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July 13th, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Fascinating Failures: Great Artists, Bad Albums
The most difficult part of music making is consistency. Writers block, record company problems, band dissolutions and many other factors can make or break a record. It’s a tribute to the artists who have stood the test of time that their successes far outweigh their failures. But sometimes the failure will be so extraordinary or unexpected that even the most ardent fan can be excused for wanting to forget about a record. Here are 10 great artists and their biggest duds. We’re just having fun, here, so take it easy. We all make mistakes. Right?
1. Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music (1975)
In one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most hedonistic efforts, Lou Reed released this double LP of guitar noise and feedback that few had the patience or will to sit through. Imagine more than one hour of guitar grinding and sonic manipulation devoid of form or melody and you’ll get close to MMM. Fortunately, Reed would leave his avant-garde wonderings behind and get back to business with the superb follow-up, Coney Island Baby.
2. Neil Young & The Shocking Pinks – Everybody’s Rockin’ (1983)
In the early 1980s, Neil Young was music’s ultimate chameleon. He jumped from computer-laden techno to country music, much to the bewilderment of his fans and record label. He was eventually sued by Geffen Records for producing records that were not marketable. Ever the explorer, Young couldn’t care less, but this period of his career left a lot of fans wondering what happened to the artist who wrote Rust Never Sleeps just four years before. Everybody’s Rockin’ was Neil’s ill-advised venture into rockabilly. It isn’t bad rockabilly, per se, it’s just not an album that should bear Young’s name.
3. Elton John – Victim Of Love (1979)
Elton John could seemingly do no wrong in the early 1970s, reeling off one classic album after another. By the end of the decade, though, he hit the brakes and skidded hard off the road with the lifeless Victim Of Love. This disco-ish collaboration between John and producer Pete Bellotte should have every Elton fan screaming, “Where’s Bernie Taupin?!” Among the lows, this lifeless record contains a miraculously bad cover of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” Listen at your own peril.
4. Kiss – Music From “The Elder” (1981)
Kiss’ reunited on “The Elder” with famed producer Bob Ezrin in a hopeful attempt to recapture the magic from earlier records such as Destroyer. Instead of getting back to basic rock ‘n’ roll, Kiss went for a full-blown concept album that had more in common with Broadway than “Detroit Rock City.” The overblown production runs amok, particularly on tunes such as “Odyssey.” Granted, we hear a very different side of Paul Stanley as singer, but such efforts are better saved for solo projects. Aside from Ace Frehley’s “Dark Light,” the record comes off more like a soundtrack for a C-grade movie than a real Kiss album. Frehley would soon depart and Vinnie Vincent would come aboard, giving Gene Simmons and Stanley a much-needed kick in the ass, bringing them back with 1982’s hard-hitting Creatures Of The Night.
5. Emerson Lake & Palmer – Love Beach (1978)
ELP recorded Love Beach to fulfill their record contract, and it sounds like it, but it sure doesn’t sound like ELP. The title track is a barely passable piece of synth pop that actually stands out compared to “The Gambler,” a failed update on “Benny The Bouncer.” Skip this beach and go back to the operating room for Brain Salad Surgery.
6. The Cars – Door To Door (1987)
After the stunning success of 1984’s Heartbeat City, The Cars limped out of the gates with their final record, Door To Door. The magic was clearly gone, and the band would call it quits the next year. Hard to tell if songs such as “Fine Line” is The Cars or Peabo Bryson.
7. Bob Dylan – Dylan (1973)
When one of music’s most covered artists releases an album of primarily covers, you know something’s up. To Dylan’s credit, he didn’t want this collection of out-takes from Self Portrait to be published. Listen to him butcher “Mr. Bojangles,” and you’ll understand why.
8. Jethro Tull – Under Wraps (1984)
Who would have thought the band that released the warm folk-rock classics Heavy Horses and Songs From The Wood, would issue such a cold, clinical expose as Under Wraps. Ian Anderson’s pastoral approach gave way to synthesizers and drum programs for the band’s most uncharacteristic and failed record. Icy.
9. Beach Boys - L.A. (Light Album) (1979)
The Beach Boys muddled through the 1970s, with a series of back-and-forth efforts, from the great: Sunflower, Surf’s Up and Love You; to the modest: 15 Big Ones; to the embarrassing: M.I.U. Album and L.A. If the cloying saccharine vibe of “Match Point Of Our Love” doesn’t make you cringe, nothing will.
10. The Allman Brothers Band – Brothers Of The Road (1981)
It’s not that the “songs” on Brothers Of The Road are bad, it’s the production that kills the music. Imagine the aural equivalent of a tanning bed, and that’s how Brothers comes across. Gone are Gregg Allman’s soulful organ vamps and Dickey Betts’ guitar wanderings, replaced by glossy synths and a fern-bar vibe that make this the best album Pablo Cruise never recorded. I’d love to give the current Allmans a chance to remake “Straight From The Heart.” It could be killer.
