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Beatles forums => Albums => Microscopes => Topic started by: tkitna on May 27, 2011, 05:50:38 PM

Title: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: tkitna on May 27, 2011, 05:50:38 PM
Magical Mystery Tour

First of all, I don’t care if this is an EP or an LP or what. All I know is that in order to hear the music, I need to buy it regardless if its an official album or not. Having said that, I find myself hardly ever listening to this record. There’s a couple songs I really love on it, but on the whole, there’s not enough to keep bringing me back. It’s an offering of a bunch of mismatched songs with no rhyme or reason, but I suppose when there’s no intentions, that’s what you’ll get.


Magical Mystery Tour - This has always been a favorite of mine. If its not in the top ten, its close. I like how it starts with Paul acting as the carnival barker trying to get our attention to embark on the journey. It reminds me of Sgt. Peppers in the effect that we buy into the initial message, but then nothing happens. With Peppers, we have the concept that lasts for the first two songs and then disappears. Here we have the first song trying to sell us a great, mystery tour that kind of just flops after the first tune. Hell, the movie suffered the same fate too. Oh well, I’m long winded so off to the song itself. Opening horns are nice. I really love the harmonies, but Johns voice seems to be a bit more out in front. Bass sounds awesome. Love the drums, but they seem to be pushed a little to the back of the mix. 0:48 Ringo gives the hi hats three quick splashes. Love that. 1:14 dig the bass and Ringos buzz role. Pauls voice sounds great. Rhythm guitar sounds good throughout. Wood block adds some space. The ending is awesome with the bass and piano. During the ending theres some chimes being played that I’ve never heard before. 2:40 Paul plays his greatest bass line ever in my opinion. When I first heard it years ago, it literally blew me away. Who would think to play that. Incredible. All in all, a good song that I really like.

The Fool On The Hill - Never one of my favorites and I get tired of it pretty quick, but it’s a decent tune. Piano sounds nice. Pauls voice is good. Is that a flute in the beginning being played? I like it. 0:19 harmonica comes in. Nice touch. 0:27 triangle being played. Acoustic guitar sounds great throughout. 1:23 the kazoo and kids flute doesn’t mesh with me. Its too much. 2:39 I like the sound effect there. Sounds like a banshee screaming or something. Like I said before, just an alright song that’s decent enough.

Flying - A short, little, mellow jam tune that’s credited to all four of them. 0:12 love when the guitar comes in here. Bass sounds good. Ringo keeps a nice beat. 0:31 what kind of instrument is being played here? Sounds like an electric oboe or something. I have no idea. The ’La La La La La’s’ sound stupid and should have been left out. Actually Ringos playing is pretty good on this song now that I think about it. 1:33 the ending is pretty neat. Reminds me of being in space or something to that effect. Not much of a song, but I like it well enough.

Blue Jay Way - I wont say that I hate this song, but I don’t think its very good. I would say its one of George’s worst actually. Its bores me. I like the eerie organ beginning. 0:18 cello comes in and sounds nice. All the reverse tapes being played throughout annoy the p*ss out of me. The only thing worse than the reverse tapes is George’s echo effect on his voice. Bass sounds good. Ringos drumming is top notch. 1:40 tambourine comes in. 2:11 my favorite fill from Ringo on the song. The cello during the ending is cool. I like the frantic nature. 3:20 the ’Don’t Be Long’ that’s sung is different here and switches up the song a little. Nice touch. The abrupt ending sucks.

Your Mother Should Know - This song is pretty good. It’s a typical Paul effort blending in some of the old style music with a happy tempo. The bass and piano beginning sounds good. 0:18 love when the guitar comes in. Drums are double tracked. Pauls voice sounds good. Background vocals kind of bother me for some reason. 0:47 like the organ during the change. 1:07 love when Ringo goes to the ride. 1:43 studio opens up a channel here and its pretty harsh.  I like this song. Not great, but enjoyable.

I Am The Walrus - Easily one of my favorite Beatle songs ever. Definitely a top 5. Like the tambourine or shaker in the beginning. The strings and organ together sound great. Ringos drums sound amazing on this track. Johns voice sounds fantastic here too. Bass sounds great. 1:15 dig how the strings come down. 1:29 Johns falsetto cracks. 2:00 love the break. I always felt the sound effects sounded like an actual walrus, but I’m sure that’s what they were aiming for anyways. 2:11 my favorite part of the song. I love when John comes back into the song here on top of the strings. 2:25 voices in the background are cool. A thought just came to mind. Is John rapping in this song? Could be I guess. 2:42 the laughs are great. 2:53 strings come in and sound awesome. 3:44 here is something intriguing to me. Paul is in the background and he says clap and then starts laughing. I swear it’s the same thing as they use on ’Hey Bulldog’, but I cant say for sure. Never heard that before. 4:12 like the untimely death. Brilliant song.

Hello Goodbye - I get tired of this song easily too. Saying opposites throughout an entire song kind of bothers me I guess. I suppose I’m tired of it too from the times I listened to it to learn the drums. Fun song to play by the way. Anyways, the violin and piano in the beginning is nice. Bass sounds good. 0:21 like the guitar sound. Ringos snare sounds awesome. Pauls voice sounds great too. 0:59 backgrounds coming in are awesome. 1:15 there’s two hand claps here. Why? Kind of dumb. 1:22 when Paul sings ’Do You Say’ I love his voice. Maraca’s throughout are nice. 1:50 double track voice falls apart. 2:12 bass flurry is awesome. Never noticed that before. 2:20 organ in the background. Never noticed that either. I hate the ending and wouldn’t be bothered if I never heard it again. Just an ok song.

