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Post by Shep on Jan 26, 2008 8:26:14 GMT -5
Do you have any albums you stand by even though they weren't very well-received by critics or even fans of the band?
Here's one of my own:
Oasis "Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants." If the lumbering, overproduced "Be Here Now" was a drug-fueled party that got out of control, "Giants," Oasis' 4th studio album, was Noel Gallagher waking up with a hangover the next morning and realizing he was surrounded by some pretty unsavory characters. The older Gallagher brother was never acclaimed for his great lyrics (and "Put Yer Money Money Where Yer Your Mouth Is" and "I Can See A Liar" certainly bare that out), but on "Giants" he steps up his game considerably. From the sinister "Gas Panic!" which deals with drug-fueled paranoia ("My family don't seem so familiar/And my enemies all know my name") to the Kate Moss-inspired "Sunday Morning Call" ("You will only sniff away the tears so you can dance until the morning light/At what price?"), Gallagher's world is one of rich, drug-addicted celebrities who moan about how terrible it is to be famous. The once-impoverished Manchester lad isn't having it. "Do you keep the receipts for the friends that you buy?" he ponders on "Where Did It All Go Wrong?", while "Roll It Over" condemns "the plastic people who live without a care." Yet it isn't all preaching for the Gallagher brothers. "Go Let It Out" is classic Oasis, great tune, dodgy lyrics and all, and Noel builds brother Liam's "Beautiful-Boy"-ish song "Little James" into a wall of sound that Phil Spector would admire. Add the Chemical Brothers-style song that is "FXXXin' In The Bushes" and you've got a pretty diverse, interesting album. Critics and fans were hoping for another "Definitely Maybe" or "Morning Glory." Instead they got a dark and very flawed masterpiece.
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Post by Trumpy's Magic Snout on Jan 26, 2008 9:50:42 GMT -5
Flawed is definitely the word for it. Hated it at the time and was the album that finally killed all hope in relation to Oasis for me after the Be Here Now debacle.
That said when I look back at it, I've long since dispensed my copy so no digging it out to give it another go, you are right. There are some really good songs on here. It's infinitely better than Be Here Now and everything that followed.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Jan 26, 2008 11:20:49 GMT -5
Wow, let me think of my favorite bands... there really isn't much.
I had huge giant love for Weezers Pinkereton when it was released and was shocked when I heard critics and many fans hated it (It is now beloved by both and often considered their best, go figure) but man I can't think of many that have done that.
Maybe Devo's Shout. Yeah it was poppy but a blast. The thing is that I don't read music reviews at all these days, i just go by what i like when i hear it.
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Post by Shep on Jan 27, 2008 10:25:38 GMT -5
The Stone Roses "Second Coming." A dark, guitar-heavy follow-up to the Roses' poppy debut album. The lyrics aren't as strong on this one and it lacks the truly collaborative effort between singer Ian Brown and guitarist Jon Squire (who wrote most of these songs) that made the first record so great. Still, Squire's guitar work is amazing and tracks such as "Ten Storey Love Song," "Driving South," "Begging You," "Your Star Will Shine" and the campfire epic "Tightrope" are among my favorite Roses songs ever. Critics and fans alike hated this one when it was released, but its a real grower imo.
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Post by Pierre Trudeau on Jan 27, 2008 11:34:32 GMT -5
I'll admit it. I liked U2's Pop. It was fun.
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Post by Trumpy's Magic Snout on Jan 27, 2008 19:34:17 GMT -5
Autechre's Confield. I love this album and it was my introduction to one of the densest, most difficult music acts on the planet. This may be their most difficult album as well so I dived in at the deep end. Seems a lot of people thought they'd finally disappeared up their collective rectum. It's because of how desolate the album is. It's best listened to at the lowest possible volume about 3am, as opposed to the ear shredding works that came just before. The thing is it's actually a really playful album. Autechre's understanding of sound and how different volumes can reveal different melodies is phenomenal and the drum programming is nothing short of breathtaking, especially on the last track Lentic Catachresis where it just goes off on one. Some of my favourite electronic music is right hear on this album, VI Scose Poise and Pen Expers are particularly stunning. Yet thanks to it's very difficult nature many people dismiss it. It's definitely not for everyone but giving it a try can't hurt, especially as if you do like it it opens up whole new worlds of musical experimentation, it did for me. Just to hammer home the fact that Autechre fans don't like this I went on YouTube to find a video with music from the album. There are over 400 videos that use Autechre's music. Of those there is only one with a song from Confield, and it's one of the easiest to listen to Cfern. that and they only use two minutes of it! uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zUB6F0XlbYQAs such to get a sense of how dense and difficult Autechre can get here's the video for Gantz Graf a single that followed shortly after Confield: uk.youtube.com/watch?v=s4ZwTUUue1w(worth seeing on DVD hooked up to home cinema, it makes your eyes and ears bleed! Ha!) |
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Post by xmattxyzx on Jan 27, 2008 22:10:50 GMT -5
I think Confield is a pretty respected album.
