When it comes to covering a song, musicians have two options: they can stick to the source material, or they can take artistic liberty and reimagine the work entirely. Some song covers are even disputed as being better than the original (Looking at you Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower”). With the latest record from psychedelic pioneers and indie darlings The Flaming Lips, we see the ultimate cover challenge: a complete redo of the famed “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles. The band takes on a star-studded feature ensemble that includes the likes of Foxygen, Miley Cyrus, My Morning Jacket and many other notable artists. The work itself has some incredibly interesting moments, from the temporal-shifting opener “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” to the eerie and spacey “Fixing a Hole.” You get special vibes from their incredibly synth-layered epic of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” and no one can deny the happy-go-lucky guitar riffing on “Getting Better.” However, this isn’t to say that the album isn’t without its bad moments. You don’t need to necessarily point to a specific song, but throughout the record some synths (such as in the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” reprises) or auto-tune vocals (on “With A Little Help from my Friends”) will stick out in a track and make the listener scratch their head. For The Beatles purists, there will be complaints of how they overextended time on a few tracks or took liberty with changing up a melody, time signature or instrument arrangement. The album itself is a mixed bag of weird moments, both wonderful and disconcerting. If there is one thing to be noted, though, is that The Flaming Lips, along with all their “fwends,” really took care in creating a real tribute to an album by a band that is so well-beloved. Whether it is loved by the listener really depends on their view of the original, but no one can deny that The Flaming Lips really made it their own.Rec Tracks: “Getting Better,” “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” “Fixing A Hole,” “Good Morning Good Morning.” RIYL: The Beatles, Animal Collective, Tame Impala, Lava Lamps
BY NATE MECHTEL