Strawberry Fields Forever - Here’s a song that everybody else seems to like way more than I do. I think it might just be too damn long for me. I lose interest in it. 0:09 guitar strum is cool. 0:14 bass comes in and sounds great. Ringo kills on this song. Brilliant playing. Johns voice is awesome here too. 0:59 love the strings and the timpani drums. 1:18 harp or guitar? 1:22 note is played that’s an obvious mistake. 1:26 backward hi hats sound neat. 2:01 counting in the background is cool. 2:27 is that Johns voice being double tracked or does Paul join him? 2:56 guitar tone is awesome. 2:59 piano comes in and sounds great. 3:42 the brass bursts are a nice touch. 3:55 piano is really cool here. Ironically the ’I Buried Paul or Cranberry Sauce’ part is hard to hear on the remaster. Good song I guess, but I never play it or I turn the station if it comes on the radio.

Penny Lane - I like this one a lot. I like the happy feeling. The piano/bass/flute beginning is nice. Pauls voice sounds great. 0:39 love the brass. 0:43 harmonies are fantastic. 1:06 fireman bell is cool. Mal? 1:09 love the trumpet solo. 1:39 Johns voice here is great. Sounds better here than the earlier and later bars for some reason. 1:53 always loved how Paul sand the word ’Play’ here. 2:03 cello is nice. 2:32 what the hell happens here? Sounds like an old creaky door being shut really fast. That’s the best way I can explain it. 2:42 bongos come in and sound great. Like the song a lot. Kind of has a Motown/funk feel with all the brass. Reminds me a little of ’Got To Get You Into My Life’.

Baby You’re A Rich Man - Pretty neutral song for me. I don’t think its very good, but I hardly ever hear it so it doesn’t bother me too much. Bass sounds cool. 0:07 Indian instrument or something starts here and just annoys for the rest of the song. 0:12 guitar sounds good coming in here. 0:32 Johns voice sounds awesome. Tambourine and maracas being played. 1:00 guitar being played with the singing is cool. 1:10 you can hear it better here. Drums are double tracked. Not a great song.

All You Need Is Love - I hate this song. I don’t have a particular reason why, but I do. Just sounds sappy to me. Harmonies are tight. 0:17 like the strings when they come in. 0:24 somebody says ’Check’ in the background. Johns voice sounds great. Bass sounds good. 1:18 ahhh, the botched guitar solo that we all know and love. Shame too, because I liked Georges tone here. Makes me question his ability sometimes. I always thought it was kind of funny if you were in a Beatles cover band and was the guitar player. If you learned this song, you would need to mess up on purpose or,,,you would mess up. Think about that. 2:29 like Paul when he sings ’All together now’. 3:02 woodwinds break out into a 1920 Charleston type of tune. Cool. 3:22 Paul sings ’She Loves You Yeah Yeah Yeah’. Best part of the song. I realize they wrote this in about 3 seconds and played it live, but I think it’s a p*ss poor effort. Sorry.


Decent collaboration of songs thrown together for our listening enjoyment. Has high points and some very low points. I’m not a huge fan of the total package. I did like the book that came with the album when I was younger though. Cool stuff.    
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Hombre_de_ningun_lugar on May 27, 2011, 07:01:45 PM
At this point I think it's fair to consider Magical Mystery Tour an official Beatles album. At least it's much more a real album than Yellow Submarine. This record has some essential classics ("Strawberry Fields Forever"; "Penny Lane"; "All You Need Is Love"; "I Am The Walrus"), some mindless but entertaining songs ("Magical Mystery Tour"; "Hello, Goodbye") and several fillers. Probably the most uneven Beatles album.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Ovi on May 27, 2011, 07:26:09 PM
I'm pretty sure that Strawberry Fields is one of the most over-rated pieces of music ever. Really. Maybe I don't get it, I don't know, but it never impressed me at all. I just gave it a listen a few minutes ago to see if my opinion would change, but with no succes. The first minute of the song is allright, but then the lyrics are becoming repetitive and non-interesting. It is a good track, okay lyrics, good music and drumming, far from being bad but I wouldn't call it the best Beatles song in a million years.It's just my opinion though.

I Am The Walrus, Penny Lane and The Fool On The Hill are the highlights on the album, all 3 are in my top 20 probably.The first one's catchy as hell, and it's really something different and inovative.Paul's "Penny Lane" is one of those songs that you enjoy from the very first listen. How can you not like lyrics like "There beneath the blue suburban skies I sit, and meanwhile back." "Fool On The Hill" has always been a favourite of mine, great lyrics and it is a change in Paul's songwriting.

I never really cared for All You Need Is Love either, the message is great, but the song itself has nothing special really.
I just realised that Baby You're A Rich Man is a song that I never really listened to very much (how can I call myself a Beatles fan  :-X). I gave it a listen right now, and it's okay. Same as the title track and Hello Goodbye.

Your Mother Should Know is decent, though I hated it for a long time. Flying is ok, too.

In my opinion "SFF" and "Penny Lane" would've fit better on Sgt. Pepper's instead of "Getting Better" and "When I'm Sixty Four", but either way, "Magical Mystery Tour" is pretty good, and just as John described it : weird.  :)


Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: stevie on May 27, 2011, 09:31:53 PM
i still have the original double EP - bought it when I was about 12 in 1974. Got the 'album' on CD in the Beatles bread box.

Penny Lane is my favorite Beatles song, and I think it has to be classed as their finest song. By that I mean it evokes the memory of them in a similair way to hearing She Loves You.  Does that manke sense?

TK, you forgot to mention Paul's bass playing on PL - has to be up there with the best ever in musical history. And Ringo's drumming sounds fantastic too.

