Review by iluvmarillion — Paul McCartney has been in the media lately criticizing the Rolling Stones for borrowing
from the Sgt. Peppers album, both from the album cover and musical themes (psychedelic
rock). I don't know why he chooses to criticize The Rolling Stones? Their Satanic Majesties
Request was one of the least successful Stones albums. I would have thought that Mick
Jagger's charismatic appeal combined with America's love for rhythm & blues and Keith
Richard's innate ability to invent new riffs, is the reason that the Rolling Stones were so
successful (although it seems that Paul has some support from Ginger Baker who is
critical of the Stones musical abilities).
For proggers like myself, it all started with ITCOTCK, but in terms of influence, was
ITCOTCK (incredible album that it was) more influential on other progressive rock bands
than Sgt. Peppers, which is not regarded as a progressive rock album? The debut Emerson
Lake and Palmer album shows obvious influence from ITCOTCK, but then Keith Emerson
did steal Greg Lake from King Crimson. Other than that (as far as I can tell), heavyweight
bands such as Pink Floyd, Yes and Genesis were all established bands around the time of
ITCOTCK.
Without the influence of The Beatles, I can't imagine bands like The Moody Blues, Electric
Light Orchestra or Barclay James Harvest would have existed (at least not in the forms they
did). Genesis may never have formed as a rock band. What do the early Beatles albums
have in common with the post Beatles solo albums? In my opinion, those early albums (as
well as the post Beatles solo works) are not particularly good. Paul wrote some fantastic
tunes in 'I Saw Her Standing There' and 'Yesterday' and John Lennon wrote some great
love songs, but George Harrison gets to be pushed out of writing anything in the early
albums. Admittedly they did write great singles. However, their albums are also littered with
a lot of deadwood.
Then along comes Rubber Soul and a paradigm shift occurs within the entire world wide
music landscape. Suddenly, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, The Kinks, Mamas and Papas
and The Byrds are all writing great albums in the wake of Rubber Soul. So what sets
Rubber Soul apart from everything that came before it? In my humble opinion it's the
influence of George Martin. George Martin is often referred to as the fifth Beatle, but I don't
see him that way. He comes from a different generation of ecliptic tastes including
classical, jazz and comedy, which is far removed from the skiffle music that The Beatles
were raised on (although John Lennon and George Martin shared a great love for The Goon
show). I may be wrong, but I see George Martin as a pioneer of the progressive rock scene
of the seventies. I think when Genesis wrote From Genesis to Revelation, they were trying to
be another version of The Beatles and then thought it would be better to try to be another
version of George Martin instead and wrote Trespass.
Of all the great albums The Beatles made from Rubber Soul to Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band represents the pinnacle of their career and is their most personal
effort. According to Pete Townsend, Sgt. Peppers and Pet Sounds redefined music in the
20th century, so who am I to disagree with Pete Townsend? The album is innovative in
every regard, from the gatefold album cover to the lyrics on the inside sleeve and cover art
featuring iconic movie stars and other famous people with the Beatles dressed in their
band costumes. This isn't message music (Bob Dylan) but it's personal and
autobiographical. All the songs are linked by common threads ' being in a band, growing
up in Liverpool, mundane chores around the house, being with friends, leaving home,
finding spiritual fulfillment and happiness. The album begins with the brass instruments
tuning up (birth) and concludes with a full orchestra tuning down (death). The album lyrics
are full of double meanings. Contrary to what a lot of people think, Lucy in the Sky of
Diamonds is not a drug song, but is based on a drawing that Julian Lennon brought home
from nursery. Lennon could have called the song Lucy in the Sky of Stars, but chose
Diamonds instead, maybe because the stars in the drawing do look like diamonds, or
maybe because it rhymes well, or just maybe because the words form the letters LSD. All it
is is a double meaning, just like his favorite radio program, The Goon Show is full of double
meanings. Lennon is not making any comment about LSD here.
Song for song, I think The Beatles wrote better individual songs on Revolver and The White
Album then Sgt. Peppers (with the exception of 'A Day In The Life'), but the appeal of Sgt.
Peppers is in the way the songs effortlessly support each other. When we listen to a
progressive rock album we like to listen to the album from start to finish. We usually don't
cut across tracks unless we don't like the music and are trying to focus on some random
track we might happen to like (and then we rarely play the album again). Sgt. Peppers
makes its impact when you play it start to finish. People who think the album is weak draw
that conclusion by comparing songs like Getting Better, Fixing a Hole, Within You, Without
You and Good Morning Good Morning to songs on The White Album and Revolver.
