Thanks @ma0sm for the prod.
Do you ever feel that the critically acclaimed album is the one after the actual masterpiece? You know, when the critics catch up to a band, but pour praise on their new album because they missed the boat on the “actual” masterpiece that preceded it.
If so, post / argue away!
PS this thread is in tribute to Mark Lanegan, who probably never produced a duff record, but for whom Sweet Oblivion (as Screaming Trees) will always be better than Dust (for me)…
TVOTR - a lot of critics were praising Dear Science to high heavens cos they’d missed the boat on Return to Cookie Mountain
obviously that has changed with time though
Yes, very good shout - RTCM was clearly head and shoulders above the debut and the follow up. Dear Science was a mess (and the start of their decline).
Good thread. So many bands and albums would fit this for me.
The ones that immediately comes to mind is Yo La Tengo’s I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One. Absolutely love this album. It’s always my go to for YLT and can easily listen to it three times on repeat like I did for months in the late 90s during commuting. Their subsequent one And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out seemed to get all the rave reviews
Also, Modest Mouse’s Lonesome beats The Moon and Antarctica hands down. Lonesome is a 10/10 classic whereas Antarctica seems to get the critical acclaim.
Ah, now I’d go a step back with YLT and say Electr-o-pura, but then I can see how ICHTHBAO is just as good, in a different way. ATNTIIO is still wonderful though. Probably the best ever 17 (whatever) minute track on an album in the closer.
Spiritualized - Ladies & Gentlemen got all the critical praise, but both Lazer Guided Melodies and Pure Phase are far better albums IMO.
(Sorry for the repeat posts but…)
PJ Harvey’s Is This Desire? is again her masterpiece for me whereas Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea got the acclaim and the Mercury award.
Stories… is brilliant but Is This Desire? is again my go to Polly Harvey album.
This is 1000% correct.
Agree with 'cow - electr-o-pura is better than ICHTHBAO (which is their most critically acclaimed, no?) (but ATNTIIO is the best soz)
Modern Life is Rubbish makes Parklife look like The Great Escape
Moon is actually superior tho so
Felt like a grand don’t come for free was more critically acclaimed on release than original pirate material but history has rightly been kinder to OPM
Bit obvious but Revolver > Sgt Peppers.
If that’s not spicy enough for you then you could make the argument that Rubber Soul is even better still.
Halcyon Digest seems to be considered the best Deerhunter album, but imo Microcastle is superior! Not sure how this one fits though since they were already critical darlings by the time of Microcastle.
This was a recent topic on the Mitski thread, but still very firmly in the Puberty 2 is brilliant while Be The Cowboy is merely very good camp.
Spoon
Gimme Fiction is better than Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
For me this is pretty much the pattern for her whole career: Release masterpiece, watch the follow up gather the plaudits.
Think her most highly regarded albums are ‘To Bring You My Love’, ‘Stories…’ and ‘Let England Shake’ but for me her best records are ‘Rid Of Me’, ‘Is This Desire?’ and ‘White Chalk’.
Most of the 90s and early-00s probably fall into this trap - Back when magazines and record labels still considered themselves ‘gatekeepers’. A band would release an album, blow up, then the reviewers wouldn’t want to be caught out next time round.
Be Here Now *****
Yup. And Elephant.