What band have or artist has the biggest quality gap between their best and worst album?
It struck me today that The Beach Boys´ Pet Sounds is so far superior to Summer In Paradise it´s ridiculous.
Pet Sounds is pretty much a Brian Wilson solo album, Summer In Paradise is pretty much a Mike Love solo album. However, they were both released by The Beach Boys.
Can anyone else beat this? Mind you, Self Portrait and Landing On Water both sound like masterpieces next to Summer In Paradise.
I hereby officially dare you. 😉
When considering the Quality Chasm, it is traditional to play The Clash Card.
Give ‘ Em Enough Rope / London Calling (78/79 = Clash Peak Output) => Cut The Crap.
A properly solid Rock band full of ideas bow out with a badly produced Bernie Rhodes vanity Project containing one great song, a couple of OK songs and a vat of filler
I often find myself considering a quality chasm.
hurrrrrrrrrr
I think Give Em … is the worst album with a proper Clash line up.
I think Give Em…is their best, along with sides 1 & 2 of London Calling. Surely you can’t think it’s worse than Sandanista? That’s where I got off The Clash train, far too much filler for me.
Give Em … has some decent songs, but the production, seemingly aimed at US FM radio, is not great. Sandinista has stacks of great songs particularly across sides 1 to 4, falls off a bit at the end though. London Calling (all sides) is pretty close to flawless.
Side one of Rope is bloody marvellous. Side two, not so much. However, other songs recorded during the sessions were the single “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais”, B-sides “Pressure Drop”, “1-2 Crush on You” and “The Prisoner”, plus “One Emotion”, “Groovy Times”, “Ooh Baby Ooh (It’s Not Over)” (AKA “Rusted Chrome”, later reworked and released as “Gates of the West”) and “RAF 1810.” Pick your favourite two or three of those and remove your least favourite Rope tracks and you have a stone cold classic.
You’d have to keep “Stay Free” from side two of Rope, mind…
Stevie Wonder, circa 1972 through 1976 versus The Secret Life of Plants, or anything else of his that came after that. What a great run of albums, though (’72 to ’76, not ’79 onwards!)
Anything else?? Hotter Than July (1980) is fookin boss, a proper return to form.
Alas, temporary.
OK, I will allow HTJ. Most of it, anyway.
Secret Life of Plants is well underrated – I listened to it a few days ago – patchy but some excellent stuff. I think he was affected by the negative reaction and probably marked the end of his innovative phase, thereafter concentrating on more mainstream work, with mixed results (agree HTJ is great though).
Who’s Next / Quadrophenia versus It’s Hard
Despite the presence of Eminence Front, that album has a prophetic title:
It’s Hard … work to listen to
I actually think It’s Hard isn’t bad at all. There are a couple of Entwistle-written tracks that are a bit head-scratchingly shit but overall it’s a big improvement on Face Dances, and had all the album been up to the standards of its best songs, it could have been a contender.
For the defence: “Cooks County”, “I’ve Known No War”, “Cry If You Want”.
For the prosecution: “One At a Time”, “Dangerous”
Weirdly, I prefer Face Dances (I don’t “rate it”, just prefer it to It’s Hard)
Face Dances is no masterpiece buy streets ahead of It’s Hard.
But not buy
Blonde on Blonde and Shadows in the Night. I know there are some people on here who like the Sinatra Covers album but just imagine if Bob had released it instead of John Wesley Harding….
Shadows In The Night is the best of the three “Sinatra” rekirds @Lodestone of Wrongness. I could only listen to the overlong, repetitive and deeply unimaginative Triplicate once. There’s a case for Knocked Out Loaded too but Brownsville Girl just about redeems it.
I’d rate Blood On The Tracks above BOB, but you’re probably older than me I’d guess. You were there when BOB came out? The lack of 1966 context probably made it harder for me to assimilate in 1972 when I first heard it.
Trout mask replica is dross whereas Safe as Milk is genius.
Yet Trout Mask Replica has an undeserved reputation as genius when I doubt many people could listen to it all the way through and honestly say they enjoy it.
Elvis Costello King of America excellent
The Juliet Letters a bad idea.
Hey, I like TMR! Really.
And Imperial Bedroom is Declan’s imperial phase. KOA is EC’s Atlantic Crossing LP.
