I'm trying to figure out which of these controversial albums peole like most. I specifically left out a lot of better-known or very well-liked albums for this, including the ones I either don't or have people seem to disagree on. You can vote for more than one album.

When you vote, please tell us what you thought was a four or five star album and why, then tell us which ones you own (or have heard) and despise, or why you think they are 0 to 3 stars. If you don't own an album, don't vote for one.

Hopefully I can figure out what  people like and hate! In your posts especially tell us what you really, really don't like.

I voted for "The Wall", "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", and "Lightbulb Sun". The rest of these I don't own and hope to see what you think so I'll know what to get next!

What makes any of these albums controversial??  Except maybe Atom Heart Mother..

So are you asking us which ones we like the most... or which one we think is the most controversial?

threefates wrote: What makes any of these albums controversial??

I was just about to ask that same thing.  Define controversial...

I get it OK. What your saying is that opinions are more divided over these albums than most others.

I voted for BSS, TFTO, Relayer and ATTWT. I don't dislike many of the others, but probably wouldn't give them 4 or 5 stars.

Where's "Signals" ? " Momentary Lapse Of Reason"  ??

These are more contraversial for obvious reasons (Synths in Rush's case and the absence of Waters in Floyd's)

Let's be honest "Atom Heart Mother","Tales From Topographic Oceans", "90125" and "Then There Were Three"are only contraversial in the sense that they are crap albums by respected normally consistently excellent artists!

Of the others I would definitely rate the Wakeman-less "Relayer" as kind of contraversial departure for Yes.

Defintely BSS is, or should be, a 5 star disc. It was the most cutting edge album of ELP's discography.  

The Wall is a very good 4 star album. PF doesn't say anything new and the only diversion from the past (DSOTM, Animals and WYWH) is the presense of the disco styled dance beat that seemed to deviate from the past, but is hardly unique.

All the other discs are 3 to 4 stars across the board. They may define a band's best output, but are not necessarily groundbreaking, except for blatant commercialism.

The only ones that could deserve 5 stars from this list IMO are:

1. The Lamb
2. Brain Salad Surgery
3. Relayer

The ones for 4:

1. A Passion Play
2. Atom Heart Mother
3. The Wall

2 stars or less:

1. ATTW3
2. Eye in the Sky
3. 90125

Alñl the other mentioned are in a respectable 3 star range.

To be honest I don't see the cotroversy in 90125, Eye in the Sky and ATTW3 those are only pop albums, all mediocre IMO but no general controversy.

Iván

"controversial albums" is just the title, it means nothing. I left out ones I'm not even considering, and threw in a few pop ones just to see what you thought about them.

I'm looking at getting "Relayer" soon and maybe "A Passion Play".

I voted 'The lamb..' 5 stars. A classic that was not that well recieved at the time. I understand this album caused a certain amount of controversy in the US when they toured out there with it. I think the English public school perception of what a Peurto Rican teenager would be like didn't go down that well with some members of that community. Just what I read.

gdub411 wrote: The only one that is essential(4 or 5 stars) would be The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway....while I don't classify it as a masterpiece it is still an album every progger should own....the rest is unnecessary.,which doesn't mean their bad...but fall into the good but non-essential catagory

Thats the funniest thing I've read from you yet! 

threefates wrote: gdub411 wrote: The only one that is essential(4 or 5 stars) would be The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway....while I don't classify it as a masterpiece it is still an album every progger should own....the rest is unnecessary.,which doesn't mean their bad...but fall into the good but non-essential catagory Thats the funniest thing I've read from you yet!

I am sorry Threefates, but as you know I have never been bowled over by Yes as of yet and Brain Salad Surgery to me is just good....not great. I much prefer their 1st 2 albums. ELP has alot of great music ,but there is always something on each album that doesn't quite win me over. I don't mean to slam anyone's tastes or insult anyone, it is just my opinion.

gdub411 wrote: I am sorry Threefates, but as you know I have never been bowled over by Yes as of yet and Brain Salad Surgery to me is just good....not great. I much prefer their 1st 2 albums. ELP has alot of great music ,but there is always something on each album that doesn't quite win me over. I don't mean to slam anyone's tastes or insult anyone, it is just my opinion.

