At its best, it's an album from a band riding a creative high point. (A Day in the Life, Getting Better, When I'm 64) At its worst, over the top shitty hippy music with all the worst stereotypes of hippy music -- distortion, sitars, cheesy circus music. 3 stars because it's either the best Beatles album or the absolute worst. It can't be both. As for psychedelic music, others did it first AND did it better (Pet Sounds, 13th Floor Elevators, Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Saucerful of Secrets, pretty much anything by the Byrds)