After all the crap they took from their fans over "Load" and "Reload", which are not bad albums at all, just a little different more radio friendly sound for Metallica. I think they decided to show their fans what a truly bad album actually sounds like so they'd know the difference.
They didn't forget. It's one eye symbolism..it's freemasonic symbolism. Another example is the Beatles 2nd album with/meet the Beatles..half their face is shaded out .lots of photos of actors ,politicians, rock stars etc covering one eye ...once you know,you know
As the countdown started I was thinking: he must put Hot Space on this list, he must put it at No. 1! So, I was half right, beaten by Lars banging away on a couple of Quality Street tins.
Don’t forget that signed old-school artists were generally required to churn out ridiculous numbers of albums, to satisfy the labels. This explains a lot.
Albums I will never listen to because their reputations precede them: Queen Hot Space Genesis invisible Touch Neil Young Trans ELP Love Beach Yes Onion Lou Reed Metal Machine Music ... or anything else of his.
I've hardly listened to most of these albums, but I love listening to your vids and hearing your opinions about them. And your hands! They never stop moving! I love it!
Cut The Crap by The Clash is pretty poor on the piss scale too! They should’ve dropped “Cut the” from the title and that would have been more appropriate!
I love the way Barry has gotten so disgusted with the vileness of these albums and his irritation at having paid good money for them that he can’t even remember what he said at the beginning.
I bought Pilgrim as I thought the title track was a fantastic departure from what Clapton had been recently churning out. It was! Sadly, the rest of the album is pure shite, and so is the cover art :(
I agree. Side 2 has some good songs. Even Dancer on Side 1 is not too bad for a funky rocky view. Production wise although few people like the synths, Brian guitars sounds pretty good and Freddie's voice is on good form. There was a record review website run by 'Capn Fantastic' many years ago and he rated albums with an A to F rating. He gave Hot Space a C minus, which I thought was accurate. Andy Edwards too did a video on albums not as bad as their reputation suggests , and he listed Hot Space as one of them.
I revisited Hot Space for the first time since it came out when you did a whole video on it and found I enjoyed most of it. I've never seen any of the videos, which sound truly awful, so that may help. Under-rated and worth an occasional listen.
Hot Space was really the nail in the coffin after Queen started embracing new wave sounds on The Game, it was almost like an affront to their fans who loved them for their hard rock sound.
If it makes you feel better, The 80s were cruel to virtually every previously great 70s band or artist. Black Sabbath, Genesis, Rush, Yes and others. Judas Priest to a degree as well. I'm a huge fan of 70s era Black Sabbath but after Dio left I don't think I've managed to sit through an 80s Sabbath album. the punk bands lost their way, or sold out like The Damned. Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel virtually abandoned their prog roots and went mainstream. Solo artists Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Mick Jagger. Probably worst of all was Bowie.
@@John-k6f9k Yeah, you're right. Even Joni Mitchell, of all people, started using nothing but synthesizers and samplers on her Dog Eat Dog album in 1985. Basically, the 80's took the heart and soul out of music, and, in many ways, rock'n'roll and popular music has never really recovered.
I am a Stephen Stills' fan and enjoy much of his catalog. I bought "Thoroughfare Gap" when it was released and thought the album was far from his best. Stills has a soulful voice that is not enhanced by the heavy production and background singers that this album includes. The standout track is "Thoroughfare Gap": among the best he has ever written.
I seen the Hot Space space tour, and they rocked!! I think Queen learnt a lesson …. Queen is a rock band… And the world biggest ever.. And they showed it on Live Aid!!!!🖤🥰😋🤟❤️!!!
Thing-Fish's story is a bit over the top, but just because some songs are recycled, doesn't make great songs like "The Torture (oh wait, Torchem) Never Stops" and "You Are What You Is" suddenly turn into bad songs. I don't listen to Thing-Fish that often, but still like to listen to it more than to some of Zappa's albums made up of Synclavier noodling.
Thank you for Unflushed Floaters. I've been searching for something that covers many things in daily life now, and I'll be using that as it applies. Perfect. Bravo.
This was definitely the best of the 'worst of' lot. Great commentary, accurate, sacarstic and hillarious! Interesting that most of this comes from late 70's/early 80's classic artists trying to ride a wave other than their own wheelhouse, combined with a healthy amount of chemical influence.
I don't own a lot of vinyl, but that John Fogerty "Eye of the Zombie" is one I got from my flatmate for 50p in around 1991 and still own - I still have not got around to playing it... perhaps now I never will!
