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Magical Mystery Tour

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• Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

Buy Magical Mystery Tour  on CD ,  on stereo vinyl , or on mono vinyl

Listen to Magical Mystery Tour on Apple Music or on Spotify

Originally begun as a side project of Paul’s, who was experimenting with video and electronic soundtracks, Magical Mystery Tour was the Beatles’ first project since the death of manager Brian Epstein. Soon all four of the Beatles were involved in the project, which turned out to be a disaster. Without Epstein to look over the project, everything wrong that could’ve happened did – including the “Magical Mystery Tour” sign falling off of the bus. The film aired on BBC at Christmas time and was criticized, mocked, and laughed at. Paul replied, “Aren’t we entitled to a flop?” The album, though, was a smash. In the UK it was originally released as a double-EP set and reached #1 across the world.

Capitol’s full length LP version

Capitol, noting that their two previous US Beatles EPs were flops, refused to issue a double EP set, instead adding recent singles and b-sides for a full album. That full LP version was issued in England in 1976 and Germany in 1971 and became part of Beatles canon when their discography was standardized in 1987 on compact disc. It was the last US release to be issued in both mono and stereo, the mono version being more rare. Nominated for the 1968 Grammy for Album Of The Year.

The sourcing disaster

When EMI decided to issue the US LP version of Magical Mystery Tour in the UK for the first time they contacted Capitol for their masters rather than recompiling the album from their own masters. The Capitol masters were fourth generation masters; the original stereo EP mix was copied for Capitol, those mixes were redubbed to match Capitol’s audio standards along with fake stereo mixes for side B, then those tapes were duplicated and sent to EMI who cataloged them in their tape vaults as the stereo masters. It was from those fifth generation masters that the MFSL reissues were created – which were supposed to be sourced from the original masters for the best possible audio quality. Needless to say, fans were extremely critical of the MFSL reissue.

The notable German edition: Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs

The German edition of Magical Mystery Tour is notable for offering, for the first time, true stereo remixes of 3 of the non-soundtrack songs found on side B:  Penny Lane ,  Baby You’re A Rich Man , and  All You Need Is Love . In reality it wasn’t until the second version of the album, released in 1973, that these songs were featured on the album. There are three main versions of the album:

First version, released 1971 (matrix SHZE 327 – A-1 and SHZE 327 – B-1) . The first version is the same as the 1967 Capitol US edition, which utilized duophonic or “fake stereo” versions of Penny Lane, Baby You’re A Rich Man, and All You Need Is Love. The cover features a red/pink Hörzu logo in the upper left. This version was also released in 1973 as Odeon 28 642-7.

Second version, released 1973 (matrix SHZE 327 – A-1 and SHZE 327 – B-3) . The second version utilized the 1969 stereo mix of All You Need Is Love from the  Yellow Submarine  LP as well as new stereo mixes of Penny Lane and Baby You’re A Rich Man. It also included a brand new remix of Strawberry Fields Forever with greater stereo separation, improved percussion, and moving of the left to right panned cello and trumpet heard at the edit point of the song to only the right. This cover features the black and orange Hörzu logo in the upper left (pictured above), and an Apple-branded variation released around the same time features the Apple logo in the upper left instead. This is generally considered to be the best-sounding stereo vinyl pressing available.

Third version, released 1976 (matrix SHZE 327 – A-1 04449-A1+C and SHZE 327 – B-3 04449-B1+C) . The third version has a smaller deadwax area with the same matrices as the second version and features significantly heavier bass. It features the Apple logo in the upper left of the front cover.

• Magical Mystery Tour
• The Fool On The Hill
• Blue Jay Way
• Your Mother Should Know
• I Am The Walrus
• Hello Goodbye
• Strawberry Fields Forever
• Baby You’re A Rich Man
• All You Need Is Love

Release history

• Capitol MAL 2835 (mono), released November 27, 1967
• Capitol SMAL 2835 (stereo), released November 27, 1967
• World Record Club SLZ 8308, released 1970 (New Zealand, as ‘Magical Mystery Tour And Other Splendid Hits’)
• Apple PCSM 6084, released 1970 (New Zealand, as ‘Magical Mystery Tour And Other Splendid Hits’)
• pple/Horzu SHZE 327, released 1971 (Germany, as titled ‘Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs’)
• Odeon 28 642-7 (club issue with same mixes as the 1971 release and 1967 US Capitol stereo versions), released 1973  (Germany, as titled ‘Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs’)
• Apple SHZE 327 (2nd issue), released 1973 (Germany, as titled ‘Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs’)
• Apple/EMI 1C 072-04 449 (3rd issue), released 1976 (Germany, as titled ‘Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs’)
• Parlophone PCTC 255, released November 19, 1976
• Parlophone PCTC 255 (yellow vinyl), released May 1979
• Mobile Fidelity MFSL 1-047, released January 30, 1981
• Parlophone CDP 7 48062 2 (stereo CD), released September 22, 1987
• Capitol C1-48062, released July 1, 1988
• Apple 0946 3 82465 2 7 (remastered stereo CD), released September 9, 2009
• Capitol MAL 2835 (remastered mono CD), released September 9, 2009 in  The Beatles In Mono  box set

Magical Mystery Tour And Other Splendid Hits (New Zealand, 1970)

In New Zealand Magical Mystery Tour was released as Magical Mystery Tour And Other Splendid Hits and with three known label variations but with the same track list. The last 4 songs are in mono.

Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs (Germany, 1971)

Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs (Germany, 1971, First version Hörzu cover cover)

Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs (Germany, Apple label cover)

Cassette edition (Canada)

• Capitol, 4XT-2835

Cassette edition (France, 1972)

• Odeon C 244-04449 (listed on sleeve)
• Odeon C 244-044.49 (listed on cassette)

Cassette edition (Germany)

• EMI 1C 244-04 449 / Apple 1C 244-04 449

Cassette edition (Germany, 1972)

• HÖR ZU 1 C 244 04 449 / Apple 1 C 244 04 449, released 1972

Cassette edition (India, 1994)

• His Master’s Voice STCS PCTC 890022, released 1994
• Parlophone STCS PCTC 890022, released 1994

Cassette edition (Mexico)

• Capitol CLEM-103

Cassette edition (US, 1992)

• Apple Records C4-48062, released 1992
• Capitol Records C4-48062, released 1992

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Magical Mystery Tour

Released as a six-song double EP in the United Kingdom and an 11-song album in the US and elsewhere, Magical Mystery Tour was the soundtrack to the television film of the same name, which was first broadcast by the BBC on 26 December 1967 .

In the wake of the death of Brian Epstein on 27 August 1967 , The Beatles found themselves suddenly without direction. Whereas since 1962 they had been carefully guided by their manager, at the peak of their career they were unused to making their own business decisions or having absolute autonomy over their future.

On 1 September 1967 , five days after Epstein’s body was discovered in his London home, The Beatles met at Paul McCartney ’s house at 7 Cavendish Avenue in St John’s Wood, London. The previous day an announcement had been issued stating that the band would continue to be managed by NEMS Enterprises – now under the guidance of Epstein’s brother Clive – until further notice.

During the 1 September meeting The Beatles agreed to continue with Magical Mystery Tour , a project begun in April shortly after the completion of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band . Crucially, this was a time when McCartney began steering many of the group’s decisions, encouraging them to continue during a period in which they might easily have collapsed amid a lack of direction.

I was still under a false impression. I still felt every now and then that Brian would come in and say, ‘It’s time to record,’ or, ‘Time to do this.’ And Paul started doing that: ‘Now we’re going to make a movie. Now we’re going to make a record.’ And he assumed that if he didn’t call us, nobody would ever make a record. Paul would say, well, now he felt like it – and suddenly I’d have to whip out twenty songs. He’d come in with about twenty good songs and say, ‘We’re recording.’ And I suddenly had to write a fucking stack of songs.

McCartney’s concept for Magical Mystery Tour was to produce a television special about a group of ordinary people taking a mystery trip on a coach. The film would take in various locations in England and France, and would be mostly improvised and take advantage of the encounters they had on the road.

Magical Mystery Tour was Paul’s idea. It was a good way to work. Paul had a great piece of paper – just a blank piece of white paper with a circle on it. The plan was: ‘We start here – and we’ve got to do something here…’ We filled it in as we went along. We rented a bus and off we went. There was some planning: John would always want a midget or two around, and we had to get an aircraft hangar to put the set in. We’d do the music, of course. They were the finest videos, and it was a lot of fun. To get the actors we looked through the actors’ directory, Spotlight: ‘Oh, we need someone like this, and someone like that.’ We needed a large lady to play my auntie. So we found a large lady.

Latest Comments

Absolutely underrated in so many ways.

Problem is… it’s not really an album. Just a collection of songs already recorded

But isn’t that what the definition of an album is? A collection of songs already recorded?

Kind of hard to make an album if none of the songs have been recorded already.

The idea is that if you for example compare it to Sgt. Peppers, there is no feeling of a “string” guiding you through the album. MMT seems very convoluted to me. Side 1 & 2 seem to me like they are from different albums and mindsets. In almost every album theres a definite feel of “This is their idea of music at this point”. This doesn’t happen for me in Magical Mystery Tour.

best beatle album a collection of hits Such a master piece, along with revolver, rubber soul, sgt pepper, and white album

and help. and a hard days night and well all beatle music.

The only Capitol release that improved upon a British release. (Or even equalled it, for that matter, since the UK “Pepper” was ever-so slightly better than the US version, which excluded the inner-groove gibberish and for-dogs-only tone.)