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July 13th, 2009 at 12:35 PM { # }
I might be the only person in the world who enjoys “Metal Machine Music.” However, I could do without the Velvet Underground’s “Squeeze.”
I might add a few more as I think of ‘em, but a good topic!
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July 13th, 2009 at 12:35 PM { # }
The Clash and Sabbath both had some serious clunkers (the latter mostly due to Dio or other following vocalists). The last few Cure albums, the last few U2 albums, etc. Bowie’s “Tonight” and the second Stone Roses album stick out as well.
Then there’s Prince, but he’s awfully spotty to begin with.
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July 13th, 2009 at 12:35 PM { # }
Let’s add The Prodigy’s Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned to represent the electronic side of things. Liam Howlett produced the album without Keith Flint and Maxim Reality (they were apparently at odds with each other), and it was an awful follow-up to The Fat of the Land.
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July 13th, 2009 at 12:35 PM { # }
I’ll add one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time to the list, Faith No More. I just can’t get behind King For a Day, Fool For a Lifetime. Although, I have been meaning to give it a second shot with a fresh listen soon.
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July 13th, 2009 at 12:35 PM { # }
You guys need to read the Advanced Theory blog more…http://advancedtheory.blogspot.com/
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July 13th, 2009 at 12:35 PM { # }
How about everything the Stones have recorded since Exile on Main Street?
Also, Frank: you’re wrong. There’s no such thing as a bad Clash album (except MAYBE Cut The Crap, which for all intents and purposes was a Joe Strummer solo effort, and still included the excellent “This Is England”). The “bad” ones only seem bad because they have 7 or 8 inane or self-indulgent songs interspersed with 3 or 4 classics. But how many bands can even muster 3 enduring songs per album, every album, for a decade? Other than The Beatles, I can’t really name one.
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July 13th, 2009 at 12:35 PM { # }
EJ- I am mostly referring to Cut the Crap, but I can’t get down with Sandinista, either. I do love “The Magnificent Seven,” but that begins and ends my liking of that record. London Calling, though I love a lot of it, I just find to be bloated and over-rated. I can’t hate on Combat Rock, simply because of Paper Pla…I mean, “Straight to Hell.”
Bowie in the ’70s- with the exception of Pinups (the covers record), was flawless. Even Young Americans has three fantastic songs at least, and most have more! Space Oddity—> Scary Monsters, straight up…
With you on the Stones for the most part, though I do have some love for “Miss You,” “Angie,” and “Beast of Burden.” I don’t like “Shattered,” but it proves another strong case for Some Girls…
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July 13th, 2009 at 12:35 PM { # }
Well I must say something about all of this, since I am intimately familiar with all the records people are chatting about. I think Cut The Crap is actually just horribly produced, yet there are gems- most notably This Is England, as well as the truly wonderful Three Card Trick-a great new wave ska track. And Dirty Punk and We Are The Clash are fine, if maybe not quite as amazing as anything from their previous records. And for me Sandinista, with the exception of 6 songs, is a brilliantly diverse musical adventure that never stops giving. And I have never felt London Calling was over rated- I LOVE that thing. Then again, I’ve always felt Bowie was over rated-so go figure. As for The Stones-well, those guys are such professionals that i can’t say they’ve done too many really bad records… for me- Steel Wheels, Bridges to Babylon, Love You Live and No Security are the super duds in their canon. That band has what I consider four distinct periods: The Brian years 64-68, the Mick Taylor years 69-74, the Ronnie years 75-86, and then the Mick Jagger years 89-present (the distinction being that they are pure business through and through-the music is simply another component of the marketing of the RS corporation. Prior to the Mick Jagger years you could still hear they had a genuine joy for music making, even if just for kicks-see Tattoo You or Undercover.) And I also believe if Dirty Work didn’t have such a horrible album cover, people would enjoy that one too (ok, minus a few bad keyboard washes). I think Metal Machine Music is brilliant-a modern experimental sound scape that has the ability to attract and repulse. As for Black Sabbath, I’m convinced that Heaven & Hell with Dio is great- a metal classic. Mob Rules is more the clunker, though a few tunes still jump off. What I’m more surprised about is the lack of TRUE, REAL, ASTONISHING clunkers here-like half of Rod Stewart’s records, or anything past 1983 by Billy Joel, or Living Color’s embarrassing arena metal schlock post their first LP, anything Pearl Jam has done, or the last 10 years of Beck’s recorded output. That stuff I think sucks harder than A World Without Heroes or Darklight by KISS (although, naturally, that’s just how my ears receive it)!
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