Mediocre albums falsly regarded as good 'cause they're surrounded by masterpieces

[Sunhillow]

Following the Styx-thread, I think the following albums are in fact a step-down, but they receive more credit than they deserve, thanks to the surrounding masterpieces:

- The Moody Blues - A Question Of Balance. I have high regards for all the other so-called 'Classic 7' albums, but next to the title-track, this one leaves me cold. I think it's a mess, and I don't like the production.
- Eloy - Power and the Passion. One good track.
- Styx - Pieces Of Eight
- Mike Oldfield - QE2 (although Platinum wasn't good too, but Five Miles Out and Crises are)
- Riverside - ADHD. I love the new album and the EP, and all the albums before. This has long tracks, but it just gives me an headache.
- The Pineapple Thief. Something Here is Missing and All The Wars. Bruce should never have gone to KScope.

[Sordel]

Interesting idea for a thread. Usually, an average album will get slagged off like crazy because it is surrounded by gems; it's rare for an average album to benefit from a "halo" effect.

Not very prog, I'm afraid, but I think that For The Roses is a weak Joni Mitchell album that gets a bye because it's between Blue and Court and Spark.

[Rand Kelly]

I know this will cause a huge negative reaction,but when I first heard Nektar-Down To Earth after Remember The Future and then later the magnificent Recycled I think it qualifies. It's not a bad record,just not a favorite in their catalog.

I usually don't like to engage in such negativity and I'll probably bail out soon,but I thought of that one and decided to speak my mind.

Pink Floyd-The Final Cut is another album I literally can't stand. Apparently I'm not alone as Gilmour hates it as well. Placed between The Wall and A Momentary Lapse Of Reason I think it belongs on this list. Only one good song,Not Now John and of course it's because David smokes on the guitar here. It's basically his only moment to shine. The rest of it sounds like Wall outtakes.

Chicago VI is another of my non-faves. Sandwiched between V and VII it should have been a step forward from V and it isn't. Jeez,I think I'm done now. Ciao.

[sonic]

I know this will cause a huge negative reaction,but when I first heard Nektar-Down To Earth after Remember The Future and then later the magnificent Recycled I think it qualifies. It's not a bad record,just not a favorite in their catalog.

That's your personal opinion, and not in keeping with that album's reputation, which is, quite rightly, very good. In fact, my take is that Remember The Future gets more praise than it deserves.

[Rufus]

'Pieces of Eight' is Styx's best album by a country mile so dosnt fit the criteria ! It ended a run of three classic Styx albums. It was the follow up 'Cornerstone' when the wheels fell off ! The fact the band recently toured this album in its entirety would also suggest its far from regarded a 'mediocre ' album !!!
It was also the album that broke them into the UK!

[Poisoned Youth]

- Riverside - ADHD. I love the new album and the EP, and all the albums before. This has long tracks, but it just gives me an headache.
- The Pineapple Thief. Something Here is Missing and All The Wars. Bruce should never have gone to KScope.

I don't know if you can apply the same logic to new bands like these. The jury is still out. I for one love ADHD and think it represents some of their best work. Likewise for TPT, I think all of the albums have been pretty strong.

[Poisoned Youth]

'Pieces of Eight' is Styx's best album by a country mile so dosnt fit the criteria ! It ended a run of three classic Styx albums. It was the follow up 'Cornerstone' when the wheels fell off !

I'd agree with Cornerstone. I am a big fan personally of Paradise Theater, but Cornerstone has moments, but some real clunkers too.

[Toothyspook]

I don't know if you can apply the same logic to new bands like these. The jury is still out. I for one love ADHD and think it represents some of their best work. Likewise for TPT, I think all of the albums have been pretty strong.

Glad to read that someone else gets it.

I think this thread should be renamed to something like 'who enjoys bands whose albums all sound the same of the last one'

[Jubal]

My first thought is Led Zeppelin III. Compared to II and IV, it's a waste of my time. As for Down To Earth, that is my "go to" Nektar album when I'm looking for non-epic length tracks. I never had much love for recycled though.
Tormato also comes to mind, but I tend to think Going For The One gets more credit than it deserves considering the cringe-worthy vocals on the title track. Take away Awaken and that album is only average.
Obscured by Clouds is stuck smack dab in between Meddle and DSOTM. What can you say; it's a soundtrack album limited by the producer's vision for the movie. It's not bad. It is mediocre.

[JKL2000]

IMO, The Final Cut has lots of great songs, and Not Now John, while it's a pretty good song, is about the least interesting song on the album. I actually think TFC works better than The Wall in a lot of ways. The recording is excellent and serves Waters' voice and all the cool little sound effects well. My favorite song from it is probably The Gunner's Dream.

[Rufus]

IMO, The Final Cut has lots of great songs, and Not Now John, while it's a pretty good
song, is about the least interesting song on the album. I actually think TFC works better than The Wall in a lot of ways. The recording is excellent and serves Waters' voice and all the cool little sound effects well. My favorite song from it is probably The Gunner's Dream.

Have to agree ! It was the last at least good PF album , it just didnt have the quality of its predescesors . All the subsequent Gilmour PF albums would fit the mediocre label !

Agree with LZ 111.

The one that immediately came to mind was Genesis ATTWT . Whilst i'm not sure its ever been considered a good album anyway , but between the Lamb & Duke its a real clunker !!!

[JKL2000]

^ I prefer ATTWT to Duke.

[NogbadTheBad]

This thread is so much based on personal opinion to be meaningless.

