First Listen = No/Nope/Nah/No Way; But Then...a Complete Reversal of Opinion

[JOv2]

Name an album that upon first listening seemed very disappointing or was otherwise determined as simply not very good...yet, upon subsequent listenings not only was the album reassessed as notably better than initially recognized, but it actually became a favourite.

Tell us what initially irked you about the album -- and then how your major about-face occurred.

 

[Harry]

I'll go with Herb Alpert's NORTH ON SOUTH STREET. Hip-hop/funk is not my thing, so when I first put on NORTH ON SOUTH STREET (1991) and skimmed through the openings of all of the tracks, I found nothing that would entice me to listen to the whole thing. I kept telling myself that this was just Herb in one of his phases and that I'd keep it in my collection, but probably never - or rarely - give it a listen.

It probably sat on that shelf for a good eight years to the point where I was involved more in the A&M Corner's early days. I recall an email exchange with our friend Paula from those days where she urged me to give NORTH ON SOUTH STREET another listen. It was part of one of those "I'll listen to this, if you'll listen to that" exchanges. I don't recall what I wanted her to listen to, but my task was to give NORTH ON SOUTH STREET a full spin.

So in those days, I put it on in my Maxima's CD player for the ride to work and I was genuinely impressed that it was nowhere near as "bad" as my mind had conjured up. Two tracks emerged as favorites - both of them got promotional CD singles with extra mixes - "Jump Street" and "North On South Street" to enhance the enjoyment. "Jump Street's" Brighton Daze remix with Yvonne De La Vega has become a particular favorite. In fact it's the one you'll find on the official video for the song.

Lesson learned: Mr. Alpert and his trumpet are capable of taking me places that I never thought I'd ever want to go.

 

[Rudy]

I can't think of many albums specifically just yet, but I've had that with many. They never appealed to me the first few plays, but grew on me quite a bit, even to become favorites.

(There's the flip side also--liking an album on the first play, yet I can't stand to listen to it today. )

One that just came to mind was the Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach album Painted From Memory. As Bacharach albums go, this has to be his crowning achievement. Costello really brought out the best in him--all those familiar orchestral sounds from the 60s and especially the 70s remain, but the lyrics finally stand up to the work that he did with Hal David. It's not to be missed.

Yet when I bought it, I only really warmed to the track "Toledo," which reminded me the most of his prior recordings. Never warmed to the rest, not until I heard the first track ("In The Darkest Place") played at the audio show (AXPONA) from a vinyl test pressing. Hearing it so "big," it struck me just how good the song and arrangement was. It took me a couple of months but I finally got into all the tunes one by one. And yes, even with Costello's voice. (The tunes are worlds away from his albums with The Attractions.)

Bacharach's recordings and collaborations past this one are good, but none reach this level.

This tune won a Grammy, I believe:

 

[Mark-T]

Carpenters "Passage". Definitely not I expected or wanted. The change occurred because in the years between "Hush" (1976) and "Made in America" (1981) I was forced to keep giving it a listen.

Still not a favorite album per se, but I do find several tracks of those 8 selections quite good. Particularly love "B'wana She No Home" - which is now one of my very favorites in their entire catalogue.

 

[JOv2]

These three immediately came to mind:

• Miles Davis / In A Silent Way (1969)
  • The music just made no sense given the main piece really had no melody.
  • Once I began to understand Miles' musical "feels" (as Herbie Hancock once called it), I could embrace the LP as a wholistic work. Now, it's a cornerstone LP -- a crowning achievement of the unique '60s period -- where his music evolved to a place where definitive "songs" were no longer necessary.
• Jackson Brown / (1st LP, 1971)
  • My first thoughts: man, this guy needs to practice his singing, and the producer needs to bury this cat in the mix; because of this I could not get into any of the songs.
  • About a year later one of the songs (probably one of the hits -- Rock Me on the Water or Doctor My Eyes) started to haunt me. I played the entire LP and it was a stern revelation. At once I realized he was a troubadour with unique vocal acumen and the LP was wall-to-wall beauty where every musical essence is significant. To me, it's the greatest "singer-songwriter" LP issued.
• The Who / Whos' Next (1971)
  • Coming off of The Who Sell Out and Tommy, this just made no musical sense. The playing was impeccable, of course; but it exhibited that' 70s sound that at the time (1983) I loathed.
  • About two years later, I came to better understand "that" sound...and the LP was singularly responsible for me better understanding '70s rock (though, truth be told, about 80% of post-1972 pop and rock music I can still do without).

 

[Mr Bill]

The Buzzcocks.

In 1980, my Navy friend got me into The Cramps. I'd already been curious about the whole Punk/New Wave thing, especially after seeing a 20/20 segment on this "new music threatening to invade US shores." But, not being a "rocker" I was merely pleased to hear pop music that in some cases featured horns and synths. In fact I was such a "non-rocker" that I thought Bread or Carpenters were way too rocking!

