Disappointments of 2011

[Glen]

Well we've had our best of thread, so now Id just like to voice a few disappointments - not really interested in the albums which were just plain CRAP, but more the albums which could or more importantly should have been better.

 

I'll start with a few -

 

Mr Big - What If...

Soooo much hype surrounding this one, and then what do we get? A few good sounds and a whole bunch of musical wank. Credit where credits due, 'Undertow' was a great rocker and 'All The Way Up' was a great ballad. I also liked 'Stanger In My Life', and 'Once Upon A Time', but the rest I could take or leave

 

Coldspell - Out From The Cold

If prizes were being handed out for sound/production this might be in the top 10. However the hooks were gravely missing IMO. 2 songs stand out as utter gems - 'Time' and 'Seven Wonders'..the rest is very average

 

Black N Blue - Hell Yeah!

Not sure what I was expecting from this, but it just aint good. The only really decent track is 'Fools Bleed' IMO. Avoid.

 

Reece/Kronlund - Solid

Another BIG disappointment for me. 'My Angel Wears White' gets things off to a storming start and arguably 'Samurai' is pretty decent too....but the rest?? Nobody should ever write or name a song called 'Magic Pudding'....just wrong IMO. Hey ho

 

Big Life - s/t

The usual solid as hell Steve Newman slips up here IMO. The first 3 or 4 songs are really good and after that its a gigantic snoozefest Zzzzzzzzzzz. Shame really.

 

Pagan's Mind - Heavenly Ecstacy

This was an album I was expecting BIG things from after the great 'Gods Equation' album, but it just didnt deliver. Brilliantly played as usual and the first 3 or 4 tracks are magnificent, but the second half suffers from a lack of melody or hooks.

 

Warrant - Rockaholic

Dont get me wrong - rated as 80%, but expected so much more. Suffers from being too long - should have cut out tracks 11/12/13 which are all fillers.

 

Victory - Dont Talk Science

This should spark some debate! All solidly played with a few stand out tracks but also a lot of average tracks - think I rated at least 6 songs only around 7.5/10 - was expecting a lot more. Also the last track is just wrong....dont even go there.

[TIM (2)]

Biggest let-downs for me...

 

 

ROB MORATTI - Victory

Bland solo disc from one of my fave singers. Get back with Final Frontier and stop dithering with this pointless nonsense. Not awful, but not enough hooks to keep me even remotely interested. It's mediocrity is compounded by the high quality of AOR albums released since.

 

 

ANTHRAX - Worship Music

Their "back to their roots" album. ZZZzzzz. I got into this band mainly in the 90's so to hear this sub-standard retro-thrash, and the horrible quality of some of these songs (especially towards the end) - it all sounds like cutting-room floor stuff from the 80's. If you desperately miss thrash music and are crying out for a hit of nostalgia then you'll like it. Times have moved on though, as Testament have shown, and it is possible to combine great metal with a modern sound and a few new ideas. Anthrax didn't even try to do that.

[Jez]

Big Life - S/T

Pretty much the same reasons as Glen. I thought with Mr. Newman on board this was going to be a rock solid disc, alas it didn't turn out that way and besides 4 or 5 good tracks, the skip button gets major action.

 

Elevener - Symemtery In Motion

Loved the debut loads, so maybe I was expecting too much with this one. I still enjoy some of this, but it's nowhere near as good.

 

Heaven's Basement - Unbreakable EP.

Previously Hurricane Party and Roadstar who released 2 fab albums and the debut Heaven's Basement EP. was brilliant too. The new one sees the band changing style somewhat and basically sounding like any other 'Kerrang' band, which is not what I (or quite a few others want or were expecting). Now we know why they are taking sooo long with releasing a full album, because if it sounds like this EP. it will be majorly disappointing

 

Journey - Eclipse

I don't like saying it as I love Journey, but this certainly was a bit of a let down for me. It is good in spots. but nowhere near what they are capable of releasing. Hopefully the next one will be back to form.

 

Magnum - The Visitation

Another band I absolutely love, but this sees them just going through the motions. Again, some good songs, but not consistently good to make it anywhere near their best.

 

John Wetton - Raised In Captivity

By his standards this is really poor. 2 or 3 good tracks early on, but I had real problems not going for the skip button towards the end.

[exact3]

Anthrax - Worship Music - kinda boring to be honest.

Journey - Eclipse - I had high hopes after Revelations but this was pretty bland.

