Hear A Rare Outtake From The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's' Recording Sessions

Courtesy of the artist

As the 50th anniversary of the greatest rock album of all time rapidly nears, Capitol Records is sharing a previously unreleased outtake from the Sgt. Pepper's recording sessions. The clip, premiered at The Guardian, is a stripped-down version of the album's opening title cut and includes some fantastic chatter between John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

It's an unadorned and intimate version of the song that offers a glimpse into how The Beatles first imagined the track. It's also disorienting to hear it without any of the horns or sound effects (there's no cheering crowd or laughter). And a number of guitar licks are noticeably missing.

The Sgt. Pepper's outtake is just one of many, many bonus tracks coming out on a four-disc, 50th anniversary edition of the album. The full record has also been remixed by Giles Martin, son of the late Beatles producer George Martin. It's due out May 26. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was originally released on June 1, 1967.