Beatles album of the week: Magical Mystery Tour

[AKA]

On November 27, 1967, the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour album was released in the United States. Its UK counterpart was merely an EP containing the six songs heard here on side one, while the U.S. version added singles and b-sides released earlier in the year. It was for this reason that the three then-remaining Beatles decided in 1987 to deem the U.S. version of Magical Mystery Tour the "official" incarnation, making it the sole exception to our "British versions are always better" rule.

Magical Mystery Tour contained eleven tracks:

Side One:
Magical Mystery Tour (Lennon/McCartney)
The Fool On The Hill (Lennon/McCartney)
Flying (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey)
Blue Jay Way (Harrison)
Your Mother Should Know (Lennon/McCartney)
I Am The Walrus (Lennon/McCartney)

Side Two:
Hello, Goodbye (Lennon/McCartney)
Strawberry Fields Forever (Lennon/McCartney)
Penny Lane (Lennon/McCartney)
Baby, You're A Rich Man (Lennon/McCartney)
All You Need Is Love (Lennon/McCartney)

Magical Mystery Tour's first side consists of songs from the TV movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061937/) of the same name. These songs were also presented on the UK Magical Mystery Tour EP, in a slightly different running order.

Side two of Magical Mystery Tour consists of previously released tracks. These songs, however, were previously single-only releases and are presented here on an album for the first time. The "Hello, Goodbye" single, with "I Am The Walrus" as its b-side, was released just days prior to Magical Mystery Tour, while "Strawberry Fields Forever," with "Penny Lane" as its b-side, had been released as a single in February. "Baby You're A Rich Man" was previously heard as the b-side to the single "All You Need Is Love," released in July.

Here's Riche Unterberger's review from the All Music Guide:

The U.S. version of the soundtrack for their ill-fated British television special embellished the six songs that were found on the British Magical Mystery Tour double EP with five other cuts from their 1967 singles. (The CD version of the record has now been standardized worldwide as the 11 tracks found on the American version.) The psychedelic sound is very much in the vein of Sgt. Pepper, and even spacier in parts (especially the sound collages of "I Am the Walrus"). Unlike Sgt. Pepper, there's no vague overall conceptual/thematic unity to the material, which has made Magical Mystery Tour suffer slightly in comparison. Still, the music is mostly great, and "Penny Lane," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "All You Need Is Love," and "Hello Goodbye" were all huge, glorious, and innovative singles. The ballad "The Fool on the Hill," though only a part of the Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack, is also one of the most popular Beatle tunes from the era.

Previous albums:
Please Please Me (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?threadid=100547) (1963)
With The Beatles (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?threadid=101481) (1963)
A Hard Day's Night (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?threadid=102404) (1964)
Beatles For Sale (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102919) (1964)
Help! (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=103610) (1965)
Past Masters Volume One (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=104326) (1988)
Rubber Soul (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=105066) (1965)
Revolver (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=105824) (1966)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=106820) (1967)

See also:
Yellow Submarine (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=107978) (1969)
The Beatles (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=108635) (1968)
Let It Be (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=109387) (1970)
Past Masters Volume Two (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=110082) (1988)
Abbey Road (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=110655) (1969)

Beatle Facts (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&postid=1686371)

[AKA]

The UK Magical Mystery Tour EP (released December 8, 1967):

Side A:
Magical Mystery Tour (Lennon/McCartney)
Your Mother Should Know (Lennon/McCartney)

Side B:
I Am The Walrus (Lennon/McCartney)

Side C:
The Fool On The Hill (Lennon/McCartney)
Flying (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey)

Side D:
Blue Jay Way (Harrison)

[dandelion wine]

"All You Need Is Love"

[Lady T]

Strawberry Fields Forever (One of my favorite songs)....

