Genre: Beat
Länge: 37:49
Disks: 1
Produzent: George Martin
Zusammenfassung: This has often been called the greatest rock album of all time: Truth is, song-for-song I find it inferior to its two predecessors, Rubber Soul and Revolver, but then again Sgt. Pepper's is less about actual songs and more about layered sounds and an overall presentation. Don't get me wrong, the songs are really good, sometimes great, and the album's flowery good vibes, though dated at times, always invariably lifts my spirits. More than any other Beatles album, with the possible exception of Abbey Road, this one belongs to Paul McCartney, who came up with the loose album concept and wrote the majority of the songs, and George Martin, who took production work to a whole new level here (with help from engineer Geoff Emerick and others). The production was busier, more exotic, and more flat-out creative than any other rock oriented outing to date, and the (at times pretentious) orchestral arrangements, brassy horn punctuations, and weird experiments were arguably this album’s primary contributions to the rock n’ roll cause. Of course, this was also rock’s first concept album, and the thematic unity of an album of shared concepts (synopsis: Sgt. Pepper's were a fictional band, ostensibly The Beatles' alter egos, and the album is presented as a concert by said alternative band) proved highly influential and was slavishly imitated (never mind that the concept, particularly on Lennon's songs, doesn't really hold together). Anyway, the album starts off well with the energetic title track, which serves to introduce the band before famously segueing into the Ringo sung “With A Little Help From My Friends” (which Joe Cocker would later totally rework into a far greater classic of his own), thereby providing a perfect marriage of blistering rock n’ roll with the catchy sing alongs they excelled at. Lennon’s dreamy, surreal “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” thought to be a drug song by many people who pointed at its “LSD” initials, is where the band first strikes gold with their grand productions, while the whimsical “When I’m Sixty Four” and the more substantial “Lovely Rita” are modestly catchy and enjoyable pop songs that bear the distinct McCartney stamp. So does the sad teen drama “She’s Leaving Home,” a lyrically excellent (actually the album has some of the band's best lyrics in general) and musically lovely if somewhat dull ballad that's hindered by its droopy string arrangement (handled by Mike Leander because Martin was busy and Paul didn't want to wait, much to Martin's everlasting chagrin). Elsewhere, McCartney’s moodier “Fixing A Hole” is an underrated entry, and Lennon’s strange, carnival-esque “Being For the Benefit Of Mr. Kite” (whose lyrics were grabbed from a poster) is also great fun but is more of a grower, while “Within You Without You” is another strangely mystical effort by Harrison (and Indian session musicians) that amounts to interesting filler (as usual, even their lesser songs are worthwhile). “Getting Better” and “Good Morning Good Morning” are repetitive but enjoyable rockers (especially the former) where they finally let George, John, and Paul (who plays lead on the latter) loose on guitar, and a brief reprise of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" then seems to end the show. But every great show deserves an encore, right? Sure enough, for all the album’s fine songs and genius layering of sounds, not to mention its clever concept, the only individual song here that all by its lonesome is truly worthy of immortal status is the epochal “A Day In The Life”. Splicing together two distinctly different sections, this true McCartney/Lennon collaboration features two brilliantly dizzying orchestral buildups, a chill inducing Lennon vocal spotlight, and the most dramatic chord in rock history closing the curtain; simply put, the song's unforgettable last bar announced that rock n’ roll would never be the same again. As such, this album deserves its essential rating for historical reasons alone, as it’s probably the most famous and influential rock album ever, and is the one most responsible for rock music gaining respectability with the snobs who had heretofore ignored it. Even the elaborate cover art, later famously parodied by Frank Zappa, took rock to a whole new level, and when the album was released after (a then long) 10 months, it was a major event that defined the so-called "Summer Of Love“.
Rating: A+