Fair To Midland - Arrows and Anchors - love the last one and this just had no melody whatsoever.

Hammerfall - Infected - i took a chance on this one and it didnt work..

Amorphis - The Beginning of Times - too much growl for my tastes. THey should have stayed more on the clean vocal side.

Serenity - Death and Legacy - i really liked the last two but this one bland.

[Nightrain]

i must say there are plenty of them to be honest to balance the great year of 2011, so here we go :

 

AIRRACE - Back To The Start

highly overrated with only 2-3 good tracks at max, no wonder they called it off and the father decided to focus on his son's The Treatment, he must have realized something bad with this.

 

ANSWER, THE - Revival

i like the debut, very good classic rock feel album, then it's become sloppy on the second, and came the worst at third.

Such a shame, with a brilliant singer and musicianship on board, hope they can fix something in the next album

 

ANTHRAX - Worship Music

inconsistent disc, expected something around 85% but it's quite far from it. The first half is much better, but the second half is a disaster, even though I found myself liking it better than on the first couple of spins.

 

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION - 2

it's hard to say that i'm disappointed since not a fan of their debut, but i do like Glenn Hughes vocal, and I think Joe Bonamassa is a very talented guy, and lots of guys are rating it 85-90%. Thought has been posted in the 'First Impression' but i don't think more spins will change the final score.

 

BLACK N BLUE - Hell Yeah

again, expecting something good here but as far as i remember, loads tracks with only handful of good tracks.

 

BRIDGER - s/t

i'm expecting something better with Terry Ilous on board, he's a great singer, but not with most of the songs in this album.

 

FASTWAY - Eat Dog Eat

i think they're trying to give something good, even without Lea Hart, to the table when all i got is a complete passable tracks, one by one.

 

FATE - Ghosts From The Past

still trying to sink this in but can't help to say that they have only 2-3 superb tracks. Expecting a 85% album but it's not there yet, don't know if it'll be there, but sounds like a no. Not the biggest one, only slightly let down.

 

FIONA - Unbroken

2-3 great tracks and the rest are passable. Not a good day for her and kinda hyped a lot near its release.

 

HURTSMILE - s/t

Gary Cherone, i love his vocal and Extreme, but what the hell did he do in here?

 

JOURNEY - Eclipse

a grower album, but far from I expected, especially after the awesome 'Revelation'. The first half has grown much better but the second half surely packed with fillers

 

M.ILL.ION - Sane And Insanity

loaded with average tracks, sounds good at first listening but then went down so fast, vocals and guitars are nice but they sure need to steal some crazy songwriting machine for a better output. Found maybe only 2 great songs here.

 

MECCA - Undeniable

lots of ridiculous hypes surrounding this one - not that i hate it, i even kinda like it after several spins, but doesn't live up the hype at all, and might gets thin easily in the next few years. Not really disappointed though since i'm not a fan of their debut, but a bit let down after I expected something great at start.

 

OUTFIELD - Replay

begging me to even delete the downloaded album after only one single spin, and that's how bad it is. I like their old days but this one is just so wrong.

 

REECE / KRONLUND - Solid

great album in the beginning, but quickly went downhill after 4-5 spins and ended up at 70-75% while I expected a monster offering from David initially. Lack of outstanding tracks, and that's their problem.

 

SEBASTIAN BACH - Kicking and Screaming

now this is the biggest disappointment and solely because Sebastian Bach is one of my fave singer of all time. Reason's have been stated in some other thread, but mainly because of the unfitted voice with average rockin' songs.

 

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Rock For Japan

a collection of poor and weak songs to capitalize Japan's disaster ? definitely a no!

[zacharyamelie]

Journey - Eclipse

 

Despite having 2 of the 3 best songs recorded with Arnel 'City Of Hope' and ' Anything Is Possible' (Never Walk Away from Revelation is the other) the rest of the album bored the shit out of me.

 

Mecca - Undeniable

 

When people say you must spin an album 10 or 12 times to get into it and then it becomes good....trust me I've moved on by then. Boring!

 

Queensryche - Dedicated To Chaos

 

Not that I expected anything good from them, but this one reached an all-time low...even for them.

 

The Poodles - Performocracy

 

Not a terrible release by any means, sits as my 13th fav for the year. The album has 4 glorious tunes 'Bring Back the Night', 'Vampires Call', 'Cuts Like A Knife' and ' All I Want' however the majority of the other tracks are throw aways. Easily my least favourite of the bands 4 studio releases. I hope they take a break and don't release a new one for 2-3 years. This thing of releasing a new album every 12 to 18 months is making them put out more and more fillers.