In 1997, when I visited Liverpool, I did the Magical Mystery Tour to all the landmarks. Coincidentally, the date was July 6, exactly 40 years since John and Paul met at Woolerton fete, and we drove past the church!!!

And driving down Penny Lane, they play the song over the bus speakers - an awesome moment which brought tears to my eyes...
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on May 27, 2011, 11:02:25 PM
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The Fool On The Hill - Never one of my favorites and I get tired of it pretty quick, but it’s a decent tune. Piano sounds nice. Pauls voice is good. Is that a flute in the beginning being played? I like it.

Flying - A short, little, mellow jam tune that’s credited to all four of them. 0:12 love when the guitar comes in here. Bass sounds good. Ringo keeps a nice beat. 0:31 what kind of instrument is being played here?

These sounds are from their newly acquired Mellotron..

an instrument that would be very big later in Progressive Rock
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: blmeanie on May 27, 2011, 11:16:34 PM
I enjoy your microscopic reviews thoroughly.  Sometimes I think you realize things you may not have been aware of or known until you put it in your reviews, for example your review of :

Hello Goodbye - I get tired of this song easily too. Saying opposites throughout an entire song kind of bothers me I guess. I suppose I’m tired of it too from the times I listened to it to learn the drums. Fun song to play by the way. Anyways, the violin and piano in the beginning is nice. Bass sounds good. 0:21 like the guitar sound. Ringos snare sounds awesome. Pauls voice sounds great too. 0:59 backgrounds coming in are awesome. 1:15 there’s two hand claps here. Why? Kind of dumb. 1:22 when Paul sings ’Do You Say’ I love his voice. Maraca’s throughout are nice. 1:50 double track voice falls apart. 2:12 bass flurry is awesome. Never noticed that before. 2:20 organ in the background. Never noticed that either. I hate the ending and wouldn’t be bothered if I never heard it again. Just an ok song.

If ok songs that you are tired of have that many good/great parts to them I'm lovin' it.  As I get tired of some songs I take breaks from them.  Even after short breaks, hearing them again can bring refreshed joy and awareness of the great parts again.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: tkitna on May 28, 2011, 12:38:09 AM
TK, you forgot to mention Paul's bass playing on PL - has to be up there with the best ever in musical history.

Your right Stevie and i'm not sure why I didnt mention something about it. Actually, I think Paul excells throughout the entire album.

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And driving down Penny Lane, they play the song over the bus speakers - an awesome moment which brought tears to my eyes...

I can only imagine. Someday i'd love to make the trip.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: tkitna on May 28, 2011, 12:39:49 AM
These sounds are from their newly acquired Mellotron..

an instrument that would be very big later in Progressive Rock

Yes, i'd forgotten they had one at the time.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: tkitna on May 28, 2011, 12:42:57 AM
I enjoy your microscopic reviews thoroughly. 

Thanks for the kind words.

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If ok songs that you are tired of have that many good/great parts to them I'm lovin' it.

Absolutly. I realize sometimes that I say I dont care for a song and then I rave about the playing and the construction of the song itself and thats ok. Just because I dont care for it doesnt mean its still not a good song. Thanks again and I appreciate the participation.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on May 28, 2011, 11:31:45 AM
I actually think this isnt an album, but it was released as one and one of the main problems with it is that John had lost interest in The Beatles (maybe due to Brians recent death) and Paul was the leader, the only one with drive to do stuff, I feel it wasnt an album because John only wrote walrus for the project whereas on previous albums he might have wrote 6 songs.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on May 29, 2011, 11:01:52 PM
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I Am The Walrus - Easily one of my favorite Beatle songs ever. Definitely a top 5. Brilliant song.

I agree 100%, I think when this song came out, many many people were gobsmacked by it, I think this erm song turned the music world upside down and inside out, lyrically its ourageous of course Lewis Carol on acid  ;D
I heard John read about people looking for hidden meaning in his songs so he wrote Walrus and said 'lets see them sort that one out'
The melody is typical Lennon, I believe it is based on the siren used by police cars in the UK at the time ie 2 notes.....sort of, I am he as you are he etc is THE 2 notes they used.
I dont think anyone else couldve written it and I think if Paul was a bit peaved that his musical prowess was of a higher plane than the others then this track blows any though of superiority that Paul may have had, it was quite simply a work of genius at the time. Its a monster on the album just as A Day In The Life is on Pepper.

'I Am The Walrus' still remains unsurpassed as one of the most complex, diverse and completely unpredictable songs of all time
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: tkitna on May 30, 2011, 12:20:58 AM
The melody is typical Lennon, I believe it is based on the siren used by police cars in the UK at the time ie 2 notes.....sort of, I am he as you are he etc is THE 2 notes they used.

Great. Everytime I hear the song now, i'm going to think of this. Seriously, I never heard that before, but it makes perfect sense. Pretty cool.

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I dont think anyone else couldve written it and I think if Paul was a bit peaved that his musical prowess was of a higher plane than the others then this track blows any though of superiority that Paul may have had, it was quite simply a work of genius at the time.

I really cant agree with you here. Are you saying that this song was better than anything Paul could have written? When you say 'musical prowess', thats a broad subject. If your trying to say that John was a better psychedelic song writer then I would tend to agree, but I dont think John could write a classical music album either. Apples and oranges.

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Its a monster on the album just as A Day In The Life is on Pepper.

I think you'll find that the majority of listeners would probably consider Strawberry Fields the monster with Penny Lane a close second. I like your take though and agree.

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I Am The Walrus' still remains unsurpassed as one of the most complex, diverse and completely unpredictable songs of all time

Eh, maybe. I'd probably describe it more so as one of the most popular psychedelic songs ever instead of the most complex, diverse, and unpredictable songs ever.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on May 30, 2011, 06:55:56 AM
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I really cant agree with you here.

