Why The Beatles DISLIKED Recording Sgt. Pepper

Author Robert Rodriguez writes that while Lennon, Harrison, and Starr embraced the creative freedom afforded by McCartney's band-within-a-band idea, they "went along with the concept with varying degrees of enthusiasm." Studio personnel recalled that Lennon had "never seemed so happy" as during the Sgt. Pepper sessions. In a 1969 interview with Barry Miles, however, Lennon said he was depressed and that while McCartney was "full of confidence,"  he was "going through murder." Lennon explained his view of the album's concept: "Paul said, 'Come and see the show', but I didn't. I said, 'I read the news today, oh boy.'"

Everett describes Starr as having been "largely bored" during the sessions, with the drummer later lamenting, "The biggest memory I have of Sgt. Pepper... is that I learned to play chess." In The Beatles Anthology, Harrison said he had little interest in McCartney's concept of a fictitious group and that, after his experiences in India, "my heart was still out there. I was losing interest in being 'fab' at that point." Harrison added that, having enjoyed recording Rubber Soul and Revolver, he disliked how the group's approach to Sgt. Pepper became "an assembly process," whereby "a lot of the time it ended up with just Paul playing the piano and Ringo keeping the tempo, and we weren't allowed to play as a band as much."

(This is a re-upload.)

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