[Glen]

Ha ha, I knew Journey would take a bashing in this thread. I still really like that album and feel it was brave of the band to experiment with something new after so many years of releasing commercial AOR songs. Some of it worked...'City Of Hope', 'Edge Of A Feeling' (still think this is an awesome tune and was amazing live!), 'Anything Is Possible', 'Resonate', 'Human Feel', 'Someone'....these are all great tracks IMO. But equally some it missed the mark like the overlong 'Chain Of Love' and the frankly boring 'She's A Mystery'. I do genuinely hope (if they do release another album) they ditch the progisms for the next album and write some killer hooks - which we know they are capable of.

 

Good shout by those posting about Seb Bach. Whilst I really didnt mind this album, it was so far off his best work IMO. He should look at what Dynazty achieved on their excellent album and be green with envy....on a side note, has he really got the voice anymore to be taken seriously??

 

Wow, I find Z's comment a bit weird....is your attention span that short that you cant live with an album for at least 10 spins before getting bored. Sometimes it takes me that long to even fully digest an album that is pretty immediate. The Mecca album is really good IMO and has no real filler. Obviously not in the same league as some other releases this year, but still a real good listen and a few towards the end are pretty special IMO.

 

God, you know I didnt even know that Magnum had a new album out??! That must have been kept pretty low profile??!

[Geoff]

Wowser, I would pretty much agree with every single release mentioned so far. But in saying that, a lot of these I didn't expect much from in the first place so it wasn't so much a disappointment as a confirmation of my fears. My thoughts on a few of them:

 

Elevener & Myland - the debut from Elevener, and Myland's last album were both absolutely outstanding. I was expecting a lot from both these bands, but with massive line-up changes there's barely any resemblance to their last album/s. To their credit, both these albums are good - I was just hoping for a lot better.

 

Journey - 'Eclipse' - obviously I'm not a fan of this band at the best of times but after the very impressive 'Revelation' I thought this one might be promising. Instead, I can't even play it from start to end. Absolutely terrible CD.

 

Magnum - 'The Visitation' - not a massive fan of this band, but for some reason I had hope that this one might be good, more in line with the stuff from the last 80's and early 90's that I loved from these guys. But this is also pretty dreadful.

 

Fiona - 'Unbroken' - I like this lady, particularly the 'Squeeze' album, and I was hoping for more from this. Pretty below average, and gets weaker the more I spin it.

 

Sebastian Bach - 'Kicking and screaming' ; after really liking that last album, this was really pretty limp. His vocals seemed more strained and the songs didn't really have much appeal at all. Just an unenjoyable album to listen to.

 

In modern rock there were a heap of bands that produced good CDs (very good in a lot of these cases), but a real drop in quality since their last offerings:

 

Yellowcard - 'When you're through thinking say yes' - very good album, but how were they ever going to follow up 'Paper Walls?'

 

A Change Of Pace - 'It could be worse' - a good, strong album considering... but these guys were doomed after Tory Jasper left the band.

 

Every Avenue - 'Bad habits' - a very good CD again, but missing the real gems that the last album had in abundance.

 

There For Tomorrow - 'The verge' - consistently very strong CD, but I still expect the world from these guys for some reason.

 

Funeral For A Friend - 'Welcome home armageddon' - sadly, each release seems to get weaker since 'Tales...'

 

Madina Lake - 'World war III' - some really good songs on this one, but overall it's a mixed bag with a lot of misses. Their last disc promised a lot.

 

Kids In Glass Houses - 'In gold blood' - after their last album blew my mind, this was a massive disappointment. A couple of songs keep the

flame alive, but for the most part this was one of the disappointments of the year for me.

 

Silverstein - 'Rescue' - a really good band, but this is the 2nd time in a row they've offered up what is really a very unspectacular CD. I really hope they keep at it and re-capture the magic of 'Discovering the waterfront' or even 'Arrivals and Departures.'

 

We The Kings - 'Sunshine state of mind' - man, what a disappointment this was. After their last 2 very strong and consistent CDs and some chart success, they decide to go all mellow and reggae-ish in places. Some nice hooks, but overall a really poor effort.

