by Paul Schingle

Created on: April 18, 2010

It's very easy to divide the Beatles career into two parts-the early stuff and the later stuff.  And, while some people are just Beatles fans and like all of their music, there are some who are adamant that one era of the Beatles is better or more important than the other.  I happen to lean on the idea that the Beatles later stuff was better, more original and more important than their earlier (la, la, la, yeah, yeah, yeah) stuff.  No matter which is your preference, most would agree that "Sergeant Pepper's" was the turning point album.

Released in 1967, "Sergeant Pepper" began to really experiment with "stereophonic" sound.  And, as "Sergeant Pepper" changed the Beatles forever, the year 1967 changed music, in general, forever.  If you read the back of the Doors' debut album, the liner notes state, and I agree, that 1967 produced three landmark albums that changed recorded music for all time.  The three albums were the Doors' debut (of course), Jefferson Airplane's "Surrealistic Pillow" and the Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper" album.  These were among the first albums to use four- and eight-track recording, for a fuller, truer stereo sound.  (This would seem like ancient technology today, when bands will use 64-track recording just to lay down the drum tracks).  So, if nothing else, the Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper" album was a forerunner to higher quality music for everyone.

Even the song selection was a step up from their previous efforts.  Yes, Paul McCartney still wrote very poppy and catchy stuff such as the title track, "A Little Help from my Friends," (as sung by Ringo) and "Lovely Rita."  But, you can see John Lennon stretching his imagination and starting to spread his wings with psychedelic, dark and, yes, more meaninngful material such as "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Good Morning," and (one of the Beatles' best songs ever) "A Day in the Life."  Even George Harrison's one contribution, "Within You, Without You," was more experimental and an attempt at something more unique than anything he'd ever tried before.

There are some who would say that "Sergeant Pepper" was one of rock's first "concept" albums.  Depending on how you define the term, this may or may not be true.  When I think of a concept album, I think of a set of songs strung together that try to tell one story.  I don't think "Sergeant Pepper" necessarily does that.  But, if you look at the cover art and the fact that they printed the lyrics to the songs out and some of the other experimental things they did, you could call this a "concept" album in that they are asking the listener/buyer to do more than just listen to the songs.  The cover art and the themes are as much a part of the album as the songs are.  This album is to be taken in as one piece of art, if you will.  If you want to define "concept" album in that way, then "Sergeant Pepper" is, in fact, a "concept" album.

"Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" may not be the best album the Beatles ever did, but it is the one album that propelled them from pop star musicians into heavyweight, meaningful singer/songwriter/musicians.  This is the album that launched the "second half" of the Beatles career.

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