Very good thought and concept: the way you're expected to feel about an album vs the way you actually feel about it. As Martin said, there are expectations (artistic, social,...) and then there's the way you really (deep inside) connect (or not) with it. And sometimes you really WANT to love an album, but you just can't get into it. Lot of food for the thoughts there. Very cool show!
1) The Who - Quadrophenia 2) Kiss - Unmasked 3) Blue Oyster Cult - Agents of Fortune 4) The Doors - Waiting for the Sun 5) Foreigner - Agent Provocateur
@@j.j.4150 Exactly. Honestly it sounded to me like Martin just hasn’t listened to it in so long that he was just unfamiliar with it. How does one forget “Born to Touch Your Feelings”, or “Your Light”? Not to mention the muscle of “He’s a Woman”! The lyrics are hilarious, the chorus is epic and the guitar riff kicks fuckin’ ass!!!
This is a tough one it’s so true how a couple of songs can influence our feeling about an album. A few that come to mind for me Foreigner - Agent Provacateur KISS - Animalize. My thoughts of this album has dropped significantly over recent years. The Cult - Sonic Temple. Triumph - Thunder Seven
Hey, Jon..... Great call on Agent Provocateur, a huge drop-off from the masterpiece 4..... I spun that album again recently and boy was I bored!....All we get for our listening troubles is the biggest song of their career, the absolutely dreadful I Want To Know...., a song that really left a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to a band I simply adore!(Did that song kill their career?).... Kiss Animalize, huh?.... I remember that album being pretty killer, I guess I'll have to re-visit it to see if you have a point there.... Take Care, Ghostrider Rick
@@richardpeiser4359 great comments Rick. I think Animalize was great for its era, but I don’t think it stands up now compared to their other material. After 4 masterpieces by Foreigner I guess they were due for a sub par release. Be well.
Cheers Martin and Pete. The poster child for this concept is Double Fantasy by John & Yoko. When Milk and Honey came out I made a cassette tape of all the John songs and this would be one of his best.
In the U.K. in 1990 or so, there was a 4CD Lennon box set. The 4th disc was literally just the Lennon Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey songs - pretty useful.
I've never heard that full album, but I have The Ultimate Collection which has almost all his songs from it, and they are some of his best since the Beatles.
Stormbringer. First song OK, the rest makes it pretty apparent why Blackmore left. I know Pete is a huge Deep Purple fan I am as well, but I never liked the Mark III stuff. I liked Glenn Hughes in Trapeze, but ruined Deep Purple. Rather hear Mark I or the Steve Morse stuff. Just my opinion.
@@JohnnyRecently 'I stole your Love' and the titeltrack are for sure some of the strongest material they have ever written. 'Christine Sixteen' is ok too, but the rest is not very memorable.
An awesome topic and great episode per usual. I hope there is a part 2 and maybe even 3 for this one. Here are some of my picks: 1) RUSH "Signals" 2) XTC "Oranges and Lemons" 3) KING CRIMSON "Thrak" 4) BLACK SABBATH "Dehumanizer" 5) PRIMUS "Pork Soda"
Popoff and Pardo are at it again and traversing the valleys of albums the hold in high esteem for a few songs. Last week, Martin uttered Pete's line "More on that later" and this week Pete reversed it by saying the classic Martin line "There ya go" and then repeated it for a twofer. A fascinating discussion, gents, with some great choices. As a geezer who grew up listening to the hits on AM radio, could pick any number of albums from the 1960s which would fall into this category. Many albums were very much hit driven and you bought the album because of a song you loved. But to add an album not usually in the Sot field of play, one of mine would have to be Waves by Patti Smith. The first two songs - Frederick and Dancing Barefoot - are favorites of mine not only of this artist but in my favorite songs. But most of the rest of the album doesn't move me in the same way. Bought the album for those songs and still have it - albeit in CD form - just to be able to hear those songs.
Writing this at the start of the video, once I understood the concept, so I don't know yet if these are mentioned. The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed I love this album, the concept, the double entendre of it representing both a single day and a lifetime with the possibility of reincarnation. All of the band's tracks are quite good and most of the orchestration is lush. But, I find at times the orchestration to start to lag, although I can't imagine listening to the album without the orchestral linkage between tracks. The Who - Quadrophonia Another where the linking tracks are essential, yet I could easily skip them. Yes - Fragile Other than Squire's solo The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) and Howe's Mood for a Day, I could do without the solo pieces. Even though Anderson's We Have Heaven hints at what's to come with Olias of Sunhillow, I could do without it.
Love this show a lot. Pete you mentioned a few times throughout some of these discussions that you started with a band’s Greatest Hits collection and then went back and bought the catalog. Maybe that might be a good show idea? Maybe expand on that and discuss which catalogs you were glad you got and ones you were very disappointed in.
Good topic and thank you both for taking it on. The most detrimental part of "peaks and valleys" albums is that it feeds into the main argument people leveled at the album format: why buy the album if you only like a few songs? The opportunity to jump that ship came with MP3s and now Spotify etc.
agreed. I remember when it came out. John was murdered I think less than a month later. The music was everywhere on the radio, in the malls and department stores. I bought because of Watching the Wheels and Starting Over. Then I hear the Yoko shit! I am sorry I know she was the love of his life but I cant take her music. I am sure there are surgeons who have the same love for their wives. I wouldnt want them operating on me!
Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith: Freewheel Burning, Love Bites, Eat Me Alive and The Sentinel for me are great the rest not so much. Queen - A Kind of Magic: One Year of Love, Pain is so Close to Pleasure are not that great and Friends Will be Friends is OK, Don't Lose Your Head is good but goes on too long. The rest of the album is great.
Great show! Krokus-"The Blitz", Twisted Sister-"Come Out And Play", and Dee Snider-"Never Let the Bastards Wear You Down". These albums have some great songs next to songs you never need to hear again.
I saw Status Quo play live on Toronto Island in 1974. I don't have any of their albums, except for the solo album that Rick Parfitt did just before he died, which I really enjoy. Live, they were a powerhouse. They were one of the standout acts of the show that day, along with Rory Gallagher, Foot In Coldwater and Todd Rundgren, who headlined the show. Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show were really good too. I've never seen a bunch of guys so hammered onstage, who could play so well!
No, they weren't on the bill. I've got the original poster around somewhere. Manfred Mann and Canned Heat were supposed to play, but Manfred Mann couldn't make it there on time due to logistical problems of some kind, and they wouldn't let Canned Heat across the border. I'm trying to remember the other acts. Cathy Young and Diamondback were one of them. I'll look for the poster and see who else played that day. It's a long time ago and I'm getting old! Wolfman Jack was the MC. A girl took her clothes off and was dancing around in front of us, I remember that! And when Dr. Hook played, a whole bunch of bikers rode up in front of the stage, and sort of took over that area, and then as soon as the band was finished, they all left. It was a great show though. The summer after I graduated high school. My sister lived in Toronto on Jarvis Street, and I went with her and her friend. I have a couple of photos from that day. Fond memories. It was called "The Island Dream Rock Festival."
I agree. That album feels like a great single to me. Those two great songs, followed by what feels like utter filler to make up a full album. A bit like the first album by The Eagles, released the year before.
@@terrydaktyllus1320 Toys in the Attic would be my pick. I like every song. To my ears Night in the Ruts is Joe Perry's finest hour buy the songwriting doesn't always stand up.
@@aidannorris1254 I get that. As I sit here now without having listened to either album for a few months, I'd put Ruts first and Toys second - but, they've always been close and it might be if I stuck both on now, Toys might feel the better of the two.
Great episode. Would love for you guys to do a similar show that talks about the opposite: albums that are very good (consistent), but don't have a lot of hits (peaks and valleys).
He was ridiculously over hyped. If you're going to be _that_ hyped you need to bring something special to the table and he just didn't. I think it was considered cool for a time to say you liked Yngwie (it meant you knew your guitar etc), but it was increasingly apparent that he was just a fairly generic 80s shredder marketed as a mysterious genius virtuoso.