Yep, I agree that Capitol finally did the Beatles right by adding all those wonderful 1967 singles. For once they didn’t butcher the EP, (like all the previous LP’s) they just added to it. But I also really love the EP for what it is. Never saw it growing up in Canada until I finally got my own UK EP import.

How can you not love MMT? It gives me a warm, magical, mysterious feeling just thinking about it. The only downer is Blue Jay Way which is tough to get all the way through. They should have put “It’s All Too Much” on this instead of Yellow Submarine. Then it would be spotless!

Yellow Submarine isn’t on Magical Mystery Tour. Did you mean Blue Jay Way?

I think he means they shoud have put the song It’s All Too Much on the album MMT istead of the album Yellow Submarine.

I agree with you about MMT being a supreme beatles album , but i dont agree about blue jay way … when you consider how hari wrote it , he was took out to a friends house in (america i think) by whoever and the friend was not at home so george waited at the house entrance while (whoever) went to look for the friend or a phone …. it was getting towards dusk a little dark and george being on his own in the unfamiliar surroundings of a foreign country got a little scared and the lane/road was called Blue Jay Way and the song was born…. you might say written with the help of fear !!!

Blue Jay Way was not meant to be a Top 40 hit. It was first & foremost a vehicle to tell us the story of Paul’s death, and its video was likewise a vehicle to show you quick flashes of his corpse, his damaged face after the accident, and even his displaced jawbone flying around. These grisly images are presented against a busy background of people dancing & darting across the scene, so you must freeze frames to see them. But they are all there to tell the story as The Beatles intended.

Pure bullocks. George told the story many times as to what this song is about. You simply haven’t a clue I’m afraid.

Just another fool on the hill.

Is it the EP you’re referring to? Blue Jay Way although lengthy is a significant Harrison piece, instrumentation-wise, which I find quite soothing when listened to. You don’t have a complete MMT experience without this song.

Blue Jay Way may be the only song on all of The Beatles albums that I skip every single time.

I love all the Beatle albums, but between this one and Beatles for sale, they are my least favorite.I find it suprising that John Lennon said it was his favorite.I heard that in the Anthology DVD and I assumed it was from an interview at the time of MMT’s release but on here it says from a Rolling Stone 1974 interview.I am the Walrus is definetly one of Lennons best works, but the album as a whole just doesnt stand up there for me.It’s still a great record, just not one of their better ones in my opinion.

In the states, MMT was a Christmas release, 6 months after Sgt. P. It was seen as the next Beatles album, when in fact it was an extension of Sgt. P. That the White Album was in fact the next Beatles album has been lost on the American public’s consciousness.

One has to wonder what might have happened if they didn’t feel the need or succumb to the pressure to churn out album after album in the wake of Brian’s death. The massive White Album, then 5 months later convening for Get BAck/Let It Be… then Abbey Road right after. Bands today could never maintain the pace of recording/movies/business pressures as did the Beatles. Perhaps, if… they might have… oh well. There are a lot of “perhaps’ ” in the history of the Beatles.

Yeah, it’s UNCANNY (and terribly stupid on their part) that less than ONE MONTH AND A HALF after releasing the White Album, these crazy workaholics should convene again for the drudgery of more recording AND filming. Even without the alleged “tensions” attending the recording of The Beatles, any four human beings should have been exhausted after such strenuous work. Why not wait at least until spring/early summer to resume work, have a good rest of writing/rehearsing/recording (and putting up with each other!), and then “get back” with renewed energy? I’m sure The Beatles wouldn’t have split up if they had respected themselves a little bit more. They seemed to have gotten caught up into a masochistic groove: what sense does it make to play LIVE in the middle of the winter on a windswept rooftop in London!!!? That, despite all the odds, that performance should have been SO good is yet another proof of how great The Beatles were, but they simply seem to have stretched human nature too far…. What a waste!

The band had a very work a day attitude to what they did. Essentially they saw being recording artists the same way as being a Teacher,Nurse,Engineer, Postman or any other job. You went to work everyday and had some days off for weekends or holidays. Paul particularly had this attitude. Although their hours of work were unusual they were more like shift workers working a backshift.

It continued after they split up as well. After recording TWO Albums in 1969, they immediately dived into solo singles and albums.

Ringo releasing 2 albums in 1970, Paul 1 in 1970 and 2 in 1971, George a triple album in 1970, John releasing albums in 1970 and 1971.

The Beatles got it right. They split up while they were a YOUNG band & will always be remembered as such……Unlike the rolling stones.

It is very simple why they did so much work in November 1966 to August 1969 in the studio. They were not touring and could spend the time recording as much material as they could release.

