When an artist that you like records something that makes you say "what"!!???

[Yanks2014]

Actually, they're good albums, but they're far from raising my enthusiasm the way Stand Up or TAAB did (or even Roots To Branches; but to a lesser extent >> there is something "round" to that album, where the others appears "squarer")

It's cool you mention "Roots To Branches". I had liked Crest of a Knave, really my gateway album into Tull. But I was really disappointed in Rock Island, and hated what I heard from Catfish Rising. So I had given up on any new music from them. For some reason, without hearing a note, I changed my mind and picked up "Roots" and was shocked how much I liked it. I guess it qualifies for this thread, in a good way of course.

[Yanks2014]

ELP's "Works" just made my head snap back, and NOT in a good way either, total cheez-wiz both musically and Emo's keyboard sounds just weren't making it for me, They should've stopped after BSS.

Thank goodness they didn't. We'd miss out on Fanfare, and a classic epic in Pirates. Some of the Palmer tunes are very cool too.

[trurl]

Could there be a better contender for this thread than Focus' "I Need a Bathroom"?

Oh lord. Yeah, that album is it for me. Even the cover was wretched.

[Yanks2014]

Though there's a couple of tunes on ABACAB that I like, it was evident to me that their downward spiral was accelerating. Still, I bought Genesis and Invisible Touch, thinking they were just going through a phase and they'd come back to their senses. I realized that the old Genesis was gone for good after that and I never bought We Can't Dance. It wasn't a "prog vs. pop" thing exactly, as there's a lot of pop music I love. It was just the extent that they dumbed down their music... from all of those fascinating backround textures and interesting grooves to keyboard pads and simplistic beats. Of course, the tunes themselves are still the centerpiece, but most of the tunes did little to nothing for me either. Interestingly, I felt that Gabriel's brand of pop had more substance and integrity, even "So," his most commercial album at that point.

I guess it all depends when a person became a Genesis fan. My gateway album for them was ABACAB, which I loved (still do), especially for the title track, Keep It Dark, Dodo/Lurker and No Reply. Lots of good songs there really, and at the time I knew nothing of their past. Almost immediately after hearing this, I got to hear Duke, something I was only mildly familiar with -Turn It On Again likely on the radio. I fell in love with this one, and to this day "Duke's Travels" is one of my all-time favorite songs of any style or genre. I always saw Duke and Abacab as companion albums, and they are the ones that turned me into a Genesis fan. I went backwards of course, and see Foxtrot and Selling England as the true masterpieces that they are. I have a top 4 for Genesis songs, Watcher of the Skies, Firth of Fifth, Dance on a Volcano and Duke's Travels. In fact these all make my top 10 of everything. But if it wasn't for Abacab being a huge success, I might never have become a fan of the group.

[Wisdomview]

Jon Anderson's "The more you know"
Pat Metheny, Paul Wertico, Gregg Bendian, Derek Bailey "Sign of four".

I have story about the last one. First of all, let me say I like Pat Metheny but you have to have balls to listen this CD from end to end. I bought it at Barnes & Noble years ago, but it is unlistenable with all kind of weird sounds so they didn't want accept the return since it was an opened CD. I challenged the manager to give spin to any song there in the store and if he would let it finish then I would go home with the CD. The manager played a song for one or two minutes and he gave me back the money with no questions, he said: Pat Metheny is good but ... "wtf"?

You must hate Derek Bailey then?
Me, I'm not a Metheny fan, but I absolutely love Derek Bailey and dig Gregg Bendian's playing.
Funny thing is, I never bought that album because Metheny is on it. Different strokes....................

[presdoug]

Quatermass 2 was sure a letdown

and also Wallenstein's Blue Eyed Boys
and the Dedalus album Materiale

[Rarebird]

Wallenstein's Blue Eyed Boys

Funny thing is their later, more commercial stuff, can't be found on CD. The only recording with their later stuff I have is a Rockpalast concert I recorded.

[Progbear]

Todd Rundgren’s With a Twist was the album that made me fling my hands up in frustration and shout, “I give up!”

A couple of years later, I saw him on the David Letterman show performing a song called “I Hate My Frickin’ ISP.” Really, Todd? This is what passes for a “protest song” for you these days? *AHEM!* Methinks all that sun resulting from living in Hawaii so long went to your head.

-------------
MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

"Parece cosa de maligno. Los pianos no estallan por casualidad." --Gabriel Garcia Marquez

N.P.:“Joy”-After the Fire/Laser Love

[bill g]

I guess it all depends when a person became a Genesis fan. My gateway album for them was ABACAB, which I loved (still do), especially for the title track, Keep It Dark, Dodo/Lurker and No Reply. Lots of good songs there really, and at the time I knew nothing of their past. Almost immediately after hearing this, I got to hear Duke, something I was only mildly familiar with -Turn It On Again likely on the radio. I fell in love with this one, and to this day "Duke's Travels" is one of my all-time favorite songs of any style or genre. I always saw Duke and Abacab as companion albums, and they are the ones that turned me into a Genesis fan. I went backwards of course, and see Foxtrot and Selling England as the true masterpieces that they are. I have a top 4 for Genesis songs, Watcher of the Skies, Firth of Fifth, Dance on a Volcano and Duke's Travels. In fact these all make my top 10 of everything. But if it wasn't for Abacab being a huge success, I might never have become a fan of the group.

