What albums have you graded where your head is saying 6-7 but your heart is saying 9-And your heart wins out.

I'm a Clash fanatic but I've been pretty proud of myself for restraining myself when it comes to grading their albums. London Calling didn't get a 10 'cause I do think it's got some weak tracks. I stand by my 7 for Sandinista!. Combat Rock hasn't been put up by anyone so I haven't been "forced" to deal with that one and I don't even consider Cut The Crap a Clash album.

Dammit, though, Give 'em Enough Rope IS a weak album and it has nothing to do with Sandy Pearlman's production. The songs just don't cut it for me. I only consider maybe 3 songs on that album to be really good. Yet, I could not bring myself to go lower than 7. Those are my boys, man, and that band still means so much to me.

heart>head

btw, Billz, I was really surprised to see you grade Rope higher than their debut. You don't need to justify, just commenting.

Steve

I saw go with it. There's more than just sound that affects your judgement, so there's no reason to restrict your feelings.

Yup. It says something about the quality of an album if it digs in to you that much. Despite some posts to the contrary, it's not a science.

I like Give 'Em Enough Rope.
A lot.
I would rate it an 8 or 9, goddamnit.

I've never been a real fan of the first album. IMO, it's a solid but not overly special punk album. If everyone and their mother didn't absolutely cream over it, I probably would've bumped it a notch or two. I think The Damned, Stiff Little Fingers, The Stranglers all had better debuts. I think "Rope" is The Clash's second best record (after "LC" which I scored a 10 because of the way they sustained the energy and solid song-craft for a double LP)--"Safe European Home", "Tommy Gun", "Drug Stabbing Time", etc. A great record.

Sentimentality is a big factor for my charts, listmania lists, etc.

me too.

I am proud that I won out over sentimentality with my scoring of "Raw Power". Whereas I unabashedly recognize "Funhouse" as the second best record ever made, Bowie's mangling of the production really ruined "Raw Power", maybe if some of the lower register had come through, it would have had the rumble and strength of "Funhouse", but as it is it's a tinny, empty shell.

For instance, "Search and Destroy". Great song, butchered on the album. Imagine what that song would have sounded like had it the solid bass of "Down On The Street".

I gave RP a remidial mark because it failed to live up to soooo much potential.

What did you think about Iggy's remastering of RP a few years back, Billz?

Steve

Are you talking about "Rough Power" or the re-mastered "Raw Power"? I've heard snippets of "Rough" and it's brutal, in a Stooge-ish good way. I haven't spent a lot of time with the CBS re-master. My understanding is the "Rough" is not re-mastered at all, more like raw, no pun intended, studio output--the kind that scares the bejeezus out of label execs and causes them to throw Bowie into the mix.

On a side note, I picked up a few years ago, an album of Funhouse outtakes that is quite good. I'm also convinced that the best cuts made it to the final product. The complete sessions box is probably overkill, and probably ridiculously expensive at this point, but I may own it someday.

For me, in order, and granted not complete, but what I consider own-worthy (also from memory here in cube sweet cube):

Funhouse
New Values
Brick By Brick
Instinct
Party
Lust For Life
The Idiot
Soldier
The Stooges
Zombie Birdhouse
Raw Power
Blah Blah Blah
Kill City

Yeah, I was talking about the remix from '97(?)

I'm pretty much with you on the worthwhile Iggy stuff, although, the order might be quite different and I would probably include American Caesar.

Steve

Yeah, i think sentimentality has a place. Shit, I gave vs. a 10.

BTW if you sort the charts to a minimum of 10 votes, its a nice little list.

Low End Theory with a 9.1 is definitely the product of a bunch of white kids.

I was surprised not to see 311 Music somewhere close by it. That album certainly got the love when it was new.

I think they're reissuing "Funhouse" with some bonus stuff soon.

As underwhelming as the production on "Raw Power" is, I think the remaster is 100 times worse. Just a muddy, unlistenable mess IMO. Is there even a CD with the original Bowie mix out there? It woulda been nice if they woulda included the Bowie mix on the remaster...you know so a listener could "compare & contrast" .

shut it.

I gave it a 9 dude;

I'm using what I call objective sentimentality.

ok, but i think you are mistaken about the white kids thing.
lots of black people consider that ablum one of the all time best too.

Oh, I agree to some degree but the subject of the thread was sentimentality and I can guarantee that in a certain age group, more white kids of an alternative/indie jib-cut regard that album as "seminal" and have a sentimental attachment to it because of when it came out (and how good it was/is)

Its no diss because I am pretty much in that demographic myself.

What is this "head" of which you speak?

Let the Truth of Love be lighted,
Let the Love of Truth shine clear.
Sensibility, armed with sense and liberty,
With the Heart and Mind united in a single...perfect...sphere.

I dunno about sentimentality, but I do know that I've rated some of my favorite albums of all time as 7s and/or 8s.

I think I rated their first album higher than Low End Theory.

It's just about as good. I would give People's Instinctive Travels, Low End and Midnight Marauders all a solid 8 or 9.