The Explain Why You Like This Album ('cause i don't understand) Thread
 

I thought this'd be a good idea. There are lots of albums out there that are widely acclaimed by critics and adored by fans, or just the former, or just the latter, or whatever. Then there are people who listen to the album a few times and just don't get what the big deal is.

My idea for the thread is that somebody comes and mentions an album that he/she never really quite got what all the hype was about, and then another member will respond at some point, in their own words, with just what it is about the album that makes them love it.

ELP's Tarkus.

I've tried several times to get into it, but it just reallly bores me. I love most prog epics but tarkus just seems to drag on and onnnn.

Can - Ege Bamyasi

I'm sure there are a ton of reasons why I should like this album, I just can't figure out what they are! Plus, I find the long tracks Pinch and Soup particularly difficult.

Pink Floyd-Dark Side Of The Moon.

Bring it on!

Pet Sounds

3 fantastic songs & a shit load of filler

FUCK OFF URBAN

Can have been called one of the most difficult bands to get into.
Ege Bamyasi is probably the most accessible Can albums there is.

For me Ege Bamyasi has always been a groove thing , to me the songs don't seem that long because the groove & the rhythms keep things interesting. I've always treated it as a chill out album that you listen to when you want to relax and listen to as a whole rather than want to listen to individual songs.

Thats why I like it anyway.

It's simply relevant.

Simply put you have to stoned to apperciate it, most pink floyd albums are like that

Most 'classic' albums are in some way.

That doesn't say whats good about it though.

I never got into Pet Sounds. I could be retarded though, I'm not an authority on that crap.

I think some people just don't fully understand Pet Sounds, I don't mean that in the cocky Tool fan I think there's even plenty of fans that don't understand it. The fans who don't are the kind that always think of The Beach Boys as the fun Surfin USA singing California guys and just look at the Beach Boys as good pop, that's what they are but I don't think they realize Pet Sounds is very innovative and how good of an arranger Brian Wilson was/is.

I think Pet Sounds is kind of an underrated because I think it's very important to American music. You have the Beatles and Zeppelin and Sabbath but they were all british, I'm not doing any ADELE elitist type stuff here but I think Pet Sounds is one of the few 60s classics that was American (off the top of my head I can think of the Doors and the Velvet Underground) like I don't know where I'm going this I just feel its important to American music, much more than its given credit for. Sure it wasn't bluesy or psychedelic but I think it's sort of a quiet, unnoticeable revolution. You look at Pet Sounds from the outside and its this good time pop album but on the inside its beautifully arranged and crafted and its (next to Smile) Brian Wilson's finest effort production wise, which I think says alot. I'll add on to why I personally love it later, I'm kind of tired.

I didn't mean it in a bad way but when you look at the big albums of the 60s are generally British: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Black Sabbath (70s but whatever), etc the amount of American artists who put out albums put on the same pedestal as them isn't as much.

Back to why I like Pet Sounds. It's pretty simple I just think it's a beautiful pop album hah.

Floyd are my favourite band. However DSOTM is nowhere near my fave Floyd album.

Alright, here's one. Somebody help meh out! Sly & The Family Stone - There's A Riot Goin' On: heralded by many as one of the best albums of the 1970s, I don't see how it's even one of the best FUNK albums of the 70s. I'm not even sure it's the best SLY album of the 70s. I've listened to it at least a dozen times. All I took away from it is that:

- it has about 3 very good songs,
- and another 35 or so minutes of what might as well be background music for a bar or a movie, devoid of any real hooks or anything particularly memorable
- the icing on the cake is that all of those non-singles tracks seem like some sort of great shameless drug-infused mess - which was probably never supposed to happen in the first place

So...am I missing something? Enlighten me.

What is your favorite? Mine is Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

The juxtaposition of the simplicity of the individual elements of the music and the way they fit togther with the complex strong structure is what makes it a very stand out album. Its a prog epic that can be considered accessible by some means, with a sort of laid back radio friendly innocence to it. You could probably cut any 4 minute chunk out of the song and use it as a single and it'd stand on its own fairly well.

Animals closely followed by Piper.

Oh! How could i forget Meddle? The track "echoes" alone is worth the buy, a beautiful song.

Hmmm, odd. For some reason I thought that was your favourite album and I did find that unusual because that isn't normally the case with big Floyd fans. My favourite would probably be Meddle, but Wish You Were Here is rather godly too.

