Meet people from all over the World
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Pages: [1] 2

Author Topic: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?  (Read 7919 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Mellotroniac

  • A Beginning
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 184
Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« on: May 29, 2008, 04:30:38 AM »

I've seen heated debate between people on whether MMT was a true "Album" or just and EP of singles.
Was it considered an LP in America and just a EP in the UK? Does the new material constitute it as an
album, or just singles new and old collected on an EP? Their is a concept to MMT, not just a rushed release
of songs. I've read in some books as it being just and EP (Extended Play) and others an LP. MMT seems included in many peoples Album canon. It does with me too. Yet some discard it as an lousy Acid induced effort not worth placing in The Beatles line of Albums, they go straight from Pepper to The White Album. People hate on the film as well, but it grows on you with time, just think of it as alot of music videos than a Film Film. If you hate the MMT Movie then go see Daft Punk's Electroma, it makes MMT look like Dr. Zhivago or My Fair Lady.
(I DO LOVE DAFT PUNK & ELECTROMA!) So, what's the consensus, Album Worthy LP or just an alright EP?
My vote goes for LP.
Logged
&quot;No one around you will love you today and throw it all away...&quot;<br />&quot;Nothing is real...&quot;<br />&quot;Its all in the mind...&quot;<br />&quot;And life flows on within you and w
Sheet Music Plus Homepage

Klang

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 2064
  • Go to the window...
    • Klangville
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2008, 04:45:20 AM »

I was a teen when 'MMT' was released, and I recall my peers and myself regarding it as pretty much what it was, the soundtrack album to a TV film, with additional tracks included to fill it out. Simplistic sounding, I know, but just reporting on how it was for me personally. Could've been different for others, of course.

That being said, I have to admit that I spent as many enjoyable hours listening to it as I have most other Beatles LPs. It's part of the legacy, for better or worse.

 :)
Logged
'...In the name of Preverti, daughter of the mountains, whose embrace with Rani made the whole world tremble...'

BlueMeanie

  • Guest
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2008, 09:55:52 AM »

We've had this conversation several times in the past. As far as I'm concerned, MMT was a double EP, not an album. It was released in the US without The Beatles consent, and even included songs that were not in the film. The only reason it was put out as an album was because there wasn't really much of a market for EP's in America. I'd rather listen to the 'Cinelogue V' bootleg of the entire soundtrack. That way, you get 'Jessie's Dream', 'Shirley's Wild Accordion', and 'She Loves You' played on a barrel organ!
Logged

Geoff

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2133
  • One Thing I Can Tell You Is You Got To Be Free
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2008, 12:28:54 PM »

The US album was a patch work that came out because Capitol didn't want to release EP's, a format that was used little if at all over here at that time (1967). The US album is a convenient collection of The Beatles non-Pepper 1967 releases, but the singles on side 2 have nothing to do with MMT and are best heard separately, and the same is true for the MMT material itself.

And for crying out loud Apple, put Magical Mystery Tour and Let It Be out on DVD. You guys are making easy decisions look hard.
Logged

harihead

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 2339
  • Keep spreading the love
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2008, 03:32:52 PM »

Quote from: 1161
And for crying out loud Apple, put Magical Mystery Tour and Let It Be out on DVD. You guys are making easy decisions look hard.
I suspect there's still some resistance from the Beatles or their heirs for these programs not to be released. Am I wrong? Can Apple release them  anyway without Beatle consent?

Logged
All you've got to do is choose love.  That's how I live it now.  I learned a long time ago, I can feed the birds in my garden.  I can't feed them all. -- Ringo Starr, Rolling Stone magazine, May 2007<br />

madman

  • A Beginning
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 69
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #5 on: May 29, 2008, 05:16:42 PM »

Quote from: 551
I suspect there's still some resistance from the Beatles or their heirs for these programs not to be released. Am I wrong? Can Apple release them  anyway without Beatle consent?

MMT they might be able to, since it's an Apple film.  But Let It Be is a United Artists movie, I believe, so I would imagine it's up to UA to decide if it should come out.

Personally, I don't think either one will ever be released legitimately, or if they are it won't be for a long time.  Neither film plays to the Beatle "myth" of happy go-lucky mop tops; Let It Be is so depressing (except for the rooftop concert); it basically shows four guys who are tired and don't want to be together anymore.  In of itself that doesn't make for a bad movie, but combine that with poor sound, grainy film and questionable editing and you've pretty much punctured the Fab Four myth that Capitol/Apple loves to push.  