As a Queen fan, Hot Space was like a nuclear bomb that spread radioactivity throughout the band members. Some very bad templates began this album: too many drum machines, one member having too much control, Brian May being reduced to being a session player, and most damaging, they didn’t sound like a band.
Freddie's ego was out of control at that time. At one point on the Hot Space tour Mercury complained that the fans in the first row of their shows were too ugly. He wanted a casting call to fill the front row with attractive fans instead. For awhile he was serious about it.
@@michaelwilson2340 Couldn’t agree more. Mercury also really started to berate Roger Taylor about his songwriting. Which is odd considering how far Taylor’s songwriting had come since the early albums. And of course, Freddie took it upon himself to “tweak” Radio GaGa and A Kind of Magic.
I love thing fish! I even have the triple vinyl. It’s so amazing. Are used to play the CD in my car to and from the golf court every single time I was there in 1988. The will always remind me of that year. I was singing along so much too especially one song that was so catchy.
Huge Queen fan...and couldn't agree more about Hot Space. Sadly this was their last US tour, and the first and only time I saw them. Thankfully they bounced back with The Works in '84 which had some great songs. I also agree with you about Dirty Work....bad album, but I DO think One Hit to the Body was one of their finest (post-70s) songs.
Thingfish is deeply flawed because Frank lacked the money to finish it properly. But what is there is enough to suggest what it could/should have been. It's a difficult album to get into, but it is totally unique and Frank's genius shines through. It certainly doesn't deserve to be on this list with some of those other turds. Replace it with Genesis' Calling All Stations and you've got a list I could agree with
My word, you have an extraordinary t-shirt collection. And they all look brand new. On the Stones: in 25 years of dabbling in online music forums, I've yet to encounter any group of fans getting more upset than Stones fans when you point out that the Glimmer Twins have been more or less rubbish for 50 years (although I love Keef's solo albums and his collaborations with Tom Waits). I came to Zappa through his 80s work. I came to realise it was bloody awful. The first 10 years are the ones to watch (from 'Freak Out!' to 'One Size Fits All'). I'm not sure Clapton has ever made a 'great album'. 'Hot Space' is abominable.
Zappa's first 10 years of output is certainly remarkable, and 'One Size Fits All' is certainly a high point, but there's so much richly-varied work that it's hard to pick a favorite. 'Joe's Garage' is about where he loses me. MOST of his later albums seem to either be abstract synclavier strangeness completely unparseable to this pedestrian, or deliberately half-assed 'rock' albums pointedly pandering to the idiocracy. He ALWAYS followed his muse, and -never went wrong- became a bit jaded rubbing humanity's nose in its own sh!t.
I love Thing-Fish. My biggest gripe is how loud the spoken vocals are mixed compared to the background music, some of which is really incredible like 'Clowns on Velvet'. The lyrical references are maybe easier to make sense of as an American. If you're not familiar with Amos 'n Andy, its significance, and its embroilment with the NAACP, the whole premise of the Thing-Fish character is totally lost. The Kingfish impression places the minstrel show acts of the American past back into the spotlight, making "Harry and Rhonda" very uncomfortable. I can't really argue that this makes it a good album, but it's at least creative and unique. To identify the Mammy Nuns simply as "the working class" is a bit... um, let's be generous and just say some glaring details have been overlooked. I don't necessarily agree with Zappa's subtextual arguments- the conspiratorial theories on AIDS, criticism of the women's liberation movement, etc., but the lyrics are pretty interesting to say the least and there's a lot of great music, albeit some of it buried under the narration. The early experimentation with vocal synthesis is also cool. Let's put it this way: I'd rather listen to The Crab-Grass Baby than anything on Radio K.A.O.S.
Actually, the song “Circus” is for his son. And this is the one album on this list I disagree with Barry on. “River Of Tears” and “Brokenhearted” are great tracks along with the aforementioned “Circus”. But, that’s just my opinion.
Bought Hot space in the eighties as a teenager. I wondered why it was so cheap and there were so many in the remainder record shop where I found it. I got it home and discovered the answer to both questions. Only redeeming feature is, it has Under pressure on it
8:50 (WRT Queen's 'Hot Space') "This is the album that the band has described as 'a bit of a mis-step' which is putting it politely ... I think a huge bollock was dropped here, in my opinion". Had a bit of a clean-up to contend with after snorting coffee out of both nostrils there.