 

Theory of a Deadman - 'The truth is' - my lowest ranked album of 2011 - utterly appalling. I really don't know what happened to these guys as their last few CDs have not been perfect, but very solid and with some real killers. This is a total write-off.

[zacharyamelie]

Ha ha, I knew Journey would take a bashing in this thread. I still really like that album and feel it was brave of the band to experiment with something new after so many years of releasing commercial AOR songs. Some of it worked...'City Of Hope', 'Edge Of A Feeling' (still think this is an awesome tune and was amazing live!), 'Anything Is Possible', 'Resonate', 'Human Feel', 'Someone'....these are all great tracks IMO. But equally some it missed the mark like the overlong 'Chain Of Love' and the frankly boring 'She's A Mystery'. I do genuinely hope (if they do release another album) they ditch the progisms for the next album and write some killer hooks - which we know they are capable of.

 

Good shout by those posting about Seb Bach. Whilst I really didnt mind this album, it was so far off his best work IMO. He should look at what Dynazty achieved on their excellent album and be green with envy....on a side note, has he really got the voice anymore to be taken seriously??

 

Wow, I find Z's comment a bit weird....is your attention span that short that you cant live with an album for at least 10 spins before getting bored. Sometimes it takes me that long to even fully digest an album that is pretty immediate. The Mecca album is really good IMO and has no real filler. Obviously not in the same league as some other releases this year, but still a real good listen and a few towards the end are pretty special IMO.

 

God, you know I didnt even know that Magnum had a new album out??! That must have been kept pretty low profile??!

 

If an album grabs me and is good I can spin it for years. But after 10 listens if an album is still not doing much for me, I will find something else to listen to. I'm all for giving chances, but when something is boring I couldn't be bothered. As much as I really wanted to like the new Mecca, I just won't force myself to like something simply because others say it is so exceptional.

 

Last week I got 2 cd's in the mail on the same day, Mecca and The Magnificient. I wonder why the Mecca is boring to my ears?

[The Rocker]

Ha ha, I knew Journey would take a bashing in this thread. I still really like that album and feel it was brave of the band to experiment with something new after so many years of releasing commercial AOR songs. Some of it worked...'City Of Hope', 'Edge Of A Feeling' (still think this is an awesome tune and was amazing live!), 'Anything Is Possible', 'Resonate', 'Human Feel', 'Someone'....these are all great tracks IMO. But equally some it missed the mark like the overlong 'Chain Of Love' and the frankly boring 'She's A Mystery'. I do genuinely hope (if they do release another album) they ditch the progisms for the next album and write some killer hooks - which we know they are capable of.

 

Good shout by those posting about Seb Bach. Whilst I really didnt mind this album, it was so far off his best work IMO. He should look at what Dynazty achieved on their excellent album and be green with envy....on a side note, has he really got the voice anymore to be taken seriously??

 

Wow, I find Z's comment a bit weird....is your attention span that short that you cant live with an album for at least 10 spins before getting bored. Sometimes it takes me that long to even fully digest an album that is pretty immediate. The Mecca album is really good IMO and has no real filler. Obviously not in the same league as some other releases this year, but still a real good listen and a few towards the end are pretty special IMO.

 

God, you know I didnt even know that Magnum had a new album out??! That must have been kept pretty low profile??!

 

If an album grabs me and is good I can spin it for years. But after 10 listens if an album is still not doing much for me, I will find something else to listen to. I'm all for giving chances, but when something is boring I couldn't be bothered. As much as I really wanted to like the new Mecca, I just won't force myself to like something simply because others say it is so exceptional.

 

Last week I got 2 cd's in the mail on the same day, Mecca and The Magnificient. I wonder why the Mecca is boring to my ears?

I don't wonder why!

[Nightrain]

lol but Zach, my offer still stands man, if you want to throw that Mecca off for something like $4 along with other useless discs you probably have, let me know man that lil disc could do something good in the dead of the night if I catch some insomnia fever

 

oh and btw, weird thing you have about The Poodles, if you really only like 4 tracks, then what the hell did that album do in your #13 spot, shouldn't it be like in the #50 or #60 ?

 

or are you trying to say the rest of the album are stil very good but not as good as that 4, or strangely, any albums below #13 are only have like 2-3 good tracks for you?

[TIM (2)]

 

Kids In Glass Houses - 'In gold blood' - after their last album blew my mind, this was a massive disappointment. A couple of songs keep the

flame alive, but for the most part this was one of the disappointments of the year for me.

