1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die - #78. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Label – Parlophone
Producer – George Martin
Art Direction – Peter Blake
Nationality –UK
Running Time –39:50

Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold)

1. Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
4. Getting Better
5. Fixing A Hole
6. She's Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite
8. Within You Without You
9. When I'm Sixty Four
10. Lovely Rita
11. Good Morning Good Morning
12. Day In The Life
AH - the payoff after having to suffer through 3 terrible records in a row! The Beatles ‘Sgt Pepper’s’ lp. With ‘Revolver’ the Beatles had made great strides forward reaching new levels of sophistication and experimentation in their recordings. ‘Sgt. Pepper’ is the culmination of all of that groundwork. Some say this was the Beatles at their finest, their peak – and it was downhill from here. To some extend that is true. This really was the last full band effort, as from here on out each Beatle took over working on their own and the others would become basically session men.
This is without a doubt a fantastic record, and probably the most famous album ever released. What can be said about the songs that hasn’t been said many times over. They are fantastic. The styles are diverse from track to track, yet not once does it sound forced. Even with the vaudevillian sounding "When I'm Sixty Four” following "Within You Without You". It SEEMS like a logical progression and how it provides a gateway to the chiming guitars of "Lovely Rita." Just great stuff. McCartney dominates the album in terms of compositions, and for setting the tone of the album. In comparison, Lennon's contributions seem fewer but are stunning. "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" remains one of the greatest tracks ever recorded, and IS psychedelia on record. His "A Day in the Life," is a haunting track weaving a story and also skillfully blends a part of an unfinished McCartney track into the bridge section. And I have to mention "With a Little Help From My Friends". It is the ideal Ringo tune which has become his signature tune.
I do feel that there are better Beatles albums than this one (I actually do like ‘Revolver’ better), but none are as historically important as this one. After ‘Sgt. Pepper’ there were no longer any rules.
In the UK it debuted at #8 before the album was even released and the next week peaked at #1 where it stayed for 23 consecutive weeks. Eventually it spent more weeks at the top, including the competitive Christmas week. When the CD edition was released in 1987, it made #3. In June 1992, the CD was re-promoted to commemorate its 25th Anniversary, and charted at #6. In 2007, commemorating 40 years of its release, ‘Sgt. Pepper’ again re-entered the charts at #47 in the UK. In all, the album spent a total of 201 weeks on the UK charts. The album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, the first rock album to do so, and Best Contemporary Album in 1968. In the U.S. sales for the album totaled 11 million units, with 30 million worldwide.
It has been on many lists of the best rock albums. In 1987 Rolling Stone named ‘Sgt. Pepper’ the greatest album of the last twenty years. In 1997 ‘Sgt. Pepper’ was named the number 1 greatest album of all time in a 'Music of the Millennium' poll conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. In 1998 Q magazine readers placed it at number 7, while in 2003 the TV network VH1 placed it at number 10. In 2003, the album was ranked number 1 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2006, the album was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best albums of all time. In 2002, Q magazine placed it at number 13 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. WHEW…
Oh yeah - it is HIGHLY recommended.



You can purchase the cd here.