A Trip With The Beatles - The Alternate Sgt Pepper and a Little More

The Beatles - The Alternate Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and A Little More, was released by Dolphin Productions (CDP 790103 - 2 CD set) in 1997.

Like a lot of bootleg CD releases, the packaging attempted to make the album look official, however the back cover failed to list the track contents accurately, and the front shown here was a little predictable.

However the music is the key factor, and on this occasion the album is something of a gem to put it mildly.

For nearly every track there's the mono mix at some stage in production, and a few stereo versions along the way.

There are a lot of fragments from 'The Making Of Sgt. Pepper's' with George Martin playing back the individual tracks and explaining things.

There's Anthology stuff, snippets from interviews, songs previously released on the Unsurpassed Masters series by Yellow Dog, tracks from 'The Lost Pepperland Reel' (like the Good Morning Good Morning animal noises) and more.

In summary these Cd's seem to be a complete overview of the making of the Beatles' Sgt Pepper, with commentary from George Martin, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon.

The studio quality, and 'the story with music' production, is well thought out, it is a collectors 'must have', and of real interest for anyone with just a passing interest in The Beatles, and the development of popular music in the '1960's.

The complete track listing is I believe as follows:

Disc 1

1. George Martin & Paul McCartney - about Sgt. Pepper
2. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - mono remix 3 from take 10
3. With A Little Help From My Friends - mono remix 15 from take 11
4. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite - mono remix 4 from take 9
5. Only A Northern Song - remixed mono version from take 3 and 11
6. Fixing A Hole - mono remix from take 2
7. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (one) - remix 11 from take 7
8. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (two) - mono remix 4 from take 8
9. Getting Better - mono remix 3 from take 15
10. She's Leaving Home - mono remix 6 from take 9
11. Strawberry Fields Forever (one) - John demo tape and the songs development
12. Strawberry Fields Forever (two) - trumpet & cello development
13. Penny Lane (one) - overdub sessions
14. Penny Lane (two) - remix 11 from take 9
15. Joking - like! your having a laugh !

Disc 2

1. Within You Without You (one) - the basic track was recorded 15th March 1967
2. Within You Without You (two) - mono remix from take 2
3. When I'm Sixty-four - mono remix 8 from take 4
4. Lovely Rita - mono remix 15 from take 11
5. Good Morning Good Morning (one) - rough stereo mix of take 8
6. Good Morning Good Morning (two) - mono remix 2 of take 11
7. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) - rough mix of take 5
8. A Day In The Life (one) - rough mix of take 5 (five)
9. A Day In The Life (two) - early mix of take 7
10. Everywhere It's Christmas - excerpt from fourth fan club xmas flexi disc
11. Excerpts From The Family Way Soundtrack - George Martin Orchestra (written by Paul McCartney - 1966)
12. All You Need Is Love - take 58 - with pre-recorded rhythm track take 11 (basically the ‘live’ version)
13. It's All Too Much - from the alternative ‘magical submarine tour’ CD
14. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Jimi Hendrix Version

Although not all the material ended up on Sgt. Pepper there is a chronological order to the album in terms of the work undertaken by The Beatles at the Abbey Road Studios between November 24th 1966 and June 25th 1967, hence the 'Little More' referring not only to the commentary. The Jimi Hendrix cover at the end does seem out of place, but hey - it's Hendrix!

Reloaded - 03/June/2015 - download link in comments.