I live in the US and close to 40 years ago read that the White Album was meant as a follow-up to Sgt. Pepper’s, with the stark cover and relative simplicity of the songs countering the extravagance and complexity of Pepper.

well, bear in mind that side 2 was mostly songs that had gotten lots of radio play during the year before, so even in the U.S. it was clear to me, as an 11 year old, that it included a lot of re-packaged material. Compared to my experience of the White Album which was like getting this amazing toy chest, every single song was unfamiliar, the whole thing had a vibe, and what a treat to discover them all from scratch. And there was an obvious difference between the fun but ultimately kind of commercial comic book in MMT and the much more interesting packaging of the White Album and Sgt Pepper. Kind of the same thing with Let It Be…when I got THAT for Christmas it was exciting to have a new bit of Beatles product and i gleaned pleasure from various tracks. But every single thing about it signaled that it wasn’t a major work in the canon. Starting with the banal packaging.

I concur wholeheartedly. The albums’ and singles’ releasing frequency was imo also a bad business decision altogether on part of the parts involved. It sort of unnecessarily saturated the Fab4 market, with the exception of the hardcore fans worldwide.

Not at all. Their creativity had multiplied and they wanted to keep the box open as they weren’t planning any tours; MMT was to be broadcast in MondoVison, exploring a new format it turned out to be more than an interlude, quite magically. Meanwhile the affiliated record companies had been releasing as much as possible already, clearly Apple was created to keep them letting it get so out of control, as well as an outlet for whatever the Beatles would fancy.

This album has its similarities to the white album not pepper think about it The Fool On The Hill and Mother Natures Son or Flying and Wild Honey Pie, Strawberry Fields Forever and Glass Onion, Baby Your A Rich Man and Happiness Is A Warm Gun!!

strawberry fields forever was originally wrote for pepper penny lane also but the big wigs moneymen who all but owned the Beatles were impatient pepper took so long to make that they demanded a release so EMI released SFF/PL so it does have similarities to pepper. the information can be found in the “complete abbey road recordings” which was put out by EMI/HAMLIN.

I saw ‘MMT’, the color version, in a small ‘art’ theatre in my city in early 1968…I was quite intrigued as it had a dreamlike and slightly ‘down’ air about it, quite different from ‘HDN’ & ‘Help’.

I can only imagine what the UK Boxing Day audience who saw the black & white version thought.

Very ‘surrealistic’ and way ahead of later MTV rubbish.

MMT was not distributed in North America until late 1968-early 1969 in small theatres with Eric Anderson doing a short concert as well as introducing the movie.

The MMT movie best moment is definettly Jonh serving sppaghetti to the big lady! That’s so genius!. I like the album very very much! Except for “Hello Goodbye”(I hate it, but fits the purposes of the movie/album I guess), all the songs are great and fit within The Beatles best work!

Outstanding album; really better than other higher-profile albums like SPLHCB.

This has to be said: MMT is NOT a Beatles album. It is an American COMPILATION of Beatles music. Nothing to do with them apart from that. Since its entry to the “official canon” the attitude seems to have grown that it should be considered as if one of the UK albums that they put so much thought and effort into. Comparing it to those albums is just wrong. I love the album. It is one the great COMPILATION albums – but to see how the group wanted the music on it presented at the time, look to the UK double-ep (which is a fantastic package) and the relevant singles. However much I love it as an album, one of my big disappointments is that it made the original CD reissue series in the ’80s. That gave the impression there were 13 albums instead of 12. What would Mark have done? I would have had “Past Masters” live up to its job description – to collect ALL recordings not featured on the 12 albums they recorded and released as they envisioned them. You could then have a “Past Masters” that made sense, instead of having a big 1967-shaped hole at its centre. And if anyone’s wondering, it would easily fit. “Past Masters” is about 94 minutes, MMT 36, giving a “Past Masters” that would be around 130 minutes. Volume/Disc 1: 1962-66, Volume/Disc 2: 1967-70 (think I’ve heard that split somewhere before). A later release of MMT could have been done later, as has happened with other Capitol albums. Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t dislike the album or anything, I just dislike it’s elevated status alongside the 12 albums they did record. I dread the day when I come across a comment telling me that The Beatles never recorded a better album than “1”!

It’s a nice idea. However, having MMT incorporated into Past Masters may have meant we didn’t get the MMT artwork – the booklet is really worth having. Personally I’m glad they kept it as a standalone release, but it’s all personal preference. I do think there’s quite a big hole in PM because MMT hoovered up all the amazing 1967 singles.

True it’s technically not a Beatles album although I believe Parlophone did decide to start pressing copies of it in the U.K. at some point like it was a Beatles album. It’s a great companion album to Sgt. Pepper since those two albums basically give you 99% of their 67 output.

I totally agree, it was an EP and should have gone down in history as an EP. When they released the new 2014 mono LP set, they should included the EP and put the remaining singles Past Masters.