The influence of Sgt. Peppers on the progressive rock movement extends past rock heavy
weight bands Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd, to a lot of contemporary progressive rock bands
today. The biographical elements of Big Big Train's English Electric parts 1 and 2 and use
of brass instruments on these albums hacks back to the Sgt. Peppers album. The Flower
Kings suite, Garden of Dreams, on the album Flower Power, has an orchestral intro at the
start and then is reprised near the end of the suite. The silence at the end of A Day in the
Life followed by the voice loop just when you think the song is finished inspired many bands
to use voices, as effects, in their songs.
Some of my thoughts on the following tracks from the album:
'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/ With A little Help From My Friends' The band tunes
up and then the alto ego personalities of The Beatles strut their stuff and the heavy guitars
take over. The chorus comes in and then the music transitions into the one song sung on
every Beatles album by Ringo Starr. It has a great melody line by Paul McCartney. Great lyric:
'I get high with a little help from my friends'. Ok. I get a buzz by having my friends around me.
Interpret it any way you want to.
'Lucy In The Sky Of Diamonds' This is a song I often mix up with 'Strawberry Fields Forever'
from Magical Mystery Tour. Both clock in at similar times and share biographical elements
in John Lennon's life. The Beatles are into Indian Mysticism so Tamboura and Sitar are the
order of the day here. Celeste and organ add to the effects of the song. Not sure whether
psychedelic rock originated with The Beatles or groups from San Francisco, but the genre
peaks with these two songs.
'Getting Better' Always regarded Getting Better as a bridging song between LITSOD and
the more meatier songs, She's Leaving Home and Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite. It has
the weakest lyrics of any song on the album, but it has a beautiful base line from Paul
McCartney, who is such an underrated base player.
'Fixing A Hole' Another Paul McCartney song, which is introduced by harpsichord and
breaks in with electric guitars in the main chorus. Love Ringo's playing on this track. The
'hole' in the lyric line is a not so subtle double meaning about the emptiness in some
peoples' minds.
'She's Leaving Home' Sounds like a John Lennon song to me, but Paul McCartney sings
the main verse and John Lennon comes in only during the chorus. Unusual for a Paul
McCartney song to be fully stringed.
'Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite' Within the same album, we see the range of Paul
McCartney's lyric writing from weak (Getting Better), to solid effort (Fixing A Hole) to brilliant
(She's Leaving Home). And then along comes John Lennon who raises the ante and writes
a simple circus song based on a newspaper article. This is John Lennon at the height of
his powers. Was there such a person as Mr. Kite or is he a fictional character? Does it
matter? 'Mr. Kite', 'The Hendersons', 'Bishops gate'. The words match perfectly, like butter
melting in your mouth. This is a song you can hum for hours on end in your head.
'Within You Without You' Paul Harrison's contribution to the album is a spiritual piece
seeped in Maharishi Transcendental Meditation. A little long I think but a perfect prelude into
the next song.
'When I'm Sixty-Four' An early Paul McCartney composition that he wrote when he was
sixteen. John Lennon must have approved of the lyrics because I can hear him in the
background singing. Typical McCartney song in the style of music hall simply orchestrated.
'Lovely Rita' Another Paul McCartney song at his rockiest best with a strong piano line and
backing vocals from Lennon.
'Good Morning, Good Morning' I don't know whether animal noises became fashionable
after Brian Wilson's aborted efforts on the Smile album, but here we are with roosters
waking us up in this John Lennon song just before the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club
band reprise.
'A Day In The Life' And now we come to last and best track on the album. The first verse by
Lennon is an account of an incident involving a friend of Lennon, who wiped himself out in a
car accident. The second verse is autobiographical containing the quote, 'I'd love to turn you
on'. No double meaning here I guess. Paul McCartney provides the middle section of the
song and Lennon the last. The two orchestral crescendos link the sections together. For all
I know this is the last time that Paul McCartney and John collaborated on a song together.
After this album the two spouses came in the way of Lennon and McCartney appearing in
the studio together. It's a miracle that George Martin was able to produce two further gems
in 'The White Album' and 'Abbey Road' and a credit to Lennon and McCartney that they
could put their differences to one side and continue to write great songs within the
framework of 'The Beatles'.