Classic Album Reflection: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Artist: The Beatles

Album: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Released: 1967

Label: Capitol Records

Genre: Pop / Classic Rock

Purchase Date: 26 Oct 2010

Format: CD (used)

Source: Friends of the Library Book Sale

I picked up a handful of classic albums in October at the Friends of the Tompkins County Library Book Sale. I had previously owned these albums in some form or another, but for whatever reason, did not currently have them on CD or other electronic format. Instead of a review, I thought that I'd share some personal thoughts related to these albums. After all, what kind of a review could an amateur blogger with two followers write about Sgt. Pepper that hasn't already been said, better, by far more qualified people?

I picked up the Sgt. Pepper disc because I'd never had it on CD: I had an old LP and a well-worn cassette copy of that LP. I also had the mp3s, which had been ripped from CD by the employee who had been assigned my office computer before it was assigned to me. So, I'd never really been without this album.

I'm a Gen-Xer, so the music of the Beatles didn't permeate the zeitgeist like it did for the Boomers. I didn't wallow in the mud at Woodstock; I didn't tune in, turn on, or drop out for the Summer of Love; and I never dropped acid and went to a love-in. The '60s were long over before I had any awareness of them. But it was the music of the '60s that made me a music fan, and Sgt. Pepper was the gateway.

Growing up, no one in my family had much interest in contemporary music. At the time, my mom had a "I know what I like and I like what I know" relationship with music. She had about two dozen records that she liked to play: LPs by Dean Martin, Elvis, Ann Murray, Johnny Mathis, John Denver, and Crystal Gayle were frequently on the turntable. There were a few songs on the radio I liked, and I did buy a few '45s to play on my kid's record player. Of course, we only listed to my parents' radio stations, and my singles mostly reflected their taste. I remember getting singles of Glenn Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy," Mecco's disco version of "Star Wars," and Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans." But I was barely even aware of rock, and I didn't know what to make of it when I did hear it.

When I was 10, I won a copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in a radio contest. I remember dropping the needle onto the LP and being confused for a moment when all I heard was crowd noise and an orchestra tuning. But then, the music of "Sgt. Pepper" started. I remember being fascinated with the changes in style and mood of the record. I was entranced by "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," with the psychedelic imagery, distorted instruments, and tempo changes. It was the same with the rest of the album: the exotic "Within You Without You," the sort-of Big Band sound of "When I'm Sixty-Four," and the tragic wistfulness of "A Day In The Life," which I thought was a very strange way to end it.

I listened to this record over and over. This was the record that first got me really excited about listening to music, and so began my journey into music geekdom. No single album looms larger in my personal music history.

I still listen to Sgt. Pepper frequently. I continue to be amazed at how fresh this music sounds, more than 40 years after its publication. This is truly one for the ages.