[Music] Most over-rated albums

[zefarelly]

I reckon DSOTM is the album I have listened to in it’s entirety more often than any other album.

I’m not sure sitting down and actually listening to a complete album is a thing these days? I have a mate who has, imo, a decent taste in music but he admits to only listening to the “tune” and has no interest in listening to the lyrics. I find that plain weird

He HATES Dylan obviously.

That's me that is!

I do listen to lyrics, and love great vocals but music is music. Give me Booker T. Over Dylan, any day!

Crosby Stills and Nash could be singing the operating instructions to a washing machine over 'Suite : Judy blue eyes and it would still be good.

 

[WATFORD zero]

What I genuinely don’t get is people writing the Beatles off as the original boy band. Do boy bands play a range of instruments, innovate and write their own songs and lyrics then? Care to name them?

In seven and a half years they released 219 songs, 194 of which were self penned. Difficult 2nd Album ?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

A Love Supreme - John Coltrane

Every now and again I try to listen to records other people say are wonderful. But I can’t do it with jazz; never managed to get to the end of this one.

People then suggest other similar albums to try, but no: I’d rather sit in silence. Not sure if they count as “over” rated, but those who do rate them always rate them a great deal and I find them literally unlistenable.

Whilst I have broad music taste, I am a late comer to jazz. I never “got it” until recently. I am still learning and exploring but A Love Supreme is one of my go-tos. Two others which get a lot of air time at Tubthumper Tower are Hear, Sense and Feel by The Awakening and the superb Journey in Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane. This last album is quite special imho.

 

[Flounce]

That's me that is!

I do listen to lyrics, and love great vocals but music is music. Give me Booker T. Over Dylan, any day!

Crosby Stills and Nash could be singing the operating instructions to a washing machine over 'Suite : Judy blue eyes and it would still be good.

Love Booker T, could I listen to him for more than half an hour without getting bored? Nah

I could listen to Dylan all day without getting bored. Can’t be arsed to check but I reckon I have more Dylan albums than any other artists…by a big margin

Not going to argue about CSN, one of my favourite bands

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Hall of the Mountain Grill blows your Hawkwind opinion out of the water but I've no doubt you'll stick to your guns.
Bat out of Hell is superb.
I have to agree that Queen's first album is their best by a distance.

I'll give hall of the mountain grill a listen. I enjoy changes of heart, in fact.
I was put off at the time by the Swords And Sorcerers-style title. And refused to listen to it
Things do that for me.
@monty uk will recall the usual suspects at HGSB a-droolin' over PFM, ELP (after they turned shit), Stackridge, Rick Wankman, Tangerine Dream....Yuck. And yet they fount Mashavishnu too intense
And I have refused to listen to Biffy Clyro and Weezer just because of their names.

To be fair Bat out of Hell has its moments, but at the time I just thought 'Cabaret Springsteen' with fat bloke.
(Mrs T adds "Springsteen crossed with Phantom of the Opera", while agreeing with me about Biffy Clyro and Weezer - I just accidentally typed "Biddy Clyro" and nearly left it - an improvement shirley?).

One act I forgot to list, that I loathe with absolute implacable resolution is Yes.
I recall Peel attempting to play Topographical Oceans and taking it off after a few minutes,
refusing ever to play yes again.

Oh, and I love Crime of the Century and saw them do it at the Dome,
but anything else by Supertramp......I mean, just look at the fuggers.....

 

[BN9 BHA]

What I genuinely don’t get is people writing the Beatles off as the original boy band. Do boy bands innovate and write their own songs and lyrics then?

Spot on.

The op mentions Dire Straits and Springsteen, I knew people back then that bought and played the albums mentioned to death, what I thought was odd they never bought anything by them before.
People were buying these albums because everyone and their dog were also buying them, bit like a popular for five minutes chart single.
I definitely think this was the point of this thread.

I can’t comment on Simon and Garfunkel as i don’t remember anyone I knew back then buying that album.

 

[stewart12]

What I genuinely don’t get is people writing the Beatles off as the original boy band. Do boy bands play a range of instruments, innovate and write their own songs and lyrics then? Care to name them?