[zombywoof]

IMO, The Final Cut has lots of great songs, and Not Now John, while it's a pretty good song, is about the least interesting song on the album. I actually think TFC works better than The Wall in a lot of ways. The recording is excellent and serves Waters' voice and all the cool little sound effects well. My favorite song from it is probably The Gunner's Dream.

Agreed. Its probably my favorite PF album.

This'll probably get me thrown out of Progdom, but I've never been the biggest fan of VdGG's "Still Life". As a followup to Godbluff, its a bit of a step down in my opinion ... too much Hammill, not enough of the rest of the band. Also, I think World Record is a much better album. Not that Still Life is a BAD album, it just seems more like a Hammill solo album as it doesn't have the variety of timbres or the melodies that older albums like Pawn Hearts and H to He had. In my opinion...

[zombywoof]

This thread is so much based on personal opinion to be meaningless.

Yep, you're right. But maybe it'll turn into a good thread like the jazz thread did.

[Dodie]

Tales from Topographic Oceans is the most obvious over-hyped patchy album stuck in the middle of a period of otherwise great masterpieces. Heresy to say that around here, I realise.
But what do I know? I believe The Division Bell is a MUCH better Pink Floyd album than The Final Cut, although I think Gilmour's best playing on that is on the title-track and 'The Fletcher Memorial Home', whereas 'Not Now John' is thoroughly naff. Momentary Lapse of Reason is no better or worse than the Final Cut, I reckon. So my taste is obviously just way off. :-)

[JJ88]

I think 'Pieces Of Eight' isn't as strong as 'The Grand Illusion' but still is good. 'Cornerstone' on the other hand...I dug that out recently and it was like they'd forgotten they were a rock band. Yet I rarely see that album slammed all that often. 'Paradise Theater' is certainly better, but by that time even when Dennis DeYoung sings a 'rock' song like 'Rockin' The Paradise', it's like a Broadway production number. I prefer the other guys' material on that album.

'The Final Cut', I admire the central ideas behind the album more than I actually enjoy its execution. I do think that it is below-par in comparison to their previous achievements though. I do like 'The Fletcher Memorial Home' a great deal.

With The Moody Blues, I think 'Every Good Boy...' is the one that springs to mind here. It's certainly the one I play least of that period, though it has a few good tracks.

[jkelman]

This thread is so much based on personal opinion to be meaningless.

But what else, pray tell, are boards like this about? Of course it's based on personal opinion, because there's nothing empirically provable about a question like this. clearly the point was to get folks' opinions.

So I'll render mine For me, while there are albums where some pieces are stronger than others, and certainly when excised as standalone tracks, those less strong (I'll not say weak) pieces don't stand up as well. But put them where they are on the album's running sequence, and suddenly they make a lot of sense. "A Venture," on The Yes Album, for example. A little bit of poppier fluff? Perhaps. A song I listen to on its own often? Hardly. But I cannot listen to TYA album without listening to it, in its proper place. And in that case I like it, as it acts as a perfect breather between "Good People" and "Perpetual Change." I think running from one to the next of those two pieces would not work nearly as well.

But, of course, that's just my opinion

[Sunhillow]

This thread is so much based on personal opinion to be meaningless.

IMO reading opinions, especially those that differ from yours, is the main reason for visiting PE almost every day. I'd like to read stuff that makes me think "yeah, he's right!" and "funny, he feels the same as I do". It's a save place to share my opinion too. I mean, I'm not a lonely guy in daily life at all, but when I feel the urge to talk about the butterfly that's been revived on the Esoteric remaster of "Eyes Of The Universe", I'm glad to know that this is the place. In my everyday life not a single person has even heard of the band Barclay James Harvest.

Speaking of BJH.

- Gone To Earth. 'Hymn' and 'Poor Man's Moody Blues' are the only two songs worthwhile, but even they are a bit boring. It's surrounded by albums I really enjoy, but this album has always left me stonecold. The artwork is pretty though (hence I recently bought it cheap on vinyl, and now I know at least 75% of the people reading this know what I mean).

[Jubal]

For those who think The Final Cut is a great record- please tell me what kind of drug you are taking. I would love something that makes such putrid music even palatable.

[NogbadTheBad]

I guess I just don't like the word falsely in the thread title. It suggests you made a mistake by regarding an album highly.

[calyx]

For those who think The Final Cut is a great record- please tell me what kind of drug you are taking. I would love something that makes such putrid music even palatable.

I don't think it's great, but I think it's a good album, certainly better than "Momentary Lapse" and easily on a par with "Division Bell". I can't see how someone can think "The Wall" is fantastic from beginning to end and "Final Cut" is pure crap, when the latter is basically a postscript to the former, with many of the same qualities (and shortcomings, i.e. being a Waters solo album with PF as backing group).

[mogrooves]

SEBtP
TFTO

[NogbadTheBad]

I don't see The Final Cut as an over rated album amongst masterpieces as the last masterpiece Floyd made was Animals

[Paulrus]

The only thing I'd contribute to this thread (which I agree is mainly a big "IMO"-fest) is that it's valid to include albums that were part of a string of consistent output largely produced by the same lineup. But it's not really fair to include albums that were part of a lineup's evolution, especially if they hit a rough patch as in the case of PF's The Final Cut. or Yes' Tormato. That's why I'd agree for instance with Joni Mitchell's For the Roses or The Moody Blues' Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Neither was as good as the album that preceded or followed it, but otherwise the artistic process was the same and group chemistry hadn't really changed (in the case of the MB, at least.)