The subtitle of this blog is “Adventures in Collecting Beatles Music” and so we often get people inquiring about rare (or not-so-rare) pressings that they’ve come across out in the wild.
Like this one earlier this week from a reader named D-Wizz who is based in Brisbane, Australia:
I refer to the attached photos which are both sides of the same record. I note that the font used for each label is different. Side 2 looks like a 1960s style while Side 1 has an early 70s font. I cannot find an example of this on any Beatles related site, so I wonder is it a rarity, a mis-pressing, or something else? Does it make this copy any more valuable?
Thanks for your attention and assistance.
Regards, etc.
We love a challenge like this and delved into doing a little research. This is right at the heart of the adventures in collecting Beatles music! Here’s what we wrote back with:
Thanks for your email, and for sending through actual photos of the labels. This makes identification so much easier!
We’ve consulted the book An Overview of Australian Beatles Records by Jaesen Jones, which is a fantastic resource, plus his comprehensive website I Am The Platypus – The Beatles Australian Records Labelography – also very helpful in identifying Aussie Beatle pressings and variations. For what you need to know you should look at this page for the Sgt. Pepper’s label variations, and this page for further info on Australian label variations generally (click on the “Orange 1-Box” tab at the top).
What you have here is obviously a pressing of Sgt. Pepper’s that came out around October 1978 when EMI Australia was right in the middle of transitioning from one label design to another.
You’ve correctly identified that your Side 2 label is older – and in fact it is. It was the orange Parlophone label in use on Australian pressings of Sgt. Pepper’s from 1969-1978. It is known as the Orange 1-Box Style A, and has the word STEREO written large at the top.
Then, in October 1978, EMI changed that label to what is called the Orange 1-Box Style B. This still has the word STEREO, but now in a much smaller font and set to the right of the spindle hole above the catalogue number. This is your Side 1 label.
We’d guess that when they were pressing your copy it must have been right on the change-over date between the two variations in October 1978. They obviously had some of the older style Side 2 labels left over (Orange 1-Box Style A) and where just using them up. However, for Side 1 they’d obviously started using the new-look Orange 1-Box Style B labels.
(FYI there was a further orange label variation that was introduced from early 1979 called Orange 1-Box Style C that was used up to 1981. This had no mention of the word “Stereo” on it at all).
So, is your copy rare and more valuable? Well, it is interesting!
Jaeson Jones includes in his book a ‘Guide to Rarity’ and, on a scale of 1-10 (where 1 is very common, and 10 is very rare), he lists the Sgt. Pepper’s Orange 1-Box Style A as a 5, and the Orange 1-Box Style B as a 3. Both therefore are reasonably common I’m afraid – but at least yours is different and it has a bit of a story behind it! I dunno, maybe we’d rate it as a 6?
With the holidays upon us, and to celebrate the release of the 2017 remix of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (on 180 gram vinyl) in single LP form – plus the Sgt. Pepper vinyl picture disc, here are a couple of Pepper-related items for your listening pleasure.
For the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper earlier this year The Music Show spoke to singer Barb Junger (whom you’ll hear has a record of Beatle covers out) and writer Joyce Morgan about their memories of first hearing the album back when it was first released in the Summer of Love:
The Music Show also spoke to Beatle biographer extraordinaire, Mark Lewisohn:
The program’s final Pepper installment came from Joanne Petersen, Brian Epstein’s personal assistant. Petersen, who now lives in Australia, recalls the time she heard a test pressing of Sgt. Pepper’s; details some of the launch activities (including John Lennon’s psychedelic Rolls Royce); and George Harrison refusing to cuddle British DJ Kenny Everett:
Their Pepper special also came with a special bonus. It’s a link to a fantastic mini documentary on the background to the people (and horses!) mentioned in the poster John Lennon used to inspire his song, ‘Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite’. And, believe it or not, there’s another Australian connection:
All audio is ex ABC Radio National. Visit The Music Showwebsite for more of their great programs.
Along with the news about the Beatles’Christmas Records box set (due out on December 15), there’ll also be available – on that same day – a picture disc edition of the 2017 stereo re-master/re-mix of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band:
To date there is no information about how the picture disc will be packaged. However, we do know that it will be joined by a single-disc black vinyl version of the 2017 re-mix of Sgt. Pepper (the initial vinyl release was a two record set):
Plus, if you fancy yourself as a bit of an audiophile and into the best sound you can get, there’ll be a high-definition digital audio download version of Sgt.Pepper’s available in 96 kHz/24 bit quality.