Mine are 1. Spectres-Blue Oyster Cult 2. Toys In The Attic-Aerosmith 3. In Through The Outdoor-Led Zeppelin 4. In City Dreams-Robin Trower 5. Diver Down-Van Halen
I thought about albums, that on first thought I really love, but on the second view only have a couple of great songs. 1) Yes - Fragile (Rated very high in my Yes list, but has some really weak stuff) 2) Rolling Stones - Aftermath (some incredible hits, some ok songs and some to forget) 3) Metallica - Ride The Lightning (Three songs for eternity, the rest ist ok or forgettable - Still a classic) 4) Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark (some of the best Maiden classics and some of the worst ever) 5) Led Zeppelin - II ("Whole lotta love", "ramble on"" or "Thank You" on the one side and "Bring it on home" or "living loving maid"" on the other) 6) BÖC - Agents of Fortune (Reaper or ETI are great, but all in all there are so much better albums by BÖC) 7) Marillion - Fugazi (Fugazi is my fave song from the Fish era, but the album is the weakest)
Two albums that come to mind right away are Ram it Down and Fear of the Dark. Maiden and Priest are my two favourite bands, but there's no denying both those albums are mediocre at best. However, I do like them because of a select few songs. Ram it Down: -Title track -Come and Get It -Hard as Iron -Blood Red Skies -I'm a Rocker Fear of the Dark: -Be Quick or Be Dead -From Here to Eternity -Afraid to Shoot Strangers -Judas Be My Guide (I give this the award for the most underrated Maiden track ever) -Title track Everything else on those albums are well... not that great, and I'm probably being too nice here.
Hey, Steve... Draw The Line is a solid album, for sure.... It had the misfortune of following the masterpiece Rocks....Try one-upping Hotel California, get my drift?... Take Care, Ghostrider Rick
I understand what you mean about Crash and Burn. Back in the early 80's, I saw Blackmore's Rainbow at a bar called Louie's Rock City. For bumper music between the bands, they played Crash and Burn. And it was awesome. The song Crash and Burn never left my thoughts. But when I listen to the cd, I'm either passing out during Born Under a Bad Sign or, if I stayed awake, wondering if the band was searching for their "gentle side" to appeal to a different audience.
I took a listen to it for the first time just now, and then listened again. It’s good. It has some of my favorite “opening track” tropes, the driving rhythm, the raw guitars, manic vocals from Tyler. I can imagine rocking the fuck out to this on a deeply inebriated Saturday night. But yes it was hyperbole by Martin.
@@MartinPopoff agreed there is no greatest song, just have a different opinion on the song Draw the Line. I respect your opinion and enjoy these programs.
Draw the Line has a frantic energy to it, its almost punk. I have always liked it too, best song ever is always subjective- whatever song I’m listening to in the moment and enjoying could be best song ever.
There are rumours that most top meteorologists observing the areas Toronto and Hudson Valley consult Pete and Martin before releasing any weather updates.
Well, this is an interesting topic and episode. I nodded immediately when Pete mentioned Dio's Sacred Heart and Yngwie Malmsteen's Trilogy as well as Martin's choice of Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door. Martin's choice of Accept's Russian Roulette is a great pick too although I really love "It's Hard to Find a Way", as out of the band's element as it was at the time. These albums came to mind as I watched this: Queen - News of the World. In the first five tracks, you have a timeless stadium anthem twofer, arguably their best ballad, and the band's stab at punk and they do it brilliantly. "All Dead, All Dead" is quite good as well. The rest of the album, as varied as it is, is not so hot. Allman Brothers Band - Where It All Begins. This album did quite well for the band and the first half is very strong. A lot of these songs hit radio too. The second half does not grab me at all. I thought their previous album, Shades of Two Worlds, was much stronger. Thin Lizzy - Thunder and Lightning. This is a favorite of a lot of Thin Lizzy fans and the first half is very good. I love "The Holy War", "Cold Sweat", "The Sun Goes Down", and the title track. Outside of "Bad Habits", the second half just isn't memorable. The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You. One of their most popular albums because of the great singles "Start Me Up" and the wonderful "Waiting on a Friend" and a killer album cut in "Little T&A". This album has some filler although "Heaven" is very cool. Dokken - Back for the Attack. Some of their best songs here in "Kiss of Death", "Night by Night", "Heaven Sent", and the George Lynch tour de force that is "Mr. Scary". The single "Burning Like a Flame", "Dream Warriors", and "Sleepless Nights" are also quite good. The rest not so much.
Felt that way about Ultimate Sin until the past couple of years and I have really changed on the album as a whole. I now love every song on that album.
Wow, great discussion. Black Crowes’ Amorica, Judas Priest’s Screaming for Vengeance, and Iron Maiden’s Dance of Death come to mind. Oh, Balance by Van Halen. Maybe Grace Under Pressure by Rush.
I always thought that AC/DC's 'The Razors Edge' was a peaks and valleys album. Other than "Thunderstruck," "Moneytalks," and "Shot of Love," most of the tracks aren't very memorable. I still listen to some of the tracks, but I wouldn't say that they're the best songs AC/DC has ever written!
Great concept & potentially controversial one too. In my view there are loads of peaks & valley albums. Anyway here are some of my favourite albums & yet I would consider them ‘peaks & valley’: Bon Jovi - Slippery when Wet GNR - Appetite for Destruction Cheap Trick - Dream Police Queen - Day At The Races ZZ Top - Eliminator (BTW with regards Status Quo, IMO it should be pronounced as the band do, hence here in the UK ZZ Top are ‘Zee Zee’ not ‘Zed Zed’. But then I would say that, 😂)
Interesting - I would rather pick LZ - "Presence" than "In Through the Outdoor" for this show! Over the years I really begun to like the last album. It points to the 80's and sounds pretty contemporary.
To be honest, and I admit they are one of my favourite bands so I am a fanboy- I like both of Led Zeppelin’s last two albums. People exaggerate how much of a drop off they are, and thats just because IV and Physical Graffiti are truly amazing. Presence and ITTOD stack up more than respectably against I, II, III and Houses of the Holy as far as I am concerned.
Hey D.....Nice call on LZ iIn Through The Out..... Terrific stuff on that album, perhaps their most underrated long-player(I even like Hot Dog!).... You hit on the head, a band simply moving with the times, a mature Zep if you will.... All Of My Love is a moving and majestic ballad, South Bound Suarez swings, the praise is endless.... Take Care, Ghostrider Rick
Status Quo Live in Glasgow 1976 sounds amazing! This is the way original The Yardbirds might have sounded had they continued intact into the late 1970s.
Imagine what In Through The Outdoor would have sounded like had they included the rockers that were left off the album: "Ozone Baby", "Darlene", and "Wearing and Tearing."
Below is my pick with the only songs which stand out in each album. Straight between the eyes by Rainbow(Death alley driver). Presence by Zeppelin(Achilles & Nobody’s fault). Brave new world by Maiden(the wicker man) Ram it down by Judas Priest(Ram it down & Hard as iron) Chameleon by Helloween( First time)
The truth about Yngwie Malmsteen is that to 99% of the general public his music is an unlistenable wankfest. To guitar freaks his speed has an appeal, but most people just want him to shut up and go and listen to something with melody and emotion. Edward Van Halen was great not because he shredded but because he could write these incredible riffs and truly memorable songs into which he threaded his extraordinary guitar solos. Big difference.
I agree 100% Patrick. Joe Satriani is another guy who can shred with the best, but his albums are melodic and memorable, and he wrote a lot of great songs, even if most of them are instrumental, they stick in your head. I bought three Malmsteen albums when he first burst onto the scene. I still have them, on vinyl, in my basement. I kept hoping they would get better, but they didn't. Out of all of them, I liked maybe one or two songs on each one. That's it. I'd like to hear the record he did with Joe Lynn Turner, that Pete mentioned, just to check it out.
Couldn't agree more, especially with what you said about Eddie (though I may be biased since Eddie's my all time favourite guitarist). I've always liked Yngwie's lead playing and stage presence, but I find myself liking at the most only 4 or 5 songs off his albums, sometimes only liking 1. Even taking away the guitar noodling, a lot of his songs are mediocre
Five without over thinking 1. UFO- No Place To Run---three of my all time fav UFO tracks makes this stand out without actually being stand out. 2. Stranglers-La Folie---some great tracks especially side one vinyl but cracks showing. 3.Blue Oyster Cult--Imaginos---love side one vinyl, side two revisiting an already done track,others for me a bit weak but still legendary for the tracks that do it for me. 4.Alice Cooper---From The Inside----Nurse Rosetta, Jacknife Johnny, We're All Crazy amazing next level stuff, the rest i find only liveable. 5. Angelwitch debut----all those dirty bitching tracks for inclusion and they went safe record company way. If i were in the band, Baphomet, Extermination Day, Flight 19 would have made the cut.
