Okay, so I’ll admit it… I watch American Idol. I still don’t know why, but that’s neither here or there. I’m a huge Beatles fan and I’m upset. Not that I missed the ending because Fox ran over two minutes and my recorder turned off—which by the way, is Network TV’s gameplan against time-shifting. No, I could care less if Blake or Jordin or Bob won. What upset me was the most pathetic tribute to “Sgt. Pepper” I’ve ever witnessed.
First, what struck me as odd was the non-challant manner in which Seacrest announced that they were about to smack us in the face with absurdity. “Oh, yeah… so here’s like Sgt. Pepper.” That’s what it sounded like to me.
What Fox, American Idol producers and the “talent” did was massacre the most decorated and celebrated recording in the history of mankind. They turned “Pepper” into a second rate Fleetwood Mac album.
From flubbed lyrics by Ms. Idol herself to a tone deaf Ruben, Idol after Idol took liberties with some of the most popular and well-crafted melodies of all time. Delusions of grandeur, my friends. To do what Ray Charles did to “Yesterday” was after years of paying musical debts, building a career and forging his place in music history. Only then can you put your touch on material such as “Pepper.”
I may be a purist, but in my opinion, this material is off limits to amateurs. I didn’t mind the rendition of “I Saw Her Standing There” because there’s nothing to that song. It was fodder for girls. That wasn’t art. “A Day in the Life” is. Musicians know this. Musicians respect it.