As for MMT, well, there's another thread on whether that's good or bad (I am definitely of the latter opinion!) but I can't see Macca or Ringo saying "Sure, let it out."
Logged

ShesCominDownFastYesSheIs

  • A Beginning
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 142
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #6 on: May 29, 2008, 08:45:08 PM »

LP all the way!

I understand everyone who says it's meant to have only the six film songs and "that's the way the Beatles wanted it." but come on, do you really want to take the CD out after 6 songs and switch to another or do you want to listen to 5 more songs?

my only complaint is that I would have liked Strawberry Fields to open side two instead of Hello Goodbye.

also, I wish the album version of the title track had John's "When a man buys a ticket......" stuff during the bridge.

and while I'm at it, I've always thought that a crossfade between Flying and Blue Jay Way would have been cool. the organs at the end of the Flying tapeloops seem as if they would flow seamlessly into the opening organ of Blue Jay Way
Logged
It's great...it sold...it's the bloody Beatles' White Album, shut up

BlueMeanie

  • Guest
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2008, 12:34:23 AM »

Quote from: 532
my only complaint is that I would have liked Strawberry Fields to open side two instead of Hello Goodbye.

Well, at least HG was in the movie.
Logged

Mellotroniac

  • A Beginning
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 184
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #8 on: May 30, 2008, 03:27:07 AM »

Good point on the crossfade, I like that idea.
Logged
&quot;No one around you will love you today and throw it all away...&quot;<br />&quot;Nothing is real...&quot;<br />&quot;Its all in the mind...&quot;<br />&quot;And life flows on within you and w

Geoff

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2133
  • One Thing I Can Tell You Is You Got To Be Free
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #9 on: May 30, 2008, 09:30:31 AM »

Quote from: 1330
Personally, I don't think either one will ever be released legitimately, or if they are it won't be for a long time.  Neither film plays to the Beatle "myth" of happy go-lucky mop tops; Let It Be is so depressing (except for the rooftop concert); it basically shows four guys who are tired and don't want to be together anymore.  In of itself that doesn't make for a bad movie, but combine that with poor sound, grainy film and questionable editing and you've pretty much punctured the Fab Four myth that Capitol/Apple loves to push.  

This is quite possibly correct, but both films have been released on video in the past, so objections by the band, if that is in fact the problem, haven't always been insurmountable. I suspect the real problem is the same one that delayed the release of Help! on DVD until late last year and continues to hold up the re-release of The Beatles' catalog. What that is exactly I'm not sure; but getting the ex-Beatles or their estates to agree to a project and clearing legal rights (or outstanding lawsuits) with EMI and other stakeholders is part of it, though.  :)

Logged

DaveRam

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2894
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #10 on: May 30, 2008, 10:14:50 AM »

 Magical Mystery Tour (Capitol Import )did chart on the UK album chart in 1968 it reached  #31 for a total of two weeks . It also charted as a (re - issue Parlophone ) album for One week in 1987 it reached # 52 , doe's the latter charting of Magical Mystery Tour  make it an official Beatles album ?
Logged

madman

  • A Beginning
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 69
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #11 on: May 30, 2008, 10:32:43 AM »

Quote from: 1161

This is quite possibly correct, but both films have been released on video in the past, so objections by the band, if that is in fact the problem, haven't always been insurmountable. I suspect the real problem is the same one that delayed the release of Help! on DVD until late last year and continues to hold up the re-release of The Beatles' catalog. What that is exactly I'm not sure; but getting the ex-Beatles or their estates to agree to a project and clearing legal rights (or outstanding lawsuits) with EMI and other stakeholders is part of it, though.  :)


Duh! I forgot about that!

It would be interesting to know exactly what keeps delaying new Beatle projects, though.
Logged

Geoff

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2133
  • One Thing I Can Tell You Is You Got To Be Free
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2008, 10:51:17 AM »

Quote from: 1330
It would be interesting to know exactly what keeps delaying new Beatle projects, though.

I seem to recall Paul or somebody saying that "everybody has to agree" to a new project or something to that effect around the time The Beatles finally settled the bulk of their outstanding lawsuits with EMI. This would have been around 1988-1990 or so, I think. He was talking about new albums, of course, and especially about potential repackages of The Beatles' catalog (remember Reel Music?), but I suspect that some sort of arrangement like that is the reason why Apple moves at so slow a pace as regards just about everything: first, you have to get all four Beatles or their estates to agree, and then you have to sort out everyone else's claims to the material being released, including EMI's (they own the master tapes, I believe). So there's very little movement apart from that of bootleggers moving in to do what Apple won't or can't.



