"Magical Mystery Tour" is the third Beatles album that I will be focusing on. While there are many hits on the album ("Penny Lane", "I am the Walrus", "Strawberry Fields Forever"), only one song conforms to the golden section. The not so well known "Your Mother Should Know" fits in perfectly with the sequence:
duration = 149 seconds
climax = starts at 92 seconds
149/92 = 1.619
There is a very clear climax in this song that makes it easy to determine where it begins. The song switches over from an upbeat pace to a slower one that gradually forms into the end of the song.
After reviewing each song individually, I went to the album as a whole. The entire Magical Mystery Tour album is 2213 seconds. In order for it to conform to the golden section, the climax would have to come at approximately 1374 seconds into the album. 1374 seconds occurs at exactly 11 seconds into "Strawberry Fields Forever". Now, what is interesting about this is that Strawberry Fields starts off with 10 seconds of instrumental work and John Lennon starts singing at exactly 11 seconds in. That being said, it really can be considered a golden section album.
However, it could very easily be argued that the first 10 seconds of "Strawberry Fields Forever" is not necessarily the climax of the album (there is no evidence to support it). It is interesting though that the first 10 seconds of the song is probably the most recognizable and famous instrumental verse on the entire album.
Thoughts?
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1 comment:
I totally think that fits - at least from a total album perspective. And the Beatles were the first to really conceive of the album as a whole listening experience (like you said before). So, to me that sounds about right. Very cool
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