140-451: Apple Records is a British record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin , James Taylor , Badfinger and Billy Preston . In practice, the roster had become dominated by the mid-1970s with releases of
280-723: A "halfhearted attempt at satiric nostalgia". 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". Magical Mystery Tour was ranked at number 138 in Paul Gambaccini 's 1978 book Critic's Choice: Top 200 Albums , based on submissions from
420-551: A "record group" which is, in turn, controlled by a music group. The constituent companies in a music group or record group are sometimes marketed as being "divisions" of the group. From 1929 to 1998, there were six major record labels, known as the Big Six: PolyGram was merged into Universal Music Group (UMG) in 1999, leaving the remaining record labels to be known as the Big Five. In 2004, Sony and BMG agreed to
560-405: A 50% profit-share agreement, aka 50–50 deal, not uncommon. In addition, independent labels are often artist-owned (although not always), with a stated intent often being to control the quality of the artist's output. Independent labels usually do not enjoy the resources available to the "big three" and as such will often lag behind them in market shares. However, frequently independent artists manage
700-699: A Rich Man" and "All You Need Is Love", which allowed the first true-stereo version of the Magical Mystery Tour LP to be issued in West Germany in 1971. In the face of continued public demand for the imported Capitol album, EMI officially released the Magical Mystery Tour LP in the UK in November 1976, although it used the Capitol fake-stereo masters of the same three singles tracks. In 1981,
840-562: A US Senate committee, that the Byrds never received any of the royalties they had been promised for their biggest hits, " Mr. Tambourine Man " and " Turn! Turn!, Turn! ". A contract either provides for the artist to deliver completed recordings to the label, or for the label to undertake the recording with the artist. For artists without a recording history, the label is often involved in selecting producers, recording studios , additional musicians, and songs to be recorded, and may supervise
980-479: A bigger company. If this is the case it can sometimes give the artist greater freedom than if they were signed directly to the big label. There are many examples of this kind of label, such as Nothing Records , owned by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails ; and Morning Records, owned by the Cooper Temple Clause , who were releasing EPs for years before the company was bought by RCA . If an artist and
1120-408: A conventional cash advance to sign the artist, who would receive a royalty for sales after expenses were recouped. With the release of the artist's first album, however, the label has an option to pay an additional $ 200,000 in exchange for 30 percent of the net income from all touring, merchandise, endorsements, and fan-club fees. Atlantic would also have the right to approve the act's tour schedule, and
1260-662: A deal with a proper label. In 2002, ArtistShare was founded as the Internet's first record label where the releases were directly funded by the artist's fans. Magical Mystery Tour Magical Mystery Tour is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of
1400-542: A design concept that highlighted the songs. In Gould's description, the LP cover "had the garish symmetry of a movie poster" through the combination of the Beatles' animal costumes, the "rainbow" film logo, and the song titles rendered in art-deco lettering "amid a border of op-art clouds". The artwork was later cited by proponents of the Paul is dead theory as evidence of McCartney's alleged demise in November 1966. Clues included
1540-459: A friend of McCartney, was intended as an outlet for the release of spoken word and avant-garde records, as a budget label in the style of a magazine or journal. It was active only from 3 February 1969 until June 1969; a string of projects were announced, and a number of recording sessions undertaken, but only two albums were released on the label both by solo Beatles, while another two LPs of finished material were issued by other labels after Zapple
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#17328012755401680-558: A joint venture and merged their recorded music division to create the Sony BMG label (which would be renamed Sony Music Entertainment after a 2008 merger); BMG kept its music publishing division separate from Sony BMG and later sold BMG Music Publishing to UMG. In 2007, the remaining record labels—then known as the Big Four—controlled about 70% of the world music market , and about 80% of the United States music market. In 2012,
1820-476: A label want to work together, whether an artist has contacted a label directly, usually by sending their team a demo, or the Artists & Repertoire team of the label has scouted the artist and reached out directly, they will usually enter in to a contractual relationship. A label typically enters into an exclusive recording contract with an artist to market the artist's recordings in return for royalties on
1960-462: A large international media group , or somewhere in between. The Association of Independent Music (AIM) defines a 'major' as "a multinational company which (together with the companies in its group) has more than 5% of the world market(s) for the sale of records or music videos." As of 2012 , there are only three labels that can be referred to as "major labels": Universal Music Group , Sony Music , and Warner Music Group . In 2014, AIM estimated that
2100-521: A new career phase for the band in which he would be the "executive producer" of their films. John Lennon later complained that the project was typical of McCartney's "tendency" to want to work as soon as he had songs ready to record, yet he himself was unprepared and had to set about writing new material. The Beatles first recorded the film's title song , with sessions taking place at EMI Studios in London between 25 April and 3 May. An instrumental jam
2240-537: A panel of 47 critics and broadcasters. In 2000, it was voted 334th in Colin Larkin 's All Time Top 1000 Albums . 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". He ranks the album at number 27 in his list of "Twentieth-century Ambience – the Essential 100 Recordings". In 2007,
2380-425: A portable tape recorder as he toured the east coast of America. This included poet and Fugs drummer Ken Weaver and Black Mountain poet Charles Olson ,. According to Miles, a spoken word album by Lawrence Ferlinghetti , which had been recorded and edited, would have been Zapple 4, and a spoken word album by Michael McClure had also been recorded. A planned Zapple release of a UK appearance by comedian Lenny Bruce
2520-550: A prescription drug overdose. During a band meeting on 1 September, McCartney suggested they proceed with Magical Mystery Tour , which Epstein had given his approval to earlier in the year. McCartney was keen to ensure the group had a point of focus after the loss of their manager. His view was at odds with his bandmates' wishes, with George Harrison especially eager to pursue their introduction to meditation. According to publicist Tony Barrow , McCartney envisaged Magical Mystery Tour as "open[ing] doors for him" personally and as
