Favorite band who have NO classic albums

I don't think The Verve ever made a truly classic record. About 1/3 of each album was always blah.

lots of rappers actually

I'm not sure how familiar you are with Giant Sand but I just wanted to let you know that they have two in-print greatest hits compilations (one released 15 years ago and the other 10 years ago).

I'm not sure if you buy your music but like I mentioned before, they are both in-print and are highly recommended!

these guys were turdburglars of the highest order, but Every Breath You Take is a very enjoyable comp. Both in its SingleS and Classics versions. And Busta Rhymes, while not a turdburglar (though for some reason I associate him with the Hamburglar), also has a good comp.

Matt, one who burgles turds.

the giant sandwich comp is a singles/rarities collection.

i'm referring to the giant songs vols. 1 + 2 which are greatest hits compilations and might be worth checking out (if only for the tracklistings to compare).

man for a second I wasn't sure if Blount was naming a band or just making a sound effect.

nrugaghaughgghahgahghggggggWHA?

(hee hee)

A case of almosts: take away '69, and I would definitely put Led Zeppelin as my pick.

what in tarnation? I'm not going to defend CLINIC AND THE STROKES with some guy who can't appreciate Zoso and Houses Of The Holy

ah! memories of junior high...

Tad has obviously never heard Stereopathetic Soulmanure (that, or he's trying to enact some bizarre anti-Nate vengeance for sullying the name of his apparently beloved Led Zep; face it -- "In My Time of Dying" is BORING BORING BORING and "Down By the Seaside" = murder by schmaltz).

for the record, i like led zep well enough, but they're not one of my personal touchstones. all of THOSE have classic albums, natch.

WRONG WRONG WRONG! I'll grant you "Down By the Seaside" though.

Tad has obviously never heard Stereopathetic Soulmanure
God, its so ironic somebody's hating Zep while clearly high off his gourd.

III: second half of side 2
Zoso: "Battle of Evermore"; "Stairway to Not As Good As the O'Jays"; that godawful title; that stupid cover
Houses of the Holy: "Dancing Days"; "D'Yer Maker"
Physical Graffitti: aforementioned
Presence; In Through the Out Door: Oh man where do I start?

That said, remember, this is favorite band and it's not like I'm going about yelling "BOO TO MUDSHARK-WIELDING HOBBIT-METAL"

Miccio, your sarcasmometor needs new spark plugs

"Dancing Days"; "D'Yer Maker"

FUN HATER! FUUUUUUN HATER! FUN HATER FUN HATER FUN HATER FUN HATER!
FUUUUUUUN HAAAAAAAAAATTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

More like SHITTY CORNBALL LYRIC HATER! and HEAVY METAL BANDS ATTEMPTING REGGAE HATER!

(and make Miccio lose his shit)

ok if this is valid justification for why something is better than "Dancing Days" I'll just leave you in the comfy lil' bed you've made. I said it's alright.

well, spend a few years with the merzbox and then come back to us.

Although...With Sympathy kicks my ass...I doubt that'd be considered classic.

(disclaimer: no I have not taken acid. sheesh)

Another factor in potential Zep-ruining for self: TENACIOUS D. Why why why did I rent that goddamned DVD of theirs? WHY?

Red Hot Chili Peppers? (i'm not super familiar with their early stuff)
-- M@tt He1geson (matt@game[remove]informer.com), January 28th, 2004

D00D, Blood Sugar Sex Magik IS ALL CLASS, no ass.

Other bands:
Rancid
Living End (although I haven't heard Modern Artillery just yet)

CHRISTIAN DEATH! They are "canonical" goth- their debut Only Theater of Pain is usually called the one to get- but the cracked vocals sound like a dying donkey and the songs are so muddy and blurred together you can't tell them apart. I can't stand it except for a few songs (esp. Romeo's Distress). The re-recorded versions on Iron Mask are infinitely superior and Rozz's vocals got better later. Aside from that there are many good songs but they are very scattered and hard to seperate from the crap- and there is no good compilation of them (their best of leaves off many total essentials and substitutes inferior versions and at least a few worthless turds that should not be on at all.) As for the "other" xian death that Valor stole from Rozz they only have maybe 4 or 5 half-good songs.

