The best of psychedelia

Groundbreaking studio tricks, an elaborate cover image and a slew of drug references.
That didn’t quite sound like The Beatles when they recorded “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in 1966-67, but the results were nothing short of fantastic.

It’s hard not to be hyperbolic when speaking of it, but that verbiage fits the record Rolling Stone named the greatest of all time.

This is an album that was groundbreaking on countless levels. Though the songs don’t all tie into the concept fully as originally planned, this was the first successful attempt at a “concept record” that so many artists try to emulate today.

By the time “Sgt. Pepper” was recorded, the Fab Four’s musical tastes had expanded, leading to wide-ranging appearances from the sitar (“Within You Without You”), tamboura (“Getting Better”), grand piano (“A Day In The Life”) and the Lowrey organ (“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”).

The three-track run after the title-track intro of “With A Little Help From My Friends,” “Lucy in the Sky” and “Getting Better” create a fantastic short sequence of music. “Friends” is powered by Ringo Starr’s starring vocal turn;
“Lucy” is a sonic dream that changes directions so much that the LSD tag must be true; and “Better” is a pop treat in the midst of all the psychedelic mania.

But if there’s one song that defines this album, it has to be the epic closer, “A Day In The Life.” Personified by the contrast between Lennon’s and McCartney’s verses, “Life” is both beautiful and haunting.

“Sgt. Pepper” is a psychedelic hot mess of amazing. “Please Please Me” and “With The Beatles” were made by teen idols. This is an album made by musicians.