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(More customer reviews)The Beatles, as it has been said too many times to count, really hit their stride in the late '60s. Especially in 1966-1967, when they put out three classic albums: Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and this right here. Probably the trippiest, weirdest, looniest album that the group ever put out. Maybe it's not as good as its monumental predecessors, but who cares?
There are a couple songs that are hit-or-miss for me, though. If I'm in the right mood, I can really dig the bizarre, psychedelic-Eastern ramblings of Harrison's "Blue Jay Way", but when I'm not in said mood they me cold. "Flying" is pleasant, but not much else.
And then there are nine other songs that pretty much all vie for my favorite on this album. Some are famous, some aren't. Everyone knows "All You Need is Love", that wonderful hippy anthem, with 7/4-4/4 time changes; the slightly dippy but amazingly infectious "Hello Goodbye", and Paul's pop triumph "Penny Lane". Those are all amazing, and there's more! "I Am the Walrus" might be the strangest song ever recorded by a famous band. The lyrics are nonsense on purpose, the backing track often borders on avant-garde, its fade is accompanied by excerpts from a radio broadcast of "King Lear", and the song is actually three unfinished tunes put together. One of my favorite Beatles tracks, precisely because it's so far out there. Is anyone surprised that this one was John's? He also wrote the well-known "Strawberry Fields Forever", a beautiful psychedelic ballad that may or may not be about acid. Of course, John always denied it, but you can definitely hear the drug influence in the lyrics. And the coda, a psychedelic whirlwind, is amazing. And I love pretty much every element of "Baby You're a Rich Man" - the chorus, the melody, the traded vocals in the verses, and that little psychedelic noise that runs throughout the tune. I don't know what that thing is, but it makes the song.
That's not to discount the two opening songs, of course. The "see-the-show!" title track might not be as good as the previous albums "see-the-show!" title track, but it's fun, and it has this great part near the end when it slows down and the melody is carried by phased vocals. And while "Penny Lane" is one of Paul's better light-hearted ballads, "The Fool on the Hill" is one of his best depressing ballads.
This is one of the Beatles' more underappreciated records, probably because half of it was the soundtrack to a universally panned movie of the same name which I've never seen, and half was a collection of singles. I see it's getting more recognition these days, and I'm glad for it, because it's one of the Beatles' greatest albums.
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