Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Beatles (The) > Reviews > A must Have Album

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money

Advantages:	The Beatles
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This ‘Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’ (from now on, just ‘Sgt. Peppers) has been proclaimed as the best album The Beatles ever released. It might be right, in a technical way (I mean, technically, this album was an important improvement in music stile, and the use of fiddles and big orchestras wasn’t very common by the time the Beatles decided to fill their music with this new instruments, in a perfect combination of classical music and rock and roll), and it might be right if you have a quick look at the songs included. What I think, is that this album is their second best, just after ‘Abbey Road’, BUT I understand why too many people think this is the best one, you’ll see the reasons in this opinion. Anyway, what is for sure, is that this is the most influential album of popular music ever released.

To start with, there’s a lot of things very uncommon in this album (remember we are talking about an album released in 1967, and thou’ this was the year of this hippy movement, there’s a lot of people who say this hippy movement started in English music with the album I’m writing about, ‘Sgt. Peppers’). The first thing that will get your attention is the cover, a colourful picture with a lot of famous people related with music, politics, cinema, sports, or whatever. There is the word ‘Beatles’ written in front of all this people with red flowers, and four young Beatles (made with wax) beside the real ones, that are dressed up in a military colourful way. I’ve read a lot of stories about this photograph, some of them probably true, some of them probably false rumours. The thing is that each member of the band was supposed to choose a few idols to make a cover with pictures of them (interesting thing, but a mistake, because this would cost some money to the company, because of the rights to be paid for the use of these celebrity images). This was McCartney’s idea, he said he’d like their heroes to be on the album, as he realized ‘Sgt. Peppers’ was going to be a special album for them, they should have special people for them on it. At the beginning there were going to be 12 people, 12 heroes for The Beatles. They send a list to Robert Fraser (a prestigious photographer from London) with 12 names (after vetoing two of Lennon’s suggestions, Adolph Hitler and Jesus Christ, because this would offend people). Finally there were more names included, this ones (these are the identifiable figures, there are a few unidentifiable):
Sri Yukteswar Giri (an Indian guru, of course selected by Harrison), Aleister Crowley (a British magician), Mae West (film star), Lenny Bruce (American comedian), Karl Heinz Stockhausen (German composer), W.C. Fields (American screen comedian), Carl Gustaf Jung (psychiatrist), Edgar Allan Poe (Lennon’s favourite writer), Fred Astaire (dancer), Richard Merkin (American painter), Binnie Barnes (English actress that moved to America. She was Levis Presley’s next door neighbour), The Vargas Girl (A pin-up by Alberto Vargas), Huntz Hall (screen comedy actor), Simon Rodia (folk artist), Bob Dylan (American musician and a friend of the Beatles), Aubrey Beardsley (artist), Sir Robert Peel (former Prime Minister of Great Britain), Aldous Huxley (British author), Terry Southern (American author), Tony Curtis (American film star), Wallace Berman (American artist), Tommy Handley (Liverpool comedian), Marilyn Monroe (American screen star, McCartney’s choice), William Burroughs (American writer, McCartney’s choice), Sri Mahavatara Babaji (Indian guru, again selected by Harrison), Richard Linder (German artist), Oliver Hardy (screen star), Marx (German political theorist), H. G. Wells (British novelist), Sri Paramahansa Yogananda (Indian master selected by Harrison), Stuart Sutcliffe (former Beatle back in the 50’s), Dylan Thomas (Welsh poet), Dion (American singer), Dr. David Livingstone (Scottish missionary and explorer), Stan Laurel (Screen star, Hardy’s partner), George Bernard Shaw (Irish playwright), Julia Adams (American actress), Max Miller (British comedian), Lucille Ball (American comedienne), Marlon Brando (American actor), Tom Mix (Actor), Oscar Wilde (Irish Playwright, Lennon’s choice), Tyrone Power (Actor), Larry Bell (American artist), Johnny Weissmuller (Athlete), Stephen Crane (American author), Issy Bonn (British radio and music star), Albert Stubbins (soccer player), Albert Einstein (German scientific genius), H. C. Westermann (Sculptor), Sri Lahiri Mahayasa (Indian guru, Harrison’s choice), Lewis Carroll (London writer, Lennon’s choice), T. E. Lawrence (military), Sonny Liston (American boxer), Bobby Breen (singer), Marlene Dietrich (German film star), Dina Ross (British actress), Shirley Temple (American actress, with three images on the cover), and The Petty Girl (a image by George Petty).

And that’s it, more than 50 images of famous and important people (at least, important for some member of the band). In front of all this people, leading them, the Beatles, Paul holding a cor anglais, John holding a French horn, Ringo holding a trumpet and George holding a flute, with waxes figures of the young Beatles beside. On the floor in front of them, apart from the name of the band written with red flowers, a few sculptures and dolls. The sculpture just above the second ‘E’ of the word ‘Beatles’ is a sculpture from the front door of Lennon’s house. There’s also a garden gnome from Harrison’s garden, and a doll with the words ‘Welcome The Rolling Stones’ written on her jumper. The plants of the garden are pepperonia plants, and not marijuana plants as it was said. ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ was also the first album to have a gatefold sleeve, and the lyrics printed at the back cover (in the CD version, there’s a booklet including these lyrics). It also included a cardboard sheet of cut-outs. A new way to design a cover, far away from the usual one with the members of the band waving hello smiling.

After recording ‘Revolver’, in 1966, the Beatles needed a break. They decided that year to finish with the concerts, they were a bit tired and also a bit scared. During that year, 1966, they had a lot of problems during their gigs. Everything started when Lennon said, talking about his band, ‘we are more famous than Jesus Christ’. The press changed his words, and for every one what Lennon said was ‘We are BIGGER than Jesus Christ’. The Church start an inquisition thing against the Beatles, burning their albums and so. They rejected in some country to visit the Dictator’s wife, so the dictator got mad about it and refuse to give protection to the members during his stance in the country. The police even treated them as delinquents at the airport, kicking them off the country. That very year they act at some judo building at Japan, a sacred building, so lots of Japanese got annoy and threatened to shoot them during the concert. Some petards really frightened them during the act. They had also the KKK against them, also threatening to shoot them. Anyway, they were tired and fed up about playing music for no one, as the audience would shout without listening to their music. That’s why they took a six months holydays for the second half of that year, until December, 1966. During this time, the press would say the Beatles had split, but at the end, the came back to record one of their bests albums, the best one for almost everyone. By chance, all of the members of the band came back to the studios with the same kind of moustache, and for the first time, Lennon appeared with his famous ‘grandmother’ glasses, as he called them.

They got into the studios at December of 1966, and during that month they recorded three songs, ‘When I’m sixty four’, ‘Strawberry fields forever’, and ‘Penny Lane’. Only the first one would finally be included in the album, becoming the other two a double A side single, the second and last single released by the Beatles not to reach the first place on the most sold singles (as producer George Martin would say, it was a big mistake not to include those two song in the album). It took six months to finish the album, and this, added to the fact that for the last 6 months before this recording sessions started, made almost a whole year without any album released, another reason for people to think they were splitting, the band was over. Anyway, the recorded twelve more songs during 1967, and with ‘when I’m sixty four’, the thirteen songs album called ‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ was ready (and for sure, people was ready for the album too, people was kind of expecting a big thing). The songs are the following:

1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Lennon-McCartney):

