November 27, 1967 - Magical Mystery Tour

A mere 6 months after the release of Sgt. Pepper's, the Beatles are at it again with "Magical Mystery Tour", a soundtrack to the film of the same name. In the U.K. the Soundtrack was released as an E.P., but in the U.S., a number of songs that were previously only singles were added to make a full-length record and it's this version that I have. The film was released to mixed reviews but the album performed much better and continues the psychedelic trajectory started on "Revolver".

Side 1 is the soundtrack to the film and begins with the title track, "Magical Mystery Tour", with lead vocals by Paul McCartney and background vocals from John Lennon. The film was about a bunch of normal people going on a musical drug-fueled bus ride, hence the tour "coming to take you away" as McCartney sings. It has a a good horns section. Similar to the title track for Sgt. Pepper's, this song is an intro to the rest of the album. McCartney stays on lead vocals with "The Fool On The Hill", a song about a solitary man who is called a fool, but is actually smart. It 8sndriven by flutes which I really like , and even recorder solos by McCartney. Track 3, "Flying" is a short instrumental track featuring lots of mellotron. It's also the first song by the Beatles to be credited to all four band members. It's a slow jam and has some oohing and ahhing in the second verse. George Harrison sings his lone song off the album, "Blue Jay Way", which is named after a street in Hollywood. Harrison had just flown from London to Los Angeles and was waiting for someone to meet him. He was very tired, and it was foggy and this person got lost on the way. It doesn't sound like much to go off of, but Harrison plays the Hammond organ and turns this odd incident into a psychedelic song, featuring drone-y organ and some excellent sounding cello. McCartney is on lead once again on Track 5, "Your Mother Should Know". It's a piano-led song about old hits that your mother would remember, and it aptly feels like one of those songs as well. Lennon sings his lone lead off of side 1, it's closer "I Am The Walrus". Lennon was inspired to write this song after receiving a fan letter from a boy at his former high school. The letter said that one of the English teachers at the school was interpreting the Beatles lyrics in class. Amused by this, Lennon wrote "I Am The Walrus" to specifically have no deeper meaning or hidden theme, but to just be absurd. The song is definitely inspired by LSD trips, but I love the nonsense lyrics like Lennon's "coo-coo-ca-choo", and the people laughing later on. He even references "Lucy in the Sky" from their release earlier this year. The chanting at the end of the song seems to say "everybody smoke pot" as it fades into some more psychedelic rambling. This is one of my favourite Beatles songs with great contributions from all band members and in my opinion is easily the best song on side 1.

Side 2 contains singles that the Beatles had released earlier that year, starting with the McCartney-sung "Hello, Goodbye". It's lyrics are opposites and it is a bass and piano driven song with some strings as well. Track 8 is Lennon's "Strawberry Fields Forever", another psychedelic song that gets its name from a garden in his hometown of Liverpool. It features backwards instruments, Mellotron, and the Indian instrument swarmandal. I really like Lennon's vocals on this one, and the Mellotron sounds awesome as well. There's a false ending at 3:30, followed by a cool Mellotron outro. The next track is McCartney's throwback to his childhood with "Penny Lane", which is named after a street in Liverpool and is about the sights and people he would see there. It's a piano driven song that has some very cool horns during the chorus. Track 10 is another Lennon-led song "Baby, You're A Rich Man", which is about how being rich can mean more than money and other material objects. It has an odd eastern sounding noose that is played on a clavioline and I like it when Lennon yells during the chorus. The album closes with another Lennon tune, making this a rare album with no lead vocals for Ringo Starr. It would become one of their most famous songs, "All You Need Is Love". In June of 1967, the first live global television link, "Our World" aired. It was a 4 and a half hour program, featuring celebrities from several different countries and showcasing the different cultures around the world. The last scene of this epic program (which had the highest TV audience ever at that point in time) was a live performance by the Beatles of "All You Need Is Love". Lennon wrote the song to have simple lyrics that multiple cultures could understand and symbolized Lennon's humanitarian side and became an anthem for the late 60's flower power movement. It features an orchestra, which sounds just amazing throughout the song, and I especially like the horns after the title is sung. You can't help but be moved and sing along, and I especially like Lennon's ramblings during the fadeout. 

And that concludes the "Magical Mystery Tour". While this was not technically a studio album by the Beatles, since I have the full LP version, I will rank it against their other albums I have. Despite some really great stuff from Lennon, overall I believe this album is my least favourite of the 4 Beatles albums I've listened to so far, leaving Rubber Soul at 3, Sgt. Pepper's at 2 and Revolver on top. Nonetheless, I really liked this album and am a huge fan of the Beatles psychedelic direction. You might think this would be the last release of the year, but the Beatles aren't the only band to release 2 albums in 1967...