THE SOUNDS ARE VIVID!! The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Album Reaction FIRST TIME 

The technical achievements of Sgt. Pepper is a marvel when you realise that it was all done on four track recording, the Beatles wouldn’t upgrade to eight track recording until late 1968, going into 1969. George Martin as their producer, really was just as important to the Beatles’ sound and style as they were.

"Almost felt like a circus" - yep - you got it!

This Album was revolutionary for it's time. Blew a lot of minds back then. No one was making music like this at the time.

For the benefit of Mr kite was inspired by a Victorian circus poster John bought in a Lshop in Sevenoaks while filming videos for Penny Land/ Strawberry Fields Forever and the lyrics are lifted verbatim from that poster. So spot on anysis from you. You are correct PS When is Part 3 due in ? . You seem to have an instinctive understanding of John Paul Ceorge and Ringo. Pablo often gave a performance evening takings to a charity cause. Mr Kite was a man in Rochdale where Pablo was touring, performing in his circus that week

Within You Without You was a George Harrison song. He was the band member most interested in Indian music and culture. He followed Indian philosophy for the rest of his life. He even had his ashes scattered in the Ganges River.

Here we are 55 years later and for creativity this album has never been surpassed and sonically either, it's truly a one of a kind classic and it will never be surpassed. 👌☮️✌️💕

This album WAS revolutionary. Nobody had ever heard anything like it in pop or rock music. These four geniuses blew open the world of possibilities for what rock and pop music could be.

Hi there, here's a bit of a breakdown. "Being For The Benefit..." John bought an old circus poster he found in an antique shop and the lyrics are taken from the poster with a few changes like the horse's name from Zanthus to Henry. Because of the circus angle, he told producer George Martin to come up with a circus/fairground atmosphere; he wanted "to smell the sawdust on the floor". Martin dubbed various organ and calliope music together to try to achieve this effect. "Within You Without You" was written by George and didn't have any of the other Beatles playing on it, he used Indian musicians instead. George became interested in Hinduism around 1966 then a devotee for the rest of his days. In it, he is commenting on the metaphysical space that prevents individuals from recognizing the natural forces uniting the world. I find its structure very soothing. George took some studio sound effects of people laughing to add to the end as a way to lighten the gentle chastising theme of the song. It also helps to serve as a kind of "audience interactions" since we're all supposed to be watching and listening to Sgt. Pepper's band perform. "When I'm 64" was written by Paul when he was 14. Paul grew up in a musical household; his dad, Jim, played the piano and trumpet and had his own little jazz/swing band at one time, so Paul was raised around the older sound of dance-hall styles his father used to play. They used to perform this song in their Cavern days and it was dusted off and tweaked a bit lyrically to record here.

This is the album, where The Beatles completely re-invented the music industry! The layering techniques were a first - it was recorded on 2 very high quality, reel to reel 4-track recorders. George Harrison must be credited with bringing Indian music into the Western World mainstream! This is the first time that an album was truly regarded as an artistic piece and laid down a marker for all to follow.

Amazing album! But Revolver (1966) by The Beatles is my top favorite. Definitely worth a listen.

I'm 70 YEARS OLD AND WHEN i WAS 64 YEARS OLD i PLAYED this SONG TO MY wife AND SHE LAUGHED

The members of The Beatles were in their mid to late 20s at this time. You know, That age when you start to question yourself and wonder where you're going in life(i did it) "Self discovery is the perfect description for this album. Great observation. Great Reaction ☺

Within You Without You was written and performed by George Harrison who remained committed to tord Krishna for the rest of his life

I think one of the best things you can do with The Beatles is to simply chill out and not feel you have to understand them immediately, those old enough to have been there at the time tended to grow with them over the years. We were not told 'oh this means this and that' just as with John Coltrane or Mozart, repeated listening let us in.

Paul wrote When I'm 64 when he was 16 years old. Similarly, John wrote One After 909 in his teens. The Beatles used to play One After 909 at The Cavern but only professionally recorded it for the Let It Be album. There are old tapes on the Anthology album of them doing it live at The Cavern.

