Editing Magical Mystery Tour (section)

==Critical reception==
===Contemporary reviews===

Reviewing the EP a month before the film's screening, [[Nick Logan]] of the ''[[NME]]'' enthused that the Beatles were "at it again, stretching pop music to its limits". He continued: "The four musician-magicians take us by the hand and lead us happily tripping through the clouds, past Lucy in the sky with diamonds and the fool on the hill, into the sun-speckled glades along Blue Jay Way and into the world of Alice in Wonderland ... This is The Beatles out there in front and the rest of us in their wake."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Nick|last=Logan|title=Sky-High with Beatles|magazine=[[NME]]|date=25 November 1967|page=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor=Sutherland, Steve|title=[[NME|NME Originals]]: Lennon|year=2003|publisher=IPC Ignite!|location=London|page=51}}</ref> Bob Dawbarn of ''Melody Maker'' described the EP as "six tracks which no other pop group in the world could begin to approach for originality combined with the popular touch".{{sfn|Shaar Murray|2002|p=130}} In ''[[Record Mirror]]'', Norman Jopling wrote that, whereas on ''Sgt. Pepper'' "the effects were chiefly sound and only the album cover was visual", on ''Magical Mystery Tour'' "the visual side ... has dominated the music", such that "Everything from fantasy, children's comics, acid (psychedelic) humour is included on the record and in the booklet."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Jopling|first=Norman|date=1 December 1967|title=Magical Mystery Beatles|magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|page=1}}</ref>

Among reviews of the American LP, [[Michael Jahn|Mike Jahn]] of ''[[Saturday Review (U.S. magazine)|Saturday Review]]'' hailed ''Magical Mystery Tour'' as the Beatles' best work yet, superior to ''Sgt. Pepper'' in emotion and depth, and "distinguished by its description of the Beatles' acquired Hindu philosophy and its subsequent application to everyday life".<ref>{{cite news|last=Jahn|first=Mike|title=The Beatles: ''Magical Mystery Tour''|work=[[Saturday Review (U.S. magazine)|Saturday Review]]|date=December 1967}} Available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-beatles-magical-mystery-touri Rock's Backpages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402144632/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-beatles-magical-mystery-touri |date=2 April 2015 }} (subscription required).</ref> ''[[Hit Parader]]'' said that "the beautiful Beatles do it again, widening the gap between them and 80 scillion other groups." Remarking on how the Beatles and their producer "present a supreme example of team work", the reviewer compared the album with ''Their Satanic Majesties Request'' and opined that "I Am the Walrus" and "Blue Jay Way" alone "accomplish what the Stones attempted".<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Staff writer|title=Platter Chatter: Albums from The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Cream and Kaleidoscope|magazine=[[Hit Parader]]|date=April 1968}} Available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/platter-chatter-albums-from-the-beatles-rolling-stones-jefferson-airplane-cream-and-kaleidoscope Rock's Backpages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131538/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/platter-chatter-albums-from-the-beatles-rolling-stones-jefferson-airplane-cream-and-kaleidoscope |date=2 April 2015 }} (subscription required).</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' was launched in October 1967 with a cover photo of Lennon from ''How I Won the War'';{{sfn|Frontani|2007|p=208}} in its fourth issue, the magazine's review of ''Magical Mystery Tour'' consisted of a single-sentence quote from him: "There are only about 100 people in the world who understand our music."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Album Reviews|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/magical-mystery-tour-19680120/|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=20 January 1968|page=21|access-date=13 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210042237/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/magical-mystery-tour-19680120|archive-date=10 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Lennon made the remark following the December 1965 TV special ''[[The Music of Lennon & McCartney]]'', in reference to other artists covering their songs.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=220}}}}