HaHaHaHa

Are you saying that this song was better than anything Paul could have written? When you say 'musical prowess', thats a broad subject. If your trying to say that John was a better psychedelic song writer then I would tend to agree, but I dont think John could write a classical music album either. Apples and oranges.

maybe I didnt explain myself well.

As we all know Paul was, shall we say, more gifted as a musician than the other 3, he mustve gotten frustrated that he was musically superior to the others as he slowly took over the band.............however, John showed (yet agian) that although he probably couldnt write an opera (where Paul could) he genius was to show the way for pop/rock music, with a handful of songs John changed the face of popular music, while Paul was crafting ditties like Your Mother Should Know and When Im 64 that grannies could singalong too, John was changing the face of popular music and no song did this more than Walrus.
When you think about it they were perfect foils for each other.

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I think you'll find that the majority of listeners would probably consider Strawberry Fields the monster with Penny Lane a close second. I like your take though and agree

I never think of SFF as part or written for, an album, it was a single (double A side) that was pre even Pepper, whereas Walrus was written for MMT.

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Eh, maybe. I'd probably describe it more so as one of the most popular psychedelic songs ever instead of the most complex, diverse, and unpredictable songs ever.

Then we'll have to disagree, there was nothing like it before it, as a recording it is very complex and lyrically I cant think of anything before it that had such a diverse subject or diverse lyrics and at the time it was completely unpredictable both musically and lyrically.....all IMO of course

Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: tkitna on May 30, 2011, 07:13:33 AM
maybe I didnt explain myself well.

As we all know Paul was, shall we say, more gifted as a musician than the other 3, he mustve gotten frustrated that he was musically superior to the others as he slowly took over the band.............however, John showed (yet agian) that although he probably couldnt write an opera (where Paul could) he genius was to show the way for pop/rock music, with a handful of songs John changed the face of popular music, while Paul was crafting ditties like Your Mother Should Know and When Im 64 that grannies could singalong too, John was changing the face of popular music and no song did this more than Walrus.
When you think about it they were perfect foils for each other.

I get what your saying now and agree somewhat with it but not totally. At this stage it did seem that John was punching out the bigger, quality tunes while Paul was pushing out more quantity. Its still a fine line, because Paul was still writing some legendary pop tunes. Maybe not as daring as John, but just as memorable. Was he frustrated? Probably, but he would never admit it.

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I never think of SFF as part or written for, an album, it was a single (double A side) that was pre even Pepper, whereas Walrus was written for MMT.

Great point and your 100% correct. I didnt think about it that way, but your right.

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Then we'll have to disagree, there was nothing like it before it, as a recording it is very complex and lyrically I cant think of anything before it that had such a diverse subject or diverse lyrics and at the time it was completely unpredictable both musically and lyrically.....all IMO of course

I'll agree with you about the song as for when it came out. Easily agree, but I had problems when you mentioned that it STILL held those credentials. I can think of a ton of prog tunes that would be better described as the way you said and I know you can too. Thats what I was meaning.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on May 30, 2011, 08:17:00 AM
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I'll agree with you about the song as for when it came out. Easily agree, but I had problems when you mentioned that it STILL held those credentials. I can think of a ton of prog tunes that would be better described as the way you said and I know you can too. Thats what I was meaning.
 

as you know Im a fan of prog but prog isnt accessable to most people, only geeks like me like it  ha2ha
Its all very well to have 22 minute tracks like Close To The Edge or 2 hour attempts to put the bible to music with seemingly deep & meaningful lyrics like Topographic Oceans, time signatures like 8/6 melding to 5/4 whilst soloing Bachlike counterpoint melodies and contrapuntal harmonies but Walrus was the forebearer of groups doing all that, and yet Walrus was brilliantly accessable, you could sing along to it or whistle it whilst walking down the street...........sure people took things further and more intricate, but was it better music ? I dont think so personally.
John Lennon (the forward thinking genius) was the only one who could come up with a new direction in music at that time and still make it acceptable to the common man.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: glass onion on May 30, 2011, 09:12:58 AM
MMT is indeed the strangest album (and it is an album) the band released,as has been said,big highs and some lows.the title track is great,sets you up for a great album,paul in top form,john seems to be enjoying himself,too.'fool on the hill' i read somewhere could have been about maharishi?whether that's true i don't know,but the song is pretty nice,'flying' is a guilty pleasure of mine,just different.'blue jay way' is plain poor.'your mother should know' is alright,but like ian mcdonald says,no middle 8-and it does stick out a mile.'walrus' is so out there,and yes,the intro was indeed based on the 'nee-nar-nee-nar' police car sirens that we have here in britain.it doesn't groove me as much as it should,but there is no getting away from 'walrus' being a watershed kind of song.
side 2 is far better than side 1-'hello goodbye' is a fantastic uplifting song.macca opened with this on his 2004 tour.amazing.i cried my eyes out!!(yes,i know,i know).'strawberry fields'-ah,come on,awesome.ringo absolutely swings in this song.'penny lane' is great,lovely trumpet solo and smart lyrics (liverpool is like that in places),'baby you're a rich man' is another great song,ringo is so good again,paul also on form here.'all you need is love' is the anthem of 1967,all the stars together singing it,enough said.the song leaves a bit to be desired (maybe)but nothing more to say.altogether now........................the album is better than the film,put it that way.the signs were there-it was starting to go a little awry from here....................................
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on May 30, 2011, 12:38:42 PM
if it is an album, its a compilation album, for me it will always be an EP  ha2ha
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: glass onion on May 30, 2011, 03:39:54 PM
if it is an album, its a compilation album, for me it will always be an EP  ha2ha
fair enough nimrod,point taken.i really only actually meant for the purpose of tkitnas' thread.i know it wasn't a 'proper' album as such.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: stevie on May 30, 2011, 10:06:14 PM
In Anthology, Macca validates MMT ( the film and as a project overall) by saying its the only time we see 'Walrus' performed, so thats all matters to him!!
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on May 31, 2011, 01:12:57 AM
fair enough nimrod,point taken.i really only actually meant for the purpose of tkitnas' thread.i know it wasn't a 'proper' album as such.

