I had the misfortune of spotting Sarah Vaughan's "Songs of the Beatles" at my local record store and, intrigued, I bought it since it was only $2. I'm still traumatized a few hours after listening to it; who and why would ever release a record that bad? I love Sarah as a jazz singer but her rendition of the Beatles' songs is absolutely atrocious. I just can't believe someone made a decision to actually release it.
How come Bruce Jenner never took a stab at singing?
Golden opportunity missed! Wouldn’t it have been terrifically bad had Bruce laid down tracks for an album before his transformation, then as Caitlyn Marie, added harmony to the mix. The first ever male/female duet sung by the same person! Yet another great idea squandered.
I agree with you about Raisin Sand. I rarely play it due to the boring music and the poor sound quality. Yet there was so much acclaim. I will be leery of any future purchases of music where T- Bone is the producer. I think he got the sound he wanted, albeit garbage can sonics.
I agree that Ry is great, however "pro's" look/listen to music differently than I. So their opinions don't carry any more weight than other music lovers. I do enjoy reading bdp24's thoughts, though. And other contributors as well.
Ry Cooder is very serious about the sound of his guitars and amps (and creates incredible tone), so when he heard about this new-fangled recording system---digital, he was eager to try it. Bop 'Til You Drop was the first digitally recorded Pop (non-Classical) album, and Ry was extremely disappointed with the sound of the album---he hated it.
Ry returned to analog recording, but it wasn't until he heard a Water Lily recording that he was again interested enough to pursue a new recording system. His comment upon hearing that WL album was "Why don't my albums sound this good?". He contacted Water Lily's genius recording engineer Kavi Alexander, who records with tube mics and an analog recorder with tube electronics by Tim de Paravicini, designer and builder of the great EAR-Yoshino consumer electronics. Ry and Kavi have done a couple of records together, including the Grammy-winning (for audio engineering) A Meeting By The River.
Too bad about the sound of Bop 'Til You Drop---the music is great. Ry is one of the best guitarists in the world---just ask any pro!
I have all of Ry Cooder's recordings except "bop Til You Drop". I gave it to my cousin who then tried to give it back. I'm not sure where it ended up but I know where it should be!
Appalling recordings are numerous but how about "award winning" recordings that turn out to be really disappointing? Case in point: Robert Plant / Alison Krauss "Raising Sand" album of a few years ago? I bought this as I'm a HUGE fan of Alison Krauss and have certainly enjoyed most of Plant's production with LZ over the years past. I was shocked at the poor recording quality and not very impressed with the material itself. I think the accolades had more to do with both parties star status than with this effort. Compare the recording quality/arrangements on RS with any of Alison's last 6 or 7 albums which are simply stellar.
"Indiana Wants Me, Lord I Can't Go Back There" by an artist whose name I cannot remember. Absolutely the worst. "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks was also pretty bad. Both are Top 40 hits, circa 1971.
I remember Ry's "Bop Till You Drop"--the only LP I remember giving away. What a disappointment.
i recently heard "my favorite underwear" by liz phair, whose "exile in guyville" was a revered classic. it is unquestionably the most pandering execrable record ever made and is actually physically painful to listen to.
Did I mention current Yes ? The mightiest of Prog Bands ? Remember "Astral Traveller", stunning cover of Beatles´ "Every Little Thing", "In the Heart of Sunrise", incredibly beautiful cover of Paul Simon´s "America", "Roundabout", "Tales from Topographic Oceans", "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" ?? They finally are a karaoke outfit lead by a non original member. None of them is original. And people praise those. There can´t be anything worse in the business really. I´ll take lady Gaga any day instead. Because she´s honest doing her crap.
Amongst Rock 'n' Roll historians there is an album considered the "Plan 9 From Outer Space" of albums: "Philosophy Of The World" by The Shaggs. Recorded by the three Wiggins sisters of New Hampshire in 1968, it is a real trip. Two of the guys in NRBQ, having a perverse sense of humor, talked their label Rounder Records into re-releasing it.
Ha! Ry Cooder is really serious about how his guitar sounds. When he heard about a new way of recording (digital), he wanted at it, and as Geoff said did the first digitally recorded Pop album, Bop ’Til You Drop. When he heard the playback his reaction was WTF?! He HATED it!
Years later he heard one of the Lily Water LP’s, and said "Why can’t my albums sound this good?" He then recorded "A Meeting By The River" on Water Lily, one of the best sounding albums ever recorded.
Relayer by Yes - oh yes, they finally managed to end up with a dud. The Soon section in the end of side 1 is great piece of music though, it raised my eyebrow a bit.
Any record mastered from digital source. I put one on today I bought accidentally back in the 80s. Renaissance vocal music. Good artists, good label. Sounds like total crap.
Can't forget that album by William Hung.....the asian guy that got made fum of by Simon Cowell for his rendition of "She Bangs". How any company let him in a recording studio is beyond me.
Will avoid American Idol performers, bubble gum acts, actors and athletes. Of highly skilled musicians Van Halen 3 has to rank as one of the worst efforts.
"Anything by Loverboy. I had a girlfriend in the early 80s who played them over and over. Now if I hear them it makes me want to climb the clock tower with a rifle."
Biffrythm is it Loverboy or what it reminds you of?
Sarah Vaughn singing the Beatles? Something doesn't jive with that matchup. I can't imagine nor do I want to.
Anyone remember Kenny Rankin's "Because of You" released on Chesky back in the 80's? Great audiophile stuff, good sound little music. I play it to unsuspecting listeners as a goof. This guy is bad. He must have been a good friend of David Chesky but then again a lot of the Chesky original stuff was cut from the same cloth.
Viridian tell me you're kidding about Pat Boone, you are kidding, right?
Not only is Bo Donaldson's "Billy Don't Be a Hero" NOT the worst record ever, it's not even the worst recording of that song. That honor, IMHO, goes to Paper Lace. It is, however, a close call - so props to you, anyway. Certainly one of the worst songs ever to come down the pike.
Anything by Loverboy. I had a girlfriend in the early 80s who played them over and over. Now if I hear them it makes me want to climb the clock tower with a rifle.
I once (and only once) heard an FM radio station play a novelty cut that was the tune from Stairway to Heaven and the words from the Gilligan's Island theme song. I seem to remember reading that the station received bomb threats...
The Shatner/Nimoy things are hilarious - I would add Nimoy's If I Had A Hammer to the others mentioned. They were, of course, done tongue-in-cheek. There is an album out there somewhere called Golden Throats, or something like that, that has I think one hundred tracks of stuff like that. A friend of mine has it, if anyone is curious I can ask him about it.
Even my drug-induced coma that most refer to as the eighties couldn't dampen the blow of Eddie Murphy's album. BTW, my fave Shatner cover is "Rocket Man". Like the movies "Mommie Dearest" and "Can't Stop the Music", it's so bad it's good. Which brings up the lament: How come Bruce Jenner never took a stab at singing? No worries though. Other "actors" like Chuck Norris totally fill the void!
kitschy but cool...certainly not sara vaughn's finest moment, but hardly a waist of time...as beatles tributes go, keely smith sings the beatles is way better..as is booker t. and the m.g.'s mclemore avenue.
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