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Post by Trumpy's Magic Snout on Jan 28, 2008 16:48:22 GMT -5
I think Confield is a pretty respected album. It depends. As I said there are practically no vids featuring songs from it and the Discogs rating for it is 3.9, whereas every other album tends to score at least 4, even Draft 7.30 my personal least favourite. Even EP7 scores higher than Confield! At the time it came out it seemed to really put some people off and the reviews I read hated it. In all honesty it may have been this that lead me to start with it. It seems to get a lot of praise now though. I think a lot of people came round to it. |
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Post by harpo on Jan 30, 2008 10:53:03 GMT -5
(hi, new here, but wanted to jump into the convo)
shep's got some good picks! i quite like that oasis album, especially noel's songs. i stopped getting their albums after that, though.
also, i adore second coming. "ten storey love song," "love spreads," "good times"... fantastic!
i don't really have much else to contribute off the top of my head. perhaps tom waits' the black rider (nobody ever really talks about this one) and r.e.m.'s monster.
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Post by Katie on Jan 30, 2008 12:23:22 GMT -5
I pay practically no attention to waht critics or other people say, so I son't even know which albums I like were well recieved and which weren't.
I guess thats the result of growing up in the underground, not aiming for the mainstream, now my musical taste is all over the place and 'critics' dont enter my brain.
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Post by Trumpy's Magic Snout on Jan 30, 2008 16:20:01 GMT -5
(hi, new here, but wanted to jump into the convo) shep's got some good picks! i quite like that oasis album, especially noel's songs. i stopped getting their albums after that, though. also, i adore second coming. "ten storey love song," "love spreads," "good times"... fantastic! i don't really have much else to contribute off the top of my head. perhaps tom waits' the black rider (nobody ever really talks about this one) and r.e.m.'s monster. Hi! Big Waits fan myself, though I've never declared my love on the board (ahem). Must be said I'm not a massive fan of Black Rider myself. Something about it doesn't work for me but it is an incredibly brave album and I appreciate it for that reason. Oh and I really like Monster! Never quite got the hate surrounding that one. Liked the follow-up as well New Adventures In Hi-fi. Don't know how that was received though! |
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Post by Trumpy's Magic Snout on Jan 30, 2008 16:23:17 GMT -5
I pay practically no attention to waht critics or other people say, so I son't even know which albums I like were well recieved and which weren't. I guess thats the result of growing up in the underground, not aiming for the mainstream, now my musical taste is all over the place and 'critics' dont enter my brain. It's the way to be! I tend to check what people said after I've listened to an album mainly so i can poo-poo what they're saying! ;D And as for scattershot music taste I like Autechre and Candi Staton so I'm right there with you! |
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Post by harpo on Jan 30, 2008 18:03:29 GMT -5
(hi, new here, but wanted to jump into the convo) shep's got some good picks! i quite like that oasis album, especially noel's songs. i stopped getting their albums after that, though. also, i adore second coming. "ten storey love song," "love spreads," "good times"... fantastic! i don't really have much else to contribute off the top of my head. perhaps tom waits' the black rider (nobody ever really talks about this one) and r.e.m.'s monster. Hi! Big Waits fan myself, though I've never declared my love on the board (ahem). Must be said I'm not a massive fan of Black Rider myself. Something about it doesn't work for me but it is an incredibly brave album and I appreciate it for that reason. Oh and I really like Monster! Never quite got the hate surrounding that one. Liked the follow-up as well New Adventures In Hi-fi. Don't know how that was received though! feel free to express the waits love when i'm around! i actually think the reason i love the black rider so much is because i saw the play in london a few years ago. and it was AMAZING! |
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Post by Shep on Jan 31, 2008 6:42:57 GMT -5
(hi, new here, but wanted to jump into the convo) shep's got some good picks! i quite like that oasis album, especially noel's songs. i stopped getting their albums after that, though. One of my favorite Oasis songs ever, "Carry Us All," came from this era. Can't believe it didn't make the album www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lA3tR7eZSc |
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Post by angilasman on Jan 31, 2008 16:26:13 GMT -5
feel free to express the waits love when i'm around! i actually think the reason i love the black rider so much is because i saw the play in london a few years ago. and it was AMAZING! Lucky you (bought a Tom Waits postcard from Barnes and Noble yesturday) |
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