I gues it's all just a personal opinion thing. SFTROU was distinctly average in my book. Had a couple of good tracks but absolutely pales in comparison to Magnetic for me.

Yes, Magnetic was overproduced, but the quality of the actual songs on it (in terms of the lyrics, melodies etc. - i actually liked the liberal use of mandolins) was far and away better than a lot of previous GGDs stuff. For me it's actually their most consistent album, there's only really Bulletproof Angel that I don't like.

The disparity between the production of the final album and how the songs sounded live is best illustrated for me by Keep the Car Running (maybe because I've never come across any live versions of Slow it Down or Caught in the Storm). This live version is so powerful and raw, and that all got lost on the final version.