MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR  -  THE BEATLES

YEAR:  1967
LABEL:  Parlophone/Capitol
TRACK LISTING:  Magical Mystery Tour,  The Fool on the Hill,  Flying,  Blue Jay Way,  Your Mother Should Know,  I Am the Walrus,  Hello Goodbye,  Strawberry Fields Forever,  Penny Lane,  Baby You're A Rich Man,  All You Need Is Love
IMPRESSIONS:  Put the abyssmal film out of your mind; this is a superb album.  In fact, I've always preferred it to SGT. PEPPER actually.  I mean, just look at the tracks.  The eponymous album opener is one of my favourite Beatle songs ever.  There's the absolute classic "I Am the Walrus" (yet another of my top Beatle tunes).  One of McCartney's best "granny songs" appears in the form of "Your Mother Should Know" and the groundbreaking singles "Strawberry Fields Forever" (which many people think is actually on SGT. PEPPER) and the radio-friendly smash "Penny Lane".  Then, there's possibly my very first ever favourite song:  "Hello Goodbye".  I actually have a very solid memory of myself at 2 years old outside on a sidewalk somewhere toddling along to the sound of "Hello Goodbye" on a transistor radio someone was holding.  I remember very clearly hearing the song and running towards someone unsteadily on my toddler legs.  This has always given the song a mythic quality for me and whenever I hear it I get a lovely feeling of nostalgia.  Even the rather unimpressive "Fool on the Hill" holds a soft spot in my heart because my late friend Peg loved it.  After all this, the album ends with another of my faves ("Baby, You're A Rich Man") and the anthem "All You Need Is Love").  There aren't many albums as impressive as this and it was actually spliced together by adding a side two of singles to a side one originally released in Britain as an EP!
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Magical Mystery Tour,  Your Mother Should Know,  I Am the Walrus,  Hello Goodbye,  Strawberry Fields Forever,  Baby You're A Rich Man,  All You Need Is Love
GUEST ARTISTS:  Mal Evans (percussion on "Magical Mystery Tour" and "Strawberry Fields Forever"), Neil Aspinall (percussion on "Magical Mystery Tour"), George Martin (piano on "All You Need Is Love"), Mick Jagger (backing vocals on "All You Need Is Love"), Keith Richards (backing vocals on "All You Need Is Love"), Marianne Faithfull (backing vocals on "All You Need Is Love"), Keith Moon (backing vocals on "All You Need Is Love"), Eric Clapton (backing vocals on "All You Need Is Love"), Pattie Boyd Harrison (backing vocals on "All You Need Is Love"), Jane Asher (backing vocals on "All You Need Is Love"), Graham Nash (backing vocals on "All You Need Is Love")
FACT SHEET:  MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR is the Beatles' ninth album.  Originally released as an EP soundtrack album for the film of the same name (side one), side two was added to make up a complete album in the U.S. by making side two a collection of recent singles.  The idea for the film was conceived by Paul McCartney as a scriptless coach journey which was broadcast over the BBC during the 1967 Christmas holidays; the film was universally panned but the soundtrack EP/album became a #1 album for 8 weeks.   

