[ardgedee]

Ever listen to something, go "nah..." and move on? Or maybe you picked up a CD at random because you vaguely remembered hearing something good about the band, or a friend hyped it up until you finally got a copy, or it was a birthday present... in any event, you listened to it once and it left you cold. Not horrible stuff, just nothing worth your time.
 
And then you dig it up out of a crate some time later -- maybe years later -- and you finally get it. Great music, brilliant playing, whatever, but this time it all works. This happens to me now and then, and it happened to me again just this evening.
 

I'm listening to the Tin Hat Trio's Helium. I had first gotten it within a year of its release, and I think I listened to it once. Maybe fast-forwarded a second time. I don't know what I was expecting at the time, but it wasn't delivering on those expectations.
 
As I write this I'm listening to it for the second time in eight or nine years and... what a beautifully dark little thing. I'm sorry I hadn't twigged to this earlier.
 
It's an intimate session of violin, guitar and accordion, with musical roots in many soils: Hot jazz, tango, blues, cabaret, swing, cafe music... It has a lot of the musical playfulness I associate with the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, complemented with a gothic, theatrical grit reminiscent of Tom Waits.
 
 
 
So are there any albums that finally clicked for you, years after your first listen?

 

[Alghazanth]

Still Life. Opeth was the kind of band I should've been into but couldn't get into, and everyone recommended this one to start with. Listened to it once, thought "eh it's okay". Gave it another listen a month later and couldn't believe what I was hearing.

 

[zChan]

In my experience, all good music sounds better the second time, and even better the third time. So I listen to new music at least 6 times before I make a decision I like it or not.

 

[Uncle Erik]

"Black Foliage," by the Olivia Tremor Control. They actually recommend 50 listenings before it sinks in.

I've been through at least 50 listenings and got their message. It helps if you've had "Dusk at Cubist Castle" sink in, too.

Not the most accessible band, but very rewarding if you get into them.

Others that sank in with repeated listens are Jay Farrar's solo albums, "Sebastopol" and "Terrior Blues." "Terrior Blues" is the most accessible of the two, but I prefer "Sebastopol" for its wide range.

 

[Proglover]

Most classic albums in the prog.rock genre are better after a few times listening

 

[bigshot]

Yesterday, I decided to play a record that I hadn't played in years, Genesis' "Foxtrot". Back in the day, I played this album over and over. But This time I couldn't even get through the first side without giving up. After "Watcher of the Skies" it degenerated into complete drivel with the most absurdly laughable lyrics I've ever heard. I have no idea what I was thinking back when I listened to this album a lot. I must have been high. Sometimes it doesn't get better when you listen again.

I'm in the process of organizing and reviewing my collection of rock music. I'm finding that there is a heck of a lot of filler in those old 70s prog rock albums... In some cases, like Yes' "Close to the Edge" on Yessongs, it's all filler. Oh God! Rick Wakeman's solo albums are DREADFUL! I loved those as a kid, but now it's like listening to a piano student's finger exercises.

On the other hand, Steely Dan is still great and Clapton is a lot better than I remember. I've got a ton more to plow through. My stack of Zappa seems like it's a mile high. Still hopeful.

 

[lbj]

Quote:

In my experience, all good music sounds better the second time, and even better the third time. So I listen to new music at least 6 times before I make a decision I like it or not.

^ Absolutely agree with this.

 

[Thursday]

I didn't spend years between listens, but here's my list:
 
Thursday - A City By The Light Divided
The Academy Is - Santi
Motion City Soundtrack - Even If It Kills Me
Senses Fail - Life Is Not A Waiting Room
Shiny Toy Guns - Season of Poison
 
And as for albums that get progressively worse the more you listen - I would have to put most pop-punk/pop rock songs into this category.

 
Quote:

In my experience, all good music sounds better the second time, and even better the third time. So I listen to new music at least 6 times before I make a decision I like it or not.

Agreed!

