Worst album by your favourite acts

This is the part of the thread where I tell you to kiss my ass.

GAH! What're you, a communist or something? Go2 may have its flaws, but it's miles better than, say, Mummer or Nonesuch or fuckin' Wasp Star. Respect is due!!!

and if that doens't count becuase technically it is a soundtrack then:

Prince, The Rainbow Children

Surely you meant Goodbye Cruel World.

Duran Duran -- Thank You (though I do love some songs off it)
Japan -- Obscure Alternatives (though I do still like it)
U2 -- Zooropa (tossup between this and Pop, but I actually love songs off Pop)
David Bowie -- Never Let Me Down (disliked this more than Tin Machine, actually)

This is difficult! I still like all of the above, just not as much as I like their other stuff...if I dislike some of their stuff it feels like it doesn't really make them my favourite band.

Hm. You do prefer a.o. Stereopathetic Soul Manure to Mellow Gold then?
Surprise.

All of those are great pop albums. From 1983 onwards, everything XTC has done has been close to perfect, with the possible exception of "Big Express" album.

I'm not really a fan, but I thought that was supposed to be their best one?

I suppose it's a testament to the greatness of XTC that we can have such disparate tastes yet still both love them. And as far as I'm concerned, Big Express is also WAAAAAYYYYY better than Nonsuch, Mummer and Wasp Star.

I don't think XTC have made a truly great album since Oranges & Lemons, actually.

I actually agree here :-)

But Pop had "If God Will Send His Angels", which IMHO was a fantab song! And "Staring At The Sun" and "Discotheque", both of which I like quite a bit. But then again you're talking to a person who favors latter-era releases. And yes, both albums aren't nearly as good as, oh, say, October or All That You Can't Leave Behind or, yes, The Unforgettable Fire, so point taken on that end.

Japan - 'Obscure Alternatives' (only a few missteps here)

*overjoyed Patrick agrees here*
But yes, there are ONLY a "few missteps" in the whole of the album. The title track, for example. And I don't feel as deliriously happy about some of the songs on this album as I do about some of the songs on the rest of the band's releases. Adolescent Sex, for example, which I'm still really wanting to listen to.

Sean -- no way. Heh. Can we agree to disagree here? Really, I think the rest of the band's catalogue is aurally stunning and amazing and I think I'd closely guard ALL of my Japan CDs and... gosh, starting to feel a bit icky now.

Would've agreed until this year, but 100th Window really is poor.

Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk
PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea

Bullshit. It's one of the best-sequenced records I've ever heard. I actually like it better than the rather spotty Warehouse or Flip Your Wig.

Devo - 'Shout!'

Choosing between this and Smooth Noodle Maps is like choosing between diarrea and constipation, but I'll have to go with you on this one.

R.E.M: Monster

Naah, I actually like this one. I'd go with Green.

The Residents-The King and Eye: Probabally the worst album put out by a major act in the last twenty years, with the possible exeception of Duran Duran's Thank You. (The Sousa side of Stars and Hank Forever is actually worse, but the Hank Williams side is so good that it wouldn't be fair to classify this as their worst.)

Naah, I actually like this one. I'd go with Green.

Curiouser and curiouser it gets.
Actually,
R.E.M. - Reveal

&
Saint Etienne - Sound of Water
Zep - In Through The Out Door
Portishead - Portishead

(bit of an r.e.m.X-post)

You're insane!!!!

Whaaa?! Bullshit! Their best efforts, bar none!

Led Zeppelin - Presence?
Sonic Youth - I guess I'll say NYC Ghosts & Flowers?; someone will yell at me if I say Daydream Nation
REM - Green (d/k anything post-Monster)
Rush - s/t (d/k any albums btwn Signals and Vapor Trails)
Radiohead - Pablo Honey
can't really pick one for Hendrix
Goodie Mob - Soul Food? I know it's supposed to be the best but it's the one I play least of the 3
Patti Smith - Dream of Life (d/k Wave or anything post-Peace and Noise -> has there been anything?)
Velvet Underground - Loaded
Stooges - Raw Power
Glenn Branca - anything orchestral
Smiths - Meat is Murder
Nirvana - I'll say Bleach. I never owned it. I only played it once and never bothered hearing it again. I have a feeling I might like it better now though.
Smashing Pumpkins - Machina (not the Internet-only album, which is among their best stuff; the last studio album with the "radio, radio, radio, radiooo" song - I didn't mind that song but the rest, yech.)

Oh no no no, the Sousa side is great because it's so repellent!

Absolutely. "Definitely Maybe" is a bunch of possibly good songs drowned in a wall of guitar noise making the listener unable to hear the actual melodies.

In the case of Zeppelin, I'd put forward "In through the out door" rather than "Presence" which I rather like, a very dark, intense album. Also...

New Order - Republic (half baked)
Catherine Wheel - Wishville (desperately disappointing)
Spiritualized - Let it come down (just a tad overblown)

thats bullshit...how could you say that? Its one of their top 3. The worst Res alb is George n James.

Which one is this? One of the eight million 'archival' releases?

