On October 28th, The Flaming Lips will release their star-studded covers album of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, featuring contributions from Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan, My Morning Jacket, Miley Cyrus, MGMT, Tegan & Sara, Phantogram, Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis, Foxygen, and Dr. Dog.
After announcing the full scope of the release over the weekend, the Lips have shared their rendition of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” featuring Cyrus and Moby. With Cyrus delivering a slightly smokey take on John Lennon’s trippy vocals, the cover begins fairly straightforward. However, once the song reaches its chorus, the feel-good, shout-ready refrain is overtaken by a blitzkrieg of pulverizing dissonance and random junk noise. It’s an interesting sonic direction, one that helps add just enough spice and vigor to make the cover more than a mere homage to a pop classic. Listen to the song here.
Proceeds from With a Little Help From My Fwends will benefit the Bella Foundation, an organization in the band’s Oklahoma City hometown that helps low income, elderly, or terminally ill pet owners with the cost of veterinary care.
With a Little Help From My Fwends Tracklist:
01. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (feat. My Morning Jacket, Fever the Ghost, and J Mascis)
02. With a Little Help from My Friends (feat. The Flaming Lips, Black Pus, and The Autumn Defense)
03. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (feat. Miley Cyrus, Moby, and The Flaming Lips)
04. Getting Better (feat. Dr. Dog and Chuck Inglish)
05. Fixing a Hole (feat. Electric Wurms)
06. She’s Leaving Home (feat. Phantogram and Juliana Barwick)
07. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (feat. The Flaming Lips, Maynard James Keenan, Puscifer, and Sunbears)
08. Within You Without You (feat. Birdflower and Morgan Delt)
09. When I’m Sixty-Four (feat. The Flaming Lips and more)
10. Lovely Rita (feat. Tegan & Sara and Stardeath and White Dwarves)
11. Good Morning Good Morning (feat. Zorch, Grace Potter, and more)
12. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (feat. Foxygen and MGMT)
13. A Day in the Life (feat. The Flaming Lips, Miley Cyrus, and New Fumes)
