It's impossible to universally agree that any one album is the greatest in history, but the closest we've come is Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles' iconic release that has resonated with both its music and art. Numerous publications have named the band's 1967 album as the singular best record ever put to wax (many make the same argument for Revolver as well). One person familiar with the scene disagrees. Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards defied conventional expectations this week, describing Pepper's as "rubbish."
"The Beatles sounded great when they were the Beatles," he said. "But there's not a lot of roots in that music. I think they got carried away. Why not? If you're the Beatles in the '60s, you just get carried away-you forget what it is you wanted to do. You're starting to do Sgt. Pepper. Some people think it's a genius album, but I think it's a mishmash of rubbish, kind of like Satanic Majesties -'Oh, if you can make a load of sh*t, so can we.'"
Richards was referring to his own band's album, which has gotten far less praise than the parallel effort from The Beatles (although we know people who have high praise for the Stones effort as well).
We can't say we agree with Richards' findings on the matter, but both bands followed up with masterful releases. The Beatles released its self-titled album the next year (better known as "The White Album") while the Stones moved on to Beggar's Banquet. The Beatles arguably reached its peak with Sgt. Pepper's while The Stones had yet to enter its greatest critical era as of 1967-after Banquet came the equally acclaimed Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street.
Richards will release his first solo album in more than 20 years, Crosseyed Heart, in September and, if the past is any indication, it won't be better than Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