[AKA]

The cover of a very used "Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane" single (released February 17, 1967):

[AKA]

Alternate versions of songs from Magical Mystery Tour:

Beatles:
"The Fool On The Hill"
-Demo version, 1967 - The Beatles Anthology 2
-Take 4, 1967 - The Beatles Anthology 2

"Your Mother Should Know"
-Take 27 - The Beatles Anthology 2

"I Am The Walrus"
-Take 16 - The Beatles Anthology 2

"Hello, Goodbye"
-Take 16 - The Beatles Anthology 2

"Strawberry Fields Forever"
-Home demo by John Lennon, 1966 - The Beatles Anthology 2
-Take 1, 1966 - The Beatles Anthology 2
-Take 7 & Edit Piece, 1966 - The Beatles Anthology 2

"Penny Lane"
-Edit of different studio takes, 1966-1967 - The Beatles Anthology 2

"Baby, You're A Rich Man"
-1999 remix - Yellow Submarine Songtrack

"All You Need Is Love"
-1999 remix - Yellow Submarine Songtrack

Solo:
"Magical Mystery Tour"
-Live; Sydney, 1993 - Paul McCartney - Paul Is Live

"The Fool On The Hill"
-Live; venue unknown, 2002 - Paul McCartney - Back In The U.S., Back In The World

"Hello, Goodbye"
-Live; venue unknown, 2002 - Paul McCartney - Back In The U.S., Back In The World

"Penny Lane"
-Live; Boulder, CO, 1993 - Paul McCartney - Paul Is Live

"All You Need Is Love"
-Live; House Of Windsor, 2002 - Paul McCartney, Joe Cocker and Rod Stewart - Party At The Palace: The Queen's Jubilee Concert

[Jrnygrl]

"All You Need Is Love." I also love "Fool On The Hill," there is a great video of this song.

[Central Perk]

Penny Lane.

[Dean Winchester]

once again, not a very big Beatles fan (I just am not a very big 60's fan, I prefer the solo stuff to the bulk of the Beatles), but this album, along with Sgt. Pepper are the two I really like..

I Am The Walrus definately, not a bad song on the second side either.

[Penny Lane]

Your Mother Should Know

[sara]

By Penny Lane: Your Mother Should Know
I was sure you would've picked Penny Lane
AKA, these polls keep getting thougher.

[Penny Lane]

Originally posted by sara
I was sure you would've picked Penny Lane
AKA, these polls keep getting thougher.

Oh I love that one too! But there are other songs that I like better!:lol:

[jamier42]

1. Hello, Goodbye
2. Strawberry Fields Forever
3. Penny Lane
4. All You Need Is Love

[Steve M.]

I chose "The Fool On the Hill." It's a great ballad that John Lennon said was proof the Paul can write good lyrics "if's he's a good boy."

:lol:

[Steve M.]

Originally posted by AKA
On November 27, 1967, the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour album was released in the United States. Its UK counterpart was merely an EP containing the six songs heard here on side one, while the U.S. version added singles and b-sides released earlier in the year. It was for this reason that the three then-remaining Beatles decided in 1987 to deem the U.S. version of Magical Mystery Tour the "official" incarnation, making it the sole exception to our "British versions are always better" rule.

Making an album of the Magical Mystery Tour songs and the Beatles's other 1967 non-Pepper song releases proved to be a rather astute decision on Cpatiol's part, as it eliminated the need of future fans to be three singles and two EP's (and get "I Am The Walrus" twice) and instead buy a single LP with all these songs on it. In short, it simplified matters considerably. A Magical Mystery Tour album (with a different cover) was issued in Germany, and Parlophone issued the Capitol version in 1976 to satisfy public demand. The LP would become the global standard, as recording formats developed in the seventies and eighties - cassettes, CD's - favored long play recordings.

Truth be told, the Magical Mystery Tour LP holds up better than the double EP in part because it has five strong songs from the 1967 singles to support it. :)

[Steve M.]

Various Magical Mystery Tour covers:

"The Fool On the Hill" - Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66

"I Am the Walrus" - Jim Carrey (Hey, why not? :lol: )

[Steve M.]

"Magical Mystery Tour" Fun Facts

The airstrip where the "I Am the Walrus" sequence of the film was shot is an upscale housing development now.

