I have found threads (and guiltily participated in some) on the community that have only served to divide. In contrast, the Rediscovering David Bowie thread recently started by @RobOK has been a joy to read and participate in. Some introspection made me realise that the we’re all here for the joy of music rather than purely the mechanism through which we consume it. Having said that, this one could go either way:
Do you have an opinion on an artist, writer, producer, performer, album etc that you think is not necessarily mainstream and possibly unpopular?
I certainly have a few and I’m more than happy to throw some examples of mine in below for consideration. My intention is not to start any flame wars; in fact, please use considered responses that are not personal and accept any views shared on their merit alone (with suitably articulated rebuttals and humour as appropriate). Some opinions or alternative views may well prompt someone to reconsider: I once held the view that Roxy Music were very ordinary, bordering on dull. I shared this with a mate many years ago who offered his reasoning, played me a few tracks in that context and it changed my mind: Flesh and Blood is an album I now love.
Now, here are a couple that I still hold to be true for me:
Bob Dylan is overrated as a singer/songwriter and I struggle to listen to him. In isolation as a writer, others have made a better job of making the songs live and breathe e.g. Hendrix with All Along the Watchtower, Knocking on Heaven’s Door by almost everyone else who has covered it.
Ringo is a better drummer than many gave credit for. I can’t recall a time when I thought he either over or underplayed. He made the groove seem absolutely appropriate without being flashy or over-the-top.
Sgt Peppers is not the best Beatles album. I won’t share my opinion of which album is their best as I’d like to keep some powder dry in case a civil rebuttal is required
Over to the Roon Community Brain’s Trust for comment, disagreement and additions. Please be kind to one another.
I think when John Lennon was asked whether Ringo Starr was the best drummer in the world, his response was he’s not even the best drummer in the Beatles, or something to that effect.
Oh, and I hate The Doors, although I think it’s mostly Jim Morrison I don’t like, I would gladly ban them from Roon Radio if I could,
You never knew with John, whether he was being sarcastic or downright nasty. He was a complex and flawed character, but I think he was indispensable from a music history perspective. Incidentally, Kurt Cobain intimated similar opinions on the drumming of a certain Dave Grohl and was known to shove DG off the throne and show him what was required - go figure.
Brilliant opinion. Exactly what I wanted to get out in the open. As a piece of work, the album LA Woman is one I enjoy on an occasional and infrequent basis, but there is a big chunk of their catalogue I can quite happily pretend doesn’t exist.
I’m actually waiting for a colossal rant from you on Genesis, @GKern
Neil Young, eh? This certainly has the potential to get some opinions shared.
I find him and his work intriguing, insightful, overly opinionated and whiny in equal measure. I enjoyed his work with Buffalo Springfield, most of CSNY collaborations, some of his stuff with Crazy Horse, but increasingly less of his solo work and later years.
If you are referring to the Bands I Hate thread, I think it’s @Gareth_Irwin that is the Genesis hater, although I will say that I find little to like about Phil Collins.
It can be both unpopular and true at the same time. But for people that have never heard Zeppelin, it could be the introduction to their music without knowing it
I don’t get all the hate for Phil Collins. I know it’s cool (in the UK at least) not to like him, but I think his work as a solo artist was perfect for the time, and ages well. The worst thing I can personally say about him is that he pulled Genesis away from prog and towards pop; but again, that’s what was happening at the time.
I agree that Sgt. Pepper’s is overrated. It’s a fun listen, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the “top” Beatles albums, which are: Abbey Road, Rubber Soul UK, Revolver UK, the White Album, and Help UK.
Not really thread-specific, but: 50s jazz albums should be available in mono only, not stereo. (That’s probably not unpopular, but it’s frustrating to be unable to easily find “Somethin’ Else” or “Sunday at the Village Vanguard,” for example, on mono. (Roon feature request: An easy way to switch any zone to mono playback from a Roon Remote.)
Half of the Rolling Sones’ catalog is wonderful, the other half is totally forgettable.
Prog is unequivocally awesome.
Dream Theater hasn’t done anything good since Mike Portnoy left.
Have yet to be able to listen to a whole track by Tom Waits or Captain Beefheart IMHO both majorly suck.
I’m from Liverpool so unable to express any valid opinion on The Beatles. And the Lennon, Ringo remark is bogus.
I don’t like many Dylan voiced tracks but those I do like are amazing. My wife detests Dylan but loves him singing Hurricane.
Perhaps I’ll find my Waits Hurricane one day…
Or did Peter Gabriel leaving push them away from prog? With the hindsight of PG’s solo work, earlier Genesis seemed to be PG being contained by the rest of the band. Looking at PG’s first solo album, the first two tracks tell you everything. Moribund the Burgermeister was an explosion of ideas that seemed to have been pent-up in him for quite some time. Isn’t the classic Solsbury Hill effectively a narrative of him leaving Genesis?
Yep. I think Revolver is the jewel. It’s the gathering of pace into the psychedelic period. It’s also puts the spotlight on how good Harrison was as a writer in his own right. Tax Man was unlike anything that came before, he pulled the three parts of She Said She Said together and the lyrics of I Want to Tell You hit me right in the feels:
I want to tell you
My head is filled with things to say
When you’re here
All those words, they seem to slip away
Then there is Tomorrow Never Knows. In isolation, it is hard to date when that track could conceivably have been written.
Revolver is an absolute belter.
I am so relieved that someone else said this and I agree. Kudos for being brave enough. I think this could be more contentious than the deleted comment about Neil Young being cringey.
Do you mean artists that generally admired by the general public but that one personally considers not worthwhile
or
Do you mean artists that you consider very worthwhile but that the general public does not admire.
or
Both of the above
Examples of the first: U2, Morrisey, any and all American Idol winners, runner ups, etc., most rap and (warning: flame war is guaranteed to erupt) Neil Peart
Examples of the second: Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart (thanks @ged_hickman1), any avant-garde jazz musician such as the great Cecil Taylor and Peter Brotzmann
No, that is the popular mainstream opinion of GVF. I started to listen to that album to hear what all the fuss was about but had to stop after a few tracks.
@Jazzfan_NJ Definitely both positions. I wanted to elicit views to get maximum discussion. Many arguments on here are partisan; the kind of arguments where intransigence is unlikely to allow a shift in views. I’m not looking to stir, I’m interested in left-field positions and reasoning. Part of the joy of music is that tastes can morph over time.
To coin a line from Deadpool: “Nothing warms my heart more than a change of someone else’s.”