2660-537: A recorder solo played by McCartney. The song's sequence in Magical Mystery Tour involved a dedicated film shoot, featuring McCartney on a hillside overlooking Nice, in the South of France, which added considerably to the film's production costs. " Flying " is an instrumental and the first Beatles track to be credited to all four members of the band. It was titled "Aerial Tour Instrumental" until late in
2800-605: A return by recording for a much smaller production cost of a typical big label release. Sometimes they are able to recoup their initial advance even with much lower sales numbers. On occasion, established artists, once their record contract has finished, move to an independent label. This often gives the combined advantage of name recognition and more control over one's music along with a larger portion of royalty profits. Artists such as Dolly Parton , Aimee Mann , Prince , Public Enemy , among others, have done this. Historically, companies started in this manner have been re-absorbed into
2940-497: 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". In his May 1968 column in Esquire , Robert Christgau considered three of
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#17328012755403080-637: A significant achievement, given that the EP's retail price far exceeded that of the singles with which it was competing at the time. As an American import, the Capitol album release peaked on the Record Retailer LPs chart at number 31 in January 1968. In the US, the album sold 1,936,063 copies by 31 December 1967 and 2,373,987 copies by the end of the decade. According to music historian Clinton Heylin ,
3220-635: A tax-effective business structure. The first project that the band released after forming the company was their film Magical Mystery Tour , which was produced under the Apple Films division. Apple Records was officially founded by the group after their return from India in 1968 as another sub-division of Apple Corps. At this time, the Beatles were contracted to EMI . In a new distribution deal, EMI and its US subsidiary Capitol Records agreed to distribute Apple Records until 1976, while EMI retained ownership of their recordings. Beatles recordings issued in
3360-544: Is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos , or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture , distribution , marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists , artist financing and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label" derives from
3500-627: Is about a solitary figure who is not understood by others, but is actually wise. In Everett's interpretation, the fool's innocence leaves him adrift from and unwilling to engage with a judgmental society. McCartney said the idea was inspired by the Dutch design collective the Fool , who derived their name from the tarot card of the same name , and possibly by the Maharishi. A piano ballad, its musical arrangement includes flutes and bass harmonicas , and
3640-454: Is often marketed as a "unit" or "division" of the parent label, though in most cases, they operate as pseudonym for it and do not exist as a distinct business operation or separate business structure (although trademarks are sometimes registered). A record label may give a musical act an imprint as part of their branding, while other imprints serve to house other activities, such as side ventures of that label. Music collectors often use
3780-684: Is owned by Sony Group Corporation ). Record labels and music publishers that are not under the control of the big three are generally considered to be independent ( indie ), even if they are large corporations with complex structures. The term indie label is sometimes used to refer to only those independent labels that adhere to independent criteria of corporate structure and size, and some consider an indie label to be almost any label that releases non-mainstream music, regardless of its corporate structure. Independent labels are often considered more artist-friendly. Though they may have less sales power, indie labels typically offer larger artist royalty with
3920-491: The BBC Radio 1 show Where It's At . Lennon discussed the studio effects used on the new songs, including "I Am the Walrus", which received its only contemporary airing on BBC radio when disc jockey Kenny Everett played it as part of the interview broadcast on 25 November 1967. According to author John Winn, because the lyrics included the word " knickers ", the song "remained unofficially prohibited from BBC playlists for
4060-551: The Modern Jazz Quartet , the Iveys (who became Badfinger ), Doris Troy , and former Liverpool singer Jackie Lomax who recorded George Harrison 's " Sour Milk Sea ". In 1969, the Beatles were in need of financial and managerial direction, and John Lennon was approached by Allen Klein , manager of The Rolling Stones . When Klein went on to manage Apple, three of the Beatles supported him with Paul McCartney being
4200-687: The Toshiba -EMI label. Although this was a legitimate release, it was not authorised by the Beatles, EMI or Apple Corps. Following the settlement of Apple's ten-year lawsuit against EMI in 1989, new projects began to move forward, including the Live at the BBC album and The Beatles Anthology series. It was after the Anthology project (spearheaded by Neil Aspinall) that the company resumed making significantly large profits again and began its revival. The label
4340-488: The US West Coast . Titled Magical Mystery Tour , it would combine Kesey's idea of a psychedelic bus ride with McCartney's memories of Liverpudlians holidaying on coach tours. The film was to be unscripted: various "ordinary" people were to travel on a coach and have unspecified "magical" adventures. The Beatles began recording music for the soundtrack in late April, but the film idea then lay dormant. Instead,
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4480-402: The comic strip style by Beatles Book cartoonist Bob Gibson . It was compiled by Barrow, with input from McCartney. Of the double-EP package, film studies academic Bob Neaverson later commented: "While it certainly solved the song quota problem, one suspects that it was also partly born of the Beatles' pioneering desire to experiment with conventional formats and packaging." In line with
4620-463: The free software and open source movements and the success of Linux . In the mid-2000s, some music publishing companies began undertaking the work traditionally done by labels. The publisher Sony/ATV Music, for example, leveraged its connections within the Sony family to produce, record, distribute, and promote Elliott Yamin 's debut album under a dormant Sony-owned imprint , rather than waiting for
4760-598: The psychedelic sound they had pursued since Revolver (1966). The project was initiated by Paul McCartney in April 1967, but after the band recorded the song " Magical Mystery Tour ", it lay dormant until the death of their manager, Brian Epstein , in late August. Recording then took place alongside filming and editing, and as the Beatles furthered their public association with Transcendental Meditation under teacher Maharishi Mahesh Yogi . The sessions have been characterised by some biographers as aimless and unfocused, with