 

 

Mate, you need to play that one more. At first I didn't like it much either, is much less immediate than their last disc, but has so much more depth IMO. Sure a few of the songs don't have the big choruses, but a lot still do. And it's as catchy as hell. Great great stuff IMO, and easily Modern Rock disc of the year. Much better than the new Daughtry (which is mediocre IMO).

[zacharyamelie]

lol but Zach, my offer still stands man, if you want to throw that Mecca off for something like $4 along with other useless discs you probably have, let me know man that lil disc could do something good in the dead of the night if I catch some insomnia fever

 

oh and btw, weird thing you have about The Poodles, if you really only like 4 tracks, then what the hell did that album do in your #13 spot, shouldn't it be like in the #50 or #60 ?

 

or are you trying to say the rest of the album are stil very good but not as good as that 4, or strangely, any albums below #13 are only have like 2-3 good tracks for you?

 

Unlike you my friend, I do not have pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and buy every release that comes out. Let me guess you bought over 200 cd's this year? I bought about 25, that's all I can afford, and I generally buy only what I know I'll like.

[Nightrain]

lol but Zach, my offer still stands man, if you want to throw that Mecca off for something like $4 along with other useless discs you probably have, let me know man that lil disc could do something good in the dead of the night if I catch some insomnia fever

 

oh and btw, weird thing you have about The Poodles, if you really only like 4 tracks, then what the hell did that album do in your #13 spot, shouldn't it be like in the #50 or #60 ?

 

or are you trying to say the rest of the album are stil very good but not as good as that 4, or strangely, any albums below #13 are only have like 2-3 good tracks for you?

 

Unlike you my friend, I do not have pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and buy every release that comes out. Let me guess you bought over 200 cd's this year? I bought about 25, that's all I can afford, and I generally buy only what I know I'll like.

 

Sorry zach, that's not my point. I think that most of us don't have the chance to buy every releases but we get to hear them through samples like downloads and we can decide which one is better than the rest, but I thought you might not like the download thing, so that's also fine. I just thought that it's weird to have someone put an album in his top 20 when he only likes 4 tracks in it, but if you rate thing based on CD that you have, that also explains

 

so I see that you're also a prog guy judging that you like DT, any chance you also dig Symphony X ?

[Glen]

Ha ha, I knew Journey would take a bashing in this thread. I still really like that album and feel it was brave of the band to experiment with something new after so many years of releasing commercial AOR songs. Some of it worked...'City Of Hope', 'Edge Of A Feeling' (still think this is an awesome tune and was amazing live!), 'Anything Is Possible', 'Resonate', 'Human Feel', 'Someone'....these are all great tracks IMO. But equally some it missed the mark like the overlong 'Chain Of Love' and the frankly boring 'She's A Mystery'. I do genuinely hope (if they do release another album) they ditch the progisms for the next album and write some killer hooks - which we know they are capable of.

 

Good shout by those posting about Seb Bach. Whilst I really didnt mind this album, it was so far off his best work IMO. He should look at what Dynazty achieved on their excellent album and be green with envy....on a side note, has he really got the voice anymore to be taken seriously??

 

Wow, I find Z's comment a bit weird....is your attention span that short that you cant live with an album for at least 10 spins before getting bored. Sometimes it takes me that long to even fully digest an album that is pretty immediate. The Mecca album is really good IMO and has no real filler. Obviously not in the same league as some other releases this year, but still a real good listen and a few towards the end are pretty special IMO.

 

God, you know I didnt even know that Magnum had a new album out??! That must have been kept pretty low profile??!

 

Last week I got 2 cd's in the mail on the same day, Mecca and The Magnificient. I wonder why the Mecca is boring to my ears?

 

Yeah I wonder lol ;-)

[Geoff]

On the last few posts:

 

Totally agree with Dave that an album does not need to be spun 10 times to realise it sucks. If I did that with every album that I thought sucked, just because someone said it was meant to be good, when would I listen to music I actually did like? 10 times to listen to something that's supposed to be good is a hell of a lot of wasted time.

 

The Mecca album is fine and I realise it's place after a spin or 2. It's nice, but not great, imo. It will never be on heavy rotation for me because there are soooo many better albums than it.

