Artist: The Beatles
Release Date: June 1, 1967
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (McCartney)
With a Little Help from My Friends (McCartney/Lennon)
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (Lennon)
Getting Better (McCartney)
Fixing a Hole (McCartney)
She's Leaving Home (McCartney)
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite (Lennon)
Side Two
Within You Without You (Harrison)
When I'm Sixty-Four (McCartney)
Lovely Rita (McCartney)
Good Morning Good Morning (Lennon)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (McCartney)
A Day in the Life (Lennon/McCartney)
Note on Song Authorship: Credit is given according to the primary writer of the song (even though Lennon and McCartney songs are officially credited to both).
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band might well be the most famous album in the history of popular music. It not only has topped numerous lists of the greatest albums of all time, it is also commonly cited in the popular press as the most significant album by the Beatles, who by any objective measure were the biggest popular music group of the twentieth century. It has been cited as the album that brought pop music acceptance as serious art, and as the inspiration for numerous concept albums that followed it in subsequent years. However, in some music circles there has been something of a backlash against the praise heaped on the album. Many have declared it to be overrated, and it has been accused of being an example of style over substance. Others, including John Lennon himself, have pointed out that the album really isn’t much of concept album, as only a few songs have any connection to the idea that the album is being performed by a fictional band called Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
There is some truth to the criticisms. I would at least have to agree with those who say that Sgt. Pepper isn’t even the greatest Beatles album; song for song, Revolver is clearly superior, Abbey Road has even more immaculate production and songs that are at least as good, while The Beatles (aka The White Album) has greater variety. The concept doesn’t hold together for the whole album, either. However, the album is still very good. While the songs may not be as consistently excellent as those on Revolver, that album, in my opinion at least, has probably the most classic songs of any album by any band. The songs on Sgt. Pepper are also great or at least good, even by the high standards of the Beatles, and a few of them are true classics, particularly “A Day in the Life” but also “With a Little Help from My Friends”, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and the title track, and there is almost as much variety as on Revolver. The arrangements and instrumentation are endlessly inventive and as varied as the songs. While most of the songs may have nothing specifically to do with the concept, just the two opening tracks and the reprise are enough to create the illusion of the entire album being part of it.
Sgt. Pepper was dominated by Paul McCartney, who became the default leader of the group for most of its remaining career. The concept was his idea, and he wrote the bulk of the songs, though Lennon’s contributions included some of the best ones. McCartney even came up with the basic idea for the famous album cover, which became one of the most imitated of all time. Producer George Martin and Geoff Emerick also played very important roles. Ringo, on the other hand, later complained that he felt like a session player on this album, as he had little to do much of the time. This is understandable, as the album was not much of a group album, instead using tons of outside musicians to supplement the group. In a lot of ways it was akin to the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, which was largely put together by Brian Wilson and studio musicians with little involvement from the other Beach Boys (Pet Sounds was also a major inspiration for Paul when working on Sgt. Pepper, which in turn caused Brian Wilson to despair at equaling the Beatles). At least in the Beatles’ case, they did play on most of the songs and all but Ringo wrote songs for the album.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band may not have been the greatest album of all time, but it arguably was the most influential. Whether it was the cover, the use of a concept to tie the songs together (however loosely), seguing the songs directly together, the gatefold sleeve, the use of an orchestra on “A Day in the Life”, or printing the lyrics on the sleeve, the album had a huge impact on subsequent popular music. The Beatles may not have been the first to do these things, but they did them most successfully and most prominently, and by doing so changed popular music. So while this might not be the Beatles album I’d want with me on a desert island if I could only pick one, it is an essential part of any substantial music collection.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Song by Song
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: The opening track, while short, is a key to the success of the whole album. It gets things off to an energetic start and neatly introduces the second track, establishing the concept behind the album. The band’s performance is excellent, and McCartney, the song’s writer, delivers an excellent vocal. Jimi Hendrix did a cover of this song live just days after the album came out.
