Critics be damned!!! I love the album anyway...*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by markl, Jun 2, 2004.

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  1. The Revealer

    The Revealer Forum Status: Paused Indefinitely

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    Your attitude of 'one way is the right way' should serve as a cautionary tale.

    I said that "recorded music need not be assessed." I didn't say shouldn't or that I don't. Assessment is an innate human thought process. The truly enlightened (think Guru if you will) learn to quiet their assessment/judgement processes in order to see reality as unadorned by pettiness as possible. Take a lesson.

    I stand by my conclusion that if you like it, listen to it. If not, don't.

    On Topic: Lord Sutch, Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends
     
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2018
  2. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    [​IMG]

    I saw Springsteen in an outdoor stadium once. He had the crowd so excited they were stomping their feet and cheering and clapping. Nothing unusal about that, but imagine 70,000 people stomping their feet in unison. The concrete was swaying so hard I thought the stadium was going to fall down around our ears. I think of that day when I listen to WRECKING BALL. This album is a foot-stomping hip-shaking earth-moving rocker. The songwriting is beautiful and spirited, the sentiment is passionate and noble, the themes are bloody and desperately fought, the music is inventive and acutely melodious, the rhythm section sweep down like a fleet of helicopters firing machine guns, and Springsteen's vocals are like the declarations of God. True, there's three, maybe four oddities about the album, but some people make too much out of them. They're a minor thing underneath the overall.

    You don't have to crank the volume up until the walls vibrate to feel the energy here, but it helps. The sound is big enough to fill the air across a vast distance. WRECKING BALL is as big as all outdoors. It rocks. It rolls. It slams. It kicks ass. Then it comes around again to slap you out of your complacency.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 16, 2018
  3. PhilipB

    PhilipB Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    It's also got that mid-90s problem of being too long, trying to fill up the whole CD. I personally don't like 'Fade Away', 'Top Man', 'Mr. Robinson's Quango', 'Globe Alone', and 'Entertain Me', with a few of those sounding like filler to me (not awful, just boring to sit through).

    But I do think overall it's a great album. 'Country House' and 'Charmless Man' are still incredibly catchy, and it has 'The Universal' on it so you can't write it off completely.
     
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  4. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident

    The idea that anyone could lambast this album beggars belief for me. If Oldfield in general isn't for you, fair enough, but if you dig what he does, this is about as prime a slice as you can get. Considering the critics ate up Tubular Bells, giving Hergest Ridge a pass is mind boggling...


    I'd definitely say that Ian Anderson nailed this sound better in the solo album that preceded Under Wraps, by title of Walk Into Light, but at the same time, UW does not deserve its reputation. Plenty of good songs on this one.
     
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  5. Pancat

    Pancat Senior Member

    Location:
    Merry England
    Regarding Oldfield, I think it was a case of the typical fickleness of UK music critics who were always ready to pull down yesterday's heroes. They had lauded his debut to the heavens but were probably pissed that it became so popular and, therefore, "uncool" . Add to the mix Mike's reluctance to play ball with said journalists and he was ripe for a slating as far as the UK music press was concerned.
     
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  6. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
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  7. Overthehillsandfaraway

    Overthehillsandfaraway Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I love that album. I still play it but haven't done likewise for the overhyped What's The Story... for years.

    I agree there's some filler, but Parklife wasn't blameless in that respect (Far Out, the Debt Collector). I still love Globe Alone...He Thought of Cars...and Ken Livingstone's nasal delivery on Ernold Same. Even if the "shouting drunk" intro is a rip off of Madness' "In the Middle of the Night" :winkgrin:

    The review in Q said "on the evidence of the two records, Blur are better". With hindsight, absolutely right.
     
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  8. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    Neil Young - Landing on Water
    Metallica - St. Anger
    Joe Pesci - Vincent Laguardia Gambini Sings Just For You
    KISS - Music from The Elder
    The Beach Boys - M.I.U.
    Mike Love - Unleash The Love
    Captain Beefheart - Blue Jeans and Moonbeams
    Neil Young - Fork in the Road
    Neil Young - Trans
    U2- Pop (the only album of theirs I like)
    Elvis Presley - Harum Scarum
    Pink Floyd - The Final Cut
    Elton John - Blue Moves
    Billy Joel - Streetlife Serenade
     
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  9. Mike Reynolds

    Mike Reynolds Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I don't know if these albums were lambasted by music critics, but I remember the general consensus with radio DJ's and/or music fans wasn't all that positive. But I liked them.