The album that shook the world from the band that shook the world. Pop/rocks ultimate masterpiece.

The Beatles started the whole Indian influence in rock music; they went to India and learned meditation with the Maharishi in India! They also started the whole psychedelic music thing in their songs from around 1966 to 1967- from Revolver, Sgt Pepper's and ending with Magical Mystery Tour. But, as usual, The Beatles had to change their style yet again with The White Album in 1968. That's why I never get tired of their music; their musical styles and their songs change with every album. You had three songwriters and four singers in the group! The Beatles were a band with four front men, which you rarely see in any band. They are simply the GOAT in terms of songwriting, meter changes, chord progression, lyrics...No one else can touch them as far as quality and output. Listen to all their albums from the beginning, starting in 1962 and ending in 1969. 12 albums in 7 years, three of which are in the top twenty best albums of ALL TIME, according to Rolling Stone.

I love John’s crazy lyrics. I think the best way to describe it is “I get it but I can’t put it into words” Strawberry Fields Forever is a good example of this.

The most impressive thing about this album, is it was recorded on a 4 track.

I have a thing about Sgt Pepper. I listened to it around ar my cousin Graham's when I was 15 and Pepper was the Number one chart album. This was 1967. It was number one for about 26 weeks ! It fast became our go to album on Friday nights after school. How we rejoiced at the lines The teachers who taught us weren't cool ! Etc. The album cover , the words on the back, ter cardboard cut out as a free gift. It was a revolution sonically and visually. It was our ritual that only stopped when MAGICAL Mystery Tour came e out ! We played that instead .

"Within you, Without you" In this song George separates life existence into two parts. The mind is part one. All thoughts and personal being. Part two is everything outside the mind and body. The World, people and everything else of our being.

You are so right on, man. I dig you the most. And this album was my life, in my growing up, in my teens being just blown away, mind blown, by this completely new sound. What a time it was to be alive. Thank you so much. Love and hugs from southern California.

Jervis: you have great instincts about the music - it's very enjoyable to watch you hearing this. Much has been written about this album; it can be debated, but many would say it is still the most innovative album of the rock era - on all levels: composition, arrangement, instrumentation. I think you'd enjoy researching it to get a fuller understanding.

Although retirement age was 65, even in 1970, life expectancy was only 67 years so 64 certainly was considered a great age back then! You have an instinctive understanding and appreciation of The Beatles' music. Making sense of some of their lyrics is more of a challenge and they are still debated even now. Looking forward to the final 4 tracks, especially the last one!

One of the things that stand out most to me about this album is how diametrically opposed one song is from the next in style and presentation. I mean, we all realize there were 4 songwriters, but lord. I mean think about the difference between Within You Without You and When I'm 64. No theme or relation there! Btw, George Harrison spent some time back in those days in India and came back creating music that a lot of Americans didn't really "get." In retrospect we can look back on it and appreciate the creativity, but for some back then it didn't go over well. Definitely a new sound to everyone.

I turned 64 this year! Never thought that would happen when I first heard this in 1967 :-)

I have subscribed just be sure of getting this. You also have a cool selection of other acts too. Keep it coming with The Beatles. Maybe some Simon and Garunkel' s timelessly enduring music on Bookends, Bridge Over Troubled Water albums also ? ?

Don't get lost in the weeds, reacting to the lyrics. Very trippy record.

I said on pt1, that I thought your 'self help' album idea was brilliant, and I've always thought that 'Within you, without you' didn't quite fit on this album, but now I can see why it does. You gave me some insight, thanks. Love, love, love this reaction.

Paul should have answered all these questions as he approaches 80. God love you, Paul. I saw him at Dodger Stadium when he was in his 70's. He sounded amazing!!❤❤

I was lucky enough to see RAVI SHANKAR live in concert in 1968, and it was the most AMAZING and MESMERIZING concert I have EVER seen. I love Indian music thanks to George introducing us to it. I bought several Ravi Shankar's albums after that and find them so relaxing to listen to. Ravi Shankar was the one who taught George how to play the sitar, in a fashion as it takes many many years to master the sitar, it's a difficult instrument to play

In within you without you, without also has the meaning of being the opposite of within. It means outside of. It uses both meanings of without.

