First released: 1967, November 27

Sheet music, guitar tabs, song books at Sheetmusicplus.com

1. Magical Mystery Tour (2:52)
   Recorded: April 25, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added April 26-27, 1967 (vocals), May 3, 1967 (trumpets), and November 7, 1967
   John Lennon - acoustic guitar, background vocal
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar, piano (with echo effects)
   George Harrison - lead guitar, background vocal
   Ringo Starr - drums, tambourine
   Session musicians - three trumpets
2. The Fool on the Hill (3:00)
   Recorded: September 25, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 26, 1967 and October 20, 1967 (flutes)
   John Lennon - harmonica, maracas
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, piano, double-tracked recorder, flute
   George Harrison - lead guitar, harmonica
   Ringo Starr - finger cymbals
3. Flying (2:17)
   Recorded: September 8, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 28, 1967
   John Lennon - mellotron, chanting, tape loop at end
   Paul McCartney - guitars, chanting
   George Harrison - guitars, chanting
   Ringo Starr - drums, maracas, chanting, tape loop at end
4. Blue Jay Way (3:57)
   Recorded: September 6, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 7, 1967 and October 6, 1967
   John Lennon - tambourine
   Paul McCartney - bass guitar, background vocal
   George Harrison - double-tracked lead vocal, Hammond organ, background vocal
   Ringo Starr - drums
   Session musician - cello
5. Your Mother Should Know (2:29)
   Recorded: August 22, 1967 at Chappell Recording Studios, London, England with overdubs added August 23, 1967 and September 29, 1967
   John Lennon - organ, background vocal
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar, piano, background vocal
   George Harrison - tambourine, tabla, background vocal
   Ringo Starr - drums
6. I Am the Walrus (4:37)
   Recorded: September 5, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 6, 1967 and September 27, 1967
   John Lennon - lead vocal, mellotron (at the beginning)
   Paul McCartney - bass guitar, background vocal
   George Harrison - tambourine, background vocal
   Ringo Starr - drums
   Session musicians - eight violins, four cellos, three horns
   Choir - six boys singing "Oompah, oompah, stick it up your jumper", six girls singing "Everybody's got one"
7. Hello Goodbye (3:32)
   Recorded: October 2, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added October 19, 20, 25 and November 2, 1967
   John Lennon - lead guitar, organ, background vocal
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar, piano, bongos, conga drum,
   background vocal
   George Harrison - lead guitar, tambourine, background vocal
   Ringo Starr - drums, maracas
   Session musicians - two violas
8. Strawberry Fields Forever (4:10)
   Recorded: November 24, 1966 at Abbey Road, London, England with additional work on November 28-29 and December 8, 9, 15, and 21, 1966
   John Lennon - lead vocal, lead guitar, harpsichord
   Paul McCartney - bass guitar, piano, bongos, flute
   George Harrison - lead guitar, timpani
   Ringo Starr - drums
   Mal Evans - tambourine
   Philip Jones - alto trumpet
   Session musicians - two cellos, two horns
9. Penny Lane (3:04)
   Recorded: December 29, 1966 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added December 30, 1966 and January, 1967
   John Lennon - piano, harmony vocal
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar, Arco string bass, flute
   George Harrison - conga drum, firebell
   Ringo Starr - drums
   George Martin - piano
   David Mason - piccolo trumpet
   Philip Jones - trumpet
10. Baby You're a Rich Man (3:03)
    Recorded: May 11, 1967 at Olympic Sound Studios, London, England
    John Lennon - lead vocal, clavioline, piano
    Paul McCartney - bass guitar, piano, harmony vocal
    George Harrison - tambourine, harmony vocal
    Ringo Starr - drums, maracas
    Session musicians - vibes
11. All You Need Is Love (3:48)
    Recorded: June 14, 1967 at Olympic Sound Studios, London, England (backing track), overdubbed and shortened at an Abbey Road session, then overdubbed live on the "Our World" TV broadcast
    ::Backing track::
    John Lennon - harpsichord
    Paul McCartney - string bass played with a bow
    George Harrison - violin
    Ringo Starr - drums
    ::Abbey Road Track::
    John Lennon - lead vocal
    Paul McCartney - electric bass guitar
    George Harrison - guitar
    Ringo Starr - drums
    ::Live "Our World" track::
    John Lennon - lead vocal
    Paul McCartney - background vocal
    George Harrison - background vocal
    Session musicians - studio orchestra
    Mick Jagger, Gary Leeds, Keith Richards, Marianne Faithfull,
    Jane Asher, Patti Harrison, Keith Moon, Graham Nash - chorus

The U.S. version of the soundtrack for their ill-fated British television special embellished the six songs that were found on the British Magical Mystery Tour double EP with five other cuts from their 1967 singles. (The CD version of the record has now been standardized worldwide as the 11 tracks found on the American version.) The psychedelic sound is very much in the vein of Sgt. Pepper, and even spacier in parts (especially the sound collages of "I Am the Walrus"). Unlike Sgt. Pepper, there's no vague overall conceptual/thematic unity to the material, which has made Magical Mystery Tour suffer slightly in comparison. Still, the music is mostly great, and "Penny Lane," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "All You Need Is Love," and "Hello Goodbye" were all huge, glorious, and innovative singles. The ballad "The Fool on the Hill," though only a part of the Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack, is also one of the most popular Beatle tunes from the era. — Richie Unterberger

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