Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Stereo Remaster)

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the band's eighth album, was released on June 1, 1967 and became the soundtrack of the "Summer of Love," but its appeal is timeless. Work on the recording had begun in late 1966, and at one point it was thought that both Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever would be included, but when they were released as singles in February, that idea was abandoned. Revolver had been finished just in time before the band left for another tour. Now that the tour was behind them, more time could be spent writing and recording. Between November 1966 and April 1967, they spent over 400 hours in the studio - a big difference from the Please Please Me days. Of course, the music was more complex, and now that touring was over, there was no need to consider what could be reproduced in front of a live audience. In the studio, the Beatles encouraged George Martin to achieve "the impossible," and in turn, George and the engineers found innovative ways to make it happen, though they still used only four-track equipment. Not only was the music different, exciting and colorful, but so was the way it was presented. The glossy double sleeve featured the guys in their Pepper uniforms surrounded by pictures of people they either admired or cared about, while on the back of the sleeve were the lyrics to all the songs. On the back of the sleeve were the lyrics to all the songs. Inside each side of the sleeve were more surprises, a card with various cutouts and, at least on the first pressings, the paper inner sleeve bore a psychedelic design. In the UK, the album reached #1 and spent a total of 27 weeks at the top of the charts between June 1967 and February 1968, with an initial run of 148 weeks. And all this despite a BBC ban of "A Day In The Life".