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Critically panned albums of this decade that will later be regarded as classics

post #1 of 21
12/1/09 at 7:25am
Thread Starter 
I had the idea for this thread upon discovering that Black Sabbath's debut was actually widely panned by critics upon its release - including Xgau and Lester Bangs.

So what are your best bets for relatively recent albums that are widely panned but will eventually be regarded as classics 3 or 4 decades down the road?

I know it's so easy to throw jokes around in a thread like this but I'm hoping for a few honest and interesting answers before this sinks down to the archives
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post #2 of 21
12/1/09 at 7:42am
I dont read what critics have to say, in fact I can't take anyone in that profession seriously.
However, I would say that Classical Mushroom and to a lesser extent Converting vegetarians are already "classic".

Albums that will be classic (and I just so happen to really dislike), Kid A and The Fame. "Changing pop music forever"
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post #3 of 21
12/1/09 at 7:45am
Thread Starter 
^ Kid A isn't critically panned and is widely considered as a classic already so...

But "The Fame" is an interesting mention....
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post #4 of 21
12/1/09 at 7:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fuseboxx View Post
^ Kid A isn't critically panned and is widely considered as a classic already so...

But "The Fame" is an interesting mention....
iirc Kid A was poorly received at the start.
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post #5 of 21
12/1/09 at 8:18am
Interesting topic. Off the top of my head:

Morbid Angel - Heretic

This gets lots of hate as the worst Morbid Angel album, mostly because of the subpar production. Some overindulgent sections (WTF, entire tracks devoted to Pete and Trey showing off) and synths are also off-putting at first. But after lots of listens, it clicked with me slowly but surely almost two years after I first bought it.

"Place of Many Deaths" is probably their most harrowing ambient piece, while "Stricken Arise", "Beneath The Hollow" and "Curse The Flesh" feature the modern apex of Trey's otherworldly guitar work. I'm still hoping they remaster and re-release this album in the future.

Meshuggah - Catch 33

Extremely dense, labyrinthine, disjointed and chaotic upon first listen. I thought it was a total trainwreck the first few spins. For sure, a love it or hate it album if you're already familiar with Mesuggah, and i've read a large amount of bad reviews for this one.

Now, I'm of the opinion that Catch 33 is the pinnacle of their artistic experimentation. Constantly shifting rhythms and riff patterns, odd-time yet seamless progression from section to section, along with the best lyrics they've penned yet. To fully appreciate this, it needs to be listened to from start to finish as a suite.

A sure classic IMO, in a few years.
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post #6 of 21
12/1/09 at 8:25am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrGreen View Post
iirc Kid A was poorly received at the start.
I dunno... It certainly aged well these past nine years, but it was only polarizing at worst when it came out.

RS, Xgau, Pitchfork including a lot of other critics and publications gave it good reviews. It wasn't widely panned. At least not as bad as Black Sabbath when it first came out.
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post #7 of 21
12/1/09 at 9:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fuseboxx View Post
I dunno... It certainly aged well these past nine years, but it was only polarizing at worst when it came out.

RS, Xgau, Pitchfork including a lot of other critics and publications gave it good reviews. It wasn't widely panned. At least not as bad as Black Sabbath when it first came out.
I dont know anyone that I respect who likes or reads pitchfork.
Anyone who rerates an album to 10/10 because it attains meme status and only listens to indie music with guitars is a joke.
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post #8 of 21
12/1/09 at 9:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrGreen View Post
I dont know anyone that I respect who likes or reads pitchfork.
Anyone who rerates an album to 10/10 because it attains meme status and only listens to indie music with guitars is a joke.
It doesn't matter what you think about pitchfork, fact is they aren't the only place that praised Kid A when it came out:

Kid A - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Despite the lack of consensus, by the end of 2000 the album was appearing frequently in critics' top ten lists[84] as praise for Radiohead's experimentation appeared to outweigh reservations.[22] In 2001, Kid A received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and for Best Engineered Album, and it won Best Alternative Album. In 2004, the album was ranked number 428 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[85] In 2005, two popular indie music publications, Pitchfork Media and Stylus Magazine, independently named Kid A the best album of the past five years.[86][87] Pitchfork and Times Online would later go on to rank Kid A as the greatest album of the 2000s.[88]"