No I think they got it right releasing it as an album when it came time to standardise the albums throughout the world as there was packaging especially for it, and for once Capitol got it right in putting all the 1967 singles on the second side, It would have left Past/Mono Masters as lop sided from 1965 onwards with the 11 songs that are on the album.

However i do agree that they could release Magical Mystery Tour as a stand alone Double EP in both stereo and mono, and maybe release it as a twelve inch singles as well in stereo and mono. So you could have four options in which to buy it.

It’s an album. It exists today as an album because that’s what it is. So, in other words: The Beatles were wrong and Capitol was right. They knew it was an album, and it is!

Another detail to clarify who wore which animal suit…look for the wristwatch.

I got this album in June 1980. It is great that the songs on the British EP and the1967 singles and Bsides could be included on one album. It compliments Sgt Pepper in that regard. I Am The Walrus is one of my favorite songs of all time and a great example of John Lennons offbeat genius. And for that matter The Fool On The Hill is one of McCartneys finest. And then you have other masterpieces like All You Need Is Love, Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever on side two. Thats not to forget Baby Youre A Rich Man.

Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane belong on Sgt Pepper, but as usual EMI couldn’t wait and needed a single before Pepper was finished. and the Beatles didn’t put their singles on albums to that point.The iconic album would have been truly awesome with.their best two songs of 1967

Agreed, what I have done is make my own albums, So Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane are on my version of Pepper, likewise I added Rain to Revolver and removed Yellow Submarine.

I’ve done the same. Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine get spliced together as the great psychedelic afterbirth that follows Sergeant P. My version runs: Magical Mystery Tour, Baby You’re a Rich Man, Only a Northern Song, Hello Goodbye, All You Need Is Love, Flying, Your Mother Should Know, The Inner Light, Hey Bulldog, Blue Jay Way, All Together Now, I Am the Walrus, The Fool on the Hill and It’s All Too Much. I was inspired by the great article “Playing God” by Todd Burns and have similarly chopped and changed all the albums to include singles from each period. I’ve only just noticed that You Know My Name (LUTN) is missing. That might go last. I’m interested in hearing about other versions or improvements!

Havent seen the mmt movie, but excluding hello goodbye, & blue jay way its great back to back

I have the original 1967 MMT EMI in mint condition, can some one tell me the value of this record? Thanks!

Check around a little bit but I have seen a quote of up to $750 on moneymusic.com

If we allow that MMT is indeed a Beatles album, then it clearly is in their very top-most in the canon. It has at least 5 of what would be considered universally accepted of the top 25 Beatles songs of all time. SFF, AYNIL, IATW, PL, and FOTH

The first Beatle album I ever owned at the age of 13 and for that it will also have a nostalgic place in my heart.

It is fabulous. Just brilliant. Frankly, it should be seen for what it is, very serious music. Because “Strawberry Fields Forever” is so good, I really think that this is the best album of all, well, I suppose, along with “Sgt. Pepper”. “I Am the Walrus” and “Fool on the Hill’ are so good that I find myself playing this more than any other of their albums. Yes, I prefer the old vinyl one though I also have the CD and I believe the EP somewhere as well. If it is serious music you want, and not necessarily pop entertainment, then this one really stands out. Forget about the costumes, the movie, the inside information, and just focus on the 11 songs. I have no problem with any of the songs that people who have commented on dislike. It’s all great. The album version stated here to not be released was everywhere in the U. K., yes, everywhere as soon as 1968 and all through the 70’s. Import? That’s silly, since it’s their album. The cover maybe, perhaps, but certainly not the music. It’s a bit like saying an American printing of a Shakespeare play is American when the play isn’t. As for the reason I find this to be their best, well it certainly has nothing to do with the film. I’ve never seen it and that’s all right. It’s all about the brilliant music herein. Cheers!

Yeah but my question is, where are the costumes and masks today? Were they donated or does the current Beatle members have it?

A lot of you guys doesn’t have a clue about MMT. The US album was fully supported by The Beatles. Before 1967 they couldn’t do anything about Capitol’s releases, but by renewing their contract with EMI, one of their demands was that they could control releases overseas. If the Beatles had put their foot down before Capitol, the US album would not have happend. They did not.

The whole movie was a rent party. The bus, the sets, actors, costumes; all rented.Only the music was bought and paid for…by the fans. And we (Americans) didn’t even get to see the movie.

Nigel – the movie did play here in the states but probably in sporadic and random theaters. I saw it somewhere in Connecticut in the 70’s.

I was totally nuts about “I Am The Walrus” when it came out and it’s still a favorite. But beyond that I feel that the other songs from the movie (Side “A” of the US album) are collectively about the weakest material the Beatles ever put out. It feels to me as though they wanted to keep the innovation and magic of Sergeant Pepper going but were just trying too hard. Also I wonder if Brian Epstein’s death and resulting lack of “grown up” direction didn’t contribute to the muddle.