I'm not knocking your opinion Greg... just thinking that saying the others are unnecessary sort of bothers me. 

gdub411 wrote: Also I must say...I have never heard Spock's Beard or Porcupine Tree as of yet

I've got (downloaded...) Spock's Beard's "The Light" and Porcupine Tree's "Signify" and "Lightbulb Sun." I'm going to get "Snow" eventually I think.

threefates wrote: gdub411 wrote: I am sorry Threefates, but as you know I have never been bowled over by Yes as of yet and Brain Salad Surgery to me is just good....not great. I much prefer their 1st 2 albums. ELP has alot of great music ,but there is always something on each album that doesn't quite win me over. I don't mean to slam anyone's tastes or insult anyone, it is just my opinion. I'm not knocking your opinion Greg... just thinking that saying the others are unnecessary sort of bothers me.

3 stars is still good Threefates...that is what I would have awarded those

Well its pretty obvious which one is going to be my top vote

next goes to The Wall.....none others awarded as im not a Yes or ELP fan and Ive not heard those other albums

goose wrote: I think it'll take a lot of listens for me to get into A Passion Play (apart from the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles :))

I've tried that Goose, and it still hasn't worked for me!

Easy Livin wrote: goose wrote: I think it'll take a lot of listens for me to get into A Passion Play (apart from the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles :)) I've tried that Goose, and it still hasn't worked for me!

D'ya know what "Passion Play" is about? I stayed up till 1:30 last night reading the annotation at http://www.ministry-of-information.co.uk/app/index.htm - http://www.ministry-of-information.co.uk/app/index.htm

It's about Ronnie Pilgrim: he dies, then goes to limbo, then is shown a video of himself in life (eg, the "passion play"), then goes to heaven and finds it really boring, and he talks to "G. Oddie" (God) about relocating to hell; then he talks to Lucifer and decides hell sucks too; then he escapes, wishing he was alive again; so finally he decides to take a ferry to the real world to get reincarnated.

Has nothing to do with Jesus: don't let the title fool you. A tip: before I get an album, I read the lyrics and annotations so that I fully understand it before I buy it. Then when I get it, the first listen is easier to get, and two or three listens later you 'get' all of it.

Velvetclown wrote: A Passion Play, what´s wrong with difficult music ???

To my mind none of the works mentioned are anything less than 4 star entertainment. I certainly do not feel that A Passion Play is difficult musically.I do feel that if you have to resort to calling something difficult it does suggest there are inherant faults with it.Tales of Topographic Oceans is over-ambitious,and over-long, but I take my hat off to them for being bold. 90125 also by Yes is the opposite-it lacks direction and focus and seems to me to have been put together by committee whereas strong leadership would have realised that this kind of commercialism could only hasten the band's demise.

I don't find "Passion play" difficult , just disappointing. After "Thick as a Brick", I eagerly anticipated Tull's next album. I hoped that my initial lack of appreciation would disappear with repeated listens, but it didn't. I don't think the composition on the album is any where near the standard Tull set on other albums.

VC, what do you think of the "Nightcap" album? Personally, I find the music of the "Chateau Disaster" tapes, (which was the initial attempt to make a follow up to "TAAB") to be far better than "A Passion play".

It's interesting that on the sleevenotes for "Nightcap", Ian Anderson himself  describes "A passion play" as "down-beat and controversial".

Easy Livin wrote: "I don't find "Passion play" difficult , just disappointing."

Very difficult task to top "Thick As A Brick", though!

Well I don´t find Passion Play disappointing, just different, who needs TAAB 2 ??

Some parts of the Disaster Tapes ended up on Passion Play and Skating Away + Only Solitaire ended up on Warchild.

But as always, it all comes down to personal taste.

I prefer A Passion Play to Thick As A Brick. So sue me.

Also, side one of AHM is an extreeeeemely satisfying piece of music - and this is coming from someone who really can't see what all the fuss is about with regard to Floyd.

Finally Relayer is at least my 2nd favourite Yes album, Wakeman or no Wakeman. Anyone who writes it off for that reason alone doesn't deserve to have ears.

