You know....bands that are oft mentioned and highly revered in many a quarter...but do nothing for you. Does it bug or worry you? No...but every now and again you question your judgement and give it another shot...Was I in a bad mood? Distracted? Unwell? Uncharitable? All of the preceding? This is not an attack on a particular band,it just happens that I own three albums by The Alan Parsons Project,and despite another attempt to appreciate what is contained within I failed miserably again. I employ a broad church when it comes to genres..if it moves you go with it is my mantra...but nothing moved for me with regard to T.A.P.P. At all.
Which APP albums, as a matter of interest? I think their albums got more ordinary and less interesting as time went on.
I don't have an answer for you but I am curious why you have releases in the first place if you've never cared for them. Did you buy them with the hope of the music eventually growing on you?
I keep going back to Zappa. I don’t care for the comedy stuff but I’m warming to the more instrumental ex sleep dirt. Still not totally into it. Bugs me since so many love him.
I have "Tales of Mystery and Imagination",and a "Direct Metal Mastering"(whatever that is) copy of "Ammonia Avenue. I bought them pre-owned, because they are often mentioned and I had never knowingly heard anything by the band in question.
In the case of Alan Parsons Project, I would say, sell them (or don't ) and move on. IMO there isn't much "there" there. Certainly nothing that should make you feel like you "should" like them if you've already checked them out and haven't dug them. For the guy who likes Zappa's playing but not his comedy routines, I feel you! It's a cliche, but check out Shut up & Play Your Guitar. 3 LPs of nothing but guitar solos, and one of my favorite Frank albums.
Have you listened to "Old and Wise" off Eye In The Sky? If that doesn't move you, Alan Parsons Project is probably not for you. I really like the whole album.
The only APP that I considered essential for me were the first two. Since you have tried Tales, have a listen to I Robot; if that does nothing for you, they are probably not your band.
I'm open to all sorts of music and refuse to pass judgment on those with different tastes than I do. To each his own, I say. OK, OK, unless its the Dave Matthews Band. I don't get it. Keeps me up at night.
I heard The Raven on the radio and bought the first album. I liked I Robot but I was off the bus by the third one. As far as Zappa goes, I need the humor to go along with the music. I grew up with it in the age of Dr. Demento. I get why someone might find it annoying now. Different strokes. I don't get a lot of things.
Yeah, I always scratch my head when I read something like this. If I don't like something, I'm not going to acquire a second one. And a third? No way.
Tell ya what, I'm really impressed that you would go through the whole catalog before throwing in the towel. Can't say you didn't give it a fair shot.
I have the APP catalogue on Arista on vinyl in a brown box that I think was a promo. As I recall, I bought it because I used to be a Beatles collector, and it has a few Beatles tracks on a sampler that was included with the box. I listened to them once and enjoyed them, but never really went back. I did like the opening of Eye in the Sky, though. I would crank it up, and shout at the top of my lungs “And now . . . the starting lineup for your world champion Chicago Bulls!”
General comment on the subject....doesn't really bother me. I learned a long time ago that tastes are just different sometimes. And plus there's so much music out there that there's plenty of other fish in the sea to explore. As for owning albums I cannot get into, I'd probably just sell them off assuming you've been trying for months. Or years.
U2. I own almost all of their albums on CD, but yet I can't get into them. I try every other year or so to go back and listen to see if my tastes have changed, but they haven't. I like some of the singles they've released, but not much beyond that. I got most of the CDs at Goodwill over the years. The only one I ever actually purchased was Rattle and Hum and I got it back in high school from Columbia House. Maybe someday I will finally see the light.
Hey, if you are a lifelong music fan, always hungry, always searching, eventually you will come around to stuff you initially dismissed or have unsuccessfully tried to get into. Don't try too hard, it's meant to be enjoyable, context will change, a different format will reveal something, a friend, a stranger, a moment, a remembrance, a snippet heard passing, all can trigger, reveal or open, until then it ain't time, and it may never be time, move on to something else you enjoy.