Haha,I guess its personal GO, I remember actually buying the EP when it came out so to me it will always be an EP, they just added a few singles to it to make it an album, so it was cteated by the marketing guys at Capitol, NOT by the Beatles.........but theyd done this in the US a few times, so to Americans it was no big deal.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Beatlesrlove on May 31, 2011, 11:14:08 PM
I Agree that MMT hads some songs that are ehh ok... but have some songs that are Great,  like Flying it isn't that great, but All You Need Is Love is outstanding.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Hombre_de_ningun_lugar on June 14, 2011, 10:35:09 PM
If Magical Mystery Tour is not an official album, at least it's the most coherent American release, including the EP of the same name plus non-album singles from 1967. But I wouldn't say it's a compilation album either, because all songs are from the same year. The Beatles also included previously released singles sides in other official records, like "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" in Please Please Me, "Can't Buy Me Love" and "You Can't Do That" in A Hard Day's Night, and "Ticket To Ride" in Help!. The difference is that Magical Mystery Tour wasn't released as an album in UK in 1967 (though it was released there later in the 1970's), but since it was included in the CD catalog since 1987, on a totally objective basis, I think it's fair to consider it an official Beatles album. As I said before, it's more a true album than Yellow Submarine.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on June 15, 2011, 12:12:32 AM
If Magical Mystery Tour is not an official album, at least it's the most coherent American release, including the EP of the same name plus non-album singles from 1967. But I wouldn't say it's a compilation album either, because all songs are from the same year.

but some songs are pre Pepper hombre, and theres too many singles for it not to be compilation album AND, most importantly of all The Beatles didnt release it as an album, and imo the artist decision is final.

Stickin a few ex hit singles on an ep doesnt make it an album.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Hello Goodbye on June 15, 2011, 02:15:37 AM
...like Flying it isn't that great...


If you look to your left, the view is not very inspiring.  Ahhh!  But if you look to the right…

The Beatles - Flying (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14flwvMjyAQ#)

Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Hombre_de_ningun_lugar on June 15, 2011, 03:00:56 AM
but some songs are pre Pepper hombre, and theres too many singles for it not to be compilation album AND, most importantly of all The Beatles didnt release it as an album, and imo the artist decision is final.

Stickin a few ex hit singles on an ep doesnt make it an album.

Only "Strawberry Fileds Forever" and "Penny Lane" are from Sgt. Pepper's sessions, the rest is from the Magical Mystery Tour sessions. There're three singles included, and the Beatles used to include two singles in some early albums, but I don't think that the number of singles is important, the point is that all songs are from a defined period of time, all released in 1967, early or later in the year. And the Beatles released it as an EP in UK because they didn't want to include singles in albums, but this doesn't mean that the LP was not a great idea. I admit it's not a proper album as the others, but at this point I think we can consider it as an official Beatles album, though it won that title several years after its release.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on June 15, 2011, 04:36:10 AM
And the Beatles released it as an EP in UK because they didn't want to include singles in albums,

UK albums;

Help had 2 singles
Hard Days Night had 1 single
Please Please Me had 2 singles
Revolver had 1 single
Let It Be had 2 singles
Abbey Rd had 1 single

so they wernt exactly single free
I think they released it as an EP because the album would end up with 5 singles on it, 5 singles on an LP for me makes it a compilation. I count 5 anyway  ;D
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: peterbell1 on June 15, 2011, 09:47:35 AM
Only "Strawberry Fileds Forever" and "Penny Lane" are from Sgt. Pepper's sessions, the rest is from the Magical Mystery Tour sessions. There're three singles included, and the Beatles used to include two singles in some early albums, but I don't think that the number of singles is important, the point is that all songs are from a defined period of time, all released in 1967, early or later in the year. And the Beatles released it as an EP in UK because they didn't want to include singles in albums, but this doesn't mean that the LP was not a great idea. I admit it's not a proper album as the others, but at this point I think we can consider it as an official Beatles album, though it won that title several years after its release.

I think the Beatles tried out the double EP format because they didn't have enough new material for a full album, but they wanted the songs to be released anyway, to go along with the release of the film.

To avoid the double EP format, they perhaps could have released a five-song single EP of songs from the film, omitting Walrus because it had already been released as B-side of Hello Goodbye. But Walrus was part of the film and it belonged with the other film songs, I suppose.

So they were left with a dilemma - there were too many MMT songs for a single EP but not enough new material for an album.

They tried out the double EP format but, basically, it didn't work - people were by now paying more attention to albums and not just seeing them as vehicles for their hit singles, plus EPs had had their day, with the sales of Beatles EPs falling steadily from their peak in 1963. And the price of a double EP wouldn't have been far short of a full LP price.

So, over time, people in the UK started buying imports of the US album version and it ended up becoming the accepted format, getting an official UK LP release in 1976. It also made sense to use the album format when releasing the Beatles songs on CD for the first time, so that really put the official stamp on it.

I think the band (in the UK at least, where they had some control over what was released) were against using too many old songs on new albums because it didn't give good value to the fans. So they didn't initially agree with the idea of packing the six MMT songs with old singles and B-sides.