I can’t argue that Thing Fish is a masterpiece, or a seminal record in Zappa’s catalogue but, it does have a few high points (e.g. Brown Moses) and the social and political satire is often very powerful. I rarely sit down and play it beginning to end, but I do listen to a few songs now and then, and it’s not all that bad. Although many isolated exceptions could be identified, I believe there is a general decline in Zappa’s lyrics chronologically, from the 1960s, into the 70s, and the 80s. However, with that said, I think just the opposite is true of his music. The growth and maturation in his instrumental music and the arrangements of his songs was astounding and seemed to be endless.
This is excellent analysis I hadn’t thought of. My gripe with 80s Zappa was the increasing role of the Synclavier weakening (and dating) the impact of some high quality music. For example when I heard Steve Vai play “What’s New In Baltimore” on guitar by himself, I realised it was one of the most beautiful and moving pieces I’d ever heard but on ‘Mothers of Prevention’ it sounds like an arcade machine nattering away to itself.
Had to laugh last year when Jagger praised Trudeau while touring in Canada which drew many boos from the crowd - so he quickly changed the subject to the soccer! 😂
To be honest, I have no problem whatsoever with bands making bad records. My problem is that they don’t put warning stickers on them to prevent people from buying them!
the only one I disagree with you is Hot Space, Under Pressure being my favourite track by them, there were more good songs than bad in my opinion, Las Palabras de Amor, Put Out the Fire, Calling All Girls and Cool Cat come to mind, but it's good that everyone's tastes are different, great channel and thank you.
Totally agree about Thingfish. Love Zappa but could never get into that one. Agree about Van Halen III. Cherone is a great singer but that album was totally sub-par. Hot Space is completely disposable.
Gary Cherone just wasn't a good fit for VH, nothing more. It's no reflection on his own singing ability, it just wasn't the right sound for that particular band.
There were only two good things to come out of Dirty Work: The nice farewell at the end to Ian Stewart, and Mick and Keith decided to cut the crap and get back to work.
I’m surprised by the absence of Elton John’s Victim of Love. It was Elton’s disco album, and it’s easily the worst record he’s ever made. It doesn’t even sound like he was trying.
Well-spoken-- thoroughly accurate-- and expectations of superior artists left us wanting... but perfection is rare and fleeting especially in music and deadlines and contracts screw even the brightest stars into obscurity... temporarily ( hopefully!)
As someone who started with Queen as a 14 year old in 1974, and made them my first gig in 1975 I can definitely day Hot Space is the biggest load of garbage I've ever heard.
I'm a great fan of Fogerty, and have 'Zombie' in my vinyl collection... and I have to agree. It was a massive misstep. Stick to 'old shep' and 'Centerfield'!
With the exception of Hotspace and the Clapton album, I don't know most of these records, but I enjoyed this because of your humor. I must agree with you regarding Queen- I detested their disco phase, and even though I'm a keyboardist and love prog rock, Brian May probably should have returned to his "no synths" policy.
Obvious suggestion, but I have been a Genesis-fan for 50 years and I don't think CAS is as bad as some people make it our to be. It's no SEBTP but it's definitely better than some of the 80s stuff they released.
@@premajan CAS is a POS. I tried to like it but it is like the other piece of bread in the Genesis sandwich. The chicken and cheese and pickles are great but the bread slices were horrible.
Which could have been a better album if they included some of the more superior B-sides over some of the "filler" tracks on the finished product. Overall, the album did make me a fan of Ray Wilson.
Yoko's bleatings on "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Don't Worry Kyoko" is pure hell to listen to. It is just pure exploitation of being married to a famous person and thumbing her nose at any criticism and daring anyone to say what it was...just music landfill.
I remember the postman delivering St Anger. I remember me putting the CD in and pressing play. I remember thinking WTF is this! Unlike other albums on this list, I still don’t like St Anger.
i hesitate to call anything past tattoo you a true stones album. keith was creatively checked out after that album because he was fed up with jaggers obsession with trying to make the band sound contemporary. everything since then has been mick jagger solo albums marketed as the rolling stones, each one has gems, just not consistent as a whole. keiths solo work is much better than any stones album post tattoo you
I disagree with Thingfish. The Synclavier underscoring is fantastic and the broadway pastiche towards the end is beautiful. The Mammy Nuns is a great song!
Brilliant baz...I'm not familiar with most of them although I've heard the same from some Queen fans 😂..about hot space..your tone..cracks me up mate ..excellent 👍gaz
My theory on St Anger is that it was created to be so awful, that no sane person would want to pirate it.
this checks out ✔️
What a great ploy! Buy the album on vinyl and I'll play you some proper drums. Otherwise you get this mess.
