The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour (stereo mix) [APPLE/CAPITOL]

Why you'll love it

This stereo pressing uses the 2009 remasters on 180g vinyl, in a gatefold jacket with the 24-page picture book. The LP topped Billboard's albums chart for eight weeks and was nominated for the Grammy for Album of the Year.

This edition

• Stereo mix
• Remastered
• 180g vinyl
• Gatefold jacket
• 24-page picture book
• Booklet included
• Pressed in the EU

About the album

In Britain, Magical Mystery Tour came out as a double EP of songs from the Beatles' Boxing Day television film. Capitol had other ideas for North America: on November 27, 1967, it added the year's singles to make a full LP, and that version was so strong it became part of the band's core catalogue when everything was standardized in 1987.

Side A is the film: Paul McCartney's title song and "The Fool On The Hill," the instrumental "Flying," George Harrison's foggy "Blue Jay Way," the music-hall "Your Mother Should Know" and John Lennon's gloriously strange "I Am The Walrus." Side B is the year's singles, among them "Hello Goodbye," "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane," and "All You Need Is Love," first heard by millions on the Our World satellite broadcast. George Martin produced, and the sessions ranged from EMI Studios to Chappell in central London.

The original booklet carried lyrics, colour photos from the shoot and story illustrations by cartoonist Bob Gibson, and it's back here in full. It's the rare souvenir from a coach trip that people still want to look at.

Also at Kops: more The Beatles on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Apple / Capitol (cat# 2835), a reissue of the 1967 album.