You're exactly right about Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite. They wanted it to sound like a circus. John Lennon said he wanted people to "smell the sawdust on the floor." There were no synths back in 1967. Those interesting spaced out sounds at the end were tapes of Merry-Go-Round (carousel) music and calliopes, running at different speeds and some of them even running backward. It was mixed by George Martin & John Lennon. As someone commented here, almost every single word of the lyrics were lifted by John from an old circus poster he'd just purchased.

This was my childhood one of the things i found in school was no not every child had listened to nearly all the beatles songs or know who these people are at all since kindergarten when my father shared their 1 album ive been growkng my collection of everything beatles since the times i would have to explain my t shirts and cd player in my pocket and explain what the beatles are haha to see people interested and learning and talking about them in youtube therefore exposing them to a more younger audience i love it!! thank you so much for reaction to The Beatles! it means so much 🎶💗 Thank You

When I'm 64 is a whimsical song, it's about growing old together. It's a vaudeville type of song, conjuring up images of the old music hall days.

Good analysis of "WIthin You Without You" and the other two songs. You're very perceptive and figure things out quickly. Re "Mr Kite", John did a great job of turning a 19th-century circus poster into song lyrics. Try to find the poster online and then compare it with the song. Re "When I'm SIxty-Four", Paul was only 25 when Sgt Pepper was released, so being 64 was still nearly 40 years away. (I'm 64 myself and losing hair, but feel much younger than the 64-year-old portrayed in the song! Maybe listening to the Beatles for the past 45 or so years has helped to keep me youthful!)

Completely spot on about sonic invention of circus with 4-track analogue tape. Nothing heard like it before. Inspired by BBC Sound Workshop

Notice the theme reasserts itself with Mr Kite being an interval act before side 2 ? And the audience has a tension relief laugh at the end of Within Wothout You. This is a fab 3 song sequence

Great reaction. Most all their albums feel revolutionary when you listen. Thanks for the vid

That’s George on sitar! He studied with sitar master, Ravi Shankar and was very into Indian music and spirituality . Those drums are called “ tabla”.

Circus of sound.. Haha perfect description of Being for the Benifit 🎪👌

Mr.Kite. is a brilliantly produced song. It's circus sounds with a calliope are real and feature the genius of George Martin. No synthesizers !

When I'm 64 written for his dad when Paul just a kid in 1950s. Mid 60s was standard age to die for lower socio-economic types born before NHS. 3 score years and 10 was a good age. Welfare state began when huge proportion of people worked from 14 to 65, retired, died after a year or two. Now government funds 30 years of frailty. My grandparents died in their mid 60s - photos have them and their friends looking like 80-year olds by today's looks

Being 64 and having listened to this album when I was around 9 or 10 repeatedly, I can't believe how time has passed. Whenever one of my friends turns 64 I send this along with their birthday wishes! Hey, you say 64 is not that old, tell that to my body! lol Also, I have been with my life partner for 43 years!

"WHEN I'M 64" Paul wrote that song around the time he was 14/15 years old, and when you are that young, 64 seemed ancient (and this is coming from me who just turned 75 on March 9, 2022!) , actually we thought at that age, people who were over 30 were old. So it's really amazing that someone so young could write a song like that. Funny when Paul sings it in concert at times, because he will be 80 this year on June 18th. He is starting a tour in the U,S. this April. IF he includes this song in this concert tour, MAYBE he should CHANGE the lyric to "WHEN I'M 84" !!!

Your take on "When I'm 64" is slap-bang on.

It was a Circus ! Got that spot on mate lol !! wheres the end of review ?

Realize you hearing a different genre in every song

The voice at 07:42 whispering in the right channel. Never heard that before. I don't even think it's on the mono and remix (listened to each far more than the og stereo).