I don't see how that count as being "poorly received at the start".
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post #9 of 21
12/1/09 at 10:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scytheavatar View Post
It doesn't matter what you think about pitchfork, fact is they aren't the only place that praised Kid A when it came out:

Kid A - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Despite the lack of consensus, by the end of 2000 the album was appearing frequently in critics' top ten lists[84] as praise for Radiohead's experimentation appeared to outweigh reservations.[22] In 2001, Kid A received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and for Best Engineered Album, and it won Best Alternative Album. In 2004, the album was ranked number 428 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[85] In 2005, two popular indie music publications, Pitchfork Media and Stylus Magazine, independently named Kid A the best album of the past five years.[86][87] Pitchfork and Times Online would later go on to rank Kid A as the greatest album of the 2000s.[88]"

I don't see how that count as being "poorly received at the start".
not only did i say 'iirc' but wikipedia itself (which you so lovingly quoted) says that "Kid A received considerable attention, but it initially divided listeners." In fact, it goes on to say that one fairly notable critic suggested it was commercial suicide. Partially quoting a poor source to support your argument is pretty low.

It does matter what I think about pitchfork, because what I think is all that matters to me. Thanks for your concern.
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post #10 of 21
12/1/09 at 10:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrGreen View Post
not only did i say 'iirc' but wikipedia itself (which you so lovingly quoted) says that "Kid A received considerable attention, but it initially divided listeners." In fact, it goes on to say that one fairly notable critic suggested it was commercial suicide. Partially quoting a poor source to support your argument is pretty low.

It does matter what I think about pitchfork, because what I think is all that matters to me. Thanks for your concern.
So can we both agree that Kid A received mixed reviews at first? And that receiving mixed reviews can't be considered as being "critically panned" or "poorly received"?
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post #11 of 21
12/1/09 at 11:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scytheavatar View Post
So can we both agree that Kid A received mixed reviews at first? And that receiving mixed reviews can't be considered as being "critically panned" or "poorly received"?
Do what you like. I honestly dont care.

Although, technically for something to receive mixed reviews it must be poorly received by some.

But like I say, I honestly dont care
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post #12 of 21
12/1/09 at 12:27pm
Usually this is the kind of label that applies to the lesser known albums of popular bands that were actually their best, but were not given a shake. Kid A's really not a bad example, not that I particularly like it. Off the top of head, Jimmy Eat World's Clarity also comes to mind although again, not really a big fan of it.

But regardless, bands that aren't known to begin with that has released great albums are never going to appreciated unless someone happens to pick up on them years later and incorporates them in some mass media.

Buzz for a forgotten album doesn't come from nowhere. Albums that were overlooked when they came out are sure as hell not going to be noticed years later if all else stays the same.
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post #13 of 21
12/1/09 at 3:33pm
Critically panned, hmmmmm.....

I suspect that both of Elliott Smiths releases in the past decade Figure 8 and From a Basement on the Hill will both be more highly regarded in the coming decades than they were upon release, but they weren't exactly "panned".....
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post #14 of 21
12/1/09 at 5:41pm
lol why does every thread turn into a Radiohead or Porcupine Tree thing?

I don't know of any real slated albums that could be a classic. The only one I can think of is Smashing Pumpkins "Machina: The Machines of God" album as I believe that it's regarded as their "poorer" album and didn't do very well in sales, though, I have to say it's become my favourite SP album- OK it's the sort of wall of sound production but not in the way of the loudness war, it's done more for soundscaping and wrapping around you than anything else. Babbling on. Anyway, thats the only album that springs to mind.
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post #15 of 21
12/1/09 at 5:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KevDo View Post
lol why does every thread turn into a Radiohead or Porcupine Tree thing?

I don't know of any real slated albums that could be a classic. The only one I can think of is Smashing Pumpkins "Machina: The Machines of God" album as I believe that it's regarded as their "poorer" album and didn't do very well in sales, though, I have to say it's become my favourite SP album- OK it's the sort of wall of sound production but not in the way of the loudness war, it's done more for soundscaping and wrapping around you than anything else. Babbling on. Anyway, thats the only album that springs to mind.
+1 the more i listen to MACHINA/the machines of God, the more i think it might actually be one of the pumpkins more complete and well rounded albums, and while it didnt resonate with the masses the way that say bullet with butterfly wings did, thats only cause its a much more mature album. not to mention chamberlin continues to go to town on this cd.
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