Beatles - Sgt.Pepper's Loney Heart's Club Band (Reis)

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Free Music Notes for Sgt.Pepper's Loney Heart's Club Band (Reis)

Free Music Review: Great, but not their best
Hit: 5 Stars

PEPPER was the most ambitious and elaborate album of its time. The record elevated the lowly status of the vinyl LP to Art which changed the music industry forever. It was a self-conscious work of art, self-contained with a theme, featuring ornate arrangements and some brilliant songwriting and performing. Experimentation abounds. There's no disputing the influence this record has had since its release on June 1, 1967.

However, I talk about its quality. Do the songs hold up? Some do, others don't. Side A is the superior half of PEPPER. The title track features a biting, acid guitar and great screaming by Paul. The song draws you into the album instantly. WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS is a perfect song for Ringo who relies on John and Paul do provide him a vocal on this record.

John's LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS is a highlight, with its childlike imagery and haunting keyboard phrase. GETTING BETTER and FIXING A HOLE are really the same song, done fast and slow. SHE'S LEAVING HOME is a mini-opera, featuring a beautiful melody, but nearly drowns in an overlush string arrangement. MR. KITE isn't a great song, but it is saved by an imaginative "wash" of sound in the middle eight and at the coda.

PEPPER starts to falter on WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU. George's lone contribution is an interesting experiment that marries Western classical instruments with Indian ones, but it is an overlong, preachy song. WHEN I'M 64 is one of Paul's "granny" songs, but it has its charms, and I can't fault it. However, LOVELY RITA is a trifle by Paul, as is GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING which reflects John's bordom living in the suburbs.

The SGT. PEPPER REPRISE is a clever way of uniting the album -- which is really a disparate collection of songs with little unity.

Had PEPPER ended there, I don't think the album would have its legendary status. It takes A DAY IN THE LIFE, the stunning closer, to cement PEPPER's status as a work of art. Simply put, A DAY IN THE LIFE is the greatest closing song on any Beatles' record, and possibly by any band. Lennon's vocal is haunting, as he sings about the death of his friend, Tara Browne, then reflects upon the movie (referring to How I Won The War) that a crowd of people turns away from. Paul's middle-eight of waking up and rushing to work/school is a lucky stroke of genius, perfectly fitting into the theme of the song, which is the loneliness of daily life. The song ends on a 50-second final note, a crash of piano chords that evokes death.

I love PEPPER, but it's not my favourite record. More accurately, I admire the album for elevating rock 'n' roll to Rock. However, in this case the legend overshadows the quality.

Sgt.Pepper's Loney Heart's Club Band (Reis) Poster

Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. The newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.

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