Ah, the old “Trout Mask is rubbish noise” theory. I’ve always liked it. Listen to it all the way through with no problems. Constant companion over the decades. I don’t have to read anyone else’s opinions to enjoy it, although the pros are far more interesting and perceptive than the cons, who have nothing more to say than “this sucks”. The Beefheart I came latest to was Bluejeans & Moonbeams, which used to be at the bottom of the heap, for the same stupid reasons I dismissed Lucky Town.
I have Trout Mask Replica in my collection – it has never been jettisoned even when I have needed to make room for new purchases. Every so often I will play it in the vain hope that I hear something that I haven’t previously heard. It is difficult for me because it is dissonant and seems almost disjointed. On the other hand both Safe as Milk and the Mirror Man albums also sound disjointed on first listen but when you listen to them repeatedly there is an intricacy that beggars belief. Like an orchestra with each part playing in a different room but miraculously all fitting together.
There must be something in TMR for it to achieve its genius stature but I haven’t heard it – yet.
It comes. It’s like seeing the art in Picasso. It’s there, but it’s initially too ugly to be seen.
King Of America overrated.
The Juliet Letters is superb.
Next.
Let’s see Zanti – King of America has Indoor fireworks, Suit of lights, Sleep of the just, Jack of all parades, I’ll wear it proudly and Brilliant mistake and is overrated???
The Juliet Letters has one great song The birds will still be singing and one half decent in I almost had a weakness.
It’s not the song writing as much as the melodies which are just dreary.
There are some top tunes on The Juliet Letters: Jackson’s Monk & Rowe, This Sad Burlesque, Taking My Life In Your Hans, I Almost Had A Weakness. Granted the law that no EC record should be longer than 45 minutes is ignored, which is a pity.
Who is Hans and why is he being given such onerous responsibility?
I’d edit my post, but it’s funnier like this.
An ex girlfriend told me The Juliet Letters was her favourite album and bought me a copy. Am I a terrible person because I never played it (and I am or was a big Costello fan)?
Probably why she is an ex?
All talk about JL is invalidated because North exists.
Yeah – and “Il Sogno”!
Exile and Dirty Work.
Revisionists be damned, DW is utter crap.
The ugliness of DW begins with the cover, which could be an ad. for Benetton, the band looking miserable in their horrible 80s fashions. I just had another look, to confirm its awfulness, and there was a detail about the cover I hadn’t noticed before. Keith appears to be kneeing Mick in the balls (if you allow for perspective). To be fair though, it’s no more than Mick deserves, what with that outrageous manspreading.
Dog Man Star and the utterly dreary Night Thoughts. Not technically the same band… but still.
[standard “I like that thing you just said is bad” response]
I tried it again recently and found it a struggle. In the end I resented it wasting my time. It’s so dull, like a bloody Embrace record or summat.
Led Zeppelin II greatest, Houses Of The Holy worst.
Would go for Led Zeppelin III for since I’ve been loving you and Gallows Pole as being their peak.
Agree ‘re Houses.
My wife likes Houses of the Holy and used to listen to one particular track over and over again.
‘D’yer Maker’?
No, she chose to of her own accord.
Ba boom.
Where’s your confounded coat?
That was a single in Europe – remember being on holiday in Holland and it being played all the time.
Was it ever a single in the UK?
Nope. I don’t think they had any kind of single out here until Trampled. And I might have imagined even that.
Lou Reed shirley
The VU period /Transformer /Berlin / New York/ MAgic and Loss
And then there is Mistrial /New Sensation
Metal Machine Music!
I think Neela killed her own thread with the Pet Sounds/Summer In Paradise polarity. All the others here – apart from the Dylan – tend to be more best/worst album choices. You need a work of genius at one end, a totally unlistenable stinker at the other. With both the Beach Boys and Dylan you get a choice at each end of the scale.
I think there’s a pretty big gap between Ringo’s Ringo and Stop and Smell the Roses. Likewise, compare and contrast George Harrison’s Premier League contender All Things Must Pass with the Vauxhall Conference end of season lethargy of Gone Troppo.
Yes. I wonder which band has the smallest gap between best & worst albums. I’m guessing Steely Dan with Roxy Music and Talking Heads second & third runners up
Super Furry Animals, dude.
XTC is a good call here, I think.
Joy Division?
Talking Heads?
My favourite is probably Remain In Light which was followed by the splendid Speaking In Tongues.
The weakest I’d say is True Stories which has many fine tunes, but did sadly foist the word Radiohead on the world.
Injustice. A very perky wer tune called Radio Head becomes a whiney rock group. It’s like a fabulous 60s jazz label becoming a dreadful sludgy indie band.
