Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

I saw a few reviews wonder what it must feel like to come into this album cold, to listen to it with fresh ears in today's musical landscape without it having been an ever-present fixture in one's life. Hey, I'm your guy. I was born in '88. The only Beatles song I can confidently claim to have listened to the whole way through prior to starting this project was "Twist and Shout", which, upon only just now thinking to look into it, was actually a cover. They don't come any denser than me. The eponymous intro track is a perfectly bombastic mixture of rock and orchestral that really sells the idea that this album is going to be masterful. That the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is going to be an experience. It's excellent, and sends you straight into the next track on a huge high. I straight-up love this strategy. The first true track in question is "With a Little Help From My Friends". To me, this felt like the kind of cute, feel-good ditty you would find to close OUT the show. What is it doing here, smack at the beginning? Tonally, it's a little jarring from the solid intro that pitched to us the notion that we'd be listening to a well-oiled machine; but by itself, it's not necessarily a portent of ill omen. This could still potentially work as an opener. But "Lucy in the Sky" is next, and here is where things are looking rough. The chorus is repetitive and musically inert, and probably isn't the focus of the song. The verses have a psychedelic bent to them, and this is my hangup. 166 album ratings in, and the 60s as a decade is sitting a solid 0.68 points below my second-lowest-rated era. It's the only decade that falls below a 3-star average for me, and this right here is why. I don't understand what is supposed to be appealing about psychedelia. Is this because I've never done drugs? Is that the key that would unlock an entire musical generation for me? That is followed up by "Getting Better", which is rather appropriately-named, because this is more of a return to their roots and is actually pleasant to listen to. That said, it's also a fluff piece, hands-down. "Fixing a Hole" has a good guitar riff, actually, although I didn't notice it right away. That's about the best I can say for it; otherwise it's basically filler. "She's Leaving Home" would really be a perfect track to mellow us out... except we haven't been amped up since the intro, so it's not accomplishing anything here. Er, now hang on, that's a point. Wasn't I sold an experience? Because from my point of view, after that intro faded out, nothing has truly landed for me so far. We're halfway in already, and every single song has either been put sorely out of place, or should be functioning as the glue that would string along and prop up the memorable tracks—which are inexplicably absent. The rest of the album plays on in a similar manner; I'm already checked out, and that was supposed to be the GOOD half. Eventually, the Club Band reprise outro comes crashing in, acting like that was a hell of a show you just heard. Honestly, it's so confident in its approach that I could almost imagine it was true. But if you compare the intro/outro to the rest of the album... I don't know. It's discordant; it doesn't match the tone at all; it makes me wonder if the opening and closing act knew what they were opening and closing FOR. Maybe if my expectations had been different, I could have found more merit here. But the only thing louder than the hype from this album's introduction is the hype from the wall of 5-star reviews, many of which proudly proclaim "What can you say about this album?" But I suppose somebody in that mix should say *something*, because there are still a few dense people like me out there who just don't understand how to appreciate this work.

I really did enjoy the show

What can you really say about a Beatles album? There’s a hovering obligation to give credit where credit is surely due for being the first to do something, forging a path that other artists I love clearly followed in. You wouldn’t want to say you didn’t enjoy it because that sounds ungrateful or simple. I thought this album would be a lot of things it wasn’t. I thought I’d like it more or like it less. The beginning and end built up an urgency that the rest of the album never quite caught up with. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe I’m just ungrateful or simple.

This album is a 10 out of 10, and that's before you get to the final track, which is one of the greatest pop songs ever recorded and ends with THAT chord - a chord so iconic it has its own liner notes. I don't care about any debate about how influential or overrated or whatever this album is, or about how it compares to Pet Sounds or anything else. All I know is it ends with John Lennon literally reading a newspaper while Paul combs his hair, culminating in a chaotic semi-improvised orchestral glissando and a 40-second long chord that sticks in your soul and your chest long after it's over. Bravo. Best track: A Day in the Life

That segway from the first song, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band to With a little help from my friends is foreshadowing that this album will be special. After hearing thru so many different genres that followed this in the 70s and 80s such as psychedelic, prog, World, and avant-garde this album may not sound too innovative, but when I stop to think that this is the OG that started it all, it's influence and importance comes into perspective. There are 13 songs on this album, 12 are killer and deserve 5 stars, with only Being the benefit of Mr Kite being a miss, but the album closes with a Sgt Pepper's reprise with another brilliant segway into their best song ever IMO, A Day in the Life and then to top it off this fricking masterpiece of a record ends with perhaps the most incredible ending notes of any song, EVER. So it makes up for Mr Kite, and how! So I'm happy to give my first 5 star rating to this album.

A great album in the sense that pacman was a great game, clearly seminal, famous songs abound, and a step forward with the Beatles adding more orchestral sounds. Drug Beatles as my mom would call it. Digging a hole is good, Day in the Life and 64 classics but kind of played out. I just don't crave the Beatles.

This is one of my favorite Beatles albums, hands down. I don't actually have much more to say about it. I just love it.

In 1967’s summer of Love, I was 8 years old and no one was cooler than my Uncle Steve. He would later become a criminal defense attorney in Austin, Texas, married and divorce a couple of times along with the subsequent troubled children often produced from that environment, and died with a body ravaged by the excess of alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, and fried food. But in 1967, man, he was IT! I seem to recall that he had a girlfriend/wife who was an international model, and together achieved some kind of notoriety including a picture on the cover of the Houston Post for smuggling hashish into the United States, but don’t hold me to the details. I was just a kid at the time. I do remember them briefly occupying one of the bedrooms of our two story suburban home in Houston until my father finally begged them to leave because of the pot smoking and loud music billowing from an open window of the room facing the front of the house overlooking the cul-d-esac of our neighborhood. That kind of behavior was unknown to our neighbors, who lacked any real understanding and were most certainly intolerant of the developing counter culture. Uncle Steve happened to be a friend of Michael Nesmith, and a year later would share writing credits with Davey Jones on two songs that ended up on 'The Birds, The Bees, and The Monkees': the opening track, ‘Dream World,’ and another song on the second side, ‘The Poster.’ Neither rose anywhere near the fame of the LP’s biggest hit, ‘Daydream Believer,’ but as songs go they were about as good as any other pop songs in 1968, lyrically reflecting the ennui of America’s youth, and musically, ‘The Poster,’ in particular, including one of the oh-so late 60’s beloved instruments, the innocent harpsicord. In fact, in retrospect, listening to ‘The Poster,’ I can see what an effect The Beatles’ 'Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band' must have had on my uncle. You won’t meet a bigger Beatlemaniac than yours truly, and while this particular LP is not my favorite (that honor goes to 'The Magical Mystery Tour'), it’s still wields its own magic, and will forever have an emotional claim on my musical soul. On my eighth birthday, June 26, 1967, just a couple of weeks following its release in America, my Uncle Steve presented me with a packaged cellophane copy of 'Sgt. Pepper’s' that still emanated the faint residual smell of the incense that they burned down at the local record store, Peaches Records and Tapes (for those of you who are hip to that.) I already, of course, had all the prior Beatles’ records and this one, being hot off the press, was highly coveted. I could barely contain my glee as he handed it over. But as I grasped it, before letting it go he looked me right in the eye and said, prophetically, ‘Nephew, you are now holding what will be considered a great work of art one day. Remember this moment. Cherish and honor this gift.’ And I did then, and I still do now, almost 55 years later. I don’t know what to add about the oceans of ink spilled (or, now, ethers of digitalized information disseminated?) about this LP: McCartney’s idea of reintroducing themselves under the guise of a completely different band to shatter the constraints of the prior fab four; or, the many drug references (‘I get high with a little help from my friends,’ ‘Lie on your back with your head in the clouds and you’re gone. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.’ ‘Found my way upstairs and had a smoke. Somebody spoke and I went into a dream. Ahhh…’ ‘I’d love to turn you on.’ The trippy backwards circus carousel on ‘Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!,’ or the taking-a-hit-off-a-joint sound at the end of ‘Lovely Rita,’ etc); or the famous cover photo montage and the lyrics written on the back (a surprisingly new concept at that time), or, or, or…. I mean, it’s the Beatles. These boys could sing and play the yellow pages (I’m dating myself with that reference) and it would be solid gold. I love ‘em. What can I say? Ringo’s subtle drumming, always serving the best interests of the song rather than his own ego, George Harrison’s essential guitar fills here, there, and everywhere. Lennon’s authentically soulful voice, despite the heavy doses of studio effects and LSD. And finally, Sir Paul McCartney. This is really his LP, his concept, his lead beginning to really assert itself in the band. I’ve always been more of a Lennon man, but doesn’t McCartney shine on 'Sgt. Pepper’s'? Listen to how clear and strong his vocal parts are immediately following Lennon’s more affected ones. The interplay between the two is unrivaled in contemporary rock/pop music. (We’ll cover his incredibly melodic bass playing more extensively when 'Abbey Road' comes around.) But I think the real value of 'Sgt. Pepper’s' is the mood of the time The Beatles so expertly captured. George Harrison’s growing interest in exploring exotic, previously unfamiliar (to the west) eastern global spiritual traditions (and remember this was decades before the access to information that we now take for granted on the interweb) on his sole composition, ‘With You Without You.’ McCartney’s gorgeously heartrending and respectful treatment of both generations on ‘She’s Leaving Home’- the disaffected, searching young, and the inability of the old to comprehend their children’s frustration with the status quo. Lennon’s opus magnum, ‘A Day In The Life,’ a desperate search for sense among the seemingly senseless. And Ringo’s opus magnum (at least vocally), ‘With A Little Help From My Friends,’ the gathering of the global tribes forming a new community of peace and love. This whole LP clearly spoke to me, even in my pre-teen years, of a significant change in human consciousness, some kind of evolution occurring in real time, my time. I wouldn’t have been able to articulate it back then, but I felt it nonetheless. And while Harrison’s new spirituality, accompanied by droning sitars and throbbing tablas, went over my head, I now hear them and his lyrics as a call to arms, (the multiple arms of Shiva, Lakshmi, Ganesha, and the rest) to any and all generations, youth and otherwise, who would listen: ‘We were talking about the love that’s gone so cold, and the people who gain the world and lose their soul (the two arms of Jesus). They don’t know, they can’t see. Are you one of them?’ It was Harrison’s good friend, Bob Dylan, who would actually have first rights to this two summers prior in ‘Ballad Of A Thin Man,’ on Highway 61 Revisited: ‘Something is happening here, but you don’t know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?’ It’s still happening, brothers and sisters, and some still don’t know. But some do. Which one are you? 5 million/5

The grand daddy of concept albums. Features, arguably, the greatest Lennon McCartney collaboration, A Day In The Life. I always used to play that tune on the juke box at the pool hall when I was a kid cause it had that secret track on it at the end and it would temporarily disrupt the place into a state of surreal confusion, much to my delight. It's only a matter of seconds but it felt like ages each time. Love the idea of them pretending to be an alter ego in order to free themselves from being The Beatles and all the expectations that went with it. Studio as an instrument on full display here. What a combination of dreary reality and escapism. Goes together like peanut butter and jelly. Listening to this on headphones, I'm hearing little details I've never noticed before. Guessing it's also partially the remastering.

Is it the "best album of all time", as rated by Rolling Stone back in 2003? Nope. Is it the best Beatles album? Also no. But is it a masterpiece and milestone of popular music that deserves its place on this list? Oh, go on then. Maybe I'm biased because I grew up with the Beatles and almost every area of music I got into immediately afterwards was influenced by them. I was very harsh on Donovan earlier this week even though he pulled many of the same tricks as The Beatles, in some cases earlier than they did. It begged the question: would I like The Beatles as much if I first heard them now? Trying to listen to this album with fresh ears today (even though personal attachment makes that impossible), I was still floored by how eclectic the material is as the Beatles fire on all cylinders. The vivid imagery. The detail in every arrangement, harmony and melody. It's still dazzling music in technicolour. There's not much more I can add to the multitude of reviews out there, but here's a random selection of some favourite moments: Ringo's carefree drum fills in "With a Little Help from My Friends". Paul's harmony in the chorus of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". The jagged guitar solo in "Fixing a Hole" as it swings down into the lower register. The deranged collage effect at the end of "...Mr Kite". "Lovely Rita"'s kazoos. "Somebody needs to know the time, glad that I'm here"... and those HORNS! "A Day in the Life". Not a moment, I cheated... but it's my favourite Beatles song and one of my favourite songs of all time. Couldn't not be five stars. As a side note, it might be sacrilege but Giles Martin did an incredible job remixing this album in 2017 (perfect modernised-but-still-classic take blending the stereo and mono versions) and it's become my go-to. Listen to Ringo in Good Morning Good Morning, or the strings as Lennon goes into a dream, and try to disagree.

Here we go - song by song for the 1st time Sgt Peppers . . .  I love how raw the opening guitar riff is. What a great way to start the album. I understand Paul took lead guitar duties away from George on the Sgt Pep. song. He lays down some excellent lead. I can’t imagine George was happy about he mates in the sandbox  that day. With a Little Help ... This is the most famous song Ringo sang. He makes it  so much fun as only he could do. Lucy in the Sky. This is a wonderful Lennon tune. Lucy and Day in the Life are the two highlights of the LP. (I know, you guys probably think When I’m 64 is the shit. Call me crazy). Listening to Lucy makes me feel like I’m stoned. Paul lays down some interesting bass flows and some intricate finger work particularly during the last few seconds of the fade out. (I need to give Paul compliments early before I say what I really think about some of his songs to come). Getting Better. Paul’s Fluff-O-Matic songs begin! OK not complete fluff. The harmonies and George’s tambura playing make it a damn good song. The tambura seems to be made to generate feedback. Fixing a hole: Paul’s fluff factor is turned up a couple of notches  Again the upbeat guitar work makes the song good. The guitar solo between versus around half way through is conspicuous but more interesting is the solo while Paul is signing the verses. Ahh, Paul taking one for the team to make the song better. She’s Leaving Home  I always liked this one especially the last verse where the parents wonder what they did wrong. It’s a kinder / gentler version of Yusuf Islam’s (aka Cat Stevens) Father and Son written a few years later.  Paul sure can hit the high notes on the chorus. I doubt Paul would attempt to hit these  when playing live but if he could he would be in the same building as Art Garfunkel. Not the same floor as Art,  but the same building. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! For all of John’s songs on this LP  I wonder where on earth he came up with the bizarre lyrics. Mr. Kite is a great example. Apparently he is singing about a random circus he read about. ?? Within You and Without you. This song is crazy.  The rock and roll world wasn’t ready for the sitar. I remember  George  assembled some sitar players for a benefit concert  a few years later. The audience broke into an ovation after the musicians finished tuning their sitars since they thought the tuning process  was the first song.  Whoops! That demonstrates how foreign the instrument was. When I’m 64 This is complete, 100%, unadulterated fluff from Paul. But totally cute I guess. Perhaps one day I'll have grandkids named Vera, Chuck and Dave. Lovely Rita  Another whack of Paul's fluff. The short piano solo is sick! This solo is one of many snippets of absolute brilliance on this LP. Also, the moaning at the end of the song is priceless. I guess Lovely Rita took a short break from writing parking tickets that afternoon. Hmmm. May I enquire discreetly? Good Morning Good Morning  Another excellent guitar solo. It sounds like the guitar Paul played on Sgt Pep. Perhaps more mumbling, bumbling  and stumbling from George about that sandbox. That guitar  has such a vicious sound. The animal sounds at the end are wonderfully ridiculous. The rooster segue to Sgt Pep. reprise is a joy to behold! I'm glad that little  rooster wasn't too lazy to crow today.  A Day in the Life is a masterpiece. Well,  except for the middle eight that Paul wrote and deposited between verses 3 and 4. The good thing about Paul’s bit being slipped in is it highlights how amazing John’s verses are. This song demonstrates how John's writes his songs in a way that invites the other players to be at their creative best. Ringo’s drumming on the Sgt Pep LP is at its creative peak during A Day in the Life. More specifically, during John’s verses on this song. (His drumming is kinda lame during Paul’s contribution.  When in Rome . . . - or shall I say when not in Rome . . .).  The intricate drum work on A Day in the Life was also possible only because Ringo uses Pearl drums. That amount of drum strokes on a fairly quiet song would have been infuriating  if he used less subtle drums. I’m probably at a 4 based solely on the music but give it a 5 due to how influential this album was. It opened another musical door that copious amounts of excellent music walked through. I understand that  "Their Satanic Majesties Request" also walked through that door but I can't hold back the 5 because of that. OK Alright OK Alright.