Of course they've recorded more than enough excellent material to compile a classic "Best-Of" (probably even a double) but it hasn't been done yet.

Ditto Theatre Of Hate, Frank Zappa.

Heck,

Ringo Starr. (xposted)

Also, NO rapper has ever delivered a seamless album that I can listen to in its entirety. Goddamn producers, always including little spoken-word bits, "instrumental" interludes, all kinds of pointless time-wasters that are a nuisance to skip through, kinda like commercials, or bass solos.

(And BTW: With the exception of "Coda" and the live ones, EVERY Led Zep album is a classic!)

Out Comes The Wolves > Blook Sugar Sex Magick by a MILE.

My friend, a classic EP is a classic album is a classic EP. Dig?

I love both those.

OK, if I mocked anyone for their fervent Zeppelin defenses, I sincerely apologize. Now if you'll excuse me:

BLARGH RARHG GAHAGAHG EAFHAFHAGHAGGHKLA/ A!

I would agree that most of their most famous, later, albums do, but "A Hard Day's Night" contains no weak tracks.

I'm jes sayin' that all of their albums are somewhat flawed and uneven. It's not criticism. If you made a list (and you guys must of made that list someplace) of the greatest rock/rap/whatever artiists. George Clinton would be top ten. But if you make a list of the greatest albums (and I know you've made ton of those) the Pfunk reconds tend not to rate as high. Doesn't mean the music isn't great. Hell, they're all classics as far as I'm concerned.

Every one of them contains filler alongside the classic tracks. I guess I was debating the whole idea of rating an artist (in this case one of the the very greatest) by the number of "perfect" albums he put out. But I'm ending up sounding like I'm slagging one of my favorites...so never mind.

"future days" might be my fav can album, i think it is classic all the way through...

You sound exactly like me

Not even the most fanatic Beatles-fan, who would probably loathe "Revolution #9" at least. And those modernist nuts who do like "Revolution #9" will probably hate "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and "Honey Pie" at least.

I really have trouble why a Zeppelin fan would think IV is classic except for "Battle of Evermore" and "Stairway to Heaven". I could understand thinking they're overplayed or overrated or maybe even a little lacking. But it just seems odd that the most celebrated song in rock history would be so bad that it keeps an otherwise great album from classic status.

("Martha My Dear" is great too!)

Pardon me, but were you alive in 1995?

parklife has 16 trax on right, so take off the say, 7 or 8 you don't like, and that's leaving you with about 10 trax you like, hey presto! a classic. *surely*?

actually why has 'parklife' not had a definitely maybe/holy bible style dvd/remastering reissue?

Umm....the Buzzcocks. None of their albums is as solid a knockout as Singles Gone Steady.

And the best Wire album is the CD-R I assembled with all the goodies from Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, 154 (not so many from here), The A List, and Read & Burn.

Now you people are just shittin' me.

85% of punk bands that recorded only 7 inches and broke up

To clarify, songs which prevent the various Zeppelin albums post-II from classicosity:
III: second half of side 2
Zoso: "Battle of Evermore"; "Stairway to Not As Good As the O'Jays"; that godawful title; that stupid cover
Houses of the Holy: "Dancing Days"; "D'Yer Maker"
Physical Graffitti: aforementioned
Presence; In Through the Out Door: Oh man where do I start?

That said, remember, this is favorite band and it's not like I'm going about yelling "BOO TO MUDSHARK-WIELDING HOBBIT-METAL"

Miccio, your sarcasmometor needs new spark plugs

― nate detritus (natedetritus), Tuesday, January 27, 2004 9:28 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this post is a treasure trove of terrible music opinion

How did Can get into this thread?

