Lesser albums by the BBs compared to lesser albums by their contemporaries

[CenturyDeprived]

Just got Spotify not too long ago, and I've been digging into listening to some oddities and obscure albums by some bands who I really like.
I came across some of The Bee Gees later albums from the late 80s and early 90s, and man... they are pretty terrible. I mean, really bad. Maybe I'd feel differently if I listened to them more, but my first impression was a big fat "yuck", with only a few listenable exceptions... and I love, love, love The Bee Gees material from the 60s through early 80s.

There's even a pseudo rap song where old, famous Bee Gees song lyrics are referenced.
Smart Girls-style.

This got me thinking, maybe the BBs crappier albums/songs weren't so off-the-cliff bad compared to their contemporaries lesser works.

What do y'all think?

[Capitol Punishment]

I dunno. I can't think of many albums worse than SIP and KTSA. With most bands' worst albums, I tend to at least find something on them that is pretty good so I don't have to admit they're bad albums.  For fun though let's compare the BB's worst stuff to other bands' worst.
The Beach Boys: Summer in Paradise
The Beatles: Let It Be
The Who:  Numbers
The Doors: The Soft Parade
The Rolling Stones: Dirty Work
Pink Floyd: Ummagumma
Billy Joel: Streetlife Serenade

[Lee Marshall]

KTSA ranks higher on my list...a LOT higher than SIP.  The number of flies Summer in Pair of Dice attracts is unbelievable.  Thank goodness it wasn't their swan song.  Thank Brian.  Whew!!!

Hard to be less impressive musically than SIP is Cent Dep.  It's almost a caricature of the group.  A ship without a rudder. A day without the sun.  A singer wihout a song.  After THAT ...it's almost impossible to believe that the Beach Boys actually managed to continue on.

They went almost 20 years without a new, original release.  They soldiered on with no Wilsons and without Al Jardine for much of it...No it's really almost impossible to believe that it somehow kept on rolling.

It can really only be 1 thing that, against all odds and anything else that makes ANY sense, allowed it to happen.  The songs.

[elnombre]

The Beach Boys worst albums - SIP notwithstanding because it simply doesn't sound like a Beach Boys album, and in terms of personnel isn't one really - still have merit on the strength of the harmonies and signature sound. Take any of those albums and imagine them as the one and only Beach Boys album there is and I think you'd find some merit to them, in the arrangements in vocals if not in the material itself.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I dunno. I can't think of many albums worse than SIP and KTSA. With most bands' worst albums, I tend to at least find something on them that is pretty good so I don't have to admit they're bad albums.  For fun though let's compare the BB's worst stuff to other bands' worst.
The Beach Boys: Summer in Paradise
The Beatles: Let It Be
The Who:  Numbers
The Doors: The Soft Parade
The Rolling Stones: Dirty Work
Pink Floyd: Ummagumma
Billy Joel: Streetlife Serenade

My good fellow, do not diss The Who By Numbers ! 

[Lonely Summer]

If the Beatles had stayed together as long as the Beach Boys, eventually they would have put out 1 or 2 plain awful albums. Thankfully, the former Fabs blessed us with such unlistenable solo works as George's Electronic Sound; John & Yoko's Two Virgins, Life with the Lions, and Wedding Album; Ringo the 4th; Paul's Off the Ground and ...well, that could quite a lengthy list. The cute Beatle keeps cranking them out, for better or for worse.

[Micha]

eventually they would have put out 1 or 2 plain awful albums.

Hehe, IMHO the Beatles did do that with their last two ones!

[Please delete my account]

"Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" are a horrible warning of what could have happened to the Beatles.

[Mujan, 8@$+@Rc| of a Blue Wizard]

eventually they would have put out 1 or 2 plain awful albums.

Hehe, IMHO the Beatles did do that with their last two ones!

Not a fan of Let It Be, but I think it's at least competent. Love Abbey Road. White Album has enough great songs for a great album if egos didn't ensure the good was buried in a mountain of filler. Honestly, I think Pepper is fluff.

Even so, no band I can think of has a SIP to answer for. You don't get to just discount it because Brian wasn't involved. Even if you do, 15 Big Ones is almost as awful and DID include Brian, so...

[phirnis]

I dunno. I can't think of many albums worse than SIP and KTSA. With most bands' worst albums, I tend to at least find something on them that is pretty good so I don't have to admit they're bad albums.  For fun though let's compare the BB's worst stuff to other bands' worst.
The Beach Boys: Summer in Paradise
The Beatles: Let It Be
The Who:  Numbers
The Doors: The Soft Parade
The Rolling Stones: Dirty Work
Pink Floyd: Ummagumma
Billy Joel: Streetlife Serenade

Had no idea Ummagumma is considered a "worst album" by some. I'm not really into PF post Syd Barrett's departure (save for Animals, which I love) but I'm sure they have plenty albums in their catalogue weaker than Ummagumma.

[RiC]

Let It Be and Abbey Road are the best albums The Beatles ever did.