"Flying" was the Beatles' first instrumental on an EMI record, and it was the first composition credited to all four Beatles.

A second instrumental for the movie - "Shirley's Wild Accordion" was recorded and produced by John Lennon during the Mystery Tour sessions but left off the album.

Beatles assistant Mal Evans appeared with the Beatles in the film as one of the five magicians.

The murmuring in the background of "I Am the Walrus" was from a BBC Radio 3 production of King Lear, with Sir John Gielgud in the title role. The dialogue was from Act IV, Scene 6, in which Edgar, the good son of the deposed and blinded Earl of Gloucester, slays the villanous messenger Oswald in a duel.

Oswald. Slave, thou hast slain me. . . . Villain, bury my body, and give the letters which thou findst about me to Edmund, Earl of Gloucester. Seek him out upon the English party. O, untimely death! Death!

(He dies.)

Edgar. I know thee well. A serviceable villain. As duteous to the vices of thy mistress as badness would desire.

Gloucester. What, is he dead?

Edgar. Sit you down, father; rest you.

[AKA]

Originally posted by Steve M.
Making an album of the Magical Mystery Tour songs and the Beatles's other 1967 non-Pepper song releases proved to be a rather astute decision on Cpatiol's part, as it eliminated the need of future fans to be three singles and two EP's (and get "I Am The Walrus" twice) and instead by a single LP with all these songs on it. In short, it simplified matters considerably. A Magical Mystery Tour album (with a different cover) was issued in Germany, and Parlophone issued the Cpaitol version in 1976 to satisfy public demand. The LP would become the global standard, as recording formats developed in the seventies and eighties - cassettes, CD's - favored long play recordings.

Truth be told, the Magical Mystery Tour LP holds up better than the double EP in part because it has five strong songs from the 1967 singles to support it. :)

I wholeheartedly agree, Steve. Standardizing the U.S. Magical Mystery Tour, along with creating the two Past Masters comps was a logical thing to do.

On a side note, the UK Magical Mystery Tour was, in fact, released on CD. It's part of the 1992 EP Collection (which, in my opinion, boasts the best sound of any official Beatles CD release).

[Steve M.]

One other thing - another reason the Capitol-concocted Magical Mystery Tour holds up well is because it features only songs from 1967, all recorded during the Beatles's psychedelic phase, so the singles and the EP tracks all sound like they belong together. On a previous Capitol repackage like Yesterday and Today, there's no rhyme or reason as to why a hodgepodge of songs from Help! and Rubber Soul, from 1965, and Revolver, from 1966, are on the same LP together. Why would "Doctor Robert" and a cover of "Act Naturally," with "Yesterday" sandwiched between them, share space on a record? :confused: :rolleyes:

[Pitooey]

Penny Lane! :)

[AKA]

Speaking of EPs, here is the Beatles' UK EP discography:

Twist And Shout (July 12, 1963)
"Twist And Shout"/"A Taste Of Honey"/"Do You Want To Know A Secret"/"There's A Place"

The Beatles' Hits (September 6, 1963)
"From Me To You"/"Thank You Girl"/"Please Please Me"/"Love Me Do"

The Beatles No. 1 (November 1, 1963)
"I Saw Her Standing There"/"Misery"/"Anna (Go To Him)"/"Chains"

All My Loving (February 7, 1964)
"All My Loving"/"Ask Me Why"/"Money"/"P.S. I Love You"

Long Tall Sally (June 19, 1964)
"Long Tall Sally"/"I Call Your Name"/"Slow Down"/"Matchbox"

Extracts From The Film A Hard Day's Night (November 4, 1964)
"I Should Have Known Better"/"If I Fell"/"Ask Me Why"/"And I Love Her"

Extracts From The Album A Hard Day's Night (November 6, 1964)
"Any Time At All"/"I'll Cry Instead"/"Things We Said Today"/"When I Get Home"

Beatles For Sale (April 6, 1965)
"No Reply"/"I'm A Loser"/"Rock And Roll Music"/"Eight Days A Week"

