5 iconic albums originally slammed by critics
It’s human nature for us to change our opinions as often as we change our clothes, so it’s not exactly surprising that music critics do the same. However, having stumbled upon these old Rolling Stone reviews of classic albums, we have to wonder, what were they thinking?
1. Are You Experienced by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
It produced such classic Hendrix songs as “Purple Haze”, “Foxy Lady” and “Hey Joe” (not to mention many more), but it seems Jon Landau, who reviewed the album upon release in 1967 wasn’t a fan. “Despite Jimi's musical brilliance and the group's total precision, the poor quality of the songs and the inanity of the lyrics too often get in the way,” he wrote. In 2004, Rolling Stone re-evaluated the album giving it a five-star rating.
2. Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin
The debut album by Jimmy Page and co. introduced the world to the brilliance that was Led Zeppelin, but original reviewer John Mendelsohn’s 1969 slammed Page as “a very limited producer and a writer of weak, unimaginative songs.” Ouch! The group held a grudge against the magazine for decades after this review, which was later re-designated with five stars and ranked as number 29 on the list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
3. Exile on Main Street by The Rolling Stones
Exile on Main Street was the Stones’ tenth album and is now widely regarded as one of the best in music history, but Lenny Kaye, guitarist for Patti Smith and writer for Rolling Stone, wasn’t hugely enthusiastic about the effort. “With few exceptions, this has meant that they've stuck close to home, doing the sort of things that come naturally, not stepping out of the realm in which they feel most comfortable.” It was later re-rated five stars.
4. High Voltage by AC/DC
It’s hard to believe anyone could hate an album that gave us “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)” and “T.N.T.”, but that’s exactly how Billy Altman felt. “With the release of the first U.S. album by these Australian gross-out champions, the genre [of hard rock] has unquestionably hit its all-time low.” Evidently, second reviewer David Fricke partly agreed, giving it two-stars in 1983.
5. Jazz by Queen
Queen’s seventh album brought us hits like “Fat Bottomed Girls” and “Don’t Stop Me Now”, but contemporary reviewers were split on Jazz. Reviewer Dave Marsh went so far as to call the band “fascist”, questioning “why anyone would indulge these creeps and their polluting ideas.” Mark Coleman, who reviewed it again in 2004, agreed and claimed it was the beginning of the “decline” for Queen.
Which of these albums is your favourite? Do you agree with the reviewers? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
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