50 Genuinely Horrible Albums by Brilliant Artists

[Soundwaveseeker]

The narrative is that Love Beach is this godawful thing, but it's really not that bad. It is bad if you're looking for more Tarkus & The Endless Enigma and that sort of thing. But like you said, Canario is the album's Hoedown, and the side-long epic Memoirs Of An Officer & A Gentleman, though not on par with the other epics Tarkus or Karn Evil 9, kinda breaks new ground for them in that they delivered a more sensitive, almost 1977-80 era Genesis-like piece.

But the awful stuff - The Gambler - that Jeremy Bender style has been done better on other albums, and Taste Of My Love has such cringey lyrics. That they didn't know any better is mind boggling. But try In The Hot Seat - you won't believe what you're hearing. Of course there are a few good bits too, I always try to find the good bits in a lesser album. But as a final album, it's a bit of a letdown. Why they let this be their final album is rather sad, and now its too late to get some great ELP comeback or anything new from them.

[pianozach]

The narrative is that Love Beach is this godawful thing, but it's really not that bad. It is bad if you're looking for more Tarkus & The Endless Enigma and that sort of thing. But like you said, Canario is the album's Hoedown, and the side-long epic Memoirs Of An Officer & A Gentleman, though not on par with the other epics Tarkus or Karn Evil 9, kinda breaks new ground for them in that they delivered a more sensitive, almost 1977-80 era Genesis-like piece.

But the awful stuff - The Gambler - that Jeremy Bender style has been done better on other albums, and Taste Of My Love has such cringey lyrics. That they didn't know any better is mind boggling. But try In The Hot Seat - you won't believe what you're hearing. Of course there are a few good bits too, I always try to find the good bits in a lesser album. But as a final album, it's a bit of a letdown. Why they let this be their final album is rather sad, and now its too late to get some great ELP comeback or anything new from them.

Just had a full listen of HOT SEAT. Of course, I pretty much listen for the playing and singing, but not so much lyrics. So if they're cringe-y, I didn't notice.

Funny, but I now find some of the lyrics on their "classic" albums to be a bit cringe-y now.

[Gilly Goodness]

Just had a full listen of HOT SEAT. Of course, I pretty much listen for the playing and singing, but not so much lyrics. So if they're cringe-y, I didn't notice.

Funny, but I now find some of the lyrics on their "classic" albums to be a bit cringe-y now.

Confession time. I've only ever heard Fanfare and Mussorgsky. Never heard any songs with words. Not even the Father Xmas song. 😯

I've heard Lake sing with /ASIA\ more than ELP.




SNOWFLOWER ELDER SAY IT IS ALL CONNECTED

[madbear]

I put the list up as a bit of a joke to be honest, even though I dislike Union, but it's intriguing seeing the thread develop! I'm afraid ELP is a no-go zone for me too...

[Soundwaveseeker]

ELP was the first 'prog' band I ever got into. Possibly the most uncoolest thing a 13 year old kid could like when everybody else was listening to Duran Duran and Quiet Riot. But sometimes when you see an album with a mechanical armadillo tank creature on the cover in the 35 cents bin at the used record shop, you just gotta go for it.

So, what did you think of In The Hot Seat?

[Ash Armstrong]

ELP was the first 'prog' band I ever got into. Possibly the most uncoolest thing a 13 year old kid could like when everybody else was listening to Duran Duran and Quiet Riot. But sometimes when you see an album with a mechanical armadillo tank creature on the cover in the 35 cents bin at the used record shop, you just gotta go for it.

So, what did you think of In The Hot Seat?

I've not even heard of it before. I haven't heard anything by ELP after Works Vol.2.
My first ELP album was Pictures at an Exhibition, which I think I bought sometime in 1974, though I'd heard Brain Salad Surgery at a friend's house. Pictures was cheaper.
Around the same time, possibly during summer holidays, I bought LPs of The Firebird and Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures. I doubt I'd been aware at the time that it had originally been just for solo piano.
I've got the deluxe CD editions of all the albums up to Works 2, but it's rare that I bother with Tarkus or Trilogy, or either of the Works albums. Pictures remains my favourite.

[bondegezou]

Actually, which version of Tangletown features Jimmy Haun? Is he credited?
I've only found this one: https://michaelsherwood.bandcamp.com/album/tangletown

That's the album. The Bandcamp page doesn't list all the guest musicians. Haun's just on 1 track: see http://relayer35.com/Yescography/Tangletown.html for details. I think it's a great album.

[bondegezou]

Just had a full listen of HOT SEAT. Of course, I pretty much listen for the playing and singing, but not so much lyrics. So if they're cringe-y, I didn't notice.

Funny, but I now find some of the lyrics on their "classic" albums to be a bit cringe-y now.

In the Hot Seat is an absolutely terrible album, one of the worst albums put out by one of the big name '70s prog groups.

[pianozach]

ELP was the first 'prog' band I ever got into. Possibly the most uncoolest thing a 13 year old kid could like when everybody else was listening to Duran Duran and Quiet Riot. But sometimes when you see an album with a mechanical armadillo tank creature on the cover in the 35 cents bin at the used record shop, you just gotta go for it.

So, what did you think of In The Hot Seat?

Well, aside from not hearing lyrics, the playing was cool, Keith's choices of organ and synth patches were excellent, the piano was crisp and vibrant, and the overall sound and vibe was wonderful. Nice riffs. All of the songs seemed rather riff-driven. Play all of Keith's parts on a guitar and it could be a Journey or Van Halen album. Most of the songs seemed a bit generic, but still, not awful. There were two or three that seemed pretty catchy.

But the songs lacked the proportions of earlier lengthier works, so they lacked 'development' musically. 80% were under 5 minutes. All tracks were radio length. Greg's voice had lowered considerably, but it didn't really bother me all that much.

