5 Best Songs From The Beatles’ ‘Magical Mystery Tour’
The Beatles‘ Magical Mystery Tour LP contains some of the Fab Four’s most famous songs. In addition, it features an obscure George Harrison composition that’s incredible. Here’s a look at the five best songs from The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour.
5. ‘Blue Jay Way’
The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour contains many famous songs and “Blue Jay Way” is not one of them. It’s one of George’s more obscure compositions. That makes sense, because it certainly doesn’t have a traditional pop hook. Despite this, the song’s chillingly slow tempo hypnotizes the listener.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the real Blue Jay Way is just a street in Los Angeles. Despite this, George makes it sound mysterious and surreal. The fact that he wrote “Blue Jay Way” as well as effective love songs like “Something” and “What Is Life” proves his musical versatility.
4. ‘I Am Walrus’
If “I Am the Walrus” came out in 2023 instead of 1967, it would’ve been called trolling. It starts with some of the most sickly violins in the history of rock ‘n’ roll before transitioning into a bonkers set of lyrics.
The tune references Edgar Allan Poe, pornography, Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, and the Hare Krishna movement. And what on earth is that line about “Yellow matter custard / Dripping from a dead dog’s eye.” “I Am the Walrus” doesn’t seem to have much of a point, except to be strange. For John, sometimes that was enough.
3. ‘Hello, Goodbye’
The smooth, rhythmic riff from The Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye” is one of their best and most underrated moments. It sounds like someone is playing scales in another dimension. It doesn’t really sound like any other song, whether from the Fab Four or another band.
The lyrics crib from George Gershwin’s dichotomous “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.” What a great song to steal from. “Hello, Goodbye”‘s theme of opposites is both simple and timeless. It’s the sort of song that could plausibly be famous many years down the line.
2. ‘The Fool on the Hill’
In the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono says John discussed Magical Mystery Tour in 1980. “On Sgt. Pepper, which was [Paul’s] idea, too, I managed to come up with ‘Lucy in the Sky’ and ‘Day in the Life’ under the pressure of only 10 days,” he said. “Even so, I was in more at the start. But later on, I had sort of succumbed to marriage and eating. On the Mystery Tour album I only had two songs as well — ‘I Am the Walrus’ and ‘Strawberry Fields.'”
John still had positive things to say about the album. “Luckily ‘Walrus’ and ‘Strawberry Fields’ were so fantastic everybody remembers that — and ‘Fool on the Hill,’ which was Paul’s major,” he said. “Now that’s Paul. Another good lyric. Show’s he’s capable of writing complete songs.”
1. ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’
Listening to “Strawberry Fields Forever” isn’t just listening to a song. It’s like entering into John’s mind, a psychedelic alternate universe, or both. This Beatles tune is so off-kilter in such a wonderful way.
While bubblegum Beatles songs like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” were more popular, “Strawberry Fields Forever” was far more influential. The Beach Boys’ Smiley Smile, the Electric Light Orchestra, The Flaming Lips, and Miley Cyrus’ stranger outings can all be traced back to this one song. The tune is over 50 years old and it still sounds like the future.
The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour isn’t an amazing film but it inspired one amazing LP.