 

Tim - mate, I think I played that Kids In Glass Houses CD something like 10 times in the 2 weeks following it's release. 'Diamond Eyes' is as good as most the last CD, but aside from that the only other 4 songs that were really any good, imo, were 'Annie May,' 'Teenage Wonderland,' 'Fire' and 'Only the brave die free' is pretty good too. Some of the others are half okay to poor. But compared to an album that was mostly killer, it doesn't compare. I personally much prefer the Daughtry release. In fact, looking at my current list I prefer 57 modern rock albums to it.

 

1 . Trust Company - Silence in black and white

2 . Destrophy - Cry havoc

3 . Simple Plan - Get your heart on

4 . David Cook - This loud morning

5 . Stealing Eden - Truth in tragedy

6 . Forever the Sickest Kids - s/t

7 . Adelita's Way - Home School Valedictorian

8 . The Friday Night Boys - Everything you ever wanted: The B-sides

9 . Daughtry - Break The Spell

10 . Yellowcard - When you're through thinking say yes

11 . Art of Dying - Vices and virtues

12 . 3 Doors Down - Time of my life

13 . Madam Adam - s/t

14 . Close to Home - Never back down

15 . Sparks The Rescue - Worst things I've been cursed with

16 . A Change of Pace - It could be worse

17 . Save Your Breath - Vices

18 . Dead By April Incomparable

19 . Chemical Vocation - Write this moment

20 . The Blackout - Hope

21 . Ten Second Epic - Better Off

22 . Syndicate - Syndicate

23 . Coldrain - The enemy inside

24 . All Time Low - Dirty work

25 . Runner Runner - s/t

26 . I See Stars - End of the world party

27 . Emphatic - Damage

28 . Hell Or Highwater - Begin Again

29 . Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows - D.R.U.G.S.

30 . Tupelo Honey - Caught Up In The Excess

31 . Hedley - Storms

32 . Every Avenue - Bad Habits

33 . There for Tomorrow - The Verge

34 . Junior Doctor - Clumsy words and bad pick-up lines

35 . Lakeview - Live before you die

36 . Black Stone Cherry - Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea

37 . Bowling For Soup - Fishin' for woos

38 . FM Static - My brain says stop, but my heart says go

39 . Aiden - Disguises

40 . Sixx AM - This is gonna hurt

41 . Funeral For a Friend - Welcome home armageddon

42 . Red - Until We Have Faces

43 . Madina Lake - World War III

44 . Egypt Central - White Rabbit

45 . Hawthorne Heights Hate

46 . Rev Thoery - Justice

47 . Asking Alexandria Reckless & Relentless

48 . Saliva - Under Your Skin

49 . Amaranthe - s/t

50 . Black Veil Brides - Set the world on fire

51 . The Bigger Lights - Battle hymn

52 . The Click Five - TCV

53 . The Downtown Fiction - Let's be animals

54 . Syn City Cowboys - Blow Me Away

55 . Set Your Goals - Burning At Both Ends

56 . Silverstein - Rescue

57 . Rise Against - Endgame

58 . Kids In Glass Houses - In Gold Blood

[Glen]

On the last few posts:

 

Totally agree with Dave that an album does not need to be spun 10 times to realise it sucks. If I did that with every album that I thought sucked, just because someone said it was meant to be good, when would I listen to music I actually did like? 10 times to listen to something that's supposed to be good is a hell of a lot of wasted time.

 

The Mecca album is fine and I realise it's place after a spin or 2. It's nice, but not great, imo. It will never be on heavy rotation for me because there are soooo many better albums than it.

 

 

You see this is where the problem lies. Some of my favourite albums are those which initially I didnt like, which if I had shelved after say 2 plays would never have grown like they did!

 

2 examples of this from last year are

 

Unruly Child - Worlds Collide

Mastedon - III

 

Both those albums aside from a song or 2 I really disliked on first listen, but they have grown to be 2 of my most played cds from 2010.......surprises even me.

 

On yours and Z's ideal both would have been ditched.

 

Now Im not saying that these would have been for everyone, its more the principal.

 

I guess the term 'grower' is lost on you 'immediacy junkies'.

[Geoff]

On the last few posts:

 

Totally agree with Dave that an album does not need to be spun 10 times to realise it sucks. If I did that with every album that I thought sucked, just because someone said it was meant to be good, when would I listen to music I actually did like? 10 times to listen to something that's supposed to be good is a hell of a lot of wasted time.

 

The Mecca album is fine and I realise it's place after a spin or 2. It's nice, but not great, imo. It will never be on heavy rotation for me because there are soooo many better albums than it.

