# Really lousy albums by really good bands **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455 "2020-06-11T14:50:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/41 "2020-06-12T00:00:20Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > I’m not a fan of **Desire** , mostly because of the 11-minute piece o’ crap _Joey_. But, it’s got some good to great stuff. > _One More Cup of Coffee_ is a fine song. Cinematic, lyrically strong, and a good hook. > _Hurricane_ is driving and driven, Bob singing and writing like he cares. It might be his best protest song (altho I deduct points, because I’m not sure Rueben was actually innocent). > _Black Diamond Bay_ is a wonderful, funny story song. > _Mozambique_ is about as catchy as Dylan gets, and presumably very tongue-in-cheek. > _Isis_ is not a song I really like, but I can’t call it unmemorable. It’s about grave robbing. **Desire** is a fairly decent album. A sad drop off from **Blood On the Tracks,** which is amaze balls, but not all that bad. And I love “Joey.” The Dead covered it on **Dylan and the Dead,** and it sounds GREAT when I play it on my piano. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/42 "2020-06-12T00:04:49Z")
Also, as a Brooklynite, I know all the geography in the song…even where Gallo is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery. And I’ve had dinner at Umberto’s Clam Bar on Mulberry Street in Manhattan, where Joey was gunned down ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/43 "2020-06-12T00:05:05Z")
> [@SwissMan](#): > > **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. I was going to suggest Elton John’s **The Fox** , but now that I think about it, **Victim of Love** has that one beat. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/44 "2020-06-12T00:51:00Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I totally endorse this sentiment. Pathetic album. Thirded (mostly). I also gave it two listens, hoping the second time there was something there. But nothing ever came. I don’t remember a lot of it now, but it seems like it was Roger Waters writing more songs like Mother and Nobody Home (off The Wall), but having already used up all of his talent for such songs on the previous album. The real stinker of the Pink Floyd catalog though is Atom Heart Mother. Infamoous [sic] for the cow on the cover. I seem to recall pawing through endless copies of that album on the racks of CD stores when I was young looking for Floyd album’s I’d herd [sic] of. One of my friends did get it on vinyl though (in like 2010!) and I listened to it with him once, but we ended up talking a lot more than listening to it; it was dreadfully boring. It wasn’t until Meddle did they find a way to make interesting music in this style. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/45 "2020-06-12T00:57:26Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > I am talking about none other than _Open Your Eyes_. That was going to be a Squire/Sherwood album originally, so input from Howe and Anderson (and whoever the drummer was, I forget) was limited. I’ve never listened to anything on it other than what was on the In A Word box set; if the two they picked from the album are the best they have to offer there, then yeah, it’s probably pretty bad. [insert quote about Drama being terrible] Drama at least had 2 good songs (again, the ones in the Box Set); I haven’t heard the rest of the album, but Tempus Fugit is one of their best in my opinion. Machine Messiah is a bit overwrought, but that’s Yes. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/46 "2020-06-12T01:15:43Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Jethro Tull’s [“A”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_(Jethro_Tull_album)) was, if not quite “really lousy”, a long long way from the quality I associate with them. And do any of these track names conjure up earworms for you? I quite like “Black Sunday,” I listened to the album quite a bit. I would certainly pick that album over “Roots to Branches” or “Catfish Rising.” For Yes, just about all of the post-“Talk” albums are pretty forgettable, I guess “Open Your Eyes” works as the worst. I did change my tune a bit on “Drama” after I heard a post-Jon Anderson live performance of some of the songs. For Blue Oyster Cult, “Club Ninja” would probably get most agreement as by far their worst effort. And DEVO fans would probably be OK if their Energy Domes would erase all memories of “Smooth Noodle Maps.” ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/47 "2020-06-12T01:28:48Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > 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. **Shakedown Street** is chock full of concert staples besides the title track - Fire on the Mountain, Good Lovin’ , I Need A Miracle, Stagger Lee (maybe), Minglewood Blues. Maybe the album wasn’t well-received but a lot of the songs went on to glory. I don’t recognize anything off of **Built To Last** , but admittedly I didn’t give it much of a chance and my concert attendance had fallen off sharply by the time it came out. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/48 "2020-06-12T01:37:29Z")
Both _Human Touch_ and _Lucky Town_ by Bruce Springsteen (released simultaneously so I feel justified counting them together here). There’s a track or two on each that are good, but the albums are both uninspired and forgettable against the rest of his work. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/49 "2020-06-12T02:13:07Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Both _Human Touch_ and _Lucky Town_ by Bruce Springsteen (released simultaneously so I feel justified counting them together here). > > There’s a track or two on each that are good, but the albums are both uninspired and forgettable against the rest of his work. I remember thinking “Why two albums? He’s got less material than one good album here.” Disappointing after some of his classic albums that were full of great stuff. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/50 "2020-06-12T03:16:49Z")
Many R.E.M. fans consider 2001’s “Reveal” to be their best work. BLEEECCHHH!!! It’s one good song (Imitation of Life) and the rest is filler. Never thought R.E.M. was capable of filler until I heard that. And no, it hasn’t grown on me with additional listens, either. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/51 "2020-06-12T04:37:37Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I totally endorse this sentiment. Pathetic album. Add me to the list. > [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Also, as a Brooklynite, I know all the geography in the song…even where Gallo is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery. And I’ve had dinner at Umberto’s Clam Bar on Mulberry Street in Manhattan, where Joey was gunned down You are the one Doper I wanna hang with and listen to music and carouse. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/52 "2020-06-12T13:29:11Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > Thirded (mostly). I also gave it two listens, hoping the second time there was something there. But nothing ever came. I appreciated it more after taking a British history course and getting a feel for what he was painting: a country that gave up so many men, both those dead and those physically & mentally battered, to watch the country they fought for plunge into economic depression, racism, etc. I won’t argue that it’s especially _successful_ but at least I felt like I understood what he was going for. And at least it has some melodies on it which is more than you could say for the dreadful “Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking” where the only thing interesting about the album was arguably the cover art. Not to argue if The Final Cut should nominally count as a Waters solo or PF band album, label aside. > [@](#): > > The real stinker of the Pink Floyd catalog though is Atom Heart Mother. I’ll agree with that. Even in my Floydiest of Pink Floyd days I couldn’t get halfway through that album. Shit, I might have listened to Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking more often. ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/53 "2020-06-12T14:31:33Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Drama is by far Yes’ worst album. I quite like 90125, it’s been forever since I heard Big Generator. Are you kidding? Drama is much better than Tormato. Granted Drama is harder, but very good. Machine Messiah and Into the Lens are fabulous songs. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/54 "2020-06-12T14:55:07Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Pink Floyd’s _The Final Cut_ was pretty weak IMO. Listened to it once, couldn’t make it through a second listening. Roger Waters was too clever by half at that point. No kidding. Without anyone else in the band willing or available to tone down his self pity it was a lousy album. (As were his subsequent solo albums.) To be fair, I think the title cut and The Gunner’s Dream are some of the best Floyd songs, but pretty much the rest is a giant “woe is me the evil world took my daddy away and no one can understand my pain.” The Fletcher Memorial Home being the nadir. Waters was much better when he was subtle. The same pain over his father drives DSoTM and yet that album not only isn’t self-indulgent crap but is arguably their best album. Back when Radio KAOS came out, I heard a Jim Ladd Innerview with Waters (note that Ladd appears on the album) and the question I really wanted asked was “Do you think we shouldn’t have fought WWII?” At the time, I thought the answer would have been yes. To look the other way, I like The Division Bell, but it is like “almost” Pink Floyd. It’s obviously missing something, and that something is Waters. Waters without the influence of Gilmour is screechy crap, but Gilmour without Waters is PF Lite. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/55 "2020-06-12T14:55:34Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Pink Floyd’s _The Final Cut_ was pretty weak IMO. Listened to it once, couldn’t make it through a second listening. Roger Waters was too clever by half at that point. > [@AHunter3](#): > > I totally endorse this sentiment. Pathetic album. Sorry, but you’re both wrong here 😃 _The Final Cut is not a great album, but it’s definitely not “really lousy.” Both the title cut and Fletcher Memorial Home are stellar tracks, Not Now John kicks out the jams, The Gunner’s Dream is gorgeous, and Two Suns in the Sunset_ is a pleasantly unpleasant finish. However uneven, no album with those songs on it can be considered really lousy. I mean, sure, if you’re not into political statements in your rock, then this album is not for you, but that doesn’t make it bad. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/56 "2020-06-12T17:55:48Z")
To flog the Floyd horse… Final Cut, often derided as just a solo Waters album badged with the PF name, is still superior to his own true solo albums. Worst PF vote for me goes to Ummagumma; instrumental pieces lacking melody or interest, boring vocal pieces, and the memorable track being animal sound effects ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/57 "2020-06-12T18:57:48Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’ll start with the Rolling Stones and Black and Blue. Yes, it’s worse than Emotional Rescue and Their Satanic Majesties Request. **Black And Blue** strongly agreed. (Mildy disagree re **Satanic Majesties Request** which for me has improved with age.) > [@campp](#): > > Beatles completists picked up **Yellow Submarine** for all the good tracks on Side 1. No one ever played Side 2, the soundtrack music. I know it’s a minority opinion but I’ve always enjoyed side two. Gave Fifth Fab George Martin a chance to show off a little. I listen to it often, find it pleasant and often beautiful. And I’m surprised no one else has mentioned one of the most obvious picks: ELP’s **Love Beach**. A couple of Emerson’s tracks on side two showed only potential mediocrity. As released the album’s content is even worse than the cover photo. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/58 "2020-06-12T19:06:56Z")
Looking at it one way I’d agree with The Final Cut. On the one hand, I think it’s the third best Floyd album for showcasing what musicianship they have, behind The Wall and Obscured by Clouds, even though the writing is overly self-important. As an album as a whole, it’s better than most of their pre-Dark Side albums. But, you can’t separate the tracks: it needs to stand out as an album in a way that the pre-Dark Side albums didn’t. With the except of Piper and ObC which are great albums in their own right, all of the pre-dark side-released albums aren’t great but would make great EPs with the best cuts. I don’t think The Final Cut would be able to withstand such trimming. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/59 "2020-06-12T20:03:46Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > **Black And Blue** strongly agreed. (Mildy disagree re **Satanic Majesties Request** which for me has improved with age.) > I know it’s a minority opinion but I’ve always enjoyed side two. Gave Fifth Fab George Martin a chance to show off a little. I listen to it often, find it pleasant and often beautiful. > > And I’m surprised no one else has mentioned one of the most obvious picks: ELP’s **Love Beach**. A couple of Emerson’s tracks on side two showed only potential mediocrity. As released the album’s content is even worse than the cover photo. . Love Beach has always been a hard one for me. It was out of print when I first got into ELP during the time when vinyl was giving way to CDs and naturally Love Beach, long out of print on vinyl, wasn’t a priority to make it to CD. I know Works II is just a bunch of odds and ends that were laying around, but that’s downright awful. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455/60 "2020-06-12T23:05:56Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > And I’m surprised no one else has mentioned one of the most obvious picks: ELP’s **Love Beach**. A couple of Emerson’s tracks on side two showed only potential mediocrity. As released the album’s content is even worse than the cover photo. I wonder how many people thought that was a Bee Gees album at first glance. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-albums-by-really-good-bands/855455.md?page=4)