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Andy Timmons Band readies power version of Sgt. Pepper for fall release

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In his career, Andy Timmons has worked along side such contemporaries as Eric Johnson, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, and also as musical director for Olivia Newton-John.

But in October, his Andy Timmons Band will try the the Beatles with "The Andy Timmons Band Plays Sgt. Pepper," a strong guitar-based reworking of the album minus vocals. 
 
"It was so much fun developing the arrangements which I did all from memory, if that tells you what type of Beatlemaniac I am!," Timmons told us. He says the record was made with no overdubs, using just one guitar track, bass and drums to interpret the songs.
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"I am quite hopeful this record will reach far beyond this guitar fan base and appeal to the generations of Beatles fans that I think will connect with this record," he said.
 
We've heard a preview of the full album and our capsule review is that it's great. The sound reminded us of Cheap Trick's "Sgt. Pepper" album, but without the vocals. (You can hear a short preview of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" on the band's website home page.)
 
Timmons acknowledged the comparison but says his album was in the works before theirs. "Truth is I had already embarked on my 'Pepper' project before I found out about theirs from Robin himself! He and his wife came to an Olivia show in Florida (his wife is a huge ONJ fan). Robin couldn't have been cooler, and of course I was blown away to find out Geoff Emerick was involved."
 
Timmons talks about the recording of the album in this YouTube video. You can see an example of his playing in the video at left. 
 
The record will be released in October on his label Timstone Records distributed through Favored Nations (RED/Sony). 
 
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 Steve Marinucci is the author of the Beatles Examiner (http://www.examiner.com/x-2082-Beatles-Examiner), Paul McCartney Examiner (http://www.examiner.com/x-34954-Paul-McCartney-Examiner), Vintage Rock 'n' Roll Examiner (http://www.examiner.com/x-19248-Vintage-Rock-n-Roll-Examiner) and TV on DVD Examiner columns on Examiner.com (http://www.examiner.com/x-10254-TV-on-DVD-Examiner).

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Steve Marinucci's website, Abbeyrd's Beatles Page - http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net - is widely regarded as the most accurate Beatle news source on the internet. A former journalist for over 30 years at the San Jose Mercury News, he has interviewed celebrities including Yoko Ono, Bruce Johnston and...

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