Exluding SIP, Beach Boys did actually pretty solid work through out their whole career. I'd actually claim that Surfin' Safari is their second worst album. And Surfin' Safari is not a bad album. Most bands tend to do dozens of unforgettable songs. Even The Beatles. Beach Boys did maybe a dozen, with almost 30 albums. That's pretty good work I'd say.

[SenorPotatoHead]

The Who By Numbers rocks!    Slip Kid, Imagine A Man, They Are All In Love, In A Hand Or Face, Success Story, Dreaming From The Waist.....and yes, the mighty SQUEEZE BOX!! 
You wanna pick a lesser Who album, try It's Hard. 

[Micha]

Let It Be and Abbey Road are the best albums The Beatles ever did.

That's YOUR opinion - mine is the 180° opposite!

[RiC]

Let It Be and Abbey Road are the best albums The Beatles ever did.

That's YOUR opinion - mine is the 180° opposite!

Well, that's just like your opinion, man!

[Capitol Punishment]

I didn't realize I offended so many people with my list. I just compiled it based off of album rankings based on a few popular websites. Anyone want to try making a more accurate comparison than mine?

[Mike's Beard]

The Kinks put out some absolute stinkers late in the game. As did Chicago.

[CenturyDeprived]

All I can say is that listening to The Bee Gees' High Civilization has made me feel not quite as embarrassed for The BBs' SIP (the bad half/60% of the album), Smart Girls, and the like. It's just "wow" bad.

[Steve Latshaw]

<<My good fellow, do not diss The Who By Numbers>>

The Who By Numbers is an EXCELLENT album... one of their finest.  Deceptively simple after Quadrophenia, but a great record... the perfect transition between Quad and Who Are You (which was their last great album).

[Lee Marshall]

Let It Be and Abbey Road are the best albums The Beatles ever did.

That's YOUR opinion - mine is the 180° opposite!

I'm 50/50 here.  I REALLY like Abbey Road..just one 'iffy' song for me.  Octopus's Garden is what?  A 'try' at finding another Yellow Submarine novelty number?  Whoops...  They missed...but only by a million miles.

Let It Be?  No wonder Paul INSISTED that they do another album...ie:  Abbey Road..  Let it be is overstocked with B tunes...including the 'hits' as far as I'm concerned.  A limp-dicked kind of album if ever there was one.  A tail between their legs...let's get the F outta Dodge kind of swan song that was so far beneath them that obviously something was MEGA wrong and it was time for the 4 of them to scoot in opposite directions.

To THEIR credit...unlike others...they did.  [just one album...and movie too late]
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Yes I too like Who By Numbers.  [for whatever THAT is worth.]

[elnombre]

As far a BB contemporaries go I can only think of Bob Dylan as having ran the gamut of sublime to godawful with quite the same scope.

[kwebb]

Ummagumma or Atom Heart Mother are my least favorite Floyd albums, but SIP doesn't even hold a candle to either of those. I'd rather listen to "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" than "Hot Fun in the Summertime" any day of the week.

[Please delete my account]

"Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" are a horrible warning of what could have happened to the Beatles. And, briefly, did.

Most of the albums 'Charlie Harper' cites don't relate to the OP's original premise as I see it- we're talking obscure, '80s-to-now, post-glory days works. Like the Monkees' "Pool It", or Dylan's "Knocked Out Loaded", the Kinks' "Phobia"... none of which I've heard, so I can't comment on their merit.

Sorry, I was a bit out of line there, Charlie Harper. I re-read the OP and I was wrong, there was nothing specifically requiring the albums to be among the artist's later, obscure works. I take my criticism back.

[Steve Latshaw]

"Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" are a horrible warning of what could have happened to the Beatles. >>

I would disagree strongly.  These two songs are Beatles classics in my view; in retrospect my only issue with these tracks are the limitations of technology in 1995.  With the sound production tools today, I have to wonder if Lennon's vocals could have been improved or strengthened, to sound as full as Paul and George. 

I wish, in hindsight, the Beach Boys would do this; Dennis' solo track It's Not Too Late would have been a perfect choice, as it also features Carl.

[Rocky Raccoon]

There's Fleetwood Mac's Behind the Mask which to be fair has a few good tunes courtesy of Christine and Stevie but ultimately suffers at the blandness of Rick Vito and Billy Burnette.  And then there's the Time album with the generic pop star voice of Bekka Bramlett in for Stevie.  Both albums are incredibly uneven and the replacement band members just didn't work at all (except for maybe Dave Mason) though they're still much better than Summer in Paradise.

[Capitol Punishment]

"Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" are a horrible warning of what could have happened to the Beatles. And, briefly, did.

Most of the albums 'Charlie Harper' cites don't relate to the OP's original premise as I see it- we're talking obscure, '80s-to-now, post-glory days works. Like the Monkees' "Pool It", or Dylan's "Knocked Out Loaded", the Kinks' "Phobia"... none of which I've heard, so I can't comment on their merit.

Sorry, I was a bit out of line there, Charlie Harper. I re-read the OP and I was wrong, there was nothing specifically requiring the albums to be among the artist's later, obscure works. I take my criticism back.

It's cool man. I wasn't offended at all.