Favourite... least favourite album...

darthed1981

Right... another game (and thanks all for participation in the "ultimate record collection" thread - saved a few of those on Spotify to listen to, see if I want to buy them

What are your favourite... least favourite albums...?

Definition: an album critically panned, or roundly disliked by the fanbase... that you actually love and cherish... with a brief explanation of why...

Here are a few of mine...

Oasis - Be Here Now - what album was everyone expecting Oasis to make - OK Computer?  It's produced and recorded like everyone was coked up to the nines, because they were, but the songs are great, Liam's voice has never sounded better, and it's close to my heart...

Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy - They were trying to piss everyone off, so it's all over the place, but being all over the place is where the Manics excel... you get the brilliant short solo of Found That Soul, the dark brilliance of Dead Martyrs, the as anti-US-as-they-got Baby Elian... and it triggered the whole bizarre Cuba trip...

The Seahorses - Do it Yourself -  I'll be honest - I've no idea why people dislike this... it's the most 1997 album possible... 11 indie pop songs ranging from great to mediocre, but with Johnny Squire wanking over it like his very-90s copy of FHM...

Mansun - Six - "It's your chance lads, your first album was huge, wow, Legacy was a huge radio single, if you follow it up with anything but an hour of proggy-nonsense you will be fine... aww.. shit"... but actually, it's fucking brilliant.  Those of us who stuck with it over the years are rewarded by one of the 90s best weird indie-prog albums, no sod it, THE best.  If you can't enjoy a ten-minute long epic about scratching yourself while watching Sky News... where's your soul???

Your turn peeps....

ICBM

Duran Duran - Thank You

An album of covers of some of the songs and artists which inspired the members to make music. It's been reviewed as "the worst album ever recorded" by some typical music-industry critics who I think were more interested in looking cool by knocking Duran Duran than actually listening to the album. It really, *really* isn't... it's brilliant, unless you only regard the original version of any song as worth anything. I love most of the original songs too, and that doesn't take anything away from the Duran versions, which are all done in different styles but all interesting.

Particular favourite tracks are The Doors Crystal Ship and Elvis Costello's Watching The Detectives, which I think might be the best on the album.


The Catherine Wheel - Wishville

Described as "an abomination" by at least one critic. Wrong... it's the best Catherine Wheel album, because it's the one where the songs finally become more important than the wall of shoegazey noise. Sadly, the band took the negative reviews to heart and never made another one.

Philly_Q

Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy
I just really enjoyed the Slash-free incarnation of GN'R and thought there were some great guitar contributions from Robin Finck and Buckethead, amongst others.  That said, I have not listened to it for a very long time, although I played it constantly when it was first released.

Van Halen - Diver Down
Probably the most lambasted VH album - too short, too many covers, too much pissing about.  But I love it, it's such a joy to listen to.

Megadeth - Risk
The last album they did with Marty Friedman, and produced by Dann Huff, as was the previous album Cryptic Writings.  It was derided for being overly commercial and "alternative", but I've never been one to shy away from a bit of melodic pop metal, and I think it's way better than some of the the shite they've released subsequently.

tone1

Favourites 

Pearl Jam - Ten
ACDC - If you want Blood/ Powerage 
U2 - Joshua Tree/Boy
Lemonheads - Come on feel the Lemonheads/Best of the Lemonheads 
Lloyd Cole - Greatest hits
The Cult - Love
Shed Seven - Greatest hits
Artic Monkeys - Whatever people say I am that’s what I’m not
Offspring - Smash
Nirvana - Smells like teen spirit/Bleach
Oasis - Definitely maybe 

John Mayer - Room for Squares

Least favourite 

Pearl Jam - Vitolgy 

  

stickyfiddle

A couple spring to mind.....

Radiohead - The King of Limbs 

Experimental, heavy on drum machines and relatively light on vocal melodies than their best work, but the highlights are incredible - Give up the Ghost and Separator in particular. And the live versions from that tour were fantastic. 

Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways
The "fandom" always shits on this one but it's got Something From Nothing, Feast and the Famine and Congregation on it and they're all bangers. And I Am A River is one of their very best album closers 

Philly_Q

@tone1 I don't think you read the rules of the game.

octatonic

darthed1981 said:

Mansun - Six - "It's your chance lads, your first album was huge, wow, Legacy was a huge radio single, if you follow it up with anything but an hour of proggy-nonsense you will be fine... aww.. shit"... but actually, it's fucking brilliant.  Those of us who stuck with it over the years are rewarded by one of the 90s best weird indie-prog albums, no sod it, THE best.  If you can't enjoy a ten-minute long epic about scratching yourself while watching Sky News... where's your soul???

A friend of mine, Max Schindler, made that album cover.
Brilliant artist, worth checking out.

octatonic

The one that came to mind is 'the Elder' by Kiss.
But I haven't listened to it in 30 years.

Another one would be Baggariddim by UB40.
It is funny- I heard 'I Got You Babe' and thought I'd like the music so I bought the album (I was 12).
The rest of the album is very different but on repeated listens I became a huge found of South London dub and reggae.

I was definitely the only kid in my rural Tasmanian town listening to dub in the mid 80's.
I soon discovered Van Halen and Bon Jovi though so it was the only UB40 album I got into.

One of my favourite tracks from the album:

stickyfiddle

Ooh also Suede - Coming Up. It's the really poppy one, it doesn't have Bernard Butler on it, but I love it to bits. 

Philly_Q

octatonic said:

The one that came to mind is 'the Elder' by Kiss.
But I haven't listened to it in 30 years.