Paul McCartney

They Might Be Giants is the closest this gets for me, yet I'd still call Flood a classic album. most of their appeal for me is their live show, where they get by on energy and spontaneity; many of the same songs on record just don't have the same effect

As much as I love Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi, Camera Obscura

Gary Numan/Tubeway Army. Replicas and The Pleasure Principle come close, but there's a couple of duds on each one.

Pink Floyd.

Queen.

I dunno, everyone!

trying to work out if you're trolling mark g

not really a big fan but LCD Soundsystem seem to fit this description. Maybe the second album but I wouldn't say it's a 'classic'.

there isn't really a way to answer this without challopping in some way

right now my answer would be Towa Tei, his stuff is consistently very good after every single album he does has 2-3 tracks I absolutely love, but I wouldn't call any of them 'great', necessarily

Squarepusher is my final answer. The only thing I'd class as 'classic' would be Hard Normal Daddy from right at the start of his career, but really every subsequent album has consisted of about 1 amazing track, 2 or 3 middling ones and a bunch of old rubbish. Therefore I consider his albums like singles with loads of b-sides

Maybe James Brown (excluding Live at the Apollo)? Though I just listen to the box set.

oh yeah good one

I did run through all the Squarepusher albums lately and even HND has some trash on it. Feel like Ultravisitor is probably his best as a whole but yeah, even then...

Plaid are in a very similar boat

You guys are just naming bands at this point.

I mean, honestly, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, James Brown? None of those people have a classic album to their name? That's just false.

I would seriously nominate Deep Purple here (don't know if anyone mentioned them upthread). Their three best albums, In Rock, Machine Head and Fireball, all have two or at most three amazing songs each, and then a bunch of bland filler.

Gary Numan/Tubeway Army. Replicas and The Pleasure Principle come close, but there's a couple of duds on each one.

― heaven parker (anagram), Thursday, August 17, 2017 10:15 AM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

These are both actual legit classics.

hell yeah

ludacris

not my favorite anything, but he had a run of classic singles and guest verses but never really put it all together for a full record

Liked a big bunch of Hot Chip tunes over the last 12 years but no one album of theirs really stands out from the others.

angels of light. trim that all that fat and bad gira indulgences into a killer double album

i might say ELO, though a couple of their albums come close. I mean they are legitimately incredible but I'm not sold on the idea that they have a single front-to-back classic.

Gwar maybe

Would pre-album era groups be cheating? I guess you could argue that posthumous anthologies should be included, which would rule out folks like the Carter Family.

chic

Hot Chip for me too.

I love a bunch of Shins songs, but the one album most people ascribe Classic status to, Chutes Too Narrow, maybe my least favorite of theirs. They've always been a band to release a half-brilliant album.

Sound Of Silver is surely considered a modern day classic.
Hot Chip is a good answer though.

I don't know where the bar is on classic album, but even though the Replacements are one of my favourite bands ever--top ten for sure--I'm pretty sure there are three or four songs on every LP I have no use for. Yet in my own mind, I think of two or three of them as being classic.

lol i was going to suggest the replacements

Gucci Mane has like 12 great mixtapes plus numerous legendary guest appearances but his proper "albums" are all terrible

Hi, I wasn't trolling as such its just that the definition of 'Classic' seems to have become 'perfect'. Ftr I don't like Queen and 50% of Pink Floyd but .

Queen have at least 3 legit classics (Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack and A Night at the Opera) and Pink Floyd has The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Meddle, The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall ... a lot of classic albums.

Reading back through the thread. Surely Eurythmics In The Garden is a classic
also Rembrandt Pussyhorse, Locust Abortion Technician, Psychic, Powerless Another Man's Sac and Hairway TO Steven for the Butthole Surfers

I got lots of 'you have to hear' about 'In The Garden', but apart from the French song and a couple others, the album was me city for me.