*blocks your path* what do I did what any sane person would do, I listened to Beatles. I really want to want to like it, it's human nature to want to fit in. The thing is, I don't think it's human nature to like Beatles anymore, yet there they are - thousands of positive reviews for an album that's average in pretty much every way. It might be that everyone is right and I'm wrong but it's never happened before. The more reasonable explanation would be that it's not about the music, there is something more to it. When I was a little boy, I once sang Yellow Submarine at a karaoke party. I grew up in a country that is known for not speaking English, why would there be Beatles among blatnyak and nursery rhymes? Start asking questions. Everyone acts like it's something great while not feeling anything towards it, because they are afraid of being ostracized. You are supposed to like it. Everyone likes it. You're with everyone, right? It's all forced. The biggest hoax since ariposting. I'm on my fourth listen in a row. Why do all the commentators' nicknames on youtube end with four digits? I swear I'm gonna get silenced

This is the Beatles' masterpiece. When they decided to stop touring and become solely a studio band in 1966, they had a brilliant idea for their next record: let's bring the performance home to the record-buyers. Everything about Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is spectacle, from the album cover to the audience cheering at the opening tracks and then some. I love how this album plays with unique and fresh ideas that still sound like a fitting part of this technicolor album. Off the top of my head, Within You Without You, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, and a Day In The Life do drastically different things and they're all excellent without feeling out of place. More than anything, I would describe Sgt. Pepper's as a showcase of sorts. The Beatles want to convince you of all the cool new songwriting and production tricks they've learned, fully committing themselves to developing an album that is impressive on all accounts (and, subsequently, impossible to play live at the time). This the the Beatles with no restrictions whatsoever. Fully free to make the greatest possible album that they can, with a whopper of a closer to go with it. Goosebumps.

Hot take: if this album came out today, I'd give it a 4. But it's The Beatles' magnum opus and perhaps the most important record of all time, so it has to get a 5. Maybe it only feels so weird to me because I wasn't there in the psychedelic era to understand it, but to my ears it's a bizarre kaleidoscopic tapestry of sound, throwing influences around like a Jackson Pollock painting. Whatever it may be to me though, it is so much more to so many more people. Perhaps more so than any other album on this list, this is one of those albums you Must Listen To Before You Die, if only to understand this thing so many other people have heard and feel so strongly about.

There are great tracks - title track, She’s Leaving Home, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds- and there are ok tracks - When I’m 64, Lovely Rita - and there is The Beatle’s masterpiece A Day in the Life, which is one of the greatest works of art of the 20th century. The production on the album is excellent throughout and Ringo’s drumming is superb. A surprising mixed bag but something about The Beatles is always compelling even at their less successful.

this is genuinely hundreds of times better than their other albums so far, but its still a disappointing mess, all over the place This is what I imagine mentally disabled people living in personal assistance homes listen to. I guess you just had to be there to get it, a sort of if you know you know. This sucks, blows, stinks and every other synonym that fits. I applaud them for not making me rate every single album of theirs a 1

I'm nearly 70 years old and so i could'nt avoid them. Unusual for a German: I hated VW Beetles and didn't like theese Beatles at all. Stupid song.

First off, this album gets 5 stars from me. It's great music that's aged in a pretty interesting way, in that the sound is very dated (and reminiscent of the 60s), yet rather than being grating, it acts as a beautiful kaleidoscope into 1967's Summer of Love and the coincident musical revolution. I would've made this review a miniature love letter to Sgt. Pepper's and the Beatles as a whole, because the album really exemplifies what made the band so incredibly influential in the 60s. But then I noticed the highly upvoted review that gave the album 2 stars out of 5, and I had to object. The reviewer isn't exactly wrong (after all, it's mostly opinion), but they're approaching this music the wrong way. I think it's very important to have an idea of the Beatles' history and the context of this album – as well as at least some vague idea of what the Beatles' "classic" sound is – before diving into Sgt. Pepper's. So, let's get started. The reviewer comments that the title and opening track is bombastic, orchestral, and sends you straight into the album on a huge high. This was partially the point of the track, but you also have to realise that the Beatles were exhausted from touring around the world and (in a sense) "competing" with the roaring, screaming audiences in order to make themselves heard. This led them to quit touring after mid-1966. Sgt. Pepper's was a chance for the band to fully take the reins in the studio without having to worry about performing live. This idea – to fully utilise studio techniques and ignore the logistics of performing – was unheard of at the time. A rock band creating an alternate persona (which was also a rock band, albeit a much quirkier and stranger one) was also pretty much unheard of. The opening track, even in the first few seconds with the ambient noise of musicians warming up and tuning their orchestral instruments, exemplifies this perfectly. With a Little Help From My Friends is decidedly the "Ringo" track of the album (there's always one!), and it's cheerful, hopeful, and warm all at once. The reviewer quipped that it's incongruous with the opening track and isn't the perhaps-expected "well-oiled machine", but did you hear that song transition? How much better, more iconic, can you get than the crowd cheering wildly as Billy Shears appears onstage? The tone of the song is uplifting and full of love and friendship, again solidifying the song as an artifact of the Summer of Love and wordlessly requesting that the listener not take the music too seriously. If a track like Within You Without You had been second instead, I think it would've been misplaced, heading into a more mysterious and introspective mood much too early. If the reviewer had paid attention to the key changes, they would've noticed that the choruses of Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (and, for that matter, the verses) are a master class in merging several otherwise harmonically disconnected song sections. Also, I disagree with the idea that the chorus is musically inert, considering the building, overlapping harmonies that more or less form that entire part. And the verses... Man, even as someone who's not a fan of psychedelia, how can you dismiss how perfectly the genre was executed? It essentially laid the groundwork for all future psychedelic sound, the lyrics are beautiful and poetic, the chord progression is smooth... And no, I've never done psychedelic drugs either. It sounds like the reviewer in question just wasn't paying much attention to the music, and especially not to the full context of the album. I think the criticism of She's Leaving Home – that it's a mellowing track for an energy peak that never happened – is unfounded. This isn't meant to be an album of bombastic peaks and troughs (except the title track and its reprise). In fact, it's rather the opposite: Sgt Pepper's maintains this lighthearted hopefulness that bridges the gap between a variety of otherwise unrelated genres. If you're looking for lots of ups and downs, try, like, The Wall or something. The reviewer dismisses most of Side 2, including the crucial and mesmerising album centrepiece Within You Without You (wildly underrated and, considering the context, wildly impressive and ballsy to include on a Beatles record), When I'm Sixty-Four (the fan-favourite "granny music"), and Good Morning Good Morning (showing direct inspiration from Pet Sounds, another masterpiece that I doubt this reviewer had anything good to say about). At this point in the album, the first-time listener is meant to have forgotten that they're listening to the Beatles, and the title track reprise comes back with an old-school Beatles sound to remind you that yes, this really is the same band that released Please Please Me and A Hard Day's Night just a few years ago. (Mind. Blown.) And no, the point of this track is not to have the band pat themselves on the back for a show well done. It's to tie everything together, to shine a light on everything that's possible in this beautiful world of music. Especially if you have access to psychedelics. And then there's A Day in the Life, a brilliant album closer that many fans (including myself) consider to be the band's magnum opus. And it goes completely unmentioned by the reviewer, leading me to question if they actually listened to it. Once you've listened to it, had several mid-life crises, and had your mind wrenched away from your body twice during what have been coined the "orgasmic" orchestral sections, a final thunderous E major chord sounds, signalling the end of an era and the start of something new. A revolution. (Well, you know, we all want to change the world.) 5/5

Sgt. Pepper remains one of The Beatles’ most impactful artistic achievements, as a landmark in the development of art rock, a predecessor to the progressive rock movement, and as a defining moment in 1960s pop culture. Sgt. Pepper finds the Fab Four melding brilliant pastiches of circus, music hall, avant-garde, and classical (both Western and Eastern) with an overwhelming sense of optimism and empowerment which heralded the impending Summer of Love and managed to bridge the gap between popular music and high art. The influence of this record is still felt today, even in ways which may not seem so obvious at first, such as the revolutionary usage of sound effects and tape manipulation, innovations in graphic design, the use of cyclic form in popular music, and advancing the importance of the producer. This is a record which managed to define and shape its era. It stands the test of time as an important and effective work of art, while also remaining fun, listenable, and lively. The instrumentation is rich and expressive, and it is an absolute joy to experience the multifaceted music of The Beatles, whether it be Paul’s pristine pop sensibilities, John’s inner monologues, George’s experimentalism, or Ringo’s happy-go-lucky whimsicality.

