| CD Reviews Last updated: 9.25.05 The Beatles Sgt. Pepper�s Lonely Hearts Club Band Tracklist: 1. Sgt. Pepper�s Lonely Hearts Club Band (2:02) (Lennon/McCartney) 2. With A Little Help From My Friends (2:44) (Lennon/McCartney) 3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (3:28) (Lennon/McCartney) 4. Getting Better (2:47) (Lennon/McCartney) 5. Fixing A Hole (2:36) (Lennon/McCartney) 6. She�s Leaving Home (3:35) (Lennon/McCartney) 7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (2:37) (Lennon/McCartney) 8. Within You Without You (5:05) (Harrison) 9. When I�m Sixty-Four (2:37) (Lennon/McCartney) 10. Lovely Rita (2:42) (Lennon/McCartney) 11. Good Morning Good Morning (2:41) (Lennon/McCartney) 12. Sgt. Pepper�s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (1:18) (Lennon/McCartney) 13. A Day In The Life (5:33) (Lennon/McCartney) Introduction The Beatles had become experimental with their music with the release of their 6th album, Rubber Soul, by incorporating new, varied lyrical themes and experimentation with different instruments such as the sitar in their songs. By their 7th release, Revolver, The Beatles had established themselves as a truly unique and intriguing band with the release of Revolver. Sgt. Pepper�s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles� 8th studio album, is considered to be one of their most experimental, but the same time equally successful, albums in their discography. Synopsis The album begins with the title track, �Sgt. Pepper�s Lonely Hearts Club Band�. McCartney takes the lead vocals on this track. This is a great opener to an excellent album. In the lyrics, McCartney introduces themselves as Sgt. Pepper�s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and welcomes the audience to their �show�. McCartney then introduces �Billy Shears�, which is Ringo�s imaginary alias on this album, and then segues into the next song. �With A Little Help From My Friends� has Ringo Starr taking the lead vocals. This is probably my favorite Beatles song with Ringo on lead vocals. �With A Little Help From My Friends� is a nice, upbeat song with cheerful lyrics. It�s simply fun to listen to. Ringo�s vocals are perfect for this song. The third song, �Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds�, is arguably the most well known track from the album. Although this song is credited as �Lennon/McCartney�, this is mainly a Lennon composition, and it shows. This is probably one of the, if not the, most unique, psychedelic songs on the album. With strange, hard to understand lyrics and unusual music, it�s a very interesting to listen to. Most think that this song is about an acid trip (�Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds�), but Lennon claims he was inspired to write this song after the name of a picture his son Julian drew. �Getting Better� has McCartney taking the lead vocals again. This is another nice, upbeat song that�s simply a good listen. Even though this song has been played to death on TV in commercials and such, I still enjoy listening to it. It�s just so damn catchy. �Fixing A Hole� is yet another McCartney-lead song, and is somewhat in the same vein as �Getting Better�, meaning, it�s a song that�s not too loud and is fun to listen to. George Harrison provides some great guitar work in the short instrumental section in the song. The lyrics are certainly interesting as well. �Fixing A Hole�? It�s strange, but interesting nevertheless. Things get toned down for the next song, �She�s Leaving Home�. Compared to the previous songs, it�s a downbeat, somewhat sad tune, with strings adding to the overall mood. The lyrics describe a girl who decides to run away. The chorus is definitely the best part of the song, with falsetto singing and low-pitched vocals that create a soothing atmosphere. Lennon provides yet another psychedelic track with �Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!�. He was inspired to write the song after seeing a circus poster. The song describes the acrobatic Mr. Kite, a circus performer that dazzles that audience. Circus-like organs were added to give a circus atmosphere. �Within You Without You� is George Harrison�s sole composition on the album. It�s also one the longest songs in the Beatles� catalogue of songs, which has led to some distaste for this particular track. In my opinion, it�s a pretty good song. Harrison was allowed to record a track that contained a lot of Eastern instruments, such as the sitar and tables, which Harrison particularly enjoyed. It�s definitely one of the most intriguing and unique songs The Beatles have recorded, and is worth a listen. �When I�m Sixty-Four� is a lighthearted, enjoyable track by McCartney. The lyrics are fun and are not to be taken seriously; they describe life when the narrator is 64 years old, which, as described in the lyrics, doesn�t sound too fun. �Lovely Rita� has McCartney taking the lead vocal. It�s another fun romp to listen to, with cheerful lyrics and music, which includes a nice little ragtime piano solo. This song is often overlooked, and I admit it�s not a standout song, but it�s a good song overall and fits in with the atmosphere created from the previous tracks on the album. �Good Morning Good Morning� fittingly begins with the crowing of a rooster. Yet another lighthearted track, this song is just plain catchy. See if you can go through the day without the chorus of �good morning, good morning� playing in your head. The song ends with a strange collage of animal sounds, and then segues into the next song. �Sgt. Pepper�s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)� is sort of outro the album, although it is not the last song on the album. McCartney thanks the audience for coming to the show and hopes they enjoyed it. The song contains an infectious drumbeat by Ringo. The drumbeat almost sound like a hip-hop beat. Mind you, this album was originally released in 1967, well over a decade before hip-hop even existed. This just goes to show how innovative and inspirational The Beatles were to music in general. This awesome album draws to a close with �A Day In The Life�. The song overall is fairly calm and quiet in the beginning, with Lennon�s vocals being the most audible to the listener. The song then goes into a loud, almost horrific orchestral climax, with then comes to a sudden halt, and then goes into McCartney�s section, in which he takes over lead vocals. After his short part, the song goes reprises Lennon�s section, and then builds up to that orchestral climax, then ends with a single, memorable piano chord. After a few seconds of silence, some really loud feedback occurs (it�s not fun to listen to with headphones on and the volume up), and then goes into some strange, almost disturbing backwards messages. All of these elements combined into one song have led this track to be one of my, and many others, favorite album closers ever. Highlights �With A Little Help From My Friends�, �Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds�, �A Day In The Life� Bottom Line Sgt. Pepper�s Lonely Hearts Club Band revolutionized rock music, and music in general, when it was released. No longer were the band confined to writing simple love songs. They composed songs with unique lyrics and melodies. This album is one of the best that The Beatles recorded. If you don�t own this album, you should get it as soon as possible. There�s something in this album for everyone. The same cannot be said for many other albums out there. Final Grade: A+ Any questions, comments, submissions, or anything related to the site should be e-mailed to me: shadowdragonxx [at] hotmail [dot] com. Don't take anything from the site without permission. |
| Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Album line-up: Paul McCartney � Bass, Guitar, Vocals John Lennon � Guitar, Vocals George Harrison � Guitar, Sitar, Vocals Ringo Starr � Drums, Percussion, Vocals Additional Personnel: N/A Release Year: 1967 Label: Capitol Records Produced by: George Martin |
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