 

 

You see this is where the problem lies. Some of my favourite albums are those which initially I didnt like, which if I had shelved after say 2 plays would never have grown like they did!

 

2 examples of this from last year are

 

Unruly Child - Worlds Collide

Mastedon - III

 

Both those albums aside from a song or 2 I really disliked on first listen, but they have grown to be 2 of my most played cds from 2010.......surprises even me.

 

On yours and Z's ideal both would have been ditched.

 

Now Im not saying that these would have been for everyone, its more the principal.

 

I guess the term 'grower' is lost on you 'immediacy junkies'.

Just think what a favour we'd have done for you if you had realised how much that Mastedon CD sucked early on, like the rest of us, and given up on it nice and early. Now you're stuck with thinking it's good because you drilled it into your head while the rest of us live peacefully and happy without it.

 

Seriously mate, I only made this mistake once in my life with ironically one of my all-time fave albums - Vain's 'No Respect.' And that was one of the first tapes I ever got and I think it was just Davy's unique voice and that photo of them in the bathtub that put me off. Okay, twice... I also didn't like 'Things you never done before' by Roxx Gang, for f*ck knows what reason. But they're seriously the only two times I ever got it wrong and they were both within the first year I ever got into rock music.

 

These days, I trust my opinion 100% of the time. If there are 20 releases that I know I love right away, what sense does it make to me to spend 10 times listening to a CD I don't like instead, when it's hard enough to find time to listen to 20 new CDs I already like? And why am I listening to the shit one? Because someone else told me it was meant to be good?

 

If I wrote an urban dictionary this would be my definition of the word "Grower."

 

Grower - A CD which you know sucks, but for whatever reason, you are meant to like it. So you keep spinning it over and over again, knowing inside you still hate it. But because you've spun it so many times you get familiar with it and decide that oh well, if I've spun it this many times it must be good. So then you tell all the people who told you it was meant to be good that you love it and you all exchange high fives, group hugs and chat about it over coffee and stale cheese biscuits. But deep inside, you know you hate it. But all your friends think you're cool because you like it. But you secretely hate it. You just... you know it's shit. But there was so much pressure. But yep... it still sucks. Just like you knew the first time you played it. It's... it's just crap.

[Nightrain]

Hm that's quite harsh on the grower type, G but sounds like a fun urban dictionary you have there, probably will buy myself one when I visit OZ

 

Like you, most of the times, I tend to agree with my First Impression too, which means if I rate something 50% initially, it's almost impossible that over time it's going to be 90%, or even usually 60% to 85% is also almost impossible, but grower on me more like if I rate a disc at an ordinary range of 75%-80%, there's still a chance that the value is finally unlocked and goin' up to 85%-95%, so the large gap for a grower album for me is perhaps 15%-20% max.

 

I think that's probably the real grower means, so if you think a disc is shit in the first place, usually not a chance it will turn into killer. But if it's decent / average / okay type, then there's a chance it can be good to great. And vice versa, a disc can be great at first and over time it will turn into a decent. What we call it ? A reverse-grower ? okay you need to find a new term for your urban dictionary man

[Geoff]

Reverse-Grower - A CD which fools you into believing it's excellent after the first spin. But who knows, maybe you were pre-occupied at the time or you'd just had pleasing intercourse and were on a high. Either way, you got it wrong. The CD actually sucks. Maybe you wanted to like it because you had a soft spot for the artist based on previous releases? But no, not this time. This time they failed. The CD sucks. Sorry, you got it wrong first time 'round. The CD is... it's shit.

[phaffas]

Red? Which Red?

 

That Rev Theory is pretty weak compared to last album..

[Jez]

Reverse-Grower - A CD which fools you into believing it's excellent after the first spin. But who knows, maybe you were pre-occupied at the time or you'd just had pleasing intercourse and were on a high. Either way, you got it wrong. The CD actually sucks. Maybe you wanted to like it because you had a soft spot for the artist based on previous releases? But no, not this time. This time they failed. The CD sucks. Sorry, you got it wrong first time 'round. The CD is... it's shit.

 

 

i.e Steel Panther

[zacharyamelie]

lol but Zach, my offer still stands man, if you want to throw that Mecca off for something like $4 along with other useless discs you probably have, let me know man that lil disc could do something good in the dead of the night if I catch some insomnia fever

 

oh and btw, weird thing you have about The Poodles, if you really only like 4 tracks, then what the hell did that album do in your #13 spot, shouldn't it be like in the #50 or #60 ?

