Does anybody else enjoy Magical Mystery Tour more than Sgt. Pepper?

I enjoy them both. As others have noticed, the singles collected on MMT represent some of their best work during that era, stuff that's just jaw-droppingly great. The actual show songs are good -- I particularly have always liked The Fool on the Hill -- but not quite up to the level of Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, or much of Pepper.

 

No.

 

Flying and Blue Jay Way beats 64 and Good Morning, Good Morning? Uhh....no. The two MMT cuts are probably the weakest in the whole Beatle catalogue.

 

I just checked, there are more songs that I like on MMT for what that's worth. If Strawberry Fields and I Am the Walrus were on Sgt Pepper instead of say When I'm 64 & She's Leaving Home it would have justified all the hype it received at the time and since.

 

It is true, Sgt. Pepper enjoys MMT more than anybody else.

 

More

 

I do, and MMT has no clangers like When I’m 64.

 

MMT is a compilation album, in my opinion, a collection of singles and an EP. I think SFF and PL belong on Sgt Pepper. I've soured on She's Leaving Home in recent years and have started skipping it. I think I enjoy MMT more that Sgt. Pepper now.

 

Magical 3, Pepper 2
I listen to 3 songs on MMT (Walrus, Strawberry, Penny), 2 from Pepper (Friends, Day in the Life); listen to the entire albums every 2 or 3 years.

 

Liked it as a kid, then soured on it, then loved it when I saw Paul play it live. With the giant MMT film clip behind him.

In fact, it rubbed off on Let Em In a little later, whose reminiscent piano gave the song a trippy MMT hue I hadn't perceived before.

 

I understand why they're regarded as such, but I still favor them over the two Sgt. Pepper songs mentioned above. To each its own.

 

Nope.

 

I think you cannot really compare both. "Magical Mystery Tour" was an EP that was released as a compilation album in the US with different running order (and much later in other parts of the world). So the reason why "Magical Mystery Tour" may be considered stronger by some, is that it was comprised by that EP and several strong number one singles. Not really a fair comparison, as Pepper didn't contain any singles on purpose. It would be similar to compare "Elvis Golden Records Vol 3" with "Elvis Is Back" - not really a fair comparison.

 

'Magical Mystery Tour' is a better compilation

I agree that it's a compilation album but this seems to be a contentious issue with those who don't think it is.

 

I kind of think of them these days as one giant double album.... imagine a double vinyl album with
side one- side a of pepper
side two- side a of mmt
side three- side b of mmt
side four- side b of pepper.

maybe, since mmt's running time is a bit short, add 'only a northern song' and 'its all too much' in there somehow? (both of which were mostly recorded in '67, i think, right?) (someone will know that here!)

 

Yes, I like it a little better.

 

If I were to give a score out of five for each song on each album and then divide the totals by the number of songs on each album to get an average; Magical Mystery Tour would come out a mere decimal ahead. But when I look at the albums as a whole, I like the feel of Sgt. Pepper as an album to listen to all the way through, so I guess for me it is pretty much a draw.

 

I think both albums have their weak moments. But I prefer MMT because it seems less self-assured. They seem to be trying new ideas and pushing themselves, whereas Pepper, to me, sounds complacent and a bit smug. MMT is more like Help!, pushing into new territory. Pepper certainly sounded new, but to me it sounds calculated, kind of cold-blooded. Just my 2 cents.

 

Here's some George songwriting:

 

They're pretty much on equal footing with me, but for different reasons. They help define 1967. I always play them back-to-back; I like the synergy. Just like playing Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell and his Bat Out Of Hell II back-to-back .

 

Aye, says I.

 

Track for track, its a better collection of songs, but it doesn’t come close to being the complete work that Pepper is. The only other problem is that it doesn’t rock at all, to the extent that’s important.

 

Back in the day I owned MMT before SP.
I probably listen to it more than Pepper.
In the grand scheme of things though SP is a more important album. MMT has a weirder vibe about it. Side 1 anyway. It's real close for me. Two different kinds of albums really.

 

Yes I do.

 

Thanks for that, cool! And yet another great example of a George upbeat accented melody!