Fab Foundations # 11: “Pepper Shaker”

(Personal reflections inspired by Beatles songs)

Song: “She’s Leaving Home”
Album: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Release Date: May 1967

In just about every “top” list there is for best Rock albums of all time, one is sure to see Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band nestled in there somewhere (most often at or near the top of the given top list).  I have to agree with this assessment, particularly when considering the trailblazing nature of the record upon its release in 1967. One of the best critiques of its effect on baby-boomer culture that I’ve ever read was that it propelled us from a world of black and white to a world of technicolor. 

But conceptually I can’t help thinking… oh, what could have been. There’s a hint of a concept in Sgt. Pepper. But just a hint (and maybe that was enough to light the spark for the Rock world). It would be left to the Who to hit the ball out of the park two years later, with the release of Tommy.  From there the concept album would manifest itself in many Rock releases throughout the 70s; the decade that for all intents and purposes owns the artistic rights to the applied science of albums as story lines.

As I’ve thought about it this week, I’ve concluded that the Beatles were never really cut out for this notion of a concept album. They certainly goofed around with the idea, starting with Help (the movie) followed by Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and finally Magical Mystery Tour. But none of these really coalesced into a narrative. This got me thinking that maybe what concept albums need in their incubation stages is a singular brilliant songwriter, such as what Pink Floyd had with Roger Waters (Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Animals), and what the Kinks had with Ray Davies (Preservation Act 1 and 2, Schoolboys in Disgrace) and what the Who had with Pete Townshend (the aforementioned Tommy, Lifehouse and Quadrophenia). 

The Beatles had 3 great songwriters. Too much tug-of-war perhaps? This appears to be the case with Sgt. Pepper, where the others never really ran with Paul McCartney’s original idea of separating themselves from reality by pretending to be this Lonely Hearts-Club band (McCartney’s thinking was that this would give them artistic license to create music out of the box). This “too many cooks” theory certainly holds some merit, but there has to be more to it when you consider that none of the Beatles made the concept album work in their solo careers either. 

There are other factors to ponder too regarding the conceptual shortfalls of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, including this major disconnect: The album’s title; the outfits of the Beatles on the cover; and a handful of tracks are a bow to the past. But Sgt. Pepper as a whole ball-of-wax was the blueprint for the time period it was produced, particularly in relation to what was happening with the burgeoning counterculture. In other words, it was not about the past, it was about the present and near future. Hippies would gravitate to Sgt. Pepper as if it were truth serum. It was the portal to Monterey, Woodstock and the Haight-Ashbury scene. And yes, I’m sure it contributed to the mind expansion of Messrs. Waters, Davies and Townshend, among many others (the Moody Blues, the Beach Boys and Jimi Hendrix for example).

Which brings me back to my “what could have been” conceptual lament in regard to Sgt. Pepper. I am after all a child of the 70s’; that supersonic concept-album decade when record covers, lyrics, and album interpretation reigned supreme. I’d like to think I know a thing or two about formulating album-oriented Rock n’ Roll narratives. That said, my thinking is that, with a tweak here, and a mind-meld there, Sgt. Pepper could have been a full-blown bonafide concept album. 

Here’s how it could have played out:

“She’s Leaving Home” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaBPY78D88g ) should have opened the album. The song is so very symbolic of what was happening in the 60’s: New lifestyles and priorities leaving old ones behind. It’s not quite Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin”, but it’s oriented in that direction, and good enough in laying the groundwork for a narrative: The notion of a young woman running from her sheltered life – guitar in hand - to catch on with the scene. Her Name: Lucy.

Next up is “Fixing A Hole” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPBd8eHQqIw ). This is the theme song for the young guy “from the motor trade” who Lucy rendezvous’ with. He too is running away, but in his case it’s from the drudgery of his 9 to 5 working class week (he’s a few years older than Lucy).  He’s tried to conform to his parents and grandparent’s world. But it’s not working. His name: Billy Shears.

