There's a reason that Pepper was a huge musical-social phenomenon and Revolver, although much admired, was not.
I prefer the cover of Revolver, but Pepper not only had an amazing front cover - and a back cover with the lyrics all printed out - another innovation - but a gatefold with a photo of the Fabs looking like actors in a 1960s psychedelic concept production of "The Music Man" stoned on orange sunshine.
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| GATEFOLD! |
More about those songs soon.
Pepper was the second album I ever bought - McCartney's greatest solo career effort ,"Band on the Run," was the first.
I listened to Pepper so much that every note and word is engraved in my soul. I could easily sing the entire album in order - even "Within You Without You" - and reproduce all the pauses and vocal inflections and pronunciations perfectly. You'd think the Beatles were there in the room. Just try me: I sawr a film today, oh booooy.
Even though, like with Revolver, there are some definite duds in Pepper. Let us review:
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - this track must have blown people's minds with the combo of audience sounds at the beginning, then the Beatles claiming to be another band, with blazing guitars. Hendrix played it on stage not long after the album was released. A
With A Little Help From My Friends - Ringo Starr's personal motto and a classic. A
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - Lennon went to his grave swearing he didn't consciously choose to name the song after LSD. Nevertheless it is a trippy song and and I love Lennon shouting "LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS!" especially when McCartney joins in. Plus the animated sequence for the song in the film "Yellow Submarine" (available on the Internet Archive) is one of my favorite parts of the movie. A. (Take 5 on the Internet Archive.)
Getting Better - the first dud. One of their "slog songs" as Ian Leslie discusses in his book. A lot of people, including Leslie really like it. I think it's musically uninteresting and the most interesting lyrical aspect is Lennon's confession: "I used to be cruel to my woman, I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved." D
Fixing a Hole - another dud. The music is slightly better than Getting Better, and it has a nice trippy feel, and I like the harpsichordy keyboard and nice rolling bass. But still... C+.
She's Leaving Home - ugh! The worst! So maudlin. And a boring tune and instrumentation, in spite of the harp. This song shows you how badly McCartney could have screwed up Eleanor Rigby if he had chosen to make it, too, sappy and pathetic. Then it tries to get philosophical with this lyric: "fun is the one thing that money can't buy." When I was a teenager I thought "Within You Without You" was the worst song on the album, but now I think it's this one. I can't stand listening to it. Emphatic F.
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite - surprisingly decent considering Lennon and McCartney took the lyrics from a circus poster. The music is a rollicking good time - and it sounds especially good coming right after the soap opera of She's Leaving Home. And you can imagine how extra cool this would sound if someone was tripping on acid while listening, which they definitely were in 1967. B.
Within You, Without You - the droning dreariness of the song is topped only by Harrison's idiotic idea to put a sit-com laugh track at the end: "The laughter at the end of the track was Harrison’s idea. While some listeners initially thought it was the sound of the other Beatles mocking his songwriting effort, it was in fact meant to lighten the mood after five minutes of sad, almost mournful, music." Five minutes of snooze music, you mean. Even so, the Indian instruments make it almost interesting. But lyrically it's another example of Harrison's tendency to express disapproval in his songs: "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?" Fuck you, religious fanatic. D-
When I'm Sixty Four - the best of Paul's rooty-toot songs. And as Ian Leslie notes, lyrically it was probably the most radical song the Beatles wrote - a song about getting old with someone. And McCartney wrote the original version as a teen-ager. Doing the garden, digging the weeds - who could ask for more? B+
Lovely Rita - so much fun - and very innovative subject-wise - about a meter maid - a term Paul picked up in the US. The piano solo in the middle is a banger and it's fun to sing: "sit-ting-on-a-so-fa-with-a-sis-ter-or-two." A-
Good Morning, Good Morning - I didn't care for this very much, when I was a teenager, but it's grown on me. The brass is fun and of course it leads in to the Sgt. Pepper reprise in a very cool way with the chicken squawk that turns into a guitar. B+
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) - fun fun fun. A
A Day in the Life - what can you say about this one? It might be their supreme masterpiece. Even contemporary critics who didn't like the album liked the song. The interplay between the accoustic guitar, the piano and Lennon's vocals - solemn, tender and slightly sardonic all at the same time - are what push this into the stratosphere. The orchestral climax is just gravy. I will have more to say about this song when discussing Ian Leslie's commentary. A+
So there we go - Revolver has three supreme masterpieces, Sgt. Pepper only one. But although Pepper has some duds - and even one song I rated an F - it has fewer duds and overall higher-rated duds than Revolver.
So what about "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane"? Coming soon!