Great show from my two favorite hosts my choices are the police synchronicity, the who its hard, hawkwind the xenon codex but I totally agree with Martin on accepts Russian roulette love the first half of the album is amazing but the rest is alright
Screaming For Vengeance is the ultimate peaks and valleys album for me. It contains a few songs I really like, a few I kinda enjoy, and a few I can’t stand. Judas Priest is also a peaks and valleys band for me.
Pete, I love that you said IPOD! lol, I still haven't adapted to any of that but i know the IPOD is also obsolete. We are in the same boat. I know my next vehicle won't have a cd player and that makes me cringe.
Great episode. I have always thought that many of THE DOORS albums would be ones of these peaks and valleys. The hits were the best tracks and the rest of the albums was "meh".
I’m gonna go with the first Rainbow album. Man On the Silver Mountain is a classic. 16th Century Greensleeves is a classic. Their version of Still I’m Sad is pretty cool. Catch the Rainbow has some of Blackmores most tasteful melodic playing ever. But the rest of the album really isn’t on the same level as the stuff that came after.
I think, perhaps ironically, one of the things that hurt Yngwie Malmsteen was the hyperbole over how awesome a guitarist he was supposed to be. I think it created a level of expectation that he couldn't possibly meet, and ultimately it seemed more like a marketing ploy than an accurate description of his playing (i.e. "Come listen to the mysterious European genius guitarist Ing-Vay!!" etc, and you listen and it sounds like hair metal).
Was waiting for you to mention the Tragically Hip Martin. Their albums are kinda spotty. Fully Completely and Trouble in the Hen House are tops in my book. Got to see them 6 or so times, a super great Live Act. So sorry to have lost Gordon D a few years back. Quite an underrated band, especially in the US.
Definitely agree with Dio Sacred Heart. Always liked Fallen Angels off that and a few others. Shoot Shoot is kinda hokey song. I'm imagining what Martin alluded to Yngwie/Dio pairing if it happened would have been a force to be reckoned with.
i remember seeing nazareth,i like their heavier albums,and im also scottish,on the malice in wonderland tour,with saxon in support ,they even had zal cleminson,whose playing i dig,but really didnt dig nazareth that night,or the album much,seemed all a bit lame/tame after a full on hard rockin set from a hungry,on the way up saxon,and many of the crowd felt the same way,though i still like nazareth
Metal Church self titled - When I would listen to side one I would think to myself "this is some of the greatest metal ever recorded". When I would listen to side two I would think to myself "I cant wait to listen to side one again"
I got turned on to Kiss' "The Elder" by the Contrarians, lol. That album actually has many peaks/valleys. It's definitely not as bad as I had assumed. Some great riffs and vocals, and in certain spots it feels heavier than Dynasty. Because there are two different track listings the listener gets to experience these wild shifts two ways.
Metallica Load and Reload and Guns ‘n Roses Use Your Illusion I and II. 90’s CD excess at its peak. Also… Their Satanic Majesties Request - Rolling Stones Turbo - Judas Priest Agents of Fortune - Blue Oyster Cult And…….. Rising - Rainbow - three incredible songs, 3 OK songs and without me mentioning which songs are which, I bet you can guess
…and yes, I’m 100% on board with Pete’s pick of Fabulous Disaster. Tracks four and five completely stall the momentum and I prefer Pleasures and Impact much more.
Last night I only had time to watch the first half of this. Tonight watched the rest. Last night I thought about making a comment, but didn’t have time. The comment was about Iron Butterfly. Peaks & valleys is a perfect tag for them. All their albums (ignoring the later two ones, which are just boring in my opinion) are peaks & valleys. I was going to say in the comment, I thought about making, that I love Iron Butterfly. I think about them a lot although I put them on a list of my most disappointing bands; in that I feel they are a band that could have been so much more, if only they’d gotten their sh-t together. Back in the 70s, when I was a teen, they might have been my favourite band... had they gotten their sh-t together... had they had taken what they were best at (the peaks) and went somewhere with it. Instead... they’re a peaks & valleys legend. So much potential, but so much disappointment. So that’s what I thought about commenting on last night. Today I heard the sad news. Ron Bushy, Iron Butterfly’s drummer, died. The news hits me bad because this band is important to me. When I came here to listen to the second half of this show, I remembered what I intended to say last night and wished I had said it before hearing today's news. I know I'm dwelling on things that might have been, but hey, I'm a Science Fiction fan. Dealing with possibilities that are neither here or there isn't mediocre, it can be more exciting then all the real crap that happened.
Great topic. I agree with Martin about The Hip, though I think they have albums that are pretty spectacular, tip to tail (Road Apples, Fully Completely). Here are a few others that came to mind: Stryper - In God We Trust. Super-soft production and way too many saccharine ballads. But a handful of face-melting classics. ELP - Tarkus. First prog album that came to mind. Tarkus is epic, the rest is mostly forgettable (at best). Kiss - Creatures Of The Night. Great cover, great return to form overall, but there's a lot of forgettable filler here.
Rising and Mob Rules, two of my favourite albums ever. I also think the most consistent Rainbow album of all of theirs and one of the more consistent Sabbath albums! Two albums where I NEVER skip tracks. Amazed by some of these picks, but hey we hear things differently as Pete says.
Cool concept and show, gentlemen! I respectfully disagree with the Exodus pick. It's my favorite Exodus album and I think that every song on it actually has its own unique identity. I even think both covers work absolutely perfect - both on their own and in the context of the album. To me it is a well constructed, varied but still old school thrash album, whereas some of their later ones fall exactly in the "standard thrash/everything sounds the same" category (still good, though). And dead on with the honorable mention of The Dark by Metal Church. Ton Of Bricks, Start The Fire, Watch The Children Pray. That's all I need to hear from that album most of the time.
Acquire The Taste by Gentle Giant? And Justice For All by Metallica. Within the same song a lot of the time. I have a feeling a lot of people would say The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. I think it applies to every single Genesis album. I’d say Fragile by Yes has a huge valley on side one and a steady peak on side 2. Topographic Oceans is basically designed to be a peaks and valleys album.
Love your vids. It’s a daily staple in our house. Just wanted to add…. Martin, whenever you hold the album in front of your face it blocks the mic. It’s hard to understand you
Agree with everything about Alcatrazz and Stump's soloing. The way Yngwie played on the first Alcatrazz album is more or less perfect for the band - good, somewhat unpredictable, but somewhat restrained (compared to Yngwie's later work and Joe Stump) soloes. I also feel that way with the single from the upcoming Doogie-Alcatrazz album, Sword of Deliverace. It's a solid enough hard rock track, but is almost in the latter half there's overwhelming soloing that doesn't fit the song that much.
Pretty shocked you picked Fabulous as your #1 Pete. I'm also pretty shocked that, after I thought about it for a second, I agree 100% with you. It my favorite Exodus album and top 10-15 Metal/Thrash albums for me. It's ALL off the strength of 4 of the 10 songs, including "overdose", on the album. And not one but two covers. Cripes! I will disagree with you about "Like Father Like Sone" though. I think it's musically and lyrically their best. Those dual, Slayer style, leads are just... 😙👌
The album I thought of was Guns N' Roses- Use Your Illusion I. I like this one much better than UYI II, which I find has way too many self-indulgent slogs like Locomotive, Civil War, and Estranged. Not to mention my most hated GNR song- their screeching, atonal cover of Knockin' on Heaven's Door. You Could BE Mine and 14 Years are highlights though. UYI I is a lot more hard rocking and to-the-point. It has shorter songs with more attitude and venom. It has a lot more kick ass tracks with that signature GNR aggression, but also suffers from some of the same self-indulgent trappings and some songs that are just totally forgettable. Songs like Right Next Door to Hell, Perfect Crime, Back Off Bitch and Don't Damn Me are all damn fine songs. Not as memorable as the harder rocking tracks on Appetite but still heavy and hard hitting with some great riffs and utilize Axl's screeching vocals well. November Rain and Don't Cry are well-made ballads, very dramatic and well-performed. My favorite song on the album is the soulful Dust N' Bones which is sung by Izzy, a hidden gem on the album. Bad Obsession is another one thats got a unique rhythm to it. Not exactly hard rocking but groovy and memorable. For the number of good songs on this album it should have been a slam dunk classic. Unfortunately UYI I is fully loaded and i comes with almost as many poor songs as it does good. Their cover of Live and Let is mercifully short but its downright useless. I never need to hear it again. The latter half of the album is also full of forgettable tracks like The Garden, Bad Apples, Dead Horse. None are outright bad, just average. Coma is he final track on the album which is interesting and experimental but unnecessarily long on an already long album. So UYI I definitely fits the category for me. I still rank it my second favorite GNR album though!