DSOTM is too perfect. I know that is a weak sypnosis but the album feels less organic than a lot of their othere releases. Don't get me wrong, The Great Gig In The Sky and Us And Them are amazing tracks but it feels more like a product than an album. A lot of hardcore Floyd fans are not that big on DSOTM to be honest.

While on the subject of Pink Floyd i'd like to put forward The Wall.

Personally I think it's Pink Floyd making their safest most boring trad rock album and not a patch on their earlier stuff. Listening to it just bores me to tears.
I hate Atom Heart Mother and think thats a boring album , but at least thats boring out of experimentation that misses the mark , so I can forgive them for that for at least trying.
The Wall is boring because to me it offers nothing original that Pink Floyd have not done before. It just sounds like some bloated rock dinosaurs going through the motions.

http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAud...440/445408.jpg ?

i mean, i guess i could see why someone would like it,
but can you really sit down and listen to this album from start to end
and not get violently frustrated?

Come on guys! The SLY album came at number 32 on our top 1970-1974 100 list, way above such legends as Joni Mitchell's Blue, T.Rex's Electric Warrior and popular albums like Meddle. There must be some lovers here. Gimme your feedback!

We might have to change that if no one explains why they like it.

It'd be cool if you could go through the tracks briefly or something. Also, when you say "influential", how do you mean? What do you see it as having influenced in particular? I always felt it was more of a one off record than one that spawned many others in the same vein.

Eh, actually I think that has helped me think of it in a new light. I'll bear that all in mind the next time I listen to it.

I love Meddle, but our reasoning behind Meddle not being that high is that DSOTM is already quite high, and that Floyd fans are quite divided when it comes to their best work. There are fans of early psychedelic Floyd, fans of prog Floyd and nowadays, fans of DSOTM and the Wall.

I've never managed to get into the wall as a whole..

I've never liked Van Morrison's Moondance. I love Astral Weeks, and Into The Music has its moments, but Moondance seems to be the "big" album among fans and critics, but it's always left me flat. Apart from Into The Mystic, I don't really get the fuss.

Any takers?

Paul Weller - Stanley Road

Don't get me wrong, there are some songs on it that I absolutely love (Broken Stones is one of my favourite ever tunes) but I just don't think as all-round brilliant as I've heard some people say it is.

Noooooo, lies! Take that back.

Haha.

I love Stanley Road, though I can see why other people would wonder what the fuss is about.

I like the whole album, the way it fits together, the little jams at the end of some songs. It doesn't aim too high.

Moondance was a reflection on Morrison's childhood. Not only is it one of his most popular, but it's got some genuinely beautiful songs and really demonstrates his versatility as an artist. It definitely has some low points (don't get me started on Crazy Love), but the high points are some of his most gorgeous. See And It Stoned Me, Into the Mystic, Caravan, Come Running, etc.

Does anyone want to tell me what's so good about

Kid A

???

My favorite Radiohead CD, it has some of their best songs, and at the same time, took some big risks. Sonically it's pure beauty, there's a song for everyone. Yorke is arguably at his best stage of song writing and the band incorporated instruments and sounds it never came close to using prior to it. Each song is intricately layered yet irresistibly catchy. Unlike OK Computer, there is no filler. It is the perfect Radiohead album.

Going back to Pink Floyd, what's so great about Meddle? Yeah 'One of These Days' is great and 'Echoes' is PERFECTION, but the middle four songs are just filler.

Okay, I've come around a little bit, but I would still like to know what is so awesome about In Rainbows.

I don't get what the big fuss is about Reign in Blood by Slayer. I'm not really much of a metal fan, mainly because I haven't listened to much. I like Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Black Sabbath, but that about sums up any music I like that is or could arguably be classified as metal of any kind. I've tried listening to Reign in Blood twice, and I listened to it through all the way both times, but I was just bored by it. Am I missing something? All I hear is random screaming and mediocre guitar playing. To be fair, I was tired both times that I heard it. I'm going to try listening to it when I'm not tired, but I'd like to know what's so g*d*mn special about it and what I should listen for and such.

That's strange. I really like it.

Funny how I agree with everything and am the same way.

I don't like Slayer either yet like the similar bands you listed. Megadeth is another I don't understand.

Only metal I like:

Metallica
Black Sabbath
Dimmu Borgir
Judas Priest
Dream Theater
Dissection
Opeth
Summoning
Norther
Iron Maiden
Naglfar
Abyssaria
Radigost

I forgot about Opeth and Judas Priest, I also like both of them.

Built To Spill's Keep It Like a Secret. It's not bad, but Perfect From Now On is just so much better. I know there are some fans here, explanations?