But upon seeing this new label the Cramps were on -- I.R.S. -- was manufactured and distributed by A&M, I figured I'd take a risk. A&M rrarely disappointed I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked nearly every record I found on the new label. However, The Buzzcocks were pretty loud, straight ahead two guitars, bass and drums and I could not get into it.

But, as happens, a few weeks later I had a melody going in my head and couldn't figure out what it was from. Upon giving The Buzzcocks another chance I realized that was where I heard the melody. I soon developed an appreciation for their style of punky power pop and today I listen to their second I.R.S. album, A Different Kind of Tension, in regular rotation, and have for over twenty years now. The cuts "You Say You Don't Love Me" (later covered by labelmates Fine Young Cannibals for Jonathan Demme's film Something Wild), "Something's Gone Wrong Again" and "I Believe" are truly terrific songs.

One A&M era I.R.S. artist I have NOT yet had this happen with is Chelsea, who are pure hardcore punk, and did two LPs for I.R.S. (Some material by The Fall is in the same boat with me).

--Mr Bill

 

[Rudy]

One A&M era I.R.S. artist I have NOT yet had this happen with is Chelsea, who are pure hardcore punk, and did two LPs for I.R.S. (Some material by The Fall is in the same boat with me).

I like Chelsea's first album (self-titled, a UK-only release) which had "I'm On Fire," the tune featured in Urgh! and also an I.R.S. b-side. (Unless it was also an I.R.S. release here in the US and isn't yet listed on Discogs.) Odd how it happens, but I'm more into this type of record a lot more than I was decades ago when I first heard it. And I'm still regretting not buying more of the I.R.S. releases--there was so much music I was into back then, and never had these in my budget. Now they are either hard to find in clean (or preferably sealed) condition, or the few copies I find locally are trashed.

 

[Mr Bill]

I like Chelsea's first album (self-titled, a UK-only release) which had "I'm On Fire," the tune featured in Urgh! and also an I.R.S. b-side. (Unless it was also an I.R.S. release here in the US and isn't yet listed on Discogs.) Odd how it happens, but I'm more into this type of record a lot more than I was decades ago when I first heard it. And I'm still regretting not buying more of the I.R.S. releases--there was so much music I was into back then, and never had these in my budget. Now they are either hard to find in clean (or preferably sealed) condition, or the few copies I find locally are trashed.

It WAS an I.R.S. release, (SP 70010 -- the first to get the leading "70") but had a slightly different track listing for the UK version (which IIRC was on Illegal Records, one of many Miles Copeland imprints that fed the I.R.S. machine).

 

[Rudy]

I kind of figured it might have had a US release. The first UK version was on Step Forward Records, distributed by Miles' business Faulty Products. Miles is given a mention in the credits:



So it looks like Discogs needs an update.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

It's kind of hard to believe given how much I love the album today, but Sergio Mendes' Primal Roots.

I was on vacation with my family at a lake in southern Montana. When we would vacation there, we would usually drive over to the nearby town of Sheridan, Wyoming for supplies after a few days. I would always find time to head over to the record department at the Woolworths store downtown while the rest of the family went for groceries.

In the summer of '72 I was perusing the Sergio Mendes section and.... here was this album I'd never heard of. Primal Roots. I read the liner notes on the back, which were downright weird for a "pop" album, and figured I had to buy this. I was still in the 8-track mode at the time, so I bought the album on 8-track. To this day I'm amazed that they had it in stock -- they must have been serviced by a racker that would send them "one of everything."

Anyway, I got permission to listen to the tape in my parents' car once we got back to the cabin. My first reaction was "whaaaaaat were they thinking??" By the time I got to "The Circle Game," I was sort of depressed, here was a new Sergio Mendes album and it was kinda disappointing, especially this long jazz thing.

It wasn't until I found A&M Corner and started reading all the raves that the album was getting here, that I really gave the album its proper due. I started playing it more and appreciating it, and today it's a frequent play when I'm in the right kind of mood. Eventually I was honored to receive a request for a copy of my homemade needledrop CD, from Claudio Slon, the drummer on the album, who had read about it on the Corner.

I still have my original LP which I bought after we got home from vacation, and three or four "official" CD copies which I'm still surprised ever got released. Today I'd put it in my top five of Sergio's albums.

 

[JOv2]

Great story, Mike. To me, it's far and away his finest of the '66/'77 A&M releases (though my fave will always be the debut).

I've found a couple more:

Mose Allison / The Transfiguration of Hiram Brown ('61). This is another one of Mose's suites. The first time I heard it -- it was one&done and nearly ready for the sell-back bin. A few years later I was going through a Mose thing and put it on: I couldn't believe my ears...it was as though whatever I heard on the first play was something else entirely. Today, it's a cornerstone in my Mose collection.

