Greatest Album Ever

This album redefined the Beatles and redefined rock music in general. Everyone on the whole planet should own this album. Everyone who I know who hates the Beatles loves this album.

Great, of course, but not the best...

Sgt. Pepper is probably the Beatles' most overrated album. Taken on its own terms, Sgt. Pepper is great--there's no choice but to give it five stars. Besides, the album is one of the most monumental in the history of pop music, given its revolutionary character. (Nevertheless, Sgt. Pepper did not come out of a vacuum. The Beatles did not single-handedly create 'psychedelia.' All of pop music had been trending this way. Of course, the Beatles were instrumental in this. But from the period 1965-67, albums by many artists simultaneously were becoming weirder and more "sophisticated." Let's not forget that the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" inspired Paul to create "Pepper".)

Fresh when it came out

Having read many reviews on this site for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, it's very obvious that any review that doesn't give this album credit for being one of the top 10 albums in history will get negative feedback from the vast majority. I guess objective comments don't count for much when reviewing this particular theme album, only favorable ones. Here goes, anyway. I love the Beatles with a passion. I have every single album they ever made, including compilation albums and even an old LP of the Beatles live in Germany in 1962 (recorded on an old hand-held reel-to-reel tape recorder and very grainy... but I LOVE it!). The Beatles were riding high in 1967 when Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was introduced to us. At the time, a theme album was a novel concept and very fresh, and The Beatles were given much-deserved kudos for having mastered a different sound. The Beatles could do no wrong in 1967, and this album is proof. I recall some of my friends talking about what a fantastic album it was, but I noticed they rarely ever listened to it unless they were high. Indeed, many of the songs on SPLHCB are psychedelic in nature and almost seem to cater to the less sober listeners among us. While I like this album immensely, I have to say that by today's standards, a fresh listen reveals many songs to be quite strange and others pretty ordinary. Again, I realize this review will be either panned by this crowd or else completely blown off, but as a true Beatles fan, this is my honest opinion. The first two songs are true classics. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "With A Little Help From My Friends." Beautiful! "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is an ordinary song, IMHO, and not to sound blasphemous to other fans, but I truly thought Elton John's version was much better. This is one of the strange songs that the 'psychedelic' crowd seemed to embrace. "Getting Better" is a nice tune. I like it very much, and "Fixing a Hole" is above average. After this, though, the album becomes bogged down a bit by silly songs such as "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", "When I'm Sixty-Four" (although the tune is quite catchy) and "Good Morning, Good Morning", as well as sappy tunes like "She's Leaving Home" (this one becomes a bit tedious halfway through it) and "Within You, Without You" (which I actually like, however not as much as those who call this one of the best Beatles songs ever. I like it despite the Eastern flavor. That sound just never did anything for me.) "Lovely Rita" is a definite keeper and the album winds itself up nicely with the 'heavier' version of "SPLHCB" and "A Day in the Life", two EXCELLENT songs. I guess my whole point is that, although I love this album, I feel it has gotten far too much credit for being among the best ever. Yes, it was very creative for it's time, but there are just too many ordinary songs mixed in with the legendary ones to maintain that status over the years. Some of the album almost seems to have been recorded for the benefit of listeners on LSD or something. So, go ahead, Beatles fans, use me as your new punching bag, just remember that I really am one of YOU! The fact is I like this album a LOT, I just think it's been a bit overrated. I give it four stars because 1) It was a very creative and novel concept in 1967, 2) it really is an excellent album, although far from perfect and 3) it's the BEATLES, for crying out loud! :-)) Peace.