Having been one of the few critics to review ''Sgt. Pepper'' unfavourably,{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|pp=83–84}} [[Richard Goldstein (writer born 1944)|Richard Goldstein]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' rued that the new songs furthered the gap between true rock values and studio effects, and that the band's "fascination with motif" was equally reflected in the elaborate packaging. Goldstein concluded: "Does it sound like heresy to say that the Beatles write material which is literate, courageous, genuine, but spotty? It shouldn't. They are inspired posers, but we must keep our heads on their music, not their incarnations."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Goldstein|first1=Richard|title=Are the Beatles Waning?|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/music/123167lennon-beat.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=62|date=31 December 1967|access-date=6 April 2020|archive-date=6 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406155955/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/music/123167lennon-beat.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Rex Reed]] of ''[[Stereo Review|HiFi/Stereo Review]]'' wrote a scathing critique in which he derided the group's "farcical, stagnant, helpless bellowing" and "confused musical ideas". Reed said that exchanging drugs for meditation as their subject matter had left the Beatles "totally divorced from reality", and he especially ridiculed "I Am the Walrus" on an LP he deemed a "platter of phony, pretentious, overcooked tripe".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Rex|last=Reed|title=Entertainment (The Beatles ''Magical Mystery Tour'')|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Audio/Archive-Stereo-Review-IDX/IDX/60s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1968-03-OCR-Page-0113.pdf|magazine=[[Stereo Review|HiFi/Stereo Review]]|date=March 1968|page=117|access-date=6 April 2020|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122162743/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Audio/Archive-Stereo-Review-IDX/IDX/60s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1968-03-OCR-Page-0113.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In his May 1968 column in ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'', [[Robert Christgau]] considered three of the new songs to be "disappointing", among which "The Fool on the Hill" "may be the worst song the Beatles have ever recorded". Christgau still found it a valid album, "for all the singles, which are good music, after all; for the tender camp of 'Your Mother Should Know'; and especially for Harrison's hypnotic 'Blue Jay Way,' an adaptation of Oriental modes in which everything works, lyrics included".<ref>{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=May 1968|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-aow/column3.php|title=Columns: Dylan-Beatles-Stones-Donovan-Who, Dionne Warwick and Dusty Springfield, John Fred, California|publisher=robertchristgau.com|access-date=22 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629130741/http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-aow/column3.php|archive-date=29 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Retrospective assessments===
{{Album ratings
|rev1= [[AllMusic]]
|rev1Score= {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Unterberger/AM">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/magical-mystery-tour-mw0000651227|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|title=The Beatles ''Magical Mystery Tour''|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=23 February 2020|archive-date=30 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530212729/http://www.allmusic.com/album/magical-mystery-tour-mw0000651227|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''
| rev2Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="DuNoyer/Blender">{{cite magazine|last=Du Noyer|first=Paul|date=2004|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2954 |title=The Beatles ''Magical Mystery Tour''|magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060504144642/http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2954 |archive-date=4 May 2006 |access-date=15 March 2018}}</ref>
|rev3= ''[[Consequence of Sound]]''
|rev3Score= A+<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Caffrey|first=Dan|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/09/album-review-the-beatles-magical-mystery-tour-remastered/|title=The Beatles&nbsp;– Magical Mystery Tour (Remastered)|date=23 September 2009|magazine=[[Consequence of Sound]]|access-date=26 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121518/http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/09/album-review-the-beatles-magical-mystery-tour-remastered/|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="McCormick/DT">{{cite news|last=McCormick|first=Neil|date=7 September 2009|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6150305/The-Beatles-Magical-Mystery-Tour-review.html|title=The Beatles&nbsp;– Magical Mystery Tour, review|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=7 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321132001/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6150305/The-Beatles-Magical-Mystery-Tour-review.html|archive-date=21 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev5      = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev5Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{sfn|Larkin|2006|p=489}}
| rev6      = ''[[MusicHound Rock]]''
| rev6Score = 3/5<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=Durchholz|editor-first2=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/88 88]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/88}}</ref>
|rev7 = ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]''
|rev7Score = 94/100<ref name="Kemp/Paste">{{cite magazine|last=Kemp|first=Mark|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/the-beatles-the-long-and-winding-repertoire.html|title=The Beatles: The Long and Winding Repertoire|magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|date=8 September 2009|pages=58–59|access-date=25 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023065059/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/the-beatles-the-long-and-winding-repertoire.html|archive-date=23 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev8= ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
|rev8Score=10/10<ref name="Plagenhoef/Pitchfork">{{cite web |first=Scott|last=Plagenhoef|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13436-magical-mystery-tour/ |title=The Beatles ''Magical Mystery Tour''|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=9 September 2009|access-date=23 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912073059/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13436-magical-mystery-tour/ |archive-date=12 September 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev9Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{sfn|Brackett|Hoard|2004|p=51}}
| rev10 = Sputnikmusic
| rev10Score = 4.5/5<ref>{{cite web|author=((Med57)) |title=The Beatles&nbsp;– Magical Mystery Tour|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/2108/The-Beatles-Magical-Mystery-Tour/|date=14 April 2005|publisher=Sputnikmusic|access-date=22 June 2015|archive-date=26 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026163915/https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/2108/The-Beatles-Magical-Mystery-Tour/|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

In his review for ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'', [[Paul Du Noyer]] writes: "They lost the plot with their dopey TV film, but 1967 was still their zenith as songwriters. For once, the U.S. release went better than the British original ... The result was simply the best set of Beatles tunes so far on a single disc."<ref name="DuNoyer/Blender" /> [[AllMusic]] critic [[Richie Unterberger]] opines that the psychedelia is "even spacier in parts" than on ''Sgt. Pepper'', but "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."<ref name="Unterberger/AM" /> Scott Plagenhoef of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' describes the EP-exclusive tracks as "low key marvels".<ref name="Plagenhoef/Pitchfork" /> He says that while the album lacks a progressive quality from the band's previous work, it "is quietly one of the most rewarding listens in the Beatles' career", and the mixed nature of the collection "matters little when the music itself is so incredible".{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=598}}