Eagles - Hotel California (title tune) Stones - Tattoo You (Start me up) Stones - Under Cover (title tune) Clash - Combat Rock (Casbah/Stay or go) Dylan - Infidels (Jokerman) Band - Big Pink (Weight) Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow (White rabbit, Somebody To love) Wailers - Catch a fire (Concrete Jungle) Patti Smith - Dream of Life (People have the power) Juluka - self titled (Scatterlings) Jasper van t'Hof - pili pili (title tune) Bowie - Tonight (Blue Jean) Neil Young - Life (Around the World/Prisoners of Rock and Roll) Neil Young - Freedom (Rockin' in the Free World) Neil Young - American Stars n Bars (Like a Hurricane) The Who - Its hard (Eminence Front) Van Morrison - Hard Nose the Highway (Snow in San Anselmo) SAHB - Next (Faith Healer) Queen - Hot Space (Under Pressure) Lou Reed - Transformer (Walk on the wild side) Doors - Soft Parade (title tune) Helen Schneider & Kick - self titled (Rock and Roll Gypsy) Mike Oldfield - Crises (Shadow on the wall) Kinks - Lola vs Powerman (Lola)
Crusader by Saxon. One of my favourite bands, and love that title track, but could happily never listen to the rest of that album ever again. One massively high peak followed by endless valleys!!
I promise myself I will do all I can to not be that way. I will continue to appreciate beautiful music if it continues to come out. If not, well, at least I've got the good old stuff.
Pretty much agree with most of their picks except Draw The Line. It's probably my favorite album by Aerosmith and for me, there's not a bad song on it.
I really like In Through the Out Door. For me I love everything on it except Hot Dog and South Bound Saurez. I have a mix where I drop Hot Dog and replace South Bound Saurez with In The Light from Physical Graffiti. It makes for the perfect proggy Zeppelin album.
One I instantly thought of is Blue Öyster Cult Agents of Fortune, everyone always points to it as a great BOC album but if you took off Don’t Fear the Reaper and This Ain't the Summer of Love and E.T.I and The Revenge of Vera Gemini the rest of the album is just average to me and maybe a classic example of all you need is side one
Rock city by Riot, love Overdrive, Tokoyo rose, are excellent, title track, good and This is all i get. The rest dont do much for me. Great improvement on the following 2 albums, with guy.
I'd agree that "Rock City" is the worst Guy Speranza album (though it's still great for me) but everything "Restless Breed" and after has been like every AC/DC album after "Back In Black" - three or four good tracks but the rest filler. And, I am a HUGE Riot fan with their entire catalogue - I just resign myself to never being surprised by any new album they do release.
Although I’m a huge seventies fan(atic), loads of 1970-1977 albums qualify for this. Uriah Heep, Scorpions, UFO, Nazareth, Deep Purple, Montrose, Triumph, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Budgie, Foghat and even Black Sabbath. So many of these albums have 3-5 fantastic songs, and then all the rest fillers. The exception is probably Rush.
Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusions albums Judas Priest - Point of Entry Van Halen - OU812 Metallica - Load/Reload AC/DC - Ballbreaker Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy Iron Maiden - No Prayer For The Dying Led Zeppelin - Presence Queensryche - The Warning
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i love how they start every video with a weather recap, so wholesome
It's like they're still two strangers getting to know each other.
No Popoff is just Canadian
Very good thought and concept: the way you're expected to feel about an album vs the way you actually feel about it. As Martin said, there are expectations (artistic, social,...) and then there's the way you really (deep inside) connect (or not) with it. And sometimes you really WANT to love an album, but you just can't get into it. Lot of food for the thoughts there. Very cool show!
1) The Who - Quadrophenia
2) Kiss - Unmasked
3) Blue Oyster Cult - Agents of Fortune
4) The Doors - Waiting for the Sun
5) Foreigner - Agent Provocateur
I personally love Taken By Force from top to bottom.
Me too.
Me too. My favorite Scorps album followed closely by Lovedrive, In Trance, and Virgin Killer.
@@KickflipGnasty It's my favorite as well. It is actually the most consistent for me and the highlights are just phenomenal.
@@j.j.4150 Exactly. Honestly it sounded to me like Martin just hasn’t listened to it in so long that he was just unfamiliar with it. How does one forget “Born to Touch Your Feelings”, or “Your Light”? Not to mention the muscle of “He’s a Woman”! The lyrics are hilarious, the chorus is epic and the guitar riff kicks fuckin’ ass!!!
This is a tough one it’s so true how a couple of songs can influence our feeling about an album. A few that come to mind for me
Foreigner - Agent Provacateur
KISS - Animalize. My thoughts of this album has dropped significantly over recent years.
The Cult - Sonic Temple.
Triumph - Thunder Seven
Hey, Jon..... Great call on Agent Provocateur, a huge drop-off from the masterpiece 4..... I spun that album again recently and boy was I bored!....All we get for our listening troubles is the biggest song of their career, the absolutely dreadful I Want To Know...., a song that really left a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to a band I simply adore!(Did that song kill their career?).... Kiss Animalize, huh?.... I remember that album being pretty killer, I guess I'll have to re-visit it to see if you have a point there.... Take Care, Ghostrider Rick
@@richardpeiser4359 great comments Rick. I think Animalize was great for its era, but I don’t think it stands up now compared to their other material. After 4 masterpieces by Foreigner I guess they were due for a sub par release. Be well.
Cheers Martin and Pete. The poster child for this concept is Double Fantasy by John & Yoko. When Milk and Honey came out I made a cassette tape of all the John songs and this would be one of his best.
In the U.K. in 1990 or so, there was a 4CD Lennon box set. The 4th disc was literally just the Lennon Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey songs - pretty useful.
@@metaldams78 Yes, I have that👍
I've never heard that full album, but I have The Ultimate Collection which has almost all his songs from it, and they are some of his best since the Beatles.
AC/DC - The Razors Edge
Anthrax - State of Euphoria
Deep Purple - Stormbringer
Kiss - Love Gun
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon
Sepultura - Chaos A.D.
Paul Stanley's favorite KISS album is Love Gun. Mine as well
Stormbringer. First song OK, the rest makes it pretty apparent why Blackmore left. I know Pete is a huge Deep Purple fan I am as well, but I never liked the Mark III stuff. I liked Glenn Hughes in Trapeze, but ruined Deep Purple. Rather hear Mark I or the Steve Morse stuff. Just my opinion.
Totally disagree about Stormbringer. A magical album from start to finish.
I loved Love Gun as a kid, but as an adult I got to agree with you.
@@JohnnyRecently 'I stole your Love' and the titeltrack are for sure some of the strongest material they have ever written. 'Christine Sixteen' is ok too, but the rest is not very memorable.
An awesome topic and great episode per usual. I hope there is a part 2 and maybe even 3 for this one. Here are some of my picks:
1) RUSH "Signals"
2) XTC "Oranges and Lemons"
3) KING CRIMSON "Thrak"
4) BLACK SABBATH "Dehumanizer"
5) PRIMUS "Pork Soda"
Interest list. I got 'em all. I'll check them out in a row.
I own all of these but Dehumanizer and I really agree with you on XTC, King Crimson, and Primus.
Popoff and Pardo are at it again and traversing the valleys of albums the hold in high esteem for a few songs. Last week, Martin uttered Pete's line "More on that later" and this week Pete reversed it by saying the classic Martin line "There ya go" and then repeated it for a twofer. A fascinating discussion, gents, with some great choices. As a geezer who grew up listening to the hits on AM radio, could pick any number of albums from the 1960s which would fall into this category. Many albums were very much hit driven and you bought the album because of a song you loved. But to add an album not usually in the Sot field of play, one of mine would have to be Waves by Patti Smith. The first two songs - Frederick and Dancing Barefoot - are favorites of mine not only of this artist but in my favorite songs. But most of the rest of the album doesn't move me in the same way. Bought the album for those songs and still have it - albeit in CD form - just to be able to hear those songs.
