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They're amongst your favourite artists but you can take/leave their biggest songs

tiggers

pfm Member
I find with all my favourite artists that their generally accepted biggest songs are not ones I would choose to listen to. Take Peter Gabriel for example, I'm a massive fan of just about all his output, but if I never heard Sledgehammer again I wouldn't lose any sleep. Same with Chicane (Don't Give Up), Kate Bush (Running Up That Hill), Joy Division (Love Will Tear Us Apart) and even the good old Pet Shop Boys* (West End Girls... in fact I bloody hate that song).

I also find my favourite songs by these artists are not ones that other people like or sometimes even know. For example Peter Gabriel's finest hour is Wallflower from his fourth album in my opinion. Is this just me or is it a common thing with people's favourite artists?

* Yes I'm a fan.... someone has to be ;)
 
A song that springs to mind is Neil Young's Heart of Gold. Having said that it would seem that he is not too keen on it either.
 
John Martyn- May You Never.
Not a huge Zep fan but I could easily live the rest of my life with Stairway.
 
Gregory Isaacs (Night Nurse)
Eivis Costello (Oliver's Army)
Leonard Cohen (Hallelujah)
Free (Alright Now)
Dolly Parton (9 to 5)
 
Not just me then thankfully.

Agreed re. Smoke and Stairway although that's more due to them being overplayed on good