Beatlantis: 11} Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

Magical Mystery Tour (December, 1967, Timaeus)

< file under Beatles In Atlantis >

~ an approximation of this album, using latest remasters, can be heard here on Apple Music ~

Upon inspection of the sleeves to certain 1960s Capitol compilations issued as Beatles albums in the USA, one can find credit given for compiling the recordings— some could certainly say, too much credit (some would go as far as to say blame, rather than credit). Yet it's never been known just who deserves praise for the label's greatest entry in the Beatles library, Capitol's one lasting contribution to the band's core catalog, the full-LP iteration of Magical Mystery Tour.  The songs associated with the film were to appear back in the UK in the novel form of a double-EP; seemingly someone at Capitol, knowing this wouldn't fly stateside, had the brilliant idea to gather all those numbers together on the first side of an LP — a side perfectly sequenced, presumably by this same Mystery curator — while adding a second side comprised of non-LP Beatles single releases from earlier that same year. Unlike previous Capitol collections which altered existing albums, this issue simply expanded upon the UK release, resulting in a masterpiece of psychedelic rock. Yet it's never been known who to thank for this triumph… until now. Recent excavation of the oceanic record, corroborated by newly unearthed memos from the EMI vault, prove that no Capitol exec or staffer deserves Beatles fans' gratitude for this preeminent platter. It was none other than Tivowr Dorna down at the bottom of the sea who crafted this gem that rose to the top of the charts.

Knowing an EP would be dead in the water, or close to it, in Atlantis as that format had no history in the nation, and having sat on the Strawberry Fields / Penny Lane single, Dorna upon receipt of the soundtrack songs and contemporaneous singles had a vision of Magical Mystery Tour delivering on the promise of Pepper's— the promise of a concept.  Though like on Sgt. Pepper's the songwriting selection was imbalanced in favor of Paul over John, here John's three and half number's were so incredible —  with one ending each side wondrously — that Dorna felt a true Beatles balance would be met. 

Aware the film was to be a loose travelogue accompanied by visual enactments for the songs, Dorna heard this voyaging theme immediately throughout the soundtrack songs. He also recognized the line carried through the other 1967 releases at his disposal. In a hurried memo to Martin, Dorna wrote, in part, explaining—

Georg [sic],

I believe across these EP tracks and the year's preceding single sides resides the sort of "concept" album fans in this country were yearning for from Pepper's— and most of the music is even more exciting. The slim narrative framework of the upcoming film — taking a trip with the Beatles and friends on a bus — is reflected in the soundtrack songs, but can also be gleaned from the remaining tracks. Each song's about coming or going / traveling, or a destination -within or without: place/time/status. I propose the following sequence for a full length LP for Atlantean market; quick notes on my thematic thoughts.-.

Side one)
Opener — statement of theme; invitation to join the tour
Second track — alone on a hill, with the world spinning 'round
Third track — aerial instrumental
Fourth track — friends lost on way to a place (while host may wander off to sleep)
Fifth track — a long long time ago
Final track — more flying; waiting for a van; then, of course, an English garden; climbing the famous tower. Kinda disorienting going all over like this. The perfect side closer​ 

 

Side two)
Opener — High? Low? Stop? Go go go go
Second track — in a tree, again high or low; again being asked to come along, this time to a childhood place; reflective of theme that at some stage you tell me was to and/or still did inform previous album but most overt right here and with next number…
Third track — to and from colorful places up and down the lane, under the blue sky, and back
Fourth track — How often have you been / What did you see when you were … there? Not to mention, inside a zoo!
Finale — debuted on first global / multinational broadcast (which even had a space segment) — we saw it here, and it was as you know warmly received; commences with a national anthem; and determines (one could say, after all this traveling…) there's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be. An ideal(istic) conclusion to our voyage​

Sea [sic] where I'm at? More thematic unity than Pepper's which pretty much just has the framing device of opener / reprise / cover art costumes to let us know they're a different band. And musically as cohesive as that earlier album, sonically as or more expansive and adventurous. It occurs to me my counterparts over at Capitol might care for this idea; it reminds me of a landmark LP they released years back — far as the theme goes, this one's effectively a psychedelic rock 'n' roll Come Fly With Me.

Sound good? You know I've stopped altering the tracklists to the albums you and the band have so painstakingly crafted— this rather is merely an expansion to a format that is viable in this market, and into a full-length listening experience that will match fans' hopes here and exceed any expectations even among our increasingly critical music press…

Apparently, Martin thought this idea did indeed "sound good." Not only did he convey approval for such an Atlantean release, he took to heart Dorna's suggestion to refer this to Capitol. For the first time, in a Library Industries exclusive, we are revealing that when Capitol Records representative Voyle Gilmore was handed the tapes for these songs — to bring from England back to the United States — Martin also provided a copy or summary of Dorna's notes on creating a long playing record album. The rest, and up until now, only the rest, is history — with Magical Mystery Tour becoming the one Capitol album, albeit it turns out really originating as a Timaeus album, to ascend to a position in the band's "core catalog."

