The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Cambridge Music Handbooks) [Paperback]

Allan F. Moore (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521574846 | ISBN-13: 978-0521574846 | Publication Date: November 28, 1997

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) represents the highpoint of the recording career of the Beatles. This is a detailed study of this album, and it demonstrates how serious discussion of popular music can be undertaken without failing either the approach or the music. Dr. Moore considers each song individually, tying his analysis to the recorded performance on disk, rather than the printed music. He focuses on the musical quality of the songs and the interpretations offered by a range of commentators. He also describes the context in which the album was written--both within the career of the group itself and within the development of popular music globally, both before and since.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dr. Alan F. Moore packs each sentence with profound observations, each paragraph with thought-provoking concepts." Discoveries March 2002

Book Description

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) represents the highpoint of the recording career of the Beatles. This is the first detailed study to be made of this or any other such album, and it demonstrates how serious discussion of popular music can be undertaken without either the approach or the music. Dr. Moore considers the musical qualities of each song and describes the context in which the album was written within the career of the group itself and within the development of popular music globally, both before and since.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 28, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521574846
• ISBN-13: 978-0521574846
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #324,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, if a little too technical., November 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Cambridge Music Handbooks) (Hardcover)

At the heart of the matter is the question: Is Sgt Pepper a piece of modern classic music? If one were to look at the other books in the Cambridge Music Handbook series (they're all on works of classical composers, [and here I do not refer to the "Classical" period, but to the generic category of classical]), the question seems already answered, and all that remains is to see just how Mr. Moore will prove this. This he does achieve, albeit through much technical information (both musical and socio-cultural), rather than through truly moving and eloquent persusasion. Moore's analysis of each song's music is fascinating (how the Beatles aurally represent concepts) and his thematic analysis is equally good, even if you don't always agree with him (I mean, is "Within You, Without You" really the pivotal song of the album?) But that aside, his commentary on "A Day in the Life" is excellent. Here even the distanced scholar is moved, he writes (paraphrase here) "...the final chords [of the Sgt Pepper reprise] have not yet died away when the strumming of a lone acoustic guitar begin and the innocent listener is lead into one of the most harrowing songs ever written...". All in all, a good effort and worth the reading of every Beatles fan, student of music or pop culture.

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CLASSIC BEATLES, November 21, 2005

By 

Richard "Alice Collector" (Blackpool England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Cambridge Music Handbooks) (Paperback)

If a series of books concerned with serious music embraces the Beatles its the final word.
Yet its not that surprising when you realise the Beatles were being discussed by classical music critics as far back as 1963.
A couple of years later we began to find things like The Baroque Beatles and it went on through the years to the interpretations by different Symphony Orchestras.
Today Paul McCartney is,himself,in the classical catalogues courtesy of things like Liverpool Oratorio and Standing Stone
In the early 60s classical and pop were a great divide and the Beatles were to narrow it immensley when their music was picked up by orchestras.
Sgt Pepper is their most famous album and has been treated many times to symphonic interpretations.
Its now gone full circle as the Beatles are a musical genre