TSI: Inside in the "the worst albums of great bands"

[auad]

In one of his lists, the British magazine Classic Rock has published in its issue 168, February 2012, a selection of those who would, in the opinion of the staff of the magazine, the fifty worst albums released by major artists.

Kiss – (Music From) The Elder (1981)

Billy Idol – Cyberpunk (1993)

Jon Anderson – Olias of Sunhillow (1976)

Vários – Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)

David Bowie – Tonight (1984)

David Bowie – Never Let Me Down (1984)

Tin Machine – Tin Machine II (1991)

Neil Young – Trans (1982)

Neil Young – Everybody's Rockin' (1983)

Neil Young – Landing on Water (1986)

Bob Dylan – Dylan (1973)

Bob Dylan – Saved (1980)

Bob Dylan – Dylan and The Dead (1989)

Queen – Hot Space (1982)

ELP – Love Beach (1978)

The Clash – Cut the Crap (1985)

Michael Bolton – Soul Provider (1989)

T. Rex – Zinc Alloy … (1974)

Killing Joke – Outside the Gate (1988)

Mötley Crüe – Generation Swine (1997)

Rod Stewart – Best Wishes (1983)

Captain Beefheart – Bluejeans & Moonbeams (1974)

Def Leppard – X (2002)

Keith Moon – Two Sides of the Moon (1975)

Mick Jagger – Primitive Cool (1987)

Gene Simmons – Asshole (2004)

George Harrison – Gone Troppo (1982)

The Velvet Underground – Squeeze (1973)

Van Halen – Van Halen III (1998)

Iron Maiden – The X Factor (1995)

Black Sabbath – Born Again (1983)

Genesis – Calling All Stations (1997)

The Doors – Other Voices (1971)

Rolling Stones – Dirty Work (1986)

Aerosmith – Just Push Play (2001)

AC/DC – Fly on the Wall (1985)

Crosby, Stills & Nash – Live It Up (1990)

Deep Purple – The House of Blue Light (1987)

The Who – It's Hard (1981)

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Mardi Gras (1972)

Fleetowood Mac – Time (1975)

The Byrds – Byrdmaniax (1971)

Jimi Hendrix – Crash Landing (1975)

Ozzy Osbourne – Under Cover (2005)

Guns N' Roses – The Spaghetti Incident (1993)

Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (2003)

Scott Weiland – The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (2011)

Metallica – St Anger (2003)

Lou Reed & Metallica – Lulu (2011)

Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music (1975)

[Chris 55]

I dunno. I quite liked TSI?

But, whatever.

[Gunner55]

AC/DC's Fly On The Wall? I loved that album...

[James Bond]

AC/DC's Fly On The Wall? I loved that album...

Me too. The production was awful but the songs were great. Shake Your Foundations, Sink The Pink, and the title track are all great tunes. Not counting Who Made Who, I'd easily rank it above Blow Up Your Video and Flick of the Switch in terms of consistency of their eighties albums.

[Georgy Zhukov]

I agree on Dylan's Saved. At least there were redeeming songs on Shot of Love and Self Portrait.

[Voodoochild]

Jimi Hendrix – Crash Landing (1975)

He was already dead, lol. How can anyone put that on a list?

[jekylhyde]

Cover albums shouldn't count, cause they (almost) automatically suck. And some of those records are considered sucky just because they didn't sell well. Aerosmith's Just Push Play is a great album, and I honestly dig St. Anger. But maybe I'm just biased.

TSI has some good songs (those that Duff sings on), but yeah, it's pretty effortless album.

Edited February 29, 2012 by jekylhyde

[Nosaj Thing]

Cover albums shouldn't count, cause they (almost) automatically suck. And some of those records are considered sucky, just because the didn't sell well. Aerosmith's Just Push Play is a great album, and I honestly dig St. Anger. But maybe I'm just biased.

TSI has some good songs (those that Duff sings on), but yeah, it's pretty effortless album.

+1

[Chewbacca]

Honestly I would take St. Anger over Kill 'em All anytime, but that's just my opinion of course.

[AeroGNR]

Cover albums shouldn't count, cause they (almost) automatically suck. And some of those records are considered sucky, just because the didn't sell well. Aerosmith's Just Push Play is a great album, and I honestly dig St. Anger. But maybe I'm just biased.

TSI has some good songs (those that Duff sings on), but yeah, it's pretty effortless album.

I don't know, I really like "Honkin on Bobo" by Aerosmith!

[vaida]

I dunno. I quite liked TSI?

But, whatever.

+1

Raw sounding GN'R covering punks songs

I prefer it to Chinese Demo

[jekylhyde]

Honkin on Bobo is awesome!

[Georgy Zhukov]

Honestly I would take St. Anger over Kill 'em All anytime, but that's just my opinion of course.

Yeah, depends on my mood.

