Craig in Indy
Your cool Uncle
OK, let's get this thread back on the front page of the 60s section...
Magical Mystery Tour (1967, 1976, 1987)
One of the oddities in the Beatle discography, here’s what is said in the liner notes of the new remaster concerning the release date(s) of this album:
“The Beatles devised, wrote and directed a television film called Magical Mystery Tour, which was broadcast on BBC TV at Christmas, 1967. It featured six new songs and these were released in the UK on the unique format of a double-EP on 8th December. Two seven inch records – with three songs each – were presented in a gatefold sleeve with a 28-page booklet of photos from the film, lyrics and the story told in a comic strip. As with albums, record buyers were offered the choice of a mono or stereo version. However, in the USA and some other countries, the EP format was no longer considered viable. Instead, the film songs appeared on one side of a twelve inch disc with the reverse side’s five tracks drawn from recent singles that had never surfaced on an LP. The album was eventually released in the UK in November, 1976 and was added to the “core” Beatles catalogue when their music was transferred to CD in 1987.”
So was it a real album, or not? Who knows? And does it really matter? It certainly has some incredible music on it, that much no one can argue.
1 – “Magical Mystery Tour”
As I’ve been finding with the previous mid-to-late releases, the differences between the initial CD release and this remaster are subtle to be sure. In fact, that is making it increasingly difficult to write these little comparisons. On the opening track, the most apparent difference is a slight shift in tonal balance toward to bass. The bass lines are a bit more prominent than before, and depending on your system that might be good (additional presence and clarity of Paul’s decidedly melodic playing) or bad (a booming muddiness that obscures the rest of the music).
2 – “The Fool on the Hill”
The same thing here, though it’s even more subtle, since the track’s arrangement isn’t as band-heavy as the title track.
3 – “Flying”
This is a decidedly odd little number, and one of the band’s most atmospheric, presaging the “ambient music” movement by at least 5 or 6 years, Here the bass again is more prominent in the mix, and since this particular song sounds a bit bass heavy in the original CD release, it’s especially noticeable here in the remaster.
4 – “Blue Jay Way”
Again, more prominent bass, but the opening organ also seems a little clearer. The vocals are also a little more clear, giving the whole production a little more presence. But I would add that even this change is pretty subtle.
5 – “Your Mother Should Know”
At the risk of sounding like a broken record (no pun intended), the same differences heard earlier are present here. A little more prominent bass, and just a bit more depth overall.
6 – “I Am the Walrus”
The greater presence in the lower mids and upper bass does a lot for the cellos in the weird little opening string segment. And the drum strikes that kick off the rest of the band accompaniment seem to have a little more sparkle, making them sound a tiny bit more lifelike.
7 – “Hello Goodbye”
I think I’m hearing a little more bass, but to be honest, it could just as easily be the power of suggestion on this one. If there are any differences in sound, they are minute and hard to find, at least for me.
8 – “Strawberry Fields Forever”
I’m hearing just a bit more body in John’s vocal, probably from the bit of boost the lower mids seem to have received. The right channel guitar that plays behind the vocal during the verses has a nice soft growling texture to it that I hadn’t paid much attention to before.
9 – “Penny Lane”
This song has some gorgeous bass playing in it, and the notes seem more rounded and fuller, less two-dimensional. It’s not a knock-you-out-of-your-seat change, just one of those things that you hear and find yourself smiling at while you nod your head and tap your foot. At least I did.
10 – “Baby You’re a Rich Man”
This one has, in addition to better bass definition, better highs as well – you can suddenly hear the sparkle of the percussion in the right channel in the opening bars before the start of the vocal. This may be the song with the greatest and most easily heard differences on this CD.
11 – “All You Need Is Love”
This is a frustrating song. Until the bass and then the lead vocal come in, it is possibly one of the worst sounding Beatle recordings I’ve ever heard. After a so-so sounding opening brass fanfare, the “love, love, love” background vocals come in with the rest of the band and it’s very disappointingly lifeless. It sounds like it could have been recorded with two tin cans and a string. It’s flat and entirely two-dimensional. That’s the way it was in the initial CD and that’s the way it remains, which is sad, because it seems to me that unless there was some problem with the master tape, this part of the song could have been extremely nice, if not actually spectacular. Fortunately, the third time through that chorus, when the strings join in with a descending line of their own, we finally hear something other than flat AM-radio frequencies. Finally, there’s a couple of little pickup notes in the bass that lead into John’s lead vocal, and those two instruments (bass and voice) add the “body” back into the music. From there on, it’s fun to listen to, but before that, it sounds just a little too much like the old vaudeville-era megaphone singers’ recordings, a la Rudy Vallee in the 1930s (and unsuccessfully revived in the 60s by The New Vaudeville Band with their recording of “Winchester Cathedral”). Of course, knowing Paul’s penchant for things like vaudeville and cabaret, I’m sure it was a conscious decision to make the song sound that way.
