A&M Acts That Are Your Least Favorite

[Steven J. Gross]

We know the beloved ones- how about those artists that kind of bug you. I'll start the list with my choice: Sheryl Crow.
(Odd topic, but this ought to be very interesting.)

 

[Dave]

...or: Hated It!!!!!

Yeah, Sheryl Crow is one...but the REAL "A&M Act I really despise and had a permanent hole in my once-numerically filed collection Honor" goes to...

The Merchants Of Dream​

Their one LP, Strange Night Voyage was an Insipid Night-Mare!! Just a lame "Peter Pan Concept Album", that I felt totally disappointed in and alienated by. :|

Remember one record store playing it over the speakers and I thought I was listening to a Childrens' Album!! :bigevil:

Dave

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Sheryl Crow? C'MON, C'MON , man...ALL I WANT TO DO might have been a little trite, but she's a much better and broader artist than that...I've seen her do some traditional folkie stuff that was as good as anything Emmylou or Linda or Dolly ever did, and she can play a mean concertina.

I see her moving to a more countryish style...she won't be a pop star forever.

I never really saw much in NIRVANA, myself...


Dan

 

[W.B.]

Sheryl Crow? C'MON, C'MON , man...ALL I WANT TO DO might have been a little trite...

To say nothing of its rhythmic arrangement being somewhat derivative of that of Stealers Wheel's "Stuck In The Middle With You" (I.M.H.O.).

But for the sake of argument, I'd have to go with Rita Coolidge by default. Probably because of all those covers . . .

 

[LPJim]

I've tried to listen to the semi-country semi-soul music of Booker T. and Priscilla but have never been able to get into it. Too formless and draggy for me. Some of Rita Coolidge and Marc Benno's songs venture into that murky territory as well.

As for the worst A&M album, that honor goes to STUFFIN' (A&M SP 4235). This is a lounge act from the late '60s horn band era - an imitation of Blood Sweat & Tears, Chicago and/or The Ides of March, but much less imaginative and energetic.
The good parts of this album are not original (Stones & BeeGees covers). The original songs are not good.
When you're finished playing this album, which clocks in at around 35 minutes, you'll swear you've been waiting 2 hours for the thing to end.
The last track, "No Expectations" plods along forever.
I can't figure out why A&M released this one -- and didn't release the Parade or Manfredo Fest .... or lots of better stuff.
JB

 

[Murray]

One of my least favorite A&M artists is Joe Cocker. His voice is way too raspy for my liking.

IMHO, the worst A&M album is THE ETHEL MERMAN DISCO ALBUM. What were they thinking?!!!

Murray

 

[daveK]

RICK WAKEMAN comes to mind. I realize the guy is talented but all those concept albums he did for A&M were snoozefests in my book.

 

[Ed Bishop]

Yeah, but fun to listen to in Quad... :goofygrin:

 

[Captaindave]

WOW... after checking out Mr. Bills' post over on the signature songs thread, I never realized how many A&M acts there are/were.

I have never heard of many of them. Some that I have heard of in name only - never heard any of the music. I've heard a little bit of Human League and Bell&James. ZZZZZzzzz...BORRRING...whiney, disco sound...grrrr...

I've heard a "snippet" of Susan Vega...YUK to that sound as well.

There's a couple Sheryl Crow songs I kind of like, but on the whole, I don't much care for her whole, shall we say, "presentation...

I basically like the A&M sixties stuff...Herb Alpert, TJB, Baja Marimba, Sergio Mendes/Brasil 66, Chris Montez, We Five, etc. The stuff from the sixties. I guess I show my age when I say that, but, oh well...

This is kind of fun...I'm going to think about this some more...

 

[Dave]

OK, here's a three-man group Dancer, who released a self-titled album in 1976 as A&M SP 4585.

To quote Dave Marsh in the ROLLING STONE RECORD GUIDE:

More slick, saccharine L.A. Pop-Rock. Pretty faces, boring sound.

Totally Forgettable! Even the strings & horns arranged by Nick DeCaro, which do give this LP a disco-pop feel. The group consisted of a guitarist, keyboardist and bassist, who each sang. Richard Shlosser played drums (Mike Baird must have turned them down!). Yes, this was One Boring LP!!!

Dave

 

[Mr Bill]

Wow! Great string of topics!

