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Lowly regarded early and/or late albums you like |
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Logan ![]() Forum & Site Admin Group ![]() ![]() Site Admin Joined: April 05 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 37634 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posted: 21 hours 57 minutes ago at 10:52 |
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What are some early albums by favourite-of-yours acts
(artists/bands) with quite a few releases that seem to be commonly
considered weak (or rated lowly) that you really like, but subsequent
albums get critiqued well? And/or, what are some of your favourite
bands/artists where the latest albums are rated considerably lower by
others than you would but earlier releases seem to be critical
darlings? That may be the same act where the early albums are not held
in high esteem generally, then there is the golden period where the
albums are loved by many, and then the latest ones are low-rated.
Maybe
to limit this, lets say that the first one or two albums don't get much
love compared to subsequent ones, and that the last one or two albums
don't get nearly as much acclaim as the previous ones. Ideally the acts
have been putting out material quite regularly up to the last album,
rather than it's the return of a band with a poor album or some archival
release. If you have ratings from Prog Archives and/or rate your music to share, and share favourite track, that would be great. Thanks. I
have mentioned more than once at PA being very into Sufjan Stevens now,
and recently have explored many more of his albums. I love the largely
critically acclaimed period from 2003 with Michigan to Carrie and
Lowell , as well as his well-regarded 2023 album Javelin, but I also
hold quite a few of his albums in much higher regard than the ratings
might indicate. I really like his first two albums, A Sun Came (2000),
with a 2.86 rating at RYM, and Enjoy Your Rabbit (2001), with a 2.90
rating at RYM. Enjoy Your Rabbit is one of my faves of his in
particular, but I can understand the harsh (glitch) noise putting some
people off and wanting the more melodic and folksy music that came
later. instead of this electronic stuff. And the debut can be quite
experimental, jangly, lower-fi, inspired by some alt./grunge... I
made a playlist of four tracks per album of his (still missing some
fairly major albums) for an appreciation topic,
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4KyAH8MR7NpzBUu0X0YEDRl
but here is just one track from each album (wanted to keep both on the
reasonably short side). I can get why such stuff would not appeal much to people looking for music like, say, Carrie and Lowell. I hope this post is reasonably sensible.
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moshkito ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: January 04 2007 Location: Grok City Status: Offline Points: 18189 |
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Hi,
(hopefully I get what you want! I'll remove if it is not correct!) Not many releases, but in many ways there is one album that I have always loved from beginning to the end ... and there are others, of course ... here's a short list. QUATERMASS -- their album was fantastic, as was the great song they made famous, even though it is far out, it is not even the best piece in the album. The moody keyboard stuff in it is very trippy and far out. CAPABILITY BROWN - VOICE -- still a favorite after all these years, and that cover just eats me up every time, when the whole album is about some far out vocals ... and then, on side 2 you get that monster side long thing (LP) .... and it is sad that they are not appreciated more. Also notable is in their first album ... their version of LIAR ... is very nice, and way better than the 3 DOG NIGHT's. AMON DUUL 2 - DANCE OF THE LEMMINGS -- it might be the cover and how it just explodes in your imagination and you can't get out of it easily. But by the time you sit through the MM Soundtrack thing, with closed eyes and in the dark, you end up wondering where all this heavenly stuff is coming from. And then, if that is not enough, your mind, that appreciates art in all its styles, goes to get a cup of tea and spends its time wondering about "Mona Lisa has a bird brain" ... as you splash too much honey in your tea! CARMEN - FANDANGOS IN SPACE -- only to find that it was a band from LA that blew out David Bowie and many others, and that opening cut alone, will remove a lot of cobwebs from your heart, unless you have already been Medusa'd by some progressive bs! SEVENTH WAVE - THINGS TO COME -- The monstrosity of those keyboards in this album were fantastic and in my system (top 10% of the stereo system things), was so far out ... and they slimmed it down some for their 2nd album, but still had some far out things in it. It's a shame to see a band like that end up their work together ... but I think that the lack of fame, attention and what not, and a show in LA with 7 keyboard players and only 20 folks showing up ... brings up the sad side of the music history ... so many great things blown away in the winds and fogs of life. EGBERTO GISMONTI - NO CAIPIRA -- the insane mix of Villa Lobos, Bossa Nova, Jazz, Classical and some intense moody stuff is something that the majority of folks won't listen to. It's sort of like hearing Stravinsky the very first time and not having any idea what it will be like ... and by the time you are done with the album, you are out of breadth. It makes you wonder how, and what people see when yo hear things like that ... I keep flashing back to the dance of the alligators, and other animals in FANTASIA ... it just seems crazy, but you know it isn't.