Writing this at the start of the video, once I understood the concept, so I don't know yet if these are mentioned.
The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed
I love this album, the concept, the double entendre of it representing both a single day and a lifetime with the possibility of reincarnation. All of the band's tracks are quite good and most of the orchestration is lush. But, I find at times the orchestration to start to lag, although I can't imagine listening to the album without the orchestral linkage between tracks.
The Who - Quadrophonia
Another where the linking tracks are essential, yet I could easily skip them.
Yes - Fragile
Other than Squire's solo The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) and Howe's Mood for a Day, I could do without the solo pieces. Even though Anderson's We Have Heaven hints at what's to come with Olias of Sunhillow, I could do without it.
Speaking of Moody Blues...I LOVE The Voice and Gemini Dream from Long Distance Voyager. But the rest of the album falls flat for me.
Quadrophenia to me is perfect.
@@KickflipGnasty
We're all entitled to our own opinions. I respectfully disagree, but you are welcome to enjoy fully.
@@IllumeEltanin Right, that’s why I said “to me it’s perfect”.
'Fragile' It's a "finding their way " type of album - interesting, but not great.
Love this show a lot. Pete you mentioned a few times throughout some of these discussions that you started with a band’s Greatest Hits collection and then went back and bought the catalog. Maybe that might be a good show idea? Maybe expand on that and discuss which catalogs you were glad you got and ones you were very disappointed in.
My favorite show so far with you two - great job. Strongest agreements with Martin's picks of Draw the Line and In Thru Out Door
I love all of, Yes “ Fragile “.
Thank you guys, for your opinions.
All the damn time.
🎤🎸🎵🎹🥁
FRAGILE Has its moments
Good topic and thank you both for taking it on. The most detrimental part of "peaks and valleys" albums is that it feeds into the main argument people leveled at the album format: why buy the album if you only like a few songs? The opportunity to jump that ship came with MP3s and now Spotify etc.
Ultimate peaks and valleys release: John and Yoko - Double Fantasy.
good one...
agreed. I remember when it came out. John was murdered I think less than a month later. The music was everywhere on the radio, in the malls and department stores. I bought because of Watching the Wheels and Starting Over. Then I hear the Yoko shit! I am sorry I know she was the love of his life but I cant take her music. I am sure there are surgeons who have the same love for their wives. I wouldnt want them operating on me!
Oh my God, YES!
Great show Pete and Martin. You could definitely do multiple parts to this concept.
Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith: Freewheel Burning, Love Bites, Eat Me Alive and The Sentinel for me are great the rest not so much.
Queen - A Kind of Magic: One Year of Love, Pain is so Close to Pleasure are not that great and Friends Will be Friends is OK, Don't Lose Your Head is good but goes on too long. The rest of the album is great.
One of These Nights and The Long Run are the classic peaks and valleys albums
Steely Dan's "Everything Must Go" comes to mind. "Two Against Nature" was a huge success but "Everything Must Go" seemed to fly under the radar.
Trilogy is a fantastic choice Pete. Great show as always guys!
Great show! Krokus-"The Blitz", Twisted Sister-"Come Out And Play", and Dee Snider-"Never Let the Bastards Wear You Down". These albums have some great songs next to songs you never need to hear again.
Come Out and Play is a great choice indeed.
I saw Status Quo play live on Toronto Island in 1974. I don't have any of their albums, except for the solo album that Rick Parfitt did just before he died, which I really enjoy. Live, they were a powerhouse. They were one of the standout acts of the show that day, along with Rory Gallagher, Foot In Coldwater and Todd Rundgren, who headlined the show. Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show were really good too. I've never seen a bunch of guys so hammered onstage, who could play so well!
I thought Montrose was on that show too.
No, they weren't on the bill. I've got the original poster around somewhere. Manfred Mann and Canned Heat were supposed to play, but Manfred Mann couldn't make it there on time due to logistical problems of some kind, and they wouldn't let Canned Heat across the border. I'm trying to remember the other acts. Cathy Young and Diamondback were one of them. I'll look for the poster and see who else played that day. It's a long time ago and I'm getting old! Wolfman Jack was the MC. A girl took her clothes off and was dancing around in front of us, I remember that! And when Dr. Hook played, a whole bunch of bikers rode up in front of the stage, and sort of took over that area, and then as soon as the band was finished, they all left. It was a great show though. The summer after I graduated high school. My sister lived in Toronto on Jarvis Street, and I went with her and her friend. I have a couple of photos from that day. Fond memories. It was called "The Island Dream Rock Festival."
Two that come to mind instantly are "Diver Down", and the Beatles White album (my fav beatles album BTW).
I would challenge Martin on Aerosmith's debut. Dream on and Mama Kin are peaks to me.
I agree. That album feels like a great single to me. Those two great songs, followed by what feels like utter filler to make up a full album. A bit like the first album by The Eagles, released the year before.
@@MetalMan73100 For me, "Night In The Ruts" has always been the definitive Aerosmith studio album.
@@terrydaktyllus1320 Toys in the Attic would be my pick. I like every song. To my ears Night in the Ruts is Joe Perry's finest hour buy the songwriting doesn't always stand up.
@@aidannorris1254 I get that. As I sit here now without having listened to either album for a few months, I'd put Ruts first and Toys second - but, they've always been close and it might be if I stuck both on now, Toys might feel the better of the two.
@@terrydaktyllus1320 I love NITR
I have always loved the first Aerosmith album save for the production. Has some really great tracks.
Great episode. Would love for you guys to do a similar show that talks about the opposite: albums that are very good (consistent), but don't have a lot of hits (peaks and valleys).
24:45 Yngwie quickly became a caricature of himself and doesn't have the sense of humor to acknowledge it.
Yes. Certainly no sense of self-deprecatory humor.
He’d be happier if he could see himself as something less than a god.
He was ridiculously over hyped. If you're going to be _that_ hyped you need to bring something special to the table and he just didn't.
I think it was considered cool for a time to say you liked Yngwie (it meant you knew your guitar etc), but it was increasingly apparent that he was just a fairly generic 80s shredder marketed as a mysterious genius virtuoso.
He's called whingey for a reason!
Mine are
1. Spectres-Blue Oyster Cult
2. Toys In The Attic-Aerosmith
3. In Through The Outdoor-Led Zeppelin
4. In City Dreams-Robin Trower
5. Diver Down-Van Halen
I thought about albums, that on first thought I really love, but on the second view only have a couple of great songs.
1) Yes - Fragile (Rated very high in my Yes list, but has some really weak stuff)
2) Rolling Stones - Aftermath (some incredible hits, some ok songs and some to forget)
3) Metallica - Ride The Lightning (Three songs for eternity, the rest ist ok or forgettable - Still a classic)
4) Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark (some of the best Maiden classics and some of the worst ever)
5) Led Zeppelin - II ("Whole lotta love", "ramble on"" or "Thank You" on the one side and "Bring it on home" or "living loving maid"" on the other)
6) BÖC - Agents of Fortune (Reaper or ETI are great, but all in all there are so much better albums by BÖC)
7) Marillion - Fugazi (Fugazi is my fave song from the Fish era, but the album is the weakest)
Two albums that come to mind right away are Ram it Down and Fear of the Dark. Maiden and Priest are my two favourite bands, but there's no denying both those albums are mediocre at best. However, I do like them because of a select few songs.
Ram it Down:
-Title track
-Come and Get It
-Hard as Iron
-Blood Red Skies
-I'm a Rocker
Fear of the Dark:
-Be Quick or Be Dead
-From Here to Eternity
-Afraid to Shoot Strangers
-Judas Be My Guide (I give this the award for the most underrated Maiden track ever)
-Title track
Everything else on those albums are well... not that great, and I'm probably being too nice here.
Your Light from Taken By Force is absolutely fantastic. So underrated. Listen to it again man.
Draw The Line has grown on me over the years. It sounds like a 70s Stones album.