You know how Simple Minds' early 'classic' albums got lost when they became Stadium size? Its almost the inverse of that where it got more praise than it deserved, after the fact.

oh yeah good one

I did run through all the Squarepusher albums lately and even HND has some trash on it. Feel like Ultravisitor is probably his best as a whole but yeah, even then...

Plaid are in a very similar boat

― frogbs, Thursday, August 17, 2017 3:59 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah I feel like that about Plaid although I like everything on Restproof Clockwork. It never seems to get ads much credit as some of their later albums though

i might say ELO, though a couple of their albums come close. I mean they are legitimately incredible but I'm not sold on the idea that they have a single front-to-back classic.

― nomar, Thursday, August 17, 2017 6:34 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I always thought Out of the Blue was canon

A New World Record is also a legit classic.

Yeah a new world record is flat out great

Gary Numan/Tubeway Army. Replicas and The Pleasure Principle come close, but there's a couple of duds on each one.
― heaven parker (anagram), Thursday, August 17, 2017 10:15 AM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

These are both actual legit classics.

― more Allegro-like (Turrican), Thursday, 17 August 2017 17:36 (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The title track of "Replicas" is very boring and "Conversation" on The Pleasure Principle is a real plodder. Both great albums but I wouldn't call them classics.

Feel like there is some overlap between this thread and the one about removing one dud song from an album to make it better.

If your definition of a classic album is it has NO songs you don't like on it, that means almost every artist in existence fits this thread for me.

The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
etc etc

The Yardbirds.
Fire Engines (and all of Davey Henderson's career really)

The main bands that come to mind for me are compilation-friendly bands like The Ventures - but for all I know some of the Ventures albums are immaculate.

man, "Replica" (the song) is one of my favorites on that disc

agreed on "Conservation" though

I kinda read this thread as "artists who've made a ton of 4-star albums but no 5-star ones". I think albums can still be considered classics even if there's a song or two you don't like.

I don't think there's any set thing that makes an album a "classic", it can be any number of things.

For example, Revolver has 'Yellow Submarine' on it, which has always been a love-it-or-hate-it moment in the Beatles' back catalogue, but it doesn't prevent the album from being a classic, as it is a classic album for other reasons.

Does everyone who enjoys Rumours think 'Oh Daddy' or 'Don't Stop' are the highlights of the record? Probably not - but it's not the songwriting alone that makes the LP a classic, even though it's undoubtedly a factor.

yeah i think there's more to it than that too. 'canonical albums without good songs on' i.e. albums that became canon but for reasons other than the music. 'Be Here Now', 'Cold Lake', 'Everything Now'. Maybe some crossover with the New Jersey thread...

If your definition of a classic album is it has NO songs you don't like on it, that means almost every artist in existence fits this thread for me.

That's my definition.

I like every song on Oh, No! It's Devo but I wouldn't call that a classic exactly

I don't, so we agree.

If the Replacements didn't have Let it Be I'd agree but if you like them I don't see how that doesn't count

I do consider Let It Be a classic album because my four favourite songs--"Let It Be," "Favorite Thing," "Unsatisfied," and "Answering Machine"--are so phenomenally good; they more or less match up for me with any four songs from my favourite Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Beatles, etc. albums. But I've never liked "Gary's Got a Boner" or "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out," and honestly, I never go back to the other songs (yes, even "Androgynous") either. Which to a certain degree is more a comment on how much those four songs dwarf anything around them. Which is why I'm a song guy rather than an album guy.

that's 3 great songs right amongst the 4 others you mentioned!

Maybe I muddled that: four phenomenal songs, two I don't like, five others I'm basically indifferent to--but those five sound okay if I'm playing the whole album through.

For me, that's a classic album, but for most people, I don't think that would qualify.

