biggest letdown from side one to side two

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Inspired by Love's Da Capo. Greatest 60's rock album of all time on side one; garbage on side two. I can't think of anything more disappointing, but maybe you can!

(And I can't wait for the first ilxor nutjob who loves "Revelation"....my money's on Mr. Seward...)

― Hurlothrumbo (hurlothrumbo), Sunday, 29 January 2006 02:41 (twenty years ago)

Boston's first album

― fizzcaraldo (Justin M), Sunday, 29 January 2006 02:46 (twenty years ago)

I feel so strongly that you are so wrong, because of Let Me Take You Home Tonight. I have very strong feelings about his album and its greatness, though, so I could be a shitty arbiter.

I just realized that this thread is totally slanted against CD only stuff, but it can easily be figured out; like for instance, the Beyonce album is a prime contender here, if it had actually been on a thing with sides.

― Hurlothrumbo (hurlothrumbo), Sunday, 29 January 2006 03:00 (twenty years ago)

Bowie - Let's Dance is the epitome of this for me.

― mrjosh (mrjosh), Sunday, 29 January 2006 03:11 (twenty years ago)

Another one that's been bugging me: TLC Crazysexycool (as divided by the intermissionlude). First side (half), one of my favorites ever, including the best Prince ripoff ever -- second side, one pretty good Prince cover and nothin.

― Hurlothrumbo (hurlothrumbo), Sunday, 29 January 2006 03:18 (twenty years ago)

Bowie - Let's Dance is the epitome of this for me.
>>

Talking of Bowie, I'm going to get flamed for this, but Low fits this for me (I'm just not really into instrumentals, for some reason, it's not a value judgement on the music!)

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Sunday, 29 January 2006 04:11 (twenty years ago)

Let's Dance? c'mon, Criminal World is so friggin smooth and Putting Out Fire isn't all too bad either as an eighties new wave rock track. Shake It is just plain fun. I can not agree with considering side two of Let's Dance as being a letdown.

Surely any Billy Joel album would qualify more accurately before any Bowie would.

― bahto habito, Sunday, 29 January 2006 04:26 (twenty years ago)

There's probably loads of examples of this with bands who release half-studio/half-live records.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Sunday, 29 January 2006 04:26 (twenty years ago)

"Long Distance Voyager" by The Moody Blues

― Megan, Sunday, 29 January 2006 04:29 (twenty years ago)

The Monkees' first two albums come uncomfortably close.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Sunday, 29 January 2006 04:42 (twenty years ago)

XTC White Noise Brilliant first aide, unbearable second

― moriarty (moriarty), Sunday, 29 January 2006 05:38 (twenty years ago)

Top of my head: Eno's Before and After Science, and pretty much anything else where there's some sort of deliberate conceptual/musical split on the different sides, eg, "This is the rock side. This is the acoustic side." Was Green like that or was that just in the naming of the sides? I'm too lazy to go pull it out and see what's on which side.

Also: the Lemon Pipers' Green Tambourine - Side A is a bunch of slightly fried and hippified Archies type tunes, very jaunty and bubblegummy. Can't remember Side B too well but I'm pretty sure it's dominated by some sort of endless Pink Floyd "trip outside your mind!" type of thing. Not necessarily bad, but when you get all stoked halfway through side A, like, "Wow, this is just a wall to wall collection of forgotten pop gems!" it can be kind of a bummer.

I kind of feel this way about Bringing It All Back Home, although that's not a letdown so much as just having to be in different moods. The quality remains high.

I know there have to be others because I feel like there's a bunch of records where I ONLY ever listen to Side A, but I can't for the life of me think of them...

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Sunday, 29 January 2006 06:48 (twenty years ago)

Burzum "Filosofem" - first 30 minutes are monumental, second 30 are boring sub-Tangerine Dream noodling.