Yeah that makes sense. I had loved the early albums for years, so when Abacab came out it was like... what happened? Where are the chords? They were all in 'Me and Sarah Jane' which to this day I think blows away everything else on the album. But I grew to like the album. The chorus to 'Keep It Dark' makes that my 2nd favorite song.

[Luckie]

Could there be a better contender for this thread than Focus' "I Need a Bathroom"?

Oh lord. Yeah, that album is it for me. Even the cover was wretched.

Through a combination of innocence and (mostly) stupidity, it took me 30 years to get the pun in that album's title!

Todd Rundgren’s With a Twist was the album that made me fling my hands up in frustration and shout, “I give up!”

Definitely showing his self-indulgent side to not much effect there, albeit prompted by a one-off label commission, but I do love his lush cover of Marvin Gaye's I Want You.

A couple of years later, I saw him on the David Letterman show performing a song called “I Hate My Frickin’ ISP.” Really, Todd? This is what passes for a “protest song” for you these days? *AHEM!* Methinks all that sun resulting from living in Hawaii so long went to your head.

He did seem to take his eye off the artistic ball for a while after relocating to Hawaii; I thought he was retiring from music altogether at one stage. Much of his material at that time was recorded as inchoate one-offs for distribution on the internet only, and IHMF-ISP was one of them. It arguably should have stayed a tongue-in-cheek private joke song ("I've got no time left to jack off" indeed!).

[Shadow]

Project Z, the first one was really good fusion with Jimmy Herring and Jeff Sipe with bass and keys. The second disc Lincoln Memorial was completely different. It was like avante garde fusion that was very difficult to get into. They added sax by Greg Osby.

[bRETT]

Through a combination of innocence and (mostly) stupidity, it took me 30 years to get the pun in that album's title!
.

It was the best thing about the album! (okay, and the Akkerman mini-suite).

[3LockBox]

Steve Miller Band - Circle of Love ( with the side-long disco epic Macho City!)

not really disco, worse - rap. Miller admitted that he was really just goofing around on that one, having heard Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight. I'm shocked his label let him put that out. Other than two decent songs, it may have been his worse release.

[3LockBox]

Neil Young - Reactor, Landing on Water, Everybody's Rockin'

Never bothered with Reactor, but I did own the other two. Everybody's Rockin was meant to be exactly as it sounds, a paean to '50s and '60s rock. Landing On Water did suck hard and is indeed a qualified WTF, so much so that his label (Geffen) sued him for making that string of albums.

[Dave (in MA)]

[mogrooves]

Love ~ "Revelation"

[Indiscipline]

Even though I'm a big Marillion fan I have to say Somewhere Else made me go "what the hell?" It's the one album by them that I still haven't found one song that I like. So glad when I saw them this year that they didn't play anything off of it.

[Dodie]

Even though I'm a big Marillion fan I have to say Somewhere Else made me go "what the hell?" It's the one album by them that I still haven't found one song that I like. So glad when I saw them this year that they didn't play anything off of it.

Oh, I quite like "Faith" - but I prefer the live versions that were issued around the time of Marbles (there was a B side, and it was on one of the Racket live album releases).
The one H-era Marillion album I really don't like - and never did, from the first time I heard it - is 'Happiness is the Road'. On another thread I noticed people were saying that they thought fans of the band had initially been OTT in their praise, and then cooled down. But I was really disappointed, especially with "The Hard Shoulder" volume, right from the outset. So glad 'Sounds That Can't Be Made' is back on form in terms of studio albums. Of course, the band's level as live performers has never really dipped since about 1985.

[Indiscipline]

Oh, I quite like "Faith" - but I prefer the live versions that were issued around the time of Marbles (there was a B side, and it was on one of the Racket live album releases).
The one H-era Marillion album I really don't like - and never did, from the first time I heard it - is 'Happiness is the Road'. On another thread I noticed people were saying that they thought fans of the band had initially been OTT in their praise, and then cooled down. But I was really disappointed, especially with "The Hard Shoulder" volume, right from the outset. So glad 'Sounds That Can't Be Made' is back on form in terms of studio albums. Of course, the band's level as live performers has never really dipped since about 1985.

I will agree with you on Happiness Is The Road too. The live show I saw was fantastic, they even changed the first song before the show began. I suppose someday, in a while, I'll go back and listen again. Marillion on not so great albums is better than most artists entire careers.