 

or are you trying to say the rest of the album are stil very good but not as good as that 4, or strangely, any albums below #13 are only have like 2-3 good tracks for you?

 

Unlike you my friend, I do not have pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and buy every release that comes out. Let me guess you bought over 200 cd's this year? I bought about 25, that's all I can afford, and I generally buy only what I know I'll like.

 

Sorry zach, that's not my point. I think that most of us don't have the chance to buy every releases but we get to hear them through samples like downloads and we can decide which one is better than the rest, but I thought you might not like the download thing, so that's also fine. I just thought that it's weird to have someone put an album in his top 20 when he only likes 4 tracks in it, but if you rate thing based on CD that you have, that also explains

 

so I see that you're also a prog guy judging that you like DT, any chance you also dig Symphony X ?

 

I'm a Poodles fan, one of my fav bands of the past 6-7 years. I still like the album, but by their own standards it could have been better.

 

To be honest I've never really listened to Symphony X, I should since I love Russell Allen with his Allen/Lande project. Although my fav prog release this year was the Darkwater release, it did come out at the tail end of 2010. That one is sweet, not overly complicated and tempo shifty like many prog releases. I guess it's really more a melodic metal release with lots of keys. Killer stuff in my opinion.

[Glen]

Reverse-Grower - A CD which fools you into believing it's excellent after the first spin. But who knows, maybe you were pre-occupied at the time or you'd just had pleasing intercourse and were on a high. Either way, you got it wrong. The CD actually sucks. Maybe you wanted to like it because you had a soft spot for the artist based on previous releases? But no, not this time. This time they failed. The CD sucks. Sorry, you got it wrong first time 'round. The CD is... it's shit.

 

 

i.e Steel Panther

 

No Jez - for Steel Panther you need to check under 'awesome on first spin'

[Nightrain]

lol but Zach, my offer still stands man, if you want to throw that Mecca off for something like $4 along with other useless discs you probably have, let me know man that lil disc could do something good in the dead of the night if I catch some insomnia fever

 

oh and btw, weird thing you have about The Poodles, if you really only like 4 tracks, then what the hell did that album do in your #13 spot, shouldn't it be like in the #50 or #60 ?

 

or are you trying to say the rest of the album are stil very good but not as good as that 4, or strangely, any albums below #13 are only have like 2-3 good tracks for you?

 

Unlike you my friend, I do not have pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and buy every release that comes out. Let me guess you bought over 200 cd's this year? I bought about 25, that's all I can afford, and I generally buy only what I know I'll like.

 

Sorry zach, that's not my point. I think that most of us don't have the chance to buy every releases but we get to hear them through samples like downloads and we can decide which one is better than the rest, but I thought you might not like the download thing, so that's also fine. I just thought that it's weird to have someone put an album in his top 20 when he only likes 4 tracks in it, but if you rate thing based on CD that you have, that also explains

 

so I see that you're also a prog guy judging that you like DT, any chance you also dig Symphony X ?

 

I'm a Poodles fan, one of my fav bands of the past 6-7 years. I still like the album, but by their own standards it could have been better.

 

To be honest I've never really listened to Symphony X, I should since I love Russell Allen with his Allen/Lande project. Although my fav prog release this year was the Darkwater release, it did come out at the tail end of 2010. That one is sweet, not overly complicated and tempo shifty like many prog releases. I guess it's really more a melodic metal release with lots of keys. Killer stuff in my opinion.

 

I understand. I love Poodles as well, but on the contrary, I think they have developed themselves better on each releases, but I have a slight disappointment toward 'Sweet Trade', a bit inconsistent even though still great album (heavier i must say) and I probably think that it's kinda tie with their debut (which is more melodic rock rather than metal), however 'Sweet Trade' shows a bit maturity. Then they leap two steps higher on 'Clash of The Elements', but i think they're right on track on 'Performocracy', and I even think the latest album has better killer songs than the prior album, and I love most of the songs in it except for two fillers, even though it's still okay to my ears.

 

BTW, Symphony X isn't like the regular Allen/Lande album though, there's a chance you might not like it because it's American prog/power which means it's also bordering on thrashy riffs, so not melodic-based as Allen/Lande, but well harmless to try anyway. OK will check on Darkwater, that one missed my radar, and will put my thought on First Impression later.