It was Paul’s idea to make an album pretending to be a band different from the Beatles, the Lonely Hearts Club Band lead by Mr. Pepper. He had the idea during a flight, and once he reach earth, he called the other members of the band and told them to get into the studios again. The original idea was to make an album with one only track, I mean, different songs all joined in one continuing track. The idea was soon rejected, thought some of the songs were finally joined without stopping one before the next one got started. This song, the one that gives the name to the album, is a rock and roll song written by Paul McCartney after getting fascinated by San Francisco’s band names, like ‘Electric Prunes’, ‘Quicksilver messenger service’, etc. He wanted Sgt. Pepper to be Dr. Pepper, but there was a soft drink in America with that name. The song is fast, with good guitar riffs and with producer George Martin as an excellent orchestra conductor for the orchestra bits in the middle. The voices of McCartney, Lennon and Harrison singing together almost all the song are great, and the beginning is an example of how to play electric guitar.
'It's wonderful to be here,
It's certainly a thrill.
You're such a lovely audience,
We'd like to take you home with us,
We'd love to take you home'

Rate: 10/10

2. With a Little help from my friends (Lennon-McCartney):

The first song is perfectly joined with this one. In fact, at the end of the first song, Paul introduce as ‘the one and only Billy Shear’, and that’s suppose to be Ringo, the singer of ‘With a little help from my friends’. The song was penned by Paul McCartney, and he offers Ringo the chance to sing it. He (Ringo) didn’t like the idea, as he’s not very good at singing, but he finally did sing the song, with his nasal voice. Is funny that the lyrics of it talks about ‘what would you do if I sang out of tune?’. There’s a cover of this song by Joe Cocker. I haven’t heard the original of his, but I have his performance at Woodstock (1969) and I have to say his great. It’s a slow rock with good second voices by Lennon and McCartney.
'What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me'.

Rate: 9/10

3. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (Lennon-McCartney):

First song penned by and sang by Lennon in this album (he only wrote four of the thirteen songs, Paul was finally leading the band by 1967). It’s a very slow, psychedelic song, that he probably wrote under the effects of drugs. In fact, if you get the ‘L’ of ‘Lucy’, the ‘S’ of ‘Sky’ and the ‘D’ of ‘Diamonds’, you get ‘LSD’, the drug the Beatles were discovering by that time. The papers wrote about that, and Lennon had to explain that one day his son Julian draw a picture. It was a girl flying, and there were diamonds around. Lennon ask his song the meaning of the drawing, and the kid answer ‘it’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds’…you can believe what you want. Anyway, the song is great, with a clavichord timing the song, and Lennon singing in a monotone way.
'Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes'

Rate: 10/10

4. Getting Better (Lennon-McCartney):

This song was penned and sang by Paul McCartney. It talks about getting better in life, in school, in relationships, and all that. He got the name for the song from a thing that someone said years ago. Ringo got sick during a few concerts, so the Beatles got a drummer for those couple of shows. This drummer got into ‘beatlemania’ suddenly, not step by step like the others members, so he was a bit of overwhelm. When he was getting use to it, a journalist ask him what was he feeling been a Beatle, and he answer ‘It’s getting better’. The song is not too fast, not slow, with a good guitar riff, and lovely second voices. Lennon penned a few of this second voices (or chorus, I’m not sure how to call it, remember English is not my language), the witty ones.
'I used to get mad at my school
The teachers who taught me weren't cool
You're holding me down, turning me round
Filling me up with your rules'.

Rate: 10/10

5. Fixing a Hole (Lennon-McCartney):

Another one penned and sang by McCartney. This slow song starts with a nice harpsichord played by Paul McCartney or George Martin (some claim it was McCatney, others claim it was producer George Martin…. What I tend to think is that it was the producer, cause he used to play this kind of instruments). There’s a good guitar solo played, no doubt now, by Harrison. There were people that said that fixing a hole refers to a drug ‘fix’, but Paul denied it. I love the guitar lines played at the bridge parts, perfectly ‘fixed’ with the bass lines.
'I'm painting my room in the colourful way
And when my mind is wandering
There I will go'.

