Magical Mystery Tour

The album includes the lyrics for the first six songs with lyrics (that excludes the instrumental "Flying"), which were show songs from the Color Television Film, which was about four (or five) Magicians, who lived away in the sky, beyond the clouds, and who cast wonderful spells that turned the Most Ordinary Coach Trip into a Magical Mystery Tour. Nope. Nothing metaphorical or allegorical here. Besides, as a bonus you have all of those in the "Paul is Dead" mystery. Decide for yourself: "I buried Paul" or "Cranberry sauce"? Then move on to "Sgt. Pepper" and "Abbey Road" for further clues. Pop Culture Note: There was a Batman comic where Robin investigated the death of a rock group obviously inspired by the Beatles and discovered that it was not "Paul" who was dead, but rather the rest of the group. The fake clues were to divert attention away from the truth. Not a bad comic book story.


This was my first Beatles' album--and it still sounds good!   May 30, 2008
Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL))
14 out of 16 found this review helpful


Yep, I'd heard plenty of Beatles' songs. But when my brother gave me the LP (vinyl) of this album after it had come out, this was my first Beatles' recording. I wore it out playing it on my cheap record players and too-long-used needles. But it was a lot of fun while it lasted!

The sound is a lot different from the early Beatles albums. There are some glorious songs on this CD--as well as a few idiosyncratic items.

The CD begins with the title song, "Magical Mystery Tour." A pleasing composition, with repetitive (almost hypnotic) lines. A sampling:

"Roll up--Roll up for the Magical Mystery Tour,
Roll up Roll up for the Mystery Tour.
I've got an invitation to make a reservation."

Psychedelic music that is still musical!

This is followed by "The Fool on the Hill," a simple tune with good keyboard work. Some lines:

"And nobody seems to like him they can tell what he wants to do.
And he never shows his feelings but the Fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down. . . ."

Then, the late Beatles' classic, "I Am the Walrus."

Remember the tag line?

"I am the eggman, they are the eggmen
I am the walrus goo goo ga joo."

The CD closes out with a series of neat songs, one after the other--"Hello Goodbye," "Strawberry Fields Forever" (I really like that song!), "Penny Lane (Another neat tune), "Baby You're A Rich Man," and "All You Need Is Love" (a classic Beatles' work).

Maybe not as well known or as well reputed as works recorded at about the same time (think Sgt. Pepper. . .), but an estimable work nonetheless.






A Wonderful collection of Psychadelic Singles   December 16, 2000
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

Magical Mystery Tour is one of my favorite albums. The songs the Beatles(mostly Paul) wrote specifically for their first self-made movie were coupled with their excellent 1967 psychadelic pop singles("Penny Lane", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "All You Need Is Love", "Baby You're A Rich Man", and "Hello Goodbye") to make an enjoyable and bizarre album. I always felt this album was underated. I mean are "Flying","Blue Jay Way" and "Your Mother Should Know" so bad? There are plenty of tracks I skip over on Rubber Soul("What Goes On") or Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band("Within You Without You") but those albums are faultless, perfect, legendary albums that can't be put down, or so the pretensious critics say. Both "Flying"(written by all four Beatles!) and George Harrison's "Blue Jay Way" are pleasant and relaxing tunes. Very surreal and psychadelic. The title track is an exuberant celebration of the tour the Beatles are about to take you on. Paul's "The Fool On The Hill" is one his most charming and popular songs. His "Your Mother Should Know" is an another delightful innoculous pop knockoff. The melodic and highly commercial "Hello Goodbye" is the perfect cheery pop song. Vocally, Paul gives it his all, as usual. Lennon was mad that his brilliant hi-tech symphonic pop masterpiece, "I Am The Walrus" was the B-side to "Hello GoodBye". But there is a distinction between a hit single and a piece of art(which is of course subjective to the listener). "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" are the finest songs on this album. Both were recorded during the Pepper sessions in early '67 (George Martin later said not putting these songs on Pepper was one of the biggest mistakes of his life). "Penny Lane" is a layered "pocket symphony". Paul sings about Penny Lane while horns joyfully blare. "Stawberry Fields Forever" is a surreal yet melancholy song, beautifully song by Lennon. "Baby You're A Rich Man" is another underrated tune(it's also included on the 1999 Yellow Submarine Song Track CD). "All You Need Is Love" is an anthem of the 1960's, and lavishly produced pop classic.


Beatles Brilliant   June 16, 2005
Y2bjs Reviews (Melbourne Australia)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

This has some awsome songs on this CD.While the movie these songs are from was in my opinion bad,it did produce some excellent film clips.So you have to take the good with the bad.
Lets run through the songs.
1. Magical Mystery Tour.This is a fantastic start to the CD,great beat,the beatles musicly seemed to produce good songs consistantly.
2. The Fool On The Hill.I love this song,Paul McCartney classic.
3. Flying.This is a music only song,while its not a fav of mine,it still has a catchy tune.
4. Blue Jay Way.This is a song i honestly dont like.And thats honest,and all my reviews are based on honesty.There is very few Beatles songs i dont like at all.
5. Your Mother Should Know.I like this song though,catchy happy sort of tune.
6. I Am The Walrus.I'm sure they ejected some sort of drug into this song cause its addictive.Once it gets into your head you just keep singing it over and over.John was experimenting with sound effects and stuff,and man it worked well here.
7. Hello Goodbye.This song has the simplest lyrics.Its basicly the same words over and over,not alot of thought into them.
But it is an amazingly good song and it was a massive big seller as a single,but then again wern't all their singles?
Beatles brilliant best.
8. Strawberry Fields Forever.This song was first released with Penny lane as the "B" side.But the radio stations thought it was too weird,and decided to play Penny Lane which promptly went to No.1.But people got used to Strawberry Feilds Forever,and then that went to No.1.So both sides of the single were number one hits.
This is a true Beatles classic.Man i just love this song.
9. Penny Lane.More of a catchy tune than Strawberry Feilds,but i think i like Strawberry Feilds better.Mind you i love this song also.Its hard to imagine anyone not liking this song.
10. Baby You're A Rich Man.I like this song but i think it is not as good as some of the others.Its got some stiff competition though.
11. All You Need Is Love.And to top it off here comes another classic big selling single.Its just the Beatles at their best.