Albums that became heralded as masterpieces years after release

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by BryanA-HTX, Mar 17, 2017.

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  1. timind

    timind phorum rezident

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    I was in Thailand when this was released so I don't recall the reaction to it. While there though, I didn't know anyone who liked it or owned it. This is one of those albums I had to listen to numerous times to appreciate it. I still see it as Springteen's masterpiece.
     
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  2. ponkine

    ponkine Senior Member

    Location:
    Villarrica, Chile
    This!

    We have a winner

    Prior the 'Searching for Sugar Man' film, most people around the world (except South Africa, Australia and New Zeland) haven't even heard about Rodriguez, let alone this masterpiece

    :wave:
     
  3. notesofachord

    notesofachord Riding down the river in an old canoe

    Location:
    Mojave Desert
    In the US, The Beach Boys from 1967 to 1971 were about as hip as your mother's formal dress. They were just a silly vocal-harmony pop group for 14-year-olds. Now, that period, from Pet Sounds to Surf's Up, is considered possibly their most deep and rewarding.
    It seems like they knew what was up in the UK though.
     
  4. Not at all an insane demand when knowing it can in no way be accomplished. It's not "insane" to set one's opponent up for utter failure.
    Works quite well actually & a successful strategy is not associated w/insanity.
    ;)
    Was quite shocked to find "NMTB, HTSP" when researching my choices. Especially from a English rag:
    When Critics Get It Wrong - Classic albums that were initially slated - NME

    Knew the album was well thought of at the time by the cutting edge on both sides of 'The Pond'. Tho remember it more as a 'breakthrough' [or even 'breakdown' ha, ha!!] album, then "masterpiece".

    Wish i had access to "Zig Zag", "Melody Maker" & "Creem" w/other mags '77 reviews!
    "RS" did a fairly good job, IMO, in '78:
    Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols
    If you & no one else agrees w/NME, no problem here.

    As stated before, thought it was one of 'my musical masterpieces' from the get go.
    Just does "Critical Acclaim" or being a "Classic" make a "Masterpiece"?
    Would think so.
    Some are struggling w/that here tho.
    :cheers:
     
  5. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    But they didn't write for all those magazines did they? And anyway, who cares? It doesn't matter what a few people think; you have to have a large enough sample size. And from the get-go, that album did not. In the 1990s it was rediscovered. You may not have known that. Rolling Stone gave the first album a five star review upon its re-release.

    That is when these records took off in popularity. They were nobody's masterpieces in the 1970s… Not even close. Those of us who were there know this.

    Your argument doesn't hold any water. Yeah, and I saw the documentary too. Yeah they liked the band, but to say that at the time Big Star had acknowledged masterpiece recordings is far too much of a stretch for most of us to accept.
     
  6. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Locust Abortion Technician
     
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  7. wildstar

    wildstar Senior Member

    Location:
    ontario, canada
    So in your opinion, blatant dishonesty (that you just admitted to) as well as arguing from a logical fallacy (which you also just admitted to) aren't insane?

    Heck - maybe you're right - not all criminals are insane after all - but whether they're insane or not they're still criminals. It doesn't matter whether their dishonesty stems from insanity, malice or stupidity - the end result is the same regardless of what their underlying motivation/justification/rationalization is for their behavior..
     
  8. Summer of Malcontent

    Summer of Malcontent Forum Resident

    You misread my post. I didn't say it was an "insane" demand, but an inane one.
     
  9. wildstar

    wildstar Senior Member

    Location:
    ontario, canada
    NOPE - Rolling Stone gave Third a five star review on its re-release on CD in IIRC 1992). That glowing review is what prompted my blindly buying it - as a special order - which took a couple months to arrive (and finding myself absolutely agreeing with that review). The same article (also reviewing 2 other Big Star and related releases - neither of which were the first or second albums) gave one a four star review and the other a three and a half star review. IIRC I'm pretty sure "Big Star Live" got the four star review, and Chris Bell's "I Am The Cosmos" got the three and a half star review (but it may have been the other way around)

    What did Rolling Stone give the first Big Star album CD re-release (I'm assuming you mean around the same time as the above reviews I mentioned (circa 1992) - Well none actually. They didnt review Big Star's first OR second album on CD. They reviewed a "2 on 1" CD containing both albums. That CD received a four star rating IIRC.

