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1967–1970

1967–1970

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4.5/5 stars[2]
Blender4/5 stars[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide4.5/5 stars[4]

1967–1970 (widely known as "The Blue Album") is a compilation of songs by the English rock band the Beatles, spanning the years indicated in the title. It was released with 1962–1966 ("The Red Album"), in 1973. 1967–1970 made No. 1 on the American Billboard chart and No. 2 on the British Album Chart. This album was re-released in September 1993 on CD, charting at No. 4 in the United Kingdom.

The album was compiled by Beatles manager Allen Klein.[5] Songs performed by the Beatles as solo artists were also considered for inclusion, but as with 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. Print advertising for the two records made a point of declaring them "the only authorized collection of the Beatles."[6]

1967–1970
Compilation album by
the Beatles
Released2 April 1973[1]
Recorded28 November 1966 – 1 April 1970
StudioEMI, Olympic, Apple and Trident Studios, London
GenreRock, psychedelic rock[2]
Length99:40
LabelApple
ProducerGeorge Martin and Phil Spector
CompilerAllen Klein
The Beatles chronology
1962–1966
(1973)
1967–1970
(1973)
Rock 'n' Roll Music
(1976)
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Album covers

For the group's 1963 debut LP Please Please Me, photographer Angus McBean took the distinctive colour photograph of the group looking down over the stairwell inside EMI House (EMI's London headquarters in Manchester Square, demolished in 1995). [7] In 1969, the Beatles asked McBean to recreate this shot. Although a photograph from the 1969 photo shoot 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, another photograph from the 1969 shoot, along with an unused photograph from the 1963 photo shoot, was used for both this LP and 1962–1966.

The inner gatefold photo for both LPs is by Don McCullin from the "Mad Day Out" photo session in London on Sunday 28 July 1968.[8][9]

The album cover was designed by Tom Wilkes.[10]

International versions

Unlike the 1962–1966 collection, the Blue Album was largely the same in the US and UK, although there were some variations.

The US edition had "Strawberry Fields Forever" in its original 1967 stereo mix while both "Penny Lane" and "Hello, Goodbye" were presented in fake stereo, and "I Am the Walrus" with a four-beat electric piano introduction; the UK version had the more common six-beat beginning.

In the Spanish edition "One After 909" substituted "The Ballad of John and Yoko", a song that was banned from the airwaves shortly after being released as a single in 1969, for its allusion to "Christ" and "Gibraltar" in the lyrics.

The albums had several other variants and anomalies. "Get Back" was described as the album version in the US liner notes, although it was in fact the single version. In both countries, "Hey Jude" was around nine seconds shorter than it had been on the original single, although the full length was restored for the 1993 compact disc edition.

The original vinyl version faded in during the crowd noise at the beginning of "A Day in the Life". The fade in was different on both the UK and US versions. The original compact disc edition, meanwhile, featured a clean version previously heard on the Imagine: John Lennon soundtrack album in 1988.[11]

The album liner notes state that all songs were produced by George Martin, except "Across the Universe" and "The Long and Winding Road" produced by Phil Spector, meaning that George Martin was credited as producer of the song "Don't Let Me Down" which usually has no official producer's credit.[12]

Release variations

  • Original 1973 UK release: Apple PCSP 7181-2

  • Original 1973 release: Apple SKBO-3404 (Whole and sliced apples in blue background)

  • Second 1976 pressing: Capitol SKBO-3404 (Capitol target label on back of album cover, blue label with "Capitol" in light blue letters at bottom)

  • 1978 first blue vinyl release: Capitol SEBX-11843 (Capitol dome label on back of album cover, large dome logo at top of light blue labels)

  • 1980 East German release. Amiga 8 55 742. One disc only with 14 tracks mostly from disc one of the original version.

  • 1993 CD release. Apple 0777 7 97039 2 0 (Whole and sliced apples in blue background)

  • 2010 remastered CD release. Apple 5099990674723 (Whole and sliced apples in blue background)

Track listing

  • The single version of "Let It Be" makes its album debut in this compilation.

  • All tracks written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney except where noted.

