![]() In reality, the working class and the experimental coexisted quite happily throughout their later career, and arguably much of their music couldn’t have been written without their having been both. As such, Magical Mystery Tour tends to be viewed as part of a messy transition period, a time when the band hadn’t quite decided who they were-simple working class lads, or experimental artists-and the BBC, understandably confused, had hired the wrong Beatles. ![]() The difference seems so pronounced that they’re often discussed almost as though they were two separate bands: the Merseyside Beatles in the early years, and the psychedelic Beatles later on. After all, the Beatles did seem to have undergone a remarkable transformation in a few short years. MUGGLESTONE: I think the Queen’s reaction was, if you’ll forgive the terrible pun, fairly common. The reception of the film was so negative that McCartney issued a public apology, blaming the monochrome format and calling the film “a goof.” He vowed they’d do better next time, and cited artistic experimentation, saying that the Queen’s Speech hadn’t been “a gas” either.īut was the film really a turgid vanity project-an in-joke that should never have gone out-or was it simply misunderstood? “The Beatles are turning awfully funny, aren’t they?” was Queen Elizabeth’s assessment of the group as they made their transition from marketable moptops to counterculture revolutionaries, and Magical Mystery Tour did little to dissuade Britain from the notion that the nation’s pet pop stars had gone a little… peculiar. Their first filmed project since the daffy caper Help! (1965) accidentally created the sound of the late ’60s, the project was meant to act as a replacement for the live shows they were no longer performing, and perhaps to introduce Britain and the world to a new phase of creativity inspired by experimental cinema, the working class, the music hall-tinged gothic roots that the band was already mythologizing, and the trappings of the flower power movement they’d helped to birth. on Boxing Day of 1967, the people of Britain gathered around their television sets to witness the Beatles’ new film project, Magical Mystery Tour.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |