time is Tight ” earned new time in the spotlight when it was covered by both the Clash and the Blues Brothers in 1980 . Memphis-based writer and Replacements biographer Bob Mehr provides a knowledgeable Stax fan ’ s perspective with new liner notes for the series .
– Jeff Elbel
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THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH The Original Soundtrack Recording From The Nicholas Roeg Film
( Universal )
Forty years after the 1976 release of director Nicolas Roeg ’ s tragic sci-fi film The Man Who Fell to Earth , its fascinating soundtrack is being released for the first time . It has been long enough since I ’ ve seen the movie that my lone memory of the soundtrack was hearing the rollicking “ Hello Mary Lou ” during the risqué scene between alien Thomas Jerome Newton and an aging Mary-Lou romping in a hotel room while firing a pistol filled with blanks . David Bowie fans unfamiliar with the film may gaze at their hero ' on the cover in his guise as Newton and be disappointed to learn there are no actual Bowie performances here , but really , they should delve deeply into this adventurous and worthwhile set . The material on the vinyl platters alternates between avant-garde compositions by Stomu Yamash ’ ta and twanging pop fare by “ Papa ” John Phillips . The combined effect is suitably jarring and other-worldly , while also providing emotional weight to one of the serially-daring Bowie ’ s most daring projects of all . Yamash ’ ta ’ s gentle but unsettling “ Poker Dice ” layers tinkling chimes , shimmering bells , piano and distant percussion . Once a xylophone melody develops , underpinned by a moody bass guitar , the material is too structured to be defined as ambient . Nonetheless , it ’ s meditative and hypnotic . “ 33 1 / 3 ” suggests John Cage and the traditional music of Yamash ’ ta ’ s native Japan , blending ocean sounds with drumsticks pulled across prepared strings and bells that increase from relaxed pace to frenzied tempo . The song climaxes with thundering tympani before pairing relentless handdrumming with sweeping electronic sounds . Phillips ’ “ Jazz II ” weaves harp , R & B horns , and a rhythm section into a groove suggesting the influence of Marvin Gaye ’ s classic soul-music score for 1972 ’ s Trouble Man . With Phillips ’ rootsy vocal , other songs like the country-pop saloon crooner “ Boys from the South ” and “ Rhumba Boogie ” hew closer to the sound of The Mamas & the Papas . Recentlydeparted Rolling Stone Mick Taylor features on tracks including “ America .” In addition to two vinyl LPs , the box contains two CDs with expanded scores including orchestral versions of “ Venus ” and “ Mars ” from Gustav Holst ’ s The Planets . Also included is a large movie poster . An album-
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