I don't know if this will generate any interesting posts or not, but I was curious to hear about examples out there of what you consider "isolated mistakes" by any of your favorite bands. Whether it had to do with a line-up change, a follow-up rush, a change in musical direction that just didn't work or anything else - what examples do you have?

For starters, I would have used REM's "Up" as an example, but subsequent releases since then have proven that "Up" wasn't an aberration.

So I'm going to go with "One Hot Minute" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers as one example. While there are some great tracks on this album, it doesn't work as a whole. The obvious finger to point would be at the addition of Dave Navarro as the guitarist. While I loved Dave's work with Jane's Addiction and can't fault his playing on "One Hot Minute", the overall chemistry just wasn't working with the rest of the band. I don't know if John Frusciante can be replaced.

'Evil Heat' by Primal Scream.

XTRMNTR is one of my favorite albums of the new millenium so far, but Evil Heat...just doesn't do it.

And, I'm probably about to be stoned to death for saying this, but...well, I would count everything Radiohead did from Bends to Amnesiac as among my top five for that year. But I don't like Hail To The Thief. I don't know what it is, I guess I just think the songs lack 'soul' or whatever. But something about the tracks doesn't do for me what everything they'd done since Bends does for me.

I couldn't agree with you more regarding Hail To The Thief. Hands down my least favorite Radiohead album since The Bends. Your comment about lacking soul is exactly why it leaves me feeling empty. I kept thinking I just needed to listen to it a few more times and then I'd start enjoying it more. Never happened.

"Guero" by Beck, while it is an alright album, is just too genric and a rehash of all his previous ideas.

Is it even worth mentioning the Liz Phair s/t out a couple years back?
yea...

i really loved hail to the thief, but I definitely agree with Guero.

How about 2 albums? I love Songs: Ohia, but Impala and Axxess and Ace were horrible. Everything else Molina has done since then has ranged from pretty good (like Lioness) to awesome (like Didn't It Rain and Magnolia Electric Co.).

I'm sure that every Radiohead fan (not to mention the band themselves) would like to forget Pablo Honey.

Since this is turning into a Radiohead thread i'll thrown in my take, then, list a couple other 'mis-steps'.

If I had to pick a mistake for Radiohead, I couldn't, but I liked Hail better than Amnesiac. And, even though I don't own Pablo Honey anymore, they had to begin somewhere, and there are good tunes on that disc. 'Thinking about you' is still a fav. "Anyone Can play guitar' is also a stand-out. And even though 'Creep' is going through a 10 year backlash (started by the band for not playing it anymore), it was a great tune at the time of release and the one tune that paved the future of Radiohead, even if the band won't admit it. Without that single, things may have been different artistic-wise/success-wise.

Mishaps:
Smashing Pumpkins - Adore...and everything after. Looked like they kept losing interest and tried to much. Gish is still their best.

U2 - Pop

Neil Young - the 80's

The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's....just kidding

This may not fit, but it is funny...
I started to collect records/tapes of comedians when I was young. I got into Robin williams, george carlin, Steven Wright, Woody Allen, etc. One day (early 80's) I received a $10 gift certificate from some indie record store, and I was choosing between a Steve Martin and a Bill Cosby record. The Cosby record was Rat On Rat On Rat On. I got home to listen to it, but was so disapppointed. It wasn't stand up, it was Bill singing and it wasn't that funny to me. I think I tried returning it, but it was open so I couldn't. Boy, that was A huge mistake on Bill's part. I don't know what he has done after that, musically, but that turned me off Bill Cosby for awhile....

Mine isn't a band per se, but the best example for me is "Spike" by Elvis Costello. He's one of my favorite artists, and that album is one of my least favorite albums ever.

Hmmm....I think a single lapse is kind of rare. A change of direction, gradual decline or perpetual rehashings are much more common. Also, there are some albums which are generally accepted to be bad (though they will always have admirers) and others which simply come down to a matter of taste. For me, the album I listen to the least by the Beatles in the Rubber Soul to Abbey Road period is probably Revolver. It's got too much of Paul's gayness on it for me. Still some awesome songs though. Likewise....The Clash's Combat Rock, VU's Loaded, Neil Young's....actually nothing from his first to Comes a Time, ummmm....The Rolling Stone's Black and Blue sucks though it's way after their best stuff. It's hard to find albums that fit.

What the hell is wrong with Loaded?

I guess there is nothing wrong with it. This is merely a matter of taste. In some ways Loaded doesn't even sound like the same band that did their first three albums. The live, rawer versions of some of the loaded songs on 1969 I like better. VU is maybe my favourite band, and I listen to Loaded far far far less than any of their first 3.

quote:

Likewise....The Clash's Combat Rock

While "Combat Rock" isn't a perfect album, it's got enough excellent songs on it (Should I Stay or Should I Go, Rock the Casbah, and Straight to Hell) I wouldn't exactly classify it as a disaster.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music".

first off, there are only a handful of bands that i "love". none of the albums i mentioned are really "bad". they each contain some amazing songs. but, i listen to these albums about 1/10 as much as my next least listened to album by that band. that's why i mentioned those titles. i'm surprised more people haven't taken issue with revolver!

quote:

Originally posted by raceofdoom:
Mine isn't a band per se, but the best example for me is "Spike" by Elvis Costello. He's one of my favorite artists, and that album is one of my least favorite albums ever.

I'd pick a different Costello record, and I acutally like Spike. I'd go with Goodbye Cruel World.

I also have to say, out of all the Radiohead records, I'd pick Hail to the the Thief as the worst. Not bad, but not something I care to listen to often. And I'm in the minority who actually LIKES Pablo Honey as a record...maybe because the songs were so good when I saw them live on that tour and making a live connection to the songs always makes the record sound better to me.

quote:

In some ways Loaded doesn't even sound like the same band that did their first three albums.

Perhaps because it's not the same band. They'd lost half their lineup due to creative differences (John Cale) and, um, pregnancy (Maureen Tucker). Doug Yule sings nearly half the album. Of course the sound is going to change.

That said, I can't get enough of Loaded. It's their least essential album, yes, but I think in many ways it's also their most interesting. For one thing it's the album that foregrounds Reed's stunning songwriting abilities the most, but more importantly it's the album where they force their ideas into the tightest spaces. I think that's more impressive, in many ways, than anything they recorded on WL/WH. I think it takes more thought and creative engagement to experiment with pop forms than it does to embark on 17 minute freakouts. In any case it's more interesting to me. Loaded > Gray Album.

californication - red hot chili peppers... it seems like everyone loves this album, and i admit it has strong singles, but as a cohesive whole, it's just ...bad. and make believe by weezer... i like like two songs on the entire album. im so saddened by the slow death of weezer

Captain Beefheart - Bluejeans & Moonbeams.

Don reluctantly assembled the band for a pair of commercial albums to satisfy the label (most apparent in Unconditionally Guaranteed where he holds dollar bills in his hand). I like Unconditionally Guaranteed though, especially "Upon the My Oh My".

Everything else is way more challenging and ahead of anyone else.

i knew about doug yule but i didn't know mo wasn't on loaded. hmmm. new age is ok, and sweet nothing, sweet jane and rock n roll are all awesome songs. it's not really a "bad" album. but dude, 'freak ot' or otherwise, there is nothing like listening to sister ray high in total darkness with the volume at 10. nothing.