    Bachman-Turner Overdrive -- Four Wheel Drive

    Black Sabbath -- Never Say Die

    Aerosmith -- Done With Mirrors

    Metallica -- Load

    I'll add The Stones' Their Satanic Majesties Request, but that's only more recent for me due to an alternative and resequenced track listing. I always thought the album version was "just ok".
     
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2018
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  10. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    I love All Shook Down!
    Those two Ramones records also!
     
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  11. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Im fond of it also. Mind sharing what it is that you like about it?
     
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  12. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    I dig it too!
     
    Crimson jon likes this.
  13. Brother Maynard

    Brother Maynard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Wings - Back to the Egg
     
  14. classicrockguy

    classicrockguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Livingston NJ
    I read a lot of old record reviews, especially RS and Stereo Review. Some absolutely wonderful albums that were slaughtered by the critics,

    Especially Moby Grape's 2nd album "Wow", which Rolling Stone called the worst 2nd album they had ever heard (!!). Not only is it not terrible, it is a really great album (well, the non-Jam section anyway)

    Stephen Stills first S/T album
    James Taylor, "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon"
    Beatles, "Magical Mystery Tour" didn't get any good reviews at the time
    Beach Boys, "Smiley Smile", "Carl and the Passions So Tough"
    Rolling Stones, "Exile on Main St." (my favorite Stones album, their most rocking album ever in my opinion)
    CSNY, "Deja Vu"
    Any 70's album from Barry Manilow, especially his 2nd album "Barry Manilow II"

    From the 80's, U2, "the Unforgettable Fire"
    Til Tuesday "Voices Carry" album was criticized by SR for having flat, thin vocals, just listen to this soaring performance by Aimee Mann and see if you disagree,
     
  15. classicrockguy

    classicrockguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Livingston NJ
    :biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh:
     
  16. Schmidlapper

    Schmidlapper Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Little Feat, Down on the Farm is often poo pooed, but I like it a lot.
     
  17. PhilipB

    PhilipB Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Oh I'm definitely not saying Parklife is perfect! It suffers from the same thing of being too long and has some throwaways.

    The problem with me saying "oh, it would have been better if it didn't have these songs" as your post shows is that the songs I don't care for someone else will love. So you can't really change it after all these years, you just have to put up with it being uneven. At least we can all create our own playlists now!
     
  18. Jay_Z

    Jay_Z Forum Resident


    I like this album a lot, but was it lambasted? I'm in the State, GE were a minor factor here of course. Looking at RateYourMusic, it gets decent reviews compared to other albums by GE. Some Who influence on this one!
     
  19. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    There are a bunch of albums in this thread that weren't actually "critically lambasted".

    I honestly don't think any Gabriel albums were "critically lambasted". As you noted, "Up" was received with some mild disappointment given how long it took to arrive, but it wasn't "lambasted".

    Wiki claims "Up" got "generally favorable" reviews, and that gibes with my memories...
     
  20. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I think many - most? - of the posts here look at albums through a retrospective lens. A lot of these albums got good reviews when released but have been seen less charitably as the years passed.

    One that actually qualifies:

    McCartney: "Ram".

    That album got generally poor reviews in 1971 - it's only been viewed as a classic as the years have passed...
     
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  21. bataclan2002

    bataclan2002 All You Need Is Now.

    +1
     
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  22. jasn

    jasn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Outer-Cape, MA
    I was going by (incorrect) the Allmusic review JZ. It's not kind...

    Allmusic review of "To the Hilt"
     
  23. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Lou Reed - Sally Can't Dance. Fantastic funky, sleazy NYC rock.
     
  24. Price.pittsburgh

    Price.pittsburgh Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    Laugh if you will.
    But I was 12 and the nostalgia is strong.
     
  25. dbsea

    dbsea Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I love this album, particularly Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast. I was honestly surprised to discover via the internet that it had a poor reputation.
     
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