It will basically be the same running order as the two-disc Deluxe Anniversary CD which features the new Giles Martin 2017 stereo mix, plus 18 additional tracks.
These include complete alternate takes for each of Pepper’s 13 songs, plus the 2017 stereo mix and an instrumental take of ‘Penny Lane’, and the 2015 stereo mix and two complete alternate takes of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ – all in 96 kHz/24 bit…..
We saw this page a little while back in the lead-up to the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 50th Anniversary reissues, but it has since been added to substantially and grown even more comprehensive.
The “Sgt Pepper Photos” website is a project dedicated to locating the exact source images for all the photographs and items used on the cover of The Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
It is very much worthy of mention. In fact, the more that word gets around, the more likely that additional original photographs and information will emerge and the site can be updated and added to.
Here are just a few examples of what the page is trying to do:
(click on images to see larger versions)
Above each image is some research about the celebrity or person and why they were chosen for the iconic cover.
We agree wholeheartedly with the person in the “Comments” section below the research who says:
“All of this amazing research deserves to be compiled into a physical book, a full-colour coffee table-sized volume, the annotated Sgt. Pepper cover. Have you considered doing this? This is the book that should have come out on the 50th anniversary of the album. Well done, sir!”
Chris, the owner of the site, has also added a lengthy article about the photographic assistant on the day, Nigel Hartnup The Man Who ‘Really’ Took The Photo. Also fascinating and well worth reading.
More than two years ago the ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation) began hosting an ongoing series celebrating the 50th anniversary of each British Beatle LP.
As each album marks its anniversary ABC Radio presenter Rod Quinn speaks to US John Lennon biographer and amazing Beatle expert Jude Southerland Kessler. Jude is the author of the extraordinary (and ambitious!) nine-volume John Lennon narrative biography. The last instalment in Jude’s series was Volume 3: She Loves You, but Volume 4: Should Have Known Better is due out soon – in March, 2018 we believe.
It’s been quite a while since we gave you an update on the ABC Radio podcast series. There have been quite a few, so here goes.
In Japan, as they usually do, the forthcoming deluxe box set edition celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, will come with some neat additional extras – including a cut-out diorama of the classic cover image. Here’s what the diorama will look like when constructed:
As you can see on the advertising flyer above “assembly takes 2-3 hours (so you can enjoy the Sgt. Pepper album 3-5 times!)”. There’ll also be two mini gift cards, and this A2-sized poster included as a “first pressing bonus”:
Finally, the CD’s inside will be in the high-fidelity SHM-CD format – something audiophiles believe gives higher quality sound than just the usual CD pressing. This is also exclusive to the Japan edition of Sgt. Pepper’s.
Alternate versions of some of the songs from the forthcoming 50th Anniversary Edition of The Beatles’Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band are beginning to appear on the web.
There’s this one, a stripped-back example of the title track, ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 9 and Speech]’:
It’s interesting on a whole range of levels, not least because we now know exactly where Paul McCartney went for inspiration for his experimental album Liverpool Sound Collage, released back in the year 2000.
If you listen to the ‘Sgt. Pepper [Take 9]’ track at around 2’08” in, he’s singing the same words we hear on the track ‘Free Now’:
On the Liverpool Sound Collage album cover McCartney credits The Beatles (and collaborators the Super Furry Animals), but not exactly where the Beatle samples used across the album come from. Now we know the origins of at least one of them.
Alternate take tracks are being intentionally leaked to the media as part of the publicity for the big Pepper 50th Anniversary next month. ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 9 and Speech]’ was played on the Chris Evans Radio Show (BBC Radio 2). It was also given to the British newspaper The Guardian, and to US radio station WCSX in Detroit, which has also played a preview of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends [Take 1 – False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental]’:
Well, after all the teasers and leaked information (accidental and otherwise), the 50th Anniversary Editions of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band have today been formally announced by Apple and Universal Music….