[axlslash]

This list is bullshit. Just based on the Dylan albums alone - Dylan & The Dead is on the list, but Real Live isn't? Saved is, but Red Sky At Morning isn't? These people know next to nothing.

[RocketQueenGNR]

I like TSI? and I don't really care about those lists.

[Georgy Zhukov]

I prefer it to Chinese Demo

Not sure if serious?

Them demos needed work done

[Estranged Reality]

I've always enjoyed Spaghetti Incident because, after all the bombast and excess of the Illusions, it was a more basic and straightforward, throwaway album - simply fun, the guys playing the music they grew up on, with more punk attitude than anything since Appetite. Not by any means their best work but not a terrible record. I think part of the reason it has the negative reputation that it does is because the band broke up right after its release, so it's seen as a death knell.

[vaida]

I prefer it to Chinese Demo

Not sure if serious?

I'm serious. I much prefer the raw sounding side of GN'R over polish.

The acoustic mix of You're Crazy is awsome. I like the turbo charged mix on AFD also.

I hope for the next GN'R album, they move into a studio, and record 'together' during the creation process, and record in a couple of takes.

I've always enjoyed Spaghetti Incident because, after all the bombast and excess of the Illusions, it was a more basic and straightforward, throwaway album - simply fun, the guys playing the music they grew up on, with more punk attitude than anything since Appetite. Not by any means their best work but not a terrible record. I think part of the reason it has the negative reputation that it does is because the band broke up right after its release, so it's seen as a death knell.

When I first heard on the radio, some days before the album became available, Ain't It Fun, I knew I was listening to a classic track. It still rates as one of my favourite Guns N'Roses songs ever, even if it's a cover. Its so raw, and real. I love it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEArS2gtYGQ

Edited February 29, 2012 by vaida

[AXL_N_DIZZY]

I've always enjoyed Spaghetti Incident because, after all the bombast and excess of the Illusions, it was a more basic and straightforward, throwaway album - simply fun, the guys playing the music they grew up on, with more punk attitude than anything since Appetite. Not by any means their best work but not a terrible record. I think part of the reason it has the negative reputation that it does is because the band broke up right after its release, so it's seen as a death knell.

+1 Very well said.

They actually sound like they were having fun on Spaghetti which provides quiite a contrast to the massive canvas/"tortured artist(s)" feeling on both the Illusions before and Chinese after.

Also, this will be darn near sacrillage for some folks... but Spaghetti is actually my favorite "Slash" album. I don't know why- but I just feel like he absolutely crushes it on that album and darn near carries the whole band on his back in certain places (and I'm a big "Axl" guy). That's pretty cool IMHO when you consider the "skeleton/foundation" of all those songs is straight-up punk without much allowance/space for classic hard rock guitar tracks. Respect to Slash for making that album work as a Guns N' Roses album.

Anyway- Spaghetti appears on these type of lists from time-to-time and it really makes no sense to me. Of course Spaghetti is kind of the scrawny "little brother" in comparison to Appetite, Lies and Illusions (and Chinese too for that matter)- but it's NOT a bad album. I just think it sometimes gets a bad rap b/c it arrived on the scene at a time (i.e. 93-94) when Guns was well on its way to surrendering world supremacy to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Metallica, STP, etc. and it didn't offer much in the way of hit songs as an answer to those bands. IMHO- if that very SAME album had been released in 1990 or early 1991 say as a "tide the fans over" before the Illusions album it probably would have a MUCH better rep. A victim of poor "timing" if there ever was one...

Edited February 29, 2012 by AXL_N_DIZZY

[Saphyra]

As a matter of fact, I love "The Spaghetti Incident?".

[Flayer]

TSI didn't suck, I just think it was a disappointment as a followup to the UYI colossus.

Edited February 29, 2012 by Flayer

[ITW 2012]

I've never understood why The Spaghetti Incident gets so much shit. It's just a covers album.

[AXL_N_DIZZY]

TSI didn't suck, I just think it was a disappointment as a followup to the UYI colossus.

True- but in its defense- TSI? was never meant to be a true "follow-up" to UYI (which I know you know). Somehow it got portrayed as that in certain circles though. I guarantee there are lots of folks out there that aren't even aware that it's a cover album of punk songs. They probably think it's the best Old Guns could do post-UYI to come up with "new" material- and when they "failed"- they broke up a "spent" creative force, etc. I remember quite well getting in arguments with grunge/alternative fans on this very topic. They didn't have a clue... even though they all claimed to like "punk" music.

[Georgy Zhukov]

Wasn't TSI? Just a collection of songs the band recorded during the Illusions only to have Gilby record over Izzys tracks. Also the band couldn't really agree on a new album.

I think it was suppose to hold people over for what became Chinese Democracy

[Flayer]

The fact that it was their next release after Use Your Illusion means that be definition people will judge TSI as being a follow up to it, just as Chinese Democracy will inevitably be judged as the product of a 17-year waiting period, even by those who didn't think about it once for all those years.