Pete Sinfield's name is nowhere to be found, and his lyrics have been occasionally cringe-y on some of their previous albums. Maybe I'll check out the lyrics later to see if they suck.

[michelforest]

I assembled a CDR 20+ years ago of the stuff on Union I liked, and excised the stuff I didn't. So, out went the three Rabin tracks, the Levin/Bruford track and the Howe solo track. Very happy, still, with the fine album that resulted. I don't care about who does or doesn't play on it, or what band-members think of it. My choice, my ears.

Funny, « Miracle of Life » is one of the very few tracks I can listen to from that album…

[michelforest]

Union is indeed terrible. I am not sure if it’s the worst Yes record, but it is the most dishonest for sure. Remember the liner notes that claim that the album was done in a spirit of harmony? That’s a good one! That, and bringing in session players because the members of ABWH could not put a decent album together. And then passing the whole thing as a Yes record when it is a compilation of demos from Rabin, Squire with Sherwood & ABWH. Tons of money wasted on subpar material and the result is dull and very forgettable.

That album did a great disservice to the band.

No wonder it’s ranked in third place in that list. If anything, I would put it at number one.

[Soundwaveseeker]

I've not even heard of it before. I haven't heard anything by ELP after Works Vol.2.,
My first ELP album was Pictures at an Exhibition, which I think I bought sometime in 1974, though I'd heard Brain Salad Surgery at a friend's house. Pictures was cheaper.
Around the same time, possibly during summer holidays, I bought LPs of The Firebird and Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures. I doubt I'd been aware at the time that it had originally been just for solo piano.
I've got the deluxe CD editions of all the albums up to Works 2, but it's rare that I bother with Tarkus or Trilogy, or either of the Works albums. Pictures remains my favourite.

Aren't you just a little curious about the albums after Works 2?

I'd have to say Pictures is my favorite ELP album as well, and was the album that got me into some classical music. Bought it in 1983 and didn't know it was a rock band's take on a classical composition at first, like who is this Mussorgsky guy? The lyricist? Since a lot of the credits read Mussorgsky/Emerson or Mussorgsky/Emerson, I assumed he was affiliated with the band (!). Bought a used copy from the same place as the 35 cent Tarkus, also probably 35 cents.

The first 'traditional' version of Pictures I heard after that was a version for brass which I checked out from the library. Not sure who did it or who conducted it, its a mystery lost in time for me. I didn't know till later that it originally was a suite for sole piano and that it was later orchestrated by Maurice Ravel. Still one of my favorite compositions ever. In The Hot Seat it is not.

[Ash Armstrong]

Aren't you just a little curious about the albums after Works 2?

I'd have to say Pictures is my favorite ELP album as well, and was the album that got me into some classical music. Bought it in 1983 and didn't know it was a rock band's take on a classical composition at first, like who is this Mussorgsky guy? The lyricist? Since a lot of the credits read Mussorgsky/Emerson or Mussorgsky/Emerson, I assumed he was affiliated with the band (!). Bought a used copy from the same place as the 35 cent Tarkus, also probably 35 cents.

The first 'traditional' version of Pictures I heard after that was a version for brass which I checked out from the library. Not sure who did it or who conducted it, its a mystery lost in time for me. I didn't know till later that it originally was a suite for sole piano and that it was later orchestrated by Maurice Ravel. Still one of my favorite compositions ever. In The Hot Seat it is not.

Not at all curious, no. I have, and have had, all the ELP I could want.
Pictures at an Exhibition has been orchestrated by lots of other composers, and some conductors, over the years. One I particularly like is an arrangement for piano and orchestra, effectively making it a piano concerto, by Lawrence Leonard in 1992. I've got three other versions of it, in addition to the Ravel, as well as a recording of the original solo piano version.

[Olorin]

Union is indeed terrible. I am not sure if it’s the worst Yes record, but it is the most dishonest for sure. Remember the liner notes that claim that the album was done in a spirit of harmony? That’s a good one! That, and bringing in session players because the members of ABWH could not put a decent album together. And then passing the whole thing as a Yes record when it is a compilation of demos from Rabin, Squire with Sherwood & ABWH. Tons of money wasted on subpar material and the result is dull and very forgettable.

That album did a great disservice to the band.

No wonder it’s ranked in third place in that list. If anything, I would put it at number one.

Even if the album were as bad as all that, I could not agree that it did a great disservice to the band, as it resulted in a tour that everyone loved.

[tumnus]

Even if the album were as bad as all that, I could not agree that it did a great disservice to the band, as it resulted in a tour that everyone loved.

Yes, I thought the tour would act to galvanise the band and we'd see something in some form from this larger lineup. How Im not sure, but a large length album with not everyone playing on all tracks would be good (though I can hear egos exploding) - Howe and Rabin certainly have pretty incompatible styles though, no-one's fault, but at that time album lengths were increasing to fit CD sizes.

I interviewed Rick in december 1991 and he talked about working 'for the next yes album' - it was for a computer mag so i asked him with trepidation about Mark Of The Unicorn, which I knew Trevor Rabin was working with but was unsure about inter-band relations. To my surprise he was very knowledgeable about it, already had a mac set up with the software and was 'into it' as an enthusiast. That strikes me as a missed opportunity given the groundbreaking recording method used on Talk using the very same software!

You can see why some saw it as deflating when Talk was quietly released a couple of years later with the 90125 lineup. I believe Rick was in talks to tour with the band until the last minute (alongside Kaye) but Rick and Trevor working together on that project using the same software (which meant that Rick could crudely do tracking at his home on the Isle Of Man and it would still fit into Trev's MOTU software project) - ah well, it is what it is!