Brilliant
After all the crap they took from their fans over "Load" and "Reload", which are not bad albums at all, just a little different more radio friendly sound for Metallica. I think they decided to show their fans what a truly bad album actually sounds like so they'd know the difference.
then why even make it in the first place. Metallica only made 4 good albums and an ep
I liked "on the piss scale this is pretty poor" 😂
Un-flushed floaters...😂😂😂
Pinch our noses .
Yeah that got my attention imediately! 😄
That killed me! 😂
😅
Boxing day floaters
Queen's "Hot Space" was so bad that they forgot to include John Deacon's right eye on the album artwork.
They didn't forget. It's one eye symbolism..it's freemasonic symbolism. Another example is the Beatles 2nd album with/meet the Beatles..half their face is shaded out .lots of photos of actors ,politicians, rock stars etc covering one eye ...once you know,you know
St Anger where, once again, Lars expunged the bass so we could focus on his unco banging of tin cans.
Lars is the richest drummer in the world who never learned how to tune his snare.
Unco as in uncommon or unco as in you never finished the word uncouth?
@@peterg9729 I'm pretty sure he means uncoordinated.
@@peterg9729 I think unco == uncoordinated. That's how it is used in Australia.
Uncool?
As the countdown started I was thinking: he must put Hot Space on this list, he must put it at No. 1! So, I was half right, beaten by Lars banging away on a couple of Quality Street tins.
Sadly, the first 2 tracks are top Metallica but then, oh dear😮
Don’t forget that signed old-school artists were generally required to churn out ridiculous numbers of albums, to satisfy the labels. This explains a lot.
That was a perfect video since none of the albums are in my collection😅
Ha ha same.
I find your articulate and sophisticated criticisms thoroughly enjoyable…
Everything by Def Leppard and Bon Jovi.
Hot Space... I was twelve when I bought this and spent the best part of a year trying to convince myself it was a work of genius. I didn't manage it.
Hot Space is awesome and typical Queen, not a bad track on the album and I was following Queen since QUEEN 1
me too at 13
That’s how I felt at the time. I actually quite like Hot Space now. Getting older does weird things.
Albums I will never listen to because their reputations precede them:
Queen Hot Space
Genesis invisible Touch
Neil Young Trans
ELP Love Beach
Yes Onion
Lou Reed Metal Machine Music ... or anything else of his.
@@paulatB2BLou Reed has 3 awesome albums: Berlin, Transformer and The Blue Mask.
I love the way you speak so eloquently but throw the odd f-bomb in ha! I'm more of a punk fan but love allk your vids so keep em coming:)
Allman And Woman is horrendous for the album cover alone.
Have you listened to it though ? It's far better than the critical reaction it always gets.
I've hardly listened to most of these albums, but I love listening to your vids and hearing your opinions about them. And your hands! They never stop moving! I love it!
Cut The Crap by The Clash is pretty poor on the piss scale too! They should’ve dropped “Cut the” from the title and that would have been more appropriate!
Unbelievable it even got released. Crap on a stick.
That one is one of the worst albums, if not the worst, released by a major band.
I love the way Barry has gotten so disgusted with the vileness of these albums and his irritation at having paid good money for them that he can’t even remember what he said at the beginning.
I can’t go to a thrift store and not see Eric Clapton’s Pilgrim. Usually multiple copies.
I bought Pilgrim as I thought the title track was a fantastic departure from what Clapton had been recently churning out. It was! Sadly, the rest of the album is pure shite, and so is the cover art :(
Nice Regatta De Blanc Tshirt!
Hilarious list! 😂
You have a new subscriber good Sir! 👌🎸✌
Hahaha a bloke calling shite albums wearing that.
Is he going for irony?
Unflushed floaters. Love it! And…I notice a correlation between the songs and the horrible covers. 😂
I'm a big Queen fan and I quite like Hot Space. In my humble opinion, HS is neither their best not their worst album.
I agree. Side 2 has some good songs. Even Dancer on Side 1 is not too bad for a funky rocky view. Production wise although few people like the synths, Brian guitars sounds pretty good and Freddie's voice is on good form. There was a record review website run by 'Capn Fantastic' many years ago and he rated albums with an A to F rating. He gave Hot Space a C minus, which I thought was accurate. Andy Edwards too did a video on albums not as bad as their reputation suggests , and he listed Hot Space as one of them.
I like Hot Space too, i don't get the hate at all. Is it something like the "mandatory" Nickelback hate?
