Remastered Beatles - stereo, mono or both?

innerSpaceman · 09-24-2009, 11:18 AM

I hate Magical Mystery Tour.

That's not to say I don't love the songs on it. I do.

But why is it released as an official UK Beatles album when it most certainly was not? It was a U.S.-only creation, just as all of those Capital Records anthologies were. Perhaps the American creation was released in the UK at some point, but it was NOT during the Beatles actual lifetime as a band.

Side One is indeed the (for the most part wonderful songs which were featured on the truly (for the most part) awful movie of the same name, but they are not featured on this album in the same running order as they were released in the UK - on an E.P. (extended play record).

The E.P. was an oddity (to us) of Brit music distribution. A single-sized record containing, typically, four songs. The Beatles released several of these, mostly containing songs that were on their albums. But there were a handful of songs before the Magical Mystery Tour EP that were not on any of their albums. (Many of the songs on Beatles singles were also not on any of their albums). I believe Magical Mystery Tour was their last E.P. -- but the E.P. features the "correct" running order of the authentic British release, and the album version is simply wrong.

The flip side of the L.P. is a mish-mash of mostly unreleased material from that time period ... but the notable songs, Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever, were long-standing hits that had been released on a single several months before Sgt. Pepper, and well over a year before the Magical Mystery Tour compilation L.P. was cobbled together.

I'm not noting this to debunk flippy's great review. It just bugs me that it's "now" considered part of the authentic UK releases, when it is nothing of the sort.

I rather like the psychedelic-groovy songs from this bizarre period of the Beatles' work. Many of the other songs from this era are on the similarly cobbled-together Yellow Submarine LP released yet another year or so later. (But at least that one was really released in the U.K.)

It's too bad The Beatles' recording habits fell apart after Sgt. Pepper. Maybe it was the loss of their manager Brian Epstein, maybe it was the decision to stop touring, who knows? But they never really put together another LP until the White Album, almost 3 years later ... and even that was more a collection of solo projects than an actual Beatles album. (Ironic that the "real" name of the White Album is "The Beatles.")

Anyway, Amazon ... where's my box set???

09-24-2009, 11:18 AM	#29
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	I hate Magical Mystery Tour. That's not to say I don't love the songs on it. I do. But why is it released as an official UK Beatles album when it most certainly was not? It was a U.S.-only creation, just as all of those Capital Records anthologies were. Perhaps the American creation was released in the UK at some point, but it was NOT during the Beatles actual lifetime as a band. Side One is indeed the (for the most part wonderful songs which were featured on the truly (for the most part) awful movie of the same name, but they are not featured on this album in the same running order as they were released in the UK - on an E.P. (extended play record). The E.P. was an oddity (to us) of Brit music distribution. A single-sized record containing, typically, four songs. The Beatles released several of these, mostly containing songs that were on their albums. But there were a handful of songs before the Magical Mystery Tour EP that were not on any of their albums. (Many of the songs on Beatles singles were also not on any of their albums). I believe Magical Mystery Tour was their last E.P. -- but the E.P. features the "correct" running order of the authentic British release, and the album version is simply wrong. The flip side of the L.P. is a mish-mash of mostly unreleased material from that time period ... but the notable songs, Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever, were long-standing hits that had been released on a single several months before Sgt. Pepper, and well over a year before the Magical Mystery Tour compilation L.P. was cobbled together. I'm not noting this to debunk flippy's great review. It just bugs me that it's "now" considered part of the authentic UK releases, when it is nothing of the sort. I rather like the psychedelic-groovy songs from this bizarre period of the Beatles' work. Many of the other songs from this era are on the similarly cobbled-together Yellow Submarine LP released yet another year or so later. (But at least that one was really released in the U.K.) It's too bad The Beatles' recording habits fell apart after Sgt. Pepper. Maybe it was the loss of their manager Brian Epstein, maybe it was the decision to stop touring, who knows? But they never really put together another LP until the White Album, almost 3 years later ... and even that was more a collection of solo projects than an actual Beatles album. (Ironic that the "real" name of the White Album is "The Beatles.") Anyway, Amazon ... where's my box set???
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