I don't usually go out of my way to listen to music with the expectation of disliking it, mostly because it's best to enjoy what I'm spending my time doing. That being said, I do find it interesting to talk about "bad" music in the context of what works and what doesn't, especially if it's bad in an interesting way. Sometimes you need to look at the bad to appreciate the good!

This isn't really a thread for albums you consider overrated or that you were merely underwhelmed by. I'm more interested in albums that have fundamental problems that are detrimental to their quality, whether they be extremely amateur productions, weak reunion albums, misguided changes in style, cases where the troubles behind-the-scenes are incredibly apparent, etc. Of course, as there's not really an objective way to evaluate good or bad here, your mileage may vary!

Some examples that come to mind:

1. Love Beach by Emerson, Lake & Palmer is probably the most iconic example, both for its hilariously awful cover artwork, weak and kitschy ballads (featuring some particularly embarrassing lyrics), and the backstory of it being recorded solely as a contractual obligation for Atlantic Records. It's not all unrelentingly terrible as the rendition of Canario and most of the second side are generally regarded with more affection, but I can't say it's an album undeserving of its infamy.
2. There are quite a few live releases out there with poor to unlistenable sound quality, with one of the more notable examples in prog rock being the Hawkwind archival album "Bring Me The Head Of Yuri Gagarin." While Hawkwind were a very good live band (especially c. 1973 when this would've been recorded), the audio fidelity is so muddy that it's roughly analogous to a poor quality bootleg as opposed to something licensed by a proper label. It's the impressively flaccid rhythm section in particular that suffers most. Hard to get much enjoyment or value out of this when so many better quality live recordings, both official and unofficial, exist. It's also unfortunately a tricky album to avoid, as it's been reprinted several times under several different titles and album covers.
3. On a similar note about poor sound quality, I'll also nominate Psychedelic Underground by Amon Düül (note: not Amon Düül II, and more in the vein of psychedelic free improv). The jams are fairly meandering, but any intrigue from the moods generated there is greatly diminished by the extremely loud and at points unlistenable audio distortion. I know this album has its fans but it verges on headache-inducing for me.
4. "At-King" by Deyss is a pretty bland, bordering on amateurish neo-prog album with very little to make it stand out among similar acts. Much of the band's sound and even their image are heavily derivative of Fish-era Marillion, yet they fail to capture any of the emotional resonance and good songwriting that makes Marillion's music compelling. Overall though, it's not particularly offensive and it is elevated somewhat by how hilariously tasteless some of the decisions made on it are (i.e. the goofy and bordering on childish vocals on the title track, the awful drum and keyboard tones in places, etc.) Very unintentionally funny intro too.

As with any negative threads, don't take things too seriously, and it's more than okay to like some of the albums discussed here! Think of this topic as giving out a wooden spoon to these albums, haha.

Hi everyone! Welcome again to our weekly album discussion. Any album can really be featured, whether it be well-known, overlooked, or by a more contemporary artist - as long as it’s in the style and spirit of classic krautrock/kosmische Muzik.

If you're interested in discussing this week's album through instant messaging or are just interested in talking with more fans, check out the Kosmische Muzik Discord server!

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Irrlicht: Quadrophonische Symphonie Für Orchester Und E-Maschinen

Release Year: 1972

Label: Ohr

The first album by Klaus Schulze (released after his departure from Ash Ra Tempel) is a remarkable example of early ambient music. In contrast to his later recordings which heavily feature synthesisers and sequencers, Irrlicht’s use of electronics is more minimal, with its ominous atmosphere being composed of organ-based drones and orchestral samples. It, along with Schulze’s following album “Cyborg” and Tangerine Dream’s “Zeit,” are highly recommended if dark space ambient is up your alley.

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For those who’ve heard the album - what are your thoughts? Feel free to share any opinions, experiences, etc. related to it.

Lost media is a pretty fascinating topic. There are so many historically important or otherwise valuable recordings that were produced but not preserved, meaning that even if they were intended or even at one point available for public consumption, the majority of people will never be able to see or listen to them.

I’ll give an interesting example of Yes-related lost media; the unreleased 1976 tour film. This would’ve been intended as a follow-up to the “Yessongs” concert film recorded in December 1972 (and released in early 1975).

According to Chris Squire in this 1985 interview, the entirety of the 12 June 1976 show in Pennsylvania (w/ Peter Frampton, Gary Wright, etc) was professionally filmed. Squire estimates that the project was around 80% completed when production was halted and that the tapes were subsequently lost after filming had been finished. It’s unclear who is in possession of them now or if the recordings even still exist.

If anyone happens to have a copy of “Close To The Edge: The Story Of Yes,” Roger Dean apparently claims that more concerts were filmed, although it’s unclear which. [Thanks to kilianltia on the yesfans.com forums for sharing the commentary from both him and Squire]

Audio bootlegs of the show exist, but no footage has ever materialised, which is a shame, as the stage design, props, and lights displays from this era were incredibly striking and unfortunately scarcely documented in terms of actual film. (Pictured in the attached image is the "Crab Nebula," a three-headed fibreglass structure used to project stage lighting)

If you'd like to see some footage from the 1976 tour, here is some from the 18 July performance in San Diego (many thanks to Classic Rock Media Archive on YouTube!)

On the topic of lost footage, a lot of televised recordings from the early 70s (particularly those produced for British television) of bands performing or miming is currently missing due to “wiping” of master tapes or otherwise not being archived. A notable casualty is the extremely poorly preserved “Disco 2,” which ran from January 1970 to July 1971 and featured performances from numerous prog rock bands (e.g. Yes, Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator, Caravan, etc.)

For those curious, you can find a list of featured artists for Disco 2 available for both the 1970 and 1971 seasons respectively. Unfortunately, very little in terms of footage or even still images from these performances are believed to have survived, and it's unlikely that more will resurface.

On the topic of Yes, another unreleased Yes-related project is the “True You, True Me” collaboration album by Jon Anderson and former Yes keyboardist Igor Khoroshev. It was intended for a limited release of 1,000 copies around Fall 2000, which would have been exclusively ordered online. However, the release never came to fruition (likely complicated by Khoroshev’s firing after an on-tour sexual assault incident in July 2000), and the archived version of the website indicates that the page was removed no later than October 2001. It’s not known how far along the album was in development before its release was cancelled.

Interestingly, Anderson does have a history of unrealised projects, e.g. “The Songs of Zamran: Son of Olias” (a sequel to 1975’s “Olias of Sunhillow”), an album that has been in development since its announcement in 2000. However, the album still appears to be actively worked on, as Anderson has mentioned it in interviews over the past few years, and may see a release in the near future.

Anyway, I’d love to hear about some more examples if you have any.