Topical Section - The Music Publications Desk:

Courtesy of fredvomjupiter:

"Albums, Critically Bashed Upon Their Release, But Were Not Really Bad"

Curve - Doppelganger (1992)
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Honey's Dead (1992)
Stereolab - Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Mile Night (1999)

NME in particular has alot to answer for.

wow, i don't really remember harsh criticism towards "violator", but still it deserves to be here, because i never understood how the british press menaged to overlook this masterpiece when it comes to lists. actually, british press always overlooked depeche mode (especially melody maker, i don't remember one single depeche mode album on their lists), or let's say, never gave them the credit they deserved. the dm album, which was really bashed though, was the live version of SOFAD. it's still a matter of discussion, if a live version of a studio album, only after one year of its release was a good idea. but "devotional" was one of the best tours dm ever did and the live versions were simply great.

wasn't it the NME to coin the term shoegaze? to make fun of the bands though, LOL...

Cylob said:
Either them or MM. :D

That's what music journals do, take a few bands, rub them together and start a fire.

... to be extinguished later on.

exactly, :D

so, nobody else has anything to say on this thread? i was thinking we'll soon be done with this and start with overrated ones. LOL...

OK, i'll add 3 more. come on people, contribute. don't make me put "yes please!" on here. :)

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989)
The Cure - Pornography (1982)
Curve - Doppelganger (1992)
Depeche Mode - Violator (1990)
Depeche Mode - Songs of Faith and Devotion Live (1994)
The Dream Syndicate - Medicine Show (1984)
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Honey's Dead (1992)
Lush - Split (1994)
Mega City Four - Sebastopol Road (1992)
New Fast Automatic Daffodils - Pigeonhole (1990)
Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Rapture (1995)
Slowdive - Souvlaki (1993)
Stereolab - Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Mile Night (1999)
The Stone Roses - Second Coming (1994)
The Sugarcubes - Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! (1989)
Swervedriver - Mezcal Head (1993)
Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden (1988)
U2 - Pop (1997)

well, if you're surprised to see "spirit of eden" here, let me quote from the 1992 rolling stone album guide:
"... instead of getting better or worse, this band simply grew more pretentious with each passing year... by 'spirit of eden', mark hollis's pete townshend-on-dramamine vocals have been pushed aside by the band's pointless noodling.", 1 star out of 5 - J.D. Considine; source: wikipedia

also, if it wasn't for the fans, who cherished "pornography" as the best the cure album ever, the british critics could have easily caused this masterpiece to be forgotten with their negative reviews. what was their problem with "pornography"? they bashed it back then for being too pessimistic and depressive. duh!

Cylob said:
Spirit of Eden is virtually the birth of post-rock. I bet the reviewers feel pretty lame now.

if they have a sense of shame, they most certainly do.

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989)
The Cure - Pornography (1982)
Curve - Doppelganger (1992)
Depeche Mode - Violator (1990)
Depeche Mode - Songs of Faith and Devotion Live (1994)
The Dream Syndicate - Medicine Show (1984)
Erasure - Erasure (1995)
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Honey's Dead (1992)
Lush - Split (1994)
Marc Almond - Enchanted (1990)
Mega City Four - Sebastopol Road (1992)
The Mission - Carved In Sand (1990)
Mylène Farmer - Anamorphosée (1995)
New Fast Automatic Daffodils - Pigeonhole (1990)
Pop Will Eat Itself - Cure For Sanity (1990)
Ride - Tarantula (1996)
Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Rapture (1995)
Slowdive - Souvlaki (1993)
Stereolab - Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Mile Night (1999)
The Stone Roses - Second Coming (1994)
The Sugarcubes - Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! (1989)
Swervedriver - Mezcal Head (1993)
Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden (1988)
U2 - Pop (1997)

as for Erasure's Erasure: with songs clocking around 7 mins. and diamanda galas on guest vocals, this was erasure at their most serious. apparently, bell and clarke wanted this to be their masterpiece and unfortunately it was not. still, nowhere pretentious and definitely one of their best albums. it wasn't totally killed by the critics, however a more positive response could have helped the album from being a commercial flop. as far as i know, this album is long out of print and a little rare to find. it certainly deserves better.

as for Marc Almond's Enchanted: this is a prime example of how unfair critics could be... after the #1 chart success of "something's gotten hold of my heart", people were expecting the same from mr. almond again. well, "enchanted" most certainly didn't aimed at #1 positions. it was a fine combination of chanson, lied, cabaret and synth-pop with an over the top production, or shall we say "essential marc almond"? ok, maybe he pulled off the same formula better before, but "enchanted" was nowhere near the stinker, the critics have called it back then. i have this on cassette for over 15 years now and i still didn't get bored of it. here is the list-a-holic speaking to those critics with a quote from L7: "you made my shitlist!"

as for Mylène Farmer's Anamorphosée: even though it did commercially very well (however not as good as her previous two records), "anamorphosée" was yet another album to divide critics and fans alike. after the huge success of "l'autre..."s (in my humble opinion her best album to date) dark pop, the addition of rock elements on "anamorphosée" caused a few raised eyebrows. spending some time in the states (that's where she started writing this album) left an impact on mylène for sure, both lyrically and musically. well, sometimes the lyrics are a bit lame, i must admit and you have the feeling she's taking herself a bit too seriously (and all this mystical self discovery does not really work with me). still, this is a very personal album and a very well combination of rock and pop. again, an album that certainly deserved a better critical response.

