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Biggest quality gap between best and worst album

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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. 😉

Ending the Relationship

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While clearing my garage the other day I came upon an old issue of Mojo with a cover story on REM. It was a 2003 issue and the band were deep into recording what was to become Around the Sun. They talked about the difficulty of recording after Bill Berry left and their hopes for the future.

At that stage they had plenty of songs (as usual) and they were trying to “keep things loose.” Around the Sun came out and I hated it. It was the kind of dislike that actually made me doubt the band and my enjoyment of their music prior to Around the Sun. It broke our relationship and I had only regrets.

I had a slightly similar experience with Van Morrison with his sequence of 90’s albums. I stopped being interested in anything he did and even the albums I liked had the whiff of his misanthropy. I distrusted him.

I’m wondering what album has broken your relationship? Bowie’s ‘Tonight’ perhaps? Joni Mitchell’s Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm? Street Legal?

Please explain why the relationship was broken. This can be a community of healing, too. Undoubtedly, some kindly folk will attempt to mend the relationship, » Continue Reading.