SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND

Sgt. Pepper is the first Beatles album to attempt unification by means of a conceptual theme, i.e., an English music hall/ vaudeville/circus performance (possible precedents include Beach Boys Pet Sounds and earlier experiments by Frank Zappa) Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Introduces the music hall/vaudeville show/circus performance theme with the introduction of the house band Musically, a mix between a period brass band sound from the 1920s-30s and San Francisco psychedelia With a Little Help from My Friends Opening comic/novelty number: non-singer Ringo elicits sympathy from the audience guileless singing style matched to seemingly guileless tune (which sets up a typical surprise chord in the chorus section) Example of Ringo's non-virtuoso drum breaks which become very influential When I'm Sixty-Four Original version from late 1950s Music hall/ vaudeville period piece, including chord progression, bouncy melody, and clarinet parts Wistful lyrics despite the cheerful melody Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite Lyrics adapted from old circus poster Circus calliope effect achieved by a mixture of organs, bass harmonica and tape manipulation Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds Serves as the magic act for the evening Some of Lennon's most colorful psychedelic imagery, but ultimate meaning remains vague Chorus section in more typical shouted rock style She's Leaving Home (M) Sentimental Neo-Victorian ballad with moral (?)drawn Song gets a lot of media attention for its lyrics and also for its elegant Chopin-like melody Good Morning, Good Morning Lennon's lyrics typically dark, biting known for fluctuations in meter and rhythmic patterns Superficial use of taped animal sounds? A Day in the Life Result of combination of two separate and stylistically contrasting songs (one by Lennon, one by McCartney) Result is stream of consciousness, with various hallucinatory references Widely interpreted as Lennon-McCartney's perspective on the struggle to find a sense of connectedness and meaning in daily life Song's conclusion, including the final slowly-decaying chord, seen as a cosmic gesture Sgt. Pepper generally thought of as more than the sum of its parts. A sense of atmosphere and continuity pervades the album like no other rock album of the period (even if connections between individual songs are not always very clear) A landmark of successful and influential experimentation: spawns innumerable (largely unsuccessful) concept albums and a great deal of experimentation with electronic and tape collage effects