What's On

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

"Roll up, roll up for magical mystery tour step right this way…"


"The fool on the hill sees the sun going down, and the eyes in his head sees the world spinning 'round."

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was the most influential rock album ever released. Even though it had many controversial songs such as Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds which to this day many believe is about LSD, and when you initial the song it spells the letters LSD. John Lennon stated the song was about a picture his son Julian drew about a girl he had a crush on named Lucy in his class. (Not going much more than that with this theory.) Magical Mystery Tour is more of a soundtrack rather than a concept album that Sgt Pepper. The album starter is Magical Mystery Tour which gives you the feeling that this album is going to take you on a journey somewhere far from home. The rather cheesy lyrics and somewhat okay instruments help carry this high energy song through without being pretensious or repetitive. The Fool on the hill is probably the best Paul McCartney song on the album. The lyrics are very good and have a real deep meaning behind them. The music video displays Paul running around on an English mountain side in a trench coat being absolutely silly. Maybe Paul was refering to himself as the fool on the hill. After this song the album kind of takes a weird turn with the non-vocal track Flying. This track reminds you of someone on acid looking out of a bus window and thinking that the bus is flying. The vivid music video displays colors and is very trippy indeed, just like the song itself. The structure of the song itself is very good and blends well with the next track Blue Jay Way. George Harrison wrote this song while waiting for a friend to come to his house while he as in California. Blue Jay Way is the name of a street that's located in Hollywood Hill overlooking Sunset Blvd. This street is incredibly hard to find especially when its foggy. 

"Ask a policeman on the street, there's so many there to meet."

George Harrison's vocals were changed in the song to sound very ghostly. The music video is very creepy and trippy as well. While listening to the track, you can smell what The Beatles were smoking while recording this track. It's a great song and is one of the most underrated George Harrison tracks. Your Mother Should Know is the weakest track on the album. There is great vocal harmony and the lyrics are okay. The instruments and the 50's style arrangement to the song is what makes it feel cheesy and bland. I Am the Walrus is a song that is in its own world. The intro of the song sounds as if it were taken from a police siren. The lyrics are very whimsical with a very catchy hook 'I am the walrus goo-goo g'joob'. It's a hard call due to the fact that John Lennon also wrote two other great songs Strawberry Fields Forever and All You Need Is Love. All three songs are great, but the haunting melody of Strawberry Fields Forever and the still to this day debated I buried Paul towards the end of the track is believed to be part of the Paul is dead theory (if you want to read more about that you can click the link above.) Hello Goodbye is probably one of the more pop songs on the album. It's a good song but after awhile the lyrics can get really stellar and reptitive. The song was featured on a Target Commercial and basically ruined its reputation. Magical Mystery Tour was turned into a short film which was weird and trippy as well. This was no surprise because the album itself starts off good, but it turns weird fast and that's not a bad thing because The Beatles are known for their weirdness. This is a solid album with a few weak tracks, but the overall impression is great. If you're trying to get into The Beatles, this is definitely a good track that is worth adding to your starting collection. 

"There's nothing you can do that can't be done."

Best tracks on album. 
Flying 
Blue Jay Way 
I Am the Walrus 
Strawberry Fields Forever
All You Need Is Love 

Devon M 

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