Reviewing "Sgt. Pepper's" has become a worn-out and overused tradition for industry insiders. Being one of the potential rodents myself, I take advantage of this opportunity to share my thoughts on the eight decades of its resilience, simply extending a broth of excellent quality.
The album in question fully outlines the greatness of those who composed it. The Beatles, up until 1964 (just two years of activity), had been magnified by the media power of the press, radio, and television, by mass delusions never seen before, and by the still catchy songs that lined up like a coral reef at the upper extremities of the world charts. Let's not forget, however, that in the period in question, there are also hints of small ingenuity still in an apprenticeship status, contrasted only by the Rolling Stones.
In 1965, they began to tire of the exhausting tours until they abandoned them entirely in 1966. Exhausting concert tours that flowed into a brutal whirlwind of delirious screams, crying, fainting, and voluntary scalping. A mixture of noises caused by the furies, so cumbersome as to almost cover the sounds coming from the stage, so much so that the poor Fab4 could have sung "San Martino, campanaro" without anyone noticing. Meanwhile, "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" are released, gaining intercontinental acclaim despite the beatings taken in Manila, John Lennon's forgiven blasphemy, and the condemnation to burn the works sold so far and then repurchased. But that's another story.
On the first of June 1967, music takes a pause to make room for the greatest album in rock history. Without any hesitation and no regret caused by clichés or half-terms. "Sgt. Pepper's" should be protected by an impenetrable case to avoid attacks from any deterrent agent of natural or artificial origin. The latest "Rolling Stone" census says it too, for those who still have doubts. Whether you like it or not is natural, but I would look around carefully before venturing to say it is a worthless album. Surely after saying this, the usual protests from those who have not understood the point will start to rain down. Anyone can say that Mozart didn't write "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" or that Guttuso didn't paint "La Vucciria," but the heresy produced by this individual must reckon with history and then suffer a resounding defeat in credibility. Anyone who loves rock music and beyond "MUST" own "Sgt. Pepper's." In my opinion, and I believe not just mine. What I am writing contains no hint of arrogance or haughtiness of munginiana memory. I want to make it clear. I am just a poor forgettable reviewer commenting on what has been written by history.
The Beatles took a long time to discover and transfer to a "four" track recorder the sounds kindly offered by nature or masterfully derived from each one's creativity. Starting from the fulfillment of a buzz of spectators from some undefined place, accompanied by musicians in preparation phase that is shattered by a mighty electric guitar marking the beginning. We are the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and without any pretense, we are here to entertain you, just follow us, and you won't regret it. Never before has an invitation message been so apt and innovative. A message that melts into a triumph of sparkling colors that decorate every empty space left by music preceding this monumental work that dazzles throughout its duration.
After the explosive opening, the way is given to a quieter Billy Shears (Ringo Starr), who invites, with his not excellent but incredibly sincere voice, to go beyond and not stop in front of obstacles, maybe with a little help from some friend or person you can trust. A song that glides smoothly to its conclusion, from where the second overture of the album, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," originates. A psychedelic overture, at times mystical, that provides nectar to all other hungry slots of the work. Metallic, muffled voices, never heard before the time, distorted, skillfully manipulated, settle into tracks wrapped in simple yet ferocious electric guitar riffs and sounds still unmatched (in the digital age!). Sometimes gentle choirs, other times melancholic, accompany the clear voices of "Getting Better" and "Fixing a Hole" up until they conclude in the spongy and colorful "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite," taken even from a poster.
From here, the third overture begins. The cloud of Indian breeze "Within You Without You" manages to penetrate every hidden corner of the human imagination when listened to properly. The sitar and the tabla are worthy instruments for this descent into the pure depths submerged by the bleak daily materialism. George Harrison teaches how to meditate on vital concepts and suggests to the followers invited at the beginning of the work to do as he does. The result is excellent, and this is highlighted by the piece that follows, "She's Leaving Home," taken from a real-life news clipping. The song is wonderfully atypical, compared to the Beatles' standards, as it is interpreted by voices only accompanied by strings and harp. The timbres of the various singers overlap gently like layered veils, letting through a lightness that permeates the entire body of the poem predominantly recounted by McCartney.
The commercial overture could not be missing, however, anticipated by a nice story a grandfather would tell his grandson in "When I'm 64." It would have been far too perfect, and thus the onslaught of heavy orchestrations and inadequate metrics, even with some highlights (the final piano solo in Lovely Rita), seems almost justified. "Lovely Rita," in fact, and "Good Morning Good Morning" do not lend much incisiveness to the work. More than anything, it's a pretext to invite the followers to the band's thanks, with the hope of a new influx seen in the reprise of "Sgt. Pepper's." At the end of it, the miracle happens. From the festive voices dissolving arises a simple and clear guitar played by John Lennon, who begins to sing "A Day in the Life."