Paul McCartney wrote "When I'm 64" when he was 14.

Yeah you had to notice that the music sounded like it came from the 1920s so I gave you that feeling of someone who is at age the music that they would have listened to back in the day

Paul was about 25yers old 1967 when he wrote "when i´m 64" so there was along road to 64 from his 25 :o)

"Mr. Kite" comes from an antique poster John had advertising Pablo Fanque's Circus Royale. He and Paul looked over the poster and took phrases and rearranged them to make them rhyme. In the theme of the Sgt. Pepper album, it's all within the idea of putting on a variety show in the listener's head. Cirque De Soleil in Las Vegas has a Beatles-themed show called LOVE, and yes, they do dedicate part of the routine to the stunts described in Mr. Kite

Within without you is great for tripping the Indian instruments are so beautiful. Definitely check out another album revolver is a great trippy one with some beautiful work and abbey Road their last album is brilliant too

Just imagine like a Barnum & Bailey Circus in England somewhere so I gave it that sound like you're hearing that kakophoni I saw this stuff going on all at once you know really cool

Yes many turned from Western consumerism in the 60s and looked towards the East for spiritual inspiration. This album and the Beatles popularised that movement, the Summer of Love, the hippy movement, psychedelia, Woodstock it is hard to imagine (!) it happening on the scale it did without this album. Revolver and Abbey Road may be even better albums musically but the impact Sgt Pepper had on Western culture was seismic. All You Need is Love. I am enjoying your reactions and your immediate focus and analysis of the lyrics, I always listen to the sound of a record first and foremost so it is interesting to watch someone focussing on what they are saying and meaning straightaway. Looking forward to part three, and hope you give other Beatles albums a listen

They were all still in their 20’s when they made this, 64 was old!

At this time the album sounds complete crazy. Can you imagine. The original vinyl album ended on side 1 with the sound orgasm of "Being For The Benefit" and side 2 started with the indian sounds of "Within You, Without You" - nothing usual listeners ever heard of.

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite was taken almost verbatim from an old circus poster. John Lennon was definitely wanting the song to sound exactly that way, so you are spot on!

I think what it means like with Inuit you know you have the life inside you and outside of you life is going on out there too but we're all connected not like you know you're excluded it's within you and in other people outside of you and you're right about that whole thing coming back over and over again till we get it right I guess then we move on to the higher levels

Within You And Without You. The Beatles had discovered TM - Trancendental Meditation and had traveled to India to meet it's spokesman guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. I saw an interview once, where John and maybe Paul were laughing a little and saying that they had slipped him some acid. I guess the enlightenment program ran both ways. The interest in Eastern enlightenment was big for a while. Lead guitarist George Harrison learned to play sitar under the tutelage of Ravi Shankar who then enjoyed popularity here in the West. He even played at Woodstock. Side note: Ravi fathered a daughter we know as musician Nora Jones. Thanks again for this album reaction. I've subbed and hope to hear more. Peace -

From my understanding and watching things of The Beatles, the song Within you and Without You was George Harrison’s song. He was really into Indian culture back then. It’s different but I like it. It’s very chill. I think George had a different artistic approach to the rest of the group. But that’s what made him unique 😁

John Lennon actually took the lyrics for Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite from a vintage circus poster almost word for word. The poster was so old that there was no copywrite enfriengement. He did the same thing for the song called A Day In The Life, who's lyrics came from the daily newspaper.

Being For The Benifit Of Mr. Kite - Lennon actually took that from a 1843 traveling circus poster. And most of the words from the song are on the poster..i.e., Being for the benifit of mr Kite, sommersets, trampoline, Hendersons, Henry the horse, and on....

Mr kite had a lot of reversed sounds in it which was not a new idea but had never been used to that extent up to then. The album is the pivot point in 60s music. If you like reverse sounds try OGRE BATTLE by Queen. They take the outro, reverse it, tack it in as the intro. Check it and the album it comes from.

