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Magical Mystery Tour
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Piano/Vocal/Chords songbook
Magical Mystery Tour

First released: 1967, November 27

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Piano/Vocal/Chords songbook at Sheetmusicplus.com
Tracks
  1. Magical Mystery Tour (2:52)
    Recorded: April 25, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added April 26-27, 1967 (vocals), May 3, 1967 (trumpets), and November 7, 1967
    John Lennon - acoustic guitar, background vocal
    Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar, piano (with echo effects)
    George Harrison - lead guitar, background vocal
    Ringo Starr - drums, tambourine
    Session musicians - three trumpets
  2. The Fool on the Hill (3:00)
    Recorded: September 25, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 26, 1967 and October 20, 1967 (flutes)
    John Lennon - harmonica, maracas
    Paul McCartney - lead vocal, piano, double-tracked recorder, flute
    George Harrison - lead guitar, harmonica
    Ringo Starr - finger cymbals
  3. Flying (2:17)
    Recorded: September 8, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 28, 1967
    John Lennon - mellotron, chanting, tape loop at end
    Paul McCartney - guitars, chanting
    George Harrison - guitars, chanting
    Ringo Starr - drums, maracas, chanting, tape loop at end
  4. Blue Jay Way (3:57)
    Recorded: September 6, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 7, 1967 and October 6, 1967
    John Lennon - tambourine
    Paul McCartney - bass guitar, background vocal
    George Harrison - double-tracked lead vocal, Hammond organ, background vocal
    Ringo Starr - drums
    Session musician - cello
  5. Your Mother Should Know (2:29)
    Recorded: August 22, 1967 at Chappell Recording Studios, London, England with overdubs added August 23, 1967 and September 29, 1967
    John Lennon - organ, background vocal
    Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar, piano, background vocal
    George Harrison - tambourine, tabla, background vocal
    Ringo Starr - drums
  6. I Am the Walrus (4:37)
    Recorded: September 5, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 6, 1967 and September 27, 1967
    John Lennon - lead vocal, mellotron (at the beginning)
    Paul McCartney - bass guitar, background vocal
    George Harrison - tambourine, background vocal
    Ringo Starr - drums
    Session musicians - eight violins, four cellos, three horns
    Choir - six boys singing "Oompah, oompah, stick it up your jumper", six girls singing "Everybody's got one"
  7. Hello Goodbye (3:32)
    Recorded: October 2, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added October 19, 20, 25 and November 2, 1967
    John Lennon - lead guitar, organ, background vocal
    Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar, piano, bongos, conga drum,
    background vocal
    George Harrison - lead guitar, tambourine, background vocal
    Ringo Starr - drums, maracas
    Session musicians - two violas
  8. Strawberry Fields Forever (4:10)
    Recorded: November 24, 1966 at Abbey Road, London, England with additional work on November 28-29 and December 8, 9, 15, and 21, 1966
    John Lennon - lead vocal, lead guitar, harpsichord
    Paul McCartney - bass guitar, piano, bongos, flute
    George Harrison - lead guitar, timpani
    Ringo Starr - drums
    Mal Evans - tambourine
    Philip Jones - alto trumpet
    Session musicians - two cellos, two horns
  9. Penny Lane (3:04)
    Recorded: December 29, 1966 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added December 30, 1966 and January, 1967
    John Lennon - piano, harmony vocal
    Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar, Arco string bass, flute
    George Harrison - conga drum, firebell
    Ringo Starr - drums
    George Martin - piano
    David Mason - piccolo trumpet
    Philip Jones - trumpet
  10. Baby You're a Rich Man (3:03)
    Recorded: May 11, 1967 at Olympic Sound Studios, London, England
    John Lennon - lead vocal, clavioline, piano
    Paul McCartney - bass guitar, piano, harmony vocal
    George Harrison - tambourine, harmony vocal
    Ringo Starr - drums, maracas
    Session musicians - vibes
  11. All You Need Is Love (3:48)
    Recorded: June 14, 1967 at Olympic Sound Studios, London, England (backing track), overdubbed and shortened at an Abbey Road session, then overdubbed live on the "Our World" TV broadcast
    ::Backing track::
    John Lennon - harpsichord
    Paul McCartney - string bass played with a bow
    George Harrison - violin
    Ringo Starr - drums
    ::Abbey Road Track::
    John Lennon - lead vocal
    Paul McCartney - electric bass guitar
    George Harrison - guitar
    Ringo Starr - drums
    ::Live "Our World" track::
    John Lennon - lead vocal
    Paul McCartney - background vocal
    George Harrison - background vocal
    Session musicians - studio orchestra
    Mick Jagger, Gary Leeds, Keith Richards, Marianne Faithfull,
    Jane Asher, Patti Harrison, Keith Moon, Graham Nash - chorus
Credits
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Geoff Emerick
Cover Photo by: John Kelly
Releases
1967, November 27 Capitol SMAL-2835 (US)
Reviews & comments
All Music Guide (2002, April 28)
The U.S. version of the soundtrack for their 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

Review