The Flaming Lips- With a Little Help From My Fwends (ALBUM REVIEW)

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flaminglipshwendsThis is the second time that The Flaming Lips have decided to tackle an all-time classic album, the first being 2009’s interpretation of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon, and with both releases the first question that should be asked is, why?

Both LP’s are ingrained in any music fan’s brain already and a new generation isn’t exactly looking to the Oklahoma freak rockers to introduce them to The Beatles or Floyd. So the answer must be that the Lips have some crazy thoughts on how to interrupt things on this track for track remake of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, and in some places that is true; but getting crazy on a song doesn’t necessarily improve them.

Things get interstellar right from the beginning as the original title track has My Morning Jacket banging around before a searing solo from J Mascis slams into the current title track “With a Little Help from My Friends”. Black Pus and Autumn Defense with the Lips are all over the map on this one; blissfully sweet sounding before clanging and sounding fucked up. The vocals alternate between tender lines and fuzz laden screams, the back and forth grates more than excites.

Miley Cyrus joins for “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and rather than getting all trippy with her vocals Cyrus stays stripped down and breathy before the Lips go volcano blastic for the chorus: loud for sure but the song losses all groove and pace. “Getting Better” brings in a natural fit of Dr. Dog’s glowing harmonies and a popping bassline, sticking close to the original while “Fixing a Hole” swirls but never evolves much.

Two tracks that alter wildly are “She’s Leaving Home” into which Phantogram injects dance beats, but isn’t as successful in updating the sound as Tegan and Sara along with Stardeath and White Dwarfs are on “Lovely Rita”. The meter maid gets spacey and loose, nodding to the original but not beholden to it, a surprise standout on this experiment.

Also surprising, an exhilarating electro-rock break in the “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” from Foxygen and Ben Goldwasser acting as an upbeat injection that could have gone on even longer before a disk closing “A Day In The Life” where Cyrus rejoins, getting digital, but doesn’t do much else different then the 1967 show-stopping finale.

In the end With a Little Help from My Fwends is a fine listen, but is it really needed for the Lips or any of their guests resumes? A fun concept that would have made a better live event then album, still worth a curious run through before going back to the original masterpiece and realizing how fresh and inventive Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band still sounds.

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