The Beatles
Magical Mystery Tour
1967
Capitol Records (US)
The so-called “big news” this week of The Beatles library becoming available through streaming services makes me shake my head. No big deal…they’ve been streaming from our turntables for years!
Here’s one of my favorite pieces. From Christmas 1967, it’s Magical Mystery Tour. This is the US version of the LP.
Happy Christmas!
Do big numbers impress you? Sometimes smaller number mean more.
We’re fascinated by TV shows that reach 100 episodes or 10 years on the air; bands creating a record with multiple producers and dozens of musicians; or movies with a cast of hundreds. But does that make them good?
These small numbers impress me more:
12 = number of Fawlty Towers episodes (6 in 1975, 6 in 1979). 
10 = number of years The Beatles were together.
9 = number of Led Zeppelin original studio albums.
3 = number of guys in Johnny Cash’s band…including Johnny Cash.
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1 = number of musicians playing all of the instruments on John Fogerty’s Centerfield album (and that was John Fogerty!)
On December 8, 1980, a major news story broke in the middle of a Monday evening. There was no Social Media, no Internet, and no 24 hour cable news networks.
How did most of America hear the news? Via Howard Cosell.
Cosell was broadcasting ABC’s Monday Night Football and broke in with an unforgettable announcement:
“AN UNSPEAKABLE TRAGEDY…JOHN LENNON…SHOT TWICE IN THE BACK…DEAD ON ARRIVAL.”
Check it out here
Today over on the iTunes Store, much of the pricey real estate is promoting a big announcement tomorrow at 9am CT / 10am ET. You’ll see the same thing at apple.com.
Let the speculation fly! I am once again predicting the announcement that The Beatles catalogue will finally be available via iTunes. Last year, I speculated that this would be a big Apple announcement in the near future but I didn’t see it taking this long.
I may be way off … many folks on Mashable or elsewhere are predicting application-related news. I’m guessing Beatles simply due to the timing; a mid-November roll-out means that it’s product or content FOR SALE. It must be something that will ring the iTunes Stores cash register. See you tomorrow at the “the store”…
The Biggest Release That Wasn’t Released…Yet
Many Beatles and iTunes fans spent the past few weeks speculating that The Beatles catalog would debut on iTunes at the same time as the remastering of their catalog on CD and the debut of Beatles Rock Band, making a perfect hat trick. Many in the PR community also anticipated this cross-promotion no-brainer.
However, the lack of an iTunes announcement on 09.09.09 made the Apple gathering a non-event for some. But just wait…the delay will create yet another publicity-friendly event in the future. And, even more important to Apple Inc and Apple Records, a future Beatles / iTunes event will ultimately drive more sales via more product downloads. Steve Jobs even said, “we’ll see you soon.”
This masterful delay didn’t waste a great event and allow the iTunes availability to get buried in the PR and ad frenzy of Beatles CDs and Rock Band by Apple Records or the new iPod launches, iTunes 9 update, and the return of Mr. Jobs by Apple Corp.
After all, September is the time for releasing holiday gift choices (CDs, video games, and new iPods) not downloadable songs which won’t really drive holiday sales. It’s very smart of the two Apples to delay a deal and announcement until 2010 or later.
2006 Love
2006 Capitol Years
This remixing of the first 8 US Capitol Beatles albums was the first time some of the US versions of Beatles records made it to CD.
2000 The Beatles 1
This is virtually the same set of tracks as 1982’s “20 Greatest” released on CD and promoted to the next generation of fans. The result: over 10 million copies sold in the US alone!
1995-96 Anthology 1, 2, & 3
Not truly a greatest hits compilation; the Anthology series featured alternate versions, demos, outtakes, and historical live performances. It also served as a companion piece to the much-hyped ABC documentary series of the same name. The Apple and Capitol promotional machine did phenomenal job making sure every person on in America knew about this release
1988 Past Masters Volume 1 & 2
1988 Beatles Box Set
This release was significant as the first complete box set of all albums on CDs plus the two Past Masters CDs of singles and B-sides not available on any album. This set is virtually identical to the 2009 release but not remastered.
1982 20 Greatest Hits
Absolutely nothing special about this release – just repackaging the same ol’ songs and selling millions of copies to a new generation of fans, that’s all.
1982 Reel Music
In the 70’s and 80’s, Capitol seemed to like to have a twist or theme to tracks repackaged and compiled. I guess this gave consumers a reason to care. This one featured only music from the Beatles movies (???). This also featured a “new” track: a medley of the Beatles movie songs taking advantage of the Stars on 45 fad happening at the time.
1977 Love Songs
The repackaging theme for this compilation was obviously the band’s love songs and ballads.
1976 Rock ‘n’ Roll Music
The repackaging theme for this inferior compilation was old-time rock n rolls cover tunes written by Chuck Berry and others. I assume the thought behind this choice was the fact that these cover tunes were not included in the 1973 Red and Blue albums below, even though “Twist & Shout” and others were some the band’s most popular early records. These tracks were poorly selected and remixed and the packaging looked substandard. It’s interesting that this compilation itself was repackaged four years later and split into two budget-priced albums.
1973 The Beatles 1962-1966 (aka “The Red Album”)
These are the granddaddy of all compilations, great hits, and repackaging! These mega-selling albums were #1 worldwide instantly and sold well for the next two decades.
1973 The Beatles 1967-1970 (aka “The Blue Album”)
1970 Hey Jude
At the time, Apple and Capitol tried to spin this release as a new Beatles album (in the US only). But the only thing new was the packaging. All tracks were previously released as singles or b-sides, but never included on previous Beatles albums. The plan worked, with the record reaching #2 on the US album charts.
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