Clyde wrote: Mon Jul 19, 2021 9:09 am

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:23 pm House of GVSB to...Freak*on*ica.

Acclaimed indie band making their major label debut has got to be responsible for a lot of these.

And cocaine is responsible for the rest.

Freak*on*ica

I can see why they, and to a lesser extent tJL with Blue, may have wanted to try something more modern as they had taken the TnG-style rock thing as far as it could go. But man.. the results of that record answer the question nobody asked "what if Moby joined Filter"..

M.H wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:25 am

kicker_of_elves wrote: Fri Jul 16, 2021 11:23 am Master Of Puppets/…And Justice For All

Come on now, Kicker_of_elves. You can't ask us to play a game and then make a mistake that bad straight away.

Justice gets some serious demerits for that electric kit. I mean, really. Really?

brephophagist wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 11:42 am Is there something that distinguishes this game from just "shitty album in a long lineage of albums"?
Like does the immediate predecessor have to be an amazing, top-shelf kind of thing?
e.g. Experimental Jet Set is an obvious dip to me, but Dirty is not some kind of masterpiece, so I don't think this really counts for the game.

Different version: is the game focusing on an artist (like Metallica, above) that had an impeccable run of records and then just obviously cocked it up?
Trying to tip my own sacred cows: Autechre had kept pushing the boundaries of their thing with each release up to Confield, which really jumped far out into left field compared to its predecessors, but then followed it up with the relatively-bland Draft 7.30. I like everything they've done but that is not one I reach for regularly, whereas Untilted gets back into "undisputed mastery" territory.

To your point, I was looking more at albums that were not just another in a line of solid recordings that were interrupted by a serious dud, but a singular album that was just a cut above, followed by a clear letdown. I know it's largely subjective, as the AJFA discussion shows, but yeah. I was really trying to tease out the binary on this one.

Pleased To Meet Me/Don't Tell A Soul. PTMM was the Mats first outing after kicking Bobby out of the band, and it stands up as a really kickass rock n roll record (mostly due to Jim Dickinson) as well as the Mats coming dangerously close to getting their shit together. DTAS, on the other hand, was a pretty poorly veiled PW solo album, and..well...it sucked. Hard. (hot take, I think PTMM is a better album than Let It Be, and I will die on this hill. Not saying Let It Be doesn't have its moments, but as far as listenability and "should've-been-pop-hits", PTMM runs circles around Let It Be)

Ok, I take it back, I re-listened to Different Damage and I guess I just wasn't ready for it when it came out. It's a very good record.

BrendanK wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 6:50 pm How about No Kill, No Beep Beep to Different Damage?

I'll sign off on this.

I'll add that Isis never did top Mosquito Control, neither Total Control w/ Henge Beat.

There's more. I'll be back.

Wild Planet > Mesopotamia.

Bandwagonesque > Thirteen.

jason from volo wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 11:37 am

M.H wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:23 am while Bakesale was a bit more one dimensional.

I really liked that one dimension.. made for their most cohesive disc. I don’t think I can get through any of their other albums without hitting the “skip” button multiple times.

I fully acknowledge it could just be me.

It is not just you. Bakesale is my fav Sebadoh by a fair amount. Sebadoh III is a close second.

four_oclocker_2.2 wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 12:23 pm White Light/White Heat to Velvet Underground.

Boooooooo. Equal in my book. I'd say Velvet Underground to Loaded.

The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land
Underworld - Beaucoup Fish
Today is the Day - Sadness Will Prevail
Napalm Death - Diatribes

All of these have definite highs, and are worthy albums, but don't live up to their immediate predecessors.