Real Stinkers

Might be hard to top Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" which -IMHO- is truly unlistenable. Reed has done some great stuff, some not-so- great stuff, some really shaky stuff, and MMM.

Marty

PS I was a bit suprised to see RE Keen's Picnic listed by Viridian, (with whom I agree more often than not) and seconded by Jposs. It was more pop/rock inflected than most of Keen's other records, but I thought it was very good in its own way. IIRC, it got very strong reviews and sold well, too. OTOH, I would acknowledge that popularity doesn't equal quality and that the SQ definetly leaves something to be desired. Different strokes, I guess.

"Heavy Metal Music" was reputed to be Reed's attempt at a non-listenable, non-commercial recording done only to complete his contractual obligation to RCA. Don't think of it as a Lou Reed album. It's an album by The Artist Formerly Known As Lou Reed.

bob dylan desire cd is the worst sounding music i have. love the songs just not the sound

How can you not forget Doo-bop by Miles?

Onhwy61,

You might be right about the contract thing, but you might not be. No one seems to be certain what Reed was thinking (per the original post). AFAIK, Reed has never acknowledged that the record was a joke, (although the lingering risk of potential liability associated with doing so could explain that). As of last spring, so many years later when retribution by his label would seem unlikely, he defended the record in an interview I saw (can't recall where). In that piece, he maintained that the record was a breakthrough in "post metal". Was he just joking? Maybe, but a quick web search turns up a number of folks out there who, incredibly enough, agree with that assessment and take the record seriously.

Since the OP asked for a really bad release by a favorite artist that made you wonder "What was he thinking?", I'll stick with my assertion that MMM is the about the purest answer to that question that I know of.

Marty