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1967–1970

 
Album Review: 1967-1970

  • Artist: The Beatles
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: April 02, 1973
  • Type: Compilation (best of), Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Picking up where 1962-1966 left off, the double-album compilation 1967-1970, commonly called The Blue Album, covers the Beatles' later records, from Sgt. Pepper's through Let It Be. Like The Red Album, The Blue Album was released in the wake of a pair of widely advertised quadruple-LP bootlegs, Alpha Omega, Vols. 1-2: The Story of the Beatles, which had appeared early in 1973. And like its companion volume, this set contains a mixture of hits, including singles like "Lady Madonna," "Hey Jude," and "Revolution" -- which had originally appeared only as 45s -- plus important album tracks like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "A Day in the Life," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and "Come Together," as well as orphaned tracks such as the single versions of "Let It Be" and "Get Back," which had never been on any LP before. The first two sides of the original double-LP edition carry listeners through the highlights of the psychedelic era, starting with "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" and up through "Magical Mystery Tour," before returning to rock & roll territory on "Lady Madonna," "Hey Jude," and "Revolution." The second LP skims three of the more popular tracks off of the sprawling White Album (aka The Beatles) and moves into the late singles ("The Ballad of John and Yoko," "Old Brown Shoe," "Let It Be"), plus single and album highlights from Abbey Road and Let It Be. As a précis of the group's final 36 months, it's all mightily impressive, even if 1967-1970 misses several great songs. But like its predecessor, this set does capture the essence (if not the full range) of the Beatles' later recordings. Note: The 1993 CD reissue of this and its companion volume featured some modest upgrades of some of the masters that overlapped with the 1988 Past Masters, Vol. 1 and Past Masters, Vol. 2. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Tracks



CD 1

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Strawberry Fields Forever (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (4:07)
Penny Lane (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (3:01)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (2:01)
With a Little Help from My Friends (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (2:43)
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (3:27)
A Day in the Life John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (5:06)
All You Need Is Love (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (3:48)
I Am the Walrus (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (4:34)
Hello, Goodbye John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (3:29)
The Fool on the Hill John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (2:59)
Magical Mystery Tour (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (2:48)
Lady Madonna (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (2:18)
Hey Jude (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (7:08)
Revolution (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (3:25)


CD 2

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Back in the U.S.S.R. John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (2:45)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Lyrics) George Harrison The Beatles (4:46)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (3:11)
Get Back (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (3:12)
Don't Let Me Down (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (3:34)
The Ballad of John and Yoko John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (2:59)
Old Brown Shoe (Lyrics) George Harrison The Beatles (3:20)
Here Comes the Sun (Lyrics) George Harrison The Beatles (3:07)
Come Together (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (4:18)
Something (Lyrics) George Harrison The Beatles (3:02)
Octopus's Garden (Lyrics) Ringo Starr The Beatles (2:52)
Let It Be (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (3:52)
Across the Universe (Lyrics) John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (3:47)
The Long and Winding Road John Lennon, Paul McCartney The Beatles (3:37)

Credits

The Beatles (Main Performer), George Harrison (Guitar), George Harrison (Vocals), John Lennon (Guitar), John Lennon (Vocals), Paul McCartney (Bass), Paul McCartney (Guitar), Paul McCartney (Piano), Paul McCartney (Vocals), Ringo Starr (Drums), Ringo Starr (Vocals), George Martin (Producer), Phil Spector (Producer)
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Wikipedia: 1967–1970
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1967–1970
Compilation album by The Beatles
Released 19 April 1973
Recorded 1966–1970, Abbey Road, Olympic Studios, and Trident Studios
Genre Rock, psychedelic rock
Length 99:34
Language English
Label Apple
Producer George Martin and Phil Spector
Compiler George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr
Professional reviews
The Beatles chronology
1962–1966
(1973)
1967–1970
(1973)
Rock 'n' Roll Music
(1976)

1967–1970 (widely known as The Blue Album) is a compilation of many of The Beatles' most popular tracks from 1967 to 1970. It was released with 1962–1966 (The Red Album), which covered their earlier period. 1967–1970 made #1 on the U.S. Billboard chart and #2 on the U.K. Album Chart. This album was re-released in September 1993 charting at #4 in the UK.