There was another option though - I wonder why they didn't just use songs that were left over from the Pepper sessions. Weren't It's All Too Much, Only A Northern Song and You Know My Name already recorded by late 1967? They could have used these on Side 2 of an album, along with Hello Goodbye, AYNIL and BYARM, and had a soundtrack side and a non-soundtrack side (like AHDN and Help) and they wouldn't have had to use SFF or PL, which were a year old by that time.
Also, that album would only have had two A-sides (Hello Goodbye and AYNIL), which fitted with what they had done in the past.
It also would have contained eight unreleased songs out of the twelve, representing good value for fans.

Not sure if it would have been a very strong album, especially following a masterpiece like Pepper, but it would have been a fantastic psychedelic LP nonetheless ....

Side 1.
Magical Mystery Tour
The Fool on the Hill
Flying
Blue Jay Way
Your Mother Should Know
I Am the Walrus

Side 2.
Hello, Goodbye
It’s Only a Northern Song
Baby, You're a Rich Man
You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
All You Need Is Love
It’s All Too Much
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: tkitna on June 15, 2011, 04:11:52 PM
I'm trying to wrap up the White album as soon as possible. Life is getting in the way right now. Too much stuff to do. Was working on the review this morning, but the wife decided she wanted to fight and now I have to work the next two days.

This weekend for sure.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: peterbell1 on June 15, 2011, 08:48:03 PM
... the wife decided she wanted to fight ...

That's what wives are for!  ;D
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on June 15, 2011, 10:16:29 PM
Quote
Side 2.
Hello, Goodbye
It’s Only a Northern Song
Baby, You're a Rich Man
You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
All You Need Is Love
It’s All Too Much

That wouldve been a very poor side 2, and I think some fans would be wondering if they were running out of ideas and becoming like a lot of 60's bands who made good singles but poor albums.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Hello Goodbye on June 16, 2011, 12:27:20 AM
Hello Goodbye - I've liked this song since I first heard it late in the fall of 1967.  It was just what we needed after the heady summer of 1967; a denouement of sorts.  It's a plain, simple song in C major with a beautiful string ensemble backing and a bit of lead guitar by George.  The backing vocals substitute for lead guitar in other parts of the song.  It's a song full of contradictory lyrics which say very little but maybe say a lot.

I like the false ending and the second outro which follows.  The meaning of this song is entirely up to the listener and that's what makes this song so remarkable.  I think I've said enough about this song but I may mean I've said nothing at all.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on June 16, 2011, 01:35:20 AM
Hello Goodbye - I've liked this song since I first heard it late in the fall of 1967.  It was just what we needed after the heady summer of 1967; a denouement of sorts.  It's a plain, simple song in C major with a beautiful string ensemble backing and a bit of lead guitar by George.  The backing vocals substitute for lead guitar in other parts of the song.  It's a song full of contradictory lyrics which say very little but maybe say a lot.

I like the false ending and the second outro which follows.  The meaning of this song is entirely up to the listener and that's what makes this song so remarkable.  I think I've said enough about this song but I may mean I've said nothing at all.

Good post Barry, its a brilliant song IMO
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Hombre_de_ningun_lugar on June 16, 2011, 07:58:57 PM
UK albums;

Help had 2 singles
Hard Days Night had 1 single
Please Please Me had 2 singles
Revolver had 1 single
Let It Be had 2 singles
Abbey Rd had 1 single

so they wernt exactly single free
I think they released it as an EP because the album would end up with 5 singles on it, 5 singles on an LP for me makes it a compilation. I count 5 anyway  ;D

I counted A's and B's sides as part of the same single, but if you count both sides of each single, actually Magical Mystery Tour had 6 songs released in that format. And Please Please Me had 4, A Hard Day's Night had 4, Help! had 2, Revolver had 2, Abbey Road had 2 and Let It Be had 2.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on June 16, 2011, 11:16:29 PM
I counted A's and B's sides as part of the same single, but if you count both sides of each single, actually Magical Mystery Tour had 6 songs released in that format. And Please Please Me had 4, A Hard Day's Night had 4, Help! had 2, Revolver had 2, Abbey Road had 2 and Let It Be had 2.

I didnt count B sides but Penny Lane/SFF was a double A side single
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Hombre_de_ningun_lugar on June 18, 2011, 02:38:20 AM
I didnt count B sides but Penny Lane/SFF was a double A side single

But it's just a single, not two singles. Anyway, I don't think that the number of singles defines an album as a compilation. Moby Grape's debut album in 1967 had 10 singles sides out of its 13 songs, and noone would consider it as a compilation album. If MMT is a compilation, then all the early American versions of the Beatles albums are compilations as well. Maybe MMT is not an official album, but I wouldn't say it's a compilation. Anyway, the discussion points to nowhere, haha.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Mr Mustard on June 21, 2011, 11:08:20 PM

As we all know Paul was, shall we say, more gifted as a musician than the other 3, he mustve gotten frustrated that he was musically superior to the others as he slowly took over the band.............however, John showed (yet agian) that although he probably couldnt write an opera (where Paul could) he genius was to show the way for pop/rock music, with a handful of songs John changed the face of popular music, while Paul was crafting ditties like Your Mother Should Know and When Im 64 that grannies could singalong too, John was changing the face of popular music and no song did this more than Walrus.
When you think about it they were perfect foils for each other.

I never think of SFF as part or written for, an album, it was a single (double A side) that was pre even Pepper, whereas Walrus was written for MMT.