They missed a trick with the True Stories remaster. They should have included the film versions of the songs. I’d say they are better.
@Tiggerlion
New release contains “complete soundtrack”
https://pitchfork.com/news/david-byrnes-1986-film-true-stories-getting-criterion-release/
Wonderful! I’ll start saving me pennies. Thanks, Dai.
The Beatles? Wilco?
I guess you´re right, @h-p-saucecraft.
The absurdity of TBB being taken over by their least musically talented member. Even some of the supposedly “lesser” members of the group – yes, I´m looking at you, Al – would have made a better job. Alas, he didn´t have the ego.
They should have called it a day after Holland. The Dennis/Carl lead years after Brian packed it in were great.
Yebbut then we’d have no Love You, no That’s Why God Made The Radio. I’m prepared to wrestle you naked over their merits. And I don’t think I could take another breath on this earth if there was no 15 Big Ones, but I do have mental health issues.
We still have Love You in its original from, i.e. Brian Wilson Loves You. Not sure how this differ from the band version, which is pretty much a solo album anyway.
That’s Why God Made The Radio, well, sorry. Can’t help you.
StationtoStation/ Low to Tonight/NLMD is a mighty long way down
But it’s an amazingly high place to start.
I’ve never actually heard ‘Summer in Paradise’ – I don’t need to go to the Arctic to know that it’s very, very cold. I’ve not heard Brian’s “Disney” album for the same reason.
So – as always it’s Simple Minds and let’s go for New Gold Dream vs Street Fighting Years
As disappointing as Street Fighting Years is/was it is by no means the wet lettuce that is Neapolis. And Good News From The Next World is pretty dire as well.
Let’s face it: after New Gold Dream it has been diminishing returns for the past 36 years
I quite like the return to pre-NGD glacial European synth that is Neapolis. For the real stinkers, try hearing Real Life (‘covers’ of their own songs) and Neon Lights (covers of other people’s songs). I recommend a peg over the nose and/or ears.
By the same token: Duran Duran from Rio to their covers album, Thank You. I shudder to think of, let alone hear, their take on ‘911 Is A Joke’.
Had forgotten about Real Life. Travelling Man is indeed an excreble rehash of Waterfront and Ghostrider is a similarly empty vessel. Only song worth a listen is Rivers Of Ice which apparently they didn’t write. God how they missed Mick MacNeil. Still do.
That sounds so bad I’m going to have to listen to it!
ELP – Trilogy versus Love Beach (though I think ‘In the Hot Seat’ is even more of a stinker).
Yes – Relayer versus ‘heaven and earth’ (limbo, more like).
Alice Cooper – killer versus ‘lace and whiskey’.
I thought the worst Yes album was supposed to be “Union” – or “Onion” as Rick Wakeman calls it, because it always makes him cry….
It was: until “heaven and earth”.
Open Your Eyes was worserer. Wasn’t it?
Has there ever been a band that has only managed to release two albums. One a work of genius, the other a work of shite?
Pistols?
Possibly The Unbelievable Truth. The debut (Almost Here) is downbeat but wonderful and still gets a regular airing around here. The follow-up, (Sorrythankyou) while not exactly shite, sounds almost like another band, and not in a good way.
The High.
@moose-the-mooche
Are you referring to Hype which, as far as I know, never got released? I’d love to hear it….I believe they left baggydom behind and went a bit metal?
They did release a second album called More. It was “post-grunge”
*shudders*
Not being snarky here Moose but I thought More was an ep. I’m sure I’ve got it!
Is it? Only heard the main track. Ir appears on The Best of The High along with… er… the entire first album.
@moose-the-moose
Rather sadly I only went and ordered “Better left untold” which I think was their last ep before the still unreleased second album.
Three tracks, the first is something you might hear on a Rocky soundtrack, a sub-Survivor style rocker. Gulp. The second is a bizarre almost country-ish hoe down and the third is something that could easily fit on the debut album.
So evidence perhaps that the post-grunge effect was happening. I love all three tracks natch
⬆️
Apols for typo
@moose-the-mooche
Third sounds interesting. Are any of the early b-sides any good?
Third track on the ep is indeed pretty good. I’ve got a few of the early singles but don’t recall much about the b sides I’m afraid…half a memory of them being album tracks somehow. If I go up in to the attic any time soon I’ll check!
I remember being at one of Anthony H Wilson’s In the City gigs in the mid to late 90’s and the lead singer of the High had a new band. I’m sure they were called One Summer and remember them being very jangly (deffo not post grunge) but I can’t find any info on them and presume they didn’t amount to anything.
