Win Janszoon Over to the Beatles

**Janszoon** · 03-05-2012, 09:59 PM

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

I was actually sent this album by two people, two different ways: as a single 40 minute track from skaltezon (the theory being that it helped preserve the flow of the album better) and as a normal collection of thirteen tracks from Burning Down. Thanks to you both! I listened to it both ways and honestly didn't perceive any difference, but it was an interesting experiment.

Sgt. Pepper was a very different animal for me from the other two albums I've reviewed so far because I'm much more familiar with it, though it's probably been close to twenty years since I've listened to the whole thing. It starts strong with the titular track—certainly one of the great intro songs in rock history and a noticeable influence on everything from Pink Floyd's "In the Flesh?" to Primus' "The Return of Sathington Willoughby"—and proceeds at a relatively steady level of quality all the way through to the end. Some songs are certainly better than others but there are no clunkers.

What was interesting for me though, revisiting this album as an adult and analyzing much more than I would have twenty years ago, was all the detail I picked up on. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", for example, (a song I've probably heard several thousand times in my life) stood out in terms of its interesting instrumentation despite the ridiculous lyrics. The relatively simple and straightforward "Fixing a Hole" was noteworthy to me for its incredibly tight and catchy songwriting. "She's Leaving Home" joins the crowd of really good, and generally bittersweet, Beatles songs I had forgotten about. "Within Without You" plays like a sister track to Revolver's "Love to You", though maybe not quite as good. "When I'm Sixty-Four" made me laugh, as it always does, when I found myself wondering about how Paul McCartney feels about those lyrics now that he's past that age. "Lovely Rita", one of my favorite tracks listening to the album now, surprised me by being the only Beatles song I can think of that's really carried by its interestingly interlocking rhythms. "Good Morning Good Morning" is quirky, with some very interesting textural qualities, which plays a little like a single-song response to the entire album of Pet Sounds. And at the very end, of course, is "A Day in the Life", a great evocative and melancholy track that I've always liked a lot—the Lennon parts much more so than the McCartney parts.

All in all, I think this is the most consistent of the albums I've reviewed so far. I'm not sure I'd say it's the best necessarily, but it's certainly the most cohesive. I could probably name more truly great songs on either Abbey Road or Revolver than on this but then I could probably also name more weak tracks on either of those albums too.

Up next: Rubber Soul

03-05-2012, 09:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
Janszoon Mate, Spawn & Die Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Rapping Community Posts: 24,593	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band I was actually sent this album by two people, two different ways: as a single 40 minute track from skaltezon (the theory being that it helped preserve the flow of the album better) and as a normal collection of thirteen tracks from Burning Down. Thanks to you both! I listened to it both ways and honestly didn't perceive any difference, but it was an interesting experiment. Sgt. Pepper was a very different animal for me from the other two albums I've reviewed so far because I'm much more familiar with it, though it's probably been close to twenty years since I've listened to the whole thing. It starts strong with the titular track—certainly one of the great intro songs in rock history and a noticeable influence on everything from Pink Floyd's "In the Flesh?" to Primus' "The Return of Sathington Willoughby"—and proceeds at a relatively steady level of quality all the way through to the end. Some songs are certainly better than others but there are no clunkers. What was interesting for me though, revisiting this album as an adult and analyzing much more than I would have twenty years ago, was all the detail I picked up on. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", for example, (a song I've probably heard several thousand times in my life) stood out in terms of its interesting instrumentation despite the ridiculous lyrics. The relatively simple and straightforward "Fixing a Hole" was noteworthy to me for its incredibly tight and catchy songwriting. "She's Leaving Home" joins the crowd of really good, and generally bittersweet, Beatles songs I had forgotten about. "Within Without You" plays like a sister track to Revolver's "Love to You", though maybe not quite as good. "When I'm Sixty-Four" made me laugh, as it always does, when I found myself wondering about how Paul McCartney feels about those lyrics now that he's past that age. "Lovely Rita", one of my favorite tracks listening to the album now, surprised me by being the only Beatles song I can think of that's really carried by its interestingly interlocking rhythms. "Good Morning Good Morning" is quirky, with some very interesting textural qualities, which plays a little like a single-song response to the entire album of Pet Sounds. And at the very end, of course, is "A Day in the Life", a great evocative and melancholy track that I've always liked a lot—the Lennon parts much more so than the McCartney parts. All in all, I think this is the most consistent of the albums I've reviewed so far. I'm not sure I'd say it's the best necessarily, but it's certainly the most cohesive. I could probably name more truly great songs on either Abbey Road or Revolver than on this but then I could probably also name more weak tracks on either of those albums too. Up next: Rubber Soul __________________ A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man Time & Place 25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die last.fm