I never knew Stormbringer was considered overrated/hated. I discovered that album about 15 years ago and i really enjoy it. Deep Purple Mark iii is certainly underrated in my book.
It's an excellent album. Does it have that reputation because Blackmore didn't like it and people think that it made him leave? That would be my guess for the reasons why.
Haha...I think Stormbringer & Come Taste were my first Purple albums, after I found them both in the cut-out bin...but Stormbringer, Lady Double Dealer & Soldier Of Fortune are worth any price
For Mk2 diehards, Gillan/Glover replaced by Coverdale/Hughes, together with the inevitable change in musical direction was an unforgivable sin, and having Burn and Stormbringer forced on them was the aural equivalent of chewing a wasp. They tend to be a bit precious, that lot, and I still see noses turned up at these albums to this day 😂 For me, the talent level of the Mk3 lineup is off the scale.
I think retrospectives have the element of nostalgia and often means we are able to listen without so much predjudice. I tend to like more now than I used to do. A part of this is an alternative to avoid the digital phoned-in music by numbers production of today.
Regarding "Mother Focus," I had a similar experience, though on a much shorter time scale. My favorite by Focus, too, has always been "Hamburger Concerto." Gods, what a beautiful album! When "Mother Focus" was released, my anticipation was taught, expectations high. So, when I finally heard it I felt utterly let down. I thought Focus had jumped the shark and joined the disco craze. But after a while, I began to notice something--why, if I don't like it, was I playing it so often? Well, the answer must be that I DID like it, as much as I wanted to deny it. But WHY did I like it so much when I had felt let down by it? It comes down to this: It made me feel good. When I let go my expectations, forget it was Focus and everything I thought their music represented to me, I found I really did like it--very much. To this day, it's an album I put on to accentuate and energize my own good mood. I also want to mention just how beautifully it's recorded. "Mother Focus" a sonic, feel good delight. ("Hamburger Concerto" is still my favorite, though.)
Jan Akkerman redid the better songs from this album for some of his solo records, sometimes using different song titles. His versions are much improved compared to those on Mother Focus.
Stormbringer is a fabulous album. As musicians they were firing on all cylinders and touching on lots of genres. I think albums like that were unfairly judged because it simply wasn't noisey or aggressive.
Thanks a lot for this interesting comments. As always: You nailed it. I was not aware about the olive effect - I really do like them. I always kept those sort of albums, which did not set me on fire the first time in my collection. It is well worth to pick them from time to time and to approach them at a different time or different perspective. Some albums do shine then.
It's fun to talk about bad albums! 😃 I agree, there are many albums when I was younger that I never liked, but over time I grew to really appreciate them. As for Yes's "Tormato", that was the first Yes album I bought and I saw them on the tour, so it's always been a great album to me. Regarding Bad Company, fans don't seem to think Burnin' Sky is very good but I loved it right away and it's my favorite album of theirs.
Bennie Helder from Mother Focus remains one of my all-time favourite Focus tracks. I live in hope that one day Thijs will revive it for the current live set like he did with PS March and Focus V. There ARE some really strong tracks amongst the "elevator music" such as No Hang Ups and My Sweetheart. Great video Phil.
An interesting review of some lesser known releases. It was very interesting hearing your thoughts and how they’ve changed over time. I like your ‘olive effect’ turn of phrase! That’s a keeper, which says so much so succinctly. As a completist, I can’t think of many albums I’d put in this bracket. If I love a band, I generally tend to get everything. A corollary of this concept, is bands that I only had one album by. There used to be quite a few of those, in my collection, but much less so as I’ve got older and I’ve expanded my interest as the years have gone by. 🤘😎🤘
Great video. When I talk about favorite bands and favorite albums - and yes, I'll also listen to the less popular albums. I call them "go-to" albums. The ones I actually listen to the most, and those don't always match with "the best". I also do a video called Treasure or Trash, where I investigate one "hated" album at a time and discuss is it as bad as the critics say. This is a fun topic and loved your video, as always.
Phil, you are far too kind to some of these releases, and that goes to show the positive, well rounded gentleman that you are. Thank You for another great video. 👍
Great video Phil! Tormato was my entry point to prog let alone Yes, so I have always loved it. Another one for inclusion in part 2 could be And Then There Were Three, much maligned but my second prog album (another 1978 album too!).
I still pick the olives out of my salad. I don't consider the Wishbone Ash or the Focus olives, however. Hey, you and I have something in common. Purple in '74 was the first concert i attended too. It was March. Savoy Brown opened for them. Was Savoy Brown with them when you saw Purple? Burn is my favorite (studio) album too.
Hi Phil. Fab subject and video! We spoke around 18 months ago about Rough Diamonds, regarding the deluxe reissue that never happened. It's genuinely my fave BC album after Straight Shooter. Kerrang had written that Electricland could move mountains, but the rest of the lp was poor, and I couldn't hear it. Untie the Knot kept the quality going, and so on. The piano parts are perfect for the album - John Cook, the man who played them, has commented on a couple of videos on here. It's very much the same with Zeppelin - LZ2 and In Through the Out Door are my Top 2 Zep studio albums. Carouselambra, Southbound Suarez, I'm Gonna Crawl, Hot Dawg - all worth hearing with new ears. They're as good as In the Evening / All My Love. A funny thing happened with High & Mighty. A schoolmate who loved Uriah Heep bought it after Firefly. "High & Mighty is heavier than Deep Purple," he told me. I think we all hear 'heaviness' differently, but the quality of those songs is inspiring - excellent analogy with Stormbringer. Talking of which, Glenn Hughes says it's his favourite Deep Purple album, and I love it. It's not as EXCITING as Burn, but it's a very interesting album. Emotive too. Regarding Yes, Tormato gets dissed out-of-hand, and the same thing exactly seems to happen to Big Generator. Yes fans are very passionate, of course, but it's hard to work out why those albums disappointed so many. I'm very protective of my favourite Foreigner albums, Agent Provocateur and Inside Information. "Too many keyboards," say many, but those albums also have the heaviest songs the band ever did, like Tooth & Nail and The Beat of My Heart. Sorry this is long!
I have all those in my collection and I think as we get older we tend to listen more intently and probably appreciate them more than we did at the first experience we had listening to them. They are albums that seemed to be were at a time when things were getting fractious and they were probably contractual obligations and not everyone was really wholeheartedly on board just wanted to get the thing done and move on.
The truth is that the "great" albums ain't always that great, and the "bad" albums ain't always that bad. When you love a band, it's not that interesting to listen to their "great" albums all the time, you wanna discover something new and give the other material a chance.
I also love Heep and Purple.The one album I really have a hard time with is Slaves and Masters by Purple just seems like a Rainbow album with JLT singing.I also have grown to like High and Mighty and have really gone to like Return To Fantasy
Great show Phil. I remember swapping my Run to the Hills 7" picture disc for Stormbringer 33 years ago, no regrets. So, between 1987 and 1991 (13 to 17) when I am getting into these bands, some of the albums had a mystique about them (created by older friends), Love Beach and Final Cut were a few of them. Most of the albums back in the day I liked. Never Say Die, I liked parts of, but as I have grown older, I find everthing except the title much better. I've not heard the Bad Company, mainly due to not having an interest in the band itself.
Dear Phil, A very interesting video. I think the 'olive effect' you mention for the listener equally applies to the bands, only they are developing far faster than the listener as they are so immersed in the actual process of producing the music. For example, ELP progression in 5 years might take 25 years for the listener to catch up and fully appreciate what they were doing. Best wishes, Paul
I can relate to everything in this video! You and I are of the same mold. Deep Purple was everything to me in the 70s. I was 12 years old in 1968 When I was given money for my birthday it was off to my neighborhood record store and bought Shades of Deep Purple hot off the press. Since then I was hooked! I will have to say that Mark 1 is my favorite lineup. Uriah Heep was my second favorite group! Even though I live in the Midwest in the US our musical tastes are similar! Keep up the great work on these videos. I watch everyone!