4900-510: The "parent" of any sublabels. Vanity labels are labels that bear an imprint that gives the impression of an artist's ownership or control, but in fact represent a standard artist/label relationship. In such an arrangement, the artist will control nothing more than the usage of the name on the label, but may enjoy a greater say in the packaging of their work. An example of such a label is the Neutron label owned by ABC while at Phonogram Inc. in
5040-579: The 1967 singles on CD with this album meant that the Magical Mystery Tour CD would be of comparable length to the band's CDs of its original albums, and that the additional five tracks originally featured on the American LP would not need to be included on Past Masters , a two-volume compilation designed to accompany the initial CD album releases and provide all non-album tracks (mostly singles) on CD format. The album (along with
5180-595: The 2009 remastered edition back cover. Capitol's parent company EMI purchased United Artists Records in the late 1970s, and Capitol gained the American rights to the Let It Be soundtrack album (along with the American rights to another, earlier, United Artists Beatles movie soundtrack LP, 1964's A Hard Day's Night ). Aside from the red apple, other examples in which the apple has been altered include George Harrison's album All Things Must Pass triple album, on which
5320-609: The 24-page booklet from the original, reduced in size in the case of the CD. In 2012 the stereo album was reissued on vinyl, using the 2009 remasters and the US track lineup and including the 24-page booklet. The 2012 remastered Magical Mystery Tour DVD entered the Billboard Top Music Video chart at number 1. The CD album climbed to number 1 on the Billboard Catalog Albums chart, number 2 on
5460-442: The Beatles decided to package the two EPs in a gatefold sleeve with a 24-page booklet. The record's cover featured a photo of the Beatles in animal costumes, taken during the shoot for "I Am the Walrus", and marked the first time that the band members' faces were not visible on one of their EP or LP releases. The booklet contained song lyrics, photographer John Kelly's colour stills from the filming, and colour story illustrations in
5600-409: The Beatles once more "focusing on colour and texture as important compositional elements" and exploring the "aesthetic possibilities" of studio technology. " Blue Jay Way " features extensive use of three studio techniques employed by the Beatles over 1966–67: flanging , an audio delay effect; sound-signal rotation via a Leslie speaker ; and (in the stereo mix only) reversed tapes. In the case of
5740-449: The Beatles' acquired Hindu philosophy and its subsequent application to everyday life". 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
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5880-426: The Beatles' catalogue in 1987, Magical Mystery Tour became the only Capitol-generated LP to supersede the band's intended format and form part of their core catalogue. After the Beatles completed Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in April 1967, Paul McCartney wanted to create a film that captured a psychedelic theme similar to that represented by author and LSD proponent Ken Kesey 's Merry Pranksters on
6020-546: The Beatles' catalogue—including solo recordings to date by George Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Starr—reverted to EMI (Paul McCartney had acquired ownership of his solo recordings when he re-signed with Capitol in 1975). The original UK versions of the Beatles' albums were released worldwide by EMI on compact disc in 1987 and 1988 on the Parlophone label. Previously, Abbey Road had been issued in Japan on CD in 1983 on
6160-566: The Beatles' entire UK studio album catalogue) was remastered and reissued on CD in 2009. Acknowledging the album's conception and first release, the CD incorporates the original Capitol LP label design. The remastered stereo CD features a mini-documentary about the album. Initial copies of the album accidentally list the mini-documentary to be one made for Let It Be . The mono album was reissued as part of The Beatles in Mono CD and LP box sets in 2009 and 2014 respectively. The packaging includes
6300-458: The Beatles' recorded music catalogue, Calderstone Productions was formed in 2012 to administer the Beatles' catalogue. Standard Apple album and single labels displayed a bright green Granny Smith apple on the A-side, while the flipside displayed the cross section of the apple. The bright green apple returned for Beatles CDs releases in the 1990s, following initial CD releases by Parlophone. On
6440-473: The Beatles, McCartney's role as the group's de facto leader, a role he had assumed with Lennon's withdrawal before Sgt. Pepper , was destabilised as individual creative agendas were increasingly pursued over 1968. In 1968, jazz musician Bud Shank released the album Magical Mystery , which included five of the EP's tracks and "Hello, Goodbye". "The Fool on the Hill" was highly popular among other artists, particularly cabaret performers, and became one of
6580-562: The Capitol label was re-issued on the Apple label in May 1971, including the singles from " I Want to Hold Your Hand " to " Lady Madonna ", and the albums from Meet the Beatles! to Magical Mystery Tour . The album covers remained unchanged with the Capitol logos. After Klein's departure, Apple was managed by Neil Aspinall on behalf of the four Beatles and their heirs. Apple Records' distribution contract with EMI expired in 1976, when control of
6720-534: The EP's next track. " I Am the Walrus " was Lennon's main contribution to the film and was primarily inspired by both his experiences with LSD and Lewis Carroll 's poem " The Walrus and the Carpenter " from Through the Looking Glass . The impetus came from a fan letter Lennon received from a student at his former high school, Quarry Bank , in which he learned that an English literature teacher there
6860-414: The LP. The Beatles were displeased about this reconfiguration, since they believed that tracks released on a single should not then appear on a new album. Lennon referred to the LP at a May 1968 press conference to promote Apple Corps in the US, saying: "It's not an album, you see. It turned into an album over here, but it was just [meant to be] the music from the film." As part of the unusual format,
7000-644: The Maharishi in Copenhagen. All four band members attended the 17 October memorial service for Epstein, held at the New London Synagogue on Abbey Road , close to EMI Studios, and the 18 October world premiere of How I Won the War , a film in which Lennon had a starring role. Recording for Magical Mystery Tour was completed on 7 November. That day, the title song was given a new barker -style introduction by McCartney (replacing Lennon's effort, which
7140-557: The Stones attempted". Rolling Stone was launched in October 1967 with a cover photo of Lennon from How I Won the War ; 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." Having been one of the few critics to review Sgt. Pepper unfavourably, Richard Goldstein of The New York Times rued that