Magical Mystery Tour (1967, 1976, 1987)
One of the oddities in the Beatle discography, here’s what is said in the liner notes of the new remaster concerning the release date(s) of this album:
“The Beatles devised, wrote and directed a television film called Magical Mystery Tour, which was broadcast on BBC TV at Christmas, 1967. It featured six new songs and these were released in the UK on the unique format of a double-EP on 8th December. Two seven inch records – with three songs each – were presented in a gatefold sleeve with a 28-page booklet of photos from the film, lyrics and the story told in a comic strip. As with albums, record buyers were offered the choice of a mono or stereo version. However, in the USA and some other countries, the EP format was no longer considered viable. Instead, the film songs appeared on one side of a twelve inch disc with the reverse side’s five tracks drawn from recent singles that had never surfaced on an LP. The album was eventually released in the UK in November, 1976 and was added to the “core” Beatles catalogue when their music was transferred to CD in 1987.”
So was it a real album, or not? Who knows? And does it really matter? It certainly has some incredible music on it, that much no one can argue.
1 – “Magical Mystery Tour”
As I’ve been finding with the previous mid-to-late releases, the differences between the initial CD release and this remaster are subtle to be sure. In fact, that is making it increasingly difficult to write these little comparisons. On the opening track, the most apparent difference is a slight shift in tonal balance toward to bass. The bass lines are a bit more prominent than before, and depending on your system that might be good (additional presence and clarity of Paul’s decidedly melodic playing) or bad (a booming muddiness that obscures the rest of the music).
2 – “The Fool on the Hill”
The same thing here, though it’s even more subtle, since the track’s arrangement isn’t as band-heavy as the title track.
3 – “Flying”
This is a decidedly odd little number, and one of the band’s most atmospheric, presaging the “ambient music” movement by at least 5 or 6 years, Here the bass again is more prominent in the mix, and since this particular song sounds a bit bass heavy in the original CD release, it’s especially noticeable here in the remaster.
4 – “Blue Jay Way”
Again, more prominent bass, but the opening organ also seems a little clearer. The vocals are also a little more clear, giving the whole production a little more presence. But I would add that even this change is pretty subtle.
5 – “Your Mother Should Know”
At the risk of sounding like a broken record (no pun intended), the same differences heard earlier are present here. A little more prominent bass, and just a bit more depth overall.
6 – “I Am the Walrus”
The greater presence in the lower mids and upper bass does a lot for the cellos in the weird little opening string segment. And the drum strikes that kick off the rest of the band accompaniment seem to have a little more sparkle, making them sound a tiny bit more lifelike.
7 – “Hello Goodbye”
I think I’m hearing a little more bass, but to be honest, it could just as easily be the power of suggestion on this one. If there are any differences in sound, they are minute and hard to find, at least for me.
8 – “Strawberry Fields Forever”
I’m hearing just a bit more body in John’s vocal, probably from the bit of boost the lower mids seem to have received. The right channel guitar that plays behind the vocal during the verses has a nice soft growling texture to it that I hadn’t paid much attention to before.
9 – “Penny Lane”
This song has some gorgeous bass playing in it, and the notes seem more rounded and fuller, less two-dimensional. It’s not a knock-you-out-of-your-seat change, just one of those things that you hear and find yourself smiling at while you nod your head and tap your foot. At least I did.
10 – “Baby You’re a Rich Man”
This one has, in addition to better bass definition, better highs as well – you can suddenly hear the sparkle of the percussion in the right channel in the opening bars before the start of the vocal. This may be the song with the greatest and most easily heard differences on this CD.
11 – “All You Need Is Love”
This is a frustrating song. Until the bass and then the lead vocal come in, it is possibly one of the worst sounding Beatle recordings I’ve ever heard. After a so-so sounding opening brass fanfare, the “love, love, love” background vocals come in with the rest of the band and it’s very disappointingly lifeless. It sounds like it could have been recorded with two tin cans and a string. It’s flat and entirely two-dimensional. That’s the way it was in the initial CD and that’s the way it remains, which is sad, because it seems to me that unless there was some problem with the master tape, this part of the song could have been extremely nice, if not actually spectacular. Fortunately, the third time through that chorus, when the strings join in with a descending line of their own, we finally hear something other than flat AM-radio frequencies. Finally, there’s a couple of little pickup notes in the bass that lead into John’s lead vocal, and those two instruments (bass and voice) add the “body” back into the music. From there on, it’s fun to listen to, but before that, it sounds just a little too much like the old vaudeville-era megaphone singers’ recordings, a la Rudy Vallee in the 1930s (and unsuccessfully revived in the 60s by The New Vaudeville Band with their recording of “Winchester Cathedral”). Of course, knowing Paul’s penchant for things like vaudeville and cabaret, I’m sure it was a conscious decision to make the song sound that way.