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

Still Life. Opeth was the kind of band I should've been into but couldn't get into, and everyone recommended this one to start with. Listened to it once, thought "eh it's okay". Gave it another listen a month later and couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Same experience with Opeth. I never liked them the first time but I was amazed the second and third time.
 

 

[falis]

Quote:

Yesterday, I decided to play a record that I hadn't played in years, Genesis' "Foxtrot". Back in the day, I played this album over and over. But This time I couldn't even get through the first side without giving up. After "Watcher of the Skies" it degenerated into complete drivel with the most absurdly laughable lyrics I've ever heard. I have no idea what I was thinking back when I listened to this album a lot. I must have been high. Sometimes it doesn't get better when you listen again.

I'm in the process of organizing and reviewing my collection of rock music. I'm finding that there is a heck of a lot of filler in those old 70s prog rock albums... In some cases, like Yes' "Close to the Edge" on Yessongs, it's all filler. Oh God! Rick Wakeman's solo albums are DREADFUL! I loved those as a kid, but now it's like listening to a piano student's finger exercises.

On the other hand, Steely Dan is still great and Clapton is a lot better than I remember. I've got a ton more to plow through. My stack of Zappa seems like it's a mile high. Still hopeful.

I suspect the Zappa won't disappoint as much as some of the other stuff.  Or such is my impression listening to some lately.
 
- Ed

 

[BlackbeardBen]

I experience this all of the time!  I'll buy something, listen to it, go "meh", and it'll get stuck in with the rest of my music and not get rediscovered until months later.
 
Most recently, Pet Sounds was one of these for me.  I got it a some years ago, and when I first listened I thought "what's with all the hype?"  I liked the hits but the rest sounded just average.
 
Cue in listening on my better systems, especially with the stereo mix on the 1999 CD (which is a whole lot better than the original mono mix on the CD in quality - there's tons of distortion on the mono mix - although the stereo mix is balanced different as well (beyond the stereo separation) which isn't necessarily an improvement).  I'd love to try the Steve Hoffman remaster on mono.  I think I have it on vinyl too; can't remember if it's mono or one of the bad early stereo versions, but I do remember it's in pretty rough shape...
 
Anyway, upon listening and re-listening again and again... well, I see it for the masterpiece it is!  Genius songwriting.  Sublime tones (especially the percussion) and harmonies.  All the layers of sound... Amazing.  The separation in stereo certainly helps with that.  The one thing I find a bit odd is the mono train in the stereo version of Caroline No.  It's a bit weird in an otherwise stereo recording to hear a train going by with the Doppler effect, but it just stays in the middle...  Without a doubt it was recorded in mono and they couldn't get a satisfactory sounding stereo pan from it.

 

[XaNE]

Definitely "Younger Brother - Vaccine" 

 

[Oteil]

I find that all of Mark Knopfler's solo cd's get better with each listen.  A lot of great music just can't get absorbed in one or two listens. I tend to agree with BigShot, some music just sounds dreadful after going back and listening and sometimes it sounds better than you remembered. I think a lot of that has to do with your listening tastes changing over time.

 

[bigshot]

With me, I think it was that I didn't have the experience to discern what "quality" was. If music was moody and took itself oh-so-seriously, I took it at face value. I automatically assumed that progressive rock was "progressive" and that if the musicians acted artistic, they must be making art.

Once I had heard enough music to be able to understand musicianship and musicality, I became less tolerant of mediocrity. It's funny, because even though I'm more discerning and selective about what I listen to, there's a lot more music that I enjoy. In college, I drilled straight down, listening to every album and solo album in the narrow field I had selected for myself- progressive rock. Now I.cast my net much wider, and even though I have no use for a lot of music, the world of "good stuff" is infinitely bigger than before.

Mark Knopfler is a very talented musician. He's one of the best.

 

[Alez]

Protest the Hero's new album, Scurrilous, took me quite a few listens to get into. I love it now, though