''1967–1970'', also known as the Blue Album, is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

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 ''1962–1966'', also known as the Red Album, is a compilation album of hit songs by the English rock band the Beatles, spanning the years indicated in the title. Released with its counterpart '' 1967–1970'' (the "Blue Album") in 1973, the do ...

'' (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. The album was instigated by

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mar ...

manager

Allen Klein Allen Klein (December 18, 1931 July 4, 2009) was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated. Klein increased profits ...

during his final months before being dismissed from that position. As with ''1962–1966'', the compilation was created by Apple and

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

in response to a

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made a ...

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 collection of the Beatles". 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''.

Album covers

For the group's 1963 debut LP '' Please Please Me'', photographer

Angus McBean Angus Rowland McBean (8 June 1904 – 9 June 1990) was a Welsh photographer, set designer and cult figure associated with surrealism. Early life Angus Rowland McBean was born in Newbridge, Monmouthshire, Wales on 8 June 1904, elder child and o ...

took the distinctive colour photograph of the group looking down over the stairwell inside EMI House (

's London headquarters in

Manchester Square Manchester Square is an 18th-century garden square in Marylebone, London. Centred north of Oxford Street it measures internally north-to-south, and across. It is a small Georgian predominantly 1770s-designed instance in central London; con ...

, demolished in 1995). 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 ''

''. The inner gatefold photo for both LPs is by

Don McCullin Sir Donald McCullin (born 9 October 1935) is a British photojournalist, particularly recognised for his war photography and images of urban strife. His career, which began in 1959, has specialised in examining the underside of society, and hi ...

from the "Mad Day Out" photo session in London on Sunday 28 July 1968. The album cover was designed by

Tom Wilkes Thomas Edward Wilkes (July 30, 1939 – June 28, 2009) was an American art director, designer, photographer, illustrator, writer and producer-director. Life Wilkes was born in Long Beach, California and raised in southern California. Wilkes atte ...

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 Duophonic sound was a trade name for a type of audio signal processing used by Capitol Records on certain releases and re-releases of mono recordings issued during the 1960s and 1970s. In this process monaural recordings were reprocessed into a ...

, 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 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. 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 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 versions of " Get Back" and " Let It Be" make their album debut in this compilation. * All tracks written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney except where noted.

Charts

Weekly charts

;Original release ;1993 reissue ;2010 reissue

Year-end charts

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.

References

External links

Notes on releases
{{DEFAULTSORT:1967-1970 Albums produced by George Martin Albums produced by Phil Spector The Beatles compilation albums Apple Records compilation albums Albums arranged by George Martin Albums arranged by Paul McCartney Albums conducted by Paul McCartney Albums conducted by George Martin Albums arranged by John Lennon Albums recorded at Trident Studios Albums recorded at Apple Studios 1973 compilation albums Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios