SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND

Sgt Pepper another album with textures with many songs with non-standard rock backings like "A Day in the Life", and "Within You Without You" for example. Is it a concept album? I would say it is in terms of how it's structured. The structure is different than Frank Zappa Freak Out with it songs being linked or cross-faded with a reappearance of introductory theme of Sgt Pepper with it's reprise in the end. Songs like "Being for the Benefit of Mr.Kite" which could be a cousin of "Tomorrow Never Knows" could only be created with the studio in mind

The title track starts with an extended fade- in much like the start of Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon. It fuses hard rock with four French horns and then it is cross-faded into "With A Little Help From My Friends" with crowd noises.

"Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" has a rhythmic alternation of 3/4 and 4/4 meter and it's use of tambora drone on the verse. The song has three distinct sections with parts going from a slow psychedelic section and then to a rocking section. The guitar colors also change from a slide guitar which doubles the vocal to the next section guitar through a Leslie speaker

On "Fixing a Hole" one of many Beatles songs where the verse and the bridge are in different styles with it's verse jazzy and on it's bridge very much pop-rock styled.

"She's Leaving Home" a song like "Eleanor Rigby" that has no standard rock instruments but just strings and with counterpoint harmonies at times.

"Being for the Benefit of Mr.Kite", Like "Tomorrow Never Knows," the Beatles with the help with Martin on this track create a layer of sound that was only possible to create in the recording studio. Tapes of calliopes were chopped into pieces and stitched back together at random, creating a collage of sound that not only sounds like circus but it's about as avant-garde as anything in rock music. As with other prior Beatles songs "We Can Work It Out" it goes from 4/4 on the verse and then switched to 3/4 on the bridge.

"Within You Without You", One of George Harrison full excursions to Classical Indian music with it's fusing of pop music and psychedelic rock. The textures are a mix between Indian instruments and western strings . It's in three three large section and is in 5/4 time.

"Lovely Rita" one of the more pop sounding songs on the album has nice vocal harmonies and as well as blowing on combs covered with toilet papers to produce kazoo-like tones "Good Morning Good Morning" is characterized by it's highly irregular meter combinations. The song starts with a sound of a rooster then followed by followed by a horn section that dominates the song. Paul McCartney contributes with a highly distorted raga-influenced guitar solo. On the fade-out it has a collage of animal sound that finally connects to the Sgt Pepper Reprise.

Sgt Pepper Reprise is a reappearance of introductory theme of Sgt Pepper and then is cross-faded with crowd applause into "A Day in the Life.

"A Day In the Life" which maybe is the first progressive rock song with it's avant garde orchestra in the background and unconventional breaks in the song and ending with a 40 second sustained piano chord.

Then the album ends with a message looped backward and forwards. A strange ending on a great album a trend they would continue on Abbey Road.

In the end the album songwriting might not be the Beatles best, But in terms of integrating sounds, instruments, recording techniques and odd time signatures in creating sounds not normally associated with pop and rock music this is the album to start with. It that aspect it goes beyond Pet Sound and Revolver.