"Hey, man, I take it all back!" (the music revisionism thread)

[Embiggen]

I don't know if anyone's done something like this on AST before, but I'm curious what albums all of you made snap judgments on that you ended up revising. There are a lot of examples from my own life I can think of, the most recent of which was the New Pornographers' "Challengers", which I initially dismissed mostly because it didn't rock as hard as "Twin Cinema", but which I ended up spending a lot of time listening to and enjoying.

I also wanted an excuse to link to Rolling Stone's initial reviews of Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II, because they're both full of great unintentional comedy. Some excerpts of the Zeppelin I review:

"The album's most representative cut is "How Many More Times." Here a jazzy introduction gives way to a driving (albeit monotonous) guitar-dominated background for Plant's strained and unconvincing shouting (he may be as foppish as Rod Stewart, but he's nowhere near so exciting, especially in the higher registers)."

"In their willingness to waste their considerable talent on unworthy material the Zeppelin has produced an album which is sadly reminiscent of Truth. Like the Beck group they are also perfectly willing to make themselves a two- (or, more accurately, one-a-half) man show. It would seem that, if they're to help fill the void created by the demise of Cream, they will have to find a producer (and editor) and some material worthy of their collective attention."

So... what albums did all of you initially dismiss that you now admit are amazing?

[TimBuktu]

Two albums come to mind, both recommended by Phish fan hippy friends and quickly dismissed... but I grew to like both of them..

[Hated Milk Machine]

I think you should revisit Twin Cinema if you think it "rocked hard." Ugh that band is so saccharine it makes me gag.

My submission is Loveless by My Bloody Valentine. Took me a long time to "get" that album.

[thegreg]

I'm sorry Teddy Rockstar, I didn't mean what I said.

[Kentock]

Slanted and Enchanted and There's Nothing Wrong with Love both took me a while to get into. Now Pavement and especially Built to Spill are constant favorites.

[tockxie]

I thought Turn the Radio Off by Reel Big Fish was good. In my defense I was 12.

[Jack]

I also wanted an excuse to link to Rolling Stone's initial reviews of Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II, because they're both full of great unintentional comedy.

I think some folks missed this genius part of Embiggen's first post. Seriously, read the Led Zeppelin I review from March 15, 1969 then read the Led Zeppelin II review from December 13, 1969. It's astonishing how the LZ1 review is very uptight and proper, and then the LZ2 review seems not only the polar opposite, but so over the top it reads like intentional parody. For example:

Shit, man, on this album he further demonstrates that he could absolutely fucking shut down any whitebluesman alive, and with one fucking hand tied behind his back too.

But dig: I also listened to it on mescaline, some old Romilar, novocain, and ground up Fusion, and it was just as mind-boggling as before. I must admit I haven't listened to it straight yet—I don't think a group this heavy is best enjoyed that way.

When he yells "Shake me 'til the juice runs down my leg," you can't help but flash on the fact that the lemon is a cleverly-disguised phallic metaphor.

This is amazing stuff. It's as if in the summer of 1969 John Mendelsohn discovered drugs and these reviews are pre-binge/post-binge.

Also, on the personal side of things, I used to really love Rush back in my teen years before I truly discovered what girls were. Then post that moment, I disavowed the band and when I had to clear out my room at home left behind a hug stack of the whole Rush discography up until 1985 or so and never looked back. A decade or so later, I realized that when they are good, they are great. And Moving Pictures & Permanent Waves are classic albums. But the rest of it? Holy crap. Hemispheres like a parody of a rock album. Nobody should be forced to listen to that, and no amount of mescaline, Romilar, novocain and ground up Fusion could make that sound worthy of anything.

[derekthedrummer]

I was really, really leery when my buddy Paul kept telling me to check out Has Been by William Shatner a few years back, once he finally played it while we were working together and I was hooked. I passed up the chance to see Kid Dynamite back in 99 for no reason at all and at first I really hated Los Crudos and What Happens Next. Also, Maria Bamford took a long time to grow on me. Not a band or album, but....