The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour

This is the only version that I see that has Produced by George Martin on two lines on the label. I think that this is the original style label. The runout on mine has SMAL with the AL written over ST.

As good as ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ was, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ was the album I wanted to hear coming on the heals of “Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane.”

‘Magical Mystery Tour’ had substance to it, there was a palatable thickness to the music, floating in on a fog from some ethereal space, and laying across me like a warm blanket. The album was calm and assured, psychedelic and adventurous, with songs that made sense to me in a surrealistic way. This release often becomes lost in the history of The Beatles, coming out right after ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and right before ‘The White Album’ ... but that fact wasn’t lost on me, as I draped multi coloured scarves over my bedroom lamps, burned a bit of incense, and tripped out to the four luscious posters of The Beatles that had just hit the head shops.

Right from the get go, the first track sets the mood ... rushes of noise, brass instruments, swirling, turning, undulating, and drawing me in like I was about to set foot inside the most wonderful circus ever conceived, “Roll up for the mystery tour.” “Fool On The Hill” seems simple enough at face value, but on deeper inspection there are a whole host of things moving, if not out right lurking just below the surface, and in a most unexpected manner gives way to “Flying.” Now “Flying” has to be one of the most haunting songs of all time, an instant classic of immeasurable magnitude with its spaced out atmospheric effects, layerings, and physical presence. From there the music gets expensive and dark ... and a bit paranoid with “Blue Jay Way.” The rest of the album rolls along at a steady pace, both holding your attention, and allowing you to drift off at the same time. This effect can be quite disturbing, it was for me, as I attempted to concentrate on the lyrics, only to be swept away at every turn by the changing chords.

For me, this was The Beatles at their finest. ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ was the culmination of all The Beatles would ever be. This was their high water mark, this was the high water mark of the psychedelic 60’s, before the wave that changed so much across this planet washed back into space and time ... but before it did, the wave lifted The Beatles high, and if you look with just the right eyes, at just the right angle, on any given summer night, you can see this high water mark. And perhaps if you tune your ears, you may capture a spark of what for a brief moment burned like a shooting star for a whole generation.

***For your consideration: Front cover Beatles in costume, Top Left is Ringo, Top Center is George, top Right is John, Bottom Center is Paul, who as we all know, is dead.