You gotta listen to 'a day in the life' from that album... the best song.

The lyrics to 'For the Benefit of Mr. Kite' come from a very old poster advertising a circus-like show - you can find it on the internet somewhere.

Glad to hear George Harrison's great contribution "Within You and Without You". Thanks.

Hi!!! Listen deep purple,,,,keep on Moving !!!

Yeah they weren't using synthesizers they would just actually recorded different sounds and got different instruments like I said harpsichord sounding like bells and different crazy instruments that they threw together you know it was cool George Martin used to make children's record so he knew how to do all kinds of cool special effects and all that so it really helped out when they got to their psychedelic. Era

If this is your first ever Beatles album, then someone should tell you that it's very unlike any other Beatles album. Be sure you listen to at least one more.

"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" is based on a Victorian poster advertising a circus. John Lennon found it in an antique shop and was just fascinated by it. Pablo Famke was the professional name for the first Afro-British man to run his own circus troupe in the UK, though I don't know if John Lennon was aware of that detail.

"It almost felt like a circus", that was what the song was about. John saw an old victorian poster for a circus and made a song about it. The lyrical style is taken from the Victorian period. 'Being for the benefit of Mr Kite' and so on.

It was The Beatles and The Rolling Stones that changed the music of the early sixties! Among others from England.

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

They're in their 20's, what a thought!! 🤔

Apparently John took the lyrics for Kite from a poster.

Because of George and The Beatles is why Indian music became a part of our world in 1965. Norwegian Wood off of Rubber Soul.

Hey I really like your comments on all the songs, but why is it taking 3 videos to do 1 album? Just curious. Good stuff, just want some more.

64 seems pretty damn old when you're 16, which is how old Paul was when he wrote that song (or at least the lyrics for it.) Of course nowadays Paul is probably like "64... damn, that was quite a while ago."

Being for... Mr. Kite was indeed inspired by a circus poster. All the people in the song were mentioned in the original circus poster.

Mr Kite. John wrote this just from a circus poster. Man, you're right on!! 👍

In 2 tracks: roots in 19th century English circus music hall with utterly innovative sonic effects followed by inventing a whole new genre of world fusion music taking from India but not as pastiche or empty copying, rather as a new thing, watch Howard Goodall on Pepper.

Mr. Kite, Circus Poster.

When I'm 64: Paul McCartney met Linda Eastman in May 1967, after this album was recorded. They met a second time at a release party for Sgt. Pepper. She was a photographer. Eastman as in Eastman Kodak Film. They married in 1969. The irony is that he didn't know her when he wrote this, and unfortunately, he became a widower in 1998 when she died of cancer. They were both only 56.

The comments here point out the influences and the motivations, the inspirations and the bits 'borrowed' from contemporaries, and rightly so. Beware of the haters attempting to take away from the sheer invention of this masterwork! John and especially Paul were magpies gathering troves for their musical nest, and through their filter (the synthesis of their collective genius guided by George Martin et al) became what we enjoy to this day, a catalog of popular music that stands out from all the rest!

No pads. No synths. Just great use of quarter-inch tape.

Mr Kite is almost word for word from a circus poster, a day in the life is a mix of two songs. 1 from John, 1 from Paul, and a little help from the London Philharmonic Orchestra to add the crescendo of strings and woodwinds/brass. The piano note at the end of the song is overlapped with most of the band playing that low E. John, again, got almost every lyric for "day in the life" from a newspaper he read that morning for breakfast. He always procrastinated and came up with something at the last moment in the studio, (like reading the paper, "I read the news today, oh boy" )

GO on the internet and you can find a picture of the circus poster that John Lennon bought and lifted the words verbatim for the lyrics of Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

Yes you get it right, BUT then there is LIFE, to chai.

Taking Word for Word from a poster John Lennon saw in London

When I’m sixty four was written when he was only in his twenties

For the Benefit of Mr. Kite was literally read off a playbill one of the lads found. That's it. A bit of silliness.

