Howard Sounes: "The sun seemed to shine every day during the summer of 1966; English music and youth style was applauded; the England soccer team won the World Cup; and the Beatles' Revolver was the soundtrack album of the season." Critical reception In their joint review of Revolver for Record Mirror, Peter Jones and Richard Green both praised the song and McCartney's vocal, with Jones adding: "Reminds me somehow, structurally, of some of the Spoonful stuff ... Paul's great. A voice with character, power – but also subtlety. Watch the fade-finish." Writing in Crawdaddy!, Paul Williams commented, "The impact of the Lovin' Spoonful on British groups is excellent evidence of how alive rock 'n' roll is today; everyone learns from everyone else and the music just keeps getting better." Williams admired the lyrics and piano playing on "Good Day Sunshine", saying, "It grows on you like lichen, humble, unspectacular, but very lovable." "Good Day Sunshine" was one of the few songs that the Kinks' Ray Davies enthused about when invited to give a rundown of Revolver in Disc and Music Echo. Feeling that the album's experimental tone would alienate their fanbase, Davies said of the track: "This'll be a giant. It doesn't force itself on you, but it stands out like 'I'm Only Sleeping'. This is back to the real old Beatles." The song was much admired by American composer and orchestral conductor Leonard Bernstein. When presenting the CBS News documentary Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution in April 1967, Bernstein praised "Good Day Sunshine" for its rhythmic surprises and key changes, citing these as examples of why the Beatles' music was superior to most of their contemporaries' work. Ian MacDonald considered the track to be the band "at their effortless best" and especially admired McCartney's vocal and Martin's production. He described the song as "both blissfully simple and full of the free-spirited musical jesting with which The Beatles amazed classical critics". In his song review for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger says that it "radiates optimism and good vibes, even by the high standards the Beatles themselves set in those categories". He highlights the group's harmony singing as "some of their most uplifting", particularly over the fadeout, where the vocal effect suggests that "the good vibes ... will not end when the record does, but echo around the skies indefinitely". Mark Hertsgaard cites "Good Day Sunshine" as an example of how "one