Albums that are much better in retrospect.......

MrStuffins

I was going through my iPod a while back and i stopped on a superb song that i hadn't listened to in a while........ it was Aphrodite by Ash.

I remember being 14 years old and buying Nu-Clear Sounds by Ash. After the superb 1977, Nu-Clear Sounds had a lot of living up to do. I remember being underwhelmed. As were most reviewers who didn't have many particularly nice things to say about it.

However, i think the album has aged very well. Granted, it has some weak moments, but not many. I personally have no time for Death Trip 21 but thats about it. I really think each other song on the album are great songs!

Have any of you ever gone back over an album you were underwhelmed by and ound a nice new love for it?

rcaz

Ah, this is kind of related to a thing about music I've been thinking about lots lately!

When bands get written off as ****, so many people don't even bother listening properly before making their minds up. My favourite example of this, in the short time I've been able to directly experience music (I'm 19), is Alien Ant Farm.

I got the album, ANThology, because I heard Smooth Criminal and Movies on MTV and thought they were cool and was too young to properly pay attention to music the way I do now, I never took the album in altogether. Found it under my bed a few weeks ago and decided to stick it on for the laugh, and I was surprised with how good they were. Really really good rhythm section, well-written tunes, all well performed. I think they're a really good example of a good band that got ****ed over by the marketing machine and its polished producers.

A recent one that I like is Paramore, and I get a lot of stick over that. Go and objectively listen to Brand New Eyes. Great songs, great singer, good drummer and totally acceptable guitarists. Good tunes and a pretty cool approach to writing them, especially Playing God and That's What You Get. Again, get rid of all the hype and the marketing machine and give them a producer who cares about making interesting music, and they'd be great I think. If someone would approach one of the members and say, "Hey, here's Ableton Live, have fun", I reckon you'd have a great third album.

Reganio 2

Arctic Monkeys Humbug, when this 1st came out a lot of people hated it, I didnt hate it but after their other albums it was a let down. But gave it a listen again about 6 months after 1st hearing it and listened to it properly and its brilliant, the lower slower tone of Alex's voice is brilliant tbh. Some great songs on it, although a couple I am not too fond of.

MrStuffins

El Pr0n wrote: »

Ah, this is kind of related to a thing about music I've been thinking about lots lately!

When bands get written off as ****, so many people don't even bother listening properly before making their minds up. My favourite example of this, in the short time I've been able to directly experience music (I'm 19), is Alien Ant Farm.......

Smooth Criminal is seriously one of the best covers ever! And i LOVE that tune Movies.

Paramore though........ we'll have to agree to disagree on that one :P

Reganio 2 wrote: »

Arctic Monkeys Humbug, when this 1st came out a lot of people hated it, I didnt hate it but after their other albums it was a let down. But gave it a listen again about 6 months after 1st hearing it and listened to it properly and its brilliant, the lower slower tone of Alex's voice is brilliant tbh. Some great songs on it, although a couple I am not too fond of.

I think Humbug is the perfect example of this. At first, i didn't hate it, but i didnt like it. But it was SUCH a grower. And the more i listened, the more i loved it. It's their best work so far and i think it did them a service musically (definately not financially)because a lot of the "clingers on" (if you get the expression) decided they didn't like this new Arctic Monkeys and moved onto whatever new cool band was around. And it also showed those who write them off just because they're "cool" that they are a proper band.

Also, they really let their QOTSA influences come through (possibly because it was produced by Josh Homme). Great album which will be held up as a classic in years to come if there is any justice!

rcaz

MrStuffins wrote: »

Paramore though........ we'll have to agree to disagree on that one :P

Have you given that album a fair listen?

Revolution9

A lot of Blink 182 fans were dissapointed with the direction the last album took, but I love it and know fans who re-visited it after their initial dissapointment and loved it too

MrStuffins

El Pr0n wrote: »

Have you given that album a fair listen?

I gave one of their albums a couple of times in a friend's car...... not my thing at all.

Malice

El Pr0n wrote: »

Have you given that album a fair listen?

I think it's actually quite difficult for people to do that. At least, I find it difficult to. I'd need to listen to the music without knowing the artist so that I wouldn't have any pre-conceived notions. As an example, a few years ago, a friend of mine threw on a new album by a certain Canadian singer which featured a song co-written by Ben Moody of Evanescence/We Are The Fallen fame. He wouldn't tell me who it was so I listened to a few tracks and though it was very good. The songs contained some memorable melodies so off I went to discover who the artist was. Imagine my surprise when the album turned out to be

Under My Skin

by

Avril Lavigne

.