Edit ….ooh look
https://louderthanwar.com/one-summer-bigger-than-the-stone-roses/
@moose-the-mooche
Interesting. The above article has the lead singer saying they went down well at In the
City. I remember it differently with the lead singer getting frustrated at the lack of response.
Interesting article .
I was pretty astonished by “….massive success with The High”…. When did that happen?
And I was amused by the “twentieth anniversary of Vinyl Revival”… Retro is coming back etc.
However in terms of my original claim that The High did a second album, I think it’s fair to say that I have rarely stood more corrected 😉
PS presumably One Summer were named after the David Morrissey series about a pair of scallies…
@moose-the-mooche
Yup, interesting article if you’re into that thought of thing…which I was/am.
I presume the massive success was relative to bands like Paris Angels, Northside etc.But their debut album definitely still stands up as one of the best from those far off baggy days imho. In fact they weren’t really baggy were they…more classic jingle jangle rock than anything.
Still like to hear the unreleased album though even if it is, as we suspect, a clunker.
Northside got on the Chart Show…. they were stratospheric, dude!
At the time it seemed the perfect moment for a record like Somewhere Soon (ditto the first La’s album, which came out in the same month). Looking back, if either of those albums had come out in 1996 they’d have been at the top of the charts like Kula Shaker and Mansun.
Northside had a couple of half decent singles I guess but Chicken Rhythms wasn’t up to much. Good point about Kula Shaker etc though.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood?
Good call! Though I quite like Watching the Wildlife and Rage Hard.
I believe the standard reply here is The Stone Roses, and The Second Coming. Until that third album comes along. Of course TSC is not without its charms, but what a falling off was there.
And Yes Please from Pills N Thrills, a career killer, a record label killer. Again, the common reply is No Thankyou.
Given how awful “Beautiful Thing” and “All For One” were, I’d say a third Roses album is an utterly terrifying prospect.
If ‘Yes Please’ had been a huge hit it may have helped Factory but if you’re pinning financial survival on Happy Mondays you’re in deep shit already – and ‘Bummed’ is their masterpiece not ‘Pills N Thrills’ so they’d already peaked.
Age of Chance.
“One Thousand Years Of Trouble” is an thrillingly incendiary collision of massive beats, in-yer-face sloganeering and industrial noise.
“Mecca” is…not.
Mecca isn’t bad. It’s just a different group with old Foghorn Elvidge. Agree about 1000 Years though.
“Has there ever been a band that has only managed to release two albums. One a work of genius, the other a work of shite?”
Surprised to see no mention of the obvious. The Second Coming isn’t shite I suppose. ‘Tis though. I never bother playing it. There’s only one track I like and I can’t remember what that’s called. The debut is one of the most magical, perfect albums I’ve ever heard.
This is the second coming of the Second Coming. The debut is five posts that way⬆️
You’re not wrong, by Jove! I’m off to get my eyes tested.
The Band
Big Pink and the second album good. Islands not so much.
Some of The Band stuff got a bit samey but did they release a complete duffer – nah.
My older sister left Cahoots behind when she moved out. Me and my brother would occasionally give it a spin just to make sure it really was as awful as we remembered it. It was, and then some. However, not having bothered with listening to it since my teenage years, perhaps I’d miraculously love it if I heard it today.
I very much doubt it, but you never know. Well, I’ll never know, because I really don’t want to listen to that album ever again!
Cahoots is their worst proper album (not counting Islands and the ones without Robbie). Great EP in there though.
Life Is A Carnival, When I Paint My Materpiece and The River Hymn. Possibly 4% Pantomime too.
I have to say, “Life Is A Carnival” was the one I hated the most! Don’t remember the others really…but I must have blocked them from my memory for a good reason!
Ah, but Allen Toussaint’s horn arrangement is a thing of wonder.
Roy Wood. Boulders is a gem of one-man-in-the-studio pop whimsey. 1987’s Starting Up just sounds unlistenable dated and shrill.
From a wider point of view, Roy had a stellar ten years 66-76, in four different bands/guises and then… virtually nothing. No new music in thirty years. How does that happen?
Er – because he’s a talentless whining Brummie panto act?
I’ve reviewed the footage with the referees and I’m giving you a yellow card.