The Beach Boys (Brian Wilson) / Pet Sounds ('66). The local record shop guy lent me his copy to tape in 1978 (it was OOP) based on my inquiry (which was based on a period review of the LP I had just read). My initial impression: the production was lousy -- with over-modulation and studio noise everywhere and it seemed as though most melodic phrases ended with a minor 3rd drop, which was starting to get annoying. I recognized God Only Knows as well as Let's Go Away For Awhile (the flip to Good Vibrations) and, predictably, were the only two songs I liked. Essentially, I just could not get past of odd / weird sound of the LP. I did commit it to tape (but not a UDXL-II; I stuck it on a MAXELL). Round about 1980, I gave it another listen and it just sounded different: I think I was better able to appreciate the odd sonic landscape -- which was further emphasized with his "monaural-only" production. It was re-issued in 1981 and continues to be a personal favourite.

George Benson / Tell It Like It Is ('69). Once I stopped criticizing the LP as a sub-par jazz album, I could appreciate it as a solid pop LP.

 

[Harry]

I might have listed PRIMAL ROOTS if I'd ever given it a chance back in the 70s, but when I looked at the track listing after it had been out for some time, I saw nothing familiar at all. And I had read a review that the album was not for the typical fan, as it delved deep into Brazilian music's roots. So I just ignored the album for another 25 years or so.

 

[Rudy]

George Benson / Tell It Like It Is ('69). Once I stopped criticizing the LP as a sub-par jazz album, I could appreciate it as a solid pop LP.

I think overall, that is how one should approach George Benson. There are so many out there who slam him, especially for his albums in the 80s when he was on the R&B station with hit singles as a vocalist. Given how hard it is for any musician, especially jazz musicians, to make a living, I don't knock them if they find a niche and make a good living from it. (Although, I still have no use for the likes of Kenny G., etc. ) Or considered another way, could he have sustained his career for 50+ years if he'd kept on doing the same style as his earliest albums? Nope.

I have always seen Benson as having three personalities. And found it OK to like whatever I like from them.

• The original George Benson, who played all over those jazz LPs in the 60s.
• The contemporary jazz Benson, who released albums like Breezin', Absolute Benson, Give Me The Night, etc., mostly instrumental, but with an occasional vocal, or vocal features more rooted in jazz.
• The pop/R&B singer Benson (basically, anything past Give Me The Night, which itself was a transitional album).

 

[Mr Bill]

I kind of figured it might have had a US release. The first UK version was on Step Forward Records, distributed by Miles' business Faulty Products.

Yes. I knew it was one of Miles's labels. The US version replaced "I'm On Fire" with "No Escape" which also became the album's title. The single -- which was the third I.R.S. 45 -- from the album came almost a year before the LP and featured "Decide" and the (eventual) now non-LP track "I'm On Fire." This was so far ahead of the album's release it doesn't even get the usual "from the album" or even "forthcoming album" blurb we usually got with singles.

--Mr Bill

 

[Mark-T]

I think overall, that is how one should approach George Benson. There are so many out there who slam him, especially for his albums in the 80s when he was on the R&B station with hit singles as a vocalist. Given how hard it is for any musician, especially jazz musicians, to make a living, I don't knock them if they find a niche and make a good living from it. (Although, I still have no use for the likes of Kenny G., etc. ) Or considered another way, could he have sustained his career for 50+ years if he'd kept on doing the same style as his earliest albums? Nope.

I have always seen Benson as having three personalities. And found it OK to like whatever I like from them.

• The original George Benson, who played all over those jazz LPs in the 60s.
• The contemporary jazz Benson, who released albums like Breezin', Absolute Benson, Give Me The Night, etc., mostly instrumental, but with an occasional vocal, or vocal features more rooted in jazz.
• The pop/R&B singer Benson (basically, anything past Give Me The Night, which itself was a transitional album).

This is a very good breakdown on his career! I find George Benson to be a very solid vocalist with a distinctive voice. Even better as he ages.

 

[Bobberman]

I think overall, that is how one should approach George Benson. There are so many out there who slam him, especially for his albums in the 80s when he was on the R&B station with hit singles as a vocalist. Given how hard it is for any musician, especially jazz musicians, to make a living, I don't knock them if they find a niche and make a good living from it. (Although, I still have no use for the likes of Kenny G., etc. ) Or considered another way, could he have sustained his career for 50+ years if he'd kept on doing the same style as his earliest albums? Nope.

I have always seen Benson as having three personalities. And found it OK to like whatever I like from them.

• The original George Benson, who played all over those jazz LPs in the 60s.
• The contemporary jazz Benson, who released albums like Breezin', Absolute Benson, Give Me The Night, etc., mostly instrumental, but with an occasional vocal, or vocal features more rooted in jazz.
• The pop/R&B singer Benson (basically, anything past Give Me The Night, which itself was a transitional album).

