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Established popular artists who released real stinkers

So yesterday, I was at my local library getting some beach reading material and out of curiosity,  I checked out a copy of U2's "Songs of Innocence". I remember the controversy about U2 distributing the album to all Iphones without permission, but had not heard the release. I have been a fan of U2 from their very beginning and even in the past few years as they have aged, I have always found at least a couple of tunes on their releases that I enjoy. Man, does this album suck. I appreciate the fact that sometimes artists can no longer hit the high notes like they used to, but it seems to me that the best ones still manage to write compelling arrangements and create rewarding releases. It got me thinking, what are some other examples where artists have laid eggs to stink up an otherwise worthwhile body of work? Lou Reed's Lulu comes to mind.
maxnewid
sevs
301 posts
 
I was really surprised to learn that "Pros and Cons.." could have been The Wall if things went different among The Dudes! Now, reading the latest (in Scientific American) about the concept of multiple Universes I want to get into the one where Pros concept been chosen instead of The Wall. Herein my say on the worst and the best in prog rock...
Love Jethro Tull but praise the God that English is not my even second foreign language and I can "turn myself off" to the lyrics!
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
8,011 posts
 
Ok, I thought of another. After two great albums, The Cars, and Candy O, and a good third one, Panorama, they came out with Shake it Up. I was disappointed and saddened by that one. 
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Okay, I think we're gonna have some disagreements here.  Todd  Rundgren's "Nearly Human" is IMO nearly perfect and a top ten record in my collection.  Yes, the SQ sucks and it sure sounds crappy, but the songwriting is flat-out fantastic and Lyle Workman's guitar leads are beautiful.

l think the obvious Lou Reed choice is Metal Machine Music, but some argue that Lou deliberately tanked that one in a contract dispute with his label

I'll nominate one band with two choices:

Of the five classic line-up Fleetwood Mac studio albums, you could either argue that Tusk came off the rails or that Mirage was a d*ckless capitulation to commercial pressure.  For me, it's the latter.






maxnewid OP
449 posts
 
The common denominator here seems to be successful artists trying something new that didn't work out. I would rather them try and fail than just use the same formula over and over. Particularly if that formula is dictated from a corporate label trying to recreate whatever sound is selling at the moment. I remember when Pearl Jam got popular and suddenly there were 10 or 15 Eddie Vedder wannabes on the radio. I can't really tell the difference between Myley Cyruss, Arianna Grande, Katie Perry, or the other pitch software corrected songstresses these days. At the end of the day I admire originality and would rather listen to a bad Fleetwood Mac or Todd Rundgren album than any of those folks.
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