78. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Artist: The Beatles
Album: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Year: 1967

Well, well, well. We've come to the Album to End All Albums, the one many people cite as either the best or the most influential album of all-time....The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

I've heard this album a lot over the years. As I've said before, I go through a Beatles phase every now and then, usually about one a year for about a week, and I play the heck out of Revolver, Rubber Soul, The White Album, Abbey Road, and this one. I might even throw in some Let It Be, A Hard Day's Night, or Magical Mystery Tour. I do not stoop to Yellow Submarine depths. :)

As strictly an album I think this is The Beatles' best. The production is inventive and paralleled only by the likes of the equally masterful Pet Sounds (which songs like "She's Leaving Home" sound like), and the flow from song to song is just perfect. I liken the band on this album to master chefs who know exactly what proportion is needed of each ingredient to make the best possible taste. The album also delivers on the promise of Revolver, which I found somewhat transitional.

Here's the thing, though. As a collection of songs put together this might be the best album, but taken individually, I don't think any of the songs on Sgt. Pepper's are among my favorite Beatles tunes! Only "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "A Day in the Life" really work for me outside of the context of this album, but even both of those are better when listening to the other tunes than as stand-alones. "A Day in the Life" ups the ante yet again on album closers. A great song that ends with an absolute thunderclap of a piano chord.

Once again, my favorite songs here are the John Lennon ones, even though this is a very Paul-centric album altogether. John's songs are all classic cuts of psychedelia--"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," the zany circus-show of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite," and the jaunty time-signature experiment "Good Morning Good Morning" are fantastic tunes. I can do without Paul McCartney's hokier numbers on this album like "When I'm 64" and "Getting Better," though again, in the context of the album, they work perfectly.

This is definitely one of popular culture's quintessential albums and well deserving of its praise.

Rating: Indispensable