Albums That Were Considered Huge Flops That You Actually Enjoy...

NEWGUY562 · 06-10-2012, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoundgardenRocks

Im Gonna Crawl is good but Presence is actually my favorite Zeppelin album period.

Also,

Pantera - Reinventing the Steel!

Presence has so many great moments i don't know where to start

to be honest i think that album is stronger than the first 3 led zeppelin albums

Screen13 · 06-10-2012, 08:53 PM

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Blow (1989)

One of the great, and under-rated, powerful bands of the 80's Gothic scene, the Lorries were wise to try and find a different direction by the end of the decade. They could have whipped another Paint Your Wagon, but there was no reason to when that album was a classic in itself that did not need to be turned into a formula and there was a lot of potential to break through. Unfortunately, the Rave style cover was one of the first reasons why this album tanked. Opening up the sleeve, you discover that on about half of the album The Lorries are singing love songs that are certainly enough for any closed-minded Talk About the Weather-On-Repeat listener to stay away, missing out on catchy hook-driven feasts such as "Temptation," "In a World," and "In This World." Yeah, there's plenty of the great burning guitars which make up the distinctive Lorries sound to go around, but in a different setting, and Chris Reed is singing damn good with his style instead of just intoning angry into a microphone (hints of that were on the previous album Nothing Wrong on the ultra fine "Only Dreaming" and other tracks). So many people missed out on a good album, and the final round of the "Situation 2 Era" as well as the classic Lorries line-ups. Next Stop: To LA and a sadly bland album...

Howard the Duck · 06-10-2012, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Screen13

Soft Cell - this Last Night in Sodom
Going off the rails and off most of the charts, I always had a like of this album. The big hit is "Soul Inside," but "Where Was Your Heart (When You Needed It Most)," the experimental "Slave to This," "Meet Murder My Angel," and "The Best Way to Kill" are possibly among the fan favorites of those who want to remember them as the Electronic Duo who went beyond the norm.

a ha - Memorial Beach - Compared to their hits and better known albums, this was a moody one, beyond the few tracks that tried to lighten up the show. Favorites, "How Sweet It Was," "Turn to Stone" (an epic for them at that time), and "Locust." This was the point where a lot of people counted Norway's Pop titans out before the Late 90's return, although there's still one mention in a best of 1993 (in Q I think it was) to remind me that there was someone else listening.

Madness - Mad Not Mad - The Nutty Boys get all reflective and moody after Mike Barson left them after Keep Moving, but they way they did it was still with some sharp humor and style. "Yesterday's Men," "I'll Compete," "Mad Not Mad," and "Tears You Can't Hide" remain top songs. Kind of loses it's grip on side Two, but I got this back in '86 in the Cut Outs, and I still have that well-played copy.

The Monkees cult following has turned the Head Soundtrack into a classic album, but I first heard this back before the re-issues, knowing a time when it was not so cool to rave about the album to the film that at one time hardly anyone saw (which now, of course, many have).

These are all pretty cool stuff and I hugely enjoy all of them....

SGR · 06-11-2012, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

All of Pantera's releases after Cowboys were great anyway. Goddam Electric is without doubt one of my favourite Pantera songs and is on that album.

Presence is a very average hard rock effort from a band who capable of so much more. It has a classic opener but is let down by a bunch of filler in the middle.

Alot of people still consider TGSTK and RTS to be completely weaker than CFH/VDOP which isn't true.

As for Presence I completely disagree. Zeppelin was up against the wall at this point and were short on time. I think Plant's injury helped his vocals. They felt like they had more soul to me. Plus, it's a very funky album. Every song is great imo, my favorites being Candy Store Rock, NBFBM, Achilles, and you can't forget TEA FOR ONE!! Easily one of the most underrated Zeppelin songs ever!

Howard the Duck · 06-11-2012, 07:09 AM

commercial success but critical flop

say what you want, but I think this is his last great album, before he's doing whatever he's doing now (i lost interest after "I Just Called to Say "I Love You"")

Screen13 · 06-11-2012, 02:29 PM

If I heard it all the way, I would love to nominate Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants. I'm sure there will be someone who would rate it here.

For this post, I remember the title of a good a ha single, "Move to Memphis" and take the time machine back to '68 and '69 for some good albums made there which deserve more fans.

