I thought this might be an interesting topic. I'm quite new here so please forgive me if this has been discussed recently.

 

The idea is to think of albums by your favourite acts or acts you really like and respect.

 

One example is Release by Pet Shop Boys. I adore them but Release did absolutely nothing with me when it was released. Now I see it as a part of the evolution of the band. It's more guitar driven than anything they have done and contains some of their most beautiful songs: I Get Along, London and The Night I Fell in Love.

 

Also The Life Pursuit by Belle and Sebastian. It's amazing how far they've come from their twee-pop days (those days were glorious too)

Manic Street Preachers - Lifeblood.

 

Oh My God did I hate this when I got it first. For a start I hated the single - The Love of Richard Nixon and that didn't really get me excited about the album.

 

The whole album just sounded so bland and lifeless, like a collection of their late 90's b-sides. It was full of boring melodies and platitudes that made The Everlasting sound like Faster.

 

I used to put it on to go to sleep. Then it fell out of my listening pattern for a few years. Last year I put it on again and it was a revelation - especially A Song for Departure - one of their best of the 00s. It really should have been the lead single - it's as glorious as If You Tolerate This...maybe not as immediate.

 

I now also love Emily, To Repel Ghosts and Solitude Sometimes Is.

Edited July 29, 201014 yr by tonyttt31

Also, Kate Bush - The Hounds of Love, Mansun - Six, probably because I was young when I got them and only learned to appreciate them as I matured.

Kate Bush - The Kick Inside for me! I was too young to understand her when I first heard it. Not her biggest fan now either but like and respect her stuff.

Edited July 29, 201014 yr by SKOB

Mansun - Six, probably because I was young when I got them and only learned to appreciate them as I matured.

 

Yeah, I'd agree with that.. I was 26 when that album came out, and even with being that age it took me a few listens to get..... :lol: Trick is though, you need to get the right version of the album.. The US version is sh"t because it chops up a couple of the songs, you really need the FULL versions of the title track "Six" and "Being A Girl" to appreciate the album as a whole...

Six was the biggest headf*** I have ever had when I first listened to an album. But after a few plays everything slotted nicely into place.

 

It took me a long time for me to get Post by Bjork but know I love the whole album.

Also on the Manics - Everything Must Go.

 

Aside from A Design For For Life on first listen I felt totally underwhelmed and disappointed by the whole thing.Much of this no doubt has to do with Holy bible being my favourite album ever but also because the follow up was originally mentioned to be going in the direction of Pantera meets Nine Inch Nails, so when you get an album of what to me sounded like big arena rock ballads and all trace of their punk roots removed it stands to reason one might be a bit miffed. It was all so safe and sanitised. After a while I fell for them all over again but ever since I've had the feeling that the Manics I originaly fell in love with ended with Judge Y'rself and 'that astoria gig'of xmas '94 and were replaced with a slightly less challenging and cerebral version.

 

A bit like losing Nirvana and getting Bush in return.

Edited July 29, 201014 yr by Severin

EMG was m my first experience of the Manics but I can see how it could be difficult to like after the stunning Holy Bible. The Holy Bible has since far exceeded EMG in my estimation, it's so much more involved with many tracks taking a long time to give up their treasure. Most of EMG got old after a few years.

Probably Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon. Just didn't really connect with it, yet now I can listen to it and appreciate it as a musical masterpiece.

Funeral by Arcade Fire never really clicked for me until about a year after having it, similarly with Purple Rain. Again, I never fully got EMG when I first bought it either, since my first experience with the Manics was Holy Bible (which in itself was a grower), but now love it.

Purple Rain made me a Prince fan

Kylie's impossible princess i didnt like at first but after quite a while it grew on me and i love it now.

Radiohead - Amnesiac

 

I thought it was very difficult in places (Pull/Pulk Revolving Doors) but after a while even the harsher tracks began to grow on me. It is my favourite Radiohead album after OK Computer.

In one sense downloading and been able to preview albums on line has prevented me buying many bad albums, in the past i have bought album based on singles and the albums have been crap outside the singles so that doesnt happen me anymore. The flip side of that is i guess i miss out on albums as nowadays if the previews dont impress me i dont bother listening again.

 

 

 

That is a serious downside. I remember getting the MP3s of Bloc Party's Silent Alarm and I wasn't impressed apart from the singles. Then I got the cd cheap somewhere and played it alot more. I ended up loving it.

 

I often wonder if there are other albums that I'd love if I bothered to buy them on cd rather than leave them unplayed somewhere on my ipod.

Probably Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon. Just didn't really connect with it, yet now I can listen to it and appreciate it as a musical masterpiece.

I was 12 when that came out so didn't really appreciate until I was about 15 or 16. Now it still sounds great to me.

1. The Charlatans - Tellin' Stories

 

Found it difficult to listen to at the beginning (apart from 'One to Another' and 'Area 51') , as I preferred their earlier material (e.g. Some Friendly) Looking back now, I would say it is one of my fave albums of the 1990's :dance:

 

2. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not

 

Couldn't get into it at first, as back then (2000's) my music tastes were different (e.g. BRMC, Interpol)

But then a few months ago, I bought Favourite Worst Nightmare & Humbug on CD. I was impressed! :dance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I find this topic quite sad in a way as I don't really give music the chance to grow on me like I used to when I bought CDs. I've really taken to downloading albums now and tend to just put them on my ipod and drag my favourite tracks into their appropriate playlists, it doesn't really leave much time for the other tracks to grow and I suspect I'm ending up missing out on some great tracks.