MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR

"Magical Mystery Tour" was a slight return to more accessible Beatles music even though it remained rooted in psychedelia and some studio trickery. It is mainly McCartney who penned more conventional pop tunes. Melody was in the forefront, no matter how distant from rock'n'roll his output has gotten by 1968. Clever arrangements, brilliant songwriting seconded by fantastic vocals mark his contribution. Lennon balances McCartney's commercialism and warmth by some of the most experimental music ever created by the Beatles. The tandem clearly elevates the album to meet the standard exceptional quality by Beatles totally overshadowing the undistinguished Harrison and Starr. Harrison guitar was never as buried as on "Magical Mystery Tour" with keyboards, brass instruments being more dominant. Starr's drumming appears uninspired to me and it merely supports his colleagues. The title track is filled with McCartney's enthusiasm, sunny chorus and brilliant coda. Perhaps the only song which can be attributed "rock music".

The poignant "The fool on the hill" is one of the most melancholic McCartney's numbers ever and it is will coupled with the returning flute solo. "Flying" is a curious if not very memorable piece witch rock'n'n'roll chord structure but really untypical vocal harmonies, perhaps heavily mixed in the recording panel. "Blue jay way" is a retreat from typical Indian influenced Harrison material instead focusing on heavy psychedelia and Hammond organ. I like the chord sequence untypical for pop/rock songs. "Your mother should know" is a well balanced pop track (neither melancholic neither sunny to me) with a strong piano addition, particularly during the instrumental intermezzo. "I am the walrus" (together with "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane") belongs to the top 3 album tracks. It's untypical melody put me off in the past and I had wished for better and less conventional drumming. However, the accomplished is still breathtaking with loops. "Strawberry Fields Forever" should be in every top 20 UK psychedelia track compilation. Brilliant melody and songwriting, revolutionary structure and dynamics, no less than 15 musicians participating in its record created this masterpiece. No wonder Lennon considered this his best Beatles composition. "Penny Lane" balances "Strawberry Fields Forever" on the single in its melody, relative simplicity and a stunning trumpet solo a la classical music. The remaining two tracks are alright but do not reach the previous heights. The band would take a definitive down to Earth direction after this album.

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