Musical Disappointments

I create the Top 5 on Friday every week and sometimes there are ideas that I want to use but I don't think will work well for the meme. Musical disappointments are one of the categories I thought wouldn't work. After all, I want people to play the meme.

That doesn't mean I won't blog about it. Why? Because I've had at least 5 musical disappointments. Some by the same artist! And do you know what? I'm a glutton and I go back and buy more, because I'm loyal.

Duran Duran - Thank You



There are one or two good tracks on this album, Perfect Day, White Lines and when I'm in a charitable mood Watching The Detectives. Other than those 3, the album just makes me a bit nauseous. The backup bimbo, Lamya, has the screeching banshee voice that will make you want to run screaming from the room. Plus, Duran Duran covering Public Enemy's 911 is a Joke, would be laughable if it weren't so painful.

Elvis Costello - North



I was sent a copy of this disc about a month before it was released. I knew it was bad then and still I bought it. OK, I'm being unfair in saying it was bad, to me it's just boring. It's Elvis doing a bunch of jazz-ish ballads in the style of his wife. The lyrics are gorgeous and I really wish Diana would have done them. Just as there were a few songs off her A Girl In The Other Room disc that I would have loved to hear him sing. (Particularly the title track)

Now it's not that I don't like EC doing ballads. I loved the Bacharach collaboration. But the songs on that one had some life to them. This album is good for only one thing. Putting me to sleep. The stand outs? Still, North (which you had to download) Impatience and Too Blue (Bonus tracks that are on the European and Japanese versions of the disc and on the copy I was mailed)

Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint - The River In Reverse



Two boring albums in less than 5 years. Thankfully his live album, My Flame Burns Blue makes up for the new studio album being dreadful. The lyrics as always are good, but something just doesn't sit right with me on this one. I like North better than this one. I also think that with the way he's been working with other artists that his best bet would be to do an album with Diana. I'd love to hear them sing together. And anything would be better than hearing some of these lifeless songs.


Cheap Trick - Woke Up With A Monster



Easily the only album by these power pop guys that I don't like. I made the mistake of ordering the new Elvis disc instead of their new one, just because I haven't been on a Cheap Trick high lately. Big mistake. Rockford is a better disc then The River In Reverse ever will be.

I disliked this one so much that I can't really tell you anything about any of the tracks on this disc. I don't remember them. The title track is the only one that have a vague recollection of. I actually had to go to amazon and listen to clips to remember it. It's not quality Cheap Trick. If you don't want to buy Rockford, 1997's self titled album is damn good. I think I'm going to rip it to my hard drive now, because my Muvo might want to have some Cheap Trick on it soon.

Now as much as I love Cheap Trick, they don't have many albums that I love completely, but the 97 album is pretty damn close to 100%, and then there's Lap of Luxury and Busted for the real poppy Trick. Any album but Woke Up With A Monster!

Erasure - Loveboat



First let me say, I like this album, its just not up to Erasure's standard's of a great album. I look forward to anything these guys put out. It's great fluffy pop music that forces you into happiness. There should be more music like theirs in the world, but this album, just isn't a good representation of their work, even though it has some stellar tracks on it, like Here In My Heart, Love Is The Rage and Mad As We Are. The rest are ok, but they fall flat. Even the single Freedom, just isn't up to the standards I hold Erasure too. This album was the followup to Cowboy and well, Cowboy was so upbeat and bouncy that it compared to the perfection of I Say I Say I Say from 94. They had too many near perfect albums in the 90's, so they started out the millenium with a near dud. I'm so glad they've more than made up for it with their next 3 discs.