Quote:
Originally Posted by Laughing Boy
"I really wasn't quite ready for the unity. It felt like it all belonged together. Rubber Soul was a collection of songs...that somehow went together like no album ever made before, and I was very impressed. I said, 'That's it. I really am challenged to do a great album.'" - Brian Wilson. That challenge turned into Pet Sounds. So there wouldn't have been a Pet Sounds without Rubber Soul. So really it was the Beatles own influence that was responsible for Sgt. Peppers. Funny how that works.
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So, Wilson was inspired by the apparent conceptual unity (which didn't exist because McCartney has indicated in interviews since, that there was no such unity intended on Rubber Soul or even Revolver - moreover, any credit for order at that stage goes to the producer). The album (Rubber Soul) itself sounds heavily influenced by the album Mr Tambourine Man (1965) by The Byrds, who were among the real pioneers of folk rock (and indeed country rock and acid rock). So, it was some mirage of conceptual unity that inspired Wilson, not the sound of the album. As for Sgt Pepper, it was inspired by the baroque pop/orchestral ideas expressed on Pet Sounds. Once again, the great pioneer of an idea turns out to be some other dude who did it a year earlier. What else... ah yes. The multi-part harmonies that were so important to The Beatles' sound and indeed some other Merseybeat bands? The trend was also started by The Beach Boys when they merged the harmonies of vocal groups (such as Four Freshmen) with the rock'n'roll rhythm of the late 50s (e.g. Chuck Berry).
Boo boo, mate, you do not get what I am saying. I'm not criticizing the Beatles for having influences. I'm merely stating the point that they don't seem to have been pioneering anything at all, at any particular point in their tenure. The way it worked was this: some form became an established standard at one end of the rock spectrum (so was pioneered elsewhere). Lennon and McCartney then wrote a few songs in that style, to live up to it and to keep up with the times.
With regard to Abbey Road, "You Never Give Me Your Money" all the way up to "The End" is supposed to be a faux-conceptual Vaudevillian operatic sort of thing. That is, not REALLY an opera (of course not) but with the illusion of being one. This is made crystal clear when Carry That Weight actually reprises the main motifs of I Want You and You Never Give Me Your Money. I am surprised that not that many fans ever took notice of that. The influence, of course, were things like the work of Zappa and even The Who with Tommy. Again, it was merely living up to the new standards of the time. Hah, even The End is just a parodic take on the improvised jamming becoming standard in heavy rock in the late 60s.
Alright, new point of discussion: I am interested boo boo why you think Sgt Pepper is so important to prog. I think it would be interesting to have a look the songs themselves and see why it could be cited as influencing prog, as opposed to other records of the time or earlier.
Above all I think this discussion is useful because it leads to more insight on the era of the late 60s and just what was (and was not) happening.