Instead of “Magical Mystery Tour” I refer to this album as “Whoa! Way Too Much Acid!”.

Did anyone know that in magical mystery tour Paul is wherein a flashers coat during the song fool on the hill and you can actually see for a fleeting moment his junk.

This was thought to be as one could not tell due to the quality of the VHS tapes .Now its on Blu ray and DVDone can tell that this information is wrong.

Really like the sound of this album. Sounds a bit like Pepper in style, without all the psychedelic organs that makes Pepper sound a bit dated. Only song I’m not a huge fan of is “Blue Jay Way” which to me, drones on a bit too long.

this, in my opinion, is the only US release that was better than the UK version! Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane and I am the Walrus all on the same album!

For most of us Americans under 60, this is an album. It starts with MMT and ends with All You Need is Love. I discovered this album as an 11 year old and didnt learn until my mid 20’s that I had the compiled American release. I decided to keep my original thoughts to it. Its the MMT album! They all evoke a 1967 feel to it; psychadelia (dark & positive), wit, nostalgia, & love. It feels like a concept album (all 11 songs). Lets not put this in the same category as the Hey Jude compilation Album that includes songs from years past. Whenever i have been asked if Pepper was the best Beatles album, i often jokingly respond that its not even the best album of ’67. I love MMT.

But the point i want to remind people of are the small magical pieces between songs. They are enjoyable little treats. You could make the point that this pattern continues on side 2 with the short snippets after Hello Goodbye & Strawberry Fields Forever. That is another reason why the two sides hold nicely together.

I’m in my 70s now and I guess that’s why it’s not an album to me, just mainly a collection of songs. The fact is that by the fall of 1967 we had heard the non-film songs lots on the radio and they were completely familiar when MMT was released. The film songs (except “I Am The Walrus”) did not seem in the same league musically with the singles and therefore the whole effort seemed like a weird mashing together of unrelated elements, very much the opposite of the Beatles’ normal way of doing things. Of course I bought the album though! But when I had first heard that the Beatles would follow up Sgt. Pepper with something called “Magical Mystery Tour,” just the name conjured images of an even deeper dive into psychedelia and therefore MMT was rather a flat disappointment in that regard.

The reason John said, “The Walrus was Paul” was not because Paul was in the Walrus costume. It was because he had a mo-ped accident and grew a moustache to hide the scar. The others said he looked like a walrus, but also grew moustaches in solidarity.

No one has mentioned that US Capitol, in making MMT a full album, copied UK Parlophone’s method for their earlier soundtrack LP’s, with all the movie songs on Side 1 and all the non-movie songs from the same time-frame on Side 2.

That is interesting, but seeing as side one was the same as the British release, this could be a coincidence? But there’s equal chance it was deliberate.

In my opinion, “Magical Mystery Tour” was The Beatles at the zenith of their psychedelic phase and some of the sessions happened to coincide with the Summer of Love. John and George went into their keyboardist mode during the sessions for MMT and both of them began to write keyboard-led songs during this period, so it clearly gave them a fantastic opportunity to develop their own keyboard techniques – George went into the organ and John clearly developed a fondness for pianos, mellotrons and organs – but neither fully abandoned playing their guitars altogether. Conversely, Paul’s bass never took a back seat to guitars or keyboards, since he was easily able to overdub it whenever he needed to or if he wished to rerecord them for the final mixes. Here’s a bit of trivia: in the video for “All You Need is Love”, the mystery drummer using brushes on Ringo’s hi-hats is Keith Moon. During the psychedelic period, John, Paul and George repainted their Gibson J-160E, Rickenbacker bass and Fender Stratocaster (nicknamed Rocky) respectively in psychedelic finish and Ringo used a red front head on the bass drum of his Ludwig drum kit. So yes, it is very interesting to know what instruments were used during these creative recording sessions.

What’s not to love about this LP. The only Capitol LP that outperforms the EP.

Great write up Joe. Always enjoy your site. Truly the best Beatles Forum out there!

That’s true for a number of reasons: a) Capitol compromised by merely expanding the EP into album format by including all six tracks from the EP on side one and filling out side 2 with their singles from 1967 (“Hello Goodbye”, “Strawberry Fields Forever”, “Penny Lane”, “Baby You’re a Rich Man” and “All You Need is Love”) on side two, so this was clearly some compensation over the omission of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” from “Sgt. Pepper”. b) The album was a popular import into the UK and it eventually got a British release in 1976. c) It was the officially adopted CD version in 1987 and 2009 plus it got remastered for vinyl in 2012.

I have always considered the “Magical Mystery Tour” LP a special case and the exception to the rule among the pre-Sgt. Pepper Capitol releases that The Beatles clearly disliked.