Beatles For Sale No. 2 (June 4, 1965)
"I'll Follow The Sun"/"Baby's In Black"/"Words Of Love"/"I Don't Want To Spoil The Party"

The Beatles' Million Sellers (December 6, 1965)
"She Loves You"/"I Want To Hold Your Hand"/"Can't Buy Me Love"/"I Feel Fine"

Yesterday (March 4, 1966)
"Yesterday"/"Act Naturally"/"You Like Me Too Much"/"It's Only Love"

Nowhere Man (July 8, 1966)
"Nowhere Man"/"Drive My Car"/"Michelle"/"You Won't See Me"

Magical Mystery Tour (December 8, 1967)
"Magical Mystery Tour"/"Your Mother Should Know"/"I Am The Walrus"/"The Fool On The Hill"/"Flying"/"Blue Jay Way"

Baby It's You (March 20, 1995)
"Baby It's You"/"I'll Follow The Sun"/"Devil In Her Heart"/"Boys"
All tracks recorded live for BBC radio broadcasts

Free As A Bird (December 12, 1995)
"Free As A Bird"/"I Saw Her Standing There" (take 9)/"This Boy" (takes 12 and 13)/"Christmas Time (Is Here Again)"

Real Love (March 5, 1996)
"Real Love"/"Baby's In Black" (live)/"Yellow Submarine" (alternate version)/"Here, There And Everywhere" (takes 7 and 13)

Pictured below: The EP Collection (released 1992)

[Shine]

"I Am The Walrus"

[Steve M.]

Originally posted by AKA
Long Tall Sally (June 19, 1964)
"Long Tall Sally"/"I Call Your Name"/"Slow Down"/"Matchbox"

I bought this EP, on vinyl, long ago. :) I bought it even though I had all the songs on it, because I wanted at least one example of an extended play record in my collection. Then, somehow it got cracked. :(

Derek Taylor's sleeve notes suggest that you could dip it in gold and give it to your grandchildren. Since I switched to cassettes and compact discs, I could do that.

Long Tall Sally was both the Beatles' fifth EP in Britain and their first EP of otherwise unavailable material. Every song was a cover - even Lennon and McCartney's "I Call Your Name," which had already been recorded by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. So the Beatles, in effect, covered their own song. (Ironically, when the Mamas and the Papas covered "I Call Your Name," some American fans consdiered it sacrilege for them to cover a Beatles tune.) "I Call Your Name" appeared in America on The Beatles' Second Album.

Oh yeah, Capitol and Vee Jay both put out several Beatles EP's in the U.S., but they all tanked, and have long, long since been deleted.

[AKA]

Originally posted by Steve M.
Even Lennon and McCartney's "I Call Your Name"... had already been recorded by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. So the Beatles, in effect, covered their own song.

Same thing happened when the Beatles recorded "I Wanna Be Your Man," which was released after the Rolling Stones' version.

[AKA]

Watch your back next week, 'cause The Meanies are coming (in what is sure to be the slowest "Beatles album of the week" ever).

Stay tuned.

[musicradio77]

I forgot to tell you, I was listening to a WKBW documentry about his rumor, the album "Magical Mystery Tour" has a bunch of clues that appeared on the album. When I was playing "I Am the Walrus" backwards on my record player, I can hear the words "Ha, ha, Paul is dead! Ha, ha Paul is dead!" over and over again. I had another clue on this song "Strawberry Fields Forever", I played the ending of the song which they hear the words "I buried Paul". I played that one at 45 RPM speed. The album has more clues on Paul. I looked it carefully on albums. I thought it might be strange.

[Crapple]

"Strawberry Fields Forever."

Sometimes I even think MMT hangs together better than "Pepper."

[Penny Lane]

Originally posted by Pitooey
Penny Lane! :)

Oh Pitooey! Didn't know you cared!:lol: ;)

[laceyinthesky]

I chose "Magical Mystery Tour."

[MaryElizabeth]

"Baby, You're a Rich Man"

[laceyinthesky]

This time I chose "All You Need Is Love."