Hi Phil, Regarding the Wishbone entry, Locked In, yes it was a disappointment after There's The Rub. The guitars sounded quite weedy compared to previous efforts. Tom Dowd was brought in specifically to raise the band's profile at that point. However, he had personal issues (it might have been divorce proceedings) which consumed him, hence the dropping of the ball. Played live, some of these tracks take on a different feel. Martin Turner plays whole albums live, including this, and it sounds a lot better. Songs generally weren't as strong, however the Vintage Years version contains both Bad Weather Blues (an often played live song back in the day) plus a previously unreleased song called Chicago Tease. Had both of these appeared on the original album, would they have changed the overall feel? Let's also not forget the disappointment some of us had with Wishbone Four after Argus. Apparently a deliberate attempt not to make Son of Argus. Strange how bands work on occasion.
Love ELP but sorry Love Beach is not what I loved about them. Kind of yes we know the band is over but we owe the record label another album ! sadly time ha not changed my opinion
Hi Phil, happy New Year my friend, personally i've never cared that much for love beach ,BUT, i totally love Brain Salad, i've always been a huge H.R. Giger fan as well as i studied a lot of art etc. even prior to the "Alien" movie coming out in US theaters back in the day, so i totally knew this artist and love his work. AND, i totally agree with your reference to "entry point" into music. all of us usually got into music in our earliest years in school and our peers certainly played a HUGE part in what the "masses" deemed cool and not so cool- so listener beware!! lol... i don't think that changes regardless of where we are from be it the US or the UK and that youthful rebel in all of us at that age is what rock n' roll is all about and is it's essence. that said, i did usually go against the crowd and proudly didn't give a shit then or now, especially as i get older at 57yo.-lolol.. at the end of the day good music is good music and what ever gets you off then go for it!!! we like what we like and there shouldn't be ANY shame in that what so ever, but the world is going to hate anyway- so i respectfully say to them-FPHUCK OFF!! lolol , Your story and reference to DP's Stormbringer i just simply love brother!! maybe a little off topic but i think another great example of that to me would certainly be Sabbath's Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules, man!! back in the day THAT was a VERY serious and major change and the ground shook with the indifference and mind blows to all that is Black Sabbath!!! the original BS hardcores seemed to hate it BUT i along with many at that time and at our age totally welcomed Dio into the BS camp- no part due to us loving him in Rainbow as well, and let's face it, as much of a change as it may have seemed at the time, one can physically feel the new energy and excitement in Dio joining as well as Tony's playing, granted more so in Mob Rules but the same as well for H&H although it's darker in context and production. WOW!! what great days those were!! I hope your and your family are doing well Phil, i always love your content and watch all the time as well as catching you on the other podcasts such as SOT, etc. , i don't comment as much as others due to life and i enjoy being more of an observer than a load mouth. wishing you a great 2025 brother Phil, love the content always!! ,Jerry \m/ \m/
Love Beach isn't ELP's worst album. Love Beach isn't half bad. Check out...""Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman" I like Tormato more than YES's post-2000 output. YES is my favorite band. The Final Cut is two magnitudes below Pink Floyd's previous five albums. That said, I like The Final Cut. There are several great moments. Zeppelin never put out a bad album. Modern bands would die to claim "In Through the Out Door" as their greatest hits album. Never Say Die! Love it. I remember folks having issues with Technical Ecstasy which I also love. I love those albums more now than I did when I was ten.
Great episode, i love Stormbringer, enjoy the variety and Glenn voice really shines, seen this album derided on another channel, but there again that channel also ranked Bon Jovi , and put Bon Jovi debut and 7800 Fahrenheit at the bottom. I still like Queen, Hot Space and Van Halen, Diver Down , its easier just to follow the crowd, but its good to see Phil to go for the underdog
The Final Cut is a fantastic album. I think it was wrongly slated at the time but give it time and it grows on you. Not Now John is the worst song on the album.
ELP - LOVE BEACH CANARIO; Officer & a Gentleman Fine pieces of music; YES : Tormato several great tracks- Silent Wings of Freedom; Wishbone Ash " Locked In: - "Rest in peace" excellent.
Hi Phil, I was working in a record store when Rough Diamond was released. I admit I became a little wary of Bad Company, even though Paul Rodgers is my favourite vocalist of all time. Run With Pack I thought was good but not up to the standard of the first two albums. Burning Sky, apart from the title track, I really thought the wheels were falling off. Desolation Angels for me redeemed everything. It has become my favourite Bad Co album because it has so much swagger. Rough Diamond started with Electric Land, and I thought we were onto another winner. To me it went seriously downhill from there. Like you I have often returned to albums I previously rejected, due to the musical tunnel vision of my youth, and have re assessed them. Unfortunately, Rough Diamond still doesn't make the cut for me. Paul left soon after and it was obvious why.
Good video as always Phil. I must admit I do the same thing. I always tend to reach for the albums from a band that I’ve listened to the least. I love them but I don’t need to hear “The Number Of The Beast” or “Paranoid” etc. ever again. I know those albums inside out and can hear them in my head just by looking at the cover. 🤘🙂
I look at Love Beach as a great pop album. Just like Slaves & masters is a Rainbow album. As far as Tormato, I replaced the front cover with an alternate Roger Dean cover. That mostly fixed the problem.
I always liked The Final Cut and I love it now. Never Say Die- I first heard this album in my teens and loved it then. I still do and now I am able to appreciate the more jazz influenced elements of some of those tracks. I still haven’t warmed up to Stormbringer, though. Guess I’ll have to give it another spin and see how I feel now.
Thanks for this inciteful prog Phil. Made me consider how & why we like certain things. With Zeppelin, the 2nd LP was my entry point & was my favourite for a couple of years. The 1st LP replaced it, and then HOTH overtook it later. ITTOD has been the most played for many years now - maybe it's because it is SO different from what came before? Probably heresy to say, but I quickly lost interest in the 4th LP, and it is my least favourite (not including CODA). I wasn't aware Stormbringer was so disliked, but I can see why. Like Technical Ecstasy & Never Say Die, it was a change from what preceded it, so I guess would have been a big jolt at the time. I have always seen them as bands progressing & trying new things (as artists do). Better that, than regurgitate the same thing over & over again IMHO. For me, Vol 4 through to NSD are my favourite Sabbath LPs, and they alternate in which is my favourite & most often played over time. As regards Deep Purple, Burn & Come Taste The Band are the LPs I play the most these days.
Hallo Phil, at first I thought it's another one of those unnecessary ‘worst’ or ‘most overrated’ lists, but I should have known better that you were making a different video based on your personal experiences and memories of the time you discovered these albums.👍 I turned 16 in 1970 and was lucky enough to start with the first albums of new bands that, as we know, became very famous and whose early albums are now classics ! as you mentioned, at the end 70s came pub rock, punk, new wave and after having 4 to around 6 albums of these great bands of the 70's I was sure to have their best albums and started new experiences with new bands of these following new genres. I only know the album covers of your albums but never listened to but don't regret or miss them, because if you know their early albums and with all due respect, it can't get any better, I think most of us ‘old rockers’ agree with me and besides, there were so many new unknown bands to discover in the golden 70s that I didn't want to miss. I don't want to and can't devalue your albums, everyone feels differently about the albums of their time, as already mentioned at the beginning, memories of your youth play a big role ! have a great weekend, Jogi😊
What I feel is significant about the number of albums you included from 1978, i.e. Love Beach, Tormato and Never Say Die, is that they were, to some extent, a response to the shifting musical landscape in the UK. Whether those bands were completely conscious of the enormity of that shift, I don't know, but it's something that their record companies would have been acutely aware of. Therefore, I suspect the bands faced some record company pressure to reposition themselves within a transformed marketplace. I won't say anything about Love Beach because it's not an album I'm that familiar with. Tormato and Never Say Die I own and are extremely familiar. Where Tormato is concerned, I've always considered it a failure because Yes tried to make too radical a change to the kind of song structures they were used to. With most tracks being short (the success of Wonderous Stories became a bit of a millstone, perhaps), it sounds to me like Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman are fighting, much of the time, for the same space and it gets rather messy. Jon Anderson's lyrics are very patchy too and, in places, a bit cringey. Never Say Die, on the other hand, saw Black Sabbath make some sonic adaptations (you mentioned the guitar sound - there are also other instrumentation differences) without massively changing song structures thus making the album, to my ears, an ambitious response to what was going on around them - it's one of my favourite 3 Black Sabbath albums. Having said that, Air Dance I think of as one of the worst songs Black Sabbath ever recorded - a dog's breakfast.