    Anyway - to get back on track - CRITICALLY (which is the point of this thread - is it not?) they were highly praised upon release. So unless you yourself were a rock critic back then, or can post some (or at least one) bad review their albums received upon original release....
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2017
  10. Brian Kelly

    Brian Kelly 1964-73 rock's best decade

    Anything by Nick Drake
     
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  11. hello people

    hello people Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    If You're Feeling Sinister has gotten more and more renowned maybe. Even Tigermilk...if you're thinking Belle & Sebastian.
     
  12. Platterpus

    Platterpus Senior Member

    I don't know about being heralded as masterpieces but the albums listed below have become cult classics at least since the 1980s and their influence on krautrock is legendary:

    The Red Crayola - The Parable of Arable Land
    The Monks - Black Monk Time
    Silver Apples - Silver Apples + Contact
     
  13. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Look, I never said they weren't praised critically upon original release. My contention is that no one at the time considered their albums masterpieces...not until later. No one really knew who they were back in the day. Especially in Canada of all places!

    And "critically" is not the point of this thread. I don't need a critic to tell me if something is a masterpiece. Our collective right here can't tell if something is a masterpiece or not, or at least make a contention.

    I think you are out on a limb on this one. But there is one way to decide which of us is correct about all this: why don't you start a thread with a poll asking if Big Star albums were considered masterpieces upon initial release or was it later.

    My opinion: your argument will get excoriated. Especially by those of us who were around when this group released their recordings, and didn't know who they were.
     
  14. wildstar

    wildstar Senior Member

    Location:
    ontario, canada
    OK - so then why are you complaining if you agree with me?
     
  15. The Elephant Man

    The Elephant Man Forum Resident

    The Shaggs - 'Philosophy Of The World'
     
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  16. jimmydean

    jimmydean Senior Member

    Location:
    Vienna, Austria
    frank zappa had seen the merits of this record very early ("better than the beatles")
     
  17. The Elephant Man

    The Elephant Man Forum Resident

    True. He did. But most of the albums disappeared soon after being pressed in '69. It wasn't until Terry Adams released it in 1980 that the rest of the world could hear the brilliance that Zappa was talking about.
     
  18. BryanA-HTX

    BryanA-HTX Crazy Doctor Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Yeah but "a year or two" for an unproven band with zero track record is an eternity.
     
  19. videoman

    videoman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lake Tahoe, NV
    I remember Caribou getting a 4-star (or maybe it was even 5?) review from Rolling Stone at the time of its release. I remember because even as a young kid who was a huge Elton fan I felt let down by the album after GYBR. I don't remember what the reviews for GYBR or Captain Fantastic were like at the time, but they were such huge sellers that it didn't matter.

    It doesn't really make much sense to talk about really popular albums that were not well-liked at the time only to be seen as "masterpieces" later. For one, really popular albums by really popular artists almost ALWAYS get slagged at the time of their release regardless of how good they actually might be. And most really popular albums tend to be looked upon favorably years later.

    Seems to me this thread topic is best meant for the "Pet Sounds" type albums that were fairly ignored at the time but went on to be re-appreciated later.
     
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  20. videoman

    videoman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lake Tahoe, NV
    The critics seemed to be pretty hot on it at the time.
     
  21. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    This.
     
  22. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    I seem to remember when Captain Fantastic came out it got the feature review in RS but the next album reviewed was Born to Run which basically took the wind out of Elton's sails.
     
  23. snowman872

    snowman872 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wilcox, AZ
    Well, you might want to refresh your memory on that point. :)

    The review is much worse that I remember. Elton and crew is really raked through the coals, excessively so in my opinion. "The Bitch is Back" - "lacks reach punch." "Pinky" is a "ungainly tune" with a "jerky syncopated melody. "Ticking" is described as simpleminded "centerpiece fiasco" For unknown reasons, Tom Nolan skips over "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" entirely. That's just a small sampling of the hit piece.

    Caribou Review on Rolling Stone
     
  24. videoman

    videoman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lake Tahoe, NV
    Born to Run took the wind out of Elton's sails? How so?
     
  25. videoman

    videoman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lake Tahoe, NV
    Yeah, that's not the review I remember at all. Perhaps it was a different mag? My recollection is also one of being surprised when I saw it had been reduced (my recollection) to a two-star review in a later book of reviews from RS.

    Memories are fickle things sometimes. Then again, I'm not putting it past RS to rewrite these things as time goes on either....
     
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