Ironically, few tried to achieve the sweeping, all-encompassing embrace of music as the Beatles did here. Pepper, there were no rules to follow - rock and pop bands could try anything, for better or worse. Macca conceptualized the song while arriving home from Kenya during a time when the Beatles took a brief break from recording music and indeed even being together. It's possible to argue that there are better Beatles albums, yet no album is as historically important as this. This song was written by Paul McCartney, though it is also credited to both him and John Lennon as Lennon-McCartney. "With a Little Help From My Friends" is the ideal Ringo tune, a rolling, friendly pop song that hides genuine Lennon anguish, à la "Help!" "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" remains one of the touchstones of British psychedelia and he's the mastermind behind the bulk of "A Day in the Life," a haunting number that skillfully blends Lennon's verse and chorus with McCartney's bridge. In comparison, Lennon's contributions seem fewer, and a couple of them are a little slight but his major statements are stunning. He dominates the album in terms of compositions, setting the tone for the album with his unabashed melodicism and deviously clever arrangements. Not once does the diversity seem forced - the genius of the record is how the vaudevillian "When I'm 64" seems like a logical extension of "Within You Without You" and how it provides a gateway to the chiming guitars of "Lovely Rita." There's no discounting the individual contributions of each member or their producer, George Martin, but the preponderance of whimsy and self-conscious art gives the impression that Paul McCartney is the leader of the Lonely Hearts Club Band. Performed by The Bee Gees, Peter Frampton, Frankie Howerd, Sandy Farina, Paul Nicholas, Peter Allen, Keith Allison, George Benson, Elvin Bishop, Stephen Bishop, Jack Bruce, Keith Carradine, Carol. (Finale) Music and Lyrics by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Pepper, in many ways, refines that breakthrough, as the Beatles consciously synthesized such disparate influences as psychedelia, art-song, classical music, rock & roll, and music hall, often in the course of one song. By Arrangement with Northern Songs Limited. With Revolver, the Beatles made the Great Leap Forward, reaching a previously unheard-of level of sophistication and fearless experimentation.
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