Released during the same month that The Loved Ones had officially broken-up, their label W&G Records compiled an album that consisted of previous songs from the Blueberry Hill EP, the first three singles recorded and released in 1966-67, new songs recorded in 1967 for the album and some warm-up rehearsals of rock n roll standards. Released in October 1967, it was one of the first Australian rock albums to be released in stereo and has never been out of print since its first release.
Reception
The album received mixed contemporary reviews criticising the production and that the selection of songs did not representing the band's sound: "...50 percent of it harks back to the jazz scene of the 30s, and through it runs a silver thread of genius. Pity." Since its release the album has acquired a cult following. Though Allmusic gave the album a 4.5 star, writer Richie Unterberger said: "The rest of the material is usually less fearsome and innovative, though much of it still carries an air of subdued menace.". The album was included in the 2010 book, '100 Best Australian Albums'.
Track listing
Original 1967 LP release
The original track listing of the album. The album appeared in this configuration on both the mono and stereo releases on W & G Records and the stereo release in 1972 on Astor Records. It was later reissued again with this original track listing as a limited Record Store Day Australia release in 2019 on pink vinyl by Universal Music Australia. However the masters used were neither the original mono or stereo ones, but the left channel only masters used for the Raven Records vinyl and CD reissues.
Side A
Side B
CD Reissues
The album was reissued in 1985 on Glenn A. Baker's label Raven Records with a different track order and bouns tracks. However, when the album was remastered only the left hand channel of the stereo master was used. This means some instruments and an intro to 'Sad Dark Eyes' are missing on the Raven Records release. The 1995 Karussell compact disc uses the Raven Records master as its source, meaning the true stereo or mono version of Magic Box has never been released on compact disc or reissued to vinyl since 1972. Both CD reissues included a Wild Cherries rehearsal take of 'Without You', which has been incorrectly attributed to the Loved Ones.