Me and my mates mostly loved Yes. I’d seen them on the Relayer tour and the Going For The One tour and was verging on obsessed. It was a world of the fantastic, shimmering progressive music, wonderful mysterious lyrics, artwork to feed the imagination. Then someone in school started the rumour that the new Yes album was to be called Yes Tomatoes, and I took that as almost a personal insult. I wanted to punch him on the nose. But then in Sounds the rumour was confirmed and I was distraught. How could they do such a ridiculous thing. As it happened the title wound up slightly different but the damage was done. To this day I still hate that album, and it was the moment the band lost me forever. I still love everything before it, but I never bought another album.
I was 15yo when Rush put out Grace Under Pressure. I was super excited because I had tickets to see the band in San Francisco. I heard the tracks and I loved them but was convinced that my excitement had clouded my judgement. for years, I looked back thinking I had seen Rush at their weakest, probably influenced by the fact that the cool kids had rejected GUP. coming back to it about 7 years ago, I love the album. it's a continuation of the synth-heavy sound from Signals but the brightness is gone, and the mood is darker. I can see why fans turned against them at the time because the Lifeson shred is restrained, the playing is more atmospheric. it wasn't rocking out. but I can enjoy this album even though I can't for the life of me sit through their follow up, Power Windows.
I loved 'The Elder' and 'Never Say Die!' on release. 'Stormbringer' was a swerve, but the musicianship got it over the line, it also has one of Ritchie Blackmore's best solos: 'Soldier of Fortune', a song which in my view is one of Coverdale's best, up there with 'Blindman' and 'Northwinds'.
As a teenager, it was only heavy metal and I only listened to NWOBHM.. everything else was sh*t and you just didn't give it a chance. Luckily as I grew older I started appreciating other genres such as prog and jazz and though I still like heavy metal I like many other genres as well. You mentioned A-ha. It was not on for teenage rockers to like A-ha, but today I got to listen to a collection of their songs and they are/were good!!! Today as a 57-year old, I just say I like music....
A-ha were my favourite band for almost 20 years, from the late 90's to 2017 or so. Along with some jazz and classical music. And now I've returned to deep purple, the love of my teenage years. 🙂
I always liked the Final Cut and still play it often along with Obscured By Clouds! I love these Pink Floyd albums!I am a massive Roy Wood fan ! I remember buying the Roy Wood Wizzo Band album and being confused by it!I came back to it 20 years later and I got it then! A really great album and so underrated!Sometimes when your young you are not equipped to appreciate something and the more you get exposed to music you get to like it!
3/10 of these I've got some love for! Those being In Through the Out Door, Stormbringer, and Never Say Die! That last one is probably the Sabbath album I've gotten to know the most, since I just found it so weird compared to everything else in the discography...
I first heard Mother Focus, when i bought that big boxset (Focus 1970-1976) And i didnt expect anything at all ( Ive read dreadful reviews though) - And i quite enjoy it. Yes Tormato, Ive always enjoyed, and i prefer it to anything they did after, even Drama ;) Thanks NSM ! Keep em Coming !
I could facetiously say "I still don't like Olives" 😁 but it shows we all hear things individually. Of the albums here I am familiar with I would say Stormbringer is by far my favourite but I do remember at the time, which was around 5-6 years after it's release, I was told it wasn't worth listening to. This did get me thinking though if there was a show in albums with good songs that were less well received due to poor production? One that immediately comes to mind is UFO - No Place to Run and you could throw Sabbath Born Again in there too. I would finally add there is nothing wrong with saying something is "less good" as it keeps things real.
The Final Cut is one of the most underrated albums by anyone, personally think it’s great and did from the 1st time I heard it on release. Saw the Wall in 81 at Earls Court London , still the best thing I’ve ever seen live and seen lots of bands both large and small over the years since 1981 .
love beach i think straightaway the cover makes the wrong impression the only ELP album i don;t have, Yes Tormato always see so many copies in the cheap and secondhand buckets
Phil, I know I disagreed with you about Cats in Space, but to me this is probably your best upload you have done...I can relate to everything you have said here. Indeed you are Jack Hargreaves of Out of Town fame of the music video honestly and reflectiveness. Out of interest have you listened to Cardinal Black the best Welsh band since Badfinger.
Yes - I have the vinyl ofTormato - the only thing I like about it is the album cover signed by Squire, Wakeman, Anderson & Howe _ Sydney tour Sept 2003.
I think Love Beach’s reputation is extremely unfair. I watch every ‘prog’ channel and it’s always bashed. One thing that nobody ever adds into the mix , primarily because they’re too young and weren’t there, is context. At the time this to a ‘dyed in the wool’ progger was a breath of fresh air, compared to the new wave and punk junk that we were being fed. Side two is amazing.
Totaly agree love beach in context after the works albums was less self indulgent i prefer to listen to this than most of works regarding the cover elp were very successful and were millionaires and they look like millionaires on the front of the album cover
Good comments Phil, I've watched many "ranking" vids and Jethro Tull's "Under Wraps" and Black Sabb's "Forbidden" , always are on the bottom. I personally think that they are brilliant albums along with Never Say.. and Tech. Ecst. I remember buying "tormato" when it came out, and quickly traded it in...I really never cared for ELP , but they are/were great players (love Greg's voice).
I've always been open minded and can't say my head has been turned by these retrospectives, but I like a lot of old pop music that at the time I didn't give much time for. Again, a nostalgia type thing.
I loved Stormbringer when I first heard it as a 14-year-old. The Final Cut has always been a masterpiece for me. Love Beech is terrible, even today. Locked In is horrible,and today, it is awful. Never Say Die is brilliant.I always loved that album. Great show, Phil.
Can't find anything relevant about The Olive Effect...would you mind an explaination? As usual, I agree with almost everything you say...we part on Nostradamus! I've only listened to it twice! Wud you mind giving a couple of your favorites besides 'Alone'? And yes, I have great affection for Stormbringer, Rough Diamonds & The Final Cut. I think it was in Kerrang where the reviewer of the Final Cut said paraphrasing ,"You may not like it now, but one day, you'll think it's a masterpiece.". And now I do. Cheers
The ELP album cover for "Love Beach" looked like either a Bee Gee's or America release from the Hollywood people who brought to the masses in the States, the "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" Saturday night TV shows!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...Stormbringer and Never Say Die have always been some of my all time favourite albums, Stormbringer might be in my Top 5 fav albums ever. I also like Tormato quite a lot, much better imo than Tales and Going or Drama. Same for The Elder, awesome album if you ask me. Except for The Final Cut, I like all those albums. But then again I'm not a fan of The Wall and Roger Waters in general. I would also add to the list of albums generally hated that I LOVE: Queen-Hot Space, Uriah Heep-Conquest (it's a GREAT record!), Rush-Presto.
Great overview of these much-maligned albums. I've experienced a similar evolution with olives and many previously disregarded albums as well. So Phil, with your kind permission, I'm going to add "The Olive Effect" to my music related vocabulary. 🫒 Take care!
The problem for me about Love Beach is the cover. Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman is an excellent piece of work. The cover of In the Hot Seat, for me, is much better but the music on that album suits the cover of Love Beach better.
Interesting. I get what you mean about digging out the less popular albums because the others are so well trod. It's almost as if you want less familiar tracks as they approach "new" tracks by favourite bands. Not the same (but similar) but I'm ploughing through my Jan Akkerman box sets and enjoying some CDs I'd barely heard. Heartwave and Blues Hearts stood out recently. I've still never heard Love Beach but remember my university contemporaries slating it. I wasn't as enamoured with most ELP as those guys anyway. I wonder if some of these bands tried a different approach because of punk. It seemed to have worked for Genesis and "And then there were three". Who knows? I was late discovering Led Zeppelin. I was in 6th form in 76/77 when someone recommended them. I binge bought & listened to their output and so there wasn't a big gap until "In through the Out Door" was released with all the hype. I thought it was okay, but preferred the first six albums. Presence wasn't heard as much but I like it more each time I (rarely) play it. Mother Focus is different certainly. Moving Waves and Hamburger Concerto are still my favourites - but I treat their output like different meals. The aforementioned pair are still a good feed. Mother Focus is a tasty salad. I still find parts of Focus 3 heavy going - like over-indulging good food. As such, the entire Focus catalogue is dependent upon what I fancy eating! I'm thankful that the menu is still increasing with Focus XII... Technical Ecstasy was the first new album I bought by Black Sabbath and I still like it. Prior to that I'd bought Black Sabbath and Master of Reality secondhand (my schoolmate owned the former and I knew I'd get it one day). Although I have albums by most of the bands you mentioned, I don't possess all their recordings so cannot comment on everything.
