John Lennon Compared This Beatles Album to “The Mature Part of a Relationship”

If the earliest days of Beatlemania were the puppy love, head-over-heels phase of the Fab Four’s relationship with one another, then John Lennon considers this later Beatles album as “the mature part” of the band’s bond. Ironically, the album is also one of the Beatles’ most whimsical and impersonal.

Lennon’s opinion on this iconic album fluctuated in the years following its release. Depending on his mood, the day, or otherwise, the late musician would lament the record’s pitfalls or boast its many strengths and lasting influence.

This multifaceted perspective, we suppose, is not all that different from how someone might treat someone with whom they’ve been in a relationship for a long time.

The Beatles Album John Lennon Called “The Mature” One

In All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, David Sheff spoke to the late ex-Beatle and his wife about nearly every aspect of Lennon’s time in the Fab Four. From individual songs to overarching themes of their career, Lennon revealed his true thoughts about his band’s legacy, even likening its many phases to a romantic relationship.

As the Beatles’ career continued to evolve from their early Beatlemania days, Lennon recalled, “We were different; we were older; we knew each other on all kinds of levels that we didn’t when we were teenagers. The early stuff—the “Hard Day’s Night” period, I call it—was the sexual equivalent of the beginning hysteria of a relationship. And the “Sgt. Pepper-Abbey Road” period was the mature part of the relationship.”

With its heavy use of theatrics and experimentation, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band certainly marked a distinct change in the Beatles’ trajectory. In a different interview, Lennon said this transition was non-negotiable for the band’s success.

“Sgt. Pepper is one of the most important steps in our career. It had to be just right. We tried, and I think, succeeded in achieving what we set out to do. If we hadn’t, then it wouldn’t be out now.”

Paul McCartney Might Have Contributed To The Sour Taste

John Lennon might have been willing to admit to Dave Sheff that Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band marked a musical and personal maturation amongst the band, but that doesn’t mean he was a diehard fan of the record—only that he was aware of its importance. Given Paul McCartney’s large role in the birth and execution of the album, it’s unsurprising that Lennon would have mixed, even bitter, feelings about the record.

When Sheff asked about the creative influence behind Sgt. Pepper, Lennon said the record was Paul’s. “As I read the other day, he said in one of his “fanzine” interviews that he was trying to put some distance between the Beatles and the public. That’s the same thing he did by writing “he loves you” instead of “I love you.” That’s just his way of working. Sgt. Pepper is called the first concept album, but it doesn’t go anywhere.”

Nevertheless, Lennon told Sheff, “I do like Pepper for what it is. I like “the white album” for what that is, and I like Revolver, and I like Rubber Soul. So, there aren’t many others, are there?”

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