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#17328012755407280-456: The UK. At one point artist Lizzie Tear (under contract with ABC themselves) appeared on the imprint, but it was devoted almost entirely to ABC's offerings and is still used for their re-releases (though Phonogram owns the masters of all the work issued on the label). However, not all labels dedicated to particular artists are completely superficial in origin. Many artists, early in their careers, create their own labels which are later bought out by
7420-469: The US issue of the Beatles' Let It Be album, the Granny Smith apple was red. The reason was that in the United States that album, being the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, was, for contractual reasons, being manufactured and distributed by United Artists Records and not Capitol Records, so the red apple was used to mark the difference. The red apple also appeared on the back cover, and on
7560-408: The United Kingdom on the Apple label carried Parlophone catalogue numbers, while US issues carried Capitol catalogue numbers. Apple Records owns the rights to all of the Beatles' videos and movie clips, and the rights to recordings of other artists signed to the label. The first catalogue number Apple 1 was a single pressing of Frank Sinatra singing "Maureen Is a Champ" (with lyrics by Sammy Cahn ) to
7700-546: The United States would typically bear a 4th & B'way logo and would state in the fine print, "4th & B'way™, an Island Records, Inc. company". Collectors discussing labels as brands would say that 4th & B'way is a sublabel or imprint of just "Island" or "Island Records". Similarly, collectors who choose to treat corporations and trademarks as equivalent might say 4th & B'way is an imprint and/or sublabel of both Island Records, Ltd. and that company's sublabel, Island Records, Inc. However, such definitions are complicated by
7840-477: The Walrus" as "the most overtly 'literary' song the Beatles would ever record", while MacDonald deems it "[Lennon's] ultimate anti-institutional rant – a damn-you-England tirade that blasts education, art, culture, law, order, class, religion, and even sense itself". McCartney wrote the melody for " The Fool on the Hill " during the Sgt. Pepper sessions but the lyrics remained incomplete until September. The song
7980-487: The Year in 1969. In Britain, the EP peaked at number 2 on the national singles chart , behind "Hello, Goodbye", and became the Beatles' ninth release to top the national EPs chart compiled by Record Retailer . In the UK singles listings compiled by Melody Maker magazine, it replaced "Hello, Goodbye" at number 1 for a week. The EP sold over 500,000 copies there. Walter Everett highlights its UK chart performance as
8120-451: 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." Among reviews of the American LP, Mike Jahn of 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
8260-581: 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 – bet Beck knows the sour-and-sweet instrumental 'Flying' by heart. Then it A/Bs three fabulous singles." In 1968 and 1971, true-stereo mixes were created for "Penny Lane", "Baby, You're
8400-407: The album will sell better if the artist complies with the label's desired requests or changes. At times, the record label's decisions are prudent ones from a commercial perspective, but these decisions may frustrate artists who feel that their art is being diminished or misrepresented by such actions. In other instances, record labels have shelved artists' albums with no intention of any promotion for
8540-527: 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
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#17328012755408680-407: The appearance of a black walrus (Lennon in costume) on the front cover, which was thought to signify death in some areas of Scandinavia; McCartney wearing a black carnation in an image from the "Your Mother Should Know" film sequence; and, on another page from the booklet, McCartney seated behind a sign reading "I WaS". In advance of the EP's release, Lennon promoted the soundtrack in an interview on
8820-411: The artist from their contract, leaving the artist in a state of limbo. Artists who have had disputes with their labels over ownership and control of their music have included Taylor Swift , Tinashe , Megan Thee Stallion , Kelly Clarkson , Thirty Seconds to Mars , Clipse , Ciara , JoJo , Michelle Branch , Kesha , Kanye West , Lupe Fiasco , Paul McCartney , and Johnny Cash . In
8960-415: The artist in question. Reasons for shelving can include the label deciding to focus its resources on other artists on its roster, or the label undergoing a restructure where the person that signed the artist and supports the artist's vision is no longer present to advocate for the artist. In extreme cases, record labels can prevent the release of an artist's music for years, while also declining to release
9100-425: The artist is established and has a loyal fan base. For that reason, labels now have to be more relaxed with the development of artists because longevity is the key to these types of pact. Several artists such as Paramore , Maino , and even Madonna have signed such types of deals. A look at an actual 360 deal offered by Atlantic Records to an artist shows a variation of the structure. Atlantic's document offers
9240-484: The artists may be downloaded free of charge or for a fee that is paid via PayPal or other online payment system. Some of these labels also offer hard copy CDs in addition to direct download. Digital Labels are the latest version of a 'net' label. Whereas 'net' labels were started as a free site, digital labels represent more competition for the major record labels. The new century brought the phenomenon of open-source or open-content record labels. These are inspired by
9380-647: The band continued recording songs for the United Artists animated film Yellow Submarine and, in the case of " All You Need Is Love ", for their appearance on the Our World satellite broadcast on 25 June, before travelling over the summer months and focusing on launching their company Apple . In late August, while the Beatles were attending a Transcendental Meditation seminar held by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Wales , their manager Brian Epstein died of
9520-445: The band introduced some effective "new touches" during this period. He highlights the slow guitar tremolo on "Flying", the combination of female and male vocal chorus, cello glissandi and found sounds on "I Am the Walrus", and the interplay between the lead vocal and violas on "Hello, Goodbye". In MacFarlane's description, the songs reflect the Beatles' growing interest in stereo mixes, as "remarkable sonic qualities" are revealed in
9660-401: The band members overly indulging in sound experimentation and exerting greater control over production. McCartney contributed three of the soundtrack songs, including the widely covered " The Fool on the Hill ", while John Lennon and George Harrison contributed " I Am the Walrus " and " Blue Jay Way ", respectively. The sessions also produced " Hello, Goodbye ", issued as a single accompanying
9800-489: The band's approach to recording Magical Mystery Tour In their new songs, the Beatles continued the studio experimentation that had typified Sgt. Pepper and the psychedelic sound they had introduced in 1966 with Revolver . Author Mark Hertsgaard highlights "I Am the Walrus" as the fulfilment of the band's "guiding principle" during the sessions – namely to experiment and be "different". To satisfy Lennon's request that his voice should sound like "it came from
