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| Length = | Label = Parlophone | Producer = George Martin | Last album = ''A Collection of Beatles Oldies'' (1966) | This album = ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967) | Next album = ''The Beatles'' (1968) | Misc = }} ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 1 June 1967, it was an immediate commercial and critical success, spending 27 weeks at the top of the albums chart in the United Kingdom and 15 weeks at number one in the United States. ''Time'' magazine declared it "a historic departure in the progress of music" and the ''New Statesman'' praised its elevation of pop to the level of fine art. It won four Grammy Awards in 1968, including Album of the Year, the first rock LP to receive this honour. In August 1966, the Beatles permanently retired from touring and began a three-month holiday from recording. During a return flight to London in November, Paul McCartney had an idea for a song involving an Edwardian era military band that would eventually form the impetus of the ''Sgt. Pepper'' concept. Sessions for the Beatles' eighth studio album began on 24 November in Abbey Road Studio Two with two compositions inspired from their youth, "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane", but after pressure from EMI, the songs were released as a double A-side single; they were not included on the album. In February 1967, after recording "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", McCartney suggested that the Beatles should release an entire album that would represent a performance by the fictional Sgt. Pepper band. This alter ego group would give them the freedom to experiment musically. During the recording sessions, the band endeavoured to improve upon the production quality of their prior releases. Knowing they would not have to perform the tracks live, they adopted an experimental approach to composition, writing songs such as "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "A Day in the Life". Producer George Martin's innovative recording of the album included the liberal application of sound shaping signal processing and the use of a 40-piece orchestra performing aleatoric crescendos. Recording was completed on 21 April 1967. The cover, depicting the band posing in front of a tableau of celebrities and historical figures, was designed by the British pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth. ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the use of extended form in popular music while continuing the artistic maturation seen on the Beatles' preceding releases. It has been described as one of the first art rock LPs, aiding the development of progressive rock, and credited with marking the beginning of the Album Era. An important work of British psychedelia, the album incorporates a range of stylistic influences, including vaudeville, circus, music hall, avant-garde, and Western and Indian classical music. In 2003, the Library of Congress placed ''Sgt. Pepper'' in the National Recording Registry, honouring the work as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".〔 That same year, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked it number one in its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". As of 2014, it has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums in history. Professor Kevin J. Dettmar, writing in the ''Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature'', described it as "the most important and influential rock and roll album ever recorded". ==Background== By 1966, the Beatles had grown weary of live performance. In John Lennon's opinion, they could "send out four waxworks ... and that would satisfy the crowds. Beatles concerts are nothing to do with music anymore. They're just bloody tribal rites." In June, two days after finishing the album ''Revolver'', the group set off for a tour that started in Germany. While in Hamburg they received an anonymous telegram stating: "Do not go to Tokyo. Your life is in danger". The threat was taken seriously in light of the controversy surrounding the tour among Japan's religious and conservative groups, with particular opposition to the Beatles' planned performances at the sacred Nippon Budokan arena. As an added precaution, 35,000 police were mobilised and tasked with protecting the group, who were transported from hotels to concert venues in armoured vehicles.〔; .〕 The polite and restrained Japanese audiences shocked the band, because the absence of screaming fans allowed them to hear how poor their live performances had become. By the time that they arrived in the Philippines, where they were threatened and manhandled by its citizens for not visiting the First Lady Imelda Marcos, the group had grown unhappy with their manager, Brian Epstein, for insisting on what they regarded as an exhausting and demoralising itinerary. After their return to London, George Harrison replied to a question about their long-term plans: "We'll take a couple of weeks to recuperate before we go and get beaten up by the Americans." His comments would prove prophetic, as soon afterwards Lennon's remarks about the Beatles being "more popular than Jesus" embroiled the band in controversy and protest in America's Bible Belt. A public apology eased tensions, but a miserable US tour in August that was marked by half-filled stadiums and subpar performances proved to be their last.〔; 〕 The author Nicholas Schaffner writes: Upon the Beatles' return to England, rumours began to circulate that they had decided to break up. Harrison informed Epstein that he was leaving the band, but was persuaded to stay on the assurance that there would be no more tours. The group then took a seven-week holiday, during which they focused on individual interests. Harrison travelled to India for six weeks to study the sitar under the instruction of Ravi Shankar, in addition to developing his interest in Hindu philosophy. Having been the last of the Beatles to concede that their live performances had become futile, Paul McCartney collaborated with George Martin on the soundtrack for the film ''The Family Way''. Lennon acted in the film ''How I Won the War'' and attended art showings, such as one at the Indica Gallery where he met his future wife Yoko Ono. Ringo Starr used the break to spend more time with his wife Maureen and son Zak.〔; .〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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