It's hard to "review" an album that I've listened to so much. It's like trying to review air or water. This album just IS. I listened three times today and tried to hear new things. I paid a lot of attention to background vocals and bass lines and unusual instruments. This music is layered and rich and there's a lot to hear. I am starting to really notice and appreciate Ringo, both on the drums and when he sings. There's something so hopeful and endearing about A Little Help from My Friends sung in his treacly voice. Some of my favorite bits are the "hey, hey, hey" in Fixing a Hole, how the vocals build in the chorus of Lucy, and that sweet clarinet in When I'm 64. I also love the lines "Vera, Chuck, and Dave," "And of course Henry the Horse dances the waltz," and "Fun is the one thing that money can't buy." Oh yes, this is a good one indeed.

This one is going to be hard to review because it's practically wired into my DNA. Sgt. Pepper's was one of the most played records in my house when we were kids, and of course it was constantly on the radio for 30 years at least. It's going to be hard to approach this with fresh ears from a critical perspective, but I'll try. The first thing you have to talk about is what Sgt. Pepper's is not: it's not a rock album, although it does have rock in it, and it's not an album of psychedelia, although it has psychedelia in it. Sgt. Pepper's is a pop album through and through, although with pretensions to art music. It draws from rock, psychedelia, music hall, classical, and even carnatic music traditions. Now, generally, the lessons from Sgt. Pepper's have been thoroughly absorbed, as you can tell by listening to any Sufjan Stevens album or any number of other modern artists. Fans of these artists would tell you that Sgt. Pepper's is boring and irrelevant and while it's historically significant, the Beatles have long since been surpassed. And in a way, they're right. Studio trickery is far more advanced. Artists confidently layer on dozens of tracks for any given song. But what they're leaving out is taste. Listening to Sgt. Pepper's for the first time in a long time, and critically at that, I was surprised at how sparse the music was for the most part. The Beatles don't dump everything but the kitchen sink into their tunes for the most part, not that they had the option--Sgt. Pepper's was made on a four track recorder. I was amazed at how much mileage they get out of so little. The music sounds really full if you aren't paying super close attention. And the variety of textures and styles they manage to eke out is kind of mind blowing. This speaks to incredibly cunning arrangements. Then there's the skill and taste of the playing. Listening to Sgt. Pepper's with a critical ear, I was in awe of McCartney's bass playing. He rarely explicitly maps out the bass notes of chords. More often than not, he's playing counter melodies and counter rhythms while still keeping the pulse and giving a sense of the harmonies. And all this with distinctly simple bass lines. And he has a beautiful, bell like tone. His work on Sgt. Pepper's is some of the most economical and tasteful I've heard. Then there's Harrison. Again, his solos are simple, economical, but iconic. You could never mistake his guitar playing for anyone else's. And he has a genius for finding just the right guitar tone for any given situation. But what about the songs themselves? They generally have strong melodies and structures, not terribly complex, but memorable nonetheless. Modern audiences are certain to be bored by When I'm 64 because it refers back to a music hall tradition that was 30 or 30 years old back in 1967, and so completely irrelevant to them. I don't blame them for that, but for me, the music hall influence in When I'm 64 strikes me as a charming throwback, basically because I'm old. Likewise, many will have a problem with the classical art music pretentions of She's Leaving Home. I don't because of what I'm assuming is McCartney's light touch and sense of humor about the material, reflected in melodramatic strings that accompany the lyrics \"She breaks down and cries to her husband 'Daddy, our baby's gone!'\" which recalls film melodramas McCartney would have grown up with. I have a bigger problem with Within You Without You. The philosophy in the lyrics, while not ridiculous in and of itself, comes off as second hand, heavy handed, and often clumsy. When paired with quasi-carnatic music, given its association with gurus, it's way too on the nose, and even a bit embarrassing. So, you've got a solid slate of songs with one clunker, gorgeous, clever, and economical arrangements, and first-rate musicianship. I'll dun Sgt. Pepper's half a star for Within You Without You, but it's hard to fault it otherwise.

Comme vous le savez tous très bien, j'ai longtemps considéré les Beatles comme un groupe extrêmement surcoté. Néammoins, le White Album écouté il y a de cela une poignée de semaines m'avait bien rabattu mon clappe merde. Aujourd'hui, les Beatles sont retombés dans leurs travers. Un album absolument commun, sans rien de bien particulier, adulé par la communauté décérebrée du générateur. Je vous décris ci-dessous ce qu'il s'est passé chez chacun des auditeurs imbéciles utilisant ce générateur: *coupe son enceinte diffusant un solo d'orgue de 6mn de Manzarev* "Au jour d'aujourd'hui nouvel album!" (vous noterez que ceci n'est même pas du français correct) "Bittles!!!" (ceci n'est pas l'orthographe correcte du groupe susmentionné, une nouvelle preuve flagrante de la débilité des auditeurs) "Bittles, c'est 6/5!!!" (il n'y a que 5 notes selectionnables sur le générateur, de plus il est mathématiquement impossible d'obtenir une note supérieur au denominateur) *relance son solo de Manzamerde* Si vous analysez bien la situation, vous noterez qu'aucun auditeur n'a lancé l'album du jour, ils se sont simplement contentés de grassement noter cet album moyen à la vision du naming "Beatles". J'attends vos réponses en commentaires.

Dressed like four foppish admirals and dosed on LSD, the Beatles take on cabaret music and jam with an orchestra. I don’t want to hear anyone call Sonic Youth “pretentious” ever again. Nothing they ever did, except *maybe* NYC Ghosts and Flowers, even comes close to reaching the levels of ostentatiousness that are on display here. If you own and love this dumb record, your right to label anything “pretentious” is hereby revoked.

There's no fresh take for this record. Every second of it has been dissected and talked about.

Great album.

Feel wrong to have to rate this as it’s one of the most influential albums of all time, one of my most played and most loved. There’s a reason it’s so well regarded.

This app should deactivate the account of anyone who rates Sgt. Pepper's anything below four stars. For their own benefit.

An incomplete list of where this album low-key terrified me as a little kid: • Lennon's eerie vocals, especially on "Lucy In The Sky..." • sitar on "Within You Without You" • random background voices/speaking in many of the tracks • "She's Leaving Home" didn't necessarily scare me but definitely made 3yr old me sad. • in "Day In the Life" after "I fell into a dream..." John's "ahhhhh...." • the eternal fade out on the same song • the album cover In retrospect what "scared" me about the record (but were also the very same reasons for drawing me to it) were all the bizarre effects and studio trickery that made it far more compelling (and different) a listen than anything I knew at the time and certainly more than the good but safe and relatively straightforward early Beatles. Highlights: Paul's bass playing / overall mood which was my early intro to mysterious music. TL;DR: The ultimate studio album and is arguably the most famous album of all-time for a reason. come on now obviously -> 10/10 5 stars

Easy 5! This is my second album where I am able to listen to it on Vinyl and this is easily my most valuable record in my collection. I don't think there is a bad track on the album. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is a great opening track and leads into what is one of my favorite Beatles songs in "With a Little Help from My Friends" for uh certain relatable reasons. Then you have "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" which is an amazing song and as much as John insisted it wasn't a euphemism I do not believe him. The song flows way too much like an actual acid trip to not be 100% about one. I mean this is the Acid album afterall. "Getting Better" and "Fixing A Hole" are two of the weaker songs on the album, though neither is in anyway a bad song they just don't stand out as much. "She's Leaving Home" is one of the Beatles more underrated songs in my opinion, if you can even call a song that popular underrated. "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" is certainly one of the stranger songs, but feels right as a summation of the A side of this album. "Within You Without You" also lands as one of the stranger songs, but I think these 'weird' songs are the beauty of The Beatles' studio bound years. The exploration of world music instruments and styles really is the beauty of the latter years. "When I'm Sixty Four" is certainly a departure from the sound of the previous two tracks. It's a fun bouncy track that if it weren't for the general strangeness of this album doesn't feel like it should fit. That and "Lovely Rita" both fit into the category of weaker songs on an amazing album. "Good Morning Good Morning" while maybe not your regular listening type of Beatles song is still a really great and fun song. Though the animal sounds on it do take it down a peg. The "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Reprise" I almost like more than the originating track. "A Day In The Life" is a great track and a good way to end the album. Listening to albums I've heard before is great too because I get something new out of them. The exploration of different instruments and techniques in this album is what makes it one of my favorite albums. The mixing on the album is also very masterfully done. The hard panned vocals certainly throw you for a loop at times. Especially if like me you grew up on the bad digital stereo mixes that hard panned every sound and had no blending. If I weren't listening to the vinyl I would have assumed that was just the case. This is one of the few albums I have ever seen where every single song has its own Wikipedia article. Truly a masterpiece. All in all this is an amazing album that should be rated no lower than a 5 and anybody that puts it lower than a 4 just shouldn't be trusted in their judgement of music.