Gary's Got a Boner and Tommy Got His Tonsils out are fucking awesome!

actually Stink is classic too

every song is great in Let It Be IMO, including their Kiss cover

<i> my four favourite songs--"Let It Be"</i>
I Will Dare?

In fact, I would argue that Westerberg's failure to understand that "Gary's Got a Boner" is an intrinsic part of the Replacement's greatness is exactly why he went about ruining the band, ending up at the rote professional respectability of All Shook Down

(xpost) Yes--guess I think of it as the title track or something...I can understand that argument, and I know that's a side of the band many people love (or at least always wanted it there for that reason, as a kind of ballast). I never liked it, though; it just got in the way for me.

It's not just the songs that make an album a "classic", it can also be albums that mark a notable turning point in popular music (Autobahn), or an album which was noted for its production advances (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band), the way it captures a time/period/mood (Technique, A Hard Day's Night, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?) or successfully captures an artist or band in a less than ideal situation/unusual headspace (Rumours, The Madcap Laughs, Oar) or triumphing against the odds (Everything Must Go, Hysteria) ... it can be the most finely crafted piece of music with the best session musicians and studio personnel (Aja) or a quickly knocked out, yet raw and potent document (Pink Moon) ... it can be the story of a band battling with a producer to create a beautiful work (Skylarking) or something that was created seemingly effortlessly yet resonated with a lot of people (Automatic for the People) or an album with a reputation that has only increased in the years since its release... there's no set criteria, and no set pattern, but you sure as hell know one when you hear it.

OTM

clemenza accept gary's boner into your heart and you will be saved

I mean, you won't see a copy of Trout Mask Replica in every household in the world, and (for example) 'The Blimp (mousetrapreplica)' is hardly what one would call a "standard", but it's still a classic album for a zillion reasons, both relating to the music contained within and the story of how that music came to be.

As Turrican describes it, Let It Be is absolutely a classic album. No exaggeration when I say that it defines 1984 for me far more than Purple Rain or Born in the U.S.A.. Not a big fan of the '80s in general, but I feel lucky to have been just the right age (23) when Let It Be came out.

I'm not a fan of The Replacements, but I know that Let It Be is generally regarded to be a classic for its own set of reasons.

Some of the albums being described as classic on this thread *boak*

accept gary's boner into your heart and you will be saved

Dying at this.

tom d have you said Chou Pahrot on this thread yet?

I did accept Gary's boner into my heart, but, in advance of Monday, there was also a total eclipse going on in there, and basically all hell broke loose.

I think some people consider "classic" to mean famous or maybe infamous; others consider it to mean a measure of aesthetic appeal.

I have no idea, but I'll say WEEN.

I'd say anything in the top 1000 albums on AcclaimedMusic probably should count as a classic album for the purposes of this thread. By that measure, the Replacements and Capt. Beefheart have 3(!) apiece, Fleetwood Mac have 2, Can have 1, and ELO, Wishbone Ash, Blue Oyster Cult have none.

Chocolate & Cheese, 12 Golden Country Greats, The Mollusk and GodWeenSatan are all 24 karat classic albums. also this might be the worst thread in ILM history and I regret clicking on it.

Blue Oyster Cult had no less than 3 classic albums

"Secret Treaties" is a stone-cold classic in my book. But for this thread it seems more constructive to use an objective definition.

also this might be the worst thread in ILM history and I regret clicking on it.

If this doesn't become the new board description, my life is a lie.

Blue Oyster Cult had no less than 3 classic albums

I'm probably the wrong weirdo to ask, but:
Secret Treaties
On Your Feet...
Fire of Unknown Origin
IMO, with three other albums barely relegated to the second tier
(It is permissible to swap Tyranny for On Your Feet... but I like those songs rampaging the fuck out)

I'd say LCD Soundsystem is contender although we'll see what this new album delivers (personally I'm pretty excited by the possibilities given the first three releases). I was super let down by their first album in comparison to the singles and previously leaked tracks - "Tribulations" had been floating around out there for ages. "Daft Punk is Playing in My House" is still the worst song in their catalog, so thin and groove-less compared to the artists Murphy is namechecking and I wish it would forever disappear from their live sets.