I remember Body Language was the hit from Hot Space, I still like it, also like Under pressure and Calling all girls
I made peace with Radio Gaga..but I still feel the same about Body Language as when it first came out
A Kind of Magic is easily their worst album. Calling All Girls and Las Palabras de Amor are great tracks. The Hot Space hate is a tired cliché now.
I revisited Hot Space for the first time since it came out when you did a whole video on it and found I enjoyed most of it. I've never seen any of the videos, which sound truly awful, so that may help. Under-rated and worth an occasional listen.
My personal theory is that Greg Allman decided to get straight when his friends told him he was so wasted that he married Cher.
😮😅
Hot Space was really the nail in the coffin after Queen started embracing new wave sounds on The Game, it was almost like an affront to their fans who loved them for their hard rock sound.
If it makes you feel better, The 80s were cruel to virtually every previously great 70s band or artist. Black Sabbath, Genesis, Rush, Yes and others. Judas Priest to a degree as well. I'm a huge fan of 70s era Black Sabbath but after Dio left I don't think I've managed to sit through an 80s Sabbath album. the punk bands lost their way, or sold out like The Damned. Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel virtually abandoned their prog roots and went mainstream. Solo artists Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Mick Jagger. Probably worst of all was Bowie.
@@John-k6f9k Yeah, you're right. Even Joni Mitchell, of all people, started using nothing but synthesizers and samplers on her Dog Eat Dog album in 1985. Basically, the 80's took the heart and soul out of music, and, in many ways, rock'n'roll and popular music has never really recovered.
I am a Stephen Stills' fan and enjoy much of his catalog. I bought "Thoroughfare Gap" when it was released and thought the album was far from his best. Stills has a soulful voice that is not enhanced by the heavy production and background singers that this album includes. The standout track is "Thoroughfare Gap": among the best he has ever written.
Nice Police shirt. Dude always has cool musician shirts.
Are The Police a band? I thought Barry was working undercover.
@@BBlooger
😂😂
yep...cant argue with any of those Barry. spot on sir.
The album cover of "Allman And Woman" 😬
Wo-man.
Gregg looks like he's posing for a romance novel cover.
I seen the Hot Space space tour, and they rocked!! I think Queen learnt a lesson …. Queen is a rock band… And the world biggest ever.. And they showed it on Live Aid!!!!🖤🥰😋🤟❤️!!!
I wouldn't call them a rock band .they had a few rockers but mainly pop ...radio ga ga is hardly rock
@ACDZ123 Queen were not a pop group. The few tracks like Radio Ga GA cannot turn an incredible rock band with an excellent catologue, into pop!
@geographyinaction7814 they had so many poppy /artsy songs lol ..definitely a pop band more than rock . AC/DC now that's rock
Thing-Fish's story is a bit over the top, but just because some songs are recycled, doesn't make great songs like "The Torture (oh wait, Torchem) Never Stops" and "You Are What You Is" suddenly turn into bad songs. I don't listen to Thing-Fish that often, but still like to listen to it more than to some of Zappa's albums made up of Synclavier noodling.
Great T shirt. Adore your content , background is beautiful. Love from Ireland.
Thank you for Unflushed Floaters. I've been searching for something that covers many things in daily life now, and I'll be using that as it applies. Perfect. Bravo.
I love Eye of the Zombie! There's a couple of duds, but several killer tracks as well - I think it's better than Centerfield.
The “unflushed floaters”…..LMAO
This was definitely the best of the 'worst of' lot. Great commentary, accurate, sacarstic and hillarious! Interesting that most of this comes from late 70's/early 80's classic artists trying to ride a wave other than their own wheelhouse, combined with a healthy amount of chemical influence.
I really liked Hot Space at the time and still do
I think I'm the only person in existence that loves Eye of the Zombie.
Thing Fish is not my favorite Zappa, but it's still better than Pink Floyd's The Wall.
"unflushed floaters"...pure genius! 🤣🤣🤣
I don't own a lot of vinyl, but that John Fogerty "Eye of the Zombie" is one I got from my flatmate for 50p in around 1991 and still own - I still have not got around to playing it... perhaps now I never will!
Greetings from Scotland Good Stuff.!!!
As a Queen fan, Hot Space was like a nuclear bomb that spread radioactivity throughout the band members. Some very bad templates began this album: too many drum machines, one member having too much control, Brian May being reduced to being a session player, and most damaging, they didn’t sound like a band.