Hey, Steve... Draw The Line is a solid album, for sure.... It had the misfortune of following the masterpiece Rocks....Try one-upping Hotel California, get my drift?... Take Care, Ghostrider Rick
Always love these Pardo&Popoff(Popoff&Pardo😀?)vids.Its become a friday tradition,for me.
I understand what you mean about Crash and Burn. Back in the early 80's, I saw Blackmore's Rainbow at a bar called Louie's Rock City. For bumper music between the bands, they played Crash and Burn. And it was awesome. The song Crash and Burn never left my thoughts. But when I listen to the cd, I'm either passing out during Born Under a Bad Sign or, if I stayed awake, wondering if the band was searching for their "gentle side" to appeal to a different audience.
Martin calling Draw the Line "the greatest song of all time by anybody" is quite a stretch in my opinion. To each his own!
I took a listen to it for the first time just now, and then listened again. It’s good.
It has some of my favorite “opening track” tropes, the driving rhythm, the raw guitars, manic vocals from Tyler. I can imagine rocking the fuck out to this on a deeply inebriated Saturday night. But yes it was hyperbole by Martin.
Look, the whole premise of picking a greatest song is stupid: it's three invisible minutes of sound. There are a lot of those.
@@MartinPopoff agreed there is no greatest song, just have a different opinion on the song Draw the Line. I respect your opinion and enjoy these programs.
Draw The Line is in my top 3 or 4 Aerosmith songs.
Draw the Line has a frantic energy to it, its almost punk. I have always liked it too, best song ever is always subjective- whatever song I’m listening to in the moment and enjoying could be best song ever.
10/10 for the weather discussion, probably the greatest SOT weather discussion of 2021, not 100% sure but definitely top 3. Great work!👍
Honestly the only reason I watch these videos. I just HAVE to know what the weather is like for these gents or my anxiety spikes through the roof!
These videos will, 100 years from now, make a great record of the weather on Fridays in the upstate New York/Canadian border.
I love it.
There are rumours that most top meteorologists observing the areas Toronto and Hudson Valley consult Pete and Martin before releasing any weather updates.
Well, this is an interesting topic and episode. I nodded immediately when Pete mentioned Dio's Sacred Heart and Yngwie Malmsteen's Trilogy as well as Martin's choice of Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door. Martin's choice of Accept's Russian Roulette is a great pick too although I really love "It's Hard to Find a Way", as out of the band's element as it was at the time. These albums came to mind as I watched this:
Queen - News of the World. In the first five tracks, you have a timeless stadium anthem twofer, arguably their best ballad, and the band's stab at punk and they do it brilliantly. "All Dead, All Dead" is quite good as well. The rest of the album, as varied as it is, is not so hot.
Allman Brothers Band - Where It All Begins. This album did quite well for the band and the first half is very strong. A lot of these songs hit radio too. The second half does not grab me at all. I thought their previous album, Shades of Two Worlds, was much stronger.
Thin Lizzy - Thunder and Lightning. This is a favorite of a lot of Thin Lizzy fans and the first half is very good. I love "The Holy War", "Cold Sweat", "The Sun Goes Down", and the title track. Outside of "Bad Habits", the second half just isn't memorable.
The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You. One of their most popular albums because of the great singles "Start Me Up" and the wonderful "Waiting on a Friend" and a killer album cut in "Little T&A". This album has some filler although "Heaven" is very cool.
Dokken - Back for the Attack. Some of their best songs here in "Kiss of Death", "Night by Night", "Heaven Sent", and the George Lynch tour de force that is "Mr. Scary". The single "Burning Like a Flame", "Dream Warriors", and "Sleepless Nights" are also quite good. The rest not so much.
Most Bad Company (Paul Rodgers era)
Budgie - Squawk
Ozzy - The Ultimate Sin
Rush - post Moving Pictures
Styx - Crystal Ball
Triumph - Thunder Seven
Felt that way about Ultimate Sin until the past couple of years and I have really changed on the album as a whole. I now love every song on that album.
Wow, great discussion. Black Crowes’ Amorica, Judas Priest’s Screaming for Vengeance, and Iron Maiden’s Dance of Death come to mind. Oh, Balance by Van Halen. Maybe Grace Under Pressure by Rush.
I always thought that AC/DC's 'The Razors Edge' was a peaks and valleys album. Other than "Thunderstruck," "Moneytalks," and "Shot of Love," most of the tracks aren't very memorable. I still listen to some of the tracks, but I wouldn't say that they're the best songs AC/DC has ever written!
Yeah I agree, everyone includes the title track as one of the great acdc songs but I’ve never considered it to be
@@bostonvh Yeah, the title track isn't that good! I do like the riff though.
Great concept & potentially controversial one too. In my view there are loads of peaks & valley albums. Anyway here are some of my favourite albums & yet I would consider them ‘peaks & valley’:
Bon Jovi - Slippery when Wet
GNR - Appetite for Destruction
Cheap Trick - Dream Police
Queen - Day At The Races
ZZ Top - Eliminator
(BTW with regards Status Quo, IMO it should be pronounced as the band do, hence here in the UK ZZ Top are ‘Zee Zee’ not ‘Zed Zed’. But then I would say that, 😂)
Interesting - I would rather pick LZ - "Presence" than "In Through the Outdoor" for this show! Over the years I really begun to like the last album. It points to the 80's and sounds pretty contemporary.
To be honest, and I admit they are one of my favourite bands so I am a fanboy- I like both of Led Zeppelin’s last two albums. People exaggerate how much of a drop off they are, and thats just because IV and Physical Graffiti are truly amazing. Presence and ITTOD stack up more than respectably against I, II, III and Houses of the Holy as far as I am concerned.
Definitely agree there 👍
Hey D.....Nice call on LZ iIn Through The Out..... Terrific stuff on that album, perhaps their most underrated long-player(I even like Hot Dog!).... You hit on the head, a band simply moving with the times, a mature Zep if you will.... All Of My Love is a moving and majestic ballad, South Bound Suarez swings, the praise is endless.... Take Care, Ghostrider Rick
Tbh most albums other than the classics are peaks and valleys. Great vid chaps
Status Quo Live in Glasgow 1976 sounds amazing! This is the way original The Yardbirds might have sounded had they continued intact into the late 1970s.
Imagine what In Through The Outdoor would have sounded like had they included the rockers that were left off the album: "Ozone Baby", "Darlene", and "Wearing and Tearing."
Hounds Rule definitely a forgotten classic. Had the first on 8 - Track and managed to find both on vinyl years later.
Below is my pick with the only songs which stand out in each album.
Straight between the eyes by Rainbow(Death alley driver).
Presence by Zeppelin(Achilles & Nobody’s fault).
Brave new world by Maiden(the wicker man)
Ram it down by Judas Priest(Ram it down & Hard as iron)
Chameleon by Helloween( First time)
The truth about Yngwie Malmsteen is that to 99% of the general public his music is an unlistenable wankfest. To guitar freaks his speed has an appeal, but most people just want him to shut up and go and listen to something with melody and emotion. Edward Van Halen was great not because he shredded but because he could write these incredible riffs and truly memorable songs into which he threaded his extraordinary guitar solos. Big difference.
I agree 100% Patrick. Joe Satriani is another guy who can shred with the best, but his albums are melodic and memorable, and he wrote a lot of great songs, even if most of them are instrumental, they stick in your head. I bought three Malmsteen albums when he first burst onto the scene. I still have them, on vinyl, in my basement. I kept hoping they would get better, but they didn't. Out of all of them, I liked maybe one or two songs on each one. That's it. I'd like to hear the record he did with Joe Lynn Turner, that Pete mentioned, just to check it out.
Couldn't agree more, especially with what you said about Eddie (though I may be biased since Eddie's my all time favourite guitarist). I've always liked Yngwie's lead playing and stage presence, but I find myself liking at the most only 4 or 5 songs off his albums, sometimes only liking 1. Even taking away the guitar noodling, a lot of his songs are mediocre
Not always true. Marching Out and Eclipse feature amazing hooky songwriting actually. A couple others are good in that sense too.
Yawmmm, original take here.
Yngwie has no soul . He's a virtuoso with no heart or feel ... BB king played 5 notes and was awesome !!!
Five without over thinking
1. UFO- No Place To Run---three of my all time fav UFO tracks makes this stand out without actually being stand out.
2. Stranglers-La Folie---some great tracks especially side one vinyl but cracks showing.
3.Blue Oyster Cult--Imaginos---love side one vinyl, side two revisiting an already done track,others for me a bit weak but still legendary for the tracks that do it for me.
