Magical Mystery Tour

Originally released as a double EP in the UK, the first side of this stateside release, to tie in with a movie made for British television while the second side was made of tracks culled from singles releases. I had this on vinyl for many years until I spared it for one of the book sales that my library had by the turn of the century and I'm lucky to have this on vinyl once again even though I purchased a CD copy of it once the 2009 remasters became available. The Capitol label is still the same but what's different about this copy is that it's packaged in a double album state meaning having the record in one end and the booklet in the other instead of it being in the center of the gatefold like the former copy plus the fact this is an entire stereo remaster[My former copy had the last two songs-"Baby,You're A Rich Man" and "All You Need Is Love" in duophonic(fake stereo)mixes with longer fade-outs. Meaning you can actually hear "Greensleeves" a second time in the fade out before it cut off on the groove! The mono version might have it if you prefer those mixes]. Although the movie didn't quite win over the fans, the music was the main thing about it all[Namely side one!]. I mean where else do you see a video of "I Am The Walrus" before there was MTV? Plus there were videos the songs "Hello Goodbye", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane" and, of course, "All You Need Is Love"[originally premiered as a live broadcast on Our World from June 25, 1967 and later colorized for the Beatles Anthology mini-series]. Still this is a great Beatles album to have on vinyl or on CD. Whichever your preferred format, it's coming to take you away, take you today!

I bought this used and was a little worried at first but the vinyl came in perfect. There was a minor warping but nothing to make it skip or change the sound quality. I was born in 97 and as a child growing up this was the first Beatles soundtrack I found. I played a lot of travel team sports growing up and b4 bluetooth it was just whatever CD's you had or the radio. We did many trips and I'd always put this CD on. Every song on here is amazing and has a cool melancholy feeling. I never knew this was originally just a soundtrack for a movie and was turned later into an album which makes it even cooler. I play this vinyl through 4x5 first day I got it. Timeless hits and in my opinion my best Beatles soundtrack. The nostalgia from this album floods in and it never gets old. It comes with an awesome booklet as well.

Wonderful. It’s the Beatles.

First off, "Magical Mystery Tour" isn't a real Beatles disc. As the British versions are the only true releases of the Beatles music, this album wasn't incorporated into their discography until contracts with EMI/Apple/Capitol were sorted out in 1976. The Beatles recorded six songs for their movie "Magical Mystery Tour" and released a EP (Extended Play) of just those songs in England. Capitol, the Beatles company in America, knew they were in a bind because Americans didn't buy EPs. As profilic as the Beatles were, they had several songs from the same period that they had not put on any album before. Capitol just filled the second side of "Magical Mystery Tour" with these songs. However, it's amazing to hear just what songs the Beatles had "lying" around.Some people called this "Sgt.Pepper Part II." That's an unfair assesment of this disc. While there is that psychedelia of that time heavy on this album (panning in the mix, vocal and extraneous sound effects, heavy EQing and period production)---"Magical Mystery Tour" has some songs on it that are better than "Pepper." From the opening ride on "Magical Mystery Tour" you know it's going to be special---from the opening cymbal crash it's a good feeling type of song. The reverbed vocals and the bus effects going from speaker to speaker are the highligh for me. "Fool on the Hill" is up next and it's McCartney with this oddly solemn song with really good words. Subtle flute playing highlight the song. "Flying" is a mostly instrumental song written by all the Fabs. Interesting and soothing, it's a pleasant and welcome distraction on this disc. "Blue Jay Way" has Harrison drearliy going on in this organ based song. While a bit redundant, it's always good to the hear the difference that Harrison brings to Beatle records. "Your Mother Should Know" is pure McCartney. Never one to shy away from the schmaltz, this is Paul's "When I'm 64" for "Magical Mystery Tour." While not as good as "64" it's still very enjoyable. "I am the Walrus" is the spotlight of this disc. Lennons' imagery in his lyrics have never suited his music better until now. Inspired by a New York City police siren, Lennon wrote a song that seemingly has each verse topping the previous, showing why he's rock premier songwriter. This song touches simply levels his contemporaries (Dylan, Jagger) can't come close to. Now we get to Capitol's makeshift side, starting with "Hello Goodbye." This is Paul's word-play fun, at it's most basic level. But because it's McCartney he backs it up with a super tune and a real good riff. "Strawberry Fields Forever" is another classic from Lennon and was done during the "Sgt Pepper" sessions. Again, strong lyrics from Lennon---more introspective than "Walrus" but no less impressive. Tremendous drumming, sound effects and excellent production (courtesy: George Martin) highlight the song as does the fade out/fade in at the end. "Penny Lane" is another left over cut from "Pepper" and it's really defined by Dave Mason's high piccolo trumpet playing. One could see the difference in the two writers from these 2 songs about places in their past. Lennon's take is more ominous and dark and McCartney's is cheerful and fun. Most people dismiss "Baby You're a Rich Man" as filler but I think it's one the most underrated cuts in Beatle history. Recorded in a day, this stumbling, shuffling song makes excellent use of the clavioline (synthesizer-like instrument) to make a very endearing song. "All You Need is Love" closes this satisfying set with really, the ode to the summer of love. Easily singable, really catchy and most of all, something you'd want to sing. But then again, it's what the Beatles do.

Brilliant just get it.

People put down the Magical Mystery Tour TV movie, though it has the excellent and equally psychedelic "I Am The Walrus" and "Blue Jay Way" video pieces. If you don't look at this as a concept album (which it isn't), it has marvelous Beatles songs in it. Isn't it interesting that this band is so talented, productive, influential, and important to history that Magic Mystery Tour is considered a lesser album in their discography?