|
Unsung Forum » Maligned albums: which do you rate? |
Log In to post a reply
|
|
|
|
| Topic View: Flat | Threaded | |
Hunter T Wolfe 1709 posts |
Feb 20, 2010, 13:23
|
||
|
Gnostic Almighty wrote: Hunter T Wolfe wrote: I also really like the Damned's post-Captain albums, 'Phantasmagoria' and 'Anything', far more in fact than the critically-rated 'Strawberries' and 'The Black Album.' There, I've said it. I must be listening to different albums. The passage of time since the releases of Phantasmagoria and Anything hasn't done them any harm, and they are imo listenable to now and contain some interesting stuff (especially on Anything), they pale into insigificance when compared to either The Black Album or Strawberries ... or Grave Disorder, So, Who's Paranoid and yes, even Music For Pleasure. It was of course the Anything line-up of The Damned that became The Phantom Chords, and I feel that if the withdrawn first album would have been actually released from Polydor, it would have all been a different story. Yeah, I know I'm on my own with this one. I'm not particularly going to try to justify it, it's pure personal taste. I like everything they've done, but in contrast to almost everyone, Strawberries is actually my least favourite Damned album. By the way, Dave Clarkson- is Surf's Up maligned? Overlooked, maybe- It's my favourite Beach Boys album, flawed, but when it's good, it's majestic.
|
|||
|
Doody 33 posts |
Feb 20, 2010, 14:44
|
||
|
Lawrence wrote: Kitchens of Distinction? First time anyone's mentioned them here. I always thought they were more of a singles band, although I got to see them live and they were much better than their records... Oh, yeah, I definitely mean in the U.S., not on here.
|
|||
|
lennbob 7 posts |
Feb 20, 2010, 17:28
|
||
|
• The Style Council - Confessions of a Pop Group • The Style Council - The Cost of Loving The last two Style Council albums to be released while they were still active are uneven affairs, but were (and are) both underrated. The Cost of Loving is perhaps best known for that orange cover, "It Didn't Matter", and Weller's first single to miss the top 40 after a long run of hits, "Waiting". The only real missteps are "Right To Go" (which would actually be pretty good if you could remove the "rappin" by The Dynamic Three, which dates the thing horribly) and the title track (which appeared in far superior re-recorded form on the subsequent "Wanted" single). The "Piano Paintings" half of Confessions of a Pop Group was perhaps too ambitious for the day (1980s music had already begun its stylistic decline), but still contained a fine trio of opening songs in "It's A Very Deep Sea", "The Story of Someone's Shoe", and "Changing of the Guard"; while the more pop-oriented "Confessions of a Pop-Group" half was, well, poppy and danceable and very listenable. In a way, Confessions of a Pop Group was almost a return to form, but with a different set of stylistic variations to those found on Café Bleu. • Scritti Politti - Anomie & Bohnomie I don't recall what the reviews had to say about this album, but I know that most Scritti Politti fans don't seem to like it very much because of the prominence of rap in its mix. Personally, this may be my favorite Scritti Politti album. • Boz Scaggs - Down Two Then Left Scaggs' follow-up to Silk Degrees didn't do very well. "Hard Times" was a minor hit, but the album pretty much sank without a trace. • Japan - Adolescent Sex • David Sylvian & Robert Fripp - The First Day These albums are mostly held in disregard by David Sylvian himself, though many of his following don't rate The First Day very highly. • Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Liverpool This was the Difficult Second Album, where the hits mostly dried up. The change in producers from Trevor Horn to Stephen Lipson seemed to indicate that Frankie now had second-tier status at ZTT. The overall mood seemed to be a bit darker, the album was shorter, and the singles were less obvious (and less successful). Yet it was a more consistent album than Welcome to the Pleasuredome, which was basically one LP of hits with one LP of filler held together by all the hype and controversy that surrounded the first couple of singles.
|
|||
|
Moon Cat 9577 posts |
Feb 20, 2010, 17:31
|
||
I quite like Tutu but some of the 80's production on it is a bit Bleeeeeeeee! Fab album cover though!
|
|||
|
Moon Cat 9577 posts |
Edited Feb 20, 2010, 19:14
Feb 20, 2010, 19:10
|
||
|
REM - New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Not so much maligned but underrated in the REM canon IMO. Some interesting quirks and some top quality REMish guitar tuneage. A good album. KISS - Dynasty/Unmasked. Ok, probably maligned by most here for being by KISS in the first place, but even amongst the fans and the band themselves they are considered a low point and too poppy. Meself, I love 'em both and prefer them to the generic hair-metal KISS found themselves trotting out to demand in the 80s. Sophisticated pop-rock songwriting, especially from Paul Stanley. It may not be KISS KISS, but I love some of the tunes here. YES - 90125. Blasphemy possibly to Yes fans but it probably saved them as a band from going down the dumper. And, yes it's far away from Close to The Edge et al, but I loved it for its catchiness when it came out, and I still like it as an album, if not a 'proper' YES album. I think it's a good excerise in reigning it in and focusing on the songs.
|
|||
paradox 1576 posts |
Feb 20, 2010, 21:42
|
||
|
YES!.......Dynasty/Unmasked, are probably my most played KISS albums in the last few years. Yeah, ,they're poppy as hell, and all the better for it! Moon Cat has mentioned the Paul Stanley highlights,(And I agree) but i feel that I must mention "Dirty Livin" with Peter Criss on vocals, singing over a Funky/Soul stomper of a track, and a great Ace Frehley solo to top things off! And.........Gene Simmons finest moment, which is the song...."Naked City" Both are great songs, and both are fantastic albums!....Check em out Glam Slammers!
|
|||
Squid Tempest 8763 posts |
Feb 20, 2010, 22:51
|
||
I love Sylvian and Fripp's First Day album, I've always considered it a highpoint of DS's career. I think it's a shame he didn't pursue some of the heavier ideas on that album.
|
|||
|
Moon Cat 9577 posts |
Feb 21, 2010, 01:43
|
||
|
Interesting to note that "I Was Made For Lovin You" has been a part of the live set for some time now. I guess it was a rare worldwide hit for them. And it was also heartening to see "Sure Know Something", one of Paul Stanley's best songs IMO, on the Unplugged album. I pretty much love all of Dynasty. But I think "She's So European", "Easy as it Seems", "Naked City" and "Is That you" off Unmasked are fab!
|
|||
The Sea Cat 3608 posts |
Feb 21, 2010, 11:24
|
||
I haven't had time to read all the posts, but Bluejeans and Moonbeams most definitely, and Tales From Topographic Oceans.
|
|||
|
keith a 9573 posts |
Feb 21, 2010, 12:03
|
||
|
I never bought any Style Council LP's, and stopped buying their singles after the first few, but made an exception for It Didn't Matter. A real return to form for me. Anomie & Bohnomie is great!
|
| Pages: 9 – [ Previous | 1 … 4 5 6 7 8 9 | Next ] | Add a reply to this topic |
|
|
|
| Unsung Forum Index | |