For me my least favorite artist is Lee Michaels. I was expanding my musical tastes from the "Adult Contemporary" side of A&M to the more pop, rock and AOR side (as well as Jazz on CTi) thanks to finding Family Portrait. I decided I couldn't go wrong with [i[anything[/i] carrying the A&M logo. Then I found Lee Michaels first two A&M LPs and found them highly unlistenable. Over the years I have found many other acts I don't care for a whole lot but at least the "A&M treatment" and "packaging" keeps them part of the "A&M Family" I so revere from that Portrait in the past....

Now to think up another similar topic...

--Mr Bill

 

[Dave]

I never cared much for (young mother) Brill Building Writer-turned L.A. Album maker, Carol King!

Except for maybe Her Greatest Hits, I never thought ANY of her albums were ever listenable! They just seemed too overproduced and rather over-extravagant, unfocused, dragging affairs (no wonder she made stuff which was more simpler, but just as dull on Capitol). Except maybe Really Rosie, which I remember seeing the movie of. Back in I think, second grade, or whenever it came out and the school librarian showed it to us.

Her career was just something I never thought highly of--though I have heard pretty good remakes of her songs by other artists, even pillaging stuff from her catalog during her later years with the A&M Distributed-Ode label.

And I thought Tapestry was REALLY overrated!! (FIVE Stars?!, BEST SELLING??!!)

Dave

 

[Rudy]

Can't really think of any A&M acts that I dislike to the extent some of you do. I mean, I can say Sting jumped the shark after he recorded Blue Turtles, but still, compare his music to a lot of what's on the airwaves these days and it's still a better bet. Sheryl Crow I can take or leave--I think a lot of her recent stuff is quite generic, but I can't say she grates on me like some other current artists.

In classic A&M, I sort of shy away from stuff like Chris Montez or Claudine Longet. As I see it, Montez was out of his element at A&M, where they tried to turn a Richie Valens protegé into a pop crooner. Sorry...it only worked some of the time. His Monogram sides toast a lot of the "filler" he recorded for A&M. Montez went on to have some international Tejano hits after A&M, hitting his stride once again. As for Longet, I don't care for most female singers to begin with. No big deal.

No comment on some of the choices above--I'm not going to threadcrap here.

 

[Dave]

Aw, how could I forget...Steve Young -- Rock, Salt & Nails!

Now that album was VERY hard to GRASP!! And I found myself Dozing Off to it, too!

Only remember songs like "That's How Strong My Love Is" (of which I had a fairly good version by Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry) and "(I'm A) One Woman Man", which the late-Johnny Horton did a lot better.

Dave

...ZZZZZZzzzzzz...

 

[Mike]

I hate to be critical of an artist, but… when I listen to Chris Montez’s LP “The More I See You/Call Me” the first thing that comes to my mind is that this album would be so much better as an instrumental. I don’t know who the studio musicians are, but they do a great job supporting Montez’s mediocre vocals. Eliminate his vocals and you’d have a winner.

 

[Captaindave]

I agree...

Chris Montez does not impress me at all as a singer. I'd probably like it much better done by a singer like Astrud(sp?) Gilberto, for example...

I do, however, like the songs themselves.

 

[Dave]

OK, you'll hate me for this, but Joan Baez on A&M is someone else I'm not too crazy about. She started off as a simple, modest, musically economical Folk Artist, but quickly became an L.A. Pop Rock Superstar! A "Helen Reddy Wannabe"!!

Her Vanguard stuff is OK, as is her early A&M LP's Come From The Shadows and Where Are You Now, My Son?.

Gracias A La Vida (Here's To Life), entirely sung in Spanish is OK.

I like "Diamonds & Rust", but thought she did it better Live. Though, I don't like the rest of the LP, Diamonds & Rust--just TOO MANY musicians and production. And Gulf Winds is even worse! Just a cure for insomnia, at best!

And the less said about that LIVE album, From Every Stage...TWO wastes of vinyl...The Better!

Judy Collins did this stuff better and she was a lot more SENSIBLE!!

Dave

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Dittos Dave.

 

[Rudy]

I agree...

Chris Montez does not impress me at all as a singer. I'd probably like it much better done by a singer like Astrud(sp?) Gilberto, for example...

Ironic choice there actually--Astrud isn't that great of a singer either, at least from a technical standpoint. She was just a "composer's wife" who was asked to fill in at a session...and a star was born. For some, though, her rough style is part of her charm, appealing in an odd sort of way. After a few albums under her belt, she DID improve.

