Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles

Starting life as an EP representing the soundtrack to the Magical Mystery Tour film it was padded out with some album-less A and B sided singles to form a full album for its release in the U.S. That format is now how this album is purchased on CD. Many argue that it is a compilation rather than an album because of its EP beginnings but as the tracks added hadn't previously been on an album I accept the current version as an album, albeit one that The Beatles didn't intend to be. This album has always been Sergeant Pepper's younger less loved and revered brother and if any Beatles album from their mid 60's peak can be described as being forgotten ...  Read the complete review

My review of The Beatles 'Magical Mystery Tour' Album ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The film of this album is so chaotic and directionless... (but still unmissable for Beatles fans), as were many of the Beatles projects after the passing of their manager Brian Epstein; who had poor business sense, but was great at keeping the lads on track. ...The Magical Mystery Tour album is a much more worthwhile effort. This is one of the few Beatle's albums that I acquired only recently (most of their original albums I've owned since I was a kid -lol!) Highlights from the Magical Mystery Tour album ...  Read the complete review

It was all Paul's fault really. The "Magical Mystery Tour" was his brainchild; an allegedly fool-proof plan for making the next Beatles film. Get a group of people together, put them in a tourbus, drive around for a bit and film what happens. The only problem was that, unfortunately, nothing really happened. The band wore silly costumes, and that's about as good as it gets. This resulted in a truly rubbish film, which tarnished The Beatles reputation and left many believing that they were past their best. I say: don't let the film get in the way of the music. Put it this way: what's the best ever Beatles song? "Hey ...  Read the complete review

It is almost unfair to rate this as an album, since the middling soundtrack to the frankly rather bad film of the same name is garnished with such brilliant singles. 'Strawberry Fields Forever'/'Penny Lane' is a double "A" side single that betters whole albums, even whole careers, by some bands, and 'Hello Goodbye', with its stomping beat and knowingly confused lyrics, is a personal favourite. The simple sentiments of 'All You Need Is Love' may seem rather antiquated now, but exhibit a genuine lack of cynicism, unheard of in contemporary pop today, and 'I Am The Walrus', with its nonsense poetry and wig-out aural ...  Read the complete review

A lot of people underrate this because it's not a real album, but a compilation of '67 singles and miscellaneous. And true, it's inconsistent: George's contribution, "Blue Jay Way", is flat-out dull; Paul's "Your Mother Should Know" perilously presages solo McCartney drivel once again; John's overrated "All You Need Is Love" similarly presages the worst aspects of his solo career, in that the tune is more a chant than a real song, and it's full of shockingly naive political posturing. However, the low points are far outweighed by the great material. The double A-side "Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields" is the ...  Read the complete review