Mr Kite lyrics taken from a poster promoting the show. Says John.

I envy you for getting to listen (and listen, you do) for the first time. My favorite Beatles albums are Revolver and Rubber Soul. Both came out in '65. You should give them a listen, too. By the way, you got the intent on all the songs here. Good form.

dude take exactly what you said at the bit before 3:42 and listen to the Jimi Hendrix experience album. Voodoo Chile and its sister song are literally in the same psychedelic sphere. A sorta purple carnival, so to speak lol. The Beatles are like the British carnival of the 60's, rough but pretty clean, and Hendrix was like the American carnival, rough but getting clean But Hendrix's was bluesier so not everyone may like it, the beatles were more universal. Hendrix used his guitar to make the sounds while the beatles used anything and everything. Its cool because this sort of carnival music vibe permeated A LOT of very popular psychedelic bands of the 60's. Just with different vibes. I think its kinda cool cuz they kind of ride the line of incorporating weird shit but not going overboard. I think it has remained throughout time because they did musically good things as well as doing that sort of stuff. Its usually subtle, almost like a sonic echo of a time. Seemed to mix well with gypsy esque music if that makes sense, thats the only way i know how to describe it lol. Anyways, i loved the video lol. I think what you said about your understanding of a sonic carnival so to speak is EXACTLY on point but people overcomplicate it. A lot of this psychedelic music is carnival music and in my opinion it heavily influenced and was influenced by disney, literature such as alice in wonderland, idealisms of peace at the time, and so on. Calling it Carnival music leaves it open to being mocked but I think thats exactly what it is and I think when we were all kids we found some way to get some sort of fun out of carnival situations, and they carry each their own vibe. The label can easily be mocked but I think its something many of us intrinsically understand. The key in it is to leave it as a flavor in an already interesting musical idea. It can be cringy too easily, keep it mild The Beatles are an INCREDIBLE cross-section of not only music, but time, literature, politics, sports, science, and basically everything. And Sgt Peppers was during their peak. Really, a lot of music at that time was but i think the beatles are the top dog in that department I don't know how much you know about older music from the 30's-80's, but I've studied it since I was 8, and maybe im dumb or stupid, but I think you sonically understand music and the messages they convey very well. You have the very core reason, in my opinion, in what made psychedelic music appeal to the westernized masses. The sort of crazy chaotic carnival of the 60's influenced through gypsy music, indian music, blues, distortion, nuclear war on the cusp, vietnam, and etc. Crime and drugs a "purple haze" in the background. Sosososososo much history comes along when you start mentioning that sort of carnival-psychedelic sound they played a major role in developing. It really is nuts, but the history of music and all of its influences is amazing. Keep it simple though, its a psychedelic carnival. You have it right. Just so happens psychedelics go hand in hand with that carnival feeling apparently lol. I think we can all relate to that feeling of going to one, or at least what it'd be like and what we'd do. It carries a vibe

Within You Without You is a rather long song, and can seem a bit droll to many people. There is a heavy Indian influence to this song. George began to develop a big interest in both Indian music and Hinduism. He'd even begun meeting with Hindi Gurus. His first recording using the Sitar was in 1965 on the song Norwegian Wood, which is one of my favorite songs of all time. In 1968, he'd convince the whole band to go meet the Maharaja and spend several weeks in India. To me, Within You Without You is very profound. An absolute masterpiece by George Harrison. It is steeped in Hindi philosophy and teachings. Even John made the push to put this song on the A-side of the album because he related to it so much, and John was already deep into his political and societal criticisms by then. "Life goes on within you and without you..." Has two meanings. There is the spiritual meaning of life happening everywhere, both inside you and outside of you and your level of consciousness. But also, l life goes on... whether you are here or not.

Only the Beatles could get away with this album in the mid 60s. So breaking of the mould. Everyone loved it (except for Keith Richards and Jeff Beck),

id recommend the kinks if you want to hear more music from this era especially a band less remembered

As a kid I thought they were singing 6ft "4"