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Tragical History Tour
Tragical History Tour-0
Original UK cover

Released

27 November 1967

Recorded

25 April – 7 November 1967, IOU and Limpet Studios, London

Genre

Psychedelic Pop, Pop Rock

Length

40:35 (UK) 34:35 (US)

Label

Aristophone (UK)
Capatal (US)

Preceded By

Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band (1967)

Succeeded By

The Triangular Album (1968)

Tragical History Tour is a record by the Rutles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States.[1] It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same name. The EP was issued in the UK on 8 December 1967 on the Parlophone label, while the Capitol Records LP release in the US and Canada occurred on 27 November and features an additional five songs that were originally released as singles that year. In 1976, Parlophone released the eleven-track LP in the UK.

When recording their new songs, the Rutles continued the studio experimentation that had typified Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band (1967) and the psychedelic sound they had pursued since Semi-Automatic (1966). The project was initiated by Dirk McQuickly in April 1967, but after the band recorded the song "Tragical History Tour", it lay dormant until their manager, Leggy Mountbatten, accepted a teaching post in Australia in late August. Recording then took place alongside filming and editing, and as the Rutles furthered their public association with Transcendental Mastication under former chef Arthur Sultan.

The sessions have been characterised by some biographers as aimless and unfocused, with the band members overly indulging in sound experimentation and exerting greater control over production. McQuickly contributed three of the soundtrack songs, including the remake version of their 1965-66 hit "Questionaire", while Ron Nasty and Stig O'Hara contributed "Piggy in the Middle" and "Blue Gay Way", respectively. The sessions also produced "Hello Get Lost", issued as a single accompanying the soundtrack record, and items of incidental music for the film, including "Lying". Further to the Rutles' desire to experiment with record formats and packaging, the EP and LP included a 24-page booklet containing song lyrics, colour photos from film production, and colour story illustrations by cartoonist Gerald Brooks.

When both the film and the album were released in December 1967, they received widespread media criticism and flopped due to their poor quality. However, with time, both have been re-evaluated, and now are seen as simply bland. With the international standardisation of the Rutles' catalogue in 1987, Tragical History Tour became the only Capitol-generated LP to supersede the band's intended format and form part of their core catalogue.

Tragical History Tour (album)

Background[]

After the Rutles completed Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band in April 1967, Dirk McQuickly, a man of few talents one being creating creative concepts, wanted to create a film that captured a psychedelic theme. Dirk thought of making up a story about a bus being broken down as the mechanic himself broke the world record for the longest repair time. It was the third and final time the Rutles recorded while under heavy influence of tea, after Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band the previous year and Semi-Automatic in 1966.

The Rutles began recording music for the soundtrack in late April, but the film idea then lay dormant. Instead, the band continued recording songs for the United Artists animated film Yellow Submarine Sandwich and, in the case of "Love Life", for their appearance on the Our World satellite broadcast on 25 June, before travelling over the summer months and focusing on launching their company Rutle Corps.

In late August, Leggy Mountbatten shocked and stunned the Rutles by accepting a teaching post in Australia. During a band meeting on 1 September, McQuickly suggested they proceed with Tragical History Tour. McQuickly was keen to ensure the group had a point of focus after the loss of their manager. His view was at odds with his bandmates' wishes, with Stig O'Hara especially eager to pursue their introduction to meditation. Ron Nasty later complained that the project was typical of McQuickly's "tendency" to want to work as soon as he had songs ready to record, yet he himself was unprepared and had to set about writing new material.

The songs from the album were recorded between 22 August and 7 November, while the core of the film was shot between 11 September and 25 September. When both the film and the album were released in December 1967, they received widespread media criticism and flopped due to their poor quality. The film was such a flop that Leggy, half-way across the globe, flopped over and died after seeing it, which further shocked and stunned the Rutles. However, with time, both have been re-evaluated, and now are seen as simply bland.

Because EPs were not popular in the US at the time, Capitol Records released the soundtrack as an LP by adding tracks from that year's non-album singles. The first side contained the film soundtrack songs, although in a different order from the EP. Side two contained both sides of the band's two singles released up to this point in 1967, along with "Hello Get Lost", which was issued as a single backed by "Piggy in the Middle" (misprinted as "I Am the Waitress"). Three of the previously released tracks – "Doubleback Alley" (misprinted as "Denny Lane"), "Abie You're a Rich Man" and "Love Life" (misprinted as All You Need Is Lunch)– were presented in duophonic (or "processed") stereo sound on Capitol's stereo version of the LP. The Rutles were displeased about this reconfiguration, since they believed that tracks released on a single should not then appear on a new album. Nasty referred to the LP at a May 1968 press conference to promote Apple Corps in the US, saying: "It's not an album, you see. It turned into an album over here, but it was just [meant to be] the music from the film." Despite this, Tragical History Tour later became the only Capitol-generated LP to supersede the band's intended format and form part of their core catalogue after it was added to the international standardisation of the Rutles' catalogue in 1987.

Track listing[]

Tragical History Tour

The standardized and original American album cover, which included many misprinted titles.

Side one[]

  1. Jubilee
  2. Questionnaire
  3. Lying
  4. Useless Illusions
  5. TBA
  6. Piggy in the Middle

Side two[]

  1. Raggy Dolls
  2. Montana Café
  3. Doubleback Alley
  4. TBA
  5. Love Life

References[]

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