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989)
The Cure - Pornography (1982)
The Cure - Mixed Up (1990)
Curve - Doppelganger (1992)
Depeche Mode - Violator (1990)
Depeche Mode - Songs of Faith and Devotion Live (1994)
The Dream Syndicate - Medicine Show (1984)
Erasure - Erasure (1995)
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Honey's Dead (1992)
Lush - Split (1994)
Mansun - Little Kix (2000)
Marc Almond - Enchanted (1990)
Mega City Four - Sebastopol Road (1992)
The Mission - Carved In Sand (1990)
Mylène Farmer - Anamorphosée (1995)
New Fast Automatic Daffodils - Pigeonhole (1990)
Pop Will Eat Itself - Cure For Sanity (1990)
Ride - Tarantula (1996)
Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Rapture (1995)
Slowdive - Souvlaki (1993)
Stereolab - Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Mile Night (1999)
The Stone Roses - Second Coming (1994)
The Sugarcubes - Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! (1989)
Swervedriver - Mezcal Head (1993)
Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden (1988)
The The - Mind Bomb (1989)
U2 - Pop (1997)

Gripes:

"Mixed Up" was one of the best albums of the 90's, let alone 1990 itself.

Mansun were in for a kicking as far as NME were concerned (the quality of the album was irrelevant). Shameful behaviour!

"Mind Bomb" fell foul because it was Johnny Marr's turn for a beating. He'd only written half a track (Gravitate To Me) since the fall of The Smiths and I guess they were restless. It's a shame Matt Johnson was caught-up it in the process, this is a great album.

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989)
The Cramps - Songs the Lord taught us
The Cure - Pornography (1982)
The Cure - Mixed Up (1990)
Curve - Doppelganger (1992)
Depeche Mode - Violator (1990)
Depeche Mode - Songs of Faith and Devotion Live (1994)
The Dream Syndicate - Medicine Show (1984)
Erasure - Erasure (1995)
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Honey's Dead (1992)
Lush - Split (1994)
Mansun - Little Kix (2000)
Marc Almond - Enchanted (1990)
Mega City Four - Sebastopol Road (1992)
The Mission - Carved In Sand (1990)
Mylène Farmer - Anamorphosée (1995)
New Fast Automatic Daffodils - Pigeonhole (1990)
Pop Will Eat Itself - Cure For Sanity (1990)
Ride - Tarantula (1996)
Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Rapture (1995)
Slowdive - Souvlaki (1993)
Stereolab - Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Mile Night (1999)
The Stone Roses - Second Coming (1994)
The Sugarcubes - Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! (1989)
Swervedriver - Mezcal Head (1993)
Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden (1988)
The The - Mind Bomb (1989)
U2 - Pop (1997)

Urgent question! Possibly even in the right place - I'm looking for a review in NME, namely of Editors' "An End Has A Start", there will be one no doubt, but is it most likely in this week's, in last week's (i.e. the one in shops right now) or in next week's? The album's out this upcoming Friday/Monday and I need to take a train to even get an NME but I'd like the issue for article-collecting's sake. If anyone spots a review of the album in any issue of NME, could they let me know what date that issue is from? Thanks in advance!

That aside, a question about something I immediately thought of adding to the list but then wasn't so sure any more ... Pulp's "This Is Hardcore", was it just the fans that weren't awfully pleased with it or did the press bash it as well? It's praised beyond reason nowadays and fondly remembered as 'a flop at the time', but was it merely a commercial flop or was it actually panned by each and every journo in the land? I own not a single magazine from the time so I can only rely on what I read now.

Now, after this list, we must do a reverse: albums that were welcomed with loving arms and typewriters at the time of release but are widely regarded to have been Not That Great now (e.g. the Libertines' second, plenty of Oasis albums that were hailed not only by Noel Gallagher to be The Best Since Morning Glory) :D

i'm not sure if you've read the previous message lucie, but i wasn't able to find any today. tomorrow i'll try to check another place if i'll have the time.

cool.

i don't really want to add it, bit the did slaughter Kid A when it came out. remember, they were trying to commit commercial suicide so they could start afresh without all the attention for their next release.