9940-434: The band's commitment to the Maharishi's teachings remained strong. Barrow later wrote that Lennon, Harrison and Ringo Starr were "itching" to travel to India and study with their teacher, but they agreed to postpone the trip and complete the film's soundtrack and editing. Harrison and Lennon promoted Transcendental Meditation with two appearances on David Frost 's TV show The Frost Programme , and Harrison and Starr visited
10080-399: The band's wishes, the packaging reinforced the idea that the release was a film soundtrack rather than a follow-up to Sgt. Pepper , which was still receiving critical plaudits and enjoying commercial success in late 1967. When preparing the US release, Capitol enlarged the photos and illustrations to LP size inside a gatefold album sleeve. The cover design was done by John Van Hamersveld ,
10220-424: The broadcast rights for North America assigned to NBC , the Capitol album was scheduled for a mid-December release. The company instead issued the album on 27 November. In Britain only, the film was then screened on Boxing Day to an audience estimated at 15 million. It was savaged by reviewers, giving the Beatles their first public and critical failure. As a result, the American broadcaster withdrew its bid for
10360-650: The circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information. Within the mainstream music industry , recording artists have traditionally been reliant upon record labels to broaden their consumer base, market their albums, and promote their singles on streaming services, radio, and television. Record labels also provide publicists , who assist performers in gaining positive media coverage, and arrange for their merchandise to be available via stores and other media outlets. Record labels may be small, localized and " independent " ("indie"), or they may be part of
10500-414: 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". Reviewing for Mojo in 2002, Charles Shaar Murray said Magical Mystery Tour
10640-403: The company. Some independent labels become successful enough that major record companies negotiate contracts to either distribute music for the label or in some cases, purchase the label completely, to the point where it functions as an imprint or sublabel. A label used as a trademark or brand and not a company is called an imprint , a term used for a similar concept in publishing . An imprint
10780-400: The corporate mergers that occurred in 1989 (when Island was sold to PolyGram) and 1998 (when PolyGram merged with Universal). PolyGram held sublabels including Mercury, Island and Motown. Island remained registered as corporations in both the United States and UK , but control of its brands changed hands multiple times as new companies were formed, diminishing the corporation's distinction as
10920-427: 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". Among Beatles biographers, Jonathan Gould says
11060-416: The early days of the recording industry, recording labels were absolutely necessary for the success of any artist. The first goal of any new artist or band was to get signed to a contract as soon as possible. In the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, many artists were so desperate to sign a contract with a record company that they sometimes ended up signing agreements in which they sold the rights to their recordings to
11200-512: The end of their contract with EMI when their album In Rainbows was released as a " pay what you want " sales model as an online download, but they also returned to a label for a conventional release. Research shows that record labels still control most access to distribution. Computers and internet technology led to an increase in file sharing and direct-to-fan digital distribution, causing music sales to plummet in recent years. Labels and organizations have had to change their strategies and
11340-464: The film soundtrack songs, although in a different order from the EP. Side two contained both sides of the band's two singles released up to this point in 1967, along with "Hello, Goodbye", which was issued as a single backed by "I Am the Walrus". Three of the previously released tracks – " Penny Lane ", " Baby, You're a Rich Man " and "All You Need Is Love" – were presented in duophonic (or "processed") stereo sound on Capitol's stereo version of
11480-418: The first two discs have orange apples while the third has a jar label reading Apple Jam ; black and white apples on John Lennon's album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Yoko Ono 's album Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band ; a blue apple on Ringo Starr's single " Back Off Boogaloo "; Harrison's album Extra Texture (Read All About It) , on which the apple (in shrunken cartoon form) is eaten away at its core (this
11620-521: The former Beatles as solo artists. Allen Klein managed the label from 1969 to 1973, then it was managed by Neil Aspinall on behalf of the Beatles and their heirs. Aspinall retired in 2007 and was replaced by Jeff Jones . Jones stepped down on October 21st, 2024. Apple Corps Ltd was conceived by the Beatles in 1967 after the death of their manager Brian Epstein . It was intended to be a small group of companies (Apple Retail, Apple Publishing, Apple Electronics, and so on) as part of Epstein's plan to create
11760-400: The head of Capitol's art department, working from the artwork sent from EMI in London. He recalled that Capitol's vice-president of distribution was concerned about how to market a record where the Beatles' faces were hidden behind their costumes, since cover portraits had been key to the success of the group's US LPs. Van Hamersveld therefore augmented the "underground graphic" cover image with
11900-422: The latter technique, a recording of the completed track was played backwards and faded in at key points during the performance, creating an effect whereby the backing vocals appear to answer each line of Harrison's lead vocal in the verses. Due to the limits of multitracking , the process of feeding in reversed sounds was carried out live during the final mixing session. A tape loop of decelerated guitar sounds
12040-642: The local rights, and the film was not shown there at the time. Any resentment or hostility that the watching audience might have felt towards the Boxing Day broadcast of Magical Mystery Tour was more than amply counterbalanced by the fact that for three weeks over the Christmas and new year period the "Hello, Goodbye" single and the Magical Mystery Tour EP were numbers one and two in the UK singles chart. You heard them everywhere and all
12180-734: The major divisions of EMI were sold off separately by owner Citigroup : most of EMI's recorded music division was absorbed into UMG; EMI Music Publishing was absorbed into Sony/ATV Music Publishing; finally, EMI's Parlophone and Virgin Classics labels were absorbed into Warner Music Group (WMG) in July 2013. This left the so-called Big Three labels. In 2020 and 2021, both WMG and UMG had their IPO with WMG starting trading at Nasdaq and UMG starting trading at Euronext Amsterdam and leaving only Sony Music as wholly-owned subsidiary of an international conglomerate ( Sony Entertainment which in turn