I don't know if it was Hensley's ego.I read a long time ago that Bron wanted Hensley to write everything and try and write another hit like Easy Livin' I thought at the time they need to get of this guy because Heep was always an album band
Stormbringer - 9.5/10 Rough Diamonds 6.5/10 in comparison with their other efforts is weak. Still has some great songs. Final Cut - 8.5/10 Tormato - 8.5/10 Loaded - 7/10 In Through The Out Door 8.5/10, if it was made by another band we would've talk of a masterpiece. But for Led Zeppelin is just a great solid album, and I'm a huge huge fan of Led Zep. My most beloved band. Never Say Die - 8.5/10 High & Mighty - 7/10 Mother Focus - 7/10 The Elder - 8/10 Nostradamus 10/10. A Masterpiece by JP. Love beach (I have never heard it, just one track...so i don't have an opinion.
I know what I'm about to say sounds like sacrilege to the most fanatical, but the truth is that I LOVE EVERYTHING LED ZEPPELIN HAS DONE UP TO THE V ALBUM (Yes, I call “Houses of the Holly” the V album). But I can't like the albums that come after. I've tried, but I can't. With the exception of CODA, I LOVE CODA, for me this is Led Zeppelin's true garage album (a similar feeling to the one I have about Led I ). I love Deep Purple's Stormbringer, I've never considered it “overrated”.
@@jimmycampbell78: I kind of see his point there. The great songs on Physical Graffiti are exceptional, but the lesser songs I never play - Boogie with Stu sounds like a halfhearted rehearsal, I don't "get" Down by the Seaside, and Sick Again is turgid. Every song on Coda is entertaining, though.
Love Beach is an excellent album and you hit both problems here - 1. Godawful cover (particularly for 1978) 2. Tracklisting, I suspect record company tinkering trying to get all the commercial stuff up front when fans wanted Memoirs style
Hi Phil, only my humble Opinion: I have " The Final Cut " over anything that was done by Floyd without Waters and I don't need to think a Second about it ! And I love " Black Sabbath " Never Say Die, a lot 🙂
Excellent! Stormbringer is definitely the bottom of Hughes/Cloverdale Dp lps but has its moments. I agree completely for Never Say Die! If you can move beyond the fact is not the simple bludgeoning of Master of reality nor the Angelic arrangements of Sabbath bloody sabbath its a very creative & rocking lp, love the intensity of Ozzy on Johnny Blade & Bill Ward delivering alot of emotion on Swinging the chain.
Phil, this is your coup d'etat against expectation, the futility of not accepting that artists can change. Sometimes we dont get it when the music is a reflection of their reality and not ours. My favourite bands all became unrecognizable from first to last albums but I was there for the ride
Mother Focus - never really disliked this album though it wasn't as good as those that came before it. It is the type of music you would probably hear in a restaurant where the lights are dimmed. Thunderbox Humble Pie. Hated this album when it came out but the olive effect I guess kicked in later on and I've grown to like it. Reminds me I must try and get a better copy sometime soon!
Not sure Stormbringer has a place here Phil. Slaves and Masters yes. Bananas yes. Locked in is a lemon of an album. In through wouldn’t have been successful if performed by another band. Really interesting video Phil. Cheers, Chris
YES are in my top five bands ever, but I prefer Tormato over Going for the one. The last few decades I'm reaching for tormado far more. Not sure why. maybe it's because it more in your face and fun.
Thanks for the list. The cover of Love Beach did them in, as you noted. The music wasn’t too bad but definitely a come down from their previous albums. Tormato is the same. I saw the tour in the round and the songs live were better. The Final Cut had Not Now John and Two Suns in the Sunset and not much else. Same with Sabbath, these albums came after great runs and the albums are weak in comparison. Rock on!
I quite liked The Final Cut from the start, though I understand the view of it as a Waters solo album, just as A Momentary Laps was a Gilmour solo album. In fact, I like Final Cut better than Momentary Lapse. I'm not a huge Zeppelin fan, but I don't think In Through the Out Door is any worse than the others, and much better than some. I've always liked Stormbringer, and in fact I think it was one of Purple's best albums (and better than the other Mark III albums). Being in the band held back Coverdale's worst lyrical tendencies, and I didn't mind the funk aspect. (Though Hughes is irritating as ever.) I was probably helped by being exposed to Taliesin, Machine Head, and Stormbringer all at the same time (about the time Stormbringer came out), so I saw the band as very broad-based.. Never Say Die, on the other hand, is pretty bad. For that matter, I "didn't get" Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath, but Technical Ecstasy is underrated.
The only bad thing about “Mother Focus” is the cover. What were they thinking.😀 The production is a bit “James Last” but it suits the content . Beautiful rounded sound. Great movement, melody and humour. “Who do we think we are” is usually the choice for Purple. They were reverting to what they can do instinctively because they were in crisis. Gets better and better with each passing year just because no band can match the chemistry of Purple mark ii. They just sound great together. And of course the answer to the question (with no question mark) … WDWTWA .. The best rock band on 🌍 that’s who! .. and in the coming year outsold every artist globally .. then fell apart… then made one of their best albums with 2 new members.
Queen - Hot Space. Utter garbage (apart from Under Pressure) when it came out and my perception has not changed 40 plus years later. No olive effect there. I'm 55 and really dislike olives - though my partner loves them. We both like marmite. I think the passage of time and nostalgia does help us appreciate a lot of things we couldn't appreciate in our youth.
In Through The Out Door was a great album. I understand why it upset your hardcore, but if you're listening to different genres and artists, to hate this album is to be myopic. Yes, I'm staking my claim here. Anyone is free to debate me on this.
I never knew Stormbringer was considered overrated/hated. I discovered that album about 15 years ago and i really enjoy it. Deep Purple Mark iii is certainly underrated in my book.
Coverdale singing Soldier of Fortune is sublime and worth buying the album for on its own
It's an excellent album. Does it have that reputation because Blackmore didn't like it and people think that it made him leave? That would be my guess for the reasons why.
Haha...I think Stormbringer & Come Taste were my first Purple albums, after I found them both in the cut-out bin...but Stormbringer, Lady Double Dealer & Soldier Of Fortune are worth any price
For Mk2 diehards, Gillan/Glover replaced by Coverdale/Hughes, together with the inevitable change in musical direction was an unforgivable sin, and having Burn and Stormbringer forced on them was the aural equivalent of chewing a wasp. They tend to be a bit precious, that lot, and I still see noses turned up at these albums to this day 😂 For me, the talent level of the Mk3 lineup is off the scale.
I saw Yes on the Tormato tour ‘in the round’ at Wembley, absolutely brilliant, so the album is fine by me!
I think retrospectives have the element of nostalgia and often means we are able to listen without so much predjudice. I tend to like more now than I used to do. A part of this is an alternative to avoid the digital phoned-in music by numbers production of today.
Another awesome episode with your best and worst albums lists
that you had in your music collection thanks again Phil.🎶📻🎶
Glad you enjoyed it
Regarding "Mother Focus," I had a similar experience, though on a much shorter time scale. My favorite by Focus, too, has always been "Hamburger Concerto." Gods, what a beautiful album! When "Mother Focus" was released, my anticipation was taught, expectations high. So, when I finally heard it I felt utterly let down. I thought Focus had jumped the shark and joined the disco craze. But after a while, I began to notice something--why, if I don't like it, was I playing it so often? Well, the answer must be that I DID like it, as much as I wanted to deny it. But WHY did I like it so much when I had felt let down by it? It comes down to this: It made me feel good. When I let go my expectations, forget it was Focus and everything I thought their music represented to me, I found I really did like it--very much. To this day, it's an album I put on to accentuate and energize my own good mood. I also want to mention just how beautifully it's recorded. "Mother Focus" a sonic, feel good delight. ("Hamburger Concerto" is still my favorite, though.)