The breaking news is that there is to be an exclusive, limited edition seven-inch vinyl single of The Beatles’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’/’Penny Lane’ for Record Store Day on April 22:
Meanwhile, here’s the official Press Release:
THE BEATLES CELEBRATE ‘SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND’ WITH SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY EDITION RELEASES
‘Sgt. Pepper’ Presented with New Mixes in Stereo and 5.1 Surround Audio; Expanded with Previously Unreleased Session Recordings, Video Features & Special Packaging Previously Unreleased 1992 Documentary Film, ‘The Making of Sgt. Pepper,’ Restored for Anniversary Edition’s Super Deluxe Boxed Set
London – April 5, 2017 – It was 50 years ago this June 1st when The Beatles’ John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr astonished and delighted the world, ushering in the Summer of Love with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, a groundbreaking masterwork that became popular music’s most universally acclaimed album. To salute the occasion, The Beatles will release a suite of lavishly presented ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Anniversary Edition packages on May 26 (Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe). The album is newly mixed by Giles Martin and Sam Okell in stereo and 5.1 surround audio and expanded with early takes from the studio sessions, including no fewer than 34 previously unreleased recordings.
“It’s crazy to think that 50 years later we are looking back on this project with such fondness and a little bit of amazement at how four guys, a great producer and his engineers could make such a lasting piece of art,” says Paul McCartney in his newly-penned introduction for the ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Anniversary Edition.
“‘Sgt. Pepper’ seemed to capture the mood of that year, and it also allowed a lot of other people to kick off from there and to really go for it,” Ringo Starr recalls in the Anniversary Edition’s book.
For Record Store Day on April 22, Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe will release an exclusive, limited edition seven-inch vinyl single of The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane,” among the first songs recorded during the ‘Sgt. Pepper’ sessions, which began in November 1966. Rather than being held for inclusion on the album, the two songs were released as a double A-sided single in February 1967. Amidst intense media speculation about the band’s next move, the single bridged what was then considered a long gap between the Revolver album, released in August 1966, and ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ which followed 10 months later.
This is the first time Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band has been remixed and presented with additional session recordings, and it is the first Beatles album to be remixed and expanded since the 2003 release of Let It Be… Naked. To create the new stereo and 5.1 surround audio mixes for ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell worked with an expert team of engineers and audio restoration specialists at Abbey Road Studios in London. All of the Anniversary Edition releases include Martin’s new stereo mix of the album, which was sourced directly from the original four-track session tapes and guided by the original, Beatles-preferred mono mix produced by his father, George Martin.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Anniversary Edition releases include:
A CD featuring the new ‘Sgt. Pepper’ stereo mix, complete with the original U.K. album’s “Edit for LP End” run-out groove.
Deluxe: Expanded 2CD and digital package features the new stereo album mix on the first CD and adds a second CD of 18 tracks, including previously unreleased complete takes of the album’s 13 songs, newly mixed in stereo and sequenced in the same order as the album. The second CD also includes a new stereo mix and a previously unreleased instrumental take of “Penny Lane” and the 2015 stereo mix and two previously unreleased complete takes of “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
Deluxe Vinyl: Expanded 180-gram 2LP vinyl package features the new stereo album mix on the first LP and adds a second LP with previously unreleased complete takes of the album’s 13 songs, newly mixed in stereo and sequenced in the same order as the album.
Super Deluxe: The comprehensive six-disc boxed set features:
CD 1: New stereo album mix
CDs 2 & 3:
– 33 additional recordings from the studio sessions, most previously unreleased and mixed for the first time from the four-track session tapes, sequenced in chronological order of their recording dates
– A new stereo mix of “Penny Lane” and the 2015 stereo mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
CD 4:
– Direct transfers of the album’s original mono mix and the “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” singles
– Capitol Records’ U.S. promotional mono single mix of “Penny Lane”
– Previously unreleased early mono mixes of “She’s Leaving Home,” “A Day In The Life,” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” (a mix thought to have been erased from a tape in 1967, but discovered during archive research for the anniversary edition)
Discs 5 & 6 (Blu-ray and DVD):
– New 5.1 surround audio mixes of the album and “Penny Lane” by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, plus their 2015 5.1 surround mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
– High resolution audio versions of the new stereo mixes of the album and “Penny Lane” and of the 2015 stereo mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
– Video features: 4K restored original promotional films for “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lane,” and “A Day In The Life;” plus The Making of Sgt. Pepper, a restored, previously unreleased documentary film (broadcast in 1992), featuring insightful interviews with McCartney, Harrison, and Starr, and in-studio footage introduced by George Martin.