12320-433: The major labels (two examples are American singer Frank Sinatra 's Reprise Records , which has been owned by Warner Music Group for some time now, and musician Herb Alpert 's A&M Records , now owned by Universal Music Group). Similarly, Madonna 's Maverick Records (started by Madonna with her manager and another partner) was to come under control of Warner Music when Madonna divested herself of controlling shares in
12460-537: The majors had a collective global market share of some 65–70%. Record labels are often under the control of a corporate umbrella organization called a "music group ". A music group is usually affiliated to an international conglomerate " holding company ", which often has non-music divisions as well. A music group controls and consists of music-publishing companies, record (sound recording) manufacturers, record distributors, and record labels. Record companies (manufacturers, distributors, and labels) may also constitute
12600-492: The material, which has made Magical Mystery Tour suffer slightly in comparison. Still, the music is mostly great." Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork describes the EP-exclusive tracks as "low key marvels". 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
12740-430: The melody of " The Lady Is a Tramp " as a surprise gift for the 21st birthday of Ringo Starr 's wife Maureen . Apple Records and Apple Publishing signed a number of acts whom the Beatles personally discovered or supported, and one or more of the Beatles would be involved in the recording sessions in most cases. Several notable artists were signed in the first year, including James Taylor , Mary Hopkin , Billy Preston ,
12880-555: The moon", the engineers gave him a low-quality microphone to sing into and saturated the signal from the preamp microphone. In addition to the song's string and horn arrangement, Martin wrote a score for the sixteen backing vocalists (the Mike Sammes Singers ), in which their laughter, exaggerated vocalising and other noises evoked the LSD-inspired mood that Lennon sought for the piece. The orchestral arrangement and
13020-491: The most covered Lennon–McCartney compositions. 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
13160-546: The music itself is so incredible". 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?'" Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph writes that
13300-462: 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." Rex Reed of HiFi/Stereo Review wrote
13440-473: 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". In his review for Blender , Paul Du Noyer writes: "They lost
13580-681: The only group member opposed to his involvement. McCartney had suggested his father-in-law Lee Eastman for the job. Klein took control of Apple and shut down several sub-divisions, including Apple Electronics, and he dropped some of Apple Records' artistic roster. New signings to the label were not so numerous afterward and tended to arrive through the individual actions of the former Beatles. For example, Elephant's Memory were recruited through Lennon and Ravi Shankar through Harrison. McCartney had little input into Apple Records' roster after 1970. Klein managed Apple Corps until March 1973, when his contract expired. The Beatles' entire pre-Apple catalogue on
13720-507: The output of recording sessions. For established artists, a label is usually less involved in the recording process. The relationship between record labels and artists can be a difficult one. Many artists have had conflicts with their labels over the type of sound or songs they want to make, which can result in the artist's artwork or titles being changed before release. Other artists have had their music prevented from release, or shelved. Record labels generally do this because they believe that
13860-417: The placement of sounds across the stereo image, making for a more active listening experience. Magical Mystery Tour included six tracks, a number that posed a challenge for the Beatles and their UK record company, EMI , as there were too few for an LP album but too many for an EP . One idea considered was to issue an EP that played at 33 ⅓ rpm , but this would have caused a loss of audio fidelity that
14000-461: 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." 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
14140-465: The pop and rock world after their initial sessions at Apple Records include Badfinger (originally known as the Iveys), James Taylor, Mary Hopkin, Hot Chocolate, Yoko Ono and Billy Preston. Artists who auditioned to appear on the label, but did not make it, include: Record label [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company
14280-548: The record label in perpetuity. Entertainment lawyers are usually employed by artists to discuss contract terms. Due to advancing technology such as the Internet , the role of labels is rapidly changing, as artists are able to freely distribute their own material through online radio , peer-to-peer file sharing such as BitTorrent , and other services, at little to no cost, but with correspondingly low financial returns. Established artists, such as Nine Inch Nails , whose career
14420-513: The release of Magical Mystery Tour and of the Rolling Stones ' Their Satanic Majesties Request , which was the Stones' answer to Sgt. Pepper , inadvertently brought an end to psychedelic pop . Music journalist John Harris cites the critical maligning of the film as the excuse the British authorities were looking for to begin targeting the Beatles, despite the band's status as MBE holders, for their wayward influence on youth. Within
14560-418: The salaries of certain tour and merchandise sales employees hired by the artist. In addition, the label also offers the artist a 30 percent cut of the label's album profits—if any—which represents an improvement from the typical industry royalty of 15 percent. With the Internet now being the dominant source for obtaining music, netlabels have emerged. Depending on the ideals of the net label, music files from
14700-545: The same name . The EP was issued in the UK on 8 December 1967 on the Parlophone label, while the Capitol Records LP release in the US and Canada occurred on 27 November and features an additional five songs that were originally released as singles that year. In 1976, Parlophone released the eleven-track LP in the UK. When recording their new songs, the Beatles continued the studio experimentation that had typified Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and
14840-419: The selling price of the recordings. Contracts may extend over short or long durations, and may or may not refer to specific recordings. Established, successful artists tend to be able to renegotiate their contracts to get terms more favorable to them, but Prince 's much-publicized 1994–1996 feud with Warner Bros. Records provides a strong counterexample, as does Roger McGuinn 's claim, made in July 2000 before
14980-421: The sessions and appears in the film over footage of clouds and outtakes from Stanley Kubrick 's Dr. Strangelove . The track's musical structure is similar to a 12-bar blues and set to what music historian Richie Unterberger terms a "rock–soul rhythm". It consists of three rounds of the 12-bar pattern, led first by guitars, then Mellotron and organ, and finally a chanted vocal chorus. " Blue Jay Way "