Writing in ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'', [[Rob Sheffield]] says that the album is "a lot goopier than ''Sgt. Pepper'', though lifted by the cheerful 'All You Need Is Love' and the ghostly 'Strawberry Fields Forever.' Her Majesty the Queen had the best comment: 'The Beatles are turning awfully funny, aren't they?'"{{sfn|Brackett|Hoard|2004|p=53}} [[Neil McCormick]] of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' writes that the combination of soundtrack and singles means the album lacks cohesion, but he still finds it an "intriguing psychedelic companion piece" to ''Sgt. Pepper'' and highlights "I Am the Walrus" as a "mad, surrealist epic ... in which Lennon takes the concept of lyrical and musical nonsense and just explodes it all over the speakers".<ref name="McCormick/DT" /> Reviewing for ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' in 2002, [[Charles Shaar Murray]] said ''Magical Mystery Tour'' was the Beatles album he turned to most often following Harrison's death the previous year and that it evokes an era "when society still seemed to be opening up rather than closing down".{{sfn|Shaar Murray|2002|pp=128, 130}} Given its experimental qualities, he deemed it "the other half of the double-album that ''Sgt. Pepper'' should have been".{{sfn|Shaar Murray|2002|p=128}} Writing for ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'', [[Mark Kemp]] views ''Magical Mystery Tour'' as a work of "symphonic sprawl" that marks the culmination of a five-year period in which the Beatles led pop music's expansion into [[world music]], psychedelia, [[avant-pop]] and [[electronica]], while bringing the genre a bohemian audience for the first time. He says that while the album resembles a ''Sgt. Pepper'' "Part 2", it "breathes easier and includes stronger songs" and benefits from the lack of a "forced concept".<ref name="Kemp/Paste" />

Among Beatles biographers, Jonathan Gould says the album's resequencing of the EP songs heightens the project's "''Pepper'' redux" quality, with its opening title track recalling "Sgt. Pepper" and "I Am the Walrus" providing the "weighty end" in the manner of "[[A Day in the Life]]". He similarly views "The Fool on the Hill" as the "[[Fixing a Hole]]"–style "cool, contemplative ballad", just as Harrison provides "another droning epic" and McCartney offers "another archaic number" in "Your Mother Should Know", which he finds a "halfhearted attempt at satiric nostalgia".{{sfn|Gould|2007|pp=453, 454}} Chris Ingham, writing in ''The Rough Guide to the Beatles'', says that the soundtrack's reputation suffers from its association with the film's failure, yet while three of the tracks are rightly overlooked, "The Fool on the Hill", "Blue Jay Way" and "I Am the Walrus" remain "essential Beatlemusic".{{sfn|Ingham|2006|pp=47–48}}

''Magical Mystery Tour'' was ranked at number 138 in [[Paul Gambaccini]]'s 1978 book ''[[Critic's Choice: Top 200 Albums]]'', based on submissions from a panel of 47 critics and broadcasters.{{sfn|Heylin|2007|p=265}}<ref>Leopold, Todd (7 March 2007). [http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/blogs/marquee/2007/03/really-infuriating-top-200-list.html "A Really Infuriating Top 200 List"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622120007/http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/blogs/marquee/2007/03/really-infuriating-top-200-list.html |date=22 June 2018 }}.''The Marquee'' at [[CNN.com]]. Retrieved 14 November 2019.</ref> In 2000, it was voted 334th in [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=134}}</ref> In his book ''The Ambient Century'', Mark Prendergast describes it as "the most psychedelic album The Beatles ever released" and, along with ''Revolver'', an "essential purchase".{{sfn|Prendergast|2003|p=196}} He ranks the album at number 27 in his list of "Twentieth-century Ambience&nbsp;– the Essential 100 Recordings".{{sfn|Prendergast|2003|p=478}} In 2007, the album was included in Robert Christgau and [[David Fricke]]'s "40 Essential Albums of 1967" for ''Rolling Stone''. Christgau wrote in an accompanying essay: "Because it begins with the lame theme to their worst movie and the sappy 'Fool on the Hill,' few realize that this serves up three worthy obscurities forthwith&nbsp;– bet [[Beck (musician)|Beck]] knows the sour-and-sweet instrumental 'Flying' by heart. Then it A/Bs three fabulous singles."<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Christgau|first1=Robert|last2=Fricke|first2=David|author-link2=David Fricke|date=12 July 2007|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/rs/albums1967-07.php|title=The 40 Essential Albums of 1967|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=31 March 2020|via=robertchristgau.com|archive-date=24 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224044735/http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/rs/albums1967-07.php|url-status=live}}</ref>