Edited by moshkito - 21 hours 27 minutes ago at 11:22 |
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com |
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Valdez ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 17 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1058 |
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I sorta dig it! Only problem I hear is repetition. (The Sufjan Stevens clips)
Edited by Valdez - 21 hours 24 minutes ago at 11:25 |
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https://bakullama1.bandcamp.com/album/new-2025-broken-hearts-troubled-minds
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Logan ![]() Forum & Site Admin Group ![]() ![]() Site Admin Joined: April 05 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 37634 |
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^^ Thanks Pedro, will respond later.
Repetition is common in much of my favourite music, be it Post-Rock, Krautrock, Zeuhl (think Magma's MDK, Swans' The Glowing Man, various GY!BE, Fishmans' Long Season etc.)... Repetition is very common in Post-Rock and I would say that post rock, or something similar, is a component of quite a bit of Sufjan Stevens music I especially love it when there are subtle differences and variations on a theme and love thematically repetitious music that builds to crescendos. Something I like about Sufjan's music is that he will often switch gears in a song (a bit like Gentle Giant at times). Those early ones are not albums I would recommend most to start with when looking into his music (and scanning though my playlist with 52 tracks off 13 of his albums shows my biases of course) -- Illinois is one great album that I would recommend to many into progressive Indie Folk but repetition I do feel is important to how quite a bit of music is made by him. Suitkees described much of my favourite music as atmospheric. People who don't like repetition (or kinds of repetition) would not like a lot of my favourite music. Repetition can help music to resonate deeper and build more with me. Incidentally, I wish I could nail down better what kinds of music are really meaningful to me and gives me chills / give me the dopamine response and what music just fails to interest me or absorb me. Comparing two American "Christian" artists (I'm not religious), Sufjan Stevens has tons of music that just speaks to my "soul", whereas Neal Morse does not do it for me and alienates me.
EDIT: Formatting was all messed up as I had tried using the post editor function. Edited by Logan - 20 hours 21 minutes ago at 12:28 |
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Finnforest ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 17378 |
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Smashing Pumpkins - Gish (rated lower than their next 3 albums and my current fave of catalog) 10,000 Maniacs - Wishing Chair (ditto) Fiona Apple - Tidal BOC - Revolution by Night LZ - Presence and Coda Rush - Debut and Caress Maybe those aren't all "lowly regarded," but all are rated significantly lower than the top albums for each band at RYM, but with that, all are my faves or near-faves for these bands.
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...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"
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Logan ![]() Forum & Site Admin Group ![]() ![]() Site Admin Joined: April 05 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 37634 |
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^ Thanks. Gish is great. I really like that album by Fiona Apple, not played it in too long. Playing it now.
![]() Edited by Logan - 20 hours 35 minutes ago at 12:14 |
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Valdez ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 17 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1058 |
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Sometimes sufjan seems to repeat only because he's stuck in a spot and cant get out. (if that makes any sense) I love repetition if its done well. This is on the extreme end of the subject but one of my favorites. Edited by Valdez - 20 hours 27 minutes ago at 12:22 |
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https://bakullama1.bandcamp.com/album/new-2025-broken-hearts-troubled-minds
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verslibre ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: July 01 2004 Location: CA Status: Offline Points: 18851 |
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Both Seventh Wave albums, Things to Come and Psi-fi, are musts for anyone into mid-'70s keyboard prog like Tangerine Dream and Synergy. |
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Logan ![]() Forum & Site Admin Group ![]() ![]() Site Admin Joined: April 05 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 37634 |
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^^ I like Buzzcocks too. Done well really does depend on taste commonly. I think one should very be careful when making claims of quality (objective). I've had so many people complaining about music as if it was poor over the years where kinds of thematic repetition are important to the structure that resonates so deeply with me. And some of those would then suggest music that does nothing for me and to me seems shallow and boring (for my tastes). To each their own tastes. I can't think of any artist whose music both moves me and interests me more than Sufjan Stevens. I;m sure some would complain about Beethoven's Seventh's second movement as being too repetitious, but it's one of my favourites. What sometimes gets to me with some arrogant people is that they act like they know better than the composers or appreciators what's good and lose sight of the subjective nature of appreciation. Of course there are some standards of good and bad and metrics to objectively gauge that, like on the imitative performance level.
Edited by Logan - 20 hours 14 minutes ago at 12:35 |
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Valdez ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 17 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1058 |
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Well, there ya go then! More power to ya! ![]() I think a couple of King Crimsons albums were panned after ITCotCK and Poseidon. I hold the latter albums in high regard, nevertheless. To answer your original question.
