Let's all get up and dance to a song...
Pros:
Good production, excellent drumming, creativity out the wazoo, and classic hits.
Cons:
Songs that just don't compare with the others.
The Bottom Line:
It's a well put together album with good production, dominated dominated by John's songwriting and Ringo's superb drumming. It's a Beatles album, so why not have it?
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
After the genius we find in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Paul McCartney decided to make a new TV/movie about all the Beatles doing weird stuff, with a few of their latest songs. It was released on late 1967, accompanied by a TV movie released by on Christmas day by the BBC.
Side A is the songs grouped together from the movie.
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
Since the movie only had enough music for one side, side B was singles and B sides.
7. Hello Goodbye
8. Strawberry Fields Forever
9. Penny Lane
10. Baby You're a Rich Man
11. All You Need is Love
Magical Mystery Tour is considered a weak song by some Beatles fans. It has an excellent trumpet line, along with nice harmonious backing vocals and ferocious drumming. It has a few silent bridges, but aside from that it's a loud Pepper-like song.
Fool on the Hill is considered one of McCartney's better songs (or at least on this album, where John certainly outdoes Paul) It has innocent sounding flutes combined with a calm piano rhythm and mellow vocals from Paul. It's more complex than most of the other songs from the movie, and proved Paul was a good songwriter.
Flying, however, is a less complex instrumental with a 12-bar ditty that times in around 2:17. George plays a few nice rhythm guitar riffs, along with more of Ringo's superb drumming, to give a trippy flying-like atmosphere. Soon a horn starts up, followed by some 'tra-la-la'-ing by the group.
Blue Jay Way is a perfect follow up to Flying. It starts out with a single hammond organ note, flowing into the song. George provides some creepy sounding vocals that the producers distorted, along with some scary background vocals. A lone cello makes the track even weirder by playing along time after time.
Your Mother Should Know is often considered as sub-standard McCartney song. Paul sings the same lines over and over again, while a piano drones on and on in the background. The only real highlight of the album has to be the organ, which gives the song a cosmic sounding vibe when it pairs with the piano (especially during the piano solos)
I am the Walrus saves the album from being something slightly above mediocrity. John makes his first real appearance in the album with this very trippy and drug induced song. Ringo's drumming is excellent, along with the overdubbing strings and backing vocals later added by George Martin. It's mass chaos, with nonsensical lyrics lyrics and John's raw vocals prove to be a strange, yet excellent song.
Hello Goodbye is the first single on the album. It's innocence and lyrical shallowness has lost it's favor with some Beatles fans. Ringo has very nice drum fills as George's guitar work and Paul's sweet vocals seam together a song. Martin provides so-so string overdubbing to the song, but that's not enough to save it from being compared to SFF and Walrus.
Strawberry Fields Forever is quite the opposite, however. It has paradoxic yet innocent lyrics written by John, along with fine bass line by Paul, excellent guitar flourishes and swarmandela work by George, and (you guessed it!) more outstanding drumming. This song was released B-side to Penny Lane as a single, recording during the Pepper sessions, and yet seems to perfectly fit in with the album. Probably my favorite song on Magical Mystery Tour
Penny Lane contradicts Strawberry Fields Forever, even though it's also written about Liverpool childhood (specifically Paul's). It's very bright and poppy, released A-side to SFF. It provides a nice bass line by Paul, excellent and yet fitting vocals by Paul, and excellent overdubs (especially with the Piccilo trumpets) by Martin.
Baby You're a Rich man is a very strange song, combining a John song and a Paul song. It includes a bagpipe and Paul using a string to play his bass. It has two parts repeated, one being John's strange "Now that you've found another key, what are you going to play?" kind of lyrics, and Paul's "you keep all your money in a big brown bag, inside a zoo!" lyrics. Not very impressive.
All You Need is Love however is very impressive, with it's orchestra overdubs, George's excellent guitar solo, John's wordy wordplay lyrics, and Paul's bass line. It starts with the French National Anthem, then flows into harmonious vocals before John (which you can hear him chewing his gum) starts his ragged vocals. It breaks down in the end, with the boys yelling random stuff, and the trumpets crescendoing over and over again.