4.Alice Cooper---From The Inside----Nurse Rosetta, Jacknife Johnny, We're All Crazy amazing next level stuff, the rest i find only liveable.
5. Angelwitch debut----all those dirty bitching tracks for inclusion and they went safe record company way. If i were in the band, Baphomet, Extermination Day, Flight 19 would have made the cut.
Great show from my two favorite hosts my choices are the police synchronicity, the who its hard, hawkwind the xenon codex but I totally agree with Martin on accepts Russian roulette love the first half of the album is amazing but the rest is alright
I would put every Perry era Journey album in this category. I love the deep cuts but can't stand the syrupy radio friendly stuff.
Another very interesting conversation from the masters
Screaming For Vengeance is the ultimate peaks and valleys album for me. It contains a few songs I really like, a few I kinda enjoy, and a few I can’t stand. Judas Priest is also a peaks and valleys band for me.
Pete, I love that you said IPOD! lol, I still haven't adapted to any of that but i know the IPOD is also obsolete. We are in the same boat. I know my next vehicle won't have a cd player and that makes me cringe.
I'm one of the few proud owners of an '05 Ipod which is still in perfect working order!
@@davidl570 That was me. Two iPod classics, both full with 5000 mostly not overlapping albums. Greatest music machine ever invented.
@@MartinPopoff For sure! Thanks for the response--and keep up the great work!
Great episode. I have always thought that many of THE DOORS albums would be ones of these peaks and valleys. The hits were the best tracks and the rest of the albums was "meh".
I’m gonna go with the first Rainbow album.
Man On the Silver Mountain is a classic.
16th Century Greensleeves is a classic.
Their version of Still I’m Sad is pretty cool.
Catch the Rainbow has some of Blackmores most tasteful melodic playing ever.
But the rest of the album really isn’t on the same level as the stuff that came after.
Pat Travers "Crash and Burn" was one of those "Chu Bops" novelty album covers with bubble gum.
I think, perhaps ironically, one of the things that hurt Yngwie Malmsteen was the hyperbole over how awesome a guitarist he was supposed to be.
I think it created a level of expectation that he couldn't possibly meet, and ultimately it seemed more like a marketing ploy than an accurate description of his playing (i.e. "Come listen to the mysterious European genius guitarist Ing-Vay!!" etc, and you listen and it sounds like hair metal).
Krokus - Metal Rendez-Vous has always been 1 for me and Kiss - Animalize is another. Priest have a couple in the 80's for me as well.
Was waiting for you to mention the Tragically Hip Martin. Their albums are kinda spotty. Fully Completely and Trouble in the Hen House are tops in my book. Got to see them 6 or so times, a super great Live Act. So sorry to have lost Gordon D a few years back. Quite an underrated band, especially in the US.
Happend more in the CD era when groups felt the need to put 60+ mins on an album
Yup, most times @ 40 minutes is perfect
@@ericporter344 classic albums 8-10 songs ideal
Definitely agree with Dio Sacred Heart. Always liked Fallen Angels off that and a few others. Shoot Shoot is kinda hokey song. I'm imagining what Martin alluded to Yngwie/Dio pairing if it happened would have been a force to be reckoned with.
i remember seeing nazareth,i like their heavier albums,and im also scottish,on the malice in wonderland tour,with saxon in support ,they even had zal cleminson,whose playing i dig,but really didnt dig nazareth that night,or the album much,seemed all a bit lame/tame after a full on hard rockin set from a hungry,on the way up saxon,and many of the crowd felt the same way,though i still like nazareth
Metal Church self titled - When I would listen to side one I would think to myself "this is some of the greatest metal ever recorded". When I would listen to side two I would think to myself "I cant wait to listen to side one again"
Yeah, sadly, this is all the first three Metal Church, then I think it improves for two albums.
I got turned on to Kiss' "The Elder" by the Contrarians, lol. That album actually has many peaks/valleys. It's definitely not as bad as I had assumed. Some great riffs and vocals, and in certain spots it feels heavier than Dynasty. Because there are two different track listings the listener gets to experience these wild shifts two ways.
I'm a big KISS fan. I honestly don't mind The Elder. Not the best of course, but it's one I go to from time to time.
Police - Synchronicity
Styx - Cornerstone
Celtic Frost - Into the Pandemonium
Pink Floyd - Meddle
Queen - The Miracle
The Miracle has almost none highlights to me anymore.
Absolutely right about Cornerstone
Metallica Load and Reload and Guns ‘n Roses Use Your Illusion I and II. 90’s CD excess at its peak. Also…
Their Satanic Majesties Request - Rolling Stones
Turbo - Judas Priest
Agents of Fortune - Blue Oyster Cult
And……..
Rising - Rainbow - three incredible songs, 3 OK songs and without me mentioning which songs are which, I bet you can guess
…and yes, I’m 100% on board with Pete’s pick of Fabulous Disaster. Tracks four and five completely stall the momentum and I prefer Pleasures and Impact much more.
Last night I only had time to watch the first half of this. Tonight watched the rest. Last night I thought about making a comment, but didn’t have time. The comment was about Iron Butterfly. Peaks & valleys is a perfect tag for them. All their albums (ignoring the later two ones, which are just boring in my opinion) are peaks & valleys. I was going to say in the comment, I thought about making, that I love Iron Butterfly. I think about them a lot although I put them on a list of my most disappointing bands; in that I feel they are a band that could have been so much more, if only they’d gotten their sh-t together. Back in the 70s, when I was a teen, they might have been my favourite band... had they gotten their sh-t together... had they had taken what they were best at (the peaks) and went somewhere with it. Instead... they’re a peaks & valleys legend. So much potential, but so much disappointment. So that’s what I thought about commenting on last night. Today I heard the sad news. Ron Bushy, Iron Butterfly’s drummer, died. The news hits me bad because this band is important to me. When I came here to listen to the second half of this show, I remembered what I intended to say last night and wished I had said it before hearing today's news. I know I'm dwelling on things that might have been, but hey, I'm a Science Fiction fan. Dealing with possibilities that are neither here or there isn't mediocre, it can be more exciting then all the real crap that happened.
Great topic. I agree with Martin about The Hip, though I think they have albums that are pretty spectacular, tip to tail (Road Apples, Fully Completely). Here are a few others that came to mind:
Stryper - In God We Trust. Super-soft production and way too many saccharine ballads. But a handful of face-melting classics.
ELP - Tarkus. First prog album that came to mind. Tarkus is epic, the rest is mostly forgettable (at best).
Kiss - Creatures Of The Night. Great cover, great return to form overall, but there's a lot of forgettable filler here.
Fantastic show as always
Sorry Martin...I love "Draw The Line" album from start to finish!!!
1. Rainbow- Rising
2. ELP- Brain salad surgery
3. Dream theater- Octavarium
4. Black Sabbath- Mob rules
5. Metallica- Black album
I’ve got to agree with you on ELP. Karn Evil 9 is great, the rest... meh.
Actually I think I feel that way about most of their albums.
Rising and Mob Rules, two of my favourite albums ever. I also think the most consistent Rainbow album of all of theirs and one of the more consistent Sabbath albums! Two albums where I NEVER skip tracks. Amazed by some of these picks, but hey we hear things differently as Pete says.
Cool concept and show, gentlemen!
I respectfully disagree with the Exodus pick. It's my favorite Exodus album and I think that every song on it actually has its own unique identity. I even think both covers work absolutely perfect - both on their own and in the context of the album. To me it is a well constructed, varied but still old school thrash album, whereas some of their later ones fall exactly in the "standard thrash/everything sounds the same" category (still good, though).
And dead on with the honorable mention of The Dark by Metal Church. Ton Of Bricks, Start The Fire, Watch The Children Pray. That's all I need to hear from that album most of the time.
Acquire The Taste by Gentle Giant?
And Justice For All by Metallica. Within the same song a lot of the time.
I have a feeling a lot of people would say The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. I think it applies to every single Genesis album.
I’d say Fragile by Yes has a huge valley on side one and a steady peak on side 2. Topographic Oceans is basically designed to be a peaks and valleys album.