15120-567: The sessions, recalled, "the Beatles had taken over things so much that I was more their right-hand man than George Martin's". Early, pre-overdub mixes of some of the film songs were prepared on 16 September, before the Beatles performed the music sequences during a six-day shoot at RAF West Malling , a Royal Air Force base in Kent. The recording sessions continued alongside editing of the film footage, which took place in an editing suite in Soho and
15260-404: The song as a production number for Magical Mystery Tour , where it provides the film's closing, Busby Berkeley –style dance sequence. In author Doyle Greene's view, the lyrics advocate generational understanding in the manner of " She's Leaving Home " but, unlike in the latter song, to the point of "maternal authority and youth compliance", and contrast sharply with the confrontational message of
15400-523: The song serves to welcome the audience to the event and uses a trumpet fanfare. " Your Mother Should Know " is a song in the music hall style similar to McCartney's " When I'm Sixty-Four " from Sgt. Pepper . Its lyrical premise centres on the history of hit songs across generations. He originally offered it for the Our World broadcast, but the Beatles favoured Lennon's "All You Need Is Love" for its social significance. McCartney later said he wrote
15540-413: The songs variously further the Beatles' exploration of the thematic links between a psychedelic trip and travelling, and address the relationship between travel and time. Ethnomusicologist David Reck comments that despite the Beatles' association with Eastern culture at the time, through their championing of the Maharishi, just two of the EP's songs directly reflect this interest. " Magical Mystery Tour "
15680-456: The soundtrack EP was reissued in both mono and stereo as part of Parlophone's 15-disc box set The Beatles EP Collection . When standardising the Beatles' releases for the worldwide compact disc release in 1987, EMI issued Magical Mystery Tour as a full-length album in true stereo. It was the only example of an American reconfigured release being favoured over the EMI version. The inclusion of
15820-411: The soundtrack record, and items of incidental music for the film, including " Flying ". Further to the Beatles' desire to experiment with record formats and packaging, the EP and LP included a 24-page booklet containing song lyrics, colour photos from film production, and colour story illustrations by cartoonist Bob Gibson . Despite the mixed reception of the Magical Mystery Tour film, the soundtrack
15960-465: The soundtracks to Come Together and El Topo (in the US), the onetime Philles Records compilation Phil Spector's Christmas Album and the multi-artist The Concert for Bangla Desh . Cassette and 8-track tape versions of Bangla Desh were marketed by Columbia Records after a deal that permitted the inclusion of Bob Dylan , a Columbia artist, on the album. Artists who had considerable success in
16100-400: The term sublabel to refer to either an imprint or a subordinate label company (such as those within a group). For example, in the 1980s and 1990s, 4th & B'way Records (pronounced as "Broadway") was a trademarked brand owned by Island Records Ltd. in the UK and by a subordinate branch, Island Records, Inc., in the United States. The center label on a 4th & Broadway record marketed in
16240-493: The time being". "I Am the Walrus" was also banned from American airwaves. Magical Mystery Tour was issued in the UK on 8 December, the day after the opening of their Apple Boutique in central London, and just over two weeks before the film was broadcast by BBC Television . It retailed at the sub-£1 price of 19s 6d (equivalent to £22 today). It was their thirteenth British EP and only their second, after 1964's Long Tall Sally , to consist of entirely new recordings. With
16380-408: The time, resplendent in tandem. – Music journalist Rob Chapman In its first three weeks on sale in the US, Magical Mystery Tour set a record for the highest initial sales of any Capitol LP. It was number 1 on Billboard ' s Top LPs listings for eight weeks at the start of 1968 and remained in the top 200 until 8 February 1969. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of
16520-467: The version he had previously discarded, from 22–23 August. The latter sessions marked the Beatles' first in close to two months and took place at a facility new to the band – Chappell Recording Studios in central London – since they were unable to book EMI at short notice. Many Beatles biographers characterise the group's post- Sgt. Pepper recording sessions of 1967 as aimless and undisciplined. The Beatles' use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD
16660-422: The vocal score were recorded on a separate four-track tape, which Martin and Scott then manually synchronised with the tape containing the band's performance. The track was completed with Lennon overdubbing live radio signals found at random, finally settling on a BBC Third Programme broadcast of Shakespeare's The Tragedy of King Lear . According to musicologist Thomas MacFarlane, Magical Mystery Tour shows
16800-433: The way they work with artists. New types of deals called "multiple rights" or "360" deals are being made with artists, where labels are given rights and percentages to artist's touring, merchandising, and endorsements . In exchange for these rights, labels usually give higher advance payments to artists, have more patience with artist development, and pay higher percentages of CD sales. These 360 deals are most effective when
16940-577: The way to the Beatles' embrace of Transcendental Meditation. The composition marked a rare example of the Lydian mode being used in pop music and, in Reck's view, incorporates scalar elements from the Carnatic raga Ranjani . Because EPs were not popular in the US at the time, Capitol Records released the soundtrack as an LP by adding tracks from that year's non-album singles. The first side contained
17080-461: The world of Alice in Wonderland ... This is The Beatles out there in front and the rest of us in their wake." 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". In Record Mirror , Norman Jopling wrote that, whereas on Sgt. Pepper "the effects were chiefly sound and only
17220-577: Was a critical and commercial success. In the UK, it topped the EPs chart compiled by Record Retailer and peaked at number 2 on the magazine's singles chart (later the UK Singles Chart ) behind "Hello, Goodbye". The album topped Billboard ' s Top LPs listings for eight weeks and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1969. With the international standardisation of
17360-683: Was again newsworthy in 2006, as the long-running dispute between Apple Records' parent company and Apple Inc. went to the High Court (see Apple Corps v Apple Computer ). In 2007, longtime chief executive Neil Aspinall retired and was replaced by American music industry executive Jeff Jones . The Beatles' catalog was remastered and re-issued in September 2009 and was made available on iTunes in November 2010. In June 2009, Apple Records published their last album, Let it Roll: Songs by George Harrison . When Universal Music Group acquired EMI and
