The album has six songs, some of which were new, others had already been released before. Yellow Submarine was in Revolver of 1966, and All You Need Is Love had been a single in the United Kingdom and in Magical Mystery Tour in the United States. The rest are versions of the film's soundtrack, arranged by George Martin.
The recording was a bit odd. George Harrison wrote Only a Northern Song in 1967, but it was rejected for Sgt. Pepper. The band re-recorded it later, with more sounds, like trumpets and glockenspiel. The lyrics reflected his frustration at being just a hired composer. Other tracks, like It’s All Too Much, used guitar effects and references to other songs. The album wasn't seen as something important by the boys, but it reached Top 5 on both sides of the Atlantic.