Love your vids. It’s a daily staple in our house. Just wanted to add…. Martin, whenever you hold the album in front of your face it blocks the mic. It’s hard to understand you
1)Avril Lavigne Goodbye Lullaby
2)Motley Crue Theatre of Pain
3)Sikd Row Subhuman Race
4)Vixen Live & Learn 5)White Lion Big Game
Agree with everything about Alcatrazz and Stump's soloing. The way Yngwie played on the first Alcatrazz album is more or less perfect for the band - good, somewhat unpredictable, but somewhat restrained (compared to Yngwie's later work and Joe Stump) soloes. I also feel that way with the single from the upcoming Doogie-Alcatrazz album, Sword of Deliverace. It's a solid enough hard rock track, but is almost in the latter half there's overwhelming soloing that doesn't fit the song that much.
Have a fantastic weekend guys
I’ve been getting shit for twenty years for saying Carouselambra was in my top ten Zeppelin songs. Thanks Martin!
Martin called Taken by Force depressing and held up the album cover without the graveyard of crosses...even more depressing.
yeah a bona-fide FAIL
Pretty shocked you picked Fabulous as your #1 Pete. I'm also pretty shocked that, after I thought about it for a second, I agree 100% with you. It my favorite Exodus album and top 10-15 Metal/Thrash albums for me. It's ALL off the strength of 4 of the 10 songs, including "overdose", on the album. And not one but two covers. Cripes! I will disagree with you about "Like Father Like Sone" though. I think it's musically and lyrically their best. Those dual, Slayer style, leads are just... 😙👌
Good show dudes, for me Judas Priest point of entry. A few good ones but many duds. Some may disagree
Fair, as a huge Priest fan. In its defense though, the good songs are very good and there are several of them.
Blue oyster cult - agent of fortune immediately comes to mind
The album I thought of was Guns N' Roses- Use Your Illusion I. I like this one much better than UYI II, which I find has way too many self-indulgent slogs like Locomotive, Civil War, and Estranged. Not to mention my most hated GNR song- their screeching, atonal cover of Knockin' on Heaven's Door. You Could BE Mine and 14 Years are highlights though.
UYI I is a lot more hard rocking and to-the-point. It has shorter songs with more attitude and venom. It has a lot more kick ass tracks with that signature GNR aggression, but also suffers from some of the same self-indulgent trappings and some songs that are just totally forgettable. Songs like Right Next Door to Hell, Perfect Crime, Back Off Bitch and Don't Damn Me are all damn fine songs. Not as memorable as the harder rocking tracks on Appetite but still heavy and hard hitting with some great riffs and utilize Axl's screeching vocals well. November Rain and Don't Cry are well-made ballads, very dramatic and well-performed. My favorite song on the album is the soulful Dust N' Bones which is sung by Izzy, a hidden gem on the album. Bad Obsession is another one thats got a unique rhythm to it. Not exactly hard rocking but groovy and memorable.
For the number of good songs on this album it should have been a slam dunk classic. Unfortunately UYI I is fully loaded and i comes with almost as many poor songs as it does good. Their cover of Live and Let is mercifully short but its downright useless. I never need to hear it again. The latter half of the album is also full of forgettable tracks like The Garden, Bad Apples, Dead Horse. None are outright bad, just average. Coma is he final track on the album which is interesting and experimental but unnecessarily long on an already long album.
So UYI I definitely fits the category for me. I still rank it my second favorite GNR album though!
Eagles - Hotel California (title tune)
Stones - Tattoo You (Start me up)
Stones - Under Cover (title tune)
Clash - Combat Rock (Casbah/Stay or go)
Dylan - Infidels (Jokerman)
Band - Big Pink (Weight)
Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow (White rabbit, Somebody To love)
Wailers - Catch a fire (Concrete Jungle)
Patti Smith - Dream of Life (People have the power)
Juluka - self titled (Scatterlings)
Jasper van t'Hof - pili pili (title tune)
Bowie - Tonight (Blue Jean)
Neil Young - Life (Around the World/Prisoners of Rock and Roll)
Neil Young - Freedom (Rockin' in the Free World)
Neil Young - American Stars n Bars (Like a Hurricane)
The Who - Its hard (Eminence Front)
Van Morrison - Hard Nose the Highway (Snow in San Anselmo)
SAHB - Next (Faith Healer)
Queen - Hot Space (Under Pressure)
Lou Reed - Transformer (Walk on the wild side)
Doors - Soft Parade (title tune)
Helen Schneider & Kick - self titled (Rock and Roll Gypsy)
Mike Oldfield - Crises (Shadow on the wall)
Kinks - Lola vs Powerman (Lola)
Police synchronicity, Judas Priest point of entry, Iron Maiden final frontier, queensryche hear in-the now frontier, van halen diver down
Crusader by Saxon. One of my favourite bands, and love that title track, but could happily never listen to the rest of that album ever again. One massively high peak followed by endless valleys!!
I still don't understand why Martin hates ballads so much.
He's the Contraraian 😉😂👍
Martin is a metalhead
I do too nowadays, world weary and way too many bad choices romantically. Just want heavy and challenging in my late 50’s
@@laurencegoodwin4047 then Grand Funk, Budgie, Govt Mule are straight up your alley mate. Check them out if you haven't already . 🤘
I promise myself I will do all I can to not be that way. I will continue to appreciate beautiful music if it continues to come out. If not, well, at least I've got the good old stuff.
The Debut Album from STRAY (1970) - All in your mind.
I'm assuming you're calling that the peak, as it is for me.
Pretty much agree with most of their picks except Draw The Line. It's probably my favorite album by Aerosmith and for me, there's not a bad song on it.
I really like In Through the Out Door. For me I love everything on it except Hot Dog and South Bound Saurez. I have a mix where I drop Hot Dog and replace South Bound Saurez with In The Light from Physical Graffiti. It makes for the perfect proggy Zeppelin album.
Totally agree on Status Quo Pete.
I have the same relationship with AC-DC
Rock in a Hard Place- Aerosmith
Fighting the World- Manowar
Afterburner- ZZ Top
Master of Puppets- Metallica
Sad Wings of Destiny- Judas Priest
One I instantly thought of is Blue Öyster Cult Agents of Fortune, everyone always points to it as a great BOC album but if you took off Don’t Fear the Reaper and
This Ain't the Summer of Love and E.T.I and The Revenge of Vera Gemini the rest of the album is just average to me and maybe a classic example of all you need is side one
Haven't found many people who agree, but to me Cultosaurus Erectus is absolutely like that, much more so than AoF
First one I thought of is Iron Maiden- Fear of the Dark.
The Tragically Hip have a real run of great albums. It's only in their last few where you could say peaks and valleys. Great band though.
Absolutely. Everything up to and including Phantom Power is top drawer.
@@realmusiklover even in their later catalogue; they had plenty of absolute stellar tracks. What a band. RIP Gord.
@@MattTerrell very true Matt. I should also have mentioned In Between Evolution which is an amazing record.
Journey Escape- Absolutely love Stone in Love, and Still they ride, but the rest I can do without 😁
Interesting, to me that whole album just screams sheer perfection.
@@LarryFleetwood8675 Their debut, and Infinity are perfection to me, but I can see people's love for Escape tho:)
@@sherryraisbeck9547 in my top 10 of 80s records lol
Rock city by Riot, love Overdrive, Tokoyo rose, are excellent, title track, good and This is all i get. The rest dont do much for me. Great improvement on the following 2 albums, with guy.
I'd agree that "Rock City" is the worst Guy Speranza album (though it's still great for me) but everything "Restless Breed" and after has been like every AC/DC album after "Back In Black" - three or four good tracks but the rest filler. And, I am a HUGE Riot fan with their entire catalogue - I just resign myself to never being surprised by any new album they do release.
Although I’m a huge seventies fan(atic), loads of 1970-1977 albums qualify for this. Uriah Heep, Scorpions, UFO, Nazareth, Deep Purple, Montrose, Triumph, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Budgie, Foghat and even Black Sabbath. So many of these albums have 3-5 fantastic songs, and then all the rest fillers. The exception is probably Rush.
Led Zeppelin is also an exception
Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusions albums
Judas Priest - Point of Entry
Van Halen - OU812
Metallica - Load/Reload
AC/DC - Ballbreaker
Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy
Iron Maiden - No Prayer For The Dying
Led Zeppelin - Presence
Queensryche - The Warning