# The Worst Album By A Band U like **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 20, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058 "2020-09-20T03:58:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/141 "2021-05-13T17:30:57Z")
I’ve gotten pushback on this before, but I’d say Zeppelin’s worst album was “Presence”. To me a lot of the album sounds like they were just making it up in the studio as they went along. (“Achilles Last Stand” is awesome tho.) ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/142 "2021-05-13T17:49:49Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > While there are a couple of good songs on the first side (“Medicated Goo” and “Shanghai Noodle Factory”), the rest is undistinguished. Those two songs are better than the entirety of 90% of most albums out there. Low Spark and Fantasy Factory are much worse records. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/143 "2021-05-13T17:54:53Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > The Zep album I recall most people panning when I was in high school was _Houses of the Holy_ , which also doesn’t appear to have received a mention here yet. Although I shouldn’t nominate it myself, not having heard it often enough to formulate a real opinion. The fact that I didn’t rush out to get a copy is probably somewhat relevant though — that’s certainly how I reacted after hearing _Physical Graffiti_ played a couple times at parties. > [@Shoeless](#): > > I’ve gotten pushback on this before, but I’d say Zeppelin’s worst album was “Presence”. To me a lot of the album sounds like they were just making it up in the studio as they went along. (“Achilles Last Stand” is awesome tho.) The way I rank all Led Zep studio albums is simple (I’ll rate them on a scale from 0-5, like many music magazines and websites do): The first six albums from _Led Zeppelin (I)_ to _Physical Graffiti_ are all top notch stuff, five star albums, including _Houses Of The Holy_. In comparison to that very high standard, _Presence_ was a disappointment, though it’s still quite good, I’d say four good songs and three fillers, so I give it 3.5 stars. _In Through The Outdoor_ though is a total miss for me, I couldn’t listen to it more than three or four times in my life, though I’ve owned the album for more than 30 years. 2 stars for this album, including a Zep bonus. ETA: and don’t ask me about _Coda_, which was simply a cash grab, though it’s still much better than ITTOD. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/144 "2021-05-13T18:42:44Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > which was simply a cash grab You say that like it’s a bad thing! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/145 "2021-05-14T15:59:31Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > The first six albums from _Led Zeppelin (I)_ to _Physical Graffiti_ are all top notch stuff, five star albums, including _Houses Of The Holy_ . In comparison to that very high standard, _Presence_ was a disappointment, though it’s still quite good, I’d say four good songs and three fillers, so I give it 3.5 stars. _In Through The Outdoor_ though is a total miss for me, I couldn’t listen to it more than three or four times in my life, though I’ve owned the album for more than 30 years. 2 stars for this album, including a Zep bonus. That would be my exact feeling as well, though I do like ‘Presence’ a lot. ( I like harder rock ) > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > ETA: and don’t ask me about _Coda_ , which was simply a cash grab, though it’s still much better than ITTOD. It was much so much better than the muck that was ITTOD that I believed at the time it was LZs way of saying “sorry” for ITTOD and bowing out with music more typical of LZs style. Cash grab though it likely was. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/146 "2021-05-14T16:33:09Z")
I actually liked ITTOD - it wasn’t a knockout, but it has some songs that I still like. Now, the gimmick where the inside sleeve was coated with some kind of ink powder, so that you could daub at it with a wet cloth and turn it into colors, seemed very kitschy for such a great band. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/147 "2021-05-16T17:15:55Z")
Meh - I’m totally lawnchair about Zeppelin. Just give me their first four albums k thx bye. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/148 "2021-05-16T19:45:09Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > I know it wasn’t so much an “album” as a random assembling of tracks by Capital(ist) Records, but The Beatles’ “Second Album” was the one I never bothered to buy when I was buying them all (in their American versions). I’ll agree “Yellow Submarine” would have been as worthy of a place in my non-collection. While the American albums were very much an attempt to milk every last cent out of the Beatles, I think The Beatles Second Album was a pretty good one, all rock and roll and no ballads. Collecting the Beatles before the CD era was a mess for me as I had a mix of the British versions, American versions and the endless compilations ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/149 "2021-05-18T03:31:57Z")
Jandek’s _The Gone Wait_ is just a slog. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/150 "2021-05-20T16:26:35Z")