– “A splendid time is guaranteed for all” –
The album’s vibrant artwork, including its extravagant Pop Art cover which finds The Beatles surrounded by a crowd of heroes in a 3D collage, was created by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth in collaboration with the band. The original artwork is showcased across the suite of Anniversary Edition releases, including the album’s pull-out sheet of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ cutouts. Housed in a 12-inch by 12-inch box with lenticular artwork and two bonus posters, the six-disc Super Deluxe set is presented with a 144-page hardcover book. The book includes new introductions by Paul McCartney and Giles Martin, and chapters covering comprehensive song-by-song details and recording information, the design of the cover, the album’s musical innovations and its historical context by Beatles historian, author and radio producer Kevin Howlett; composer and musicologist Howard Goodall; music producer and writer Joe Boyd; and journalists Ed Vulliamy and Jeff Slate, illustrated with rare photographs, reproductions of handwritten lyrics, Abbey Road Studios documentation, and original ‘Sgt. Pepper’ print ads. The Deluxe 2CD digipak is slipcased with a 50-page booklet abridged from the box set’s book, and the 2LP Deluxe Vinyl is presented in a faithful reproduction of the album’s original gatefold jacket.
– “We hope you will enjoy the show” –
Just as many ideas are sparked by chance, ‘Sgt. Pepper’ first sprang from a conversation between Paul and Beatles roadie Mal Evans on an airplane, when Mal’s request to pass the salt and pepper was misheard by Paul as “Sgt. Pepper.” The concept of who such a figure could be took root in Paul’s mind, blooming with the imagination of The Beatles as an Edwardian era military band — “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The Beatles’ creative wellspring for ‘Sgt. Pepper’ also flowed from such myriad sources as The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album, a Victorian circus poster (“Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!”), a TV commercial for breakfast cereal (“Good Morning Good Morning”), a picture drawn by John’s young son, Julian (“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”), a teen runaway reported in the news (“She’s Leaving Home’), and Hindu teachings (“Within You Without You”).
– “Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song” –
Using the standard four-track tape recording equipment of the day, The Beatles collaborated with producer George Martin to achieve “the impossible,” as they dubbed it, to go as far out as they could with arrangements and new technology to realize their collective vision for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. As George Martin described it, “We were into another kind of art form where you were putting something down on tape that could only be done on tape.” The Beatles clocked more than 400 hours in Abbey Road’s Studio 2 to record the album, wrapping sessions in April 1967.
– “I read the news today oh boy” –
Upon its release on June 1, 1967, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band initially spent 148 weeks in the British chart, including a total of 27 weeks at number one. During its first U.S. chart run, the album held the number one spot for 15 of the 88 weeks it appeared in the Top 200. ‘Sgt. Pepper’ won four GRAMMY Awards®, including Album of the Year, and it remains one of the most influential and bestselling albums of all time. In 2003, the U.S. Library of Congress selected ‘Sgt. Pepper’ for the National Recording Registry, recognizing the album as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” ‘Sgt. Pepper’ tops Rolling Stone magazine’s definitive list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Anniversary Edition Tracklists
CD
(‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix)
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
Deluxe [2CD, digital]
CD 1: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix (same as single-disc CD tracklist, above)
CD 2: Complete early takes from the sessions in the same sequence as the album, plus various versions of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane”
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 9]
2. With A Little Help From My Friends [Take 1 – False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental]
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Take 1]
4. Getting Better [Take 1 – Instrumental And Speech At The End]
5. Fixing A Hole [Speech And Take 3]
6. She’s Leaving Home [Take 1 – Instrumental]
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! [Take 4]
8. Within You Without You [Take 1 – Indian Instruments]
9. When I’m Sixty-Four [Take 2]
10. Lovely Rita [Speech And Take 9]
11. Good Morning Good Morning [Take 8]
12. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) [Take 8]
13. A Day In The Life [Take 1 With Hummed Last Chord]
14. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 7]
15. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 26]
16. Strawberry Fields Forever [Stereo Mix – 2015]
17. Penny Lane [Take 6 – Instrumental]
18. Penny Lane [Stereo Mix – 2017]
Deluxe Vinyl [180g 2LP]
LP 1: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix (same as single-disc CD tracklist, above)
SIDE 1 SIDE 2
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 1. Within You Without You
2. With A Little Help From My Friends 2. When I’m Sixty-Four