Solid album. Does waiver a little in the middle but otherwise quality. I’d say probably a 4.75 rounded to 5.

Ok this one’s pretty good

Some people say this is the best Beatle's album; I place it closer to 3rd or 4th. But, this is the Beatles, so that is still an easy 5 stars.

What can be said which hasn't already? It's not a perfect album, some of the forced surrealism seems corny now, but its got beats, sing along tunes and historic importance. Has to be 5

A Michelin starred restaurant can serve any old slop and, out of deference to the tastemakers, someone will say it's the best meal they've ever had. But can it be both?

It feels like I summoned this album with a throwaway line in a mediocre review of The Who Sell Out yesterday. Then, I was reflecting on listening to Sgt. Pepper's about a month ago. That was the mono version, and in retrospect I was thinking that it was a bit better than the Who record, still worse than Revolver. Well, it hasn't become my favorite Beatles album after another listen, but I was overcome today by how clearly this is a 5/5 listening experience. Each song is a hair away from perfect, perhaps, but together they form something sublime.

“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles (1967) Is this the greatest album of all time? Yes and no. Considered as to its historical setting and its advancement of the artistic form, yes. Considered as to its musical and artistic merit, listenability, structure, poetic depth, and engagement of the human condition, no. But even here, it’s still on the list of the top five ‘greatest albums ever’. Young listeners today should be made aware of the chronological context of what preceded and followed the date of this album’s release. It was 1967. The world had never heard anything like it (‘groundbreaking’ would be an understatement). And the world liked it and continued to like it, to imitate it, to develop from it, and to return to it as an evaluative standard, making ever new discoveries in its creative tapestry. That is what we mean when we use the word ‘classic’. And I can’t think of an album that is more of a ‘classic’ in this defining sense. “Sgt. Pepper” is supremely well crafted. Its conceptual setting (a fictional concert by an amateurish military-style band from early 20th century Great Britain) is strong enough to stand without requiring a narrative. In this way, the work invented the form of the ‘concept’ album—a forward-looking creative mode advancing beyond opera and Wagnerian ‘music drama’. In this artistic mode, the listener’s ears are the stage. The visualization is in the mind, not through a proscenium. And the mind targeted by this album is a broad canvas, stretched on a frame from the Indian classical strains of George Harrison’s “Within You Without You” to the genre defying “She’s Leaving Home“. To explore this just a tiny bit, listen to the opening title track on headphones. A serious listener will discern that the fictional audience (representing the listener him/herself) is included in the recording of the fictional concert, which, after sounds of the band ‘tuning up’ and anticipatory crowd assembly sounds, begins with a well balanced four-bar rock intro. But something is intentionally amiss. The fictional emcee begins his introduction of the band seemingly stuck in the right channel of the audio. Then the brass/vocal ensemble enters, and now suddenly, it is seemingly stuck in the left channel. But when the vocals begin to express the band members’ fondness for the audience, the balance slowly, expansively, and captivatingly shifts to the center, culminating with the line “We’d like to take you home with us; we’d love to take you home”. The effect of this recording strategy is to create a bond. I mean, consider: the listener has just returned from the record store (taking The Beatles ‘home’) and lovingly lowered the disc onto the turntable, and has ardently put the needle into the opening groove. Then The Beatles begin the album with corresponding affection. [If you missed the progressive eroticism in this paragraph, read it again.] Did anyone ever have the audacity to turn it off at this point and never listen to it again? I don’t think so. This masterful overture is suitably followed by the comfortably pop “With Little Help from My Friends”—meaning a group of friends which, by this point, already includes the listener. With these two beginning tracks, is there a better album ‘hook’ in the history of recorded music? I don’t think so. Like the start of any concert (or party), the appropriate mental mood is essential, and so we have the decidedly non-pop psychedelic “Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds” to help the artists “get high with a little help from my friends”. Has there ever been a more artful reference to hallucinogens? I don’t think so. And it gets better with “Getting Better”, right about the time that the listener notices the audience is gone (but not forgotten), and the community now consists only of him/herself and the musicians. Does he/she mind? I don’t think so. “Fixing a Hole” is a song for meditative old farts who are “taking the time for a number of things that weren't important yesterday”. Does that mean that young people should skip this one? I don’t think so. Full stop. “She’s Leaving Home” is superlatively poignant, vivisecting loneliness, disappointment, the willful pursuit of limited happiness, and an incommensurate attachment to gratitude—lessons in love that are meaningful not just for the good-looking, the popular, the successful, the wealthy, and the wannabe characters in gothic romance, but also for the rest of us. This why we weep when we hear it. Could the song have been accompanied by anything other that a mournful string ensemble? I don’t think so. Now, can I give you a ready explanation as to why “Mr. Kite” is stuck in the right channel? Well, maybe I’ll be able to when I’m seventy-four, but as for now, I don’t think so. But listening to “When I’m Sixty-Four” on the far side of that reverie-inducing benchmark gives the song a completely different effect. Would I like to go back? (All together, now), I don’t think so! And should we dispense with a consideration of the symbolism of “Lovely Rita” and the nihilistic banality of a simple “Good Morning”? We shouldn’t think so. In the “Sgt. Pepper” reprise, the crowd is suddenly back, and the listener is summoned to prepare for the sad but necessary return to the artless and sober existence he/she had before starting this enterprise. But not before “A Day in the Life”, which is a mini opera in itself, requiring full orchestra and some of the best drumming Ringo Starr ever drummed. John Lennon’s lead vocal moves oh so slowly from the right channel to the left, followed by Paul McCartney’s bridge, in which he remains stubbornly and steadfastly in the right channel (Was this the beginning of the end for these two?). The discordant but progressive orchestral climax shouts a reverberating triumph before the mechanically repeated “never could be any other way” (paced at the panic-inducing 33 1/3 rpm) ends the album with both an exclamation point and a question mark. God, the artistry. On top of all this, one could spend hours meditating on the cover photo alone. Are there any negative things to say about this album? I don’t think so. 5/5

Weirdly, this has never been one of my favorite Beatles albums. Like, obviously it’s great and everything, but ive always preferred others over it.

(Listened to Before) Not much to say other than this is a classic. Love most of it and how the Beatles maintain their identity through some somewhat psychedelic stylings. Top 5 Beatles album. Favorite Tracks: Fixing A Hole, Getting Better, Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds Least Favorite Tracks: When I’m Sixty Four

A milestone in the history of pop music. It still sounds as great as usual!

john lennon wrote a few highly conceptual songs + paul showed up like lemme throw a few tunes about pussy on this 1

3.5/5 ⭐️ Best track: Getting Better Worst track: Within You Without You Comments: I’m not a huge Beatles fan but this is definitely one of their better albums with a nice flow and order to the tracks which have a cohesive and logical story and vibe. Getting Better is my favourite as it’s reminiscent of my childhood and my many rewatches of Cat in the Hat but I do also enjoy Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (for obvious reasons).

Feels churlish knocking this as it's amazing, but too many Paul tracks and a weak George contribution make this feel unbalanced. Just imagine if they hadn't been under pressure to put a single out, so Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane were on here instead of Within you Without you and Lovely Rita. Then I think less than a 5 would sounds stupid.