Disc 1
Side 1
No.TitleLength
"Strawberry Fields Forever"(non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (US))4:08
"Penny Lane"(non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (US))3:01
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"(from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)2:02
"With a Little Help from My Friends"(from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)2:44
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"(from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)3:29
"A Day in the Life"(from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)5:07
"All You Need Is Love"(non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (US))3:48
Total length:24:19
Side 2
No.TitleLength
"I Am the Walrus"(from Magical Mystery Tour EP & LP, 1967)4:35
"Hello, Goodbye"(non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (US))3:29
"The Fool on the Hill"(from Magical Mystery Tour EP & LP, 1967)3:00
"Magical Mystery Tour"(from Magical Mystery Tour EP & LP, 1967)2:49
"Lady Madonna"(non-album single, 1968)2:18
"Hey Jude"(non-album single, 1968)7:11
"Revolution"(non-album B-side, 1968)3:25
Total length:26:47
Disc 2
Side 1
No.TitleLength
"Back in the U.S.S.R."(from The Beatles, 1968)2:46
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"(George Harrison; from The Beatles, 1968)4:46
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"(from The Beatles, 1968)3:11
"Get Back"(non-album single, 1969)3:12
"Don't Let Me Down"(non-album B-side, 1969)3:35
"The Ballad of John and Yoko"(non-album single, 1969)3:01
"Old Brown Shoe"(Harrison; non-album B-side, 1969)3:21
Total length:23:52
Side 2
No.TitleLength
"Here Comes the Sun"(Harrison; from Abbey Road, 1969)3:07
"Come Together"(from Abbey Road, 1969)4:19
"Something"(Harrison; from Abbey Road, 1969)3:03
"Octopus's Garden"(Richard Starkey; from Abbey Road, 1969)2:52
"Let It Be"(non-album single, 1970)3:52
"Across the Universe"(from Let It Be, 1970)3:49
"The Long and Winding Road"(from Let It Be, 1970)3:40
Total length:24:42

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart (1973)Position
Austrian Albums Chart[39]3
Dutch Albums Chart[40]10
French Albums Chart[41]1
German Albums Chart[42]28
Italian Albums Chart[18]25
Japanese Albums Chart[43]6
US Billboard Pop Albums[44]24
Chart (1974)Position
Austrian Albums Chart[45]4
German Albums Chart[46]2
UK Albums Chart[47]23
US Billboard Pop Albums[48]70
Chart (1975)Position
German Albums Chart[49]2
Chart (1976)Position
German Albums Chart[50]4
Chart (1977)Position
German Albums Chart[51]21
Chart (1978)Position
German Albums Chart[52]23
Chart (1993)Position
Canadian Albums Chart[53]82
Dutch Albums Chart[54]54
Italian Albums Chart[28]106
Japanese Albums Chart[55]94

Certifications

In the US, the album sold 1,294,896 double LPs by 31 December 1973 and 3,850,026 double LPs by the end of the decade.[56]

RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[57]Platinum60,000^
Australia (ARIA)[58]5× Platinum350,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[59]3× Platinum150,000
Belgium (BEA)[60]Platinum50,000
Canada (Music Canada)[61]Diamond1,000,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[62]Gold50,000^
France (SNEP)[64]2× Platinum2,227,600[63]
France (SNEP)[65]
2010 remaster
Gold50,000
Germany (BVMI)[66]3× Platinum1,500,000^
Italy (FIMI)[67]Gold50,000
Japan (RIAJ)[68][69]2× Platinum+Gold807,000[19]
Netherlands (NVPI)[70]Gold50,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[71]Gold25,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[72]2× Platinum200,000^
Sweden (GLF)[73]Platinum100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[74]Platinum50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[75]2× Platinum600,000^
United States (RIAA)[76]17× Platinum8,500,000^
sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

  • List of best-selling albums in France

  • List of best-selling albums in Germany

  • List of best-selling albums in the United States

  • List of diamond-certified albums in Canada

References

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[2]
Citation Linkwww.allmusic.comAllMusic Review
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[3]
Citation Linkweb.archive.orgBlender Review Archived 3 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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[4]
Citation Linkbooks.google.comRolling Stone Review
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Citation Linki.imgur.com"1962–1966 and 1967–1970". Rolling Stone. Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. (133): 29. 26 April 1973. http://i.imgur.com/ELHn3hv.jpg
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Citation Linkwww.independent.co.uk"Stairwell to pop history heaven". The Independent. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
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Citation Linkwww.thebeatles.com"The Mad Day Out Photo Session". The Beatles. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
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[10]
Citation Linkfarm2.static.flickr.comHis credit appears in the left bottom corner of the paper sleeve (side 4), but only on the US version of the album.
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[11]
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[13]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgKent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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