SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND

Lennon delivers strong vocals, semi-progressive attempts and one filler song ("Good morning good morning"). McCartney balances between safe pop ("When I'm 64"), experimental pop ("Lovely Rita", "Fixing a hole"), his bass is quite audible and adds to the good feeling. His voice and overall contribution to the album are overwhelming. Harrison feels most distant than on any other Beatles album - only one contribution that seems to be out of place albeit good in its own merits; guitar playing is more in the background in favour of studio experimenting and other instruments such as organs or brass instruments. Starr, who delivered very decent drumming on Revolver, seems to be going through the motions here; obsolete drumming with little creativity; yet there is the "Day in the life" standout and his drive makes the reprise of the title track more bearable.

Let's review each song now. The first, title song, is a great melody and proto-hard-rock number with distinct McCartney voice. "With a little help from my friends" suits Starr's voice, bass playing is another highlight here as are vocal harmonies. The baroque and psychedelic pop is launched by "Lucy in the sky with diamonds". The 3/4 rhythm during the verse is seductive, otherwise there aren't that many more musical selling points. McCartney's mini-suite of 3 distinct songs starts with the optimistic "Getting better", organ-supported "Fixing a hole" with heart-felt singing and the best and only ballad on the album "She's leaving home" featuring a mini orchestra of violins and cellos. "Being for the benefit of Mr.Kite" is certainly less accessible than a usual Beatles song but contains excellent rhythm changes and psychedelic experimentation. Several keyboard instruments like Hammond, piano, Wurlitzer organ are featured to a great effect. "Within you without you" is the only Harrison's contribution and feels like out of a different unrelated world. Also, no other band members participated on its recording. Indian music was quite in a conflict with the psychedelic experimentation of the Sgtpepper however it can stand on its own. "Lovely Rita" feels first like a throwaway track until you hear McCartney bass during the chorus, the splendid piano solo and progressive instrumental outro. Sadly the good impression is ruined by the two next tracks of little ambition - the lightweight "Good morning good morning" and a short less formal version of the title track. The last track is probably the best one - the highly admired "A day in the life". The track consists of 3 parts in my opinion - sung by Lennon (main verse), then the typical melodic and charming McCartney's to be followed by the symphonic part with crescendo that sounded so avantgarde at that time. In the end, we hear the famous 40-second chord on three pianos which sound as majestic as some of the prog-rock outros a few year later. A major music achievement in 1967 and a solid/memorable album in the 21st century.

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