Loved that! Thank you for sharing, very relatable - Phil
Jan Akkerman redid the better songs from this album for some of his solo records, sometimes using different song titles. His versions are much improved compared to those on Mother Focus.
Stormbringer is a fabulous album. As musicians they were firing on all cylinders and touching on lots of genres. I think albums like that were unfairly judged because it simply wasn't noisey or aggressive.
Thanks a lot for this interesting comments. As always: You nailed it. I was not aware about the olive effect - I really do like them. I always kept those sort of albums, which did not set me on fire the first time in my collection. It is well worth to pick them from time to time and to approach them at a different time or different perspective. Some albums do shine then.
It's fun to talk about bad albums! 😃 I agree, there are many albums when I was younger that I never liked, but over time I grew to really appreciate them. As for Yes's "Tormato", that was the first Yes album I bought and I saw them on the tour, so it's always been a great album to me. Regarding Bad Company, fans don't seem to think Burnin' Sky is very good but I loved it right away and it's my favorite album of theirs.
Bennie Helder from Mother Focus remains one of my all-time favourite Focus tracks. I live in hope that one day Thijs will revive it for the current live set like he did with PS March and Focus V. There ARE some really strong tracks amongst the "elevator music" such as No Hang Ups and My Sweetheart. Great video Phil.
Hmmm…
Both Never Say Die and Technical Ecstasy are being revisited in a more positive light in recent years. I’ve always liked Never Say Die TBH
I think Technical Ecstasy is fantastic. No, it's not the early doomy Sabbath. It's a great 70s rock album though.
An interesting review of some lesser known releases. It was very interesting hearing your thoughts and how they’ve changed over time. I like your ‘olive effect’ turn of phrase! That’s a keeper, which says so much so succinctly.
As a completist, I can’t think of many albums I’d put in this bracket. If I love a band, I generally tend to get everything.
A corollary of this concept, is bands that I only had one album by. There used to be quite a few of those, in my collection, but much less so as I’ve got older and I’ve expanded my interest as the years have gone by.
🤘😎🤘
Great video. When I talk about favorite bands and favorite albums - and yes, I'll also listen to the less popular albums. I call them "go-to" albums. The ones I actually listen to the most, and those don't always match with "the best". I also do a video called Treasure or Trash, where I investigate one "hated" album at a time and discuss is it as bad as the critics say. This is a fun topic and loved your video, as always.
Awesome video as always Phil. No one can articulate the love for music better then you:)
Phil, you are far too kind to some of these releases, and that goes to show the positive, well rounded gentleman that you are. Thank You for another great video. 👍
Thank you 🙏
Great video Phil! Tormato was my entry point to prog let alone Yes, so I have always loved it. Another one for inclusion in part 2 could be And Then There Were Three, much maligned but my second prog album (another 1978 album too!).
Some I might visit, had to play again as we had a power cut as you were chatting!
Hi Phil loved the video. Stormbringer is probably one of my favourite DP albums
I still pick the olives out of my salad. I don't consider the Wishbone Ash or the Focus olives, however. Hey, you and I have something in common. Purple in '74 was the first concert i attended too. It was March. Savoy Brown opened for them. Was Savoy Brown with them when you saw Purple? Burn is my favorite (studio) album too.
Hi Phil. Fab subject and video! We spoke around 18 months ago about Rough Diamonds, regarding the deluxe reissue that never happened. It's genuinely my fave BC album after Straight Shooter. Kerrang had written that Electricland could move mountains, but the rest of the lp was poor, and I couldn't hear it. Untie the Knot kept the quality going, and so on. The piano parts are perfect for the album - John Cook, the man who played them, has commented on a couple of videos on here.
It's very much the same with Zeppelin - LZ2 and In Through the Out Door are my Top 2 Zep studio albums. Carouselambra, Southbound Suarez, I'm Gonna Crawl, Hot Dawg - all worth hearing with new ears. They're as good as In the Evening / All My Love.
A funny thing happened with High & Mighty. A schoolmate who loved Uriah Heep bought it after Firefly. "High & Mighty is heavier than Deep Purple," he told me. I think we all hear 'heaviness' differently, but the quality of those songs is inspiring - excellent analogy with Stormbringer. Talking of which, Glenn Hughes says it's his favourite Deep Purple album, and I love it. It's not as EXCITING as Burn, but it's a very interesting album. Emotive too.
Regarding Yes, Tormato gets dissed out-of-hand, and the same thing exactly seems to happen to Big Generator. Yes fans are very passionate, of course, but it's hard to work out why those albums disappointed so many.
I'm very protective of my favourite Foreigner albums, Agent Provocateur and Inside Information. "Too many keyboards," say many, but those albums also have the heaviest songs the band ever did, like Tooth & Nail and The Beat of My Heart.
Sorry this is long!
As a bass player i absolute love the stormbringer album ,you should buy the anniversy album with the extra takes on the second vinyl
I have all those in my collection and I think as we get older we tend to listen more intently and probably appreciate them more than we did at the first experience we had listening to them. They are albums that seemed to be were at a time when things were getting fractious and they were probably contractual obligations and not everyone was really wholeheartedly on board just wanted to get the thing done and move on.
The truth is that the "great" albums ain't always that great, and the "bad" albums ain't always that bad.
When you love a band, it's not that interesting to listen to their "great" albums all the time, you wanna discover something new and give the other material a chance.
Very true indeed - thank you for watching
I also love Heep and Purple.The one album I really have a hard time with is Slaves and Masters by Purple just seems like a Rainbow album with JLT singing.I also have grown to like High and Mighty and have really gone to like Return To Fantasy
Great show Phil. I remember swapping my Run to the Hills 7" picture disc for Stormbringer 33 years ago, no regrets. So, between 1987 and 1991 (13 to 17) when I am getting into these bands, some of the albums had a mystique about them (created by older friends), Love Beach and Final Cut were a few of them. Most of the albums back in the day I liked. Never Say Die, I liked parts of, but as I have grown older, I find everthing except the title much better. I've not heard the Bad Company, mainly due to not having an interest in the band itself.
I love "Drama" from Yes, thats always has been controversial among my friends
Drama is one of my favorite Yes albums honestly!
Yes, great album. Tommy Vance loved it. It took longer for me to get into it, but now it's one of my faves.
Dear Phil, A very interesting video. I think the 'olive effect' you mention for the listener equally applies to the bands, only they are developing far faster than the listener as they are so immersed in the actual process of producing the music. For example, ELP progression in 5 years might take 25 years for the listener to catch up and fully appreciate what they were doing. Best wishes, Paul
I can relate to everything in this video! You and I are of the same mold. Deep Purple was everything to me in the 70s. I was 12 years old in 1968 When I was given money for my birthday it was off to my neighborhood record store and bought Shades of Deep Purple hot off the press. Since then I was hooked! I will have to say that Mark 1 is my favorite lineup. Uriah Heep was my second favorite group! Even though I live in the Midwest in the US our musical tastes are similar! Keep up the great work on these videos. I watch everyone!
Hi Phil, Regarding the Wishbone entry, Locked In, yes it was a disappointment after There's The Rub. The guitars sounded quite weedy compared to previous efforts. Tom Dowd was brought in specifically to raise the band's profile at that point. However, he had personal issues (it might have been divorce proceedings) which consumed him, hence the dropping of the ball. Played live, some of these tracks take on a different feel. Martin Turner plays whole albums live, including this, and it sounds a lot better. Songs generally weren't as strong, however the Vintage Years version contains both Bad Weather Blues (an often played live song back in the day) plus a previously unreleased song called Chicago Tease. Had both of these appeared on the original album, would they have changed the overall feel? Let's also not forget the disappointment some of us had with Wishbone Four after Argus. Apparently a deliberate attempt not to make Son of Argus. Strange how bands work on occasion.