Plus influence about a trillion other artists

I suspect when people say this they haven't really listened to anything after their 5th album and MAYBE Hey Jude and are only really picturing them in suits singing love songs. Completely ignoring say, the White Album. Because I doubt many boy bands naffed off to India to meditate, came back in a huff, took a load of drugs and made a mental 30 song album

Edit- a mental 30 song album that inspired Charles Manson

 

[Flounce]

Plus influence about a trillion other artists

I suspect when people say this they haven't really listened to anything after their 5th album and MAYBE Hey Jude and are only really picturing them in suits singing love songs. Completely ignoring say, the White Album. Because I doubt many boy bands naffed off to India to meditate, came back in a huff, took a load of drugs and made a mental 30 song album

Edit- a mental 30 song album that inspired Charles Manson

Bizarrely I think that Let It Be and Abbey Road (Harrison songs apart) are both vastly over rated albums

Revolver, White Album and Rubber Soul are my personal favourites.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

Sorry for the brief thread highjack, but as you're not enjoying it and you'd be the one to ask this. I've got quite a few Steve Earle albums: Guitar Town, Copperhead Road, Jerusalem, El Corazon, Exit 0, plus a few compilations. I recently picked up an album called 'Sidetracks', an odds and sods sort of thing, with some nice covers on it. It's an incredibly genre jumping album, irish jigs, Nirvana covers, folk tunes, etc.

It also has a cover of 'Johnny Too Bad' from 'The Harder They Come' soundtrack. It's a good song, played well and done with his usual total commitment. However, I don't think I've ever heard anyone do country reggae before. It's so alien that I can't decide whether I like it. Do you know it? If so, what do you think?

With further apologies to the OP for the Sidetrack , Sidetracks is close to being my favourite Steve Earle album. Strange considering it is described on Amazon as on off the wall mix of odds and sods. Here's what Steve says about it:

Sidetracks: track by track

Some Dreams: I wrote this for a movie called The Rookie, which is about Jimmy Morris who in his late thirties discovered he could throw a baseball ninety-eight miles an hour and did so for two seasons in the majors. This is a move that makes grown men cry � kind of like a chick movie for guys.

Open Your Window: Two-thirds of this appears in Pay It Forward. If I'd known they onlyneed two-thirds of a song, I could have saved us all a lot of trouble.

Me And The Eagle: Wrote this for The Horse Whisperer. Hated the book, liked the script, never saw the movie, but I'm pretty proud the song.

Johnny Too Bad: I learned this the same place everyone else outside Jamaica did � from the original by the Slickers on the soundtrack for The Harder They Come. The basic track was recorded on sessions for the V-roys' first record. Then we shipped it off to Birmingham, England where the vocal group RNT and toaster C-Fax put in their two cents worth. This is the Jamaican equivalent of I Fought The Law.

Dominick St.: This instrumental was recorded in Dublin with Sharon Shannon and her band, The Woodchoppers, the same day that we recorded The Galway Girl. This is the sound of Joy..

Breed: Another kind of Joy. We need a "bonus track" for the Japanese version of Transcendental Blues. Danny Goldberg said "just do a cover". I chose Breed as a sort of surprise for Danny and his lovelyand brilliant wife, Rosemary Carroll.

Time Has Come Today: The Chambers Brothers classic. Sheryl was in L.A. I was in Nashville. Abbie was wherever Abbie is. Technology rocks sometimes.

Ellis Unit One: The solo version that appeared on the Dead Man Walking soundtrack was Tim Robbins' favorite. I preferred this one featuring The Fairfield Four � but, hey, it was Tim's movie. Dedicated to the memory of James Hill.

Creepy Jackelope Eye: My Brothers. Recorded in Seattle the day Bill Monroe died.

Willin': Recorded with the Bluegrass Dukes on the Transcendental sessions. I love to sing with Tim and Darrell.

Sara's Angel: Same day. Same band. The title comes from the hopelesslyuglylittle wooden angel that Sara adopted and that now greets me from above my backdoor every time I come home.

My Uncle: The Bluegrass Dukes again, this time live in Fargo. I consider this song to be VERY patriotic.

My Back Pages: Based on Dylan's version rather than the Byrds', which to my ear are two completelydifferent songs. This was originallya duet by Joan Osborne and Jackson Browne that we produced for a film. We recorded the track in Nashville and then sent it off to L.A. and then on to Barcelona so that Joan and Jackson could add their vocals. I always liked my "scratch" vocal for some reason, even though it was a little out of my range. It makes it sound urgent � like my head may explode at any second. And it may.

