On this day in 1967, the Beatles continued perfecting their pre-holiday shopping release strategy.
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour - MAL 2835 / MAL-X-1-2835, 1967)
Those Beatle boys sure knew how to take advantage of the pre-Christmas holiday shopping season (and still do). Released on this day in 1967 - at least in full length LP form - the album has always been one of my favorites. Call it an album, call it a compilation, soundtrack, whatever…it’s the Beatles second best “album” of 1967 and that’s saying an awful lot. Is “Hello, Goodbye” their finest moment? I’m here to argue with you about it.
This particular album pictured is an original USA mono “x matrix” copy pressed in Jacksonville, Illinois. I don’t know what the “x matrix” has that the regular matrix has other than and “x” being added, so if you know, please tell me. This pressing sounds better than it has any right to. It’s not the cleanest disc in the world, but my stylus finds its way around its half-century old grooves in a deft manner. I’m still on the hunt for a German HÖR ZU SHZE 327 pressing in true stereo (mint copies of which are currently hovering around $250.00), but I’ve got a few copies of MMT to keep me busy in the meanwhile.
Revisiting MMT in context with the newly released box set highlighting 1964 is a bizarre exercise as it reminds us that this was what the Beatles sounded like a mere 3 years later after they burst into the American consciousness. It’s a magically mysterious album with strange sounds and weirdness at every turn and little strange things tucked into the background (and lots and lots of flange, so much flange), a fun album to unpack.
Is it “I buried Paul” or “cranberry sauce”? Who knows? Happy Thanksgiving eve!
Comentarios