Perhaps the running order for the album version of “Magical Mystery Tour” had some influence on Simon and Garfunkel finalizing the running order for their 1968 album “Bookends”, as side one on that album was a song cycle (not a concept album, per se) and side 2 had the duo’s 1966-1967 singles and songs written by Paul Simon for the film “The Graduate”, most notably “Mrs. Robinson”.

Hairsplitting aside as to it’s official album status -this is my favorite Beatles album. There’s at least 5 masterpieces on it. It has the band at their psychedelic peak . Blue Jay Way is the only weak track but that’s made up for by the increasing fondness I have for Baby You’re a Rich Man. 5/5

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Magical mystery tour.

Release date: 27 November 1967

"It was like we were in another phase of our career you know we'd done all the live stuff and that was marvellous, now we were into being more artists. We got more freedom to be artists." PAUL

"If you think it was good, keep it, if you don't, scrap it." JOHN

"You have success with something that might have seemed like a far out idea, people had said wow this is great and so when we'd come back again George would be really quite keen to try, what other ideas have you got?" GEORGE

"And now we are going to play a track from Magical Mystery Tour which is one of my favourite albums because it was so weird I Am The Walrus, one of my favourite tracks because I did it of course but also cos it's one of those that has enough little bitties going to keep you interested even a hundred years later." JOHN

"The Beatles songs had started to sound more individual from Revolver onwards or even before then." GEORGE MARTIN

The Beatles devised, wrote and directed a television film called Magical Mystery Tour which was broadcast on BBC Television at Christmas, 1967

Even before Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, had hit the shops, the idea of the programme had been born and work had commenced on the title track.

It was decided that the soundtrack for the programme would be released on two seven inch discs which would be packaged with a booklet in a gatefold sleeve. The booklet contained stills from the show along with a comic strip telling the story. A lyric sheet was also stapled into the centrespread of the booklet. The EP was a runaway success and reached no. 2 in the UK singles chart, held off the top spot by their own single... "Hello, Goodbye".

In the US, the double-EP format was not considered viable so instead, Capitol Records created an album by placing the six songs from the EP on side one of an album and drawing side two from the titles that had appeared on singles in 1967. These titles were "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane", "All You Need Is Love" - their anthem that had been broadcast around the world via Satellite in June. "Baby, You're A Rich Man" and their current single, "Hello, Goodbye". The US release made # 1 in early January 1968 and stayed there for eight weeks. Its initial chart run lasted 59 weeks.

1967 had certainly been a year of great achievement but it was also tinged with sadness. Brian Epstein, The Beatles' manager since 1961 passed away on 27th August, 1967 at the age of 32.

The US configuration for Magical Mystery Tour was later adopted by many other countries (including the UK in 1976). When the Beatles catalogue was first issued on Compact Disc in 1987, Magical Mystery Tour joined the core list of titles.

If they aren't already planning so, the Beatles should start planning their next full-length film immediately. After watching a rough cut of their 'Magical Mystery Tour', which BBC viewers can see on Boxing Day. I am convinced they are extremely capable of writing and directing a major movie for release on one of the major cinema circuits. The film sequences for the musical numbers are extremely clever. For 'Blue Jay Way' George is seen sitting cross-legged in a sweating mist which materialises into a variety of shapes and patterns. It's a pity that most TV viewers will be able to see it only in black and white. 'I Am The Walrus' has four of them togged up in animal costumes switching at times to them bobbing across the screen as egg-men. A special word of praise for Ringo, who more than the others comes over very, very funnily. But praise to all of them for making a most entertaining film. I only wish they would now put out a sequel made up from the parts they left on the cutting-room floor. NME July 20, 1967

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THE BEATLES Magical Mystery Tour ratings distribution

Essential: a masterpiece of rock music(44%) Excellent addition to any rock music collection(38%) Good, but non-essential (15%) Collectors/fans only (3%) Poor. Only for completionists (1%)

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Magical Mystery Tour

~ Release group by The Beatles

1967: US mono and stereo LP on Capitol Records. UK mono and stereo double EP on Parlophone. 1988: Japanese CD on Toshiba-EMI. 2004: Japanese remastered LP on Toshiba-EMI.

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4.6 ( see all ratings )

rock , psychedelic rock , pop , psychedelic pop , pop rock

am pop , soundtrack , 60s , artist on cover

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Magical Mystery Tour CD (Remastered)

Digitally re-mastered digipak edition of this classic 1967 album from The Beatles featuring "I Am the Walrus", "All You Need Is Love", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane", "Magical Mystery Tour" and many more. The album has been re-mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London utilizing state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analog recordings. Within the CD's new packaging, the booklet includes detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. A newly produced mini-documentary on the making of the album is included as a QuickTime file on each album. The documentary contains archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere. Tracklist

1. Magical Mystery Tour 2. Fool on the Hill 3. Flying 4. Blue Jay Way 5. Your Mother Should Know 6. I Am the Walrus 7. Hello Goodbye 8. Strawberry Fields Forever 9. Penny Lane 10. Baby You're a Rich Man 11. All You Need Is Love

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Magical Mystery Tour German Horzu - Where Can I Get It?

