Record Routine: Sgt. Pepper’s cover doesn’t do Beatles or Flaming Lips justice
By Nikki Stout | Nov. 4, 2014The most nerve-wracking part of taking creative risks is the chance that certain manifestations function better in theory than they do in practice. the Flaming Lips’ With A Little Help From My Fwends is, unfortunately, one of those things. What could have been a lovely partner to one of the greatest albums of all time, created “with a little help from [their] friends,” the album makes the tragic mistake of being different for the sake of being different, without really adding anything to the Beatles’ sensational 1967 album. Where there could have been further development on the original—adding new technology to the Kaliope-styled “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!” for example—it’s distant. That seems to be a trend with many of these tracks. Wayne Coyne, the lead singer, and friends just did not capture the spirit, sound or essence of the originals track, and those that are lyrically profound or cheekily jovial, such as “She’s Leaving Home” or “Getting Better,” respectively, fall quite flat and don’t necessarily “get there” in the same way the original did. Most importantly, and most shockingly, though is the fact that the Beatles’ original album ends with one of the most prolific and important album closers of all time—“A Day In The Life.” What was originally crafted to be a literal orchestral orgasm was completely scrapped. The Flaming Lips’ Pepper ends with, well, nothing. There’s nothing there, except a bit of rambling by miss Miley Cyrus herself. This is completely inexcusable.
