If being a critic were the same as being a listener I could just enjoy "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Other than one cut which I detest ("Good Morning, Good Morning"), I find the album better than 80 per cent of the music around today; it is the other 20 per cent (including the best of the Beatles' past performances) which worries me as a critic….

When the Beatles' work as a whole is viewed in retrospect, it will be "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" which stand as their major contributions. When the slicks and tricks of production on this album no longer seem unusual, and the compositions are stripped to their musical and lyrical essentials, "Sergeant Pepper" will be Beatles baroque—an elaboration without improvement.

I find it easíer to explain that statement by comparing a song like "She's Leaving Home" with "Eleanor Rigby" because while the musical...