Paul Revere and The Raiders, Featuring Mark Lindsay (actually Mark Lindsay and some legendary Memphis Session musicians...) - Goin' To Memphis (1968)

The band was facing changing times as Revolution (1967) marked a slow downturn in their fortunes, and it was decided to do something a little different, one can safely think that this album was a result of possibly looking at the success of The Box Tops (with Cult Music favorite Alex Chilton), knowing their more Soulful sounds of "Peace of Mind" made it (and would also be the only performance by the full band on this album), and knowing that their featured lead vocalist could seriously do something like this for a whole album - something that seriously suited their talents. A look into the album first shows that at least the grooves were a success even if the album was a sales disappointemt: Mark Lindsay's vocals were first rate all the way, and even if his originals including "Every Man Needs a Woman" and "I'm a Loser Too" were not up to Stax level, at least they were damn good considering the situation while the covers of classics like "Soul Man" were good considering that in the hands of a weaker singer, this would have been a major fail. In a way, this seriously is among the best crossovers of a Rock band going into Soul when such a move was seriously head turning.

Keep in mind that this is a damn good album in The Raiders' long line of good albums, but also keep in mind that they covered up the fact that this was reportedly just their excellent singer with Producer Chips Moman's crew (although the band could have done these songs live with no problem anyways) - Take note of the only in-studio photo with only Mark in the frame. Sadly, this was released with one of the worst album covers ever, featuring a cartoon style drawing that made it like like a Kid's album, already turning off a lot of potential listeners (Back in my very young days, even I did not venture even if I knew of their G-Pop classics). Then, to make matters even more disappointing for the fans of the album who at least made it go into the lower half of the Top 100 Albums, the Raiders' fans who were more used to their catchy Pop were cold to the convincing Soulful sounds of Lindsay and the Moman Crew. The album is still a fan favorite, and while it may not be the best way to start, it is something to get into after going through a hits collection and moving your way into one of the more interesting music projects of 1968.

Mitch Ryder - The Detroit/Memphis Experiment

From a cool Pop Soul happening to the ultra Real Deal, although this time there was no chart action for the album.

In 1969, Paramount was Distributing Stax Records (Note the G+W on the original pressings - Gulf and Western = Paramount), and Mitch Ryder, fresh from parting ways with Bob Crewe, was free to do the kind of project he wanted to. Of course, knowing that the label he was on was Distributing one of his favorite labels, he worked with the Stax Crew. The result: One damn fine album including the under-rated single "Sugar Bee" and plenty of choice cuts like "I Get Hot," Liberty," and "Raise Your Hand." Sadly, even after showing that Ryder was back in serious music action after a 1968 of flop singles, this went into the cut-outs very quick with yet another pretty bad cover, although the liner notes which may have been a little more honest about his opinions of the music industry than the company was used to may have halted the promotion. No matter what, this should be found and heard on sight.

sopsych · 06-13-2012, 10:40 AM

Fleetwood Mac - Behind the Mask

Loaded with emotionally and musically complex songs that could have been minor hits.

llllllllllllllllllll · 06-15-2012, 11:13 PM

Caress of Steel by Rush is maybe my second or third favorite album by them and I am a huge Rush fan, The Necromancer is great as well as the 'throwaway' track, I Think I'm Going Bald.

**Frownland** · 06-15-2012, 11:16 PM

I didn't even know that that album was widely considered to be a flop, and I'm a fan of that song as well. It may be more based on the vocals, but I think that it's quite a fine tune.

Holerbot6000 · 06-16-2012, 12:32 AM

One of the biggest flops ever - TUSK! I remember when it came out, I thought it was incredibly ballsy of Fleetwood Mac to put out such an ambitious and quirky album after 'Rumors', but unfortunately, they really got their asses handed to them. I still think this is far and away the best album the Buckingham Nicks version of the band ever did and I have found/made a lot of converts over the years, especially among young people. I love it just as much as I did when it first came out and still listen to it all the time.

Glad to see Ministry-Filth Pig on the list also. Very underrated album!

