I enjoyed her second and third albums. I see and hear nothing wrong with those. After that. all bets are off, but that's only because I haven't heard 'em.

quote:

Originally posted by The Colonel:

How about The Wrens, with Meadowlands? Now THAT'S a stunner. I like Secaucus but it's not even close, and I have only heard a handful of Silver.

I think you're missing the point. We're not talking about bands who've made one album that stands above the rest.

My vote: Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism

Weezer - 'Pinkerton'.

Before and after this masterpiece, pretty much dreck; dull, formulaic rock with quickly scribbled lyrics.

I remain stunned years after the fact that such an ordinary outfit produced such an enduring work.

Weezer's an interesting choice. I don't think many people around here are going to argue that their output after Pinkerton has been anything but mediocre. It's in fact been very bad at times. I quite like their first album, though. Maybe even more then Pinkerton. Good call though, Ish.

quote:

Originally posted by less_success:
I quite like their first album, though. Maybe even more then Pinkerton. Good call though, Ish.

I agree that the Blue Album is on par with Pinkerton, and I think the Green album has some decent moments. I like Pinkerton well enough, but I've never really understood why people think it's head and shoulders above their other albums. It doesn't sound that different.

I think the people who laud Pinkerton the most do so because of the "forthright" lyrics.

quote:

Originally posted by Borachon:

quote:

Originally posted by PrairieFire:
I know there are some avid Wilco fans out and I'm not trying to be provocative, but for me they fit into this catagory. This was galvanised even more after seeing them live. YHF is undoubtedly a stunner, carving a unique and innovative sound for them.

The rest of their catalogue contains entertaining songs, but are bloated and lack variety. Songs on summerteeth like the title track are among my favourite wilco tracks, but so much sounds the same the album just loses its spark.

Maybe I should listen to agib more...

....I really don't know what to say.

To call Wilco a mediocre band is astonishing. If they're mediocre, then I'd also like to include Radiohead, Talking Heads, and The Pixies, because that's the calibre of band I rate Wilco alongside.

Are you sure you're not trying to be provocative?

I'd somewhat agree with him... not to say that they're mediocre, but Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is heads and shoulders above the rest of their work, as good as that other work might be.

quote:

Originally posted by Chamberk:
I'd somewhat agree with him... not to say that they're mediocre, but Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is heads and shoulders above the rest of their work, as good as that other work might be.

I don't know about that. I know a lot of people who champion AGIB, and I personally would say that Summerteeth is just about on par with YHF (although it is about two songs too long).

Not a band but Nas. Illmatic is insane, but everything else has been good to mediocre. He'll have his excellent moments here and there, but he is prone to make brutal choices that diminish the quality of his albums(like "Who killed it?" off Hip Hop Is Dead).

Guns N' Roses with Appetite for Destruction fit too.

Once again, I fail to understand many of these choices. How is NAS mediocre? The fact that Illmatic is greater than his other work does not diminish his talent. As you said, he has made other albums that are "good". I just don't think that making one masterpiece makes a band or artist mediocre all of a sudden.

The most laughable claim is Wilco. Okay, YHF is probably their best: but that in NO WAY supports the claim that Wilco is mediocre. A mediocre band couldn't even make YHF to begin with! (Let alone Being There, A Ghost is Born, Summerteeth, or heck, even Sky Blue Sky.)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think that the thing is, once you produce an amazing album like, for example, Illmatic or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, you start to ignore or look down on their other work. That way, some people start to think of the rest of the band's work as mediocre, and the band as a whole as mediocre. Not a really intelligent way of looking at things.

Radiohead is one of those bands that seems to evade that curse - possibly by following up their Masterpiece Album with one that's even more experimental and just as good as the last.

quote:

A mediocre band couldn't even make YHF to begin with!

There's the rub of this whole conversation. A band that's talented enough to write a "stunner" probably won't be mediocre otherwise. They might just be good, but not mediocre. I've seen only a few bands that I'd consider to be close:

Travis - The Man Who
Live - Throwing Copper
Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville (I don't really fancy this one, but a lot of people like it)

I agree to some extent with GnR, but they didn't really release enough stuff to prove that they were mediocre besides Appetite. Use Your Illusion had its moments.

One band that I'd throw in is Everclear. I don't know if I'd call Sparkle And Fade a "stunner", but it is very good. I've not been more then a casual fan of anything they've done since then. Their debut is nearly unlistenable.

Stone Temple Pilots - Tiny Music. This is a rocking album that, when it came out, was totally unexpected. I had completely written off this band as banal grunge and then they released this little classic. I'm not sure why this album evaded its rightful kudos. Anyone care to differ?

quote:

Originally posted by Claybay:
Stone Temple Pilots - Tiny Music. This is a rocking album that, when it came out, was totally unexpected. I had completely written off this band as banal grunge and then they released this little classic. I'm not sure why this album evaded its rightful kudos. Anyone care to differ?

me

to me, Tiny Music was a huge dropoff from Purple, which IMHO is the real stunner in their discography. Tiny Music was way too pop oriented for my taste

quote:

Originally posted by BContrat:
Once again, I fail to understand many of these choices. How is NAS mediocre? The fact that Illmatic is greater than his other work does not diminish his talent. As you said, he has made other albums that are "good". I just don't think that making one masterpiece makes a band or artist mediocre all of a sudden.

True, calling Nas mediocre is way too harsh. He is only relatively mediocre when compared to Illmatic. I'm not gonna deny that he has talent, but I think he's ran out of things to say, and he consistently makes questionable choices.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? I was really let down by their new album, but their first one was really good.

This is a pretty tough one. I'm going to get strung up for this but I'd say Pearl Jam. Ten was amazing, and absolutely the soundtrack to my youth. Vs was patchy, and their output since has been pretty dire. They did get decent reviews for their most recent album, and I am not entirely sure why. I'd also like to add the Lemonheads in there. Shame was brilliant. The rest I can take or leave. Proves that the drugs don't work.

As for Travis, well, I just sprayed coffee over my PC. Travis deserve to be tortured. Horribly. With very sharp implements. Not only for making their own 'music', but for opening the door to Coldplay, Keane and a thousand copyists.

Utterly unforgivable.

all of these subjective opinions. I love it. We are so lucky to have all this music available.
Listen heartily!

Got any opinions, rockthief? Or are you just going to comment that people have opinions?

How about this, or is it too anecdotal?