Discussion in ' Music Corner ' started by Trixmay 988 , Dec 19, 2020 .

Trixmay 988 Demere's Dreams Thread Starter

Where can I get this version of the album? It's apparently easily the best, but I can't find it anywhere.  

SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

OOP, pay through the nose. I sold mine 20 years ago. Back when I had no idea vinyl would have a resurgence. Heck I sold all my Marvel comics back in the 1980s too. I have sold just about everything 10-20 years too soon. And now my CD cases are worth more than the discs they hold. I supposed if I sell my CDs they will shoot up in value too.  

Jerry Grateful Gort Staff

Where do you usually look for out of print, hard-to-find albums? There!  

The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs (1971, Vinyl) | Discogs  

musicfan37 Senior Member

What are they going for now days?  

Paul Gase Everything is cheaper than it looks.

I like the 2014 Mono better. If I were spending big bucks for one or the other, I’d plum for the Mono.  

adm62 Senior Member

Germany?  

Beware not ALL Horu copies have true stereo on side two. The one I linked has true stereo (there are no LPs that have 100% true stereo versions of I Am The Walrus).  

Paul Gase said: ↑ I like the 2014 Mono better. If I were spending big bucks for one or the other, I’d plum for the Mono. Click to expand...

curbach Some guy on the internet

Walmart?  

bRETT Senior Member

I have a friend in New Orleans who got one (the genuine all-stereo article) on Discogs just last week. He ain't saying how much he paid. So it can be done...but that copy is gone!  

Buddybud Paisley DayGlo Freak!

Are the geman apple pressings that came after with the same cover, stereo also on side two?! Just curious?  

Old Fred Forum Resident

Snag matrix numbers SHZE 327-A-1 / SHZE 327-B-3 for true stereo.  

I am not sure if the covers are all the same, I think they are. But not all have true stereo on side two. See my link: The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs (1971, Vinyl) | Discogs Near mint for $270, a bargain if you really want it. Once you have it you will soon forget the money you spent. Once you can no longer get it, you will regret you did not buy it. It is the same for anything worthwhile. If the condition of the cover being VG+ is okay with you, you can get one with a M- disc for $187. I would probably go that route if I were in the market for vinyl. But hey, I have the 2009 stereo CD, so I am good to go. And I have the excellent mix of I Am The Walrus on "Love" which is glorious.  

parkgrover Forum Resident

I picked up a copy in Austria a couple of years back for 8 euros. Does sound nice and I like the alternative cover . I also like the 2012 stereo and 2014 mono reissues though  

YardByrd rock n roll citizen in a hip hop world

Depends where you are... obviously much easier to find in Europe... found an EX in a brick and mortar about a month ago for €20 after scouring discogs for over a year...  

Back in the day, I did not even know that there were different pressings of Horzu. The one I bought just happened to be the true stereo version. The real killer track is Baby You're A Rich Man.  

schnulli Forum Resident

adm62 said: ↑ Germany? Click to expand...

As far as I am concerned if Hello Goodbye and I Am The Walrus were to switch places, I would have no reason to listen to side 1.  

Ya i bought a german 1973 pressing. Its in storage. I bought it because of the cover. Heres the link on discogs . I wish i could check it out! Never got a chance to listen to it, sadly. SKATTERBRANE said: ↑ I am not sure if the covers are all the same, I think they are. But not all have true stereo on side two. See my link: The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs (1971, Vinyl) | Discogs Near mint for $270, a bargain if you really want it. Once you have it you will soon forget the money you spent. Once you can no longer get it, you will regret you did not buy it. It is the same for anything worthwhile. If the condition of the cover being VG+ is okay with you, you can get one with a M- disc for $187. I would probably go that route if I were in the market for vinyl. But hey, I have the 2009 stereo CD, so I am good to go. And I have the excellent mix of I Am The Walrus on "Love" which is glorious. Click to expand...

parkgrover said: ↑ I picked up a copy in Austria a couple of years back for 8 euros. Does sound nice and I like the alternative cover . I also like the 2012 stereo and 2014 mono reissues though Click to expand...

Jerry said: ↑ Where do you usually look for out of print, hard-to-find albums? There! Click to expand...

AlienRendel Senior Member

Buddybud said: ↑ Are the geman apple pressings that came after with the same cover, stereo also on side two?! Just curious? Click to expand...

AlienRendel said: ↑ I have both a Horzu( The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs ) and German Apple copy( The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs ) and they sound identical to me. The logo replacement on the artwork is the only discernible difference. Click to expand...

audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles

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