I got by in 2020 with a little help from my friends- John, Paul, George, & Ringo. Normally, I find myself drawn to Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper’s, & The White Album for songs about peace & love to give me hope. However, I think I played Magical Mystery Tour the most last year. I feel like it’s an underrated Beatle album, I mean it’s not even technically an album but a double EP, half of which is a soundtrack to their tv film of the same name. I love every song on it; it’s The Beatles being psychedelic and experimental, riding that high from Sgt. Pepper’s, and working on the songs for Yellow Submarine at the same time. Of course, I dig all the Lewis Carroll and other literary references especially prevalent in “I Am the Walrus.” It is said that while recording Magical Mystery Tour, the band was “focusing on colour and texture as important compositional elements” and exploring the “aesthetic possibilities” of studio technology. They were also spending this time with the guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and practicing Transcendental Meditation. Maybe that’s why Magical Mystery Tour is so comforting. The record ends with “All You Need Is Love” and well, in the end, love is all you need.

The Beatles sang the word “LOVE” 613 times in the 229 songs that they wrote.