Almost every great rock band has at least one stinker in their catalog.
I’ll start with the Rolling Stones and Black and Blue. Yes, it’s worse than Emotional Rescue and Their Satanic Majesties Request.
Hot Stuff was the ‘hit’ from the album and ranks among the Stones worst.
Led Zeppelin - “Presence”. Achilles’ Last Stand rocks, but I have a lot of difficulty getting through the rest of the album.
Genesis - “Genesis” (the yellow album). I’ve always suspected that this was a contractual obligation album. The entire second side is boring fluff, except for “Illegal Alien”, which is borderline offensive.
It was very exciting when Ben Folds Five got back together and did another album in 2012!
It was very scary to hear that album and the mess that it was. Yes, it somehow hit higher on the US chart than any of their previous albums (which had gone Gold and Platinum) but I’m 90% sure that was due to everyone buying it on presale. Once we heard it, it went right back on the shelf. Yech.
It was very exciting when Ben Folds Five got back together and did another album in 2012!
It was very scary to hear that album and the mess that it was. Yes, it somehow hit higher on the US chart than any of their previous albums (which had gone Gold and Platinum) but I’m 90% sure that was due to everyone buying it on presale. Once we heard it, it went right back on the shelf. Yech.
Don’t know if it would count, but Neil Young’s Arc isn’t his finest work. It’s right down there with Lou Reed’s Machine Metal Music.
I was gonna say Mr. Roboto, but then Styx isn’t a really good band.
I got nuthin!
Do contractual obligation albums count, or just honest efforts that didn’t work? If you’re including the former there’s the legendarily no-fucks-to-give Van Morrison’s Contract-Breaking Sessions. Some song title examples:
“Ringworm”
“Freaky if You Got This Far”
“Blow in Your Nose”
“Nose In Your Blow”
Want a Danish"
Beatles completists picked up Yellow Submarine for all the good tracks on Side 1. No one ever played Side 2, the soundtrack music.
Similarly, the jam sessions on the otherwise magnificent All Things Must Pass (George Harrison) are boring and seldom heard.
The Ramones had a nice niche in rock, but End of the Century was a stinker, due to Phil Spector.
I’d actually put Zep’s Houses of the Holy worse than Presence.
How about Van Halen Diver Down? I think it has one good song* and a bunch of noise.
I think Floyd’s Umma Gumma is only listenable if you’re on acid.
And I know this will get some pushback, but The Beatles (White Album) to me is unlistenable.
*two if you don’t count Intruder as part of Pretty Woman
Back in the vinyl days, barely any deadheads bothered with the lugubrious 1976 live double album Steal Your Face. Ironically, the cover art —stylized skull shot through with a lightning bolt, aka the “steelie” — became one of the major Dead icons.
On the studio side, 1978s Shakedown Street was an utter stinker. “Disco Dead,” we called it. Nice cover art by Gilbert “Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers” Shelton, though. And the song “Shakedown Street” became a much-loved second set jam opener.
Just finished Phil Collins’ book last week. He definitely doesn’t mention the Shapes (yellow) album as a contractual obligation. For me, I’ve often thought that side 2 should have closed with Home by the Sea/Second Home by the Sea.
While I don’t think anyone bought Yellow Submarine for the soundtrack music, I played it a decent amount as background study music or music to fall asleep by.
I really admire someone who provides *an actual cite *for how crappy Styx albums are!
Cut the Crap by the Clash - One good track (‘This Is England’), the rest lives down to the title.
I think Presence is great, but In Through the Out Door sucks. The live part of Ummagumma is just excellent. The other part was clearly experimental, but you can sense a lot of the foundation of what they would go on to do. So I think neither album qualifies for this list.
I was actually reading the Wikipedia article about that album after I posted, and I think you’re right. It was the first album written and recorded at their own studio and done as a collaborative effort rather than each band member coming in with their own songs they had written. (So, almost a throwback to the Peter Gabriel days.)
But given the lack of originality in both the album title and graphics, it just feels like a contractual obligation album. (Probably no coincidence that this was the last Genesis album I ever bought.)
Huh? What? Side 2 is nothing but classics and I’m not a Zep fan.
Mardi Gras by Creedence Clearwater Revival. That’s the one where the bassist and drummer insisted on writing songs, which are godawful. The rest is Fogerty phoning it in as his band dies, except for “Tomorrow Never Comes”, which is great.
Victim of Love by Elton John. Elton’s misguided attempt to do disco in 1979. The Rocketman film included some of the title track in a scene late in the film showing how far Elton had plummeted creatively by the end of the 70s.