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 3. Lovely Rita
4. Getting Better 4. Good Morning Good Morning
5. Fixing A Hole 5. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
6. She’s Leaving Home 6. A Day In The Life
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
LP 2: Complete early takes from the sessions in the same sequence as the album
SIDE 3
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 9 And Speech]
2. With A Little Help From My Friends [Take 1 – False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental]
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Take 1]
4. Getting Better [Take 1 – Instrumental And Speech At The End]
5. Fixing A Hole [Speech And Take 3]
6. She’s Leaving Home [Take 1 – Instrumental]
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! [Take 4]
SIDE 4
1. Within You Without You [Take 1 – Indian Instruments]
2. When I’m Sixty-Four [Take 2]
3. Lovely Rita [Speech And Take 9]
4. Good Morning Good Morning [Take 8]
5. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) [Take 8]
6. A Day In The Life [Take 1 With Hummed Last Chord]
Super Deluxe [4CD/DVD/Blu-ray boxed set]
CD 1: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix (same as single-disc CD tracklist, above)
CD 2: Complete early takes from the sessions, sequenced in chronological order of their first recording dates
1. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 1]
2. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 4]
3. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 7]
4. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 26]
5. Strawberry Fields Forever [Stereo Mix – 2015]
6. When I’m Sixty-Four [Take 2]
7. Penny Lane [Take 6 – Instrumental]
8. Penny Lane [Vocal Overdubs And Speech]
9. Penny Lane [Stereo Mix – 2017]
10. A Day In The Life [Take 1]
11. A Day In The Life [Take 2]
12. A Day In The Life [Orchestra Overdub]
13. A Day In The Life (Hummed Last Chord) [Takes 8, 9, 10 and 11]
14. A Day In The Life (The Last Chord)
15. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 1 – Instrumental]
16. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 9 And Speech]
17. Good Morning Good Morning [Take 1 – Instrumental, Breakdown]
18. Good Morning Good Morning [Take 8]
CD 3: Complete early takes from the sessions, sequenced in chronological order of their first recording dates
1. Fixing A Hole [Take 1]
2. Fixing A Hole [Speech And Take 3]
3. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! [Speech From Before Take 1; Take 4 And Speech At End]
4. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! [Take 7]
5. Lovely Rita [Speech And Take 9]
6. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Take 1 And Speech At The End]
7. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Speech, False Start And Take 5]
8. Getting Better [Take 1 – Instrumental And Speech At The End]
9. Getting Better [Take 12]
10. Within You Without You [Take 1 – Indian Instruments Only]
11. Within You Without You [George Coaching The Musicians]
12. She’s Leaving Home [Take 1 – Instrumental]
13. She’s Leaving Home [Take 6 – Instrumental]
14. With A Little Help From My Friends [Take 1 – False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental]
15. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) [Speech And Take 8]
CD 4: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and bonus tracks in Mono
(Tracks 1-13: 2017 Direct Transfer of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Original Mono Mix)
14. Strawberry Fields Forever [Original Mono Mix]
15. Penny Lane [Original Mono Mix]
16. A Day In The Life [Unreleased First Mono Mix]
17. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Unreleased Mono Mix – No. 11]
18. She’s Leaving Home [Unreleased First Mono Mix]
19. Penny Lane [Capitol Records U.S. Promo Single – Mono Mix]
DISCS 5 & 6 (Blu-ray & DVD)
Audio Features (both discs):
– New 5.1 Surround Audio mixes of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ album and “Penny Lane,” plus 2015 5.1 Surround mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever” (Blu-ray: DTS HD Master Audio 5.1, Dolby True HD 5.1 / DVD: DTS Dolby Digital 5.1)
– High Resolution Audio versions of 2017 ‘Sgt. Pepper’ stereo mix and 2017 “Penny Lane” stereo mix, plus 2015 “Strawberry Fields Forever” hi res stereo mix (Blu-ray: LPCM Stereo 96KHz/24bit / DVD: LPCM Stereo)
Video Features (both discs):
– The Making of Sgt. Pepper [restored 1992 documentary film, previously unreleased]
– Promotional Films: “A Day In The Life;” “Strawberry Fields Forever;” “Penny Lane” [4K restored]
Super Deluxe 6 Disc (Stereo Remix, Mono + Rarities, Outtakes CDs x 2, 1 DVD, 1 Blu-ray – see more detail on track listings below):
2 LP (Stereo Remix plus, as this site says, “…a second LP with previously unreleased complete takes of the album’s 13 songs, newly mixed in stereo”!):2 CD (Stereo Remix plus previously unreleased alternate takes of each of the album’s 13 songs, newly mixed in stereo and a new stereo mix and a previously unreleased instrumental take of ‘Penny Lane,’ and the 2015 stereo mix and two previously unreleased alternate takes of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever.’):
1 CD (Stereo Remix):
Here’s a more detailed track list for the Super Deluxe 6 disc set – taken from the Canadian Music Vaults site. There are new 5.1 mixes of the whole album, plus ‘Penny Lane’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ on the DVD and Blu-ray, and much, much more:
CD 1:
New stereo album mix.