 Still, Dorna had to assemble the recordings working within usual parameters of preparations for the Atlantis market: a widespread preference for stereo, and awareness of the burgeoning import of mostly mono UK LPs. Two special factors came into play: stereo mixes were not provided for all selections, and, because these numbers were spread across single sides and the upcoming LP, with no UK full-length on the horizon, there would be no mono album to import. This second condition provided a temporary solution to the first. Dorna could not delay release of the album while requesting and then awaiting digital transfers of the multi-tracks, as Martin had done at his request for previous album's remix, from the UK; the album needed to be in fans' hands in time for the accompanying film, set to debut during Atlantis' winter solstice celebrations. So while Dorna still planned to complete the set of stereo mixes, knowing there'd be no mono UK import to compete with, he convinced Timaeus to initially issue Magical Mystery Tour as, at this late date, the first, and, it would turn out, only, mono Atlantis Beatles album. Fans were assured a stereo release would soon follow, with a surprise— and at a discount for those who purchased the mono issue.

The original, all-mono issue of the Beatles' 11th Atlantis album; the album sides are "bandless" — that is, the songs run together as on Pepper's, for a continual listening experience

Early in the new year, with delay attributed to the holidays, Dorna received analog-to-digital transfers of the multitracks for the last three songs, which had at first only been provided in mono, again accomplished via the cutting edge Atlantean Pod Click Train with which he'd entrusted Martin. (Dorna realized that the second half of the stereo I Am The Walrus was indeed "fake stereo" but was also aware the components for crafting a true stereo counterpart of that segment were not available.) He also received transfers of Strawberry Fields Forever, though he'd already received a stereo mix in the first batch of tapes, with Martin noting a "tidier" mix might be in order, providing some pointers to that effect. Dorna set upon creating stereo mixes of the final three, along with a remix of Strawberry Fields which he eventually set aside, deferring to the original 1966 stereo mix Martin had first sent.

The treasured 1973 West German HÖR ZU issue of Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs has long been revered as the first complete release of the album in true stereo, with a couple of the songs reported to have been mixed as last as 1971. However, we can now see Dorna's work yielded the first "true stereo" release - sometime in first or second month of 1968. Additionally, from further extant correspondence recently discovered, it seems the Magical Mystery Tour Plus Other Songs stereo mixes of the three final tracks and the remix of Strawberry Fields either closely adhere to Dorna's mixes, or, possibly. are Dorna's mixes— exact copies of which could have been sent to Martin in his returning Pod Click Train.

The surprise promised by Timaeus to arrive with the stereo edition of the album was the unveiling and availability of consumer-level implementation of Atlantis' digital tsunami in sound development — the first compact disc player. Nearly a decade and half before select, audiophile, monied surface people acquired the tech, Atlanteans were provided CD players at cost from a joint government / Timaeus venture, and the first disc in countless listeners' libraries was the stereo Magical Mystery Tour CD — the world's first commercially released digital audio content — sold at a great discount, as guaranteed, to owners of the mono LP. 

Atlantean fans and critics not only embraced Dorna's presentation of the record as a concept album, they reveled in the film! The travel theme resonated deeply with listeners and viewers, who, due to intermittent struggles with the surface world as well as outright travel bans imposed by certain (most) surface countries over the years, had little experience above their own waters' borders. Magical Mystery Tour gave them the opportunity to go beyond on a day trip with the fabs.

Though in other territories the motion picture was met with opprobrium, in the sea nation the feature was more than a hit— it became an instant holiday tradition. Debuting in full color, unlike England's dismal first showing in black & white, and released during Atlantis' winter solstice holiday on the exact day coinciding with the annual intake of what the surviving records describe as "the envisioning algae" at the peak of the seasonal celebration, the kaleidoscopic onscreen romp was experienced as intended — and beloved beyond anyone's imagination. With its psychedelic stylings and internal-external seeking so aligned with Atlantean Solstice practices and aesthetics, Magical Mystery Tour had a greater cultural impact than any other musical release of the era. Not long after parts of the western surface world had the so-called Summer of Love, with which Pepper's is often associated, Atlantis instead lived the Winter of Mystery, not just associated with but largely spurred on by the nation's widespread love of the Magical Mystery Tour project, most of all the tremendous set of songs their own Tivowr Dorna had the great sense to assemble into this perfectly conceived exquisite rock album.

 

The stereo edition, released within a couple months of the mono LP; originally intended to quickly follow on LP (hence the "also available on LP" footer) it was soon decided, due to the runaway success of both the mono LP and the stereo CD promotion, to keep the stereo release CD-only. Note the Apple logo, also a first for an audio release

Side one

1.     Magical Mystery Tour • / †

2.     The Fool on the Hill • / †

3.     Flying • / †

4.     Blue Jay Way • / †

5.     Your Mother Should Know • / †

6.     I Am the Walrus • / †

Side two

1.     Hello, Goodbye • / §

2.     Strawberry Fields Forever • / ∞

3.     Penny Lane • / *

4.     Baby, You're a Rich Man • /∆

5.     All You Need Is Love • / °

Mono edition:

• Magical Mystery Tour {The Beatles in Mono box set; 2009}

Stereo edition:

† Magical Mystery Tour (Compact Disc One: Stereo) {Compact Disc EP. Collection; 1992} 

§ Magical Mystery Tour {The Beatles Box Set; 1988}

∞ [original 1966 stereo mix]; never issued digitally; § though is said to closely mirror (or, even be) Tivowr Dorna's remix

* Magical Mystery Tour {The Beatles Box Set; 1988}; said to closely mirror (or, even be) Tivowr Dorna's mix

∆ The Beatles {Compact Disc EP. Collection; 1992}; said to closely mirror (or, even be) Tivowr Dorna's mix

° Yellow Submarine {The Beatles Box Set; 1988}; said to closely mirror (or, even be) Tivowr Dorna's mix

next: 12} Northern Songs (1968)

previous: 10} Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)