Can't say I'm generally a fan of white boy reggae. Led Zep, the Stones, Clapton have all given it a go but not really to my taste. But in the context of an album where anything goes it doesn't jar quite so much. It sounds genuine rather than having a crack at reggae. But my favourite track on the album and in my top ten Steve Earle songs is Me and the Eagle. I can live and believe the lyrics as I sing along.






But this is a thread about opinions. I won't be offended by people who don't like either.

 

[bhafc99]

The op mentions Dire Straits and Springsteen, I knew people back then that bought and played the albums mentioned to death, what I thought was odd they never bought anything by them before.
People were buying these albums because everyone and their dog were also buying them, bit like a popular for five minutes chart single.
I definitely think this was the point of this thread.

Exactly this. Born in the USA seemed to be a lot of British people’s first awareness of Springsteen, possibly due to Dancing in the Dark. And it remains the only album they associate him with.

IMHO his best albums predate it.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

I bought 'Aja' on cassette cheap in Woolworths because of the sample of 'Peg' on 'Eye Know' by De La Soul. Had little idea who they were. I've never been glamping or skiing, but must admit @Nitram, that I do very much like jazz, so am probably just a different type of w@nker ).

If you like jazz, the sound they make is fairly irresistible. I get all the cocaine, chauvinist, self indulgent, antithesis of punk's DIY attitude critique. I agree with a lot of it. It's just that, on some days, when I'm in a certain mood, I think they might make a sound that no other band has ever beaten.

In that case, I think you'll like this:





Edit: Sorry, meant to post them full album 'For Free'.

 

[Stato]

With further apologies to the OP for the Sidetrack , Sidetracks is close to being my favourite Steve Earle album. Strange considering it is described on Amazon as on off the wall mix of odds and sods. Here's what Steve says about it:

Sidetracks: track by track

Some Dreams: I wrote this for a movie called The Rookie, which is about Jimmy Morris who in his late thirties discovered he could throw a baseball ninety-eight miles an hour and did so for two seasons in the majors. This is a move that makes grown men cry � kind of like a chick movie for guys.

Open Your Window: Two-thirds of this appears in Pay It Forward. If I'd known they onlyneed two-thirds of a song, I could have saved us all a lot of trouble.

Me And The Eagle: Wrote this for The Horse Whisperer. Hated the book, liked the script, never saw the movie, but I'm pretty proud the song.

Johnny Too Bad: I learned this the same place everyone else outside Jamaica did � from the original by the Slickers on the soundtrack for The Harder They Come. The basic track was recorded on sessions for the V-roys' first record. Then we shipped it off to Birmingham, England where the vocal group RNT and toaster C-Fax put in their two cents worth. This is the Jamaican equivalent of I Fought The Law.

Dominick St.: This instrumental was recorded in Dublin with Sharon Shannon and her band, The Woodchoppers, the same day that we recorded The Galway Girl. This is the sound of Joy..

Breed: Another kind of Joy. We need a "bonus track" for the Japanese version of Transcendental Blues. Danny Goldberg said "just do a cover". I chose Breed as a sort of surprise for Danny and his lovelyand brilliant wife, Rosemary Carroll.

Time Has Come Today: The Chambers Brothers classic. Sheryl was in L.A. I was in Nashville. Abbie was wherever Abbie is. Technology rocks sometimes.

Ellis Unit One: The solo version that appeared on the Dead Man Walking soundtrack was Tim Robbins' favorite. I preferred this one featuring The Fairfield Four � but, hey, it was Tim's movie. Dedicated to the memory of James Hill.

Creepy Jackelope Eye: My Brothers. Recorded in Seattle the day Bill Monroe died.

Willin': Recorded with the Bluegrass Dukes on the Transcendental sessions. I love to sing with Tim and Darrell.

Sara's Angel: Same day. Same band. The title comes from the hopelesslyuglylittle wooden angel that Sara adopted and that now greets me from above my backdoor every time I come home.

My Uncle: The Bluegrass Dukes again, this time live in Fargo. I consider this song to be VERY patriotic.

My Back Pages: Based on Dylan's version rather than the Byrds', which to my ear are two completelydifferent songs. This was originallya duet by Joan Osborne and Jackson Browne that we produced for a film. We recorded the track in Nashville and then sent it off to L.A. and then on to Barcelona so that Joan and Jackson could add their vocals. I always liked my "scratch" vocal for some reason, even though it was a little out of my range. It makes it sound urgent � like my head may explode at any second. And it may.

