The U.S. version of the soundtrack for the Beatles' 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. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
Bands like the Beatles, Stones, and Zeppelin have the disadvantage of being compared to themselves. Their level of artistry was so far above most others that critics can only compare their albums against their own. Hence this critique of Magical Mystery Tour. Sure it falls short of Sgt. Pepper's but compared to any other non-Beatles album it is truly great.
Nickleback is absolute garbage, I don't know how you could even include the two bands in the same statement. You need to be institutionalized! The beatles changed the face of rock music as we know it, not to mention all the different elements they brought into the fold (harpsicord, citar, etc.) All nickleback did is make a few catch songs about the rockstar lifestyle. Now maybe if you had posted that comment in the Creed section you might have a point. Otherwise you're an idiot freelandj.
pandora! are you shittin' me. i'm 62 and was there at the beginning. became too smart for my own good and dismissed the beatles as a talent. fool! older and wiser i have seen my error. they were all gifted, lennon truly being genius. george. pete is god.
the beatles really lifted the concept for this album/television special from ken kesey and the merry pranksters, the famous group of acid heads. they did the exact same thing 5 years earlier, almost literally. check out tom wolfe's 'electric kool-aid acid test' if you're not familiar...
I remember getting up early,as a child, to watch the Beatles cartoon. Strawberry Fields is a song that was usually played. I have fond memories of both the cartoon and The Beatles' music. The Beatles are great.
Please note: Side two was at the time, like a 'greatest hits' album since it contained fantastic singles which hadn't appeared on any LP prior to this.
Having such an extensive reservoir of hits to be able to do such a thing is just one of the many, many aspects of the Beatles which set them apart from all others. The normal ploy for marketing rock albums is to use a top-ten hit single to sell an LP containing lots of fill fodder songs. Never with the Beatles!
It's funny how time changes things. Forty years ago when I heard "Blue Jay Way", I thought it was the worst song the Beatles ever recorded. "Surely Lennon and McCartney were being nice to the much less talented Harrison to let him include this number." But now, the song's grown on me and I almost like it. Ringo even shares songwriting credit on "Flying"!! Of course the McCartney/Lennon genius duo shine like the stars they are! A+++
Magical Mystery tour is a true gem. It's not as critically acclaimed or memorable as Sgt.Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, but the album contains some catchy Beatles songs, and masterpieces, as well as some of their weakest songs as well. Among the masterpieces are "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "I Am the Walrus", which could arguably be their best songs.