Freddie's ego was out of control at that time. At one point on the Hot Space tour Mercury complained that the fans in the first row of their shows were too ugly. He wanted a casting call to fill the front row with attractive fans instead. For awhile he was serious about it.
@@michaelwilson2340 Couldn’t agree more. Mercury also really started to berate Roger Taylor about his songwriting. Which is odd considering how far Taylor’s songwriting had come since the early albums. And of course, Freddie took it upon himself to “tweak” Radio GaGa and A Kind of Magic.
Hot Space was about Mercury's love of Dutch Ovens.
@@docsamson198Your source, please, for these claims that this fan of three decades or more has never heard before?!
@@michaelwilson2340Your source, please, for these claims that this fan of three decades or more has never heard before?!
Clapton has been in Adult Contemporary Hell since Behind the Sun.
sure as made so average albums
Phil Collins both saved and damned Clapton.
I love thing fish! I even have the triple vinyl. It’s so amazing. Are used to play the CD in my car to and from the golf court every single time I was there in 1988. The will always remind me of that year. I was singing along so much too especially one song that was so catchy.
2 standouts on Dirty Work were Sleep Tonight and Harlem Shuffle imho.
i agree, even the worst stones albums usually have some tracks worth returning to
Plus Hold Back, Fight, One Hit, Back to Zero, Too Rude, actually it’s not a bad album at all, maybe lacked a cohesive effort
My top 10:
Any 10 Green Day albums. Honorable mentions: the remaining 3 Green Day albums.
Yes!
We need more of this
Yawn
Love your turn of phrase.
Wow Barry. Beautifully ascorbic piece of review work that is entertaining from start to finish
Huge Queen fan...and couldn't agree more about Hot Space. Sadly this was their last US tour, and the first and only time I saw them. Thankfully they bounced back with The Works in '84 which had some great songs. I also agree with you about Dirty Work....bad album, but I DO think One Hit to the Body was one of their finest (post-70s) songs.
Nice shirt, I have it! 👍
Hot Space is severely underrated, IMHO…
The Stones haven't been any good since Mick Taylor left the band.
Like with most of Metallica's albums, St Anger really needed a sub-editor. My own cut on my iTunes has 20 minutes lopped off it.
Thingfish is deeply flawed because Frank lacked the money to finish it properly. But what is there is enough to suggest what it could/should have been. It's a difficult album to get into, but it is totally unique and Frank's genius shines through. It certainly doesn't deserve to be on this list with some of those other turds. Replace it with Genesis' Calling All Stations and you've got a list I could agree with
My word, you have an extraordinary t-shirt collection. And they all look brand new.
On the Stones: in 25 years of dabbling in online music forums, I've yet to encounter any group of fans getting more upset than Stones fans when you point out that the Glimmer Twins have been more or less rubbish for 50 years (although I love Keef's solo albums and his collaborations with Tom Waits).
I came to Zappa through his 80s work. I came to realise it was bloody awful. The first 10 years are the ones to watch (from 'Freak Out!' to 'One Size Fits All').
I'm not sure Clapton has ever made a 'great album'.
'Hot Space' is abominable.
who is Keef?
Zappa's first 10 years of output is certainly remarkable, and 'One Size Fits All' is certainly a high point, but there's so much richly-varied work that it's hard to pick a favorite. 'Joe's Garage' is about where he loses me. MOST of his later albums seem to either be abstract synclavier strangeness completely unparseable to this pedestrian, or deliberately half-assed 'rock' albums pointedly pandering to the idiocracy. He ALWAYS followed his muse, and -never went wrong- became a bit jaded rubbing humanity's nose in its own sh!t.
@@GeeAitch-r1r Well we know who the real stones fans are. jeeze. btw jeeze is just an expression.
I love Thing-Fish. My biggest gripe is how loud the spoken vocals are mixed compared to the background music, some of which is really incredible like 'Clowns on Velvet'. The lyrical references are maybe easier to make sense of as an American. If you're not familiar with Amos 'n Andy, its significance, and its embroilment with the NAACP, the whole premise of the Thing-Fish character is totally lost. The Kingfish impression places the minstrel show acts of the American past back into the spotlight, making "Harry and Rhonda" very uncomfortable. I can't really argue that this makes it a good album, but it's at least creative and unique.
To identify the Mammy Nuns simply as "the working class" is a bit... um, let's be generous and just say some glaring details have been overlooked. I don't necessarily agree with Zappa's subtextual arguments- the conspiratorial theories on AIDS, criticism of the women's liberation movement, etc., but the lyrics are pretty interesting to say the least and there's a lot of great music, albeit some of it buried under the narration. The early experimentation with vocal synthesis is also cool. Let's put it this way: I'd rather listen to The Crab-Grass Baby than anything on Radio K.A.O.S.
