I’m going to broadcast Paul Ingles’ 2-hour Sgt Pepper documentary on KPFA June 20, 8-10pm PDT. From Paul’s web site:
THE TWO SIDES OF SGT. PEPPER: AN HONEST APPRAISAL
June 1, 2007 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. For decades, the recording has ranked highly on many All-Time Best Album lists. Celebrated as the first quasi-concept album in rock, fans and critics have long lauded the song-craft, the pioneering production sounds, and its colorful, now iconic, cover art. Some say it both reflected and drove the burgeoning youth culture through the “Summer of Love†in 1967. In more recent years, some critics have tried to cut through the mythology of the album and reconsider it in every way. Some have ranked other Beatle albums as superior to Pepper and feel the record has been over-hyped.
In this two-hour special, producer and host Paul Ingles (Everything was Right: The Beatles’ Revolver and The Beatles in America-1964) presents a lively ride that functions as both a celebration of a landmark recording and a balanced survey of critical opinion about Sgt. Pepper. Listeners will experience this music in a new way as they’ll hear both the stories behind the creation of these memorable tracks as well as thoughtful perspectives that place the work in context.
The “Pepper panel†assembled for the show includes musicians, writers, fans and critics. Some still love Pepper. Some “have issues.†It features Steve Turner, Ashley Kahn, Anthony DeCurtis, Jim DeRogatis, Greg Kot, Scott MacNicholl, Ann Powers, Deborah Holland, Richard Goldman, Jim Fusilli, Douglas Grant, Leslie Healy, Stuart Madow, Paul Zollo, Jon Spurney, David Gans, Richie Unterberger, and Howard Massey.
And once again, here’s my brief mutilaudio “Tribute to Sgt. Pepper”