Je n'ai absolument rien à déclarer au sujet de cet album, un peu à la manière de Messi lorsqu'il était interrogé sur Griezmann.

i dunno if i should rate the albums but i guess this one was a 7/10 for me

Do I have to listen to this? It was going to turn up eventually... Perhaps The Beatles' 6th best album (with at least Hard Days Night, Rubber Soul, Revolver, White Album, Abbey Road ahead of it. And maybe also Magical Mystery Tour and Help) Sonically it's a beautiful sounding record, the bass playing is amazing, but it never gels despite some of their best songs. I probably never need to hear those first 3 songs ever again though.

All albums from the Beatles have good and bad songs. In my opinion the best songs in Sgt. Pepper's are the ones you'd expect: With a Little Help from my Friends, and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. If the album contained only those two songs, I'd consider it worth buying. Throw a Within You Without You for the Indian funny noises and you can pretty much keep all the other songs out. Okay, perhaps keep the intro and outro tracks. There you go, simplified Beatles.

Thought this would be an easy 4-5 stars but there's honestly a lot of weak tracks on this. Still enjoyed it overall though. Been a long time since I've listened to this.

No more Beatles I beg

Overrated

So what is wrong with me that I don't LOVE LOVE LOVE the Beatles? I've always known this, of course. But the time had come to listen to my first Beatles album from beginning to end. Maybe it's just this one that doesn't resonate with me? But once "Fixing a Hole" kicked in I steadily became more and more irritable and impatient. I felt like I was listening to some Sesame Street knock-off (which, OK, Sesame Street music is obviously a Sgt. Pepper knockoff but whatever). Maybe its something about the Dee-Do, Dee-Do, Dee-Do rhythm that just disagrees with my personal frequency. I tried to like it, I really did. But truthfully, it just puts me in a bad mood.

Horrible

Not for me

Literally one of the greatest albums ever. The first concept album. It would’ve blown my fucking mind to listen to this in 1967.

Not as good as their very best but it’s still Sgt Peppers. 5

Welp. Here it is. The one we've all been waiting for. ... Y'know, to start off, I wanna say that I actually kind of dislike the question "What do you want me to say?" 'Coz, to me, it reflects the idea that everything you can "objectively" say about an album has already been said, so it's not worth trying to say anything new. Anything you say would be repeating something someone else has said, so what's the point in even trying, huh? Which is, like, not a great way to think about talking about your feelings on something? I mean, when I look for someone's opinion on something, I'm not looking for the singularly most unique take in the whole wide world; some new, world-shattering revelation about this piece of work. All I want to hear is whatever words that come closest to describing how you, specifically, feel about something. Even if parts of it come out sounding like someone else's feelings, well, they're not. They're still yours — you're the one saying them. That's what's important, over everything else. All of which I say because, if you'd think there'd be any album that'd be hard as balls to talk about, it'd be this one. It's SGT. PEPPER'S damn LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND. The album of albums. The album of all time. The album that has, until pretty recently, been regularly considered **THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME** by **THE GREATEST BAND OF ALL TIME**. This thing's been praised to the far edges of the galaxy and back. Goodness, it's been close to sixty years since this album was first released. People have not stopped talking about it since, and they're very likely going to continue for the next sixty. What could you even say about it? Well, here's a few things. To begin with, let's just get this out of the way: is this the greatest Beatles album of all time? Speaking definitively— well, it's impossible to speak definitively. But on a personal level, no, I wouldn't say it is. Take it from someone who spent a decade buying the "GOAT" line from the old guard, the Beatles have better. Take REVOLVER, for instance. These days it's a pretty popular choice for "best album" given that it's where a lot of the innovation SGT. PEPPER'S was claimed to have **actually** started. Alternatively, there's ABBEY ROAD, for having the absolute finest pop songwriting the group would ever do, together or apart. Certainly, it's **my** pick for "best Beatles album." The old review I did for it wasn't very long, but it gets across that point very clearly, I think. But that's not to act like SGT. PEPPER'S is any slouch. The songs on here are still incredible, and remain among the most iconic they'd ever do for a reason. Goodness, there's a very good argument that "A Day In The Life" is their masterwork: the single greatest song in the band's discography. Y'know, their very own "Echoes" or "Bohemian Rhapsody" or "God Only Knows", I'unno, "Break Stuff". I mean, let's just not act like "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" or "Lovely Rita" or "When I'm Sixty-Four" aren't all great songs. And if this album isn't as innovative as REVOLVER — or maybe we've been living in its wake too long to really perceive its effects — then dang it, it's sure as heck **consistent**. Just a bit more **cohesive**. 'Coz, look, REVOLVER's my number two Beatles album, but there's always been some small part of it that feels it's a little... Grab bag-y? Not to the extent something like The White Album would be, but jumping from "Taxman" to "Eleanor Rigby" to "I'm Only Sleeping" to "Love You To" to "Yellow Submarine"... It's a little scattered. Can't help but feel that way a little. And, sure, obviously cohesion isn't a deciding factor which album is better than another, but the only other Beatles album I can think of that fits this well together is, well, ABBEY ROAD. This is, by the way, including Harrison's little stop-over for Indian classical at the beginning of side two. Some people probably don't like it; see it as too much of a diversion from what the rest of the album was doing... I mean, heck, George is the only Beatle on it, I'm pretty sure. And it's not something like "Yesterday", which is a simple acoustic number with strings; no, this is a whole production number. In fact, it's the sole thing keeping this album from being the only other time a Beatles album was written entirely by Lennon-McCartney after A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. And it still ends up being the second best song on the whole album — go figure. Like, I'unno, "The Inner Light" has always been one of my favorite Beatles B-sides, and it's basically a lite version of this, so... Speaking of cohesion, too, by the way, I wanna talk about SGT. PEPPER'S as a concept album. That's always been a hot topic, isn't it? Like, "Is it **really** one, or is that another line from the boomers and the old guard?" After all, the Lonely Hearts Club Band themselves seem to only appear on the title track, its reprise and "With A Little Help From My Friends". How do you square away stuff like "She's Leaving Home" and "Within You Without You"? To me, it's always been simple: the idea has always been for the band to put on costumes and pretend to be another band, right? Well, who says that has to end right after the band stops singing about themselves? This whole album is a Lonely Hearts Club Band — named BEATLES, I guess. The songs with the audience noises could be dubbed in, or, heck, they could just be live recordings with some overdubs, like what Zappa would do on some of his albums. That doesn't sound so far-fetched to me. As for Billy Shears, "the singer," I've never believed he was the singer of the Lonely Hearts Club Band. To me, he's a special guest vocalist, like Roy Harper on "Have A Cigar". The rest, then, is all sung by the Band themselves. And this might be a stretch, but for real, it's what I've always believed. And it's funny to bring up Frank Zappa here, too, given that he liked SGT. PEPPER'S enough to name his next album WE'RE ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY as a critique of both the album and the Beatles'. (With the extra fact that Paul has been quoted saying that SGT. PEPPER'S was their FREAK OUT! — in terms of being a complete concept album, anyway.) Coincidentally enough, my group got it only two or three days ago, and to address Zappa's accusation that they were plastic and insincere... No, no, they're legit. This isn't something like BEATLES FOR SALE; they clearly believe in what they're doing here. This doesn't sound to me like a "How do you do, fellow kids?" cash-in on the youth culture of the time — if anything, it **directed** the culture. Look at how The Rolling Stones tried having their own SGT. PEPPER'S with THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST. Look at how this album (and the non-album "Strawberry Fields Forever") was one of the reasons why SMiLE became one of the great lost albums. Look at how IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING was meant as an homage. Look at how bands generally have called albums "our SGT. PEPPER'S." Heck, just look at the fact that it's maybe **the** most iconic and definitive album of the entire 60's next to PET SOUNDS, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO and WHAT'S GOING ON. Circling back to talk about the songs for a moment here... Gosh, "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" is probably my number three, if for nothing else than those calliope breakdowns. They're absolute madness, and they really make you feel like you're walking through a crazy display of lights. Before that, you have "She's Leaving Home", and if there ain't a more beautiful string number on the entire album... Like, it's not a particularly original story, but damn if they don't sell it between the string arrangement and how they sing it. It's a crime the original stereo mix slowed it down. Actually, jumping forward from that, "When I'm Sixty-Four" is another great "oldies-style" Paul number. I really do love how granny and vaudeville it is, and those backing vocals just can't be missed. They might just be the best backing vocals on the whole album — or at the very least, it's a strong fight against Ringo's number "With A Little Help From My Friends". It's just a lovely tune that no one else but Ringo could sing. Seriously, that last note he sings just would not have hit the same if he'd had a larger range. Like, "Damn, listen to him just **go for it**." And speaking of songs, pull back to that non-album song: "Strawberry Fields Forever" and its companion A-side "Penny Lane". Should they have been on this album? Um... Yeah. Yeah, probably. They would have fit in right alongside everything else. As much as I like "Fixing A Hole" and "Getting Better" (minus it's "I used to be cruel to my woman" line — worst moment on the album, no doubt), I don't think I'd miss them **that much**... Although, that said, I kind of can't imagine a SGT. PEPPER'S with any songs other than the ones it has now. Maybe blame it on nostalgia and how I'm way more used to hearing "Strawberry Fields" and "Penny Lane" on MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR, but... Yeah, I'unno, they just belong here. They're part of the album's cohesion — not that "Strawberry Fields" or "Penny Lane" wouldn't have been, but if I had the chance to change history, frankly, I don't think I would. Let those two be amazing on their own, eh? And briefly, I wanna bring up the album cover. As someone who finds visuals like that very important, it almost doesn't get any better than SGT. PEPPER'S. It's not imitated as often as it is for nothing, only beat out in my mind by ABBEY ROAD for the best Beatles album cover. You can spend a long time just looking at it and all of the people they included. Like, it's just fun to let your eyes wander over it. N', heck, even Alastor Crowley is there! Really, the whole packaging is a treat, with its gatefold cover and cut-outs and all the lyrics on the back... It makes the whole thing feel incredibly prestigious, and it's the kind of thing I love to see out of album packaging. And I could go on — believe me, I could. I haven't even spoken specifically on the title track, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", "Lovely Rita", "Good Morning Good Morning" or the reprise (love 'em all, of course; I used to consider "Good Morning Good Morning" my favorite, for as much as I know others don't like it) — and without those this review **still** might hit over 2k words at the rate I'm going. But I think you get it by now. I agree very much that this is not the Beatles' greatest album. They'd done better, before and after. I won't say it didn't make me very happy to see that the 2020 Rolling Stone 500 had dropped it down to 24 while bumping ABBEY ROAD to the top 5. Matter of fact, it might not even be the best **60's** album. Besides ABBEY ROAD, people could and have made great cases for THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO, WHAT'S GOING ON and PET SOUNDS — and not only are the latter two ranked higher on the 2020 RS500, with WHAT'S GOING ON at number one, but PET SOUNDS got to stay at #2 while SGT. PEPPER'S fell from the top 20. Goodness, huh? But even if it isn't the SUPER DUPER ALL TIME NUMBER ONE BREAK THE SCALE ELEVEN OUTTA TEN BEST ALBUM EVAR... Let's not front: it's still up there. A splendid time was guaranteed for all, and they sure as hell provided. I mean, if the stupid Bee Gees/Peter Frampton movie couldn't kill this thing's rep, nothing can. That's just a fact, and that's all I have to say about that.

