Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [Enhanced, Limited Edition, Original recording remastered]

 

 

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This album changed my life. If it weren't for this album I'd be trying to make it as a professional soccer player. Believe, I would never have had a shot. Thank God for the Beatles!

This is the most overrated album of all time. It's one of those things that has such massive hype surrounding it that people only say it's the best because they've been told to say so, and have been told so so often they believe it's true, because no one ever questions it, and anyone who speaks up on the matter is shot down angrily. This isn't even the best Beatles' album out there; 'Revolver,' 'Abbey Road,' and the White Album are all better than this dated overrated overhyped project. When Paul talks about this in interviews, he does not come across as humble. Earth to Paul: A band giving a concert is not an original concept, or even a concept at all. Only three of the thirteen songs even relate to the alleged "concept." And there were concept albums before this, they just weren't called concept albums or thought of as such.

The songs for the most part are enjoyable ditties, if dated, but they're not the greatest songs The Beatles ever did. Only "A Day in the Life" qualifies as a classic; "Lucy" comes pretty close too. "She's Leaving Home" is very pretty, but not what I'd consider one of the songs in their classic canon. "With a Little Help from My Friends" is popular too, but again, it's not one of the songs most people would give as their greatest 20, 25, or however many they want to put in the top echelons of their catalogue. All of the instruments, layers, double-tracked vocals, overdubs, and sounds do nothing but to put layers of gold on top of dreck. And everyone knows deep down that the dreck is still there. More layers does not equal more quality. And I love "Within You Without You," though apparently a lot of people hate it, but it's safe to say that most non-Indian songs with Indian instruments in them were recorded in the late Sixties and early Seventies. It dates it right off the bat.

Of course, the hype surrounding this album is impossible to get away from. People will still automatically put it at the top of "the greatest albums ever" lists or spew empty hype about it being the best ever, without having taken time to really evaluate it. There are other concept albums, true concept albums, from this period in time, which have aged well and don't stand out like hideously dated bloated jokes. Don't let the classic cover disguise the fact that there's nothing but an empty shell beneath the fancy exterior.

There can be no doubt this album was unlike anything heard -- or seen -- before in pop music. The gate-fold album cover, the lyrics printed on the back, and the exotic sounds inside all showed the Beatles had turned the world of pop music inside out, just four years after issuing their first album. However, I wish I'd first heard this album then -- in 1967 -- so I could hear how revolutionary it was. Because by the time I heard it, 10 years later, some of its magic had worn off. There is still some incredible music here -- but I agree with most reviewers that it doesn't quite measure up to REVOLVER or ABBEY ROAD. One thing is clear -- this album was Paul McCartney's baby (and producer George Martin's), and it's easy to see why, in later years, Paul was the only Beatle who still sung its praises. John Lennon tended to debunk it, George Harrison said he wasn't all that interested in it, and Ringo Starr said he learned to play chess during the long, drawn out process of recording it. That said, there are great moments on it. We hear Ringo's finest vocal performance ever -- the one and only Billy Shears gives it all he's got on "With a Little Help From My Friends". John's "Lucy in the Sky" is a beautiful song, with George showing the influence India had had on his playing by mimicing John's vocal line with his guitar. Those influences were stronger still, of course, on Harrison's own contribution, "Within You Without You". Again, that must have sounded revolutionary in 1967, but nowadays, it cries out for editing --- shorten it by a couple of minutes and it would be fine! The most jarring moment of the album comes right after that -- we jump immediately from Harrison's mystic excursion to the goofy vaudeville clarinets of Paul's "When I'm 64". Every time I hear that song, I wonder what kind of self-respecting rock band could put out a number like this! McCartney's bass-playing, however, was stellar throughout, and show why Lennon, even at his angriest, would still call Paul the best bass-player in the business. And McCartney did have some good stuff here --"Lovely Rita" and "Fixing a Hole" are enjoyable -- especially George's extended guitar solo in the latter -- and "She's Leaving Home" is beautifully crafted -- especially the way John's counter melody blends with Paul's main theme. Yeah, I know it's a tear-jerker, but it still puts a lump in my throat. There are other interesting moments -- the swirling "Mr Kite", the honking brass and Paul's scorching guitar solo on "Good Morning, Good Morning" -- and I love the hen-cluck that turns into a guitar note as Sgt Pepper's Band comes out to say good night. But the one song that lifts PEPPER to the top ten of the all-time album list is the final one. "A Day In the Life" is such an extraordinary piece that it DEMANDS that you play the entire album over again, just to again be swept up in its incredible power. Lennon's eery, haunting vocal throughout and the vortex of noise that attack us -- TWICE -- followed by the crashing piano chord at the very end -- leave the listener breathless in their wake. Ringo's drumming was never more effective. And Paul's "ahhhh" that floats over the orchestral bridge that takes us from his section back to John's is a thing of beauty. This may be the very best Beatles song of all time! On the whole, PEPPER was definitely a strong album, and it's an essential part of anyone's Beatle collection. But oh, how much stronger it would have been had two songs originally meant to be part of it -- "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" -- not been pulled in order to be released as a single (in those days, the Beatles tried to avoid their singles also being included on albums).

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5.0 out of 5 stars Damn good music.
It's funny when people say "this album isn't just music, it's art," because music is a form of art, and this album is some damn good music. Read more

Published on April 20 2010 by Kyle Rogers

5.0 out of 5 stars The Landmark Album!
"Sgt. Pepper" is arguably the Beatles most recognized album. Released in 1967 at the peak of the 'hippy/flower power' movement, it combined art with music in a way that no album... Read more

Published on Mar 11 2010 by Martin A Hogan

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Gift
I gave this to my father in law for Christmas, he absolutely LOVED it! True Beatles fan, but can be appreciated by any music lover because it is a great album. Read more

Published on Jan 17 2010 by N. L. Quiles

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS WILL BE MY LAST!
To try and keep reviewing any BEATLE CD is a waste of my time!!!! I think we all know ,they are the best group ever!John, George, Paul & Ringo!!!! Read more

Published on Dec 15 2009 by Luap Van Horn

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Only Got Better
This release of the remastered SPLClub Hearts Band is a work of art. I already enjoyed the album ( it was part of my regular rotation ), but when I heard this new recording I was... Read more

Published on Oct 15 2009 by Paul K. Fisher

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Judge a Record By Its Cover
The best thing about Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is its cover. Apparently, manager Brian Epstein wanted the album wrapped in a plain brown paper bag, also a good idea,... Read more

Published on Aug 30 2009 by Irishcan

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cornerstone Of All That Came Behind It!
My title says it all. As a music historian, the release of this album is one of my top 10 moments in the history of recorded music, because it did something that only a handful... Read more

Published on Mar 21 2009 by John Murray

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beatles took the intiative to change music in a way no one else could
So as the Beatles ventured on in there career there images changed, culture changed and rock and roll changed for them and all of us. Read more

Published on Aug 23 2008 by Joy Sweeney

5.0 out of 5 stars "We`re Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band,We Hope You Will Enjoy The Show"-The Beatles
By 1967 The Beatles had become a studio band only as they had stopped touring the previous year,and so began in late 1966 the 129 days session of what would become the "Sgt... Read more

Published on Dec 29 2007 by Tommy Morais

5.0 out of 5 stars BUY IT, IT'S ONE OF THE BEST
To read some guy state that except for 3 tunes the rest is filler I had to respond. Lets see Little Help From My Friends, Lucy in the sky with Diamonds, For the Benefit of Mr... Read more

Published on July 10 2007 by Chaim Rouault

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