The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Let's celebrate the fortieth anniversary of 'Sgt. Pepper' with an analytical review of the songs contained within. It is said, rightly so, that the album in question has been the model - for many unsurpassed - of all pop rock music of recent decades, the cornerstone on which stands the cathedral of adult consumer music.

A cunning judgment by nostalgic critics and young epigones lacking critical sense, or an acute socio-musicological analysis? Regardless of everyone's opinions, I believe the hackneyed phrase always neglects to tell us "what kind" of music the album in question is a model for. To future generations the hard task of judgment, while the posters of the Beatles in so many bedrooms already seem to have given their opinion.

As for me, in the wake of the legendary Paolo Ziliani, I say:

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: title track of the album, with its proto hard rock elements considered very original for the time. The start is indeed fitting, with a guitar never so heavy and attentive to rhythmic textures; vocal timbres appropriately devilish while telling the story of Sergeant Pepper's band. The chorus is less convincing and persuasive, where tones and rhythms soften and slow down: the disorienting effect removes the aggressiveness that characterized the piece. Although inferior to contemporary "hard" rock songs by The Who, Rolling Stones or Kinks, it perhaps has the merit of introducing this kind of music to less attentive listeners, almost summarizing what has already been heard, making it more palatable. Of course, this diminishes the subversive charge of the nascent hard rock, degrading it to family music: hence, perhaps, the emergence of so much fm rock, aor etc. etc. that circulated on the radio starting in the '70s. Also from here, the bad habit of embellishing much pop music with unnecessary guitar phrases or solos that have little to do with such musical genres (even Pausini does it). Wasted opportunity.

With a Little Help from My Friends: the melody is predominant, as well as the solidarity that seems to characterize the piece, with an undeniable flavor of the Summer of Love. Perhaps better known for the historic cover made a few years later by Joe Cocker, but in any case a good pop song. It constitutes the (involuntary) model of the typical stadium anthem, followed for example by Queen's "We will rock You," "Friends will be Friends," and others. But the examples could, of course, continue. Today it can be heard in the dance entertainments of professionals over fifty, or at business professional parties, much to the peace of friends of old and the illusions of the late '60s. Nostalgic.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds: a pleasant pop piece with psychedelic touches suggested by the acronym in the title (LSD) rather than the sonic textures faithful to a certain Beatles tradition. The melody is always effective, the chorus a bit cloying, almost childish in its developments. There is still debate today about the alleged voluntariness of the wordplay, which made eternal a piece that, overall, certainly does not appear the best of the album, but that functions as an (un)confessed model for much future brit pop, from XTC to Blur, to Oasis and, seen in the sonic jumble, even My Bloody Valentine. Inspiring, more than inspired.

Getting Better: continuous choral escapes and incisive melody characterize one of the most successful tracks of the album. The underlying simplicity fits well with a pressing and easily memorable development. Like the title track, this piece also seems to vulgarize the nascent hard rock, for which I refer entirely to what was said above. Wasted opportunity bis.

Fixing a Hole: with more conviction, we return to psychedelic territory, both regarding the lyrics and the purely musical development. The track has a nice hypnotic flow that the best Barrett would have appreciated, though, somehow, I would also associate it with Nick Drake. Enhanced with some additional instrumental diversion, it would have been an almost acidic track, but, as should be known, the technical competence needed to order these sonic textures was not part of the Liverpool four, so, forty years later, the piece remains memorable for the chorus and little else. A piece that, in other hands, would have been a masterpiece. Wishful but unable.

She's Leaving Home: tedious Beatles ballad, seems like the classic filler good for satisfying the less demanding audience focused on melody, or maybe the less savvy female audience who, at the time, orphans of the four's mop tops, tried to navigate the apparent complexity of the album's sonic textures. A stylish and fundamentally harmless piece on which dozens and dozens of bands would live off royalties, inserting in even ambitious albums the classic heart-breaking ballad that soothes souls. For instance, even the legendary Led Zeppelin did so in "In Through the Outdoor" ('79), with All my Love, whose working title, not coincidentally, was "The Hook," i.e., "the bait" for the less mature audience. Cunning.

