sockit
The Surfer Moon
Posts: 234
Likes: 181
|
Post by sockit on Jan 7, 2023 20:54:58 GMT
I'd like to discuss albums of any band or artist (or even genre, if you so desire) that you either initially liked, and then for whatever reason currently dislike, or albums that didn't do it for you at first, until you eventually "got it". I think we'll just go in both directions with it from the start.
I'll start with two oldies for my [Loved it at First, Now I Don't] list:
YES--90125 This was probably the second or third rock album I ever bought, back when I was in my teens and the album had just come out. Nearly half of the songs were in heavy rotation on FM radio, so I was already confident that I was making a worthwhile purchase. I initially loved every song on the album, and listened to it often in my room and in my first car on a cassette that I recorded the Lp onto. But a few years later, it meant less and less to me as I realized that the heavy electronic aspect of the music was starting to grate on me. It was very much a product of its time and it hasn't aged well (at least for me). I really like Yes, but I currently focus on their early albums. Fragile is, and always will be, amazing!
STING--DREAM OF THE BLUE TURTLES This was another album I bought when it was first released (again, on vinyl), and I bought it primarily because I had been such a huge fan of The Police and was saddened by their split. Initially I was struck--in a good way--by the difference in style of the music. The bluesy, jazzy feel on some of the songs by some great musicians, and some of the somber crooning by Sting on the mellower numbers really resonated with me, and I played the album quite often usually late at night. But nowadays I find Sting's slurring mumbling vocals rather annoying, and recent attempts to listen to songs from the album leave me depressed.
More to come.....
|
|
|
Post by kds on Jan 8, 2023 2:03:06 GMT
That's funny. I was going to start a similar thread. I have a few in mind, but I'll start with just one for now.
Queen - Made in Heaven - Queen's 1995 posthumous album was released just under three years after the music of Queen made me a music geek. So, a new album was something I welcomed.
I got a copy for Christmas in 1995. I played it once, and was disappointed. I think I played it twice more before pretty much shelving it. Though, I did like the title track and Mother Love, the rest of the album left me a bit cold. Firstly, it didn't rock out at all, except for a couple spots. Even Hot Space had Put Out the Fire at least.
It really wasn't until fairly recently, maybe when I did my Queen catalog rundown here, that I embraced the album for what it was. Three new songs and the rest cobbled together from unused songs from previous albums, and Queenified versions of solo songs. But, it was apparently what Freddie wanted. Its a disjointed listen, and still on the low end of their catalog, but I find myself enjoying it a lot more now, even to the point where I'm somewhat fascinated by its creation.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jan 8, 2023 17:28:22 GMT
The first thing that occurs to me is half album, half artist. And it is The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Electric Ladyland.
My 9-years-older sister introduced me to this once she was away at college, and I am guessing I was about 11 or 12, making this 1987-88. I was interested in, and maybe even starting to play, guitar. She brought home a series of dubbed cassettes for me, some of whole albums (or as much fit on those cassettes), and others compilations. Most of Electric Ladyland was on one she gave me (along with the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Corrosion of Conformity, U2, Pink Floyd...).
I knew Hendrix was supposed to be a guitar god, which was why the idea appealed to me. But in an era when "guitar god" meant Eddie Van Halen first and foremost, and then maybe Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, etc., I was more confused than anything else by this album. But it appealed to me anyway, because I knew it was cool among college kids. It had to be good. Soon enough, as I began really learning to play, I recognized that some of these rhythm parts and great phrasing were every bit as good as (or better than) the two-hand tapping and whammy bar dives I more immediately recognized, even if they lacked fully saturated distortion tones and digital delay effects.
For 10-15 years, Hendrix was never far from the front of my mind, especially as guitar playing went. But also for songs, for production. And Electric Ladyland was the first among equals with his studio albums.
