Masterpiece #5: UK misses the album tour bus
In the Sgt. Pepper sessions, the Beatles became a well-oiled musical masterpiece machine. Their first output, "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever",was indicative of the creativity and quality that was to come, but their label still adhered to the British custom that it must either be a single or a part of the album, not both.
So it became a single. The same for the second output, "All You Need is Love" and "Baby You're a Rich Man". Also fabulous.
Not long after Sgt. Pepper finally came out and rocked the world, the question was asked as to what to do with these great but leftover tracks. Meanwhile, the Beatles were working on their next project, a more homespun kind of movie than their previous two. As was their custom, they only needed half an album's worth of songs for it.
The obviously and smashingly successful thing to do was to put the new movie music on Side One of an album, and put the previous singles on Side Two, filling it in with another great new single, "Hello Goodbye". That's what was done in the US.
But could the stiff upper lip Brits follow this rational American lead for a change? Nooooooo! Instead, the UK release oddly split it all up on a pair of EPs. They did not correct the error of their ways until 1976, six years after the Beatles had broken up.
The overall musical feel of the album was very similar to Sgt. Pepper, which made the decision to screw around with the format all the more irrational. The artistic structure of Sgt. Pepper required or even demanded an album format, setting the standard for all to follow. Every other serious rock band wanted to put out their own answer to Sgt. Pepper. Why do anything else for the obvious sequel?
The album starts with a rousing fanfare and invitation to take the "Magical Mystery Tour". You joined in with Sgt. Pepper's Band, so how could you not take the tour? This fades perfectly into the much more solitary "Fool on the Hill", much like how it was previously done into "A Little Help From My Friends" Then comes a dose of psychedelic mysticism from George, eventually leading to "Your Mother Should Know", a sequel of "When I'm 64" nostalgia. Side One ends with what is arguably the Beatles' all-time greatest masterpiece, "I Am the Walrus".
Once you get over the fact that Side Two is already familiar, it is no less brilliant. Unless you're so preoccupied flipping sides on your British EPs that you can't get wrapped up in the music.
1 - Magical Mystery Tour
2 - Fool on the Hill
3 - Flying
4 - Blue Jay Way (George Harrison)
5 - Your Mother Should Know
6 - I Am the Walrus
7 - Hello Goodbye
8 - Strawberry Fields Forever
9 - Penny Lane
10 - Baby You're a Rich Man
11 - All You Need is Love
(all songs Lennon / McCartney except as indicated)
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