Roy is the anti-Syd Barrett. Staring each other down across the liquid light show at the UFO Club, The Floyd went one way and The Move went another. The former tried to capture the id in musical form, the latter took up residence in a pop mine, and tried to hewn as many tuneful nuggets as possible. It was quite a run: Fire Brigade, Flowers in the Rain, Blackberry Way. When they left their bands, Syd withdrew under the supervsion of his management and former band mates, while Roy thought himself the cello and bagpipes. Both of them probably made their decision based on the sheer silliness and futility of life. Syd achieved Syd-ness, Roy wrote a Christmas standard.
He’s a good man, Roy Wood.
His Christmas standard has kept him comfortable for years. I know someone who drummed in various live incarnations of his band and you are right @DrJ he is a good man.
For his Christmas singles alone he deserves nothing less than a public flogging. “Good man” or not, his crimes against culture and taste have for too long gone unpunished. It is saddening to see him championed on a public forum such as the Afterword, when so much damning evidence – everything he recorded – is “hiding in plain sight”. Panto-rock was a blight on the UK’s proud tradition of popular entertainment, and Roy Wood, along with Gary Glitter, was one of its leaders. He must be made accountable.
Hope this doesn’t lead you to retract. Everything you say above is 100% correct
Roy Wood >>> Ron Wood.
CHOOSE A SIDE PEOPLE!
Roy Wood -> Roy Walker
Roy Wood -> Roy Cropper
Roy Wood -> Edward Woodwoodwoodwood
Roy Wood’s had the goods.
(but as pointed out, seemed to lose them around 1976)
Not championing him at all. Not interested in his music. Merely said he was a good man. Have met him a couple of times – there are worse people out there.
Bon Iver? Depending on viewpoint, whiny voiced cabin fevered self-pity to vocoded bleep ‘n’ booster garbage. Your choice as to which is the high water mark.
Mark Radcliffe played John Martyn’s ‘small hours’ on 6music this afternoon. I’d never heard it before, but I instantly understood exactly what Bon Iver was listening to before his first two albums. Uncanny.
Fleet Foxes too – came out same time and same shite. Also spawned Father John Misty who is a crime against humanity.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Worst – Mardi Gras
Best – All the other ones
Yes that was my first thought too
I’d say there’s probably a pretty big gap between the best Rod Stewart album (“Every Picture Tells a Story”, maybe?) and the worst one. Goodness knows which that is. “Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Vol. III”, possibly? I’m just guessing. Perhaps one of the Afterword Rod experts could help us out here by naming Sir Roderick’s biggest stinker….
We walked around an Antique Centre in Brackley to the sphincter tighting sounds of one of Rod’s songbook albums. Though to call them songs does them a massive favour.
Quite like that antique centre, but if they’re gonna play that sort of thing I may give it the swerve in future.
Like many of the Great Artistes mentioned in this thread, there’s a choice of Classic Rock Iconic Classic Albums and Utter Shite at each end of the Stewart spectrum. Take your pick.
Pixies are probably right up there.
The gap between “Surfer Rosa” (or “Doolittle” if you prefer) and “Indie Cindy” is enormous.
Also the Jesus and Mary Chain, “Munki” is a long way away from “Psychocandy” / “Darklands”.
The journey direction always seems to be Classic to Crap: any examples of the reverse?
Crap is probably pushing it, but you could make a convincing case for “Leisure” being the worst Blur album by some distance.
Re: “any examples of the reverse”?
Genesis’s debut album “From Genesis to Revelation” has never been a favourite among either fans or the band themselves. So I suppose we might count that as ‘crap’, while several albums might vie for the title of ‘classic’. Foxtrot, Selling England, The Lamb Lies Down. You know … the usual suspects.
Crap to Classic
“Crap” is subjective, but the hippy-dippy Tolkin-esque nonsesne of My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair… But Now They’re Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows to Electric Warrior in 3 years.
(OK, not technically the same band, but the theory holds)
Some would argue that after The Slider, Bolan and T.Rex began the slide back down.
Except … Futuristic Dragon is a very good album, and Dandy In The Underworld ain’t that bad at all.
Don’t agree at all, obviously.
“Electric Warrior” is the start of rock just being, well, rock … Ker-ching … and the most conservative music there is, increasingly managed by thugs like Grant and Klein.
Furthermore, Bolan’s beauty and, more importantly, likeability definitely took a dive in the same period.
Radiohead made their worst album first, but then arguably their best next.
The Human League. Yes, I know they weren’t really the same band, but Reproduction (crap), Travelogue (better), Dare (brilliant). The rest would make a good compilation at best.
Classic to crap again.
