SGT. PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND/WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

My friend who lent me this EP think it was released as a promo for a re-issue of this album. It did not do well in the charts. But it did not have to do so. The three songs here is superb and I guess most people would had gone straight out and buy the album instead. An album which many regard as the best ever record released on this planet. Well, that's a debate which will never stop. It is good to debate music. But I do not think many people would disagree with me that this album set a new standard in recording, artwork and music in general. It shook the music business to it's foundations and nothing has ever been the same again. This album started what we today call progressive music on all levels.

The music itself is excellent. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band flows effortless into With A Little Help From My Friends. Unfortunate for Ringo Starr, Joe Cocker proved under the Woodstock festival that this song can be don a lot better than he did it. Joe Cocker has done the ultimate version of this song. But this medley is still excellent.

The B side serves up perhaps the most progressive and most exciting song The Beatles has ever done. It is no less than A Day In The Life. This masterpiece perhaps contains the DNA profile of the progressive rock genre where it changes moods and themes throughout. I believe this is the best ever song The Beatles did.

My conclusion is that this EP is as close to a five star an EP can get. But not quite.

4.75 stars

Off of what is considered to be one of the best and most influential albums of all time, the single for the seminal 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' is certainly no able replacement for the full product, but this is a great taste of the masterpiece, with a b-side that I consider to be quite possibly the Beatles' greatest song.

While catchy and very to-the-point, the Beatles incorporate plenty of interesting arrangements into the album's title track, including horn sections to give an exciting opener to the album. It is a very rocking track, and one of the best openers to an album in pop music. Of course, it is natural for the music to continue into the second track 'With A Little Help From My Friends,' which is typically played immediately after the first on FM radio. The two tracks segue seamlessly, giving the impression of one song with two very different parts. Here, the vocals of Ringo Starr are showcased, in which he does a decent job of singing the song, but it is certainly clear that he is the weakest member of the group.

The real gem on this singles release is actually the b-side, 'A Day In The Life.' While it certainly doesn't have the quality of an 'afterthought' as many b-sides do, I'm very glad they included it here, as it represents the best, most inspired and musical portion of the album. The song is surprisingly complex in it's composition for only being five minutes long, but it gives a very deep and engaging experience, almost existential in nature.

For those who haven't yet listened to the essential work that is 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,' this might be a good place to get excited about it. The Beatles aren't the most superb group in my books, but this album - and by extension - this single really show to me that the band deserves such a wide fanbase.