But as my taste has widened to include more concise pop songs, I guess it has narrowed somewhat in other areas. I'm no longer as patient with the long-form jams especially found on this album. I still love Hendrix, and frankly worship him to some extent. But what was once both easily my favorite of his albums and one of my favorites overall (like, top 5) is now no longer either of the two.
|
|
sockit
The Surfer Moon
Posts: 234
Likes: 181
|
Post by sockit on Jan 8, 2023 18:12:11 GMT
Here's 2 entries for my [Didn't Like Initially, But Now Among My Favorites] list: SOMETHING ELSE BY THE KINKS Like a lot of classic rock enthusiasts, my Kinks fandom began with the singles, as oldies radio always seemed to play the same hits over and over. I was mulling over which of several comps to buy on CD when a friend burned me a copy of Something Else. He told me it was their finest album and something I would probably be into. Listening through it I was very underwhelmed and only perked up when hearing the final track, Waterloo Sunset, one of my favorites then and now. This was supposedly a concept album, but I didn't hear any connections between the songs. They varied in style and seemed to be all over the place. Death of a Clown was a circus-y tune going into a very dark place, No Return was sort of a jazzy little number, Lazy Old Sun was some sort of off-the-rails psychedelic romp...But I've come to appreciate that that is the concept of the album. It is all over the place for good reason. And I've really gotten into that whole surreal undertone of the production. Love it! LED ZEPPELIN--HOUSES OF THE HOLY In the 1980s I caught the Zeppelin bug and was working on collecting each album on vinyl. I would seek out used copies that weren't too worn at thrift stores and garage sales. I had multiple copies of the first four and was working my way through the rest of the catalogue when I discovered HOTH. My brother in law played an 8-track of it for me . I was not impressed. There were a few songs that rocked, such as the opening and closing songs. But there were some long slow songs like The Rain Song and No Quarter that I just couldn't get into at first. And then there were the poppy sounding D'Yer Maker and Dancing Days. It all seemed more polished than I was accustomed to from Zeppelin. Gone was that earthy sounding raw blues from their earliest offerings. But now I think those are the qualities that draw me to the album. HOTH is now my go-to album when I want to listen to some Zep. Every track is a winner...well maybe except for The Crunge!
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jan 8, 2023 18:35:57 GMT
LED ZEPPELIN--HOUSES OF THE HOLY In the 1980s I caught the Zeppelin bug and was working on collecting each album on vinyl. I would seek out used copies that weren't too worn at thrift stores and garage sales. I had multiple copies of the first four and was working my way through the rest of the catalogue when I discovered HOTH. My brother in law played an 8-track of it for me . I was not impressed. There were a few songs that rocked, such as the opening and closing songs. But there were some long slow songs like The Rain Song and No Quarter that I just couldn't get into at first. And then there were the poppy sounding D'Yer Maker and Dancing Days. It all seemed more polished than I was accustomed to from Zeppelin. Gone was that earthy sounding raw blues from their earliest offerings. But now I think those are the qualities that draw me to the album. HOTH is now my go-to album when I want to listen to some Zep. Every track is a winner...well maybe except for The Crunge! Funny, because once I got past "everyone's favorite" IV, Houses of the Holy became my go-to pick for favorite Zeppelin album ... and it might still sit there atop the pile for me even today. ( IV is still actually at the top, but it's such a boring, obvious pick, it almost doesn't count. It's like the "after Pet Sounds, what's your favorite Beach Boys album?" question.) I love the flow of it, the diversity of it, the arrangements--no, the orchestrations--of it.
|
|
|
Post by lonelysummer on Jan 11, 2023 2:37:19 GMT
Here's 2 entries for my [Didn't Like Initially, But Now Among My Favorites] list: SOMETHING ELSE BY THE KINKS Like a lot of classic rock enthusiasts, my Kinks fandom began with the singles, as oldies radio always seemed to play the same hits over and over. I was mulling over which of several comps to buy on CD when a friend burned me a copy of Something Else. He told me it was their finest album and something I would probably be into. Listening through it I was very underwhelmed and only perked up when hearing the final track, Waterloo Sunset, one of my favorites then and now. This was supposedly a concept album, but I didn't hear any connections between the songs. They varied in style and seemed to be all over the place. Death of a Clown was a circus-y tune going into a very dark place, No Return was sort of a jazzy little number, Lazy Old Sun was some sort of off-the-rails psychedelic romp...But I've come to appreciate that that is the concept of the album. It is all over the place for good reason. And I've really gotten into that whole surreal undertone of the production. Love it! I played Something Else for a friend back in the 80's, and he didn't like it. He was familiar with the YRGM/ADAAOTN/TOWFY/Lola hits, and the Arista stuff, but I could tell he was thrown by this album that lacked heavy guitars and drums. He loved State of Confusion and Give the People What They Want.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jan 11, 2023 12:33:26 GMT
I have a question for the board, as opposed to another album--though I'll get to those, too.
I'm wondering how often you actually like music/musicians less over time. And I want to be very specific, here.
