Nice essay. I almost completely disagree. For one thing Baby You're A Rich Man was Lennon not McCartney. And your take on Magical Mystery Tour falls apart when we remember that this wasn't an album at all. It was an EP done to accompany a silly and failed effort at a road movie which was expanded into a full album in the US when the label added the three singles released in 67, Strawberry Fields Forever Penny Lane and All You Need is Love, the latter two of which you dont even mention.
I have no doubt that many of the songs of this era (and not just this era) contain some of the dark themes you discuss. But your attempt to create some sort of unified thematic whole to the Beatles work in 67 and 68 fails to persuade. In many cases it feels like a stretch. The unique quality of Pepper is sonic. Not thematic. Mr. Kite's lyrics were taken almost entirely from an old poster Lennon found at a flea market. There is a tripping and hallucinogenic quality to Pepper but it is not intended to convey insanity but rather the ups and downs of psychedelic drug trips. Magical Mystery Tour has no unified theme as it is not an album but a collection of songs. McCartneys songs include besides the Fool on the Hill, Your Mother Should Know and Hello Goodbye. Neither fit your theme without considerable stretching. In any event as a Beatles nerd, I enjoyed reading your take even though I disagree with much of it.
Nice essay. I almost completely disagree. For one thing Baby You're A Rich Man was Lennon not McCartney. And your take on Magical Mystery Tour falls apart when we remember that this wasn't an album at all. It was an EP done to accompany a silly and failed effort at a road movie which was expanded into a full album in the US when the label added the three singles released in 67, Strawberry Fields Forever Penny Lane and All You Need is Love, the latter two of which you dont even mention.
I have no doubt that many of the songs of this era (and not just this era) contain some of the dark themes you discuss. But your attempt to create some sort of unified thematic whole to the Beatles work in 67 and 68 fails to persuade. In many cases it feels like a stretch. The unique quality of Pepper is sonic. Not thematic. Mr. Kite's lyrics were taken almost entirely from an old poster Lennon found at a flea market. There is a tripping and hallucinogenic quality to Pepper but it is not intended to convey insanity but rather the ups and downs of psychedelic drug trips. Magical Mystery Tour has no unified theme as it is not an album but a collection of songs. McCartneys songs include besides the Fool on the Hill, Your Mother Should Know and Hello Goodbye. Neither fit your theme without considerable stretching. In any event as a Beatles nerd, I enjoyed reading your take even though I disagree with much of it.
Thank you. Listening to The White Album as an album, I always understood _Birthday_ as the terrifying closing of the gates of Hell behind . . .