THE RED SHOES  -  KATE BUSH

YEAR:  1993
LABEL:  Columbia
TRACK LISTING:  Rubberband Girl,  And So Is Love,  Eat the Music,  Moments of Pleasure,  The Song of Solomon,  Lily,  The Red Shoes,  Top of the City,  Constellation of the Heart,  Big Stripey Lie,  Why Should I Love You?,  You're the One
IMPRESSIONS:  Kate Bush's "Santana Supernatural" album almost a decade before Santana.  What I mean by that is "THE RED SHOES" features a ton of rock star cameos which was quite unusual for a Kate Bush record.  That may explain why it's somewhat of a mishmash.  Still a great record (a so-so Kate Bush album still outdoes 95% of everyone else's albums), Kate herself knew, I think, which were the best songs because those are the ones she chose to include in her film "THE LINE, THE CROSS AND THE CURVE" which she wrote and directed and is basically a retelling of "THE RED SHOES" fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen starring herself, Miranda Richardson and Lindsey Kemp.  The album itself I don't think can really be called a "concept album" based on the tale because listening to it without having seen the film one would be hard-pressed to see the connection between the songs.  In fact, Bush at the time was contemplating actually going on a live concert tour again (which she hadn't done since 1979) so she conceived the album as more "live band" friendly than her previous albums.  Sadly, the tour never happened (and Bush has still never toured except for that one and only time).  The time period around the making of this album was also a very traumatic one for the singer as her mother Hannah died very soon after the album was released, her long-time guitarist Alan Murphy died, director Michael Powell (whose 1948 film "THE RED SHOES" co-directed with Emeric Pressburger was also an inspiration for the album and with whom she had discussed working with) had recently died in 1990 and her long-time relationship with bassist Del Palmer had also come to an end.  Things must've been very raw because she would not make another album again for 12 years.  While about half the album is rather forgettable (relatively speaking), the other half contains plenty of gold.  The album actually did surprisingly well in the U.S. for a change mostly due to the surprise hit "Eat the Music" which got substantial MTV airplay.
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Rubberband Girl,  And So Is Love,  Eat the Music,  Moments of Pleasure,  Lily,  The Red Shoes,  Why Should I Love You?,  You're the One
GUEST ARTISTS:  Jeff Beck (guitar on "You're the One"),  Gary Brooker of Procol Harum (Hammond organ on "Constellation of the Heart", "And So Is Love" and "You're the One"),  Eric Clapton (guitar on "And So Is Love"),  Lenny Henry (vocals on "Why Should I Love You?"),  Michael Kamen (orchestration on "Moments of Pleasure"),  Nigel Kennedy (violin on "Big Stripey Lie", violin and viola on "Top of the City"),  Lily (narration on "Lily"),  Prince (guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals and arranger on "Why Should I Love You?"),  Trio Bulgarka (vocals)
FACT SHEET:  THE RED SHOES is Kate Bush's seventh album.  The album concept was inspired by the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale and the 1949 Powell & Pressburger film.  The album went platinum in the U.K.  Bush re-recorded several songs from this album on her 2011 album "DIRECTOR'S CUT" stating she had not been happy with the production sound on the originals.        

ALL THINGS MUST PASS  -  GEORGE HARRISON

YEAR:  1970
LABEL:  Apple
TRACK LISTING:  I'd Have You Anytime,  My Sweet Lord,  Wah-Wah,  Isn't It A Pity,  What Is Life,  If Not For You,  Behind That Locked Door,  Let It Down,  Run of the Mill,  Beware of Darkness,  Apple Scruffs,  Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll),  Awaiting On You All,  All Things Must Pass,  I Dig Love,  Art of Dying,  Isn't It A Pity (Version Two),  Hear Me Lord,  Out of the Blue,  It's Johnny's Birthday,  Plug Me In,  I Remember Jeep,  Thanks For the Pepperoni
BONUS TRACKS:  I Live For You,  Beware of Darkness (acoustic demo),  Let It Down (alternate version),  What Is Life (backing track/alternate mix),  My Sweet Lord (2000)
IMPRESSIONS:  After initially being content with having John Lennon & Paul McCartney write all the Beatles songs, George Harrison slowly came into his own as a songwriter; tentatively at first but with rapidly increasing strength.  However, there was only so much room on a Beatles album and George only could get one or two songs per.  Come the break-up, Harrison had a huge backlog of material dating all the way back to 1966 and he produced a solo debut album that was the first 3-record LP by a single rock artist (the Woodstock concert album came first about 6 months earlier but it's by multiple artists).  For such a huge album, the material is remarkably strong. . .although your patience might be tested a little by the "Apple Jam" portion of the album (the third LP) which consists solely of instrumental jams by Harrison and his all-star friends.  "I didn't have many tunes on Beatles records," Harrison has said, "so doing an album like ALL THINGS MUST PASS was like going to the bathroom and letting it out".  Far from a pile of poo, George Harrison's debut album is my favourite first solo record by any Beatle -- and that's some accomplishment.   
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  I'd Have You Anytime,  My Sweet Lord,  Wah-Wah,  Isn't It A Pity,  What Is Life,  If Not For You,  Behind That Locked Door,  Let It Down,  Beware of Darkness,  Awaiting On You All,  All Things Must Pass,  I Dig Love,  Art of Dying,  It's Johnny's Birthday,  Thanks For the Pepperoni,  Out of the Blue,  I Live For You
GUEST ARTISTS:  Eric Clapton (electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals),  Gary Wright (piano, organ, electric piano), Klaus Voormann (bass, electric guitar),  Ringo Starr (drums, percussion),  Billy Preston (organ, piano),  Dave Mason (electric and acoustic guitars),  Phil Collins (congas on "Art of Dying"),  Ginger Baker (drums),  Bobby Whitlock (piano, organ, backing vocals),  Carl Radle (bass),  Jim Gordon (drums)
FACT SHEET:  ALL THINGS MUST PASS is George Harrison's first album.  The double single "My Sweet Lord/Isn't It A Pity" went to number one as did the album which has been certified 6x platinum.  "I'd Have You Anytime" was co-written by George Harrison and Bob Dylan.  "If Not For You" was written by Bob Dylan.  The album was co-produced by Phil Spector.  Arising out of this recording session, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle would team-up with Eric Clapton to form Derek and the Dominos.  The actual line-up of guest artists is still up for debate.  Future YES drummer Alan White, who played on this album, states that John Lennon "may have" played on "If Not For You" while it's also rumoured that Maurice Gibb of the BEE GEES may have played keyboards on "Isn't It A Pity" and PINK FLOYD's Richard Wright may have also played organ on the album.  The black-and-white cover photo of George Harrison surrounded by garden gnomes was taken by Barry Feinstein on the main lawn of Friar Park and is thought to represent Harrison's removal from the Beatles (there are 4 gnomes) and his possible superiority over them; John Lennon is said to have been particularly annoyed by the cover.  For the 30th anniversary remastered cd of the album released in 2001, George Harrison re-sequenced the "Apple Jam" portion of the album so that the song order is changed to "It's Johnny's Birthday", "Plug Me In", "I Remember Jeep", "Thanks For the Pepperoni" and "Out of the Blue".       

