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TheCellarTapes · 03-12-2009, 09:59 AM

The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
(1967)

Tracks

1 Magical Mystery Tour 2:51
2 The Fool on the Hill 3:00
3 Flying 2:16
4 Blue Jay Way 3:56
5 Your Mother Should Know 2:29
6 I Am the Walrus 4:37
7 Hello Goodbye 3:31
8 Strawberry Fields Forever 4:10
9 Penny Lane 3:03
10 Baby You're a Rich Man 3:03
11 All You Need Is Love 3:48

The Magical Mystery Tour started life as a six track EP showcasing the songs from the avant-garde film which shared the same name, the release soon morphed into a full blown eleven track album released for the US market. This album therefore is basically six songs from a film which not many people liked plus another five cuts which weren’t selected for the Sergeant Pepper release from the same year. So on paper it’s not looking good is it?

However The Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles, released in late 1967 on Capitol in America, is one of the finest albums by the band. It suffers undeniably as a result of the long shadow of 1967’s other Beatle release but as a stand alone album it really is tremendous.

The album starts with the title track; could this song be a contender as one of the best openers to an album from the decade? I think it’s up there. We then move on to the rather splendid McCartney composition, The Fool on The Hill, a song which features flutes..... enough said.

The next highlight from this album is track four, Blue Jay Way is a song written by George Harrison, and for me personally it’s his finest effort up to that date. It is also one of the few Beatle songs from the period which captures some of the feel of the 1967 British underground Psychedelic scene, although it would still feel pretty out of place on Piper at The Gates

Track Six is of course I Am the Walrus, a song which now probably deserves a review of its own; needless to say it is of course John Lennon at his best. This song finishes off the songs which featured on the ill-fated film. But for those lucky folks in America, this album is just getting started.

Side two starts off with Hello Goodbye, a typical McCartney pop song. Track nine is also your typical McCartney effort; Penny Lane is nice on the ears and is of course harmless.

The flip side to the original Penny Lane double A side single was actually track eight from the Magical Mystery Tour LP; Strawberry Fields Forever for me is the much stronger out of the two songs. In essence the song is rather simple yet has had some marvellous production work going into it, a beautiful song, which once crossed with producer George Martin, was always going to be something special.

The album ends with the anthem; All You Need is Love, it also pretty much marks the end of 1967; a fine year where anything artistic was possible, even two wonderful albums from The Beatles. You’re more then welcome to debate the merits of the Magical Mystery Tour film, for me I think it has its moments. But when it comes to the Magical Mystery Tour album, there really is no doubt, this album is immense and thankfully after 1976, is now available in the UK as well.

03-12-2009, 09:59 AM	#63 (permalink)
TheCellarTapes Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 490	The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour *(1967)* Tracks 1 Magical Mystery Tour 2:51 2 The Fool on the Hill 3:00 3 Flying 2:16 4 Blue Jay Way 3:56 5 Your Mother Should Know 2:29 6 I Am the Walrus 4:37 7 Hello Goodbye 3:31 8 Strawberry Fields Forever 4:10 9 Penny Lane 3:03 10 Baby You're a Rich Man 3:03 11 All You Need Is Love 3:48 The Magical Mystery Tour started life as a six track EP showcasing the songs from the avant-garde film which shared the same name, the release soon morphed into a full blown eleven track album released for the US market. This album therefore is basically six songs from a film which not many people liked plus another five cuts which weren’t selected for the Sergeant Pepper release from the same year. So on paper it’s not looking good is it? However The Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles, released in late 1967 on Capitol in America, is one of the finest albums by the band. It suffers undeniably as a result of the long shadow of 1967’s other Beatle release but as a stand alone album it really is tremendous. The album starts with the title track; could this song be a contender as one of the best openers to an album from the decade? I think it’s up there. We then move on to the rather splendid McCartney composition, The Fool on The Hill, a song which features flutes..... enough said. The next highlight from this album is track four, Blue Jay Way is a song written by George Harrison, and for me personally it’s his finest effort up to that date. It is also one of the few Beatle songs from the period which captures some of the feel of the 1967 British underground Psychedelic scene, although it would still feel pretty out of place on Piper at The Gates Track Six is of course I Am the Walrus, a song which now probably deserves a review of its own; needless to say it is of course John Lennon at his best. This song finishes off the songs which featured on the ill-fated film. But for those lucky folks in America, this album is just getting started. Side two starts off with Hello Goodbye, a typical McCartney pop song. Track nine is also your typical McCartney effort; Penny Lane is nice on the ears and is of course harmless. The flip side to the original Penny Lane double A side single was actually track eight from the Magical Mystery Tour LP; Strawberry Fields Forever for me is the much stronger out of the two songs. In essence the song is rather simple yet has had some marvellous production work going into it, a beautiful song, which once crossed with producer George Martin, was always going to be something special. The album ends with the anthem; All You Need is Love, it also pretty much marks the end of 1967; a fine year where anything artistic was possible, even two wonderful albums from The Beatles. You’re more then welcome to debate the merits of the Magical Mystery Tour film, for me I think it has its moments. But when it comes to the Magical Mystery Tour album, there really is no doubt, this album is immense and thankfully after 1976, is now available in the UK as well.