I enjoy most of Benson's music from his jazz beginnings until his 1993 release " Love Remembers I lost track of him afterwards but one of my standout favorite albums by him is the half vocal/half instrumental " Weekend in L.A from 1978 albums like that give us the best of George Benson as a Vocalist And An Instrumentalist which I like both

 

[JOv2]

Another LP popped up:

This was cut in '68, so it's expected to tip its cap towards straight-time R&B. When I picked it up, I saw Leo Morris was listed as the drummer -- this along with some of the cover selections gave me a good idea what I was probably in store for... On first listen, I could barely get through the rhythmic monotony of it all; but I liked Stanley T too much to get rid of it, so I "hid" it in with the pop CDs (next to The Turtles!) where it lay for many years...until I was set about reviewing all my holdings some years ago and spun it. All I can say is: Yes! One chord R&B bores me to tears, but in the hands of jazz artists, like Stanley and Shirley, their vast traditional musical knowledge add more music to simple changes than one could ever surmise. Also, we get to hear Bob Cranshaw play Fender bass -- which comes off unique given his double bass technique. Since my revelation, whenever someone asks about that period, this is what I play. Oh, and their version of Blowin' In The Wind, is actually the most musical I've heard; and while I'm sure the musical subversives of the day hated hearing it played like this, I think mining the beauty of the melody and voicings against the tight-packed rhythm is inviting to say the least.

 

[Moritat]

Here's 2 albums where I experienced this... First one was "Trout Mask Replica" (Captain Beefheart). I bought it because I was a Zappa fan, but after one listen, I was more confused than impressed. The arrangements seemed to be a mess and there certainly were no hooks to hold on to. A week later I listened to it with a friend, and as I paid more attention to the words, I started to "get it". After several more listens, I found the double lp fun to listen to and was hearing new things each time I played it. And a year later, it became a cherished favorite. ////////// The second lp was "Miles Smiles" (Miles Davis). A friend recommended it, but the first listen was just ok at best. But later, when listening to it it, I started concentrating on the rhythm section and appreciating the solos. It soon became one of my favorite lps, especially when I wanted to relax and mellow out. I still find Tony Williams drumming just amazing on "Freedom Jazz Dance." and love the beauty of "Orbits".

 

[Harry]

I had a recent experience with an album that I thought I'd like somewhat. A couple of years ago, I started digging into Laura Nyro. My collection had two of her albums. One was called THE FIRST SONGS and it was full of Laura's songs that are better knows by other artists like the 5th Dimension. As such, it's a pretty good album. My vinyl copy was pretty clean and made a nice needledrop.

Next to it on the shelf was ELI AND THE THIRTEENTH CONFESSION. This one was in a worse state from radio use, but it cleaned up OK, and again, there were some recognizable "hits" like "Sweet Blindness" and "Stoned Soul Picnic" interspersed with some more unfamiliar, but still pretty good songs.

Finally, there was one more that had been used on air - but just for one track, "Up On The Roof", the one song she didn't write on this album, CHRISTMAS AND THE BEADS OF SWEAT. Other than that track, I recognized "Black Patch", but went ahead and digitized it. This is the one that just didn't click at all. I probably won't be listening to that one again.

 

[rockdoctor]

I had a recent experience with an album that I thought I'd like somewhat. A couple of years ago, I started digging into Laura Nyro. My collection had two of her albums. One was called THE FIRST SONGS and it was full of Laura's songs that are better knows by other artists like the 5th Dimension. As such, it's a pretty good album. My vinyl copy was pretty clean and made a nice needledrop.

Next to it on the shelf was ELI AND THE THIRTEENTH CONFESSION. This one was in a worse state from radio use, but it cleaned up OK, and again, there were some recognizable "hits" like "Sweet Blindness" and "Stoned Soul Picnic" interspersed with some more unfamiliar, but still pretty good songs.

Finally, there was one more that had been used on air - but just for one track, "Up On The Roof", the one song she didn't write on this album, CHRISTMAS AND THE BEADS OF SWEAT. Other than that track, I recognized "Black Patch", but went ahead and digitized it. This is the one that just didn't click at all. I probably won't be listening to that one again.

The first Laura Nyro album that I ever listened to was New York Tendaberry when I was in high school. If Eli had not been sold out, that would have been the first. I was picking up the album for someone else. I liked some of the songs but was not too enamored of the album. The next one I heard was Christmas and The Beads of Sweat as I had heard Up On The Roof on the radio and liked that. A friend had that album and that one I truly liked. Later on, I got Eli and First Songs but Tendaberry is the one that I least listen to these days. Eli and Christmas get the most time on my players.