You've reminded me of Kiss - Carnival of Souls, the last album recorded with the make-up-free lineup before they briefly reunited with Criss and Frehley for the $$$.  They initially shelved it, then released it a year or two later because it was being bootlegged.  It's not amazing, but it's a good rock album with a lot of input from Bruce Kulick.

DefaultM

stickyfiddle said:

Ooh also Suede - Coming Up. It's the really poppy one, it doesn't have Bernard Butler on it, but I love it to bits. 

That's the only good one.

stickyfiddle

DefaultM said:

stickyfiddle said:

Ooh also Suede - Coming Up. It's the really poppy one, it doesn't have Bernard Butler on it, but I love it to bits. 

That's the only good one.

I largely agree!! 

DefaultM

My dad copied me it on tape when it came out and I loved it. I was really disappointed when I heard the rest!

RocknRollDave

darthed1981 said:

Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy - They were trying to piss everyone off, so it's all over the place, but being all over the place is where the Manics excel... you get the brilliant short solo of Found That Soul, the dark brilliance of Dead Martyrs, the as anti-US-as-they-got Baby Elian... and it triggered the whole bizarre Cuba trip...


Mansun - Six - "It's your chance lads, your first album was huge, wow, Legacy was a huge radio single, if you follow it up with anything but an hour of proggy-nonsense you will be fine... aww.. shit"... but actually, it's fucking brilliant.  Those of us who stuck with it over the years are rewarded by one of the 90s best weird indie-prog albums, no sod it, THE best.  If you can't enjoy a ten-minute long epic about scratching yourself while watching Sky News... where's your soul???

Your turn peeps....

Both of those would have made my list! Six should be absolutely massive; it should be on all those "Best of the 90's" and "Top 100 British Albums" lists every time. Criminally underrated.

Know Your Enemy. Again, some great stuff on there - Found That Soul was a particular fave of mine too - if a little patchy (So Why So Sad? Meh.)

I'm going to add:

Evergreen - Echo and the Bunnymen. In fact, most, of not all, of their "post-reunion" albums.

Oh and, whilst we're at it, Burned by Electrafixion, which was Echo and the Bunnymen in all but name - aiming for a more distorted, Grunge-influenced sound.


I also seem to be the only person outside of the band itself that loves the last two U2 albums of new material - Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. The former is better than the latter, but there are some strong songs here. ...Innocence in particular is some of Bono's most personal lyric writing, and all the better for it.



EDIT:

Also, I don't know if it qualifies exactly, but I always feel like I have more of a soft spot for The Gift by The Jam than a lot of their other fans.

richardhomer

Love Story - Lloyd Cole

Critics seem to hate it but one of my favourite albums.

Grangousier

I love Don Juan's Reckless Daughter and Mingus by Joni Mitchell, which people used to dismiss as "weird", but perhaps opinions have come round to agree with me.

I also love Drama by Yes (the one with Buggles on) as much as anything else post-Topographic. And I'd prefer to listen to Big Generator rather than 90125 (which I always thought was a bunch of random out-takes plus Owner of a Lonely Heart). 

It's possible my favourite Divine Comedy album is Regeneration. As far as I can tell, even Neil Hannon is perplexed by people like me who love that record. 

My favourite Scritti Politti album is probably Anomie and Bonhomie, the hugely unsuccessful 1999 album.

tone1

Philly_Q said:

@tone1 I don't think you read the rules of the game.

Story of my life really……

darthed1981

RocknRollDave said:

Both of those would have made my list! Six should be absolutely massive; it should be on all those "Best of the 90's" and "Top 100 British Albums" lists every time. Criminally underrated.

Also, I don't know if it qualifies exactly, but I always feel like I have more of a soft spot for The Gift by The Jam than a lot of their other fans.

Couldn't agree more - and as for what qualifies, the rules are loose

octatonic said:

darthed1981 said:

Mansun - Six - "It's your chance lads, your first album was huge, wow, Legacy was a huge radio single, if you follow it up with anything but an hour of proggy-nonsense you will be fine... aww.. shit"... but actually, it's fucking brilliant.  Those of us who stuck with it over the years are rewarded by one of the 90s best weird indie-prog albums, no sod it, THE best.  If you can't enjoy a ten-minute long epic about scratching yourself while watching Sky News... where's your soul???

A friend of mine, Max Schindler, made that album cover.
Brilliant artist, worth checking out.

I will - it looks beautiful blown up for vinyl, or the CD special edition (I have both)...

darthed1981

stickyfiddle said:

Ooh also Suede - Coming Up. It's the really poppy one, it doesn't have Bernard Butler on it, but I love it to bits. 

Enter Richard Oakes.

The other day I was driving along listening to some Suede, and realised the difference between BB and him.

If you listen to early Suede, it's like the vocal and guitar melodies are fighting each other, which makes sense because really creatively Brett and Bernard were always at odds, and that's where the excitement came from.

When Richard Oakes joined, really from Coming Up onwards, he plays a lot like Bernard, but more ON SIDE with the vocal melodies, like they aren't fighting any more but dancing.

Big Suede fan, excuse the "Pseuds Corner"...

Philly_Q

^^ That Mansun album cover reminds me a bit of Kansas' Leftoverture.

darthed1981

Philly_Q said:

^^ Reminds me a bit of Kansas' Leftoverture album cover.

I saw the show where Paul Draper played all of Six live at Northampton Roadmender recently - only gig I've been to where the singer basically demanded the audience fill in the vocal harmonies from the album.

I loved it, Mrs Ed hated it - funniest thing was we were front row almost centre - so when Paul posted a photo after the gig you have rows of smiling singing faces and Mrs Ed head down looking grumpy as buggery - was genuinely very funny...