― Siegbran (eofor), Sunday, 29 January 2006 17:08 (twenty years ago)

"my money's on Mr. Seward"

No! I mean, I don't hate it or anything, but i never play it. I play the first side and then I'm done. Look at it as a brilliant EP. I am with XHUCX Eddy when it comes to albums. MOST albums would be better as EPs. Since I listen to so much vinyl I will often just listen to the first side of an album and only the first side. Cuz on a lot of albums this is where the good stuff is (not always, obviously). Even with CDs, I will be digging something for 5 or 6 songs and then it will just keep going and going for 70 minutes and i completely lose interest. (metal and rap being notorious culprits)

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 29 January 2006 17:25 (twenty years ago)

Also: the Lemon Pipers' Green Tambourine - Side A is a bunch of slightly fried and hippified Archies type tunes, very jaunty and bubblegummy. Can't remember Side B too well but I'm pretty sure it's dominated by some sort of endless Pink Floyd "trip outside your mind!" type of thing. Not necessarily bad, but when you get all stoked halfway through side A, like, "Wow, this is just a wall to wall collection of forgotten pop gems!" it can be kind of a bummer
>>

Haha I think you're talking about "Through With You" as it's about 9 mins long, which is the only song I like on side B. Side A is fantastic though, I'm with you on that.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Sunday, 29 January 2006 19:05 (twenty years ago)

You don't like "Blueberry Blue?"

I think the best song on Side One is "Rainbow Tree," which was a different songwriting team (Leka/Pinz for "Rice Is Nice," "Green Tambourine," etc. - probably "Jelly Jungle," too, though I don't have that record - Leka/Pinz wrote "Blueberry Blue").

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 29 January 2006 19:11 (twenty years ago)

NWA's Straight Outta Compton might qualify were it not for "Express Yourself". It's one of the front-loadedest albums I can think of.

― Madam, I Am Not a Doctor (noodle vague), Sunday, 29 January 2006 19:12 (twenty years ago)

Actually I got that wrong, I do like Blueberry Blue but thought it was on side A, my mistake.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Sunday, 29 January 2006 19:20 (twenty years ago)

Eno's Before and After Science

(cries, covers eyes, refuses to believe anyone could think that)

I think Bowie is a strong contender here, but my nominee is Scary Monsters.

― sleeve (sleeve), Sunday, 29 January 2006 21:08 (twenty years ago)

IDIOTS UND SHADOWS
BLOCK THE REVOLUTION
NO MORE
3 STEPS TO HEAVEN
& WEARS THE CHALICE
WhEN PEEPLE GET THEIR FIGURE S BROKEN?
TO BE INSULTED BY THESE FASCISTS}
IS SOAKED IN GRAVY

AND IT'S SNOW GRAHAM!!!!!

― Madam, I Am Not a Doctor (noodle vague), Monday, 30 January 2006 02:27 (twenty years ago)

Low seconded, as is the rationalization that side 2 ain't BAD, just that it's something else entirely.

Also in the category of "not bad" is Side 2 of Ice Cube's The Predator, which can't help but be a letdown after the first half: My favourite (half-)album of hip-hop ever.

Another: Blue Öyster Cult's Tyranny & Mutation (conveniently designated "The Black" as opposed to Side 1's "The Red".)

And finally, a coupla multiplatinum LPs (so popular that no ILMer will admit to liking 'em, apparently): Synchronicity and The Joshua Tree.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 30 January 2006 04:59 (twenty years ago)

Went ahead and pulled out Green Tambourine to doublecheck. "Blueberry Blue" is indeed great and would have fit very well on side one - but "The Shoemaker of Leathermaker Square" is just embarassing. I mean, they already have a quaint shoe-themed character sketch (doodle) on side one! Were they making a bid to be the true originators of shoegaze? HA!!!!! Anyway, the other revelation from this listen is that "Through With You" (the Floyd thing), while a horrendous mismatch to the rest of the record and not particularly inspired, is still basically okay and runs CIRCLES around its predecessor, the ALSO very long (six minutes or so?) "blues rock" number, "Fifty Year Void." Barf.

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Monday, 30 January 2006 05:01 (twenty years ago)

Predator's side 2 is weaker than side 1 but I wouldn't call it a big let down. Side 2 of Joshua Tree is better than Side 1, or at least gives you more indication of where U2 where going to go.

― Madam, I Am Not a Doctor (noodle vague), Monday, 30 January 2006 05:02 (twenty years ago)

yeah side two has 'in god's country' on it for crying out loud

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 30 January 2006 05:05 (twenty years ago)

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