- I don't mean you just don't get around to them much anymore. I definitely know how that goes: as our catalogs expand and we gather new favorites over time, it's just not possible to keep listening to everything as often as we used to. - I don't mean that, having listened to something so often, you've gotten over the thrill, grown somewhat tired of it through familiarity.
I mean that you literally do not like it. You actively dislike it. Your opinion of the music has really gone from positive to negative.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 11, 2023 13:01:09 GMT
I have a question for the board, as opposed to another album--though I'll get to those, too. I'm wondering how often you actually like music/musicians less over time. And I want to be very specific, here. - I don't mean you just don't get around to them much anymore. I definitely know how that goes: as our catalogs expand and we gather new favorites over time, it's just not possible to keep listening to everything as often as we used to. - I don't mean that, having listened to something so often, you've gotten over the thrill, grown somewhat tired of it through familiarity.
I mean that you literally do not like it. You actively dislike it. Your opinion of the music has really gone from positive to negative. Off the top of my head - and I just did a mental scroll through my music collection - I can't think of any! All of them fall into the criteria I highlighted in your post. I think there is simple answer for that. I was never an experimenter in making purchases through the years. In my younger years, due mostly to financial reasons, I never went into the record stores and splurged and grabbed a handful of albums. I would buy one. I was always focused in (sometimes through researching the artist through music publications or hearing them on the radio) and the risk of disliking the album was minimal. Same thing as I got older. I was pretty sure I was gonna like the music before I acquired it. But, I'll repeat that I'm not as "open" to new/unfamiliar music as some, and I don't take many chances.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jan 11, 2023 13:14:58 GMT
Interesting, because that's pretty much exactly what I was thinking when I wrote it. I was trying to think of more things to post in this thread along those lines (wanting to balance positive and negative changes, I was making mental lists), but couldn't think of anything I truly, REALLY don't like anymore. Anything I think of in that respect is more just along the lines of "not as into anymore as I was then." But in basically every case, I still get why I liked it.
Late 80s: rap (Run DMC, Kool Moe Dee, Young MC, Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy, etc.) and contemporary hard rock (Poison, Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Van Halen, etc.)
Early 90s: classic rock (Zeppelin, Queen, Hendrix, the Doors, Pink Floyd, Clapton, Jeff Beck), shredders (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Frank Gambale, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jason Becker, Marty Friedman), and blues (Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan)
Late 90s: avant garde (Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Velvet Underground) and jazz (Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane), the Beach Boys enter the picture...
Early 00s: indie rock (the entire Elephant 6 collective [of Montreal, Neutral Milk Hotel, Apples in Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control, Beulah, etc], Cotton Mather, Wilco, Belle & Sebastian
Since then I've added a lot more mainstream pop, various discoveries in those genres, and I've waxed and waned between the types of music and specific bands. But I don't hate any of them. I might never listen to Kool Moe Dee now, but I love him anyway. I haven't put on an Apples in Stereo record in years, but I still love them. Poison will never be anything but a fun memory for me. I just can't do a 180 on any music I once loved. I always still "get it." Maybe that shows a lack of growth in me, but I don't care: to me, that means I'm lucky to find more pleasure in more places than I otherwise might.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 11, 2023 13:28:49 GMT
Just expanding on this particular topic, I (and a lot of music fans) had chances where the aspect of disliking what you previously liked could've really come into play. When CDs first came out in the 1980s, I frustratingly had to replace many of the vinyl albums I worked so hard to accumulate. A similar thing happened with downloading digital tracks and streaming. And, you know what? They still sounded good. Groups like The Doors, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Sparks, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Dylan were no-brainers. That wasn't gonna change. But I remember purchasing the Double Platinum CD by KISS and thinking, "Damn, that stuff still sounds good!". Ditto with Slade, The Ramones, Lou Reed, Blue Oyster Cult and other "second tier" favorites.
I'm sorry for repeating, but the number of artists/albums in my music collection is limited. I was very, very selective (and probably lazy and close-minded) as to what I would spend my time listening to and/or purchasing.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Jan 11, 2023 16:22:01 GMT
Here's another one that came to mind
The Who - Face Dances - I first really got into The Who in the late 1990s, and I think by 2000 or 2001, I'd gotten their entire catalog. And, I'd listen to all the albums often, but the post Quadrophenia material really wasn't landing with me too much. In particular, the two post Moon albums.