17500-434: Was at its height during that summer and, in author Ian MacDonald 's view, this resulted in a lack of judgment in their recordings as the band embraced randomness and sonic experimentation. George Martin , the group's producer, chose to distance himself from their work at this time, saying that much of the Magical Mystery Tour recording was "disorganised chaos". Ken Scott , who became their senior recording engineer during
17640-459: Was closed down. The label was launched with the two Beatle related records firstly Lennon and Ono's avant garde Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions (Zapple 1) and George Harrison's Electronic Sound (Zapple 2). An album of readings by Richard Brautigan was recorded and mixed for release as Zapple 3, and acetate disc copies and test pressings were cut but, said Miles, "The Zapple label
17780-514: Was deemed unacceptable. The solution chosen was to issue the music in the innovative format of a double EP. It was the first example of a double EP in Britain. According to music journalist Rob Chapman , each of the new tracks "represents a distinct facet of the group's psychedelic vision". He gives these as, in order of the EP's sequencing: celebration, nostalgia, absurdity, innocence, bliss and dislocation. Musicologist Russell Reising says that
17920-455: Was developed with major label backing, announced an end to their major label contracts, citing that the uncooperative nature of the recording industry with these new trends is hurting musicians, fans and the industry as a whole. However, Nine Inch Nails later returned to working with a major label, admitting that they needed the international marketing and promotional reach that a major label can provide. Radiohead also cited similar motives with
18060-500: Was folded by [Allen] Klein before the record could be released. The first two Zapple records did come out. We just didn't have [Brautigan's record] ready in time before Klein closed it down. None of the Beatles ever heard it." Brautigan's record was eventually released as Listening to Richard Brautigan on Harvest Records , a subsidiary of Apple distributor EMI, in the US only. The first recordings were made for Zapple in January 1969, as field recordings of poets in their homes by Miles on
18200-524: Was intended to be a joke because it was released at a time when Apple Records was beginning to fold); and a red apple on Starr's compilation album Blast from Your Past . Other types of apples were also used: in 1971, for Lennon's Imagine and Ono's Fly , the apples respectively featured pictures of Lennon and Ono, as did the apples for Ono's 1973 Approximately Infinite Universe and the singles that were released from these three albums. Zapple Records , an Apple Records subsidiary run by Barry Miles ,
18340-428: Was interpreting the Beatles' lyrics in a scholarly fashion. Amused by this, Lennon set out to write a lyric that would confound analysis from scholars and music journalists. In addition to drawing on Carroll's imagery and Shakespeare's King Lear , he reworked a nursery rhyme from his school days, and referenced Edgar Allan Poe and (in the vocalised "googoogajoob"s) James Joyce . Author Jonathan Gould describes "I Am
18480-518: Was mostly overseen by McCartney. The process led to a struggle between him and Lennon over the film's content. The Beatles also recorded " Hello, Goodbye " for release as a single accompanying the soundtrack record. That his film song " I Am the Walrus " was relegated to the B-side of the single, in favour of McCartney's pop-oriented "Hello, Goodbye", was another source of rancour for Lennon. He later recalled, "I began to submerge." During this time,
18620-616: Was named after a street in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles where Harrison stayed in August 1967. The lyrics document his wait for music publicist Derek Taylor to find his way to Blue Jay Way through the fog-ridden hills, while Harrison struggled to stay awake after the flight from London to Los Angeles. MacDonald describes the song as Harrison's "farewell to psychedelia", since his subsequent visit to Haight-Ashbury led to him seeking an alternative to hallucinogenic drugs and opened
18760-454: Was never completed. An early 1969 press release also named Pablo Casals as an expected guest on the label. American author Ken Kesey was given a tape recorder to record his impressions of London, but they were never released. Miles also had the intention of bringing world leaders to the label. Zapple was shut down in June 1969 by Klein, apparently with the backing of Lennon. Also released were
18900-481: Was nevertheless retained in the version used in the film) and an overdub of traffic sounds. Three pieces of incidental music were recorded but omitted from the soundtrack record. In the case of "Shirley's Wild Accordion", the scene was cut from the film. Featuring an accordion score by arranger Mike Leander , it was performed by Shirley Evans with percussion contributions from Starr and McCartney, and recorded at De Lane Lea Studios in October. "Jessie's Dream"
19040-480: Was recorded on 9 May for possible inclusion in the film, although it was never completed. According to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn , the Magical Mystery Tour sessions "began in earnest" on 5 September; filming started on 11 September, and the two activities became increasingly "intertwined" during October. Most of the 16 September session was dedicated to taping a basic track for McCartney's " Your Mother Should Know ", only for McCartney to then decide to return to
19180-432: Was taped privately by the Beatles and copyrighted to McCartney–Starkey–Harrison–Lennon, while the third item was a brief Mellotron piece used to orchestrate the line "The magic is beginning to work" in the film. They half knew what they wanted and half didn't know, not until they'd tried everything. The only specific thought they seemed to have in their mind was to be different. – EMI engineer Ken Scott on
19320-417: 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". Given its experimental qualities, he deemed it "the other half of the double-album that Sgt. Pepper should have been". Writing for Paste , Mark Kemp views Magical Mystery Tour as a work of "symphonic sprawl" that marks
19460-438: Was used on " The Fool on the Hill " to create a swooshing bird-like effect towards the end of that song. Lennon and Starr prepared seven minutes' worth of tape loops as a coda to " Flying ", but this was discarded, leaving the track to end with a 30-second burst of Mellotron sounds. Although he recognises Sgt. Pepper as the highpoint of the Beatles' application of sound "colorisation", musicologist Walter Everett says that
19600-406: Was written as the main theme song shortly after McCartney conceived the idea for the film. In Hunter Davies ' contemporary account of the 25 April session, McCartney arrived with the chord structure but only the opening refrain ("Roll up / Roll up for the mystery tour"), necessitating a brainstorming discussion the following day to complete the lyrics. Like " Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ",
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