Recorded: November 1966-November 1967
Producers: George Martin, Dave Harries
Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Dave Harries, Malcolm Addey, Keith Grant, Eddie Kramer, John Timperley, Peter Vince, Ken Scott
Released: 8 December 1967 (UK), 27 November 1967 (US)
John Lennon: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, organ, Mellotron, electric piano, clavioline, harpsichord, banjo, harmonica, Jew's harp, bongos, congas, percussion, handclaps
Paul McCartney: vocals, piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, double bass, Mellotron, recorder, harmonium, bongos, conga, timpani, tambourine, percussion
George Harrison: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, Hammond organ, harmonica, svarmandal, violin, timpani, maracas, percussion, handclaps
Ringo Starr: vocals, drums, maracas, finger cymbals, tambourine, handbell, percussion
George Martin: piano
Mal Evans: tambourine, percussion
Neil Aspinall: guiro, percussion
Terry Doran: maracas
Eddie Kramer: vibraphone
Sidney Sax, Jack Rothstein, Ralph Elman, Andrew McGee, Jack Greene, Louis Stevens, John Jezzard, Jack Richards, Patrick Halling, Eric Bowie, John Ronayne: violins
Kenneth Essex, Leo Birnbaum: violas
Lionel Ross, Eldon Fox, Bram Martin, Terry Weil, John Hall, Derek Simpson, Norman Jones, Jack Holmes: cellos
Frank Clarke: double bass
David Mason, Elgar Howarth, Roy Copestake, John Wilbraham, Tony Fisher, Greg Bowen, Derek Watkins, Stanley Roderick, Leon Calvert, Freddy Clayton, Bert Courtley, Duncan Campbell, Stanley Woods: trumpets, flugelhorn
Rex Morris, Don Honeywill: tenor saxophone
Evan Watkins, Harry Spain: trombone
Neil Sanders, Tony Tunstall, Morris Miller: horns
Gordon Lewin: clarinet
Dick Morgan, Mike Winfield: oboes, cor anglais
Christopher Taylor, Richard Taylor, Jack Ellory, Ray Swinfield, P Goody, Manny Winters, Dennis Walton: flutes, piccolos
Jack Emblow: accordion
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Marianne Faithfull, Jane Asher, Mike McCartney, Pattie Harrison, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, Keith Moon, Hunter Davies, Gary Leeds, Peggie Allen, Wendy Horan, Pat Whitmore, Jill Utting, June Day, Sylvia King, Irene King, G Mallen, Fred Lucas, Mike Redway, John O'Neill, F Dachtler, Allan Grant, D Griffiths, J Smith, J Fraser: backing vocals
Tracklisting:
Magical Mystery Tour
The Fool On The Hill
Flying
Blue Jay Way
Your Mother Should Know
I Am The Walrus
Hello, Goodbye
Strawberry Fields Forever
Penny Lane
Baby You're A Rich Man
All You Need Is Love
Released as a six-song double EP in the United Kingdom and an 11-song album in the US and elsewhere, Magical Mystery Tour was the soundtrack to the television film of the same name, which was first broadcast on 26 December 1967.
Magical Mystery Tour is one of my favourite albums, because it was so weird. I Am The Walrus is also one of my favourite tracks - because I did it, of course, but also because it's one of those that has enough little bitties going to keep you interested even a hundred years later.
Anthology
Recording began in November 1966, with work on John Lennon's Strawberry Fields Forever. The song was released, along with Penny Lane, as a single in February 1967. Neither song was intended for Magical Mystery Tour, however, and were only included when Capitol Records declined to release the double EP version.
The Beatles' attention then turned to the Sgt Pepper project. The title track of Magical Mystery Tour was first recorded on 25 April 1967, five days after work on Sgt Pepper ended.
Although the concept of the TV movie was formulated by Lennon and McCartney around this time, they did not immediately start work on its songs. In the summer of 1967 they recorded songs including All You Need Is Love and its b-side, Baby You're A Rich Man, plus It's All Too Much, All Together Now and You Know My Name (Look Up The Number).
In the wake of the death of Brian Epstein on 27 August, The Beatles decided to continue work on Magical Mystery Tour. Paul McCartney began steering many of the group's decisions, galvanising them to continue in a period lacking direction.
I was still under a false impression. I still felt every now and then that Brian would come in and say, 'It's time to record,' or, 'Time to do this.' And Paul started doing that: 'Now we're going to make a movie. Now we're going to make a record.' And he assumed that if he didn't call us, nobody would ever make a record. Paul would say, well, now he felt like it - and suddenly I'd have to whip out twenty songs. He'd come in with about twenty good songs and say, 'We're recording.' And I suddenly had to write a fucking stack of songs.
Anthology
Filming began on 11 September and continued for two weeks, before work continued on the songs. Between then and November they switched between recording, filming and editing, in what became a rather haphazard process.
Work on the soundtrack songs ended on 17 November, with a mixing session for I Am The Walrus - released on the b-side of Hello, Goodbye seven days later.
The double EP was issued on 8 December 1967, with a gatefold sleeve and 28-page booklet. While it was a hit with the public, the film fared less well and was widely regarded as The Beatles' first major artistic failure.
Capitol Records were reluctant to follow Parlophone's idea, as EPs were far less popular in America, and so released Magical Mystery Tour as a conventional album with the five other non-Pepper songs released by The Beatles in 1967. It was issued on 27 November 1967. The format was copied in other countries, and imported copies soon found their way into the UK.
The full album version was released in the UK in 1976, and in 1987 became the standard version of Magical Mystery Tour worldwide when The Beatles' back catalogue was re-released on compact disc.
Absolutely underrated in so many ways.
best beatle album
a collection of hits
Such a master piece, along with revolver, rubber soul, sgt pepper, and white album
and help.
and a hard days night
and well all beatle music.
The only Capitol release that improved upon a British release. (Or even equalled it, for that matter, since the UK "Pepper" was ever-so slightly better than the US version, which excluded the inner-groove gibberish and for-dogs-only tone.)