The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour

Date of release (US): November 27 1967
Chart position (US): 1 (8 weeks)

Date of release (UK): December 2 1967
Chart position: 2

UK: Magical Mystery Tour was released as a double-EP in the UK, reaching number 2 on the charts. The import LP from the US made it to no 31 on the UK charts.

There's a string of Beatles classics on this album, including Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields Forever and Hello Goodbye, but there are at least a 1000 other reasons why Magical Mystery Tour is such a great album. As always with The Beatles, there is plenty of variation. Your Mother Should Know and The Fool on the Hill is Paul McCartney at his melodic best, whereas Lennon's mishmash of abstract words and sounds in the awesome I Am The Walrus is the album's experimental highlight. There's even room for an instrumental number here, entitled Flying, in which all four Beatles members are credited as songwriters. Overall, Magical Mystery Tour is a highly satisfying piece of work. The experimental side of the production never overshadows the Beatles' incredible talent as songwriters, but instead it adds a new dimension to the record as a whole. Superb.

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Track Listings

Magical Mystery Tour
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