It's fucking Sgt. Peppers, need I say more? Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 10. Obviously. This is my first time hearing this album in full, and save for the title track (& When I’m Sixty-Four), my first time hearing or paying attention to a lot of these tracks. Yes, that includes “Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds”, which, on a true first listen, I can understand why they have never ever beaten the LSD allegations, & “A Day in the Life”, which is an absolutely stunning finale that I can’t find the words to praise. If there’s one thing I can appreciate this list for, it’s making me finally listen to the Beatles as album creators; it’s very easy to know all of the bigger hits, but I’ve never had an appreciation for the albums as complete projects until going through this. Hell, I’ve never really had an appreciation for the Beatles themselves until now – always an admiration of their status in pop culture, and an acknowledgement that music would not be the same without them, but never a full blown “holy shit, wow” until going through these albums. This album, on a first pass, feels like a natural evolution of the soundscapes & production style of “A Hard Day’s Night”, “Rubber Soul”, and “Revolver” in their most polished & refined & bombastic way – granted, I’ve never listened to the latter two in full, so I can’t speak to if that’s actually true, but solely from what I’ve heard of their singles around this time, it just seems that way, perhaps with a hint more rock. That polish starts before you begin the album – even in the cover art that everyone on the planet has parodied since, the showmanship that’s present throughout this album makes itself known immediately, from those gaudy-as-hell military outfits, and their “past selves” literally to their right. Beatlemania is dead, and long live these bright colorful guys. It must’ve been striking as hell for 1967. I don’t really wanna go on a big track by track analysis, nor do I want to go on another soliloquy about the brilliance of John, Paul, George, & Ringo – I’ve given them praise beyond belief for the other 3 albums we’ve gotten so far, and I’m sure I’ll give even more praise once Rubber Soul & Revolver do come up, if those albums are indeed as good as expected. As far as this whole project goes… man, it’s a hell of an album. Straight from the screams of Paul McCartney & the harmonization of the group to introduce themselves on the first track, all the way until the absolute brilliance of “A Day in the Life”, it’s just a marvelous 40 minutes. Granted, this isn’t the best Beatles album we’ve gotten – some people will say this is their magnum opus, and while I can hear it, I sort of disagree with it. I think there are a few tracks here that feel sort of like afterthoughts; as such, they aren’t as concise & tight as stuff on the White Album or Abbey Road, and the album experience does suffer a little for it. I also think the concept isn’t taken as far and as fruitful as it could have been. This is Sgt. Pepper’s band, but we only really get an acknowledgement of the show they’re putting on at the start and the excellent reprise – a skit or two to really flesh out the concept would’ve done numbers for me. Then again, that’s not really the point of the album, is it? It's a rather loose frame that just allows the Beatles to sound "different" from expectations. This is revolutionary in the sense of “high art concept album” done in a poppier form blended with rock, and it opened up the doors for the Beatles to experiment for the rest of their time together as a band, and probably made them all individually realize that the scope of their inevitable solo careers could be modeled on the ambitions this album set out for them. So, yes, this is the runway to the rest of the Beatles’ discography, both as a group, and as individual artists. However, it’s also the runway for literally everyone else to follow at the time, whether it’s in protest (like the Mothers of Invention album we quite literally got 3 days ago), in tribute (like the several versions of this album that have been done by groups of artists inspired by it), or in an effort to capture the same lightning in a bottle this must have given (and that list is too monumental to even count). So, all that said, it’s a 10 – not quite at the same level as the White Album or Abbey Road for me, but a brilliant album nonetheless, with some of John & Paul’s finest songwriting, George’s most George-y song ever interrupting their flow in a positive way, and Ringo… I guess he hit some really nice notes on “With A Little Help From My Friends”, and his percussion has some standout moments. I gotta give Ringo more credit someday. Regardless, they’re all in fantastic harmony, and it produced a fantastic album. Long live those bright, goofy outfits. P.S.: Joe Cocker’s version of “With A Little Help From My Friends” is a better track to me. That’s probably heresy, but I have more nostalgia with it, so I’m biased, sue me. Ringo's version is still pretty nice, though.

I didn't know what to expect, going into Beatles - and surprisingly, it's not bad at all. Hell, I think I quite enjoyed the show. Dreamy, weird, intimate, suspicious. And hey, every time I hear "A Day In The Life" I hear "Young Americans".

Often imitated but never equaled, this was the original masterpiece of psychedelic rock. Still, not my favorite album by the Beatles so I considered giving 4 stars until A Day in the Life came on. Favorites: With a Little Help From My Friends, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, A Day in the Life Least Favorite: When I'm Sixty Four

There is just some undeniable magic with The Beatles that is hard to quantify. Listening to these 1001 albums does help show amongst hundreds of the greatest albums their work is consistently impressive and stands out as being such. Is it because they were one of my dad's favorite bands so I've been hearing these for most my life? Maybe. But when I look at the Wikipedia articles for these albums they all have such immense detail and commentary about each and every song. I find it fascinating that the Beatles also had purposely taken top singles out of an album just to sell as essentially DLC later on as they did here again with two of their best tracks "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" so I'm including them here even though it would have likely been 5/5 without me those tracks. For this album I really like the concept idea of alternate identities, and the discussion and denial of all the otherwise obvious drug references throughout is also very interesting. LSD, Mr. kite, etc all were things that even someone as oblivious as me could pick up the potential drug references, perhaps the biggest flag for being drug influenced is letting Ringo essentially kick it off. Still a good album either way, even the Ringo track is good (one of his best) Favorite track "A Day in the Life" (or "Strawberry Fields Forever" if I count the bonus singles) 5/5

What a classic first choice

Fantastic. I wonder how many times I have listened to this album...