> The Zep album I recall most people panning when I was in high school was _Houses of the Holy_ No way, Jose. Check the track listing: No Quarter, Rain Song, Over the Hills and Far Away and especially The Song Remains the Same, which is in my opinion one of the all-time great songs of hard rock. IIRC, Presence was set back by several strokes of bad luck, with Plant singing from a wheelchair (broken leg from car accident, I think) and Page taking over the completion of the album and basically turning it into an even more guitar-driven effort. It’s very dense and “Pagey” and therefore likely to thrill some fans and turn off others, but it’s still far better than In Through the Out Door. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/151 "2021-05-20T16:38:30Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > No way, Jose. Check the track listing: No Quarter, Rain Song, Over the Hills and Far Away and especially The Song Remains the Same, which is in my opinion one of the all-time great songs of hard rock. Don’t forget “The Ocean”, which has the greatest riff of all those great Zep riff songs. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/152 "2021-05-20T17:58:34Z")
> the **greatest** riff of all those great Zep riff songs (Bolding mine.) It’s a good one, of course, but I dunno about greatest… Don’t you prefer the riffs in The Lemon Song and Bring It on Home? Maybe I’m just partial to that second album. Hey, sorry to get off topic, but what are you guys doing to quote messages? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/153 "2021-05-20T18:04:56Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > (Bolding mine.) It’s a good one, of course, but I dunno about greatest… Don’t you prefer the riffs in The Lemon Song and Bring It on Home? Maybe I’m just partial to that second album. Well, it’s definitely just my personal taste. The three greatest Led Zep riffs in my book are, in this order, The Ocean, Out On The Tiles and Black Dog. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/154 "2021-05-20T18:06:43Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > Hey, sorry to get off topic, but what are you guys doing to quote messages? Highlight the text you want to quote, and a button labeled “Quote” at the top of the text block appears. Click that button, and you can compose your answer. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/155 "2021-05-20T18:49:52Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Highlight the text you want to quote, and a button labeled “Quote” at the top of the text block appears. Click that button, and you can compose your answer. Aha! Thank you! Yeah, those are good ones. I love the way Page slides the chords around at the end of Out on the Tiles. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/156 "2021-05-20T19:18:45Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > I love the way Page slides the chords around at the end of Out on the Tiles. What I like about “Out On The Tiles” is that it’s either a never ending succession of riffs, or one great riff in one that dominates the whole song. I’s a tour de force. Other songs in that category are “Back In Black” and “Iron Man”, but that’s an exclusive company. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/157 "2021-05-21T16:54:50Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > IIRC, Presence was set back by several strokes of bad luck, with Plant singing from a wheelchair (broken leg from car accident, I think) and Page taking over the completion of the album and basically turning it into an even more guitar-driven effort. It’s very dense and “Pagey” and therefore likely to thrill some fans and turn off others Interesting. I’m definitely one of those who was ( and is ) thrilled by its Pagey-ness and density. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/158 "2021-05-21T23:23:35Z")
Electric Light Orchestra - The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach Sounds like the entire group was recorded with one (1) Mr. Microphone onto a portable cassette recorder; cannot hear any bass, no kick drum, no cellos. Fortunately, it was re-mastered for CD and this version is supoib. Except they tinkered with the lengths of one or two songs – what is a poor boy to do? ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/159 "2021-05-25T17:52:49Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > I think I’ve listened to Van Halen’s _Balance_ all the way through only once My public library subscribes to Hoopla, which recently added Van Halen’s entire catalog. 23 years after it was released, I have finally heard _Van Halen III_ (AKA the one with Gary Cherone) in its entirety. It’s worse than _Balance_. To confirm this, I subjected myself to _Balance_ a second time. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2021, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/160 "2021-05-26T03:23:46Z")
Okay, I listened to Balance. Damn, when I don’t compare it to early VH, it’s great! “[Aftershock](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WiFtYANVrI)” is a classic, with a tasty intro of Edward’s guitar work, “Amsterdam” is a rockin’ tribute to Alex and Ed’s home town, and “[Don’t Tell Me What Love Can Do](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXbL-qQKv9c)” is a great pop song, and no, not a love song… Love how Sammy drops in a throwaway “Hey, Ray, whatcha say is true” before the last chorus of “[I Can’t Stop Lovin’ You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEMxstEZbQU)”. I thought, that’s a weird line, who’s Ray? Finally realized: Ray Charles, who recorded a very different “I Can’t Stop Lovin’ You”… I guess I really missed ‘power guitar’ over the past year; this was like connecting with an old friend… Apparently, I love Van Halen, but I love Van Hagar, too… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058.md?page=9)