Why "Magical Mystery Tour" Is A Better Album Than "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

Cory Tressler

For years now rock critics have been proclaiming the greatness of the Beatles album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Whenever Rolling Stone, Spin, VH-1, MTV, or whomever put out their annual lists of the top 100 or top 50 rock 'n' roll albums of all time it is usually guaranteed that "Sgt. Pepper" will be in the number one spot. To me this consistent praise seems crazy considering "Sgt. Pepper" isn't even the Beatles best album. In fact, "Sgt. Pepper" isn't even the best Beatles album released in 1967.

When "Sgt. Pepper" was released in June of 1967 it was the greatest rock 'n' roll album. "Sgt. Pepper" was moving rock 'n' roll into an exciting and creative direction, but the thing that most rock critics miss when they compile there lists of greatest albums is that rock 'n' roll didn't stop expanding after the 'summer of love'. "Sgt. Pepper" added fuel to rock 'n' roll's growing fire, which caused the major creative forces in rock 'n' roll to expand musically, and even the Beatles achieved a higher level of creativity on their very next release, "Magical Mystery Tour".

Now the best way to compare these two albums is to first look at the all time classic songs on each album. This must be done because they are both Beatles albums and as we all know the Beatles did write a great number of timeless hits. Three such songs can be found on "Sgt. Pepper"; "With A Little Help From My Friends", "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", and "A Day In The Life". Four more of these pop masterpieces can be found on "Magical Mystery Tour"; "I Am The Walrus", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane", and "All You Need Is Love". When looking at these seven songs it appears that "Magical Mystery Tour" has a slight edge, but "Strawberry Fields" and "Penny Lane" were recorded during the "Sgt. Pepper" recording sessions. Because of the conceptual ideas of "Sgt. Pepper" the Beatles decided to keep these two powerful songs off of the album, but they did put them on the American release of "Magical Mystery Tour" in November of 1967. Any one of these seven songs could have been on any Beatles album and would have still been big hit singles. All seven are artistically impeccable, because of this it is not fair to compare them against one another. So if you take these seven songs away from both albums you are left with the true heart and soul of each album, and that is what you can gather a comparison from.

First, there are the two title tracks from each album. Both of these songs begin each album and are up-tempo McCartney tunes that contain spirited and repetitive choruses. It is hard to say which is the better song, but the furious beginning of "Sgt. Pepper" gives it a slight edge. "Sgt. Pepper" 1 - "Mystery Tour" 0.

Next up are the introspective McCartney tunes from each album; "The Fool on the Hill" from "Mystery Tour" and "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "Fixing A Hole" from "Sgt. Pepper". "The Fool on the Hill" is a fantastic example of McCartney's amazing ability to a write a heartfelt ballad that is drenched with floating melodies and meaningful lyrics. On the other hand, "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "Fixing a Hole" are pure geezers. Paul's lyrics and George Martin's productions make me feel like I'm at a carnival on bad acid… and I'm watching my life pass before my eyes… while simultaneously looking into one of those mirrors that makes your ass look huge regardless of it's actual size. These two songs do nothing for "Sgt. Pepper" and the album would have been much better if they would have been omitted. "Sgt. Pepper" 1 - "Mystery Tour" 1.

The 'wildcards' of each album come next; "Flying" and "Baby You're A Rich Man" from "Mystery Tour" and "Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!" and "Lovely Rita" from "Sgt. Pepper". All of these songs are personal favorites of mine, each for different reasons. "Flying" is the closest the Beatles came to actually producing musical psychedelia. "Baby You're A Rich Man" bridges the gap between the 'pre-Pepper' Beatles albums "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver". The lyrics for "Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!" came directly from an old Circus advertisement that John Lennon saw, that itself is amazing. "Lovely Rita" is a blissful romp of a song that easily could be considered a Beatles classic by critics if it had reached the level of popularity that "Paperback Writer" or "Strawberry Fields" achieved. All four of these songs are prime examples of why music fans should buy individual albums rather than Greatest Hits Compilations. (With the exception of Greatest Hits Compilations that are made up of single releases and contain rare B-sides, like The Beatles epic "Past Masters Vol. 1 and Vol. 2"). "Sgt. Pepper" 2 - "Mystery Tour" 2.

George Harrison's two tunes follow; "Within You Without You" from "Sgt. Pepper" and "Blue Jay Way" from "Mystery Tour". The sitar laced and rhythmic "Within You Without You" is the most underrated song on "Sgt. Pepper", and similarly the spacey and hypnotic "Blue Jay Way" is the most underrated on "Mystery Tour". Both of these songs contain deep and thoughtful lyrics. It is really too bad that Harrison didn't get a chance to record more songs with the Beatles. As these two songs and his first solo album, "All Things Must Pass", show he was truly an equal to the Lennon/McCartney combination. "Sgt. Pepper" 3 - "Mystery Tour" 3.

Two songs that can only be described as the Beatles greeting tunes come next; "Good Morning Good Morning" from "Sgt. Pepper" and "Hello Goodbye" from "Mystery Tour". "Good Morning Good Morning" once again transports me to a nightmarish carnival, this time complete with ringing bells and barnyard animals. Although I do enjoy Ringo Starr's drumming and Harrison's short, but fierce, guitar solo on "Good Morning" the rest of the song just brings me down and makes my brain scream stop. "Hello Goodbye" isn't much better, but at least it is soothing and the vocal arrangement is far superior then the ridiculous "Good Morning". "Sgt. Pepper" 3 - "Mystery Tour" 4.

Finally we are left with "Your Mother Should Know" from "Mystery Tour" and "Getting Better" and "She's Leaving Home" from "Sgt. Pepper". "Your Mother Should Know" is a solid song, with quality lyrics and arrangements. Even though it is often overlooked it is still a well-rounded tune. "Getting Better" sounds like four white British guys trying to play a fast paced R & B version of an American folk song. This combination worked for the Rolling Stones early on in their career because they had the outlaw Keith Richards and the genius Brian Jones chopping away that their guitars, but the Beatles sound much to cheerful and playful to play a dirty R&B number. The sporadic guitar in "Getting Better" sounds just as annoying as the Philips Electronics commercials it now appears in. "She's Leaving Home" also sounds like an attempt to write a story within a pop song, but the combination ends up sounding more like a Disney fairytale theme song. Producer George Martin's Disney feel scares me and so does "She's Leaving Home". "Sgt. Pepper" 3 - "Mystery Tour" 5.

So there it is, one man's proof that "Sgt. Pepper" is not as good as what everyone wants you to think it is. The Beatles and their legendary producer Sir George Martin were pop music creative geniuses, but like all humans they were not perfect. Even though "Sgt. Pepper" is still better than "Beatles For Sale", it does not represent the best the Beatles had to offer. So now all you have to do is go out and buy "Magical Mystery Tour" and hear for yourself, and while you're at it leave those Greatest Hits compilations sitting on the rack.

Top 5 Beatles Albums:
1. Abbey Road
2. Revolver
3. The White Album
4. Rubber Soul
5. Magical Mystery Tour