06-11-2012, 02:29 PM	#36 (permalink)
Screen13 Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 1,388	If I heard it all the way, I would love to nominate Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants. I'm sure there will be someone who would rate it here. For this post, I remember the title of a good a ha single, "Move to Memphis" and take the time machine back to '68 and '69 for some good albums made there which deserve more fans. Paul Revere and The Raiders, Featuring Mark Lindsay (actually Mark Lindsay and some legendary Memphis Session musicians...) - Goin' To Memphis (1968) The band was facing changing times as Revolution (1967) marked a slow downturn in their fortunes, and it was decided to do something a little different, one can safely think that this album was a result of possibly looking at the success of The Box Tops (with Cult Music favorite Alex Chilton), knowing their more Soulful sounds of "Peace of Mind" made it (and would also be the only performance by the full band on this album), and knowing that their featured lead vocalist could seriously do something like this for a whole album - something that seriously suited their talents. A look into the album first shows that at least the grooves were a success even if the album was a sales disappointemt: Mark Lindsay's vocals were first rate all the way, and even if his originals including "Every Man Needs a Woman" and "I'm a Loser Too" were not up to Stax level, at least they were damn good considering the situation while the covers of classics like "Soul Man" were good considering that in the hands of a weaker singer, this would have been a major fail. In a way, this seriously is among the best crossovers of a Rock band going into Soul when such a move was seriously head turning. Keep in mind that this is a damn good album in The Raiders' long line of good albums, but also keep in mind that they covered up the fact that this was reportedly just their excellent singer with Producer Chips Moman's crew (although the band could have done these songs live with no problem anyways) - Take note of the only in-studio photo with only Mark in the frame. Sadly, this was released with one of the worst album covers ever, featuring a cartoon style drawing that made it like like a Kid's album, already turning off a lot of potential listeners (Back in my very young days, even I did not venture even if I knew of their G-Pop classics). Then, to make matters even more disappointing for the fans of the album who at least made it go into the lower half of the Top 100 Albums, the Raiders' fans who were more used to their catchy Pop were cold to the convincing Soulful sounds of Lindsay and the Moman Crew. The album is still a fan favorite, and while it may not be the best way to start, it is something to get into after going through a hits collection and moving your way into one of the more interesting music projects of 1968. Mitch Ryder - The Detroit/Memphis Experiment From a cool Pop Soul happening to the ultra Real Deal, although this time there was no chart action for the album. In 1969, Paramount was Distributing Stax Records (Note the G+W on the original pressings - Gulf and Western = Paramount), and Mitch Ryder, fresh from parting ways with Bob Crewe, was free to do the kind of project he wanted to. Of course, knowing that the label he was on was Distributing one of his favorite labels, he worked with the Stax Crew. The result: One damn fine album including the under-rated single "Sugar Bee" and plenty of choice cuts like "I Get Hot," Liberty," and "Raise Your Hand." Sadly, even after showing that Ryder was back in serious music action after a 1968 of flop singles, this went into the cut-outs very quick with yet another pretty bad cover, although the liner notes which may have been a little more honest about his opinions of the music industry than the company was used to may have halted the promotion. No matter what, this should be found and heard on sight. Last edited by Screen13; 06-11-2012 at 03:11 PM.

06-15-2012, 11:13 PM	#38 (permalink)
llllllllllllllllllll Music Addict Join Date: May 2012 Location: spiky Posts: 88	Caress of Steel by Rush is maybe my second or third favorite album by them and I am a huge Rush fan, The Necromancer is great as well as the 'throwaway' track, I Think I'm Going Bald. __________________ If I don't go to Hell when I die, I just might go to Heaven EVERYWHERE

06-15-2012, 11:16 PM	#39 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	I didn't even know that that album was widely considered to be a flop, and I'm a fan of that song as well. It may be more based on the vocals, but I think that it's quite a fine tune. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

06-10-2012, 08:53 PM	#32 (permalink)
Screen13 Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 1,388	Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Blow (1989) One of the great, and under-rated, powerful bands of the 80's Gothic scene, the Lorries were wise to try and find a different direction by the end of the decade. They could have whipped another Paint Your Wagon, but there was no reason to when that album was a classic in itself that did not need to be turned into a formula and there was a lot of potential to break through. Unfortunately, the Rave style cover was one of the first reasons why this album tanked. Opening up the sleeve, you discover that on about half of the album The Lorries are singing love songs that are certainly enough for any closed-minded Talk About the Weather-On-Repeat listener to stay away, missing out on catchy hook-driven feasts such as "Temptation," "In a World," and "In This World." Yeah, there's plenty of the great burning guitars which make up the distinctive Lorries sound to go around, but in a different setting, and Chris Reed is singing damn good with his style instead of just intoning angry into a microphone (hints of that were on the previous album Nothing Wrong on the ultra fine "Only Dreaming" and other tracks). So many people missed out on a good album, and the final round of the "Situation 2 Era" as well as the classic Lorries line-ups. Next Stop: To LA and a sadly bland album...

06-13-2012, 10:40 AM	#37 (permalink)
sopsych Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: indoors Posts: 722	Fleetwood Mac - Behind the Mask Loaded with emotionally and musically complex songs that could have been minor hits.

06-16-2012, 12:32 AM	#40 (permalink)
Holerbot6000 Music Mutant Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: near a record store Posts: 327	One of the biggest flops ever - TUSK! I remember when it came out, I thought it was incredibly ballsy of Fleetwood Mac to put out such an ambitious and quirky album after 'Rumors', but unfortunately, they really got their asses handed to them. I still think this is far and away the best album the Buckingham Nicks version of the band ever did and I have found/made a lot of converts over the years, especially among young people. I love it just as much as I did when it first came out and still listen to it all the time. Glad to see Ministry-Filth Pig on the list also. Very underrated album!