Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (S.P.L.H.C.B.) is perhaps the Beatles most famous album. Magazines and books have debated whether it is the greatest album ever written. Whatever your own view is, you cannot deny it is a classic and you probably have a copy of it lurking somewhere. Personally I don’t think it is as good as the Beatles “Revolver” album (hint - read my other review!), because although Sgt. Peppers is a landmark in musical history I believe it has several flaws. Before I explain these, I’m going to review the tracks.
The opening track is S.P.L.H.C.B. and it begins with a band tuning session before being kicked off with the immortal lines “It was 20 years ago today….”. It is a bit of an odd track, cross between rock and roll and bandstand music. It works really well and is one of the best opening tracks to an album ever. To add to the feeling that the album is a live recording you can here screams from the audience towards the end. The track ends strangely with the introduction of Billy Shears who supposedly sings the next track “A Little Help From My Friends”.
“A Little Help From My Friends” is a classic Beatles track sung by Ringo Starr. This song is stripped of its predecessor’s pomp and is very reminiscent of the early Beatles work as both Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote it.
Whether the song “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, written by John Lennon, was a thinly veiled reference to the drug LSD or was prompted by a drawing by his son Julian will never be determined. The song is totally surreal, as the lyrics are totally psychedelic (e.g. “Where Rocking Horse people eat marshmallow pies”), what they mean I haven’t
a clue personally. Overall the song has a brilliant dreamy feel to it, reminiscent of the song “I’m only Sleeping” from “Revolver”.
Next up is “Getting Better” which is another feel good tune. It is a lively song, which cheers me up every time a listen to it which can also be said about “Fixing A Hole”. This is another song that supposedly has a drug connection, this time shooting Heroin. Paul McCartney wrote this and it is supposed to be about the flaws in his own personality. This another uplifting song and was also one of John Lennon’s favourites.
She’s Leaving Home” is very similar in style to “Penny Lane” as Paul McCartney accurately portrays a scene from everyday life. It is a slow song and has weary feel to it and you cannot help being moved by the lyrics. This one of the best songs he wrote.
John Lennon wrote “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite” and he took his inspiration from a Victorian poster advertising a circus performance. It is a peculiar subject to choose but it fits in really well with the concept of the album.
The next two tracks are the odd ones out as they don’t sit very comfortably alongside the other songs. “Within You Without You” is written by George Harrison and of course has the usual Indian mystic feel. Again the guitar is dumped in favour of the Sitar and fortunately this is one of their better attempts.
“When I’m Sixty-four” was written by Paul McCartney as a tribute to his Father who was 64 in 1967, the year the album was released. It has a dance band style that his Father had played in the years between the war. It is a really jolly tune about an impending retirement and as close to easy listening that the Beatles ever got.
“Lovely Rita” was written by Paul McCartney and is about a ticket warden that he had a chance encounter with when his car was about to be ticketed. It is another classic song in a similar vein to “She’s Leaving Home”, but this time it has a happier mood and a more up-tempo pace.
“Good Morning Good Morning” is another John Lennon creation, he considered it a “throwaway” song he wrote after seeing a Kellogg’s Corn Flakes advert. It was written when John and Cynthia’s relationship was nearing the end of the line, the song sums up life in dull suburbia for a man who has no communication with his wife and who seeks a thrill. It is fast paced affair with a good chorus and rhythm.
A reprise of the title track follows this. The rocking sound of Sgt. Pepper’s blends in well with the previous track, but also provides an eerily stark contrast with the final song.
The Album ends with “A Day In The Life” and is a collaboration between the two major song writers in the band. The song refers to two incidents that John Lennon had read about in the newspaper, “About a man who made the grade” and “Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire”. The first is the death of Tara Browne who was heir to a Guinness fortune but had been tragically killed in a car crash, the second was the state of the roads in Blackburn. He also threw in a reference to film he had just made entitled “How I Won The War”. The rest of the song was from Paul McCartney’s pen about how he used to sneak onto the bus and smoke before going to school. This combines together to make a classic finale to the album. The two parts don’t quite fit together and this adds to the atmosphere created by song. The sound on this track just builds and builds, before ending dramatically with a few notes on the piano.
This is then followed by possibly the first ever hidden track. I haven’t a clue what is said, but then again I don’t think you are supposed to.
The artwork on the cover of the album is also worth mentioning as it is perhaps one of the most famous album covers that was ever used. The front picture shows the Beatles dressed as S.P.L.H.C.B. while a host of famous people look on – perhaps they are supposed to be the audience. If you buy this album in CD format a booklet is included, which explains whom everyone on the cover is and the legal difficulties involved with the photo shoot. Suffice it to say some of John Lennon’s suggestions for the crowd were not used! Also included in the booklet is a copy of the card with the cut-outs supplied with the original vinyl releases.
As I mentioned before the album has a couple of flaws. The original concept of the album was dreamed up by Paul McCartney, the Beatles are supposed to be in the guise of their alter ego’s (S.P.L.H.C.B.) performing a live act. At the time of release this caused some confusion amongst the public, but then the Beatles always enjoyed “messing with people’s heads”. Although this concept is pretty thought provoking it fails after the first two songs. You have the introduction of the band warming up before the first track, which then blends into the second track, as a live performance would do. After this the Beatles drop the Sgt. Pepper’s act, except for the songs “Being For The benefit Of Mr. Kite” and the reprise. As a result the rest of the album is no different to any other pieces of their work. This is a shame really as this idea was also used in the “Yellow Submarine” animation and it works pretty well.
The second flaw is that the album is released with a different track listing to what was originally conceived. The first seven tracks should be as follows:
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band With a Little Help From My Friend Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! Fixing A Hole Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds Getting Better She’s Leaving Home
This would be Side A on the vinyl releases. The above line-up has a better “flow” but it still falls foul of the concept idea not being carried through the whole album.
These are minor niggles really as this album is an all time classic. Many people use it as a benchmark to compare other artists work by and very few manage to achieve that. The strength of their song-writing is the Beatles strength and not their musical ability. This is what sets them aside from their contemporaries and enabled them to achieve all they did. Unfortunately this was the start of the end for the Beatles, as they could go no further but too far…
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Didn't know about the original listing, but that makes more sense. I agree it's not the greatest album of all time, hell it's got "When I'm 64" on it - what pap!
It's not even the best Beatles album, as you say, that has to be Revolver.
michellewood 14.06.2001 22:19
Great review. I've been a big fan of the Beatles for many years now. I agree with you that revolver is also one of my favorite album. Funny thing is that I'm in my early 20s and I have all the beatles album and listen to it on the weekly basis. I guess it proves that great music never dies. One of the best band in my opinion...
Michelle
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Feb 27th, 2001
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