Sgt. Pepper's Little Brother? --- Pffft! This is My Favorite Beatles Album.

(Disclaimer: Those looking for a brief description of the album will find what their looking for in the "Review Body" section. The section titled "Track Reviews" is meant only for those who want to read detailed descriptions of the songs, and they do not constitute the essence of this review. Lastly and most importantly, this review is not necessarily written by the point of view of a Beatles fan.)

Overall Score: 5+/5
Best song: Either “Penny Lane” or “Strawberry Fields Forever” ... depends if I'm in a McCartney or a Lennon mood.
Worst song: “Flying” ... despite the fact that it's a wonderful sucker

Review Body:

Every one of the 1966-1969 Beatles albums are practically perfect, and you can imagine how difficult it is to buckle down and actually pick a favorite. Well, I have spent many years contemplating that, and I've come to a very solid conclusion that Magical Mystery Tour wins that personal distinction. Of course, I realize this is an oddball choice for a plethora of reasons... the most important one being that George's songwriting contribution in this album is probably the least significant of all these classic Beatles albums. And everybody knows how much I love George! (Also, this album has the reputation of being Sgt. Pepper's little brother, as it was in fact composed partly of leftovers from that album.) But I'm throwing all caution to the wind. THE BEST BEATLES ALBUM OF THEM ALL IS MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR! HOO-AH!

If nothing else, this is another great art-rock album from these guys. Just like Sgt. Pepper, you can thumb through these songs all you want, and you won't find a song that isn't great. Even that goofy instrumental jam track called “Flying” has its incredible charm. It most likely was the result of a jam session (it's the first time that a Beatles song was credited to all four of them), and it's a blast! A weird, groovy pace and those funny mock operatic “ahhs” at the end create an entirely memorable atmosphere. It proves to me that they still had the Beatles still had their weird, goofy charm intact. And that was the worst song of the album.

The second worst song is arguably either George Harrison's “Blue Jay Way” or Paul McCartney's “Hello, Goodbye.” “Blue Jay Way” has remarkable instrumentation. It comes up against some pretty stiff competition, but that might just have the most creative instrumentation on the whole disc. Well, it's either that or “I Am the Walrus.” There are instrumentally distorted sounds all throughout that track, which creates a sort of maniacal pace, and it's just incredible to listen to! Amazingly it never comes close to falling apart despite the odds... That was part of The Beatles magic! The only area where that song falls short is the melody, which never captivated me, and frankly it's a little boring. “Hello, Goodbye” isn't lacking in the melody department whatsoever (I mean, it's a McCartney melody, for pete's sake)! But it does seem a slight step back... it's just a regular pop-rock song with nothing particularly notable about the instrumentation.

OK, those were the “lowlights,” which are all still great classics. But the rest are so good that it'll BLOW YOUR MIND!!! Naturally, most of these songs are psychedelic, but I don't even think you have to be a particular fan of the psychedelic era to appreciate them. The melodies are just too catchy! The title song is an upbeat pop-rocker that puts us in the right mood for the album. The development is wild and unpredictable while never once sacrificing its smooth-as-clay flow. “The Fool on the Hill” features some of the most imaginative lyrics that Paul ever wrote, and it's coupled by another one of his top-notch melodies. Those flutes and horns throughout the song is another brilliant touch... so many other bands tried their hardest to emulate those, but very few ever approached it. In fact, flutes normally sound too dang fruity in other pop-rock contexts! But here they provide the perfect atmosphere. I'm also fond of Paul's old-timey song “Your Mother Should Know.” It's along the same lines as “When I'm Sixty-Four,” but the melody is better and the instrumentation is thicker. And that's yet another McCartney composition that'll get stuck in your head forever...

It was John Lennon who provided this album's grandest masterpieces, of course. I only need to name three songs, and you'll know what I mean. “I Am the Walrus,” “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “All You Need is Love.” They are all so great they make me wet my pants! Well, not literally, but it feels like I should be. “I Am the Walrus” has those famously nonsense lyrics and quite possibly the strangest instrumentation in any Beatles song. Lennon was very fond of using tape effects in his songs, and he really went to town there. He thinks of all sorts of weird things to put in that song, and amazingly none of this weirdness detracted from that utterly catchy melody and its driving flow. I listened to that song about a billion times, and I still don't believe it. “Strawberry Fields Forever” is another unforgettable hippie classic. The instrumentation isn't quite as amazing as “I Am the Walrus,” but it's still unpredictable and seems fresh no matter how much you hear it. And, man! The melody! OH THE MELODY! “All You Need is Love” is probably the grandest love anthem ever written. It's melodically simple, but it's still catchy and memorable! I love that it starts with that stodgy British horn theme and ends into a sort of anarchic love fest... That aspect, especially, delights me every time I hear it. What a fantastic song! It's the sort of thing that I could go off on a fan rant forever, but I don't because I'm restraining myself.

I can't forget about Paul's “Penny Lane,” which is worthy of its reputation of one of the greatest (if not *the* greatest) Brit-pop songs ever recorded. This melody, above all other Paul melodies, is one of his best. That's really saying something. The instrumentation isn't nearly as experimental as John's contributions, but these are still wonderful and contribute to that nostalgic feeling that he was going for. “Baby You're a Rich Man” is probably the album's lost “gem,” so to speak. It gets a bit lost in the shuffle. It has a melody to die for and certain creative touches with the instrumentation. Need I say more?

Really, these Beatles albums are so good that I can't imagine what I would do, in life, without them... It's possible I might never have even gotten into rock music without them. THEY CHANGED MY LIFE!!!!!!!

