The Beatles are reportedly readying a 50th anniversary release of their landmark album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
While no official announcement has been made, the band's website features four color bars matching the "Sgt. Pepper" uniforms worn by the Fab Four on the cover of that album, which was released on June 1, 1967.
Amazon is listing a single CD, double CD and six-CD anniversary set to be released on May 26, but no details are provided.
Britain's The Times, citing sources at The Beatles' Apple Records, said the re-release will include "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" as bonus tracks. The songs were recorded during the same sessions as the songs on the "Sgt. Pepper" album, but were released four months earlier as a double A-sided single.
Decades later, producer George Martin said it was a mistake to have not included those two songs on the album.
Keith Allison, former bassist for Paul Revere & the Raiders bassist, noted on Facebookthat he heard an advance copy of the remastered "Sgt. Pepper" album while visiting Beatle Ringo Starr a few month ago
"A couple months ago I was at Ringo's home. We were in his man cave watching TV, when a delivery from England came in. It was from Giles Martin, George Martins son. What's this? It's the Sgt. Pepper album remastered. I said, 'I haven't listened to this in I don't know how long.' Ringo exclaimed, 'You haven't heard it in a long time? I haven't listened to it in decades.' So we decide to listen to it on his high def top of the line system. So here we are sitting on the sofa, facing the TV, muted, but with soap operas playing. We listened to every track together. I thought, this is a historically great moment. Sitting here with my friend, listening to Sgt. Pepper, that he's on as a Beatle, and that he hasn't listen to track by track, since it came out.
Only two copies of the remastered Sgt. Pepper album were sent out, one to McCartney and one to Ringo, to be approved by them both. So what did Ringo think? He thought it was great! Why? Because it originally was recorded on a 4-track with a lot of over dubs, which buried the drums. Now, the drums have been lifted and come through as they should. He was pleased. You'll be glad to know it was remastered at EMI Studios where it was originally recorded."
"Sgt. Pepper" has been hailed by critics as one of the most significant releases in popular music. It has sold 32 million copies since its release in 1967.
Peter Blake's iconic cover for the "Sgt. Pepper" album featured a collage of 57 photographs of famous people, ranging from Marilyn Monroe to Edgar Allan Poe. It was shot on March 30, 1967.
The 50th anniversary re-release, according to The Times, has been given the green light by Starr, bandmate Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, widows of the late John Lennon and George Harrison, respectively.
