Innovative, enlightening, inventive, groundbreaking and a little weird would all be acceptable ways of describing this album in a few words. Of course, a few words are not enough for Sergeant Pepper and the Lonely Hearts Club Band. Taking on the personas of an imaginary band, the Beatles produced this album with fresh, modern concepts jumbling about in their minds. There are many firsts achieved on ‘Pepper’ as it is known, in short. It is arguably one of the most influential rock albums ever made. But I digress; the music is where the focus shall be.
It is a show, with an audience who is noticeable at different parts on the record. The unique styles of music and recording techniques mark a vivid progression for the Fab Four as musicians. Sgt. Pepper and With A Little Help From My Friends are the closest to simple rock that you’ll hear on the album, two darn catchy tunes which will have your toes tapping for hours at a time. The psychedelic imagery of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is the first sign of a band that is willing to stretch the limits of modern music, while transcending the era with their tried and true pop melody for success. Every song, from that point on, adds a new piece to the ‘Pepper’ puzzle. Whether it be the wonderful sitar-based visions of Within You, Without You, the happy, go lucky march When I’m Sixty-Four or the eerie yet beautiful harmonies produced in She’s Leaving Home, the Beatles play each song like it is a fresh canvas waiting to be painted. Each song is like a hundred, different colours splashed about, in special patterns and fashions, sorted in a kind of chaotic order only the Beatles could control.
It seems as though similes and metaphors are the only way I can describe the joys of listening to the album effectively. Pepper is like the Tulip Festival in May, except all the flowers were grown overnight in what appears to be untouched, natural splendor and beauty. Pepper is the inauguration of a new world order inside the music world, an order in which everything following the masterpiece falls in line behind it. There is a wealth of musical talent on this album, a wealth that remains unmatched to this day. Why is there such an aura around these 4 lads from Liverpool? Sgt. Pepper is not gonna lie to you; this is where the music world became more than a day in the life, it became wonderful, golden and brilliant.
- By: Cousy
