May 26, 1967 - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Just two weeks after "Are You Experienced", the Beatles released their 8th studio album on May 26 1967, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Paul McCartney came up with the idea to have a fictional military-style band that would be playing the album instead of themselves. This would free the band from being "the Beatles" and allow them a new freedom to write music. The name of the fictional band would become the title of the album. The Beatles continued to experiment with different sounds in the studio as they had already retired from touring. 

Side 1 begins with the title track "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", an intro that gives the impression that all the songs that follow are a live performance by the fictional band. It has some great horns and this leads right into Ringo Starr's customary sole lead vocal of the album, "With A Little Help From My Friends". It's a song about how times can be tough, but your friends will help you through and even help get you high when the going is rough. It's a very communal song and Starr delivers it very well. Lennon sings lead on what would become one of their biggest songs, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". It's psychedelic lyrics were inspired by Lewis Carroll's "Through The Looking Glass" and the trippy guitar and tambura from George Harrison show that the Beatles are no longer just toying with psychedelia, but fully embracing it on this album. McCartney's bass drives the song, while the guitar is left to wander and Lennon's dreamy voice and lyrics make this song an instant classic. McCartney claims that the song title was not an intentional reference to drugs, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" has LSD has the capital letters. Seems like an odd coincidence Paul... Speaking of Paul, he's back on lead vocals for Track 4 "Getting Better", with Lennon echoing him. Not surprisingly it's about forgetting the past and embracing the present. Lennon sings how he used to hit women, but is "changing his scene" and things are getting better all the time. McCartney's on lead again for the next track, "Fixing A Hole". It's about sealing all the holes and cracks in your mind so that it doesn't wander, almost a complete contradiction to the feel of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" a couple tracks earlier. McCartney sings lead for the third song in a row on "She's Leaving Home", with Lennon singing the title during the chorus. It's a song about a teenage girl running away from home and how her parentscsn't understand why. It features a string nonet, similar to "Eleanor Rigby", but at a much slower pace and with a harp. It's a beautifully done song and whenever the Beatles use strings, it seems to work out wonderfully. Side 1 concludes with Lennon's "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!", a very odd song based on an old circus poster Lennon found in an antique shop. Most of the strange characters you hear mentioned are on this poster, so Lennon re-imagined it and the song really sounds like you're at a circus.  It's definitely different than anything else they had done and once again evokes tons of psychedelic imagery. Some may call it nonsense, but I think it's a cool song. 

Side 2 begins with Harrison's sole lead vocal on the album "Within You Without You", a song in which he is the only Beatle to perform. Harrison recorded the song with Indian musicians, and it hardly sounds like a Beatles song at all. It's very drone-y and it shows Harrison's strong Eastern influence on sound and in the lyrics, which talk about how small we are in the grand scheme and how "life flows on within you and without you". The rest of the band returns with McCartney's "When I'm Sixty-Four". It's a song asking whether his partner will still love him when he's old and fat and 64. It's sung in the style of a showtune, features clarinet and is quite a catchy song. A made for radio hit. McCartney continues on lead vocals (his sixth song on the album now) with track 10 "Lovely Rita", a song about a meter maid he wandered upon, and asked out. It has some great guitar and is a solid rock song for sure. Lennon is back on lead vocals with "Good Morning Good Morning". This song doesn't seem to have any aim, just a bunch of happenings, perhaps what one might encounter on a drug-inspired walk. Lennon is just jamming out the druggy tunes on this one. All 4 members sing together on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)", as the fictional band reappears to segue into the album's finale (or their encore), the Lennon-led "A Day In The Life". It features an orchestra and shows Lennon in a much more serious sense than the rest of the album. It is a pretty good song, and once you think it's over, has a very bizarre ending that was designed to repeat on any record players that didn't loft their needles at the end of the record.

That is the end of "Sgt. Pepper's", what A LOT of people believe to be the best album ever made. I believe this is a solid album for sure, but I just don't see why it gets that level of admiration. I don't think it is the Beatles best album, and I don't even think it was the best album this month! But how does it rank against their other albums I have? I think I like this one better than "Rubber Soul", but so far I'm gonna have to stick with "Revolver" as their best album. My next album will be released in the heart of the "summer of love" and features another new band to the scene.