Now, I still believe the two post Moon albums of the late 80s are the weakest in the catalog, but I've really come to appreciate Face Dances in particular for what it is. It's a bit of a kinder, gentler Who sound (which I didn't much care for in my early 20s), and I actually now wish they'd have done more albums in this vein.
|
|
|
Post by B.E. on Jan 11, 2023 23:57:43 GMT
I have a question for the board, as opposed to another album--though I'll get to those, too. I'm wondering how often you actually like music/musicians less over time. And I want to be very specific, here. - I don't mean you just don't get around to them much anymore. I definitely know how that goes: as our catalogs expand and we gather new favorites over time, it's just not possible to keep listening to everything as often as we used to. - I don't mean that, having listened to something so often, you've gotten over the thrill, grown somewhat tired of it through familiarity. I mean that you literally do not like it. You actively dislike it. Your opinion of the music has really gone from positive to negative. I'd probably have to go back to middle school or earlier to find examples. Before my musical preferences were settled on and when my musical knowledge was quite limited. Still, I probably wouldn't wholly dislike many groups I previously liked. But certain elements of their music I might have done a full 180 on. Then again, enjoying something in small doses due to nostalgia, isn't really the same as liking it on its merit, is it?
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jan 12, 2023 1:32:04 GMT
I have a question for the board, as opposed to another album--though I'll get to those, too. I'm wondering how often you actually like music/musicians less over time. And I want to be very specific, here. - I don't mean you just don't get around to them much anymore. I definitely know how that goes: as our catalogs expand and we gather new favorites over time, it's just not possible to keep listening to everything as often as we used to. - I don't mean that, having listened to something so often, you've gotten over the thrill, grown somewhat tired of it through familiarity. I mean that you literally do not like it. You actively dislike it. Your opinion of the music has really gone from positive to negative. I'd probably have to go back to middle school or earlier to find examples. Before my musical preferences were settled on and when my musical knowledge was quite limited. Still, I probably wouldn't wholly dislike many groups I previously liked. But certain elements of their music I might have done a full 180 on. Then again, enjoying something in small doses due to nostalgia, isn't really the same as liking it on its merit, is it? I'm not sure. It's certainly not the same as a matter of degree, but I am not sure it is a fully different experience. I don't know that we are very good at liking something on its merit, or even especially good at defining merit. I think our emotional reactions, including nostalgia, are probably inherent in judging whether what we hear has merit. I know that intellectually we might lay out criteria, but I think most of us are quite familiar with having a disconnect between something we KNOW has merit, and not liking it. So are we liking on merit if we dislike things with merit? Real point just being that there is a gray area. (I'd acknowledge the extremes.)
|
|
|
Post by kds on Jan 12, 2023 13:33:51 GMT
There's a band whose catalog I've probably listened to more than anyone's and that's my favorite all time band - Pink Floyd. I came up with three albums whose standings have changed with me over the last 25 years or so.
Piper at the Gates of Dawn (Trending Down) - As I've gotten older, I'm just not as into the Syd Barrett era as I used to be. I still think his three minute pop songs are pretty good, but I think the longer pieces drag this album down a bit in my opinion, and Floyd would IMO excel in longform pieces just a bit later. Although, while the album itself has trended down with me, the track Chapter 24 has trended up in the last 2 years. I was never really into the song back in the late 90s / early 00s, but there's something I find soothing about it now.
The Final Cut (Trending Down) - Maybe it's because I'm less angst now than I was then, but Roger Waters's overly negative lyrics don't move me like they once did. And, unless Animals and The Wall, there aren't enough good melodies on The Final Cut to carry the piece, and not nearly enough David Gilmour guitar. This album used to sit in my Top Five, just behind the Big Four (Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall), but it's slipped down, and replaced by....
The Division Bell (Trending Up) - I used to think this album was had solid bookends, with a soft middle. But, I've come around on tracks like A Great Day for Freedom, Wearing the Inside Out, and Coming Back to Life. I now think this album hangs right there with Floyd's classic 70s albums. fun fact, this album is now older than Floyd's debut was when I first got into the band.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Jan 12, 2023 13:37:20 GMT
Maybe it's because I'm less angst now than I was then, but Roger Waters's overly negative lyrics don't move me like they once did. Maybe that's just one of those cliches that turns out to be true, but I also don't relate to, or feel as deep a connection to, angry or angsty lyrics as I did when I was a teenager and twentysomething. It's funny, because it isn't that I don't think the world is full of tragedy, unfairness, disparities, cruelty, etc., it's just that I don't think it's a good use of my limited time on earth to wallow in, or rage against, something that isn't going anywhere.
|
|