Rubbish Albums By Great Bands
For no particular reason, this week we'll be chatting on air about rubbish albums by great bands. Can you think of a time when one of your favourite bands dropped the ball and released a record you'd rather forget about? Have "outside influences" ever messed up an otherwise flawless career? In a nutshell - we want to hear about the time a great band did a Be Here Now!
Share via , , email or text (81771 once we get on air at 8pm)! Meanwhile, hereÌýare Team ATL's picks...
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KANYE WEST - 808sÌýAND HEARTBREAK
(Rigsy - ATL presenter)
It's easy to forget that Kanye West has written some decent tunes over the yearsÌý- the first three albums are full of memorable moments. But this fourth album is scandalously bad, rammed full of auto-tune bobbins. I can't help but think about all the people around Mr. West during the writing and recordingÌý- management, engineers, producers, friends... and not one person turned round to say "erm, Kanye... is this not a wee bit, you know... completely and utterly rubbish?"
R.E.M. - REVEAL
(Steven Rainey - ATL contributor)
At the start of the 21st century, R.E.M. had everything to play for. After surviving the departure of founder member Bill Berry, and re-establishing themselves with the uneven, but still interesting Up in 1999, the band could haveÌýgone in any direction. Instead, they delivered what is possibly the laziest album in their back catalogue, an album that seems scared to be inventive, and which almost sounds bored of itself. For a band which had consistently delivered the goods all the way back to their debut in 1983, this simply wasn't good enough, testing the patience of even the most ardent fan (i.e. me).
THE BREEDERS - MOUNTAIN BATTLES
(Warren - ATL website gentleman)
It's difficult to judge how rubbish a rubbish album by a great band is, because you are inevitably judging it by the standards of other work that has made you think that the band in question is great in the first place, but my word, what a crushing disappointment the fourth album by The Breeders is. Pod and The Last Splash are right up there in my list of all time favourite records, and while the warning signs that those heights would not be hit again after their long hiatus came with Title TK, it at least had a few reminders on it of why you loved The Breeders in the first place. I really tried to like Mountain Battles but, crucially, if I had never heard The Breeders before and someoneÌýpointed me in the direction ofÌýthat album as an example of their work, I would never ever listen to the band again, as well as severely chastising whosoever had recommended it. And rightly so.
SMASHING PUMPKINSÌý- MACHINA / THE MACHINESÌýOF GOD
(Amy - ATL Content Assistant)
I remember counting down the days to the release of Machina. Jimmy Chamberlain (drums) was back on board after his own personal hiatus for their previous album, Adore (1998). This was going to be a return to rawk after that gorgeous but somber album. Alas, what we got was a glimpse of Billy Corgan's self-made gospel. A concept album about... ah I don't know or care anymore. But at the time I tried my darndest to convince myself this was an amazing piece of work. I slowly accepted reality and moved on... with shattered dreams. I never went near the follow-up, Zeitgeist, for fear of ruining my memory of my heroes forever.
Comment number 1.
At 26th Apr 2010, Steven Rainey wrote:I liked "Machina" by the Smashing Pumpkins!
Sure, parts of it were bloated and indulgent, but so was everything they did.
There are some really good songs* buried in the midst!
*"really good" might be an exaggeration.
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Comment number 2.
At 26th Apr 2010, Aaron Abernethy wrote:Ah now Amy. Rainey's (bewilderingly) right. Machina's not so bad. I happen to think 'Stand Inside Your Love', 'Try, Try, Try' and 'I of the Mourning' are up there with the best of the Pumpkins' output.
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Comment number 3.
At 27th Apr 2010, Amy McGarrigle wrote:Ach come on! It's pretty offal. 'Try, try, Try' is particularly cringe worthy for me. I remember getting a 'sheet of the puzzle' at the Olympia gig and still being convinced it was great then. But really! really? There are actually some belters on Machina II though, the one released online after.
Perhaps it's the concept that gets me particularly... from wiki - " it is a concept album about a rock star named Zero (based on the public persona of Corgan) hearing the voice of God, renaming himself Glass, and renaming his band The Machines of God. Fans of the band were referred to as the "Ghost Children," which has now become a term for Pumpkins fans."
Corgan is fairly serious in this too. like a big social statement or something...But really it just led to a load of weak, pompous tunes void of any real meaning. Of course, that's just my thoughts!
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