PETER'S FRIENDS:  THE ALBUM   -   VARIOUS ARTISTS

YEAR:  1992
LABEL:  Epic
TRACK LISTING:  Everybody Wants To Rule the World  -  Tears For Fears,  My Baby Just Cares For Me  -  Nina Simone,  You're My Best Friend  -  Queen,  Girls Just Want To Have Fun  -  Cyndi Lauper,  If You Let Me Stay  -  Terence Trent D'Arby,  Hungry Heart  -  Bruce Springsteen,  Don't Get Me Wrong  -  The Pretenders,  The King of Rock 'N' Roll  -  Prefab Sprout,  What's Love Got To Do With It  -  Tina Turner,  Give Me Strength  -  Eric Clapton,  Love and Regret  -  Deacon Blue,  Let's Stay Together  -  The Pasadenas,  Rio  -  Michael Nesmith,  Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)  -  Paul Young,  I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues  -  Elton John,  As the Days Go By  -  Daryl Braithwaite
IMPRESSIONS:    I usually watch PETER'S FRIENDS in the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve.  Almost every year, in fact, I pop in the DVD because it's perfect viewing for the dwindling year.  Set on December 30th through January 1st, the film which has unfairly been called "the British BIG CHILL" finds a group of college friends (who graduated in 1982) who meet up again in the year 1992 with all their neuroses and baggage dragging along behind them.  The film, if you're interested, is much better than "THE BIG CHILL" and it's sure a whole lot funnier.  However, the soundtrack is one of the most perfect fits for any film I've seen.  Merely a collection of (mostly) 80's pop songs (a soundtrack practice for which I'm usually more than a little dubious), the selection of songs is so expertly chosen as to really compliment the film.  The "backward-looking" 80's songs naturally call up nostalgia for Peter's Friends themselves but also for those of us who were around in the 80s too; and the inevitable melancholy which accompanies these songs as they are juxtaposed with the "present life" of the characters speaks all the more clearly to the disappointment with the way their lives have unfolded.  Each song seems to fit perfectly its corresponding scene in the film:  the Tears For Fears song during the opening credits accompanies a "time capsule" of clips from the years 1982-1992, the Pretenders' "Don't Get Me Wrong" bouncing along during the joyous dinner scene, or the sedate early morning fog-enshrouded perambulations around the estate grounds to the strains of Eric Clapton's "Give Me Strength" are just a few of the nice touches.  Now, this isn't a perfect soundtrack album -- there are several songs which appear on the soundtrack which are not in the film at all and they can be safely skipped over -- but the songs on this soundtrack are so well-chosen that I even like the songs I don't really like!  For instance, I can't stand Bruce Springsteen but "Hungry Heart" gets a pass from me simply because it's in this film!  I will not listen to that song under any other circumstances . . . except if I'm listening to the PETER'S FRIENDS album.  Now, that's some accolade for a soundtrack album!
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Everybody Wants To Rule the World  -  Tears For Fears,  My Baby Just Cares For Me  -  Nina Simone,  You're My Best Friend  -  Queen,  Hungry Heart  -  Bruce Springsteen,  Don't Get Me Wrong  -  The Pretenders,  What's Love Got To Do With It  -  Tina Turner,  Give Me Strength  -  Eric Clapton,  Rio  -  Michael Nesmith
FACT SHEET:  PETER'S FRIENDS - THE ALBUM is the soundtrack for the 1992 film written by Rita Rudner and Martin Bergman and produced and directed by Kenneth Branagh.  The film stars Stephen Fry, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Imelda Staunton, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Hugh Laurie, Phyllida Law and Tony Slattery.