Love ELP but sorry Love Beach is not what I loved about them. Kind of yes we know the band is over but we owe the record label another album ! sadly time ha not changed my opinion
Agreed
Hi Phil, happy New Year my friend, personally i've never cared that much for love beach ,BUT, i totally love Brain Salad, i've always been a huge H.R. Giger fan as well as i studied a lot of art etc. even prior to the "Alien" movie coming out in US theaters back in the day, so i totally knew this artist and love his work. AND, i totally agree with your reference to "entry point" into music. all of us usually got into music in our earliest years in school and our peers certainly played a HUGE part in what the "masses" deemed cool and not so cool- so listener beware!! lol... i don't think that changes regardless of where we are from be it the US or the UK and that youthful rebel in all of us at that age is what rock n' roll is all about and is it's essence. that said, i did usually go against the crowd and proudly didn't give a shit then or now, especially as i get older at 57yo.-lolol.. at the end of the day good music is good music and what ever gets you off then go for it!!! we like what we like and there shouldn't be ANY shame in that what so ever, but the world is going to hate anyway- so i respectfully say to them-FPHUCK OFF!! lolol ,
Your story and reference to DP's Stormbringer i just simply love brother!! maybe a little off topic but i think another great example of that to me would certainly be Sabbath's Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules, man!! back in the day THAT was a VERY serious and major change and the ground shook with the indifference and mind blows to all that is Black Sabbath!!! the original BS hardcores seemed to hate it BUT i along with many at that time and at our age totally welcomed Dio into the BS camp- no part due to us loving him in Rainbow as well, and let's face it, as much of a change as it may have seemed at the time, one can physically feel the new energy and excitement in Dio joining as well as Tony's playing, granted more so in Mob Rules but the same as well for H&H although it's darker in context and production. WOW!! what great days those were!!
I hope your and your family are doing well Phil, i always love your content and watch all the time as well as catching you on the other podcasts such as SOT, etc. , i don't comment as much as others due to life and i enjoy being more of an observer than a load mouth. wishing you a great 2025 brother Phil, love the content always!! ,Jerry \m/ \m/
Love Beach isn't ELP's worst album. Love Beach isn't half bad. Check out...""Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman"
I like Tormato more than YES's post-2000 output. YES is my favorite band.
The Final Cut is two magnitudes below Pink Floyd's previous five albums. That said, I like The Final Cut. There are several great moments.
Zeppelin never put out a bad album. Modern bands would die to claim "In Through the Out Door" as their greatest hits album.
Never Say Die! Love it. I remember folks having issues with Technical Ecstasy which I also love. I love those albums more now than I did when I was ten.
Great episode, i love Stormbringer, enjoy the variety and Glenn voice really shines, seen this album derided on another channel, but there again that channel also ranked Bon Jovi , and put Bon Jovi debut and 7800 Fahrenheit at the bottom. I still like Queen, Hot Space and Van Halen, Diver Down , its easier just to follow the crowd, but its good to see Phil to go for the underdog
The Final Cut is a fantastic album. I think it was wrongly slated at the time but give it time and it grows on you. Not Now John is the worst song on the album.
ELP - LOVE BEACH
CANARIO; Officer & a Gentleman
Fine pieces of music;
YES : Tormato several great tracks-
Silent Wings of Freedom;
Wishbone Ash " Locked In:
- "Rest in peace" excellent.
Mother Focus was ideal music to study by when I was in college. I had it on 8-track and would let it loop as I studied. I still enjoy it.
Hi Phil, I was working in a record store when Rough Diamond was released. I admit I became a little wary of Bad Company, even though Paul Rodgers is my favourite vocalist of all time. Run With Pack I thought was good but not up to the standard of the first two albums. Burning Sky, apart from the title track, I really thought the wheels were falling off. Desolation Angels for me redeemed everything. It has become my favourite Bad Co album because it has so much swagger. Rough Diamond started with Electric Land, and I thought we were onto another winner. To me it went seriously downhill from there. Like you I have often returned to albums I previously rejected, due to the musical tunnel vision of my youth, and have re assessed them. Unfortunately, Rough Diamond still doesn't make the cut for me. Paul left soon after and it was obvious why.
great show! ty Phil
Good video as always Phil. I must admit I do the same thing. I always tend to reach for the albums from a band that I’ve listened to the least. I love them but I don’t need to hear “The Number Of The Beast” or “Paranoid” etc. ever again. I know those albums inside out and can hear them in my head just by looking at the cover. 🤘🙂
Great episode, Phil!
I look at Love Beach as a great pop album. Just like Slaves & masters is a Rainbow album. As far as Tormato, I replaced the front cover with an alternate Roger Dean cover. That mostly fixed the problem.
I always liked The Final Cut and I love it now. Never Say Die- I first heard this album in my teens and loved it then. I still do and now I am able to appreciate the more jazz influenced elements of some of those tracks. I still haven’t warmed up to Stormbringer, though. Guess I’ll have to give it another spin and see how I feel now.
Thanks for this inciteful prog Phil. Made me consider how & why we like certain things. With Zeppelin, the 2nd LP was my entry point & was my favourite for a couple of years. The 1st LP replaced it, and then HOTH overtook it later. ITTOD has been the most played for many years now - maybe it's because it is SO different from what came before? Probably heresy to say, but I quickly lost interest in the 4th LP, and it is my least favourite (not including CODA). I wasn't aware Stormbringer was so disliked, but I can see why. Like Technical Ecstasy & Never Say Die, it was a change from what preceded it, so I guess would have been a big jolt at the time. I have always seen them as bands progressing & trying new things (as artists do). Better that, than regurgitate the same thing over & over again IMHO. For me, Vol 4 through to NSD are my favourite Sabbath LPs, and they alternate in which is my favourite & most often played over time. As regards Deep Purple, Burn & Come Taste The Band are the LPs I play the most these days.
Hallo Phil, at first I thought it's another one of those unnecessary ‘worst’ or ‘most overrated’ lists, but I should have known better that you were making a different video based on your personal experiences and memories of the time you discovered these albums.👍
I turned 16 in 1970 and was lucky enough to start with the first albums of new bands that, as we know, became very famous and whose early albums are now classics !
as you mentioned, at the end 70s came pub rock, punk, new wave and after having 4 to around 6 albums of these great bands of the 70's I was sure to have their best albums and started new experiences with new bands of these following new genres. I only know the album covers of your albums but never listened to but don't regret or miss them, because if you know their early albums and with all due respect, it can't get any better, I think most of us ‘old rockers’ agree with me and besides, there were so many new unknown bands to discover in the golden 70s that I didn't want to miss.
I don't want to and can't devalue your albums, everyone feels differently about the albums of their time, as already mentioned at the beginning, memories of your youth play a big role !
have a great weekend, Jogi😊
Hi Jogi, very true, the music your hear in your formative years never leaves you - Phil
What I feel is significant about the number of albums you included from 1978, i.e. Love Beach, Tormato and Never Say Die, is that they were, to some extent, a response to the shifting musical landscape in the UK. Whether those bands were completely conscious of the enormity of that shift, I don't know, but it's something that their record companies would have been acutely aware of. Therefore, I suspect the bands faced some record company pressure to reposition themselves within a transformed marketplace. I won't say anything about Love Beach because it's not an album I'm that familiar with. Tormato and Never Say Die I own and are extremely familiar. Where Tormato is concerned, I've always considered it a failure because Yes tried to make too radical a change to the kind of song structures they were used to. With most tracks being short (the success of Wonderous Stories became a bit of a millstone, perhaps), it sounds to me like Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman are fighting, much of the time, for the same space and it gets rather messy. Jon Anderson's lyrics are very patchy too and, in places, a bit cringey. Never Say Die, on the other hand, saw Black Sabbath make some sonic adaptations (you mentioned the guitar sound - there are also other instrumentation differences) without massively changing song structures thus making the album, to my ears, an ambitious response to what was going on around them - it's one of my favourite 3 Black Sabbath albums. Having said that, Air Dance I think of as one of the worst songs Black Sabbath ever recorded - a dog's breakfast.
Me and my mates mostly loved Yes.
I’d seen them on the Relayer tour and the Going For The One tour and was verging on obsessed.
It was a world of the fantastic, shimmering progressive music, wonderful mysterious lyrics, artwork to feed the imagination.
Then someone in school started the rumour that the new Yes album was to be called Yes Tomatoes, and I took that as almost a personal insult.