FOR ME THE ALBUMS THAT ARE REALLY CONTROVERSIAL AMONG ALL OF THOSE ARE:

ATOM HEART MOTHER (5 STARS)

TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS (5 STARS)

A PASSION PLAY (4 STARS)

THE FIRST TWO ARE REALLY GREAT, I DON'T CARE IF WATERS AND CO. ARE ASHAMED ON THIS, HEAR THE MUSIC AND IT'S SIMPLY FANTASTIC. TALES IS THE BEST ALBUM MADE BY YES, BY FAR.

A PASSION PLAY IS A GOOD ALBUM WITH GREAT INSTRUMENTATION, BUT WITH THE MOST OBSCURED LYRICS ANDERSON HAD EVER WRITTEN.  

I voted Tales From a Topographic Ocean. If 6 stars were availabe ! The absolute perfect harmony, structure of the music and interlacing of instrumentation makes TFTO ; THE ALBUM OF THE CENTURY.

Brain Salad Surgery is definitly a 5 star album....rest my case !

_______

Lunar 

I just voted for Relayer, got it yesterday. Definitely 4 or 4.5 stars, maybe 5. Haven't decided yet.

But regarding Passion Play, I haven't heard it yet, but I already understand most of the lyrics. (see previous post for annotations site). It looks like something I could get into, but then again I can't be sure. It's on my list of "top ten things I should buy next time I get allowance" up there with "AHM" and "Songs from the Wood" etc.... I'm mainly trying to figure out who I agree with and therefore what album I should get. Yeah...

Tales from Topographic would be a controversial album for me.

'Cos I think it's sh*te.

Okay, maybe not 'Ritual'; that's okay. Good live version on 'Yesshows'.

Nice artwork as well.

Oh crap, I think I've gone and changed my mind......

gdub411 wrote: Also I must say...I have never heard Spock's Beard or Porcupine Tree as of yet

???? You haven't!!!!!! We're talking about maybe two of the best "mainstream" progbands during the 90s-00s. When it comes to SP, you should buy everything they've released with Neal Morse at the helm. That's all the albums except the latest one "Feel Euphoria". As for Porcupine Tree.....GET EVERYTHING, even though they where more space rock than prog in the start of Mr. Wilson's career

Not sure about 'Brain Salad Surgery' or 'Relayer' being too controversial- from what I've gathered, they are hugely popular on this board.

Of the rest I've heard, I think 'A Passion Play' is an over-egged disappointment; I've listened to it quite a few times and the only part I remember is 'The Story Of The Hare That Lost Its Spectacles', which is because it's so embarrassing.. It'd get 2-3 stars from me; it's not a terrible album, but 'Thick As A Brick' is SO much better than this and is in a similar vein.

'The Wall' has a mixed rep on this forum I feel, and it's not my fave Floyd album, but there's nothing wrong with it conceptually or musically- it's a great work, and definitely worth at least 4 stars even though I prefer other albums.

'Atom Heart Mother' is ruined by the terrible 'Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast- apart from that, it's top flight, with some of their sweetest songs in 'If' and 'Fat Old Sun'.

'The Lamb..' is an unquestionable 5 stars for me- I do prefer their other albums, but it is faultless to these ears, with some brilliant moments of sublime musicanship.

'TFTO' is another album I like hugely, and 'The Revealing Science Of God' is my fave Yes song ever, but the album is brought down by the mind-numbingly tedious 'The Ancient'. Whatever, it's still 4 stars from me.

'ATTWT' is a top class album for me, which I've always enjoyed hugely- it's still definitely progressive, but the songs are shorter, and I like 'Follow You...' as the solo is brilliant! A definite four stars!

'90125' I'm not a great lover of- it's way too mired in the 1980s due to the production effects and horrid keyboard sounds- and I hate 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart'. Only 2 stars for that one.

Borealis wrote: There's no real contreversical album in that list, like Cyclone by Tangerine Dream...

I totally agree, how is Then There was Three controversal?

  A Passion Play;  The Lamb Lies down on Broadway

½   Relayer

  And Then There Were Three;  Tales from Topographic Oceans; Lightbulb Sun

Out of this list, "Brain Salad Surgery".

Personally, I consider "The Final Cut" a controversial 5 stars album