Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's was probably the most critically acclaimed album released by the Beatles. Accolades were poured over the Beatles for the album's musical innovation and style. Sgt. Pepper's had significant influence on the direction of the music industry and the artistic control given to artists by labels. Like its predecessor, Revolver, the album has become known for advancing the development of popular music into subgenres such as psychedelic rock, electronica, progressive rock and world music. The album was ranked first in Colin Larkin's book All-Time Top 1000 Albums and the top ten in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In many charts it is listed as the greatest album of all time. We rank it at number ten on our list of the 200 greatest albums of all time. The only Beatles album ahead of it is Abbey Road, which we have at number two.

Track List
1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
4. Getting Better
5. Fixing A Hole
6. She's Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
8. Within You Without You
9. When I'm Sixty-Four
10. Lovely Rita
11. Good Morning, Good Morning
12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
13. A Day In The Life

Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as a part of their Original Master Recording series in 1983. Mastered from the original stereo master tapes at half-speed and pressed on high quality vinyl using lacquers cut on the Ortofon Cutting System by the Victor Company of Japan, Unlike the original UK pressing and the 2014 reissue, MOFI's version of Sgt. Pepper's is good, but it sounds restrained. The musical separation, clarity, punchiness, and dynamic range that is very present on the original release and the 2014 reissue are lacking on this release. It also tends to be noisy, with pops and clicks that do not go away with cleaning. Not something one would expect from "high quality vinyl". All that said, this release is not horrible. It's just not what you would expect from a so called audiophile company, especially when you can acquire mass produced versions that sound more alive. Instead of investing in this version of Sgt. Pepper's, you may want to look to the 2014 or even the 2018 reissue if the 2014 release is out of your price range.  💸

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