Yellow Submarine, released in January 1969, is the Beatles soundtrack to their animated film of the same name and features a mix of six Beatles tracks and orchestral arrangements by George Martin. The album juxtaposes whimsical pop tuneslike Yellow Submarine, All You Need Is Love, and Hey Bulldogwith Martins instrumental score pieces drawn from the film. It occupies a curious place: part soundtrack, part Beatles anthology, reflecting both the bands playful spirit and their obligations to multimedia projects. Though the Beatles treated it as a contractual requirement rather than a major artistic statement, Yellow Submarine still offers moments of charm and psychedelic whimsy. The Beatles themselves had limited involvement in the orchestral side, leaving much of that work to George Martin. Retrospectives often see the record as uneven: a strong A-side supplemented by a largely instrumental B-side. Its historical role lies more in its function as a pop-cultural artifact than in laying new musical ground.

Reviews

The only minor album in the Beatles catalogue is this soundtrack to a feature-length cartoon, a project with which the Beatles had little involvement. Pitchfork

Yellow Submarine feels like a low light in their catalogue songs on this album are meant to complement the animation rather than being their own fleshed-out ideas. Far Out

The Beatles
A1 Yellow Submarine
A2 Only A Northern Song
A3 All Together Now
A4 Hey Bulldog
A5 It'S All Too Much
A6 All You Need Is Love
Original Film Score
B1 Pepperland
B2 Sea Of Time
B3 Sea Of Holes
B4 Sea Of Monsters
B5 March Of The Meanies
B6 Pepperland Laid Waste
B7 Yellow Submarine In Pepperland