Logged

BlueMeanie

  • Guest
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #13 on: May 30, 2008, 11:01:38 AM »

Quote from: 1161

I seem to recall Paul or somebody saying that "everybody has to agree" to a new project or something to that effect around the time The Beatles finally settled the bulk of their outstanding lawsuits with EMI. This would have been around 1988-1990 or so, I think. He was talking about new albums, of course, and especially about potential repackages of The Beatles' catalog (remember Reel Music?), but I suspect that some sort of arrangement like that is the reason why Apple moves at so slow a pace as regards just about everything: first, you have to get all four Beatles or their estates to agree, and then you have to sort out everyone else's claims to the material being released, including EMI's (they own the master tapes, I believe). So there's very little movement apart from that of bootleggers moving in to do what Apple won't or can't.

Hmm...I'm not so sure. If they could all agree on stuff like Anthology, 1, Love, LIB...Naked, etc, I wouldn't have thought that a relatively straightforward process of remastering and re-issuing the back catalogue would cause much dissention in the ranks.
Logged

Geoff

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2133
  • One Thing I Can Tell You Is You Got To Be Free
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #14 on: May 30, 2008, 11:14:56 AM »

Quote from: 483

Hmm...I'm not so sure. If they could all agree on stuff like Anthology, 1, Love, LIB...Naked, etc, I wouldn't have thought that a relatively straightforward process of remastering and re-issuing the back catalogue would cause much dissention in the ranks.

Yeah... true enough. I really don't understand what's going on with Apple, then. They may just prefer to move very slowly and only issue something when everybody's satisfied.
Logged

BlueMeanie

  • Guest
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #15 on: May 30, 2008, 11:47:17 AM »

Quote from: 1161
Yeah... true enough. I really don't understand what's going on with Apple, then. They may just prefer to move very slowly and only issue something when everybody's satisfied.

It seems that they're more interested in releasing 'new' product, rather than re-issuing. Yellow Sub. Songtrack, for instance, and all the stuff I previously mentioned would come under the category 'new'. The Yellow Submarine DVD even seems to have been deleted. Funny though, individually they would all seem to see the benefit of remastering and re-issuing, as they've all participated in extensive solo back catalogue re-issues over the years.

Btw, didn't Apple say they were re-issuing MMT later this year?
Logged

madman

  • A Beginning
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 69
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #16 on: May 30, 2008, 12:06:01 PM »

Quote from: 1309
I've seen heated debate between people on whether MMT was a true "Album" or just and EP of singles.
Was it considered an LP in America and just a EP in the UK? Does the new material constitute it as an
album, or just singles new and old collected on an EP? Their is a concept to MMT, not just a rushed release
of songs. I've read in some books as it being just and EP (Extended Play) and others an LP. MMT seems included in many peoples Album canon. It does with me too. Yet some discard it as an lousy Acid induced effort not worth placing in The Beatles line of Albums, they go straight from Pepper to The White Album. So, what's the consensus, Album Worthy LP or just an alright EP?

My vote goes for LP.

As does mine.  Growing up in the US, I never heard anybody not consider it an album.  We sort of vaguely knew that it really hadn't been released that way in the UK, but as imports were expensive back then (in the 70's) there wasn't a realistic way to get the EPs.  Plus, for whatever reason,  the EP never caught on in the US.

The MMT album is one of the few examples of a record company thinking like a consumer.  "No one buys EP's anymore and we have all these singles...hey, let's combine everything and make an album out of it!  Then we can throw in the book and we've got ourselves a winner!"  

Of course I seriously doubt that was the thought process behind it but considering it's a hodge-podge it holds up pretty well.
Logged

BlueMeanie

  • Guest
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #17 on: May 30, 2008, 12:11:07 PM »

Quote from: 1330
The MMT album is one of the few examples of a record company thinking like a consumer.  "No one buys EP's anymore and we have all these singles...hey, let's combine everything and make an album out of it!  Then we can throw in the book and we've got ourselves a winner!"  

Of course I seriously doubt that was the thought process behind it but considering it's a hodge-podge it holds up pretty well.

Actually, I think you're absolutely right.
Logged

madman

  • A Beginning
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 69
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #18 on: May 30, 2008, 12:48:49 PM »

Quote from: 483
Btw, didn't Apple say they were re-issuing MMT later this year?

When did they say that?  As much as I dislike it, I'd still buy the DVD anyway.

Logged

BlueMeanie

  • Guest
Re: Magical Mystery Tour EP or LP?
« Reply #19 on: May 30, 2008, 12:55:02 PM »

I'm sure a few months ago they said it should be out later in the year. Unless I dreamed it!
Logged
Pages: [1] 2
 

Page created in 0.219 seconds with 82 queries.