The only thing that could have possibly made this album better would be if Strawberry Fields Forever was on it

Catchy songs, great production. And this is the album that started with the idea of releasing songs as a whole product rather than just individual albums. I'm not the biggest Beatles fan but this album is gorgeous.

A classic. Always something new with every listen.

One of The Greatest albums

easy 5! What I love about this album is how much fun they must've had making it, like they all just got a chance to really cut loose and try some cool shit, but then rein it in so it doesnt lose the plot. crazy how much this influenced the future of music. with that out of the way, and my childhood memories of hearing these songs aside, I have a specific connection to the the title track. I was living with some friends and I got part of the song stuck in my head but wouldnt follow up with any other lyrics. so my roommates would hear me sing "Sergeant Peppers LONE--" and thats it. Thats all, I annoyed the hell out of my roommates and it remains a core memory, thanks Beatles.

Easy 5 stars. One of the most inventive, influential and fun albums of its era NAY all time. What else can you even say? Also check out the cover album done by Easy Star Allstars. One of their best as well!

This was my first favorite Beatles album. It comes out of the gate with a bang - SPLHCB is such a shot to the veins. Great album top to bottom. Love it.

Obviously five stars

Not perfect, but still amazing

All timer

A classic

I'm not a huge fan of the Beatles and it irks me that all of their albums are on this list. However historically important they were. This though, is the good stuff. One of the two truly excellent Beatles albums'

An absolute classic

As fresh as ever

Considered the first popular music concept album, Sgt Peppers is the gold standard. Bops galore and sounds very modern for being released over 55 years ago.

has my fav beatle song… fav track: a day in the life other picks: LSD, within you without you, sgt peppers

The Beatles are one of my favorite artists of all time, and Sgt. Pepper's is one of my favorite albums of all time. I mostly write my "reviews" as journal entries so I can remember details of albums I hadn't previously heard, or to leave a love letter to the ones that are already dear to me (and the ones that have become an instant favorite). I'm so overwhelmed trying to put into words how much I love these songs. I guess all I'll say is that the best quality of this album is that I notice something new every time I hear it. And also that it's a masterclass in melody writing. I'd take it with me to a desert island, which is maybe the highest compliment I could give.

Iconic

Chill and definitely unforgettable

i mean what is there to say… in my eyes this album is perfect

Bangerrrr

if ever an album deserved 5 stars this is it probably heard this in the mid-70s, and it was brilliant then

Cuando lo sacaron en CD me lo regaló mi hermana y fue un redescubrimiento de los Beatles, que ya me gustaban pero solo tenía grabados en cinta los recopilatorios Azul y Rojo. Espectacular. Siempre pienso en lo increíble que tuvo que ser escucharlos en 1967.

Already had

The lack of commitment to the concept here has always bothered me. Obviously this is one of the all time great albums so any complaint is nitpicking. I’ve considered Sgt Pepper somewhere in the middle of the pack of Beatles albums. I greatly prefer the edge of a Lennon song, as well as his vocals to Paul’s, and this feels like 75% Paul. A Day In The Life might be the best song ever recorded. One unexpected outcome of this exercise is that I now resent the Shankar family. Last note is this listen through I noticed the bass is way up in the mix.

I’ve got nothing interesting to say about the Beatles. This isn’t my favorite Beatles album (a bit too carnivalesque/ cheesy in parts for my taste) but it’s still obviously a classic and no other band could have made it, or thought to.

All this Beatles material coming at a time when Ringo and Paul are having a moment (Ringo just dropped a new single - Look Up). Weird to think we have 80+ year old rock stars. Some personal fluff: Pre-2020, I would have called myself a big fan. I knew all the albums, but I wasn’t obsessed. They wouldn’t have showed up in my top 10, most-listened-to artists on any of those 26 years. That said, I probably could have named 9/10 album tunes by the time I was 13 because of how popular they were with my parents In 2020, I found a podcast called Nothing Is Real (a Beatles podcast) and explored the Get Back documentary in 2021. In 2022, I got to see Paul live. Those 3 years were incredibly fun to go deep.. Beyond the box sets and into the immense catalogue of material put together by historians like Mark Lewisohn & the Anthology adjacent projects - Ex: Listening to the entire A/B session tapes (i.e. all the recordings known to man for the Let It Be sessions) I find myself (mostly) on the other side of that phase (with occasional days where I slip back into obsession). I will always remember these days fondly and I may re-listen to Nothing Is Real again someday. I love talking Beatles Pepper: It would be a lie to say that I have any original opinion about Sargent Pepper. I obv wasn’t there, im not the historian and there isn’t an available catalogue of tapes to listen to for me to form an original idea of what it was like. Instead of joshing anyone, I came up with my list of fun facts for others to explore. * “Will you pass me the salt and pepper” was the misheard quote that Paul heard “sargent pepper” out of — said by Mal Evans (his journals are super interesting). * Strawberry Fields is two tapes spliced together. If you listen closely to “Let me take you down 'cause I'm going to”, you'll hear it (and never unhear it). The pitch shift is real. Those maniacs did this with analogue tech which is fucking insane * Sgt Pepper is a concept album that becomes just an ordinary album. I think this is hilarious that they quit after 2.5 songs when the entire inspiration for the album came from becoming “a new band”.

Obviously 5 stars. What am I supposed to say about this. Unpopular opinion though: not my favorite Beatles album. I'm an Abbey Road guy

Had already listened to this a couple of times in the last week. Definitely the best album we’ve gotten so far and the easiest 5. Toss up between this, Abbey Road, and White Album for favorite Beatles. Love the loose concept album, the first hit of that opening track, and Day in the Life is in the running for my favorite Beatles song. What more is there to say here? Currently working my way through watching the Beatles Anthology documentary as well, just so fun to get lost in their journey. Just keep thinking about how much it would suck to be Pete Best.

Previously, I could have been described as a lite Beatles hater. I’m not sure I had previously listened all the what through. The sense of whimsy is *palpable*. The band is so tight. Every sound is so live. The vocals are passionate and live and powerful. The album is so thoughtfully constructed as an ‘experience’ beyond the songs. Huge fan.

What an album. Out of 5, this is a 6.

Pretty 😊 Fav Songs: With a Little Help From My Friends, Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds, A Day In the Life

Previously, I could have been described as a lite Beatles hater. I’m not sure I had previously listened all the what through. The sense of whimsy is *palpable*. The band is so tight. Every sound is so live. The vocals are passionate and live and powerful. The album is so thoughtfully constructed as an ‘experience’ beyond the songs. Huge fan.

It was twenty years ago today

First Beatles album on the generator, also the first Beatles album I've listened to back to back. Every single song on here was enjoyable, I can't even have anything negative to say about the album. I love this one so much. Fav tracks: Title, With A Little Help From My Friends, Lucy, She's Leaving Home, When I'm 64, A Day In The Life 5/5

Classic Beatles album. Top pick

Stone cold classic. I listened to this over and over again as a kid. Day in the life might be the best conceptual pop song ever written. And this is the grand daddy of all concept albums.

Well this was an easy one. The first 5 songs on this are etched into my brain from childhood. I hesitate to say any songs are better than the others cause I believe this album to be as close to a masterwork as human art can get. I dont know why my childhood interest failed me. Prolly the non rock and roll harp at the beginning. The indian vibes of within you without you also offended my younger ears. Now I'm on board from beginning to end. What an accomplishment this album. It should be more challenging than it is to common listeners. But it goes down like sugar. When people say they don't like The Beatles I'm 99% sure theyre lying. Just trying to be a contrary asshole. When you consider the musicians this band inspired they become indispensable. We would have a huge void in popular music without them. And we would be none the wiser.