Propaganda.
A Secret Wish. Immense
1234. Blandblandblandblandbland.
I agree. There was absolutely nothing of any merit on the second album. The first still bears up really well. I seem to recall different female singers on the second album but there must’ve been more to it than that.
Status Quo – “Hello” has Caroline on it, “Don’t Stop” has a cover of The Safety Dance on it.
“You know, that dance wasn’t as safe as everyone said it was”
and the worst thing ever put on record “Fun Fun Fun”
Is it time for me to mention Boz Scaggs again? Great bluesman to awful disco man to, um, great bluesman.
I fart in your general direction.
*bends over and points in same direction*
We should go round retro’s place and pants him.
First of all, I can’t hear you; however much you believe your southern hemisphere flatus can brave all those latitudes, I can but despair your laundry as you try, even with your respective indigenous diets of noodles and Coopers ale.
(Is it any wonder you want my pants, yours must be shocking!)
See that Retropath guy – he speaketh the truth (and HP and Junior have just pressed the button marked “Hell, burn burn yes it’s hot burn”)
AC/D.C..
From Highway to Hell to Fly on the Wall via Back in Black.
A rather obvious example, but still…
Elvis Presley
Classic – any one of the collections of Sun Sessions material
Crap – “Having Fun With Elvis On Stage”
Not so obvious, because if we rule out Sun Sessions on the grounds that it’s “not really an Elvis album”, what takes its place at the genius end? The first album? The Memphis Record? If ever there was a genius-level artist who never made an entire album worthy of his genius, it’s Elvis.
Re: … “we rule out Sun Sessions on the grounds that it’s ‘not really an Elvis album’,”
You are of course correct.
I was sort of hoping that no one would point that out….
So what would you consider his Magnum Opus, duco, album-wise?
I’ll ask you to Reconsider Baby. Elvis Is Back! is a superb album.
https://youtu.be/Wls628UmVGM
Add to that two wonderful Gospel albums (His Hand In Mine & How Great Thou Art), one of the best Christmas albums ever, an awesome Country album and the beautifully soulful From Elvis In Memphis, not to mention a soundtrack and a live classic (The Comeback and Elvis In Person at The International Hotel). All that rejects anything with a Sun Records cut on it, which is harsh on Elvis Presley (the London Calling one).
Elvis Is Back is a contender. Uh-huh-uh-huh.
Hua first two proper albums are fookin boss. Especially London Calling.
Nice of me to start that post with my Elvis impression I think.
Thengyewvermuch.
Disliked Elvis right from the start cos my big brother loved him. Apart from a couple of stonking singles my dislike remains to this day. And Elvis Is Back is awful, truly awful. My prejudices are ingrained, lasting and completely Right.
Elvis Is Back is a very, very good album. One of his best, if you can stomach the crooning (I can). But it’s nothing like the brilliance of those original Sun recordings, which seem to come from a different planet, like a mutant yet organic strain of jazz (cue Moose hurr). “Is Back” is not up there with his first two, either. And tig’s other choices are merely fan batter.
Fan batter is the likes of Girls! Girls! Girls! How many bobby soxxers swooned to How Great Thou Art?
Well, you, for one.
Hey Neela – did you get your hamper yet?
Funny you should mention that – the postman is getting rather tired of my sad little face…
@h-p-saucecraft My hamper?
The Velvet Underground Lou Reed albums, the Lou Reed-less Squeeze.
Doesn’t count really, as it is also John Cale-less, Sterling Morrison-less, Nico-less and Mo Tucker-less.
And there was silly old me trying to work out how a John Cale production could be construed as a VU album………
True and you could add good song-less
Blondie.
Parallel Lines to The Hunter.
That’s a good call.
Also Songs of Leonard Cohen to Death of a ladies man.
Don’t go home with your Afterword t-shirt on.
Chic – from the heights of “Risqué” to the depths of “Real People” and “Take it off” in the space of a year or two. Fair play to Nile Rodgers though, he was spreading himself very thinly at the time – producing Diana Ross, possibly Sister Sledge – may be even Blondie – at the same time.
To the heights of now, OK, so far and seemingly a live project only, an effortless tribute band to himself, NR, and anything he has ever touched.
Just remembered a good one – Haircut One Hundred.
Pelican West (1982) – a triffic platter, full of fresh, happy hits – spent most of the year high in the charts.
Paint and Paint (1984) – less than triffic* – no hits and very little (if any) presence in the LP charts.
*I am assuming this because I have never heard it.