I don't have a big problem with Montez though. I just think he's out of his element at A&M. Some of the faster tempo songs he does OK on--"Call Me" is a classic. But as a pop crooner, he just doesn't hit it with me. IMHO his pre-A&M Monogram sides better capture what Chris Montez's sound is all about: uptempo, AM radio hits.

 

[Dave]

I've tried to listen to the semi-country, semi-soul music of Booker T. and Priscilla but have never been able to get into it. Too formless and draggy for me.

JB

I agree--the DOUBLE LP is a real drag to play; I actually played it on my old Portable Record Changer, with other stuff I had that I "didn't like to hear, but couldn't part with". One copy I saw had a "press kit", with a "story on how Booker T. made the move to California to "make music he couldn't make in Memphis", after the break-up of The M.G.'s"...

The pictures on the inner-sleeve in Home Grown are nice and more worth keeping than the album was. Chronicles is uneven, but there are some nice songs there, too.

Dave

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I always thought Chuck Mangione was over-rated. His one hit, "Feels So Good," is pretty annoying to me.

Add me to the "dislike" list for Joe Cocker, Lee Michaels and Claudine Longet. They just don't seem to have "good" voices, whatever that means. Just a personal taste thing, I guess.

I like Sheryl Crow when she rocks out. Plus, she is hot.

 

[Steven J. Gross]

I always thought Chuck Mangione was over-rated. His one hit, "Feels So Good," is pretty annoying to me.

Same here Mike- that song goes nowhere, IMHO. A Herb wannabe sound.

 

[Dave]

Cocker...Michaels...and Claudine... Yep, stacked 'em up on my old Portable Record Changer, with other stuff I had that I "didn't like to hear, but couldn't part with"...fell asleep and let 'em play...!! :goofygrin:

Dave

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Well, I guess I get to be the bad guy on this one, but since this is my own "Least Favorite" list, it shouldn't matter:

1. Carpenters - I just never understood their popularity. With the exception of "Close To You", I found their music to be rather cheesy, schmaltzy, tired and unappealing. I never thought Karen's vocals were all that great, and rather over-rated. They were the Kenny G of 70's pop music.

2. Chris Montez - If I never saw a photo of him, I would've assumed it was a girl singing - and badly at that.

3. Claudine Longet - She falls under the "looks aren't everything" category. Further proof that just because you're a babe doesn't mean you can sing.

4. Captain & Tennille - Okay, Toni Tennille was a fox, and I do have a soft spot for "Angel Face (Lonely Nights)", but other than that I always thought of this duo as the Osmonds of A&M. Not a good thing.

5. Liza Minnelli - She may have been something on Broadway, but on record I get the image of my dog doing the butt-scootin' boogie. I'll pass.

6. Sandpipers - Wake me when this is over!

7. Paul Williams - Okay, he may have been a gifted songwriter, but I think Charlie McCarthy had a better voice than Paul!

8. Joan Armatrading - The so-called "cult favorite" of A&M. I tried many times listening to her, but I just never got it. Too much whine with her cheese.

9. Tim Weisberg - See my comments on the Sandpipers...

10. The Revolutionary Ensemble (Horizon) - Um, guys? Could you, like, put some chord changes into your songs? And maybe play the same piece of music together?



Capt. Bacardi
...awaiting some flames online...

 

[Harry]

We're all entitled to our opinions, Capt., as you well know, and I for one applaud you for your honesty. You've never been one to hold back, so why hold back now?

I can agree with a few on your list.

I never understood Joan Armatrading either. In fact many of the '70s and '80s A&M acts leave me scratching my head.

And I'd go along with Liza Minnelli - I can tolerate her on the SOMETHING FESTIVE album - must be the 'good cheer' of the holidays that allows it.

I've never been a Captain & Tennille fan. Their hits are OK to listen to once in a while, except that awful "Muskrat Love." Ugh! Thank God Lani & Herb rescued that melody and changed the words!

I'd add Joe Cocker to my list, since I never understood the attraction to him either, though I loved the SNL bit with him and Belushi.

There are many A&M acts I've never heard, but I'm pretty sure that the ones I'd most dislike would be the hard rockers from the '70s/'80s/'90s.

Harry
...hoping the Carpenters crowd will be tolerant of all opinions, online...