BEATLES RARE Sgt PEPPERS UK MONO 1ST PRESS LP EX

	£		57
	$		75

This is the 1967 Rare Original Beatles UK MONO FIRST PRESS Album titled “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” on Yellow / Black Parlophone PMC 7027. The matrix numbers are as follows Side1 XEX 637 – 1 & Side2 XEX 638 – 1. The rim text states “The Gramophone Co Ltd” & “Sold In The UK” label text. This is missing on later pressings. Track listing: 1) Sergeant 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; 8) Within You Without You; 9) When I'm Sixty-Four; 10) Lovely Rita; 11) Good Morning Good Morning; 12) Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise); 13) A Day In The Life.

The most famous rock album of all time. This is the peak of the Beatles' experimentation, the peak of their psychedelic period, and probably the peak of their songwriting skills, it's a blend of all possible styles. It's not that there are no guitars: it's just that they are completely overshadowed by strings, symphonic orchestras, mellotrones and lotsa stuff that was so new and original then and is so common and boring now. Hey, don't get me wrong: it's not the music they did then that is common, it's the music that others do now that is so. Paul McCartney (and not John Lennon, as a lot of people think) thought that it would be nice to quit the Beatles and get himself a new whacky jazzy band named in the honour of a Sergeant Pepper who probably was Paul's long-lost great-grandfather. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anybody to join, so he just dubbed his colleague Beatles 'Peppermen', dressed them in uniforms and made play such groundbreaking and unimaginable music that the world didn't stop talking about it for months.

This is deemed a 'conceptual' album, but John hated the term, and I really agree with him. There's even less concept here than on Pet Sounds: while all of the latter's songs dealt with Brian Wilson's spiritual search for universal love, the only organizing matter that is present on Sergeant is the title track and its reprise near the end of the album, which in a certain sense transform the album in a quasi-live performance played through by the band. But the songs themselves stray so far away from each other there's really no unity at all. Here they are, track by track.

The introductory song leads us into the world of 'pepperism' with a cool guitar solo and the trombone-led 'band anthem', after which the actual 'program' starts. We have 'With A Little Help From My Friends' sung by Ringo (which everybody thought was about drugs, but probably wasn't), then the fabulous 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' sung by John (which everybody knew was about drugs, but certainly wasn't, it was just named after a drawing by his son Julian), 'Getting Better' is an optimistic and uptight Paul rocker, 'Fixing A Hole' is a great introspective song featuring my favourite melody on here, 'She's Leaving Home' is certainly Paul's most gorgeous ballad ever, and 'Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite' is just an advertising poster of a circus show translated by John into poetry, this song, as far as I know, had their first experiment with backwards tapes as well as a silly but groovy experiment with cutting up tapes and stitching them again in random order. Courtesy of George Martin.

Side B opens with George's Indian music-inspired 'Within You Without You' which many people seem to hate, but guess they're all dorks. It's absolutely fantastic: somehow he manages to fit into the Indian pattern and make a catchy melody at the same time. 'When I'm Sixty-Four' is a nice McCartney ditty (actually written about ten years before), 'Lovely Rita' is Paul singing about a policewoman and playing nice piano, 'Good Morning Good Morning' is the only real rock song here, with some cooking guitar solos and lots of wailing animals in the end, then we have the title track reprised, and then - 'A Day In The Life', which is certainly the only track here that is inevitably about drugs, with the famous line 'I'd like to turn you on' and the 'musical orgasm' of the whole orchestra building up a terrific crescendo.

There's lots of new and original things about the album, too. It is the first album with lyrics printed on the back cover; the first (and the last?) album to feature an intentional crack at the end which kept the album from stopping and made it repeat the same silly backwards line again and again; the first album to feature lots of important people on the front cover; and there's a good deal of other innovations I can't remember at the present moment or even don't know about.

Sgt Pepper was certainly not the most experimental album of all time, if you put a sign of equality between the words 'experimentation' and 'noisemaking'. What is really so crucial about Sgt Pepper is that it was this album, and not any other, that led serious music lovers, many 'classical snobs' included, to finally recognize rock music as a serious, independent trend in modern art. While Frank Zappa was too 'crazy' to be considered 'worthy', the Beach Boys spoiled all the fun with their Hollywood arrangements, and Bob Dylan was still primarily a lyricist, the Beatles did it exactly the right way, and nobody can get away from the fact. Sgt Pepper lives on!

The record labels are in superb condition (see pictures) with NO wear, writing & barely any spindle marks at all & graded NEAR MINT. This superb Beatles album is pressed on thick heavy duty 60’s vinyl and still retains it’s just pressed look with a very shinny lustre. There are NO visual defects apart from light hairline paper scuffs  but plays superb crisp & clean with NO pops, crackles or jumps & barely any background noise & is graded EXCELLENT. Simply Awesome. The laminated gatefold sleeve is in EXCELLENT Condition with NO writing, NO seem splits, NO ring wear, NO colour fading & straight firm opening edges. The album comes complete with the original red / white inner sleeve & cut out insert. Check out my other items!           

The Greatest attention to packaging with all albums housed in aluminium framed box complete with bubble wrap & thick cardboard. The vinyl is also removed from the sleeve to ensure safe delivery.

Postage Costs:

UK First Class = £2.80 Recorded Delivery = £5.50 & Special Delivery (next day, insured up to £250) = £7.00

Europe Air Mail = £4.00 Insured = £8.00

Overseas, non Europe USA, Japan, Australia etc Air Mail = £6.50 Insured £11.00

Doubles add extra £1.00, triples add extra £2.00

Extra albums add £1.00 in the UK, Europe £1.30 & USA, Japan, Australia £1.75

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