1) Saint Etienne, "The Sound of Water"
2) Depeche Mode, "Songs of Faith and Devotion"
3) New Order, "Republic"
4) Ministry, "Filth Pig"
5) Book of Love, "Candy Carol"

I'm very fond of the Gaffney years of Sebadoh, esp. the contrast between his songs and Lou's--I loved that there were two songwriters that were so totally different from one another feeding off each other's energy (same reason I loved the original Moonshake lineup). I like bits of "The Sebadoh" too ("It's All You," "Weird," "Flame"), but there's a sense of exhaustion about it that kind of turns me off.

It would appear a lot of them are going downhill...

Is it possible that "Sound of Water" is a fantastic album that just doesn't work for St. Etienne's usual fanbase? Cause I love it to death, unlike their other albums. But none of their fans seem to.

Oh no no no, the Sousa side is great because it's so repellent!

I've never thought of it in that way--I'll have to relisten to it soon with that in mind.

The King And Eye is fucking brilliant.

Naah, they sounded bored and tired on this one.

R.E.M.'s worst is Reveal, and you'd have to be goddamn Geir Hongro to feel otherwise.

No, it's their second worst, and I've decided that New Adventures In Hi-Fi is actually their worst.

It's 'Is This Desire', obv, but I lack the will to fight for the greatness of those already mentioned. I used to SAY I loved Rid Of Me, until I realized that I have almost never listened past the first track (which I love but can an album be great if you only feel compelled to listen to the first track?)

But the winner is:
Underworld - A Hundred Days Off (my most disappointing album of all time. Inspiration has left the building.)

While Alex is absolutely correct in pointing out that _The Head On The Door_ is light-years better than _Wild Mood Swings_, saying it also light-years better than _Wish_ is an exercise in hyperbole. They're pretty much even in my estimation.

_A Hundred Days Off_ might be Underworld's best album, depending on how I'm feeling about _Beaucoup Fish_ on any given day. _Second Toughest..._ is far and away the worst thing they've ever done.

As a fan can I say that it's my favourite SE album. Maybe I'm the exception that proves the rule. Sound of Water, Tiger Bay and Finisterre are my faves.

Pixies - Bossanova
Smashing Pumpkins - MACHINA II
Weezer - Maladroit
QOTSA - Rated R (shock, horror - still great though)
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come
McLusky - My Pain In Sadness Is More Sad And Painful Than Yours (though to be fair they've only had two)

My votes:

Prefab Sprout- The Gunman..
Prince- Batman
Duran Duran- Liberty
Dexy's Midnight Runners- hmm, can't do this
Massive Attack- 100th Window
Badly Drawn Boy- Have You Fed The Fish?
Primal Scream- Give Out But Don't Give Up

yep.

D'oh. I'll go out on a limb and say "Being There" (pelted with eggs starting now)-trying a bit too hard, I think

Pulp - Freaks has never had a deep effect on me, so I guess that makes it the worst of theirs imo.

xpost Kinski is crazyprson too...

I can't even bring myself to listen to it
Their older stuff is SO much better

Air - Talkie Walkie
Aphex Twin - Druqks
Autechre - Confield
Beach Boys - 15 Big Ones
Beatles - For Sale!
Bjork - Medulla
Blur - Think Tank
Boo Radleys - Kingsize
Boredoms - Pop Tatari
Daft Punk - Homework
Nick Drake - Pink Moon
Electric Wizard - We Live
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Sleep/Holiday
Kyuss - Blues For the Red Sun
µ-ziq - Bluff Limbo
Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted
Plaid - Trainer
Prodigy - their fucking last one
Radiohead - Pablo Honey
Squarepusher - Do You Know Squarepusher?
Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine
Two Lone Swordsmen - From the Double Gone Chapel
Venetian Snares - Songs About My Cats

Dylan: Live at Budokahn

C'mon guys, neither of them are fantastic but at least each has a couple of good songs "Juristiction of Love, 4th Dimension, Are You Experienced?, Pink Jazz Trancers, Big Picture, Devo Has Feelings Too". TOTAL DEVO, on the other hand is a desert for me. I don't think I like any of them, even with the forgiving ear that the Devo fan must use to listen to their later stuff.

Mind you, Smooth Noodle Maps has "Jimmy" which is the worst song ever.

heh. no-one said outkast yet!

Outkast: ATLiens (including the greatest hits)

Here's your crack:
http://www.tucoo.com/logo/logo_eps021/s/NutraSweets.png

Not that I don't love the first two just not as much as the others.

I'm having problems picking one from Yo La Tengo, Joy Division, Chemical Brothers, Lemonheads, Cheryl Wheeler, Susumu Yokota, B52s, Emmylous Harris, Aphex...it's really much harder than I thought it wouls be.

It's also interesting to look at the CD racks and see which acts you've got the most records of. Not always your favourites I found.

I can hardly even believe this thread started by calling Blood & Chocolate Elvis Costello's worst album. That E-Z listening mess with Burt Bacharach gets my "worst" vote in a pinch.

