55. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles.
Well, here we are! Listening somewhat close to chronologically, we have just come up on the NUMBER ONE album on the list. Those of you paying attention will remember that the second greatest album (according to this list) was 'Pet Sounds', and I found myself disappointed. Will this be the fate that befalls us now, dear reader? I doubt it. Let's dive in and see where this takes us... a quick look at the track listings reveals many songs that I am already familiar with, but there may be a few pleasant surprises coming up.
The album starts of with the title track. On the headphones you can really pick up a lot of studio trickery going on. It seems very thin at times, and then the horns are quite clear. Paul's bass sound is steady, but the rest of the sound is in motion throughout, I believe the vocals are moving from one ear to the other as the song progresses. There is lots of ear candy from the audience. Suddenly, we are into track two "With A Little Help From My Friends". Ah shit, I was trying to turn up my headphones and up went the volume on the studio monitors. Well, at least it's a good tune to disturb everyone. This one is more straightforward, with nice backing vocals, and call and answer sections that we all know and love.
These songs are over quickly and seem to flow together nicely. 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' is next. We are taken to a wonderful world with all kinds of strange occurrences are taking place. I wonder why that is? I'm really digging the bass lines and the dynamics of the piece. The best is the drum hits moving us into the chorus parts. There are a lot of layers to this one that I haven't noticed before, you can see the experimentation coming through, and so far their competition with the Beach Boys, whether real or imagined, is tilting heavily in the Beatle's favour.
'Getting Better' is next. It starts out straightforward, and then there is some interesting instrumentation, maybe a sitar? For a song that seems to have one note pounded out for most of the tune, it is surprisingly compelling. The lyrics would probably not hold up to the lens of 2022, with the angry young fella admitting to being cruel and beating his lady friend, he's likely to get cancelled. Funnily enough, I think they were using this song in an ad for cell phones or something like that. I guess they didn't see any problem with all this.
'Fixing A Hole' is one I'm not as familiar with, but i like it immediately. It's got a darkness to it that is appealing, and then suddenly there is a great walkdown into some sliding guitar with vintage distortion. You get the feeling if we don't get this hole fixed, we aren't going to be happy about the end result. Or maybe I'm just projecting. Who knows?
We are next greeted by the sounds of a harp. I know this, because I had to look it up. I thought maybe a harpsichord, but "She's Leaving Home" is a string nonet and a harp. No guitars or drums on this one. This is likely the reason I didn't recognize the song off the bat, but knew the vocal line and lyrics as soon as the singing started. I begin to see the hype around this album is somewhat warranted. The themes have more maturity than 'Pet Sounds' or the Beatles have obscured them to a point where they are mere suggestions and the listener can make their own conclusions and get out of the songs what they will. I think this personal touch is one of the elements that makes this a masterpiece.
Sonically, there are many textures to 'Being For The Benefit Of Mister Kite'. We are back to a circus atmosphere with Mr. K being the headliner. This must have been a mind-blowing experience to some kid with a head full of acid listening to the album for the first time. What the hell is he going on about? Who are the Henderson's? What are all these sounds?
Speaking of sounds, 'Within You Without You' just came on and it is full on sitar with those delicious drones. The vocal is dreamy and we are off on a journey of self awareness. "ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?" The arrangement is active and this is one you could definitely get lost in. The song ends with some laughter, which allegedly has to do with the audience that is watching ol' Sgt. Pepper et al. do their thing on stage. So now we have been reminded of another layer of what is supposed to be happening here. I forgot all about that part of it.
We shift gears radically after all that far out business, and race headlong into 'When I'm Sixty Four' which could not be more different than the preceding track. There are no surprises here, just a good old style tune. It sounds like clarinets and piano to me with some bass guitar keeping things together. The drums are pretty sparse but the tune works well.
Holy cow. 'Lovely Rita' is chock full of ear candy! I've never heard this stuff in the background before. Nice piano in the middle. The backing vocals toward the end are fabulous and the bass starts wandering around with the ahs and groans going on. Then what else would you expect but a rooster crowing!
'Good Morning Good Morning' is another dynamic piece that moves around in tempo and different sounds. Then out of nowhere comes the guitar! Some faster playing with nice runs and a thin distorted sound. The tune continues on and ends with a menagerie of animals taking a turn at the mike. We have taken this studio experimentation to the next level. I wonder if that was meant to be a poke at 'Pet Sounds'? We'll make our own barnyard soundtrack and it will be better than yours, Mr. Wilson! Well, I looked it up and it didn't say anything about that, but allegedly each successive animal sound is from an animal that could devour or scare the animal making the previous sound. Ha! That's a little sinister. I like it. You might listen to the album fifty times before you realized that, or you might pick up on it first run through. The beauty of art!
Well, after all that, we come back to a reprise of Sgt. Pepper. This one is more peppy and has a bit of modulation. It rocks along pointing the way to the end.
The album ends with 'A Day In The Life'. The thing standing out to me on this listen is the drumming. It seems quite laid back, but ol' Ringo is actually pretty busy. Halfway through there is a swell of sound and then we get into the second part of the tune which has some great piano. The bass during the part with the "aahs" is nice and then the horns drown everything out and suddenly we're back to business, counting the holes in Blackburn, Lancashire and winding down the song to a buildup like a tornado and finishing with one of the most famous chords in musical history.
There is some gibberish following that apparently would play on and on on record players that did not have an automatic arm return. They thought of everything.
Well. I am not disappointed. This may not be my personal favourite album that I've had the fortune to listen to, but there is no denying that this is a fantastic offering. The number of sounds and different approaches to the songs, while managing to keep a steady flow through the idea of Sgt. Pepper and the lads playing a show is clever and complex. Not to mention the studio magic, at a time where they were coming up with new ideas and pushing the boundaries of what could be recorded. This was definitely a great album. Most of the songs are quite short as well, so it is a quick listen. I'm sure back in the day, this one sat on the player and just got turned over and over and over and over ...
Rolling Stone Magazine ranked this the Greatest Album of All Time in 2003
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