Dirty work is to me a great stones record 😊
You have a lot of pure dirt albums there, Barry. Super video presented with aplomb.
I thought 'Tears In Heaven' from earlier in the 90s was the song about EC's sons death.
On pilgrimage he approached it again with his fathers eyes
Actually, the song “Circus” is for his son. And this is the one album on this list I disagree with Barry on. “River Of Tears” and “Brokenhearted” are great tracks along with the aforementioned “Circus”. But, that’s just my opinion.
Bought Hot space in the eighties as a teenager. I wondered why it was so cheap and there were so many in the remainder record shop where I found it. I got it home and discovered the answer to both questions. Only redeeming feature is, it has Under pressure on it
8:50 (WRT Queen's 'Hot Space') "This is the album that the band has described as 'a bit of a mis-step' which is putting it politely ... I think a huge bollock was dropped here, in my opinion". Had a bit of a clean-up to contend with after snorting coffee out of both nostrils there.
As suspected dominated by the 80's.
Yeah, the Eighties were so terrible!
I can’t argue that Thing Fish is a masterpiece, or a seminal record in Zappa’s catalogue but, it does have a few high points (e.g. Brown Moses) and the social and political satire is often very powerful. I rarely sit down and play it beginning to end, but I do listen to a few songs now and then, and it’s not all that bad. Although many isolated exceptions could be identified, I believe there is a general decline in Zappa’s lyrics chronologically, from the 1960s, into the 70s, and the 80s. However, with that said, I think just the opposite is true of his music. The growth and maturation in his instrumental music and the arrangements of his songs was astounding and seemed to be endless.
This is excellent analysis I hadn’t thought of. My gripe with 80s Zappa was the increasing role of the Synclavier weakening (and dating) the impact of some high quality music. For example when I heard Steve Vai play “What’s New In Baltimore” on guitar by himself, I realised it was one of the most beautiful and moving pieces I’d ever heard but on ‘Mothers of Prevention’ it sounds like an arcade machine nattering away to itself.
I've tried with thing fish. Can't do it
Agree. Jagger"s attempted comedy in SNL in the 80s was definitely a low
Had to laugh last year when Jagger praised Trudeau while touring in Canada which drew many boos from the crowd - so he quickly changed the subject to the soccer! 😂
Re. "Dirty Work" - "One Hit to the Body" is one of my favourite Stones tracks!
I'm put off with an album listen but One Hit is a fine Stones track for sure.
even the bad stones albums usually have some great tracks, just not consistent as a whole
To be honest, I have no problem whatsoever with bands making bad records. My problem is that they don’t put warning stickers on them to prevent people from buying them!
Good narrative well put together 😊what's great everyone has a view.
the only one I disagree with you is Hot Space, Under Pressure being my favourite track by them, there were more good songs than bad in my opinion, Las Palabras de Amor, Put Out the Fire, Calling All Girls and Cool Cat come to mind, but it's good that everyone's tastes are different, great channel and thank you.
My favorite queen album, but I dislike under pressure. It was that song that kept me away from the album for so long
I agree about everything, and I love your punchlines! Thanks Barry!
I agree that "Eye of the Zombie" was a big disappointment after "Centerfield". However, I do love the track "Change in the Weather".
Totally agree about Thingfish. Love Zappa but could never get into that one. Agree about Van Halen III. Cherone is a great singer but that album was totally sub-par. Hot Space is completely disposable.
Gary Cherone just wasn't a good fit for VH, nothing more. It's no reflection on his own singing ability, it just wasn't the right sound for that particular band.
I loved that Queen album when it came out but I was 9 years old. I used trace paper to make a poster lol.
Finding anything worthy, if you’re over 12 years old, in Metallica’s back catalogue is a forlorn quest, as far as I’m concerned.
The language use on this review is second to none in terms of making me chuckle.
Normally there are 1 or 2 I don’t really agree Barry but this lot I’m with you 100%
Hobby with a grin is an absolute masterpiece
There were only two good things to come out of Dirty Work: The nice farewell at the end to Ian Stewart, and Mick and Keith decided to cut the crap and get back to work.
I’m surprised by the absence of Elton John’s Victim of Love. It was Elton’s disco album, and it’s easily the worst record he’s ever made. It doesn’t even sound like he was trying.
Too many bad albums from Elton after 1976...dozens of clunkers.