Obviously the next two are highly regarded by most but I still find them pretty wobbly all up and held up by some amazing tracks.

ELO obv.

Jon I personally feel Agents of Fortune is pretty perfect AOR menaceb and I meant T&M but FoUO and On Your Feet are great too, Blue Oyster Cult were too amazing

Are we confusing "classic" and "flawless"? If the latter, then many acts whose albums I love -- whose albums I consider "classic" in every sense -- have, as clemenza wrote about the Mats, have imperfect albums. The acts are more endearing that way.

also this might be the worst thread in ILM history and I regret clicking on it.

lol yeah it does seem entirely pointless. just because you don't like one song on an album that is still namechecked in every issue of Mojo doesn't mean it isn't classic.

there really aren't any good answers. i guess you could look for acts before 1966 when singles were the industry focus over albums.

or maybe the one hit wonder you like. the problem is usually if you have a favorite band past seeing them as a one hit wonder you probably like the whole album that hit is on. not sure you can have a favorite band and not consider them classic wo some kind of self delusion involved.

just because you don't like one song on an album that is still namechecked in every issue of Mojo doesn't mean it isn't classic.

Feel like you're over the strike through limit

Haha

Yeah, it was a chore getting that right.

i dunno im fine with Rock As Institution and the music press has always defined what is classic at least in the public sphere. the album itself is most relevant here, feel like classic rock canon is appropriate if we are taking the album seriously as a construct.

now that we have the global internet and instant access post-tangible music things are different and that hegemony is becoming less and less relevant. yet it can still be one valid point of view, observed from the future for all its quaintness and moral failings, to keep in mind while we create our newly democratized, personal historical canons.

I think what's been missed here is the 'favourite' band.

I.e. My fav band The Boo Radleys. But, they clearly have one classic album, "Giant Steps"

Spearmint? Oh but "A week away" so not them either.

How about T Rex? used to be a fav of mine, but does Marc have a classic album? Mmmmmmmm....

The Slider!

See, I like "zip gun boogie" I'd call it a classic and no duff tracks, was surprised to discover its considered his almost worst album.

Maybe my opinion is coloured because (you know this bit) but I don't think so.

gotta be laid back - can any band rival a set of singles like bakerman, white horse, sunshine reggae and fly away?

*greatest artist of all time drops the greatest album of all time*
I Love Music forum: "haha this is mostly shit it has like 3 good songs"

*bargain bin album known as colossal failure and joke in band's discography*

"this is secretly their best album, guys"

How about T Rex? used to be a fav of mine, but does Marc have a classic album?

Marc? Yes, Unicorn.

dr feelgood

Electric Warrior is the canon T.Rex album.

"Daft Punk is Playing in My House" is still the worst song in their catalog, so thin and groove-less compared to the artists Murphy is namechecking and I wish it would forever disappear from their live sets.

agreed that the studio version is pretty lame - from the very first time I heard it I couldn't stop hearing the "Back in Black" riff - but it does sound pretty great live. IMO its their most improved in a live setting, its like 10x more fun and energetic

luda is a good answer

Mazzy Star. There's no reason to classify one album as classic as over - this band has a formula that is effective on any release.

Yeah obviously T-rex have at least Electric Warrior (and I would count The Slider and Tanx too).

the slider is classic

T. Rex self-titled is short, every song is awesome, combines his electric boogie with full-flower fantasy lyrics, and has some of my favorite guitar sounds of all time

TRex sound/production is so incredible in its simplicity and austere perfection.
There's almost nothing but somehow it works and you can enjoy albums of the same thing !

t rex has at least 3 classic albums!!!!

electric warrior and the slider are all time

s/t and tanx are excellent