Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Best/Worst

I'm going to add something new here that is actually a bit of a revival of something I used to do the first time around with this blog. I thought it might be fun to have an occasional "participation" post like Metal Mark has. I'll call it Best/Worst and the idea is that I'll list some bands and you tell me their best and worst albums. I'll try to pick from a variety of genres so there's something for everyone. I'll try to do it once a week and we'll see how it goes.

Okay, here's the first round (we'll start out with my two favorite bands):

1. Beatles
2. The Clash

Labels:

7 Comments:

Blogger Bill said...

Beatles :

Best album : Rubber Soul (currently!)

Worst album : Yellow Submarine (The original version with the b-side of orchestral stuff.)

I can't comment on the Clash - don't have much of their stuff. I do remember buying Tommy Gun on 7" vinyl when it came out though.

9:10 AM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

I think I have two Clash albums and one Beatles album yet I have not listened to any of them.

9:53 AM  
Blogger Linda said...

My favorite Beatles album is "Abbey Road." It is sort of sad to think of this as the end of the Beatles, but maybe they saved the best for last. Honestly, I have a hard time picking a bad album. It would probably one of the early albums, because I like the later stuff in their body of work.

You are going to hate me for this, but I don't know Clash albums very well. My favorite of what I have heard is "London Calling." It is a fun album to listen to while driving.

11:15 AM  
Blogger bob_vinyl said...

My picks:
Beatles
Best - Revolver - This is where they really started to change rock music. It's experimental without being a difficult listen.
Worst - Yellow Submarine - There are some good songs on the first side, but the second side is a complete throwaway.

Clash
Best - London Calling - The Clash stretched outside of the boundaries of punk, yet still made a great punk record.
Worst - Cut the Crap - This is really only a Clash album in name, because it was only Strummer and Simonen. Still, it shuld have been listenable and Cut the Crap is not.

Bill - Rubber Soul is my second favorite and it's a close one. There are actually a bunch of Beatles albums that I would give 10 out of 10, but these two and Abbey Road always rise to the top. it's too bad you don't have more Clash records, because they're a great band that can be appreciated even if you aren't a big punk band.

Mark - That's a shame. You're missing out on great stuff.

Linda - Abbey Road is #3 for me and probably their most perfect album even though I opt for the one that pushed the limits rather than perfected them. I'm very disappointed that you don't know the Clash better, but I suppose I have to take some of the blame since I've known you for 17 years and you don't know their catalog like the back of your hand.

1:46 PM  
Blogger Jeff said...

The Beatles:
Best: How Could I pick?? Ummm.. I'll just go with "Rubber Soul"

Worst: Once again this is nearly impossible but I would go with "Introducing The Beatles" just because they should have just released "Please Please Me" in the US as their first album.


The Clash:

The Best: Their Self Titled

The Worst: While I don't own all of their albums I'm not a fan of "Sandinista"

1:54 PM  
Blogger bob_vinyl said...

Jeff - I know it's a tough pick for the Beatles best since they have so many albums that should top anyone's all-time favorite list. Your point about their first US release brings up the interesting point of US vs UK issues of the earlier albums (through Revolver, I believe). Using that rationale, I think you could also make a case for Yesterday and Today since it was only issued from the "leftovers" that didn't make the shorter US versions of the albums and therefore represents a ripoff of the US listeners (even though there isn't a bad song on the album).

Interestingly, the Clash have a different version of their s/t album in the US also, but that's because it was never released here in 1977. In 1979, they released it here minus a few of the original tracks and with some stuff from 1978 included (the excellent "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" for instance). I actually like the US issue best. In some was Sandinista is their worst real album, because it can be inconsistent, but I also think it's their most under-rated, because it probablu has two LPs worth of great songs. It's just a little bit long so there's some filler.

7:53 AM  
Blogger Ray Van Horn, Jr. said...

Beatles: My favorite is Sgt. Peppers since it just devastated me, but for the purpose of the exercise, Rubber Soul is best, I think. Worst is Yellow Submarine.

Bob, my Clash picks match yours. They're perfectly accurate.

11:26 PM  

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