Then we'll have to disagree, there was nothing like it before it, as a recording it is very complex and lyrically I cant think of anything before it that had such a diverse subject or diverse lyrics and at the time it was completely unpredictable both musically and lyrically.....all IMO of course



Fascinating views there nimrod. I think you overestimate Paul's "musical superiority" over the others, and you underestimate his innovative cutting edge capabilities.

I know several fans who dispute it in the first place, but IF we accept (and personally I do) that Paul has the edge (and it's no more than that) over John and George (OK admittedly by a bigger margin where Ringo's concerned) in terms of musicianship, we should also acknowledge his undervalued prowess as an "ideas" man. John traditionally gets the credit as being the engine room for new directions  and creativity, but it was Paul who thought up and pushed forward the Sgt Pepper alter ego concept for example, and we don't need reminding of the sea change impact that that caused. Paul (OK with George Martin's encouragement) pioneered orchestral strings on pop singles etc... not taking anything away from John, whom we all know was a very original thinker and had a giant talent for sloganeering and crystallising the mood of the moment into song; just pointing out that Paul was more often pushing the boundaries than is generally acknowledged.

Equally it should be remembered by the way that John was woefully underrated as a musician; multi talented (he was a better guitarist than he's usually given credit for, but what can you expect trapped in the shadows of McCartney and Harrison?) able to play harmonica, drums and keyboards etc... as you say, Lennon & McCartney were perfect foils for one another and an untouchable balancing act; each would have dwarfed a lesser partner to the lopsided detriment of the group...

As for Walrus - I've always loved it, but the well known story about its genesis around the two note police siren underlines the fact that it doesn't really have a tune. I always struggle to think of it as a real "song" to be honest. The lyrics are simply Edward Lear inspired gobbledygook, funny in places... dare I say it, it's almost like psychedelic rapping!  ha2ha Yet somehow the whole thing gels together as if by magic...

However, much more innovative (I would argue) is Strawberry Fields, which, appearing some months earlier, surely seemed even more alarmingly different in its day. But I must agree with you, it was never conceived as part of this "album".... shall we agree that side one is half an album and side two is a compilation?

By the way, "Your Mother Should Know" is my MMT guilty pleasure - a real highlight for me, I make no apology for the fact that I've always absolutely loved it!
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on June 23, 2011, 12:01:47 AM
I agree with a lot of your points and Im pleased you agree with some of mine Mr Mustard   ;D

I dont think I do overestimate Pauls superiority (as a musician), but lets make one thing clear, both John & Paul were of the 'genius' variety, both will be remembered, (as Beethoven is remembered) and reveired in a thousand years, but there are differences and Im glad we agree they were perfect for each other.

If you take Pauls bass playing from the time he took it up, he became one of the most creative and innovative bass players in popular music, in fact he became a virtuoso of the bass, improving right up to Abbey Rd, his bass playing in these later Beatle years became ASTOUNDINGLY good. Suddenly due to the break up he was free to play guitar/drums/piano as much as he liked so IMO his bass playing kinda ceased its onward progression, now if you listen carefully to Maybe Im Amazed from his first solo album, there is a wonderful natural fluency to his lead guitar solo, his phrasing and fluidity is amazing, Im sure if he'd lets say got a job as a lead guitarist he wouldve become just as good on guitar as he did on bass......which begs the question of can we imagine if George had took over as bass player and Paul as lead how would the Beatle records have changed due to that scenario ?.......what Im saying is that Paul IS a virtuoso musician and a virtusos arranger of music, its my belief that John (or George) was not blessed with the tools that would have ever made him a virtuoso of the bass or the guitar, very competent yes, but not to the level that Paul played Bass eventually.
When you think about it it was evident at that first meeting when John & Paul met and Paul played 20 Flight Rock that there was something very special about his musicianship, I think John immediatly saw that and although he acted cool he wanted Paul in his band.
Im reminded of a story from John when he and Yoko were invited to jam with Zappa and his band, John said he was sh*tting himself as his vocabulary on the guitar was quite limited and he didnt want to be embarrassed by these guys who were very good players, I cant help thinking, Paul on his bass wouldve slot into it easily.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: nimrod on June 26, 2011, 11:24:06 PM
Quote
Baby You’re A Rich Man - Pretty neutral song for me. I don’t think its very good, but I hardly ever hear it so it doesn’t bother me too much. Bass sounds cool. 0:07 Indian instrument or something starts here and just annoys for the rest of the song. 0:12 guitar sounds good coming in here. 0:32 Johns voice sounds awesome. Tambourine and maracas being played. 1:00 guitar being played with the singing is cool. 1:10 you can hear it better here. Drums are double tracked. Not a great song.

Hey Todd Ive just been listening to this song through my new superduper cans (which I shouldve bought years ago) Dont you think theres some very tasty drum bits just before the chorus ? Im not a drummer but it sounds good to me.
Ive read that this song is about Brian Epstein mainly, there was an article about The Beatles and their circle becoming 'beautiful people' so John was being sarcastic again, and having a jibe about money, apparently on the fade out when they sing "Baby you a rich man too" John sang "Baby your a big fat jew" and Brian was amused by it, I cant hear it though, did they edit it out on the remasters?
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: tkitna on June 27, 2011, 12:41:43 AM
Hey Todd Ive just been listening to this song through my new superduper cans (which I shouldve bought years ago) Dont you think theres some very tasty drum bits just before the chorus ? Im not a drummer but it sounds good to me.
Ive read that this song is about Brian Epstein mainly, there was an article about The Beatles and their circle becoming 'beautiful people' so John was being sarcastic again, and having a jibe about money, apparently on the fade out when they sing "Baby you a rich man too" John sang "Baby your a big fat jew" and Brian was amused by it, I cant hear it though, did they edit it out on the remasters?