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https://bakullama1.bandcamp.com/album/new-2025-broken-hearts-troubled-minds
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Logan ![]() Forum & Site Admin Group ![]() ![]() Site Admin Joined: April 05 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 37634 |
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^ Thanks, I was thinking specifically of the earliest and latest albums being lowly rated or regarded commonly as compared to the subsequent or previous albums. Say the first one or two and the last one or two. For instance, Genesis' From Genesis to Revelation is generally held in much lower regard than subsequent albums, but someone might still love it and hold it in much higher regard. It has a 2.83 rating at RYM compared to the subsequent Trespass which has a reputable 3.65. Incidentally, to me that's a fair rating for Genesis debut although I do like "The Serpent" off it very much.
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Psychedelic Paul ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 16 2019 Location: Nottingham, U.K Status: Offline Points: 44071 |
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The last three albums by YES!
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TheLionOfPrague ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: March 08 2011 Location: Argentina Status: Offline Points: 1080 |
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Giant for a Day - Gentle Giant
Talk - Yes March or Die - Motorhead Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace - The Offspring The Getaway - Red Hot Chili Peppers |
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I shook my head and smiled a whisper knowing all about the place
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Valdez ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 17 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1058 |
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Let's be clear... I said I sort of liked it. I've heard other songs by him I like a lot. I'm not a critic, I'm a simple listener.
Edited by Valdez - 19 hours 54 minutes ago at 12:55 |
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https://bakullama1.bandcamp.com/album/new-2025-broken-hearts-troubled-minds
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Logan ![]() Forum & Site Admin Group ![]() ![]() Site Admin Joined: April 05 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 37634 |
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Lots you mention that I like, and please don't consider removing your post even if it's not quite what I had in mind. That does not negate its value and I am not much of one of those "stick to a narrow topic" kinds of people. To me that can be really boring, I prefer more openness, and digressions can make the best reading and conversation. It also can be the most infuriating. Depends often on attitude and the open mindedness of the participants/ conversationlists. I really like ADII, Yeti is a particular favourite album of mine, and I really like Tanz der Lemminge. While it often does get favourable reviews, I have noticed myself appreciating, and certainly recognising, the debut, Phallus Dei, more than many. It does have very good ratings at PA and RYM. To me it is one of the great albums of the 60s, but quite a few at PA don't seem to hold Krautrock in high regard or be very familiar with it. The post Wolf City album are not held in nearly as high regard (I like Vive la Trance, but don;t know the vast majority of later releases, only heard Made in Germany of post 1974 ADII albums). |
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Logan ![]() Forum & Site Admin Group ![]() ![]() Site Admin Joined: April 05 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 37634 |
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Not trying to imply or thinking that you're like that in case it may come across that way, just sharing my experience with some people at PA over the years. ![]() Edited by Logan - 19 hours 45 minutes ago at 13:04 |
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Valdez ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 17 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1058 |
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Am I wrong for simply loving Amon Duuls HIJACK? lol.
Not their most popular album... Sometimes I just put 'De Guadaloop' on a loop all day!
Edited by Valdez - 19 hours 39 minutes ago at 13:10 |
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https://bakullama1.bandcamp.com/album/new-2025-broken-hearts-troubled-minds
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Logan ![]() Forum & Site Admin Group ![]() ![]() Site Admin Joined: April 05 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 37634 |
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^ I rather like what I have heard of Hijack as I recall.
Thought you might mention Yes. I might say that Yes had fairly firmly jumped the shark by Tormato and never really released a good (or essential for most Proggers) album after that, but my unpopular opinion (based solely on taste and a worthless opinion admittedly) would be that even by Close to the Edge they were at least precariously close to dipping their feet in shark infested waters. I do like Relayer, but nothing much by Yes after that. Not sure if the band released anything really generally highly regarded after Going for the One. No, I guess magnification has quite a few fans, and Fly From Here is higher regarded methinks than subsequent ones. Edited by Logan - 19 hours 33 minutes ago at 13:16 |
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Valdez ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 17 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1058 |
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Paul Roberts and Baz as vocalists after Hugh Cornwell left the Stranglers... Wow do they get the critiques!!
I LOVE Paul and Baz contributions, so many albums later (post Cornwell). Some excellent overlooked albums especially "About Time" and Norfolk Coast with Roberts singing.
Not Prog I know, but that's all that comes to mind ATM. Edited by Valdez - 18 hours 39 minutes ago at 14:10 |
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https://bakullama1.bandcamp.com/album/new-2025-broken-hearts-troubled-minds
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Psychedelic Paul ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 16 2019 Location: Nottingham, U.K Status: Offline Points: 44071 |
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I actually went out and bought the Mirror to the Sky CD from an Oxfam charity shop, even though they charged me £7 for it - which wasn't very charitable of them.
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