CDs 2 & 3:
33 additional recordings from the studio sessions, most previously unreleased and mixed for the first time from the four-track session tapes, sequenced in chronological order of their recording dates. A new stereo mix of ‘Penny Lane’ and the 2015 stereo mix of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.
CD 4:
Direct transfers of the album’s original mono mix and the ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Penny Lane’ singles.
Capitol Records’ U.S. promotional mono single mix of ‘Penny Lane’.
Previously unreleased early mono mixes of ‘She’s Leaving Home, ‘A Day In The Life,’ and ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ (a mix thought to have been erased from a tape in 1967, but discovered during archive research for the anniversary edition).
Discs 5 & 6 (Blu-ray and DVD):
New 5.1 surround audio mixes of the album and ‘Penny Lane’ by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, plus their 2015 5.1 surround mix of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.
High resolution audio versions of the new stereo mixes of the album and ‘Penny Lane’ and of the 2015 stereo mix of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.
Video features: 4K restored original promotional films for ‘Strawberry Fields Forever,’ ‘Penny Lane,’ and ‘A Day In The Life;’ plus The Making of Sgt. Pepper, a restored, previously unreleased documentary film broadcast in 1992, featuring insightful interviews with McCartney, Harrison, and Starr, and in-studio footage introduced by George Martin.
BLURAY/DVD
1-13 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band new stereo/5.1
14 Strawberry Fields Forever – 2015 5.1 mix
15 Penny Lane new 5.1 mix
16 The Making Of Sgt. Pepper restored
17 A Day In The Life – 2017 Audio
18 Strawberry Fields Forever – 2017 Audio
19 Penny Lane – 2017 Audio
CD1 – album, new 2017 stereo mix
CD2
1 Strawberry Fields Forever – Take 1
2 Strawberry Fields Forever – Take 4
3 Strawberry Fields Forever – Take 7
4 Strawberry Fields Forever – Take 26
5 Strawberry Fields Forever – Stereo/Giles Martin Mix (probably the 2015 mix)
6 When I’m Sixty-Four
7 Penny Lane – Take 6
8 Penny Lane – Vocal Overdubs and Speech
9 Penny Lane – Stereo / Giles Martin Mix 2017
10 A Day In The Lif e- Take 1
11 A Day In The Life – Take 2
12 A Day In The Life – Orchestra Overdub
13 A Day In The Life – Hummed Last Chord
14 A Day In The Life – The Last Chord
15 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – Take 1
16 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – Take 9
17 Good Morning Good Morning – Take 1
18 Good Morning Good Morning – Take 8 CD3
1 Fixing A Hole – Take 1
2 Fixing A Hole – Speech And Take 3
3 Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
4 Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! – Take 7
5 Lively Rita – Speech and Take 9
(Should read “Lovely Rita”)
6 Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds – Take 1 And Speech
7 Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds – Speech
8 Getting Better – Take 1
9 Getting Better – Take 12
10 Within You Without You – Take 1
11 Within You Without You – George Coaching The Musicians
12 She’s Leaving Home – Take 1
13 She’s Leaving Home – Take 6
14 With A Little Help From My Friends – Take 1
15 Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) Speech and Take 8 CD4
1-13 album in mono, original mono mix
14 Strawberry Fields Forever (mono single)
15 Penny Lane (mono single)
16 A Day In The Life – First Mono Mix
17 Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds – Original Mono Mix (lost version)
18 She’s Leaving Home – First Mono Mix
19 Penny Lane – Capitol Records Mono Mix
As you can see, it says “Remixed….a brand new stereo mix by Giles Martin and Sam Okell from the original master tapes”.
Plus, wait for it, one CD of “previously unreleased session takes” in the double CD set, and in the 6 disc edition “two CD’s of extras – a deeper dive with 100 minutes of outtakes, many previously unheard and unreleased”.
There’ll also be a Mono mix “…with 6 extra tracks, including the ‘lost’ version of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”.
2 CD (Stereo Remix plus previously unreleased alternate takes of each of the album’s 13 songs, newly mixed in stereo and a new stereo mix and a previously unreleased instrumental take of ‘Penny Lane,’ and the 2015 stereo mix and two previously unreleased alternate takes of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever.’):
1 CD (Stereo Remix):
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