MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR

The Magical Mystery tour is suprisingly a strong experimental album for a band known for 3 minute pop singles and apearing on shows like TOTP etc.

The late 60s saw a big change in Rock N Roll especially the development of Prog Rock, and The Beatles are one of the main contributors in this move.

Mainly an EP "Magical Mystery Tour" features pop, experimentation and well crafted songs.

"Magical Mystery Tour" is the opener and opens up with horns throughout and is mainly a pop record, but is so damn catchy.

"Fool On The Hil" is a McCartney ballad and very typical 60s sounding, not the strongest song on the album but still worth a listen.

"Blue Jay Way" is a very dark progressive song, with weird cello solos and a strange organ playing in the background, even the vocals are sung in a strange manner, loads of drones and hypnotic drumming, one of my favourites tracks and one of the most Progressive tracks on the album.

"Your Mother Should Know" another pop song which was featured on a BBC christmas special in 1967, nothing really prog about this one.

"I Am The Walrus" is definetly a pscyhedelic track which strings arranged by George Martin, John Lennon singing with strange lyrics, strange backgrond noises, loads of pre recorded voices in the background reminds me of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album and is a great closer for Side 1.

"Hello Goodbye" opens up Side 2 and is again your typical pop song but this one being more progressive than the others, again a catchy number.

"Strawberry Fields Forever" probably the best Beatles song ever made besides Tomorrow Never Knows, excellent progression throughout the know mixed with brass and string arrangments and strange sound effects in the backgrounds, again a pop song but I can assure you Progressive fans will love, The endinng is very strange with out of tune sounds and a strange vocal possibly sang by Ringo Starr and says "I buried Paul" in a subliminal way, a classic Beatles track.

"Penny Lane" is a psychedelic pop song done in a typical sixties type of way, includes horns and harmonic vocals from the Beatles.

"Baby You're A Rich Man" is a tribute to their ex manager who died two years before, again a typical pop song with loads of Progressive elements, a eastern sounding Organ solo, and a catchy main lyric again will stick in your mind.

"Flying" is a psychedelic jam in the studio,an instrumental piece and is a far out psychedelic track and one of my favourites, includes a melodie electronic sound possibly the Mellotron.

"All You Need Is Love" opens up with a French national anthem this bit is done by a brass section, again a well known pop song covered by Tom Jones in the early 1990s, this is the closer of the album.

Changed the world of British Pop the MMT EP is a great follow up to the well crafted St Pepper album recorded the same time when Floyd recorded Piper (debut album), a great buy but please be aware this may be classified as an album, but is actually an EP, a great buy and will be loved by Proto Prog/Prog fans alike.

I will proudlygive this 5 stars as it shows the Beatles were really capable of making simple pop yet great prog music at the same time.

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