I wanted to punch him on the nose.
But then in Sounds the rumour was confirmed and I was distraught.
How could they do such a ridiculous thing.
As it happened the title wound up slightly different but the damage was done.
To this day I still hate that album, and it was the moment the band lost me forever.
I still love everything before it, but I never bought another album.
I was 15yo when Rush put out Grace Under Pressure. I was super excited because I had tickets to see the band in San Francisco. I heard the tracks and I loved them but was convinced that my excitement had clouded my judgement. for years, I looked back thinking I had seen Rush at their weakest, probably influenced by the fact that the cool kids had rejected GUP. coming back to it about 7 years ago, I love the album. it's a continuation of the synth-heavy sound from Signals but the brightness is gone, and the mood is darker. I can see why fans turned against them at the time because the Lifeson shred is restrained, the playing is more atmospheric. it wasn't rocking out. but I can enjoy this album even though I can't for the life of me sit through their follow up, Power Windows.
Raven-The Pack is Back comes to mind for me.Love that record as "Wimpy" and "Sell Out" as it was!
I loved 'The Elder' and 'Never Say Die!' on release. 'Stormbringer' was a swerve, but the musicianship got it over the line, it also has one of Ritchie Blackmore's best solos: 'Soldier of Fortune', a song which in my view is one of Coverdale's best, up there with 'Blindman' and 'Northwinds'.
As a teenager, it was only heavy metal and I only listened to NWOBHM.. everything else was sh*t and you just didn't give it a chance. Luckily as I grew older I started appreciating other genres such as prog and jazz and though I still like heavy metal I like many other genres as well. You mentioned A-ha. It was not on for teenage rockers to like A-ha, but today I got to listen to a collection of their songs and they are/were good!!! Today as a 57-year old, I just say I like music....
A-ha were my favourite band for almost 20 years, from the late 90's to 2017 or so. Along with some jazz and classical music. And now I've returned to deep purple, the love of my teenage years. 🙂
I would have never purchased Technical Ecstasy or Never Say Die if it wasn't for Phil. I like Never Say Die and I LOVE Technical Ecstasy.
absolutely!
The Yes album tormato was my first album with Yes and I liked it, if anyone says that an album is bad I always want to Listning to it
I always liked the Final Cut and still play it often along with Obscured By Clouds! I love these Pink Floyd albums!I am a massive Roy Wood fan ! I remember buying the Roy Wood Wizzo Band album and being confused by it!I came back to it 20 years later and I got it then! A really great album and so underrated!Sometimes when your young you are not equipped to appreciate something and the more you get exposed to music you get to like it!
3/10 of these I've got some love for! Those being In Through the Out Door, Stormbringer, and Never Say Die! That last one is probably the Sabbath album I've gotten to know the most, since I just found it so weird compared to everything else in the discography...
I first heard Mother Focus, when i bought that big boxset (Focus 1970-1976) And i didnt expect anything at all ( Ive read dreadful reviews though) - And i quite enjoy it. Yes Tormato, Ive always enjoyed, and i prefer it to anything they did after, even Drama ;) Thanks NSM ! Keep em Coming !
Thank you 🙏
Saw Focus not so long ago. They did Focus 4 off that album. Had a bit of grit to it. Superb
I could facetiously say "I still don't like Olives" 😁 but it shows we all hear things individually. Of the albums here I am familiar with I would say Stormbringer is by far my favourite but I do remember at the time, which was around 5-6 years after it's release, I was told it wasn't worth listening to. This did get me thinking though if there was a show in albums with good songs that were less well received due to poor production? One that immediately comes to mind is UFO - No Place to Run and you could throw Sabbath Born Again in there too. I would finally add there is nothing wrong with saying something is "less good" as it keeps things real.
The Final Cut is one of the most underrated albums by anyone, personally think it’s great and did from the 1st time I heard it on release. Saw the Wall in 81 at Earls Court London , still the best thing I’ve ever seen live and seen lots of bands both large and small over the years since 1981 .
No Genesis? Calling All Stations surely deserves attention. In my opinion their best album since Abacab but I am in a small minority.
I just bought Tormado on vinyl for £5 and I have completely changed my mind on Pink Floyds The Final Cut.
I still cant get into In through the outdoor. It was my worst zep album in 79 and it still is.
love beach i think straightaway the cover makes the wrong impression the only ELP album i don;t have, Yes Tormato always see so many copies in the cheap and secondhand buckets
Phil, I know I disagreed with you about Cats in Space, but to me this is probably your best upload you have done...I can relate to everything you have said here. Indeed you are Jack Hargreaves of Out of Town fame of the music video honestly and reflectiveness. Out of interest have you listened to Cardinal Black the best Welsh band since Badfinger.
Hi Mark, thank you so much !
I have never heard Love Beach. After Works I never listened to them at all. I still love everything up to BSS and the live album.
Yes - I have the vinyl ofTormato - the only thing I like about it is the album cover signed by Squire, Wakeman, Anderson & Howe _ Sydney tour Sept 2003.
I think Love Beach’s reputation is extremely unfair. I watch every ‘prog’ channel and it’s always bashed. One thing that nobody ever adds into the mix , primarily because they’re too young and weren’t there, is context. At the time this to a ‘dyed in the wool’ progger was a breath of fresh air, compared to the new wave and punk junk that we were being fed. Side two is amazing.
Totaly agree love beach in context after the works albums was less self indulgent i prefer to listen to this than most of works regarding the cover elp were very successful and were millionaires and they look like millionaires on the front of the album cover
Cmon, just for the cover it’s a big “Nooooooooooo”.
I've enjoyed this album since it came out. I think a lot of homophobes get nervous about the album cover.😊
Well, Love Beach is only half as long as TFTO 😂
Good comments Phil, I've watched many "ranking" vids and Jethro Tull's "Under Wraps" and Black Sabb's "Forbidden" , always are on the bottom. I personally think that they are brilliant albums along with Never Say.. and Tech. Ecst. I remember buying "tormato" when it came out, and quickly traded it in...I really never cared for ELP , but they are/were great players (love Greg's voice).
I've always been open minded and can't say my head has been turned by these retrospectives, but I like a lot of old pop music that at the time I didn't give much time for. Again, a nostalgia type thing.
I loved Stormbringer when I first heard it as a 14-year-old. The Final Cut has always been a masterpiece for me. Love Beech is terrible, even today. Locked In is horrible,and today, it is awful. Never Say Die is brilliant.I always loved that album. Great show, Phil.
Can't find anything relevant about The Olive Effect...would you mind an explaination?
As usual, I agree with almost everything you say...we part on Nostradamus! I've only listened to it twice! Wud you mind giving a couple of your favorites besides 'Alone'?
And yes, I have great affection for Stormbringer, Rough Diamonds & The Final Cut. I think it was in Kerrang where the reviewer of the Final Cut said paraphrasing ,"You may not like it now, but one day, you'll think it's a masterpiece.". And now I do.
Cheers
The ELP album cover for "Love Beach" looked like either a Bee Gee's or America release from the Hollywood people who brought to the masses in the States, the "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" Saturday night TV shows!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...Stormbringer and Never Say Die have always been some of my all time favourite albums, Stormbringer might be in my Top 5 fav albums ever. I also like Tormato quite a lot, much better imo than Tales and Going or Drama. Same for The Elder, awesome album if you ask me.
Except for The Final Cut, I like all those albums. But then again I'm not a fan of The Wall and Roger Waters in general.
I would also add to the list of albums generally hated that I LOVE: Queen-Hot Space, Uriah Heep-Conquest (it's a GREAT record!), Rush-Presto.
Great overview of these much-maligned albums. I've experienced a similar evolution with olives and many previously disregarded albums as well. So Phil, with your kind permission, I'm going to add "The Olive Effect" to my music related vocabulary. 🫒 Take care!
Haha ! Thank you 🙏
The problem for me about Love Beach is the cover. Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman is an excellent piece of work. The cover of In the Hot Seat, for me, is much better but the music on that album suits the cover of Love Beach better.
Interesting. I get what you mean about digging out the less popular albums because the others are so well trod. It's almost as if you want less familiar tracks as they approach "new" tracks by favourite bands.
