The release of "Sgt. Pepper" coincided with a period when, with the advent of dedicated rock criticism, commentators sought to recognise artistry in pop music, particularly in the Beatles' work, and identify albums as refined artistic statements. In America, this approach had been heightened by the "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Penny Lane" single, and was also exemplified by Leonard Bernstein's television program "", broadcast by CBS in April 1967. Schaffner said that the consensus was aptly summed up by Tom Phillips in "The Village Voice", when he called the LP "the most ambitious and most successful record album ever issued". Among Britain's pop press, Peter Jones of "Record Mirror" said the album was "clever and brilliant, from raucous to poignant and back again", while "Disc and Music Echo"s reviewer called it "a beautiful and potent record, unique, clever, and stunning". In "The Times", William Mann described "Sgt. Pepper" as a "pop music master-class" and commented that, so considerable were its musical advances, "the only track that would have been conceivable in pop songs five years ago" was "With a Little Help from My Friends". Having been among the first British critics to fully appreciate "Revolver", Peter Clayton of "Gramophone" magazine said that the new album was "like nearly everything the Beatles do, bizarre, wonderful, perverse, beautiful, exciting, provocative, exasperating, compassionate and mocking". He found "plenty of electronic gimmickry on the record" before concluding: "but that isn't the heart of the thing. It's the combination of imagination, cheek and skill that make this such a rewarding LP." Wilfrid Mellers, in his review for "New Statesman", praised the album's elevation of pop music to the level of fine art, while Kenneth Tynan, "The Times" theatre critic, said it represented "a decisive moment in the history of Western civilisation".