The cover art shows the band once again looking down the stairwell of EMI's Manchester Square headquarters in London; the same pose, camera angle, setting and photographer (Angus McBean) as used for the cover on the Please Please Me and 1962–1966 albums, which used different photos from the same photo session. The image was originally shot for the Get Back album, which later became Let It Be, but in the end the photograph was not used for that project.

The album was compiled by Beatles manager Allen Klein, with his selections approved by the Beatles themselves.[1] Songs performed by the Beatles as solo artists were also considered for inclusion, but like the cover songs on 1962–1966, limited space resulted in this idea having to be abandoned.

As with 1962–1966, this compilation was produced by Apple/EMI at least partially in response to a bootleg collection titled Alpha Omega, which had been sold on television the previous year.

Contents

Album covers

For the group's 1963 debut LP Please Please Me, photographer Angus McBean was asked to take the distinctive colour photograph of the group looking down over the stairwell inside EMI House (EMI's London headquarters in Manchester Square, now demolished).

In 1969, The Beatles asked McBean to recreate this shot. Although the 1969 photograph was originally intended for the then-planned Get Back album, it was not used when that project saw eventual release in 1970 as Let It Be. Instead, the 1969 photograph, along with an unused photograph from the 1963 photo shoot, was used for both this LP and The Beatles 1962 - 1966.

The inner gatefold photo for both LPs is from the "Mad Day Out" photo session, London, 28 July 1968.

Release variations

  • Original 1973 release: Apple SKBO-3404 (Whole and sliced apples in blue background)
  • Second pressing: Capitol SKBO-3404 (Capitol target label on back of album cover, blue label with "Capitol" in light blue letters at bottom)
  • First blue vinyl release: Capitol SEBX-11843 (Capitol dome label on back of album cover, large dome logo at top of light blue labels)

Track listing

All tracks written by Lennon/McCartney, except where noted.

Side one
  1. "Strawberry Fields Forever" – 4:10
  2. "Penny Lane" – 3:03
  3. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" – 2:02
  4. "With a Little Help from My Friends" – 2:44
  5. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" – 3:28
  6. "A Day in the Life" – 5:06
  7. "All You Need Is Love" – 3:48
Side two
  1. "I Am the Walrus" – 4:37
  2. "Hello, Goodbye" – 3:31
  3. "The Fool on the Hill" – 3:00
  4. "Magical Mystery Tour" – 2:51
  5. "Lady Madonna" – 2:17
  6. "Hey Jude" – 7:08
  7. "Revolution" – 3:21
Side three
  1. "Back in the U.S.S.R." – 2:45
  2. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Harrison) – 4:45
  3. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" – 3:05
  4. "Get Back" – 3:14
  5. "Don't Let Me Down" – 3:33
  6. "Ballad of John and Yoko" – 2:59
  7. "Old Brown Shoe" (Harrison) – 3:18
Side four
  1. "Here Comes the Sun" (Harrison) – 3:05
  2. "Come Together" – 4:20
  3. "Something" (Harrison) – 3:03
  4. "Octopus's Garden" (Starkey) – 2:51
  5. "Let It Be" – 3:52
  6. "Across the Universe" – 3:48
  7. "The Long and Winding Road" – 3:38

Notes

Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1973 Billboard Pop Albums 1

References

  1. ^ Badman, Keith (2002). The Beatles: Off the Record. Omnibus Press. pp. 99. ISBN 0711991995. 

External links

Preceded by
Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin
Billboard 200 number-one album
26 May – 1 June 1973
Succeeded by
Red Rose Speedway by Paul McCartney & Wings

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "1967–1970" Read more

 

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