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The Two Sides of Sgt. Pepper: An Honest Appraisal of The Beatles' Classic

Monday, July 17 & 24, 2017, 9 PM

For decades, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 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 songcraft, 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 Isn't It Good?: The Beatles' Rubber Soul) 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.

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