MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR, by THE BEATLES, is my all-time #14 album. Although it came out in late 1967, when I was eleven, I didn't hear many of the songs on it until years later. This is a strange album in its conception, with one side consisting mainly of popular singles hits and B-sides from that year and the other a string of tracks featured on their ill-fated British television special, patterned after the title track. It is that "singles" side that makes it one of my all-time favorites, for songs like Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, All You Need is Love and Hello/Goodbye are true classics. Here's a listing of the album's tracks according to my liking:
1 Strawberry Fields Forever--I first heard it on Feb. 12, 1967 on the Ed Sullivan Show (along with Penny Lane)...pretty gutsy video that caused a lot of headshaking among viewers back then. For a long time, I thought Ringo sang the lead on this song, but no, it was producer George Martin combining John's singing on two different takes by changing the speeds...
2 All You Need is Love--I first heard this one recorded live on the British Our World TV special on June 25, 1967. It's a song I've loved from the beginning...
3 Hello/Goodbye--There were times I considered this one my favorite Beatles song...sometimes the simple lyrics are the best...
4 I am the Walrus--This is a special kind of song I term "rabbit role music" where the lyrics are exceedingly cryptic and the musical accompaniment breaks down into a kind of chaos: done well it's unforgettable, as it is here with John chiefly responsible...
5 Penny Lane--A nostalgic "Paul" piece about a street in his hometown of Liverpool...producer Martin added a wicked piccolo trumpet line to the recording at McCartney's suggestion...
6 Baby You're a Rich Man--a "John" contribution, heavy on psychedelia: "How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people?" The music belongs to an era we'll never see again...
7 Fool on the Hill--Paul's answer to Lennon's earlier song Nowhere Man: same general message about marching to your own drumbeat...
8 Your Mother Should Know--This is another of what I've grown to call Paul's "cutesy" repertoire of songs...another, Goodbye, he gave to friend Mary Hopkin; that may have been the best of them...
9 Blue Jay Way--Not to be outdone by Paul with Penny Lane, George Harrison wrote this one about a street he visited that year in Los Angeles. Mysterious and gloomy...works for me!
10 Magical Mystery Tour--for some reason this song rubbed me the wrong way...maybe it just sounded too much like the band was trying to sell me on something they weren't too sure about themselves or maybe just trying to recreate the Sgt. Pepper hoopla...
11 Flying--Songwriting credits go to all four Beatles on this song, a rarity. It's mostly a harmless, slow instrumental with some la-la-la's thrown in for good measure. Good filler track, though...
Next week: #13...
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