"A Day in the Life" is history. Innovative in its lyrics, concept, sounds, effects. It's the testament written by the Beatles ahead of its time. What follows is a copy. The story of every common mortal told by powerful swirls of strings and brass that violently break every temporal boundary, in 5 minutes and a bit more including the inner groove. Irregular percussive comments delineate the power of making music, of staging exceptional races against time.
Majestic work to be listened to in reverent silence that highlights the greatness of the Beatles from every angle. I repeat with clarity that all this was born from texts already written for history. A gentle comment on what has already been widely told. And without any arrogance, in fact with sympathy, I want to conclude with a note. Those who love music and say that "Sgt. Pepper's" is an irrelevant or low-value album should go to confession. They have just blasphemed. And I can say it because I am backed by history.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (03:30)
Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
And she's gone
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Aaaaaah
Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers
That grow so incredibly high
Newspaper taxis appear on the shore
Waiting to take you away
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds
And you're gone
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Aaaaaah
Picture yourself on a train in a station
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Aaaaaah
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Aaaaaah
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds...
05 Fixing a Hole (02:39)
I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
and stops my mind from wandering
where it will go
I'm filling the cracks that ran though the door
and kept my mind from wandering
where it will go
And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong
I'm right where I belong
I'm right where I belong
See the people standing there
who disagree and never win
and wonder why they don't get in my door
I'm painting the room in a colorful way,
and when my mind is wandering
there I will go
And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong
I'm right where I belong
I'm right where I belong
Silly people run around
they worry me and never ask me
why they don't get past my door
I'm taking my time for a number of things
that weren't important yesterday
and I still go
I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
and stops my mind from wandering
where it will go
where it will go
I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
and stops my mind from wandering
where it will go
08 Within You Without You (05:07)
We were talking
about the space between us all
and people who hide themselves
behind a wall of illusion
never glimpse the truth
then it's far too late
when they pass away
We were talking
about the love we all could share
When we find it
to try our best to hold it there
with our love, with our love
we could save the world
if they only knew
Try to realize it's all within yourself
no one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small
and life flows on within you and without you
We were talking
about the love that's gone so cold
and the people who gain the world
and lose their soul
They don't know, they can't see
Are you one of them
When you've seen beyond yourself
then you may find
peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come
when you see we're all one
and life flows on within you and without you
10 Lovely Rita (02:44)
Lovely Rita meter maid
Lovely Rita meter maid
Lovely Rita meter maid
nothing can come between us
When it gets dark I tow your heart away
Standing by a parking meter
when I caught a glimpse of Rita
Filling in a ticket in her little white book
In a cap she looked much older
And the bag across her shoulder
Made her look a little like a military man
Lovely Rita meter maid
may I inquire discreetly
When are you free to take some tea with me
Rita!
Took her out and tried to win her
had a laugh and over dinner
Told her I would really like to see her again
Got the bill and Rita paid it
Took her home and nearly made it
Sitting on a sofa with a sister or two
Oh! Lovely Rita meter maid
where would I be without you
give us a wink and make me think of you
Lovely meter maid
Rita meter maid
oh, Lovely Rita meter, meter maid
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Other reviews
By Aerith
The most beautiful track on the album is the closing one: A Day In The Life is perhaps one of the most beautiful and modern songs by the Beatles.
She’s Leaving Home still manages to move me, blending perfectly in the myriad of bright lights and colors of the album.
By waties
"’A Day In The Life’ is the masterpiece above another 4-5 masterpieces, I seriously wouldn’t know how to define it."
"It’s like going to the theater and seeing 4 strangely dressed guys doing strange things singing natural, human music."
By Sanjuro
The whole class watches him squirm like a Houdini of the urban underclass, the new feminist girls then... kick the male chauvinist bear and spit rains down everywhere.
Davide X instead of lady laxatives could have found with unchanged results... a copy of the already much-mentioned Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
By vellutogrigio
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.
A masterpiece that seems to have no weak points... you won’t hear it played in any dance entertainment for sixty-year-old professionals. Chapeau.
By granpaul
It is no secret that the four used acids and the like, and with this album they show the damage that drugs cause to the brain.
I can’t fathom how some people dare to call it a record, even Wonderful, not realizing that they have in their hands the sickly vomit of four delirious drug addicts.