I never knew about the 'Baby your a big fat jew' line Kev. I need to listen to the song again to see if I can hear it. I'm also humming the tune in my head and yes, Ringo does have some decent snare work on this song. I'll listen to it again when I get home from work.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Hello Goodbye on September 01, 2011, 09:33:38 PM
Bluegrass Beatles - Hello Goodbye (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdp4azwKSas#)


 ha2ha
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Ovi on March 05, 2014, 06:31:29 PM
I'm pretty sure that Strawberry Fields is one of the most over-rated pieces of music ever. Really. Maybe I don't get it, I don't know, but it never impressed me at all. I just gave it a listen a few minutes ago to see if my opinion would change, but with no succes. The first minute of the song is allright, but then the lyrics are becoming repetitive and non-interesting. It is a good track, okay lyrics, good music and drumming, far from being bad but I wouldn't call it the best Beatles song in a million years.It's just my opinion though.

You're an idiot.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Moogmodule on March 08, 2014, 01:42:46 AM
Just noticed on Baby You're a Rich Man, a throwaway bit of fun overall, that Ringo is doing some nice drumming. Buried a bit behind the other instrumentation
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Klang on March 08, 2014, 09:10:58 AM

I really like 'Baby You're a Rich Man'. Classic, innovative psychedelia. Loaded with vocal, instrumental, and recording technique treasures. No throwaway for me.

 :)

Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: oldbrownshoe on March 08, 2014, 09:27:33 AM
I've got a soft spot for 'Baby You're A Rich Man' (with a comma on the UK 45, see also 'Paint It, Black'!) as it was the last Beatles song that I actually heard, having elected to buy the British double-EP rather than the US LP.
I well remember fantasizing about it for about three months before I eventually tracked down the 45 one summer.

I still think it's fabulous, and would love to see a Beatles' UK A and B sides 2-CD release in the style of the Dusty Springfield release from a few years ago.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Hombre_de_ningun_lugar on March 08, 2014, 06:24:41 PM
I still think it's fabulous, and would love to see a Beatles' UK A and B sides 2-CD release in the style of the Dusty Springfield release from a few years ago.

How would you prefer those CDs? One CD with the A-sides and the other CD with the B-sides or each A-side followed by its B-side?
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: oldbrownshoe on March 09, 2014, 08:22:58 AM
Good question!
The Zombies As/Bs collection which came out on Big Beat opted for A/B/A/B/A/B/A/B.
Dusty's collection on Decca Eclipse had all the As on CD1 and all the Bs on CD2.
I'd be inclined to go the Dusty route, as the sheer familiarity of the likes of 'She Loves You' and Help!' would jar against the obscurer songs.
That way you could put out a 'Hits' collection (i.e. just CD1) if that's all some people would want.

Another question. Which songs would constitute the A or B sides of the four double A-sides?

 
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Hombre_de_ningun_lugar on March 10, 2014, 03:03:42 AM
Good question!
The Zombies As/Bs collection which came out on Big Beat opted for A/B/A/B/A/B/A/B.
Dusty's collection on Decca Eclipse had all the As on CD1 and all the Bs on CD2.
I'd be inclined to go the Dusty route, as the sheer familiarity of the likes of 'She Loves You' and Help!' would jar against the obscurer songs.
That way you could put out a 'Hits' collection (i.e. just CD1) if that's all some people would want.


There's also another Zombies' A's & B's collection, on See For Miles Records, where the first half are the A-sides and the second half are the B-sides. But it only includes the 11 singles released prior to Odessey And Oracle.

Quote
Another question. Which songs would constitute the A or B sides of the four double A-sides?


Taking into account that it would be an UK singles collection...

A: We Can Work It Out; B: Day Tripper.
A: Yellow Submarine; B: Eleanor Rigby.
A: Strawberry Fields Forever; B: Penny Lane.
A: Something; B: Come Together.

I used the same criteria used in these picture discs:

(http://www.jpgr.co.uk/rp5389_a.jpg)(http://www.jpgr.co.uk/rp5389_b.jpg)

(http://www.jpgr.co.uk/rp5493_a.jpg)(http://www.jpgr.co.uk/rp5493_b.jpg)

(http://www.jpgr.co.uk/rp5570_a.jpg)(http://www.jpgr.co.uk/rp5570_b.jpg)

(http://www.jpgr.co.uk/rp5814_a.jpg)(http://www.jpgr.co.uk/rp5814_b.jpg)
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: oldbrownshoe on March 10, 2014, 07:10:08 AM
Looks like we've done Apple's job for them.

Using these pairings, CD2 would read:
P.S. I Love You
Ask Me Why
Thank You Girl
I'll Get You
This Boy
You Can't Do That
Things We Said Today
She's A Woman
Yes It Is
I'm Down
Day Tripper
Rain
Eleanor Rigby
Penny Lane
Baby, You're A Rich Man
I Am The Walrus
The Inner Light
Revolution
Don't Let Me Down
Old Brown Shoe
Come Together
You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

Erm, 'quite' good!
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Moogmodule on March 10, 2014, 07:12:45 AM
That would look like a "Best of" for anyone else. There's some terrific songs on them b sides
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: oldbrownshoe on March 11, 2014, 07:09:51 AM
They're also an almost perfect sampler to the rest of the catalogue.
Two George compositions, Merseybeat until '65, ballads (in particular two by John, rather than the more obvious balladeer Paul), raucous Rock 'n' Roll (in particular two by Paul, rather than  by rocker John!), pysch, blues.....it's pretty much all there.
Title: Re: Beatles under a microscope - Magical Mystery Tour
Post by: Hombre_de_ningun_lugar on March 12, 2014, 03:31:51 AM
That would be a very good CD, indeed.