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!: an authentic masterpiece of the album, and perhaps of the entire career of the Liverpool four. Vaudeville mixes with psychedelia in a whirlwind piece that seems to have no weak points. To clarify, superior to much contemporary music and, perhaps, to the entire "Piper" by Floyd. The most educated would explain this piece by resorting to the well-known concept of "heterogenesis of ends," given that, considering the musical simplicity of the group - essentially made up of attentive melodists - it seems difficult to attribute to the Beatles the intention of producing such a gem, derisive and mocking almost like a Zappa jest. Should the praise go to George Martin? It doesn't matter, except for the fact that today this piece goes unnoticed, and fortunately, you won't hear it played in any dance entertainment for sixty-year-old professionals. Chapeau.

Within You Without You: a piece where Harrison showcases his abilities with the then exotic sitar. Exotic and expansive atmospheres, similar to certain trips by the Grateful Dead. Our guys seem to demonstrate they are an adult group, inclined to abandon the easy and pleasant chart songs as well as the Merseybeat of the beginnings. The doubt is, of course, whether this intention belonged only to Harrison, to whom a digression is granted, an hour of air before returning to order. No matter, in any case. I like to think that the obsessive textures of the piece have been taken up, in later decades, by those who see music as more expression than melody, like Sonic Youth, Slint etc. (who perhaps had as their model more the Grateful than the Beatles, but so be it). Hallucinogenic.

When I'm Sixty-Four: high-class pop with lyrics that heard today evoke sadness, given the premature death of Lennon and Harrison themselves, who never reached the age sung about. The counterbalance to My Generation by The Who - who hoped to die before becoming old (partially succeeding) - perhaps denotes better than any other track the essentially conservative character of the Liverpool quartet's musical proposal, and it is not by chance placed after the experimental peak of the album, almost to bring back to order the forward escapades of the previous track. The listening is pleasant, but there is an underlying flatness and monotony, in addition to little instrumental interest. The quintessence of the most reassuring Beatles, therefore. Predictable.

Lovely Rita: a pleasant hard pop piece, it follows in the footsteps of Getting Better, although being much more watered down sonically. A typical song dedicated to the girl of the moment, it can make boys and girls swoon, hitting right at the young audience's target to which the four champions of English bel canto addressed themselves. Essentially, the remarks made for When I’m Sixty-Four and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds apply. Who knows how many professionals in their youth dedicated this piece to their first Lovely Rita, inevitably followed by a series of wives, companions, and/or lovers who perhaps diminished the love of the past. Negligible.

Good Morning Good Morning: a cheerful pastiche with psychedelic band-like inflections, leads to the final part of the album reviving the experimental attitudes of the quartet and their sound engineer. Certainly one of the album's peaks, both for the arrangement, crowded with wind instrument interventions, assorted noises and choirs, and the interesting alternations of melodies. Nothing to envy from anyone. Re-chapeau.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise): apparent closure of the album with the leading piece. An interesting idea, then picked up by myriad groups, among which, of course, the Floyd of "The Wall". For the rest, the remarks made in relation to the title track are applicable.

A Day in the Life: some critics have described it as the greatest song of all time. Others as an avant-garde piece where pop mixes with classical music for the first time. Both are wrong. It is, essentially, a simple and melancholic pop piece to which an effective swirl of strings and sound effects are added, emphasizing the dramatic tones of the lyrics. The combination of classical music and pop had already been effectively experimented with - with much more cultural depth - by Zappa in "Absolutely Free" ('66), while merely adding strings to a piece is not enough to qualify it as a masterpiece. The song is, however, essential to understand certain annoying and pretentious offshoots of pop music in the subsequent forty years, explaining better than any other example the tendency to stuff pop and rock songs with heavy orchestral arrangements, believing this gives them a more mature and adult dimension: Procol Harum, Pink Floyd, even the Rush of "Power Windows" or Smashing Pumpkins of "Tonight" fell into this, not to mention all the San Remo pop annually listened to. Less servile towards classical music, as well as more spontaneous and intelligent, the "Concert for Group and Orchestra" by Deep Purple. Dire.

It is difficult to judge this album without displeasing anyone. The verdict is thus up to you.

I suppose "debate" follows.