Three ridiculously good 1960s albums some people just do not understand

The Beatles - Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 

Speaking of which, here’s that very album. It’s undoubtedly a classic. One of those seminal albums that changed music and significantly influenced many other artists. 

Consider the musical development from the early beat pop style songs from the Fab Four through to this diverse range of stunning tracks. It’s hard to believe there were just a few years between their first album Please, Please Me in 1963 and this in 1967. Sgt Pepper was their eighth studio album in those four years. That's amazingly prolific, especially when you consider the exceptional quality of their music throughout. 

There are so many well-known and loved tracks on this album that it feels unfair to call any out individually. In terms of that diverse range and the evolution of the band, there are some great examples worth mentioning. The title track and its later reprise with a fusion of orchestration and rock and the way it sets the scene for the concept of the album is quite unique.

“Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds” is another with a very new style of lyrics and music for the group. “Within You, Without You” is another great fusion, this time from George Harrison bringing Hindustani influences and marking possibly the biggest change from the band’s origins.

Once again though the album has those critics who can't see what all the fuss is about. Their views suggest the songs are below par. Some reckon there is a sag in the middle section of the album, the quality of music becoming dull and tedious at that stage. Others just can't take to the whimsical nature of some tracks and lyrics, others find the eastern influences on the music a distraction. Even the iconic cover art comes in for criticism as “a lurid mess of a front cover” in this terse and hard-hitting Guardian review. It's such a different album and advancement from their earlier songs that perhaps people sadly still find that hard to adapt to.