808 State: They get worse and worse with every album, so that makes Outpost Transmission the latest offense.

Aluminum Group: Pedals.
Laurie Anderson: Life on a String.
Aphex Twin: Richard D. James Album.
Art of Noise: Below the Waste.
B-52's: Good Stuff, no question.
Frank Black & The Catholics.
David Bowie: Never Let Me Down, or the entire recorded oeuvre of Tin Machine.
The Cardigans: First Band on the Moon.
Cocteau Twins: Head Over Heels.
Mark Eitzel: West.
Ivy: In the Clear.

Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs. Sorry, but I find nothing noble or brilliant in repeating the same melodic motifs on 300 different instruments set to lyrics pilfered from a rhyming dictionary, delivered with enough self-possessed hipster smugness to kill every member of Stereolab five times. I swear by some of his earlier material, but for me this was the official moment when Stephin Merritt crawled up his own ass.

Morrissey: Kill Uncle.
Nico: Drama of Exile.
Pere Ubu: The Tenement Year or Pennsylvania.

Pet Shop Boys: Very was their big "HEY EVERYBODY!! WE'RE COMING OUT!!!" album, and pretty much detonated any mystery or subtlety that remained in their music for all time.

Liz Phair: Somebody's Miracle.

R.E.M.: Monster (brash bad-glam, underwritten) or Lifes Rich Pageant (colorless, underwritten).

The Residents: Every note after The Commercial Album.
Saint Etienne: Sound of Water.
The Smiths: Meat Is Murder.
Wire: Manscape.
XTC: The Big Express or Mummer. Cf., thread elsewhere.

Yo La Tengo, I'd either vote something early in their career, as I was never a big fan of their ultra-VU-indebted phase, or else Summer Sun. (Redeeming tracks: "Tiny Birds", "Today Is The Day", "Little Eyes", maybe "Don't Have To Be So Sad")

That'sone of my favourite records. :-( I haven't heard any other AG records though.

Nothing personal. :-) I really just felt that they were reaching for this super-arch pop deconstruction that just didn't materialize... I don't care for Jim O'Rourke's production, and the song structures just don't cohere in my opinion. I thought they really nailed their sound on Happyness, although I also recognize Plano for some top-drawer songwriting.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

hahahahahaha!

hahahaha!

haha.

ha...

I'm an Adams completist but I'm afraid to buy the new Naxos recording of same.

Fuck you.

-- Anthony Miccio (anthonymicci...), September 19th, 2003.

tell me about HOT SPACE anthony!

otherwise,

tom waits - heartattack and vine (sure it's got 'jersey girl', but a lot of the experiments on this one are clearly failing)
the cure - the cure (truly wretched, and i did try to like it for a long time)
the smiths - meat is murder (probably by default more than anything, but the title track looms over it like a bloated corpse)
opeth - damnation (not bad by any stretch and even quite pretty, but it's very underwhelming by opeth's standards and generally feels way too safe and starved creatively)
wilco - a.m (to be very diplomatic, all bands have to start somewhere)
elliott smith - figure 8 (funny thing is, there's a virtually perfect set of songs to be found within this record)
fugazi - red medicine (play this one much less than any of the others, and i often consciously overlook it when i decide to listen to the band)
converge - petitioning the empty sky (an ugly, ugly record. great when you're in the mood for something disgusting sounding, but with so much else to choose from within the bands catalogue, i return to this one rarely)

belle and sebastian - fold your hands child

aphex twin - druqks - maybe it's not the worst, but this is the first time RDJ ever let me down.

streets - the hardest way to make an easy living - ...is to ram as much coke up your nose as you can before writing your third album.

I'm curious about this. What makes this record uglier than the rest? When I think about Converge at their nastiest, When Forever Comes Crashing and You Fail Me both spring to mind first. (mostly due to the higher ratio of gross, sludgy jams on em)

alan - 'petitioning' just sounds really primitive to me. it's the only converge record where i can't quite reconcile the sentimental lyrics to the disorder and chaos of the music. i find the long songs unsettling as they sort of meander around and outstay their welcome, and the whole thing sort of feels unconditionally ugly in both its sound and the unfocused intensity of its sonic assault. meanwhile, i can groove to just about every track on 'when forever...', as the songs are generally tight and cohesive ('conduit' and 'year of the swine'). i used to respond to it on a very intimate level lyrically, so it always seemed quite human and tangible to me.

'you fail me' is admittedly is very organic and raw. i still manage to find a good degree of light in it, something fundamentally hopeful that pervades the whole record, pacifying its brutality.

???

"return to form" is ideologically loaded -- it assumes the young are by defn better than the old, which is false obv

(argrt doesn't apply to the youth who were VERY OLD WHEN THEY STARTED hence name haha)

DDN is tedious dull and lame -- sonic youth for people who don't can't handle actual real sonic youth

That's actually pretty funny, but doesn't change the fact that DDN doesn't belong on this list given some of their late 90s output. "Murray Street" was a return to form after a couple of dull records. They were even boring on the "Thousand Leaves" tour, which isn't a surprise given the record they were supporting.

I've never been able to get into DDN - I prefer Goo.

Goo was the album that got me into Sonic Youth back in junior high. It can do no wrong in my books.