I know damn well that if I'd been given the artist's name before listening to the music I'd have dismissed it quite quickly and so I learnt a valuable lesson that day.

Generally I don't change my opinion too much on music but I was underwhelmed by Threat Signal's debut album Under Reprisal. I'm not really sure why but it just didn't go down well with me at the time. One day though I was in the car leaving work, this song came on random play and I realised the album might have some merit after all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYinxr1s8go

MrStuffins

This is a good point Malice.

There is a particular male artist that i was a fan of, even though it was kinda "uncool" to like him. The reason i started to like him is because he released a Bootleg album of his own stuff mixed with songs by his favourite artists, and they happened to be a lot of my own favourite artists. The album was excellent!

Then i saw him live, and i couldn't believe how this guy could just turn up with an accoustic guitar and perform his songs (not originally performed on accoustic guitar) and make them sound so good!

My girlfriend hated this guy and would always give me stick for being a fan.

So when this guy released his latest album, which was a MASSIVE departure from his old stuff, i made sure to play some of the songs without revealing his identity. Of course, she loved the songs and can no longer slag me off after i revealed that the album was

The Defamation of Strickland Banks by Plan B

It's possible it's still uncool to like this guy, but the album is a cracker!

Bartel

Trompe Le Monde by the Pixies. When it came out it got 'lukewarm' reviews. But it does have some of their best songs on it.

File Under Easy Listening by Sugar. People were expecting another 'Copper Blue'. There were still some great pop songs on this, but also more of a downer mood too. Still a great album.

Rhythm and Stealth by Leftfield. A classic example of better in retrospect. It was mauled by critics at the time for not being Leftism 2 but I think it's a great follow-up.

holton

Bartel wrote: »

Rhythm and Stealth by Leftfield. A classic example of better in retrospect. It was mauled by critics at the time for not being Leftism 2 but I think it's a great follow-up.

I agree with the critics. Not a patch on Leftism.

MickShamrock

El Pr0n wrote: »

Ah, this is kind of related to a thing about music I've been thinking about lots lately!

When bands get written off as ****, so many people don't even bother listening properly before making their minds up. My favourite example of this, in the short time I've been able to directly experience music (I'm 19), is Alien Ant Farm.

I got the album, ANThology, because I heard Smooth Criminal and Movies on MTV and thought they were cool and was too young to properly pay attention to music the way I do now, I never took the album in altogether. Found it under my bed a few weeks ago and decided to stick it on for the laugh, and I was surprised with how good they were. Really really good rhythm section, well-written tunes, all well performed. I think they're a really good example of a good band that got ****ed over by the marketing machine and its polished producers.

A recent one that I like is Paramore, and I get a lot of stick over that. Go and objectively listen to Brand New Eyes. Great songs, great singer, good drummer and totally acceptable guitarists. Good tunes and a pretty cool approach to writing them, especially Playing God and That's What You Get. Again, get rid of all the hype and the marketing machine and give them a producer who cares about making interesting music, and they'd be great I think. If someone would approach one of the members and say, "Hey, here's Ableton Live, have fun", I reckon you'd have a great third album.

I agree with you on both these bands. Especially Alien Ant Farm. They unfairly got tagged as a gimmick band because of their cover of "Smooth Criminal" and then faded into obscurity while still releasing good albums. A shame really.

losthorizon

Of course there is Forever Changes By Love. Maybe the best album of all time. But, when it was released it was ignored. You just have to lisen to the album a few times.

Time by ELO was also an album that reall improved with age for some reason and as each year goes by it gets better and better.

---

I Bought this album about two years after reading about it and forgot about it. I now play it all the time. The group is called Andwellas Dream.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lRs7VASYac

As far as I know they were from Belfast, went to London in 1969 made one album and it didn't sell. They broke up and that was that. But have a listen its amazing.

Wudyaquit

Similar point to Malice's but it was hard to like Blur's think tank when it came out and probably a lot of that was to do with them still being associated with all that brit pop **** at the time as well as the songs being real slow burners.

Absolutely great soulful album though.

I've had the same experience with Song 2 too, except entirely in reverse.