@@Mark-sr3dkI can’t listen to anything after Blue Moves…
@@bob_the_bomb4508 Same thing for me..that was 1976.
He also sounds either half-asleep or stoned throughout that album, especially on his godawful cover of Johnny B. Goode!
It comes instantly to mind whenever someone raises the subject of the worst albums ever made.
Hot Space has an EPs worth of material - cut the disco fluff.
Well-spoken-- thoroughly accurate-- and expectations of superior artists left us wanting... but perfection is rare and fleeting especially in music and deadlines and contracts screw even the brightest stars into obscurity... temporarily ( hopefully!)
I agree with you about Eric Clapton’s “Pilgrim” album. “Pilgrim” is the album that made me question Eric Clapton’s musical directions.
Crackerjack pencil for this one Barry. Thanks for the tip on "Centerfield".
As someone who started with Queen as a 14 year old in 1974, and made them my first gig in 1975 I can definitely day Hot Space is the biggest load of garbage I've ever heard.
Anything after NATO is downhill all the way.
Their best album
I quite like Dirty Work. Several good tunes, Mick has great growl going.
"Yacht Rock with Disco Trappings", that will do me.
I’m a pretty big Fogerty fan so I find a few tracks off Zombie I don’t mind. Too bad it drove him back into exile for years.
I'm a great fan of Fogerty, and have 'Zombie' in my vinyl collection... and I have to agree. It was a massive misstep. Stick to 'old shep' and 'Centerfield'!
I kind of liked "Change in the Weather" (at least it kept with his style)
@@davelightman hadn’t even heard of this album until today, just listened to it and really enjoyed it. Glad I stopped by.
With the exception of Hotspace and the Clapton album, I don't know most of these records, but I enjoyed this because of your humor. I must agree with you regarding Queen- I detested their disco phase, and even though I'm a keyboardist and love prog rock, Brian May probably should have returned to his "no synths" policy.
Calling All Stations by Genesis
Obvious suggestion, but I have been a Genesis-fan for 50 years and I don't think CAS is as bad as some people make it our to be. It's no SEBTP but it's definitely better than some of the 80s stuff they released.
@@premajan CAS is a POS. I tried to like it but it is like the other piece of bread in the Genesis sandwich. The chicken and cheese and pickles are great but the bread slices were horrible.
Which could have been a better album if they included some of the more superior B-sides over some of the "filler" tracks on the finished product. Overall, the album did make me a fan of Ray Wilson.
Somebody open a window!
I'd add Some Time in New York City to the list (ignoring John and Yoko's first three collaborations, obviously).
Yoko's bleatings on "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and
"Don't Worry Kyoko" is pure hell to listen to. It is just pure exploitation of being married to a famous person and thumbing her nose at any criticism and daring anyone to say what it was...just music landfill.
Unflushed floaters!😂
The intro alone is worth quids.
I remember the postman delivering St Anger. I remember me putting the CD in and pressing play. I remember thinking WTF is this! Unlike other albums on this list, I still don’t like St Anger.
I think Van Halen III has an absolute gem on it in Without You
Cracking track!
"Unflushed floaters" 😂 I'm nicking that one...
The Stones haven't put out a decent record since Tattoo You (1981).
i hesitate to call anything past tattoo you a true stones album. keith was creatively checked out after that album because he was fed up with jaggers obsession with trying to make the band sound contemporary. everything since then has been mick jagger solo albums marketed as the rolling stones, each one has gems, just not consistent as a whole. keiths solo work is much better than any stones album post tattoo you
Yeah, kind of agree. I have a soft spot for Steel Wheels and like every Keith song on all Stones albums since Tattoo You but that's about it.
Undercover of the Night is underrated and holds up well, I think.
I loved Tattoo You, great album. I did buy the 45 for Undercover of the Night...loved that single.
@ Actually, yeah I like that one too.
I consider Dirty Work much better. Yes it is full of an 80s sound but the songs hold up well. It is a very good album.
Absolutely agree. Killer album from start to finish.
I left a CD of Van Halen III on top of our trash can, and someone actually took it.
I disagree with Thingfish. The Synclavier underscoring is fantastic and the broadway pastiche towards the end is beautiful. The Mammy Nuns is a great song!
Always loved Hot space and the art work but 82 was a good year for me so that plays a big part . Much prefer it to the Works album
Brilliant baz...I'm not familiar with most of them although I've heard the same from some Queen fans 😂..about hot space..your tone..cracks me up mate ..excellent 👍gaz