It was almost 50 years ago today that The Beatles’ seminal album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band came out. Look for a lot of celebratory exposition this summer, starting with a reissue of the entire album on May 26 on Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe, remastered by Giles Martin (son of Beatles producer George Martin) and Sam Okell.
Pitchfork reports that the new release will include outtakes of each song, while “the super deluxe box set includes another 15 recordings from the Sgt. Pepper sessions—most of them previously unreleased—as well as a 144-page book.” In a press release, Paul McCartney notes, “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.” Those outtakes provide a closer look at those four guys: The previously unreleased version of the title track below, for example, shows a much grittier version of Sgt. Pepper’s theme song, and a vocal interlude that doesn’t quite land. Someone (probably George Martin) comments that the vocals will probably take at least another day, proving that even The Beatles didn’t get everything perfect right out of the gate.