1967–1970

1967–1970, also known as the Blue Album, is a compilation album of songs by the English rock band the Beatles, spanning the years indicated in the title. A double LP, it was released with 1962–1966 (the "Red Album") in April 1973. 1967–1970 topped the Billboard albums chart in the United States and peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. It was re-released in September 1993 on CD, charting at number 4 in the United Kingdom.

1967–1970
Compilation album by
the Beatles
Released2 April 1973[1]
Recorded28 November 1966 – 1 April 1970
StudioEMI, Olympic, Apple and Trident, London
GenreRock, psychedelia[2]
Length99:40
LabelApple
ProducerGeorge Martin, Phil Spector
CompilerAllen Klein
The Beatles chronology
1962–1966
(1973)		 1967–1970
(1973)		 The Singles Collection 1962–1970
(1976)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

The album was instigated by Apple Records manager Allen Klein during his final months before being dismissed from that position.[6] As with 1962–1966, the compilation was created by Apple and EMI/Capitol Records 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".[7] The success of the two official double LP compilations inspired Capitol's repackaging of the Beach Boys' 1960s hits, starting with the 1974 album Endless Summer.[8]

A deluxe "expanded" version of the album is due to be released on 10 November 2023, featuring the previously unreleased song "Now and Then".[9]

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).[10]

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 has been attributed to both Stephen Goldblatt and Don McCullin,[11] and is from the "Mad Day Out" photo session in London on Sunday 28 July 1968.[12][13]

The album cover was designed by Tom Wilkes.[14]

International versions

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

The U.S. 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.

The albums had several other variants and anomalies. "Get Back" was described as the album version in the U.S. 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 U.S. versions. The original compact disc edition, meanwhile, featured a clean version previously heard on the Imagine: John Lennon soundtrack album in 1988.[15]

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

Release variations
  • Original 1973 UK release: Apple PCSP 7181-2
  • Original 1973 US release: Apple SKBO-3404 (whole and sliced apples in blue background)
  • Second 1976 US pressing: Capitol SKBO-3404 (Capitol target label on back of album cover, blue label with "Capitol" in light blue letters at bottom)
  • 1978 first US 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 1 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)
  • 2023 expanded edition including "Now and Then"[16]

Track listing
Disc 1, side 1
No.TitleLength
1."Strawberry Fields Forever" (non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (U.S.))4:08
2."Penny Lane" (non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (U.S.))3:01
3."Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)2:02
4."With a Little Help from My Friends" (from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)2:44
5."Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)3:29
6."A Day in the Life" (from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)5:07
7."All You Need Is Love" (non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (U.S.))3:48
Total length:24:19
Disc 1, side 2
No.TitleLength
1."I Am the Walrus" (B-side, 1967; included on Magical Mystery Tour EP and LP, 1967)4:35
2."Hello, Goodbye" (non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (U.S.))3:29
3."The Fool on the Hill" (from Magical Mystery Tour EP and LP, 1967)3:00
4."Magical Mystery Tour" (from Magical Mystery Tour EP and LP, 1967)2:49
5."Lady Madonna" (non-album single, 1968)2:18
6."Hey Jude" (non-album single, 1968)7:11
7."Revolution" (non-album B-side, 1968)3:25
Total length:26:47
Disc 2, side 1
No.TitleLength
1."Back in the U.S.S.R." (from The Beatles, 1968)2:46
2."While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (George Harrison; from The Beatles, 1968)4:46
3."Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (from The Beatles, 1968)3:11
4."Get Back" (non-album single, 1969)3:12
5."Don't Let Me Down" (non-album B-side, 1969)3:35
6."The Ballad of John and Yoko" (non-album single, 1969)3:01
7."Old Brown Shoe" (Harrison; non-album B-side, 1969)3:21
Total length:23:52
Disc 2, side 2
No.TitleLength
1."Here Comes the Sun" (Harrison; from Abbey Road, 1969)3:07
2."Come Together" (from Abbey Road, 1969)4:19
3."Something" (Harrison; from Abbey Road, 1969)3:03
4."Octopus's Garden" (Richard Starkey; from Abbey Road, 1969)2:52
5."Let It Be" (non-album single, 1970)3:52
6."Across the Universe" (from Let It Be, 1970)3:50
7."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[45] 3
Dutch Albums Chart[46] 10
French Albums Chart[47] 1
German Albums Chart[48] 28
Japanese Albums Chart[49] 6
US Billboard Pop Albums[50] 24
Chart (1974) Position
Austrian Albums Chart[51] 4
German Albums Chart[52] 2
UK Albums Chart[53] 23
US Billboard Pop Albums[54] 70
Chart (1975) Position
German Albums Chart[55] 2
Chart (1976) Position
German Albums Chart[56] 4
Chart (1977) Position
German Albums Chart[57] 21
Chart (1978) Position
German Albums Chart[58] 23
Chart (1993) Position
Canadian Albums Chart[59] 82
Dutch Albums Chart[60] 54
Italian Albums Chart[61] 106
Japanese Albums Chart[62] 94
Spanish Albums Chart[63] 12
Spanish Foreign Albums Chart[64] 10
UK Albums Chart[65] 76

Certifications and sales

In the US, the album sold 1,294,896 LPs by 31 December 1973 and 5,850,026 LPs by the end of the decade.[66]

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[67] Platinum 60,000^
Australia (ARIA)[68] 5× Platinum 350,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[69] 3× Platinum 150,000*
Belgium (BEA)[70] Platinum 50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[71] Diamond 1,000,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[72] 3× Platinum 60,000‡
France (SNEP)[73] Platinum 400,000*
France (SNEP)[73]
1993 release 		2× Platinum 600,000*
France (SNEP)[74]
2010 remaster 		Gold 50,000*
Germany (BVMI)[75] 3× Platinum 1,500,000^
Greece — 25,000[76]
Italy (FIMI)[77] Gold 25,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[78][79] 2× Platinum+Gold 807,000[24]
Netherlands (NVPI)[80] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[81] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[82] Gold 25,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[83] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Sweden (GLF)[84] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[85] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[86]
sales since 2010 		3× Platinum 900,000‡
United States (RIAA)[87] 17× Platinum 8,500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
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