‘Magical Mystery Tour’: The Non-Album That Accidentally Became One of The Beatles’ Best

By editorial board on December 28, 2023

 An album that technically wasn’t an album, at least not to start. Magical Mystery Tour is a bit of an odd duck in the catalog of the Fab Four. And yet, you can make the case that the 11 songs that it contains are as strong as any set The Beatles ever released.

Link to   Magical Mistery Tour full album stream

The Beatles’ music was released in America courtesy of Capitol Records, which was the North American arm of parent company EMI. EMI pretty much gave Capitol free rein in the early days of the group in terms of how the music would be packaged for American audiences. Which is why there was a divergence between the UK and American versions of the albums. (Excerpt from Americansongwriter)

For example, albums like Meet the Beatles! and Something New only existed in America. In some cases, an album would have the same title on both sides of the Atlantic and still contain a different collection of songs. Those who bought Rubber Soul in America, for instance, were greeted with “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” which had been released in Britain on Help!, as the first track. The general idea was to divvy up the material into as many releases as possible in the U.S.

By the time Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released in 1967, The Beatles stepped in and insisted that their original vision of the album be honored in America. From that point forward, there was no separation between the EMI and Capitol albums. With the exception, that is, of the soundtrack for a bizarre Beatles film named Magical Mystery Tour.

Following the death of manager Brian Epstein in August 1967, The Beatles pushed forward with a Paul McCartney idea for a new film that they’d put together pretty much by themselves and which would feature new, original songs. Magical Mystery Tour, which debuted on television in Great Britain on Boxing Day in ’67, was a glorified home movie detailing a ramshackle bus trip that was occasionally interrupted by surreally absurd (or maybe they were absurdly surreal) set pieces.

The movie dumbfounded audiences and stirred up critics to deliver some of the first negative reviews the band had ever received for anything they had released. But it was hard to deny the brilliance of the music contained in the movie. (Excerpt from Americansongwriter to read the full article click here).

 

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