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Beatles' masterwork, 'Sgt
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' was released 40 years ago.
It marked the turning point when pop became rock and could be regarded
as an art-form and as something that would endure. No other album
has been celebrated as much and we're still talking about it now.
The question I'd like to pose is, what can you create or achieve
that people will still be talking about in 40 years time? What ideas
or changes could you make to your life or business that would take
it to the next level. What would be your 'Sgt Pepper', your masterwork?
Are you working on it, if not, why not?
It's interesting
to examine the Beatles methods for their relentless creativity and
reinvention throughout the 60s. In a recent interview, Paul McCartney
was asked how the Beatles were so prolific:
"We
were writing 'She Loves You' because we'd been told by our manager
that we needed a single. And we were just, 'OK.' It was great. We
just responded well to direction. They'd say, 'You're going into
studio next week, so you'll need to write the album.' And we'd go,
'OK.' Never once do I remember us going, 'A whole album in a week?'.
We were just so innocent and enthusiastic. That's what we did all
the time. We wrote just under 300 songs, and that was done in about
300 sessions. We never had a dry session. We were very good. The
good thing is, now you can say that. People used to say, 'Don't
you think you're a bit conceited?' And I'd say, 'I know what you
mean, you could say it's conceited, but I really do know we're good.
I can feel it every time we write a song.' Because John and I were
very good collaborators. We really helped each other massively and
admired each other greatly. It was a joy."
So tight
deadlines and high expectations actually helped. So too did self
belief, enthusiasm and an atmosphere of joy. A great lesson on how
to be prolifically creative.
(To read
the full interview
click here). Paul McCartney has released a new LP, 'Memory
Almost Full' his 21st solo album. The delux version has an extra
CD revealing the creative process of writing and recording the songs.
To read
the fascinating original review for Sgt Pepper in the Times from
1967, click
here.
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