They hop a bus and make their way west to San Francisco, but the scene there is maddening (“Good Morning” > https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Good+Morning+beatles+ ) until they see a psychedelic flyer on a telephone poll at the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets which advertises a commune an hour or so north of the city.  They make their way to the commune and soon discover that it has gained a reputation for growing the best strawberries in the region (“Strawberry Fields Forever”, which should have been on the album, but was released as single beforehand > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44GB53rnI3c ).

All is right with this new life on the commune for both Lucy (“Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds” >  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naoknj1ebqI ) and Billy (“It’s Getting Better” > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGlo9LzmOME ).

The charismatic leader of the commune is a guy by the name of Sargent Pepper. Some call him the “Pied Pepper”, others just use his nickname, ‘Sarge’. Pepper makes it clear to all new arrivals that his namesake, Sargent, has medieval English origins that means “to serve” and that this is what he is there to do. This attitude permeates its way throughout the commune.

Sargent Pepper has an interesting background. He’s British but spent much of his youth in British-controlled India. This is where he says he got his spiritual and communal views on life.

Sargent Pepper takes Billy and Lucy under his wing, partly because he sees musical talent blossoming in Lucy, who plays guitar and sings while out and about the commune. Pepper, we come to understand, has grand musical ambitions. He’s played tabla drums all his life, which he packed with him for his travels from India to California. He also packed a sitar, which he is far more rudimentary with. Pepper has written a number of songs. One of them is called “Within You Without You” and he tries to perform it with Lucy. It doesn’t quite pan out at first, particularly with either one of them singing. Then Billy decides to give the vocals a whirl. Lucy picks up the sitar, and in no time has begun learning the intricate, bizarre chord changes. Suddenly, it all falls into place ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsffxGyY4ck ).

After a few weeks messing around and jamming, they spread their wings and bring on board another fledgling musician from the commune as their keyboardist. Her name is Rita, and she too has escaped work drudgery; in her case as a meter maid in Brooklyn, NY (“Lovely Rita” > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysDwR5SIR1Q ). They also bring a young bass player on board, after he flees from the circus - which is at that time making its way through the region - to join the commune. His name: Kris Kite. This Kite is one cool cat who has all sorts of high-flying ideas. He also has great audio-engineering skills, having mastered the Circus’ sound system. His knowledge defies his age, to the point where the others start calling him Mr. Kite (“Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJVWZy4QOy0).

Not soon after, the band hits the big time after releasing a hit single “All You Need is Love” (also released around the time of Sgt. Pepper > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EGczv7iiEk ), which they record themselves with the entire commune joining in on the chorus. A number of very successful albums and tours follow. Sgt. Pepper gains world renown for his songwriting, but also his altruism. The band performs numerous charity concerts. It all comes to a sudden end, however, when Pepper dies in a car crash. The band members are scattered about that day, and each one gets the news in his/her own unique way (“A Day in the Life” > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYeV7jLBXvA ).

Mr. Kite takes leadership of Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but the spirit is lost. The band breaks up.

Flash forward a decade or so. The band reunites for a one-off 20^th anniversary show. Mr. Kite introduces them with the opening lines to “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”: “It was 20 years ago today; Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play” > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtXl8xAPAtA ). The band receives thundering applause, after which Billy Shears takes over the lead to sing “Little Help from My Friends” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C58ttB2-Qg). The show ends with Lucy and Billy singing “When I’m Sixty Four” to each other ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCTunqv1Xt4 ).

Shucks, … they “made the grade” after all. (I had to fit in this song somewhere!)

There you go, there’s my script. Perhaps there’s a little of The Graduate is in there. Maybe a bit of Easy Rider, or even Forest Gump.  Maybe there’s a bit of the story of Fleetwood Mac in there too. Maybe a little Joni Mitchell. Maybe a little Neil Young. If only the Beatles had put a bit more thought into what they were doing, they would have predated all of this.

So, what is the underlying concept? Utopia? Yeah, why not. This was after all the spirit of the counterculture scene in the 60s. And one could argue it was the spirit of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band as well.

In the end, perhaps the Beatles never did a full blown concept album, because, well…. they were the concept! But it’s fun to imagine what could have been.

- Pete (from Pepperell)