Today is the 45th anniversary of the release of The Beatles’ classic album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and this weekend legendary Canadian musicians are reinventing the entire record at the Harbourfront Centre.
Making its debut at the height of hippiedom in 1967, the groovy, mellow and way-out record introduced the world to the idea of the big concept album. Sgt. Pepper was also the first rock album to win a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and was named the greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone.
Former Barenaked Ladies’ frontman Steven Page, Skydiggers' Andy Maize, Spirit of the West’s John Mann and Craig Northey of Odds will perform reimagined works backed by musicians from Toronto’s Art of Time Ensemble.
We sat in on a rehearsal in an art-studio-turned-jam-space on Atlantic Avenue, and it was obvious the four singers have serious stage chemistry. Page managed to fist-pump along to “With a Little Help From My Friends,” while Mann said that the foursome usually get up to a few “hijinks” that should make for a great live performance. Prepare yourself for hook-heavy singalongs and Kumbaya moments that only The Beatles can inspire. Because all we need is love, right?
“The Beatles are a kind of standard that [as a musician] you try and beat, but you never will because they took real risks,” said Mann. “For anyone who listens to music, they’re ground zero.”
While the Art of Time, which also performed Abbey Road in 2009, stays true to the bones of the album, they’ve punched up the tracks with modern instrumentation and technique. Keep an ear out for their interpretation of “Within You Without You,” which George Harrison — influenced by sitar-strummer Ravi Shankar — was the sole Beatle to perform.
The downside? No cool costumes — an idea that Page laughed at and shot down immediately.
Enwave Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W., 416-973-4000. To June 2, 8 p.m. $25-$59.