Not the same (but similar) but I'm ploughing through my Jan Akkerman box sets and enjoying some CDs I'd barely heard. Heartwave and Blues Hearts stood out recently.
I've still never heard Love Beach but remember my university contemporaries slating it. I wasn't as enamoured with most ELP as those guys anyway. I wonder if some of these bands tried a different approach because of punk. It seemed to have worked for Genesis and "And then there were three". Who knows?
I was late discovering Led Zeppelin. I was in 6th form in 76/77 when someone recommended them. I binge bought & listened to their output and so there wasn't a big gap until "In through the Out Door" was released with all the hype. I thought it was okay, but preferred the first six albums. Presence wasn't heard as much but I like it more each time I (rarely) play it.
Mother Focus is different certainly. Moving Waves and Hamburger Concerto are still my favourites - but I treat their output like different meals. The aforementioned pair are still a good feed. Mother Focus is a tasty salad. I still find parts of Focus 3 heavy going - like over-indulging good food. As such, the entire Focus catalogue is dependent upon what I fancy eating! I'm thankful that the menu is still increasing with Focus XII...
Technical Ecstasy was the first new album I bought by Black Sabbath and I still like it. Prior to that I'd bought Black Sabbath and Master of Reality secondhand (my schoolmate owned the former and I knew I'd get it one day).
Although I have albums by most of the bands you mentioned, I don't possess all their recordings so cannot comment on everything.
Great great..Vinil and Cds...Rock on. 🎸
Deep Purple's "Slaves and Masters" always ranked at the bottom. I love "S&M", in fact it was in my top 10 best Purple studio albums.
I don't know if it was Hensley's ego.I read a long time ago that Bron wanted Hensley to write everything and try and write another hit like Easy Livin' I thought at the time they need to get of this guy because Heep was always an album band
Hensley was pretty much the main songwriter for Heep all the way from Salisbury onward to when he left.
I think your first reaction ti Stormbringer is like mine today. I really Like 4 songs from the album, but only 3 from Burn. Mk 2 forever
Stormbringer - 9.5/10
Rough Diamonds 6.5/10 in comparison with their other efforts is weak. Still has some great songs.
Final Cut - 8.5/10
Tormato - 8.5/10
Loaded - 7/10
In Through The Out Door 8.5/10, if it was made by another band we would've talk of a masterpiece. But for Led Zeppelin is just a great solid album, and I'm a huge huge fan of Led Zep. My most beloved band.
Never Say Die - 8.5/10
High & Mighty - 7/10
Mother Focus - 7/10
The Elder - 8/10
Nostradamus 10/10. A Masterpiece by JP.
Love beach (I have never heard it, just one track...so i don't have an opinion.
Always loved olives Phil 😂😂😂
I know what I'm about to say sounds like sacrilege to the most fanatical, but the truth is that I LOVE EVERYTHING LED ZEPPELIN HAS DONE UP TO THE V ALBUM (Yes, I call “Houses of the Holly” the V album). But I can't like the albums that come after. I've tried, but I can't. With the exception of CODA, I LOVE CODA, for me this is Led Zeppelin's true garage album (a similar feeling to the one I have about Led I ).
I love Deep Purple's Stormbringer, I've never considered it “overrated”.
You don't like Physical Graffiti? Coda is a compilation of odds and ends rather than a proper studio album really.
@@jimmycampbell78: I kind of see his point there. The great songs on Physical Graffiti are exceptional, but the lesser songs I never play - Boogie with Stu sounds like a halfhearted rehearsal, I don't "get" Down by the Seaside, and Sick Again is turgid. Every song on Coda is entertaining, though.
Love Beach is an excellent album and you hit both problems here - 1. Godawful cover (particularly for 1978) 2. Tracklisting, I suspect record company tinkering trying to get all the commercial stuff up front when fans wanted Memoirs style
It's all perception! You like it, or you don't like it! But overexposure turns me off certain albums a case of oh no not again!
Hi Phil, only my humble Opinion:
I have " The Final Cut " over anything that was done
by Floyd without Waters and I don't need to think
a Second about it !
And I love " Black Sabbath " Never Say Die, a lot 🙂
Excellent!
Stormbringer is definitely the bottom of Hughes/Cloverdale Dp lps but has its moments.
I agree completely for Never Say Die!
If you can move beyond the fact is not the simple bludgeoning of Master of reality nor the Angelic arrangements of Sabbath bloody sabbath its a very creative & rocking lp, love the intensity of Ozzy on Johnny Blade & Bill Ward delivering alot of emotion on Swinging the chain.
How about Iron Maidens Virtual XI, it’s bottom o just about everyone’s ranking, but I love it to bits
Phil, this is your coup d'etat against expectation, the futility of not accepting that artists can change. Sometimes we dont get it when the music is a reflection of their reality and not ours. My favourite bands all became unrecognizable from first to last albums but I was there for the ride
Mother Focus - never really disliked this album though it wasn't as good as those that came before it. It is the type of music you would probably hear in a restaurant where the lights are dimmed.
Thunderbox Humble Pie. Hated this album when it came out but the olive effect I guess kicked in later on and I've grown to like it. Reminds me I must try and get a better copy sometime soon!
One of my favourite Bob Dylan albums is Self Portrait which a lot of Dylan fans rate near the bottom of his discography.
Not sure Stormbringer has a place here Phil. Slaves and Masters yes. Bananas yes.
Locked in is a lemon of an album.
In through wouldn’t have been successful if performed by another band.
Really interesting video Phil. Cheers, Chris
YES are in my top five bands ever, but I prefer Tormato over Going for the one. The last few decades I'm reaching for tormado far more. Not sure why. maybe it's because it more in your face and fun.
Thanks for the list. The cover of Love Beach did them in, as you noted. The music wasn’t too bad but definitely a come down from their previous albums. Tormato is the same. I saw the tour in the round and the songs live were better. The Final Cut had Not Now John and Two Suns in the Sunset and not much else. Same with Sabbath, these albums came after great runs and the albums are weak in comparison. Rock on!
I quite liked The Final Cut from the start, though I understand the view of it as a Waters solo album, just as A Momentary Laps was a Gilmour solo album. In fact, I like Final Cut better than Momentary Lapse.
I'm not a huge Zeppelin fan, but I don't think In Through the Out Door is any worse than the others, and much better than some.
I've always liked Stormbringer, and in fact I think it was one of Purple's best albums (and better than the other Mark III albums). Being in the band held back Coverdale's worst lyrical tendencies, and I didn't mind the funk aspect. (Though Hughes is irritating as ever.) I was probably helped by being exposed to Taliesin, Machine Head, and Stormbringer all at the same time (about the time Stormbringer came out), so I saw the band as very broad-based..
Never Say Die, on the other hand, is pretty bad. For that matter, I "didn't get" Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath, but Technical Ecstasy is underrated.
The only bad thing about “Mother Focus” is the cover. What were they thinking.😀 The production is a bit “James Last” but it suits the content . Beautiful rounded sound. Great movement, melody and humour.
“Who do we think we are” is usually the choice for Purple. They were reverting to what they can do instinctively because they were in crisis. Gets better and better with each passing year just because no band can match the chemistry of Purple mark ii. They just sound great together.
And of course the answer to the question (with no question mark) … WDWTWA .. The best rock band on 🌍 that’s who! .. and in the coming year outsold every artist globally .. then fell apart… then made one of their best albums with 2 new members.
Queen - Hot Space. Utter garbage (apart from Under Pressure) when it came out and my perception has not changed 40 plus years later. No olive effect there. I'm 55 and really dislike olives - though my partner loves them. We both like marmite. I think the passage of time and nostalgia does help us appreciate a lot of things we couldn't appreciate in our youth.
I've always loved Tormato, and actually prefer it over Going for the One.
In Through The Out Door was a great album. I understand why it upset your hardcore, but if you're listening to different genres and artists, to hate this album is to be myopic. Yes, I'm staking my claim here. Anyone is free to debate me on this.
I absolutely love love beach its a very good album that you should re visit. Try to clear your mind of its reputation.
Hi Phil,love beach not the best but Tormato would be in my top 10 Yes albums....oh and it's nothing like Love beach.
Thanks for everything.
tomatoe is my favourate yes lp