Rate: 10/10

6. She’s Leaving Home (Lennon-McCartney):

A very slow song penned by McCartney about giving everything to your daughter without giving her freedom. Nice lyrics in another try to get the recognition of everyone by Paul, like he always was trying to do since his hit from 1965 ‘yesterday’ (he tried the next album with ‘Michelle’, the following with ‘Here, there and everywhere’ and the following, with this ‘she’s leaving home’). No guitars, no bass, no drums in this song at all, just a big orchestra conducted by Mike Leander because George Martin was very busy working with Cilla Black al that moment, and McCartney singing the song with Lennon doing good and funny second voices.
'She (What did we do that was wrong)
Is having (We didn't know it was wrong)
Fun (Fun is the one thing that money can't buy)
Something inside that was always denied
For so many years (Bye, Bye)
She's leaving home (bye bye)'.

Rate: 9/10

7. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite (Lennon-McCartney):

This is the second song penned by Lennon in this album, and is one of my favourites. It’s a weird song. The song is about some fair that took place at Lancashire in February 1843, and he got the idea from an old poster he brought in some little shop just a few months before writing it (in January, 1967). In this poster, there’s a Mister Kite, there’s Henry the Horse, there’s Pablois Faques Fair, and all the things included in the lyrics. The structure of the song is also a ‘fair structure’, you can imagine yourself at some old fair with jugglers and clowns and all that, because of the sounds effects . John ask George Martin to capture the genuine sensation of a circus, and he certainly did it. One of the bests of this album, with this kind of waltz mat the bridge, for Henry the Horse to dance (‘and of course, Henry the Horse dancing the waltz!’, as the lyrics says).
'For the benefit of Mr. Kite
There will be a show tonight on trampoline
The Hendersons will all be there
Late of Pablo Fanques Fair-what a scene
Over men and horses hoops and garters
Lastly through a hogshead of real fire!
In this way Mr. K. will challenge the world!'

Rate: 10/10

8. Within you without you (Harrison):

This is the only song penned by Harrison included in this album. Harrison spent six months at India learning sitar with a great sitar player from that country. He really was into the India culture, so this song is kind of an Indian song, with sitars and other Indian instruments. The song is not bad, but maybe people weren’t prepared for that sort of music. As Paul said, if you take off the music and just listen to the lyrics and the melody of the song, is not bad at all. But the thing is that there ARE sitars and Indian instruments, and that’s why I like this song, but think is probably the worst of the album (and that doesn’t means is a bad one).
'And the time will come when you see
we're all one, and life flows on within you and without you'.

Rate: 7/10

9. When I’m Sixty-Four (Lennon-McCartney):

This is the first song the Beatles recorded for this album, still in 1966 (December). This is also the first or one of the firsts songs Paul ever write, he did it when he was fifteen years old, and he didn’t even know John Lennon. His father was 56 by then, and the age of retirement in England is (or was) 65, but Paul thought 64 sounds nicer. In July 1966 Paul’s father had just reached 64, so he remembered the song and decided to recorded and included it in the album, it was kind of a present to his father. The style of the song is not rock nor pop, as George Martin said, it’s more Des O’Connor style, one of McCartney’s father favourites. I love this song, probably one of my favourites among the more than 200 the Beatles released. It would have fit much better in the 30’s or 40’s, but as every Beatles fan must know, there’s not an specific music style attributable to the Liverpool band.
'Doing the garden, digging the weeds,
Who could ask for more.
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four'.

Rate: 10/10

10. Lovey Rita (Lennon-McCartney):

Pop song penned by McCartney, who's also the singer. It's a piano song, with a lovely and 'happy' piano solo. Paul was writing a song at his Liverpool home when someone told him that the parking meter woman are called meter maids in America, and that makes Paul smile a write something about it. The name it was going to be 'Rita, meter maid', then changed to 'Lovery Rita, meter maid', and then Paul took off the 'meter maid' thing and the song was called 'Lovely Rita'. The lyrics are really funny, is all about this Rita and her military look, she pays the bill after dinner, then at home thay can't do anything beacuse her two sisters are with them at the sofa.
'Got the bill and Rita paid it,
Took her home I nearly made it,
Sitting on the sofa with a sister or two'

