Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles

This whole album really feels like a continuation from SP.

Magical mystery tour: I adore this song more than I should. I mean, it has no verse? It’s really just a repeated bridge and chorus? It should be boring. In fact, about 45 seconds in, you start to think… is this it? Maybe I don’t love this? But then it changes even though the lyrics don’t. It really is magic.

I love that they all decide to roll their Rs at the same time. You just know they practiced that. “Ok lads, remember: on chorus 1 and 4, roll the Rs! Yeah, you’re doing it on ‘roll’ and I’m doing it on ‘reservation’.” I like how it gets all rowdy near the end and then there’s the slow piano outro. This song, as the kids say, slaps.

(I don’t know if any kids say that. John Oliver says it, which probably means kids said it 7 years ago.)

Fool on the Hill: It’s fine. I don’t dislike it.   I guess I like the.. what is that? A recorder? I like the oompah part outro

Flying: It’s fine.

Blue Jay Way: I may be asleep, too. Yawn.

Your mother should know: ok. Half this album is not really the good half.

I am the walrus: This really shouldn’t be my favorite Beatles song. It shouldn’t be anybody’s favorite Beatles song. Alas, I think it is. I think this was one of the first truly weird songs in my life. This and Uncle Albert.* I just love it. I love the opening lines, “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together”. When I found Hinduism, I felt like I was coming home, mainly because of that lyric. (I’m not Hindu, but if you forced me to pick a religion, I’d probably pick that one based on the blue gods with lots of arms and the neat worldview.)

Anyway, the build in the song is ecstatic. And the distortion on John’s voice is :chefs_kiss:. By the end, goo goo gajoob actually sounds like it means something important. It’s like he created a word at the beginning of a song and by the end of the song you don’t know how you ever expressed yourself without it.

Hello goodbye: I know. I should dislike this right? It’s trite. The lyrics are just dumb. But… I like it. It’s fun to sing along with. I can’t be in a bad mood with it on.

I love the hey-la, he-la hey lowa outro. (I guess I’m realizing I really like their outros?) Un-cha Un-cha.

Strawberry fields forever: I don’t think I love this one as much as other people. It’s great. But like… I don’t think he put any effort into the third verse at all. He just gave up but still kept it in. But it’s amazing, sure. I really like the sound of the drums in it. And the strings. And the horns. It’s very part-y. Meaning it feels like each instrument is its own part. Does that make sense? It’s disjointed, but I like all the parts. 

Sigh. I like the outro a lot.  Both of them.

Penny lane: Another one I like to sing. I like the horns and the key changes. And how he pronounces “customer.” 

Baby you’re a Rich Man: Disappointing. In that I think it starts out so great. Whenever it comes on, I think “Oh I love this one!” It is a soft groove that promises a huge payoff. But then… nothing. It goes nowhere. The chorus is blah. They yell about zoos. I guess I shouldn’t hold out hope they’re gonna fix this, huh? Maybe someone else could fix it, like Brandon Sanderson wrote the rest of Wheel of Time after Robert Jordon died?

The outro sucks. 

All you need is love

This album starts and ends strong, imho. “nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.” Sigh. Speaks to my soul. When I’m Mad at The Beatles ™ it’s because the could have been saying this and instead they were saying those other things.

It’s a party by the end. And the whole world is invited. Great outro.