Can't say I'm generally a fan of white boy reggae. Led Zep, the Stones, Clapton have all given it a go but not really to my taste. But in the context of an album where anything goes it doesn't jar quite so much. It sounds genuine rather than having a crack at reggae. But my favourite track on the album and in my top ten Steve Earle songs is Me and the Eagle. I can live and believe the lyrics as I sing along.






But this is a thread about opinions. I won't be offended by people who don't like either.

Really liked 'Me and the Eagle', but found myself singing it going around the supermarket and felt a bit dirty. I might have to sing ' Me and the seagull.'

 

[chip]

Love Booker T, could I listen to him for more than half an hour without getting bored? Nah

I could listen to Dylan all day without getting bored. Can’t be arsed to check but I reckon I have more Dylan albums than any other artists…by a big margin

Not going to argue about CSN, one of my favourite bands

There's a good reason Dylan got the Nobel Prize for Literature. Dylan's lyrics can be sublime, existential and provoking 60 years later. So many of his songs are poetry to me, eg Gates of Eden, It's alright Ma, Fourth Time Around, Sad Eyed Lady of the Low Lands, Ballad of Thin Man, Desolation Row, etc, imagery, power and meaning - the man is a genius and his musicians exceptional. Lines like "money doesn't talk, it swears; obscenity who really cares; proganda, all is phoney" are timeless. Each to their own I guess.

 

[el punal]

Everything Pink Floyd ever recorded.

There. I said it.

Careful with that axe Eugene 🫵

 

[stewart12]

Bizarrely I think that Let It Be (Harrison songs apart) and Abbey Road are both vastly over rated albums

Revolver, White Album and Rubber Soul are my personal favourites.

Let it Be probably would have been good had they not given up on it. Production wasn't for me especially with the orchestral sections of some songs. There's some good songs on there but it's not very coherent and perhaps feels a bit more like a compilation than a studio album

I love Abbey Road but do understand why people don't. I feel like the first half is pretty great (apart from Maxwell's Silver Hammer) but the second half divides opinion and probably depends on whether you enjoy McCartney's medley or not (as it makes up most of the side)

Would agree with your top 3

 

[Hamilton]

(Armour at the ready) …. I tried, but I just can’t get into Pet Sounds, it just doesn’t do anything for me. I love 60’s music and some Beach Boys singles.

Totally with you on Pet Sounds. I think The Beach Boys in general are overrated. They are not bad, but overrated.

 

[Hamilton]

Let it Be probably would have been good had they not given up on it. Production wasn't for me especially with the orchestral sections of some songs. There's some good songs on there but it's not very coherent and perhaps feels a bit more like a compilation than a studio album

I love Abbey Road but do understand why people don't. I feel like the first half is pretty great (apart from Maxwell's Silver Hammer) but the second half divides opinion and probably depends on whether you enjoy McCartney's medley or not (as it makes up most of the side)

Would agree with your top 3

I see where you are coming from, but I couldn’t put it in an overrated category. Not saying you are.

 

[Hamilton]

Can I add Kanye’s ‘The College Dropout’?

I’ve tried. Half of it is okay but the other half is dirge.

 

[Flounce]

Let it Be probably would have been good had they not given up on it. Production wasn't for me especially with the orchestral sections of some songs. There's some good songs on there but it's not very coherent and perhaps feels a bit more like a compilation than a studio album

I love Abbey Road but do understand why people don't. I feel like the first half is pretty great (apart from Maxwell's Silver Hammer) but the second half divides opinion and probably depends on whether you enjoy McCartney's medley or not (as it makes up most of the side)

Would agree with your top 3

Not a song on Let It Be that I like! And yes, I find McCartney had turned into a mostly boring dirge meister by then!

Abbey Road, both Harrison songs are excellent, the rest Meh

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Bizarrely I think that Let It Be (Harrison songs apart) and Abbey Road are both vastly over rated albums

Revolver, White Album and Rubber Soul are my personal favourites.

I don't think that's bizarre at all, and I agree with your top three. Hard Day's Night and With The Beatles are also up there for me. And even Let It Be and Abbey Road each have at least one great track on them (Get Back and Here Comes The Sun). Sgt Pepper is the most over-rated for me. Has anyone actually listened to it recently? Novelty tracks and stuff that sounded clever at the time but don't stand up.

Here's a thought - the White Album boiled down to 45 minutes would be a contender for greatest album of all time.