Track Reviews:

Magical Mystery Tour A+
No Sgt. Pepper-wannabe could be without a psychedelic title track introducing the whole album! ... Actually, it's just the opening track to that strange TV movie they did. It's a very good, upbeat song with those slight psychedelic leanings, which of course was all the rage! It was composed primarily by Paul (the first time he composed the title track to a Beatles movie), and it's a wonderfully catchy tune that sets you in that mood. Those horns are a particular favorite of mine listening to those in addition to the already brilliant vocal melody gives it an extra edge that I like. The song development is varied ... For example, they completely change around the rhythm half-way through. I'm ready to have this magical mystery!

The Fool on the Hill A+
This is a beautiful song! It's another one written by Paul although the lyrics seem like they were written by John. (They weren't, of course, but John had commended these lyrics.) Once again, Paul hits the melodic sweet-spot with another hopelessly wonderful melody that will never be forgotten! The song development keeps the song fresh and exciting. There are all sorts of textures they explore throughout the song... It would take too many words to adequately describe them! The obvious sound that's constant throughout the song is the two flutes. That's another brilliant, classic instrumental idea.

Flying A
This goofy instrumental marks a few firsts in The Beatles' discography. It's their first instrumental (recorded on their mainstream discography), and it's the first time all four Beatles were given songwriting credits. I'm almost sure this started as an impromptu jam session (hence the credits), and John came in later and added some of his weird, psycho tape loops. Somewhere, they added vocals, which come in the form of goofy, psychedelic “aaaahs.” The funny thing is, even this simple jam instrumental is catchy.

Blue Jay Way A
Probably the least captivating song here, which is unusual for George at this stage. His songs have generally been very captivating, but I find this thing a little bit distant. There's a vague Indian flavor to this, but that's somewhat hidden into that crazy psychedelic mix! Now, this crazy psychedelic mix is what makes this song completely deserving of that A. An incredibly impressive arrangement with more of these tape experiments that they were so fond of! This is one of the weirdest Beatles song, and that's a distinction that didn't come easily!

Your Mother Should Know A+
This is a much better old-timey song from McCartney than “When I'm Sixty-Four” was. The melody is much more interesting, and naturally everything about the instrumentation was nailed. They didn't need to do anything impressive with it. It's mostly just an upbeat piano and Ringo's drumming. There's also some hammond organ piddling around to give it that added depth. This is yet another wonderful song. ...How did they do it?

I Am the Walrus A+
Quite probably the best psychedelic song ever made... If there's a better one, then I don't want to hear about it. It'll shatter the illusion! These classic lyrics make no sense whatsoever, and that's part of its charm. It's really fun to sing along with, too... John manages to come up with one of his more infectious melodies, and he continues to bring in these weird arrangements... He was so fond of these silly tape experiments, and this song is filled to the brim with all these noises. Who would have thought something this unusual could be this enjoyable? If that was even possible, Lennon proved that he had come a long way since “Tomorrow Never Knows,” the first time he tried such experiments.

Hello, Goodbye A
This is McCartney composition is probably the most unremarkable songs from the album. Although, it being a Beatles song, it's catchy as all hell! It sort of gets buried between the monstrous Lennon masterpieces that surrounds it. It is very upbeat, though, and provides a lot of upbeat energy. I always love listening to it, even though I think of it as more of a good buffer between the crazy psychedelic songs...

Strawberry Fields Forever A+
A MASTERPIECE! Do I need to say anything else about it? The whole world knows these songs by heart anyway... Once again, John takes us into his weird psychedelic trips with strange lyrics and yet another utterly catchy melody. The instrumentals are also incredibly impressive. It gets busier and less predictable as it progresses, showing us that we're going down into some sort of weirdo psycho land. There's that famous false ending... it fades out and you think it's over. BUT IT'S NOT! THERE WERE MORE CRAZY INSTRUMENTS THAT HE WANTED YOU TO HEAR!

Penny Lane A+
This is basically the king of every Brit-pop song ever written. No one should even attempt to top this, because it's impossible! Of course, this was one of Paul's songs, and the melody is as great as anything he has ever written. In case you're completely weird and haven't heard this song yet, it's a very upbeat and nostalgic song with some very British sounding horns inserted throughout. Geez, if you haven't heard this, then ... I'm surprised you're even reading this review. Off with you to the record store!

Baby You're a Rich Man A+
On the surface, this seems like one of the weaker songs like “Hello, Goodbye,” but actually it's another brilliant song. That creepy bass-line that keeps on popping up is something that I haven't heard before... and that really strange loop that sounds a bit like a bagpipe on acid is a strange sound effect. Once again, they have come up with a melody that's incredibly catchy. Who am I to say this is a sub-par song? It's not!

All You Need is Love A+
This was probably John Lennon's simplest and grandest statement ever. The melody is simple, but it's the sort of thing that sticks in your mind (and that's not because it's dumb and repetitive). This sticks with the interesting, overextended codas that John seemed particularly fond of. It starts very restrained (even starting with that stodgy British royal horn theme) and some acoustic guitars pound away. But by the end, it's an anarchic love-fest, almost. You can hear John start singing “She loves you, yeah yeah yeah!' ..... I remember that song!

Concluding Remarks:

Another album another masterpiece. These songs are all so universally great with an even greater tendency toward experimentation compared to Sgt. Pepper and Rubber Soul that I have no regrets in calling Magical Mystery Tour my favorite of them all!