With a Little Help from My Friends (usually played together with the opening track): This is one of the best songs on the album, and one of the best songs Ringo Starr ever sang lead vocals on. The interplay between Ringo (as the fictional Billy Shears) and the backing vocals is brilliant. This song was famously covered by Joe Cocker, with his version being said by some to be a rare instance of a Beatles cover outdoing the original. I wouldn’t go that far, as the original is hard to beat, but Cocker’s version is great too. Interestingly, Paul and John seem to have actually written the song together, which wasn’t all that common at this point in their career as most songs tended to be mostly by one of the two, though the other usually helped a little. Paul was quoted as saying it was co-written by the two of them and John once quoted as saying that while the basic idea and structure were Paul’s, they’d written it together from there, though in another quote he said it was Paul’s with “a little help” from him.
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds: This song was mostly Lennon’s work, though McCartney wrote some of the lyrics and also played the organ introduction. It’s a dreamy song with imagery apparently inspired by a combination of Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass and LSD, though John’s assertion that the initials were pure coincidence is most likely true. Regardless, it is another highlight of the album, with musical backing that perfectly fits the psychedelic lyrics. This is yet another song with at least one very prominent cover (though of course all these songs have been covered, usually multiple times), in this case by Elton John.
Getting Better: Another very solid track, mostly written by Paul, though John wrote the cynical “it can’t no worse” line and the creepy lines about beating his girlfriend. While this song may not quite equal the first three, it’s still quite good.
Fixing a Hole: This is one of McCartney’s most psychedelic songs (by some accounts Beatles roadie Mal Evans helped with the lyrics). It’s not played or talked about quite as often as some of the other songs on the album, but it’s one of my favorites.
She's Leaving Home: This might be considered this album’s equivalent to “Eleanor Rigby” from Revolver, as both were written mainly by Paul, both used string backing, and both told stories about social issues. It isn’t as good as “Eleanor Rigby”, which is one of the best songs ever written, but it’s still very good, and another interesting change of pace.
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite: Lennon famously wrote this song using a very old circus poster, from which he took many of the words verbatim. Aside from having a good melody, the best feature of this song was the fairground atmosphere created by the backing track. While this was John’s idea, since he was famously vague about how to achieve what he wanted (unlike Paul, who usually had very specific ideas and did a lot of the arranging himself), the musical backing is largely the work of George Martin and Geoff Emerick, who deserve a lot of credit on this one.
Within You Without You: This is George Harrison’s writing contribution to the album. Performed entirely with Indian instruments without the participation of the other Beatles, it tends to divide listeners and critics between those who think it’s one of the best songs on the album and those who think it’s the worst. I side more with the former than the latter. While there are a few songs on the album I like better, this is also a great song, with excellent lyrics (Stephen Stills liked them so much he had them carved on a stone monument in his yard) and a very interesting sound that gives the album even more variety. Lennon also considered it one of George’s best.
When I'm Sixty-Four: This is one of Paul’s old-fashioned music hall/vaudeville tunes, one that apparently dates back to his teens, at least as far as the melody is concerned. While it’s not the greatest song on the album, it’s a fun tune and a dramatic change of pace from “Within You Without You”.
Lovely Rita: This is another upbeat tune by McCartney. Again, it’s fun and catchy, though not quite the equal of his very best tunes in this vein, such as “Got to Get You Into My Life” or “Lady Madonna”.
Good Morning Good Morning: This song is John’s, and like “Lovely Rita” is a very good song without reaching the status of a classic. The transition into the reprise of the title track was also very well done (by Martin).
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise): The brief reprise of the title track is even more energetic than the opening version, and shows the band performing together at their best.
A Day in the Life: This is the brilliant coda to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, commonly (and deservedly) cited as the best track on the album and one of the group’s best songs ever. A long free-wheeling combination of many elements, it encapsulated the band’s inventiveness and variety in a single track. John wrote the bulk of the song, and rightfully gets credit for some brilliant writing. But Paul’s contribution shouldn’t be overlooked. Not only did he write the short but clever middle section, by John’s own account the “I’d love to turn you on” bit is his, and by most accounts it was his idea to use an orchestra – which he ended up conducting – to bridge the gap between John’s opening part and his middle bit, and to have it “go crazy” (though Lennon apparently was the one to say it should go from nothing to “something absolutely like the end of the world”). The long drawn out final chord is also a brilliant touch, though it’s less clear whose idea that was. All in all, the track is a work of genius, with all elements of the group, particularly Paul and John but also George Martin and others of the band’s friends and assistants, working together to produce a spectacular ending to the album, one that no doubt contributed a lot to its reputation since its release.