11. Good Morning, Good Morning (Lennon-McCartney):

Third song penned by Lennon, and the fastest of his. A rock and roll with an excellent and savage guitar solo by Harrison, and good saxophone bits performed by ‘Sounds Incorporated’, with two trombones and a French horn. He wrote this rock song watching television, and inspired on an add he watch. As Lennon said, he usually write songs sitting at his piano and his television on with low sound. If his not getting anything, the words from television come through. That’s why he name the song ‘good morning, good morning’, that was a cornflake advertisement. The part in which he sings ‘it’s time for tea and meet the wife’ it came from a television show called ‘meet the wife’. The song finishes with different sounds of animal (dogs, horses, etc.).
'People running round it's five o'clock.
Everywhere in town is getting dark.
Everyone you see is full of life.
It's time for tea and meet the wife'.

Rate: 10/10

12. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Lennon-McCartney):

Song penned by Paul McCartney, with the structure than the first one. In fact, it’s just like a bit part of that one, shorter, but the same. It comes joined with ‘good morning, good morning’, mixing the sound of an animal with a string guitar sound.
'We're Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We hope you have enjoyed the show
Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We're sorry but it's time to go'

Rate: 10/10

13. A Day In The Life (Lennon-McCartney):

For a lot of people, this the best song not only from this album, but from their whole discography. It is certainly an excellent song, the fourth and last penned by Lennon (and last included in the album). It’s basically a slow piano song, and the bridge part was penned by Paul McCartney, which is a bit faster (so we could say this song is a real Lennon-McCartney one). Lennon wrote his part after reading the papers. He read something about a car accident, and that’s the beginning of the song. He also read a news about Blackburn, Lancashire and the 400 holes on it, and that’s the end of the song. Brian Wilson, leader of ‘The Beach Boys’, was trying to do the best album in music history. After realising the marvellous ‘Pet sounds’ (witch inspired The Beatles, specially McCartney, to do this ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’), he was trying to improve the quality of his sound. Paul was with them some day, helping with a song, and at a break, he sat at the piano and started to play ‘A Day in the Life’. Wilson got depressed and gave up with his new album. He thought after listening to ‘A Day in the life’ he would never surpass the Beatles (in fact, the album he was working at didn’t came out). This is only to let you know how marvellous this song is, unclassifiable in any style, just a perfect song. To separate Lennon’s parts from McCartney’s, there’s a weird middle section with lots of fiddles and orchestra instruments playing a whole octave from low to high without any timing, just a whole octave in 24 seconds (in not official copies of the song, with this orchestra eliminated, it can be heard Mal Evans counting from 1 to 24, to let The Beatles know when to start singing again and change the timing (because Paul’s section is in another timing)). At the end of the song, there’s just the same, with an E piano chord that lasts 42 seconds (it says during this 42 seconds there’s a very high note that can only be heard by dogs…. No comments). Anyway, a perfect song to finish a perfect album, with this controvelsial lyric about 'turning you on'.
'I read the news today oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
I'd love to turn you on'

Before I finish this review I'd like to talk a bit about this rumour that said Paul McCartney was dead. This happened in 1969, but the clues are suposed to be in the songs, the covers of the album, etc. from years ago. In this cover there are two clues that would made people think Paul was dead. The first one is about the yard with the flowers, suposed to be McCartney's grave. The second is about that hand waving hello just above McCartneys head in the picture of the cover. It's just that, a hand waving hello, but some people said it was an Indian sign of death... (about this clues, there's plenty enought to write a complete review, another day I will) (when The Beatles split, Lennon and McCartney hated each other. There's a song penned by Lennon in which he sings that the people who said he was dead were right).

Anyway, ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ reached number one, like every album the Beatles released. It became a symbol for the British Hippy movement, but it also became an inflection point. Since the Beatles rejoined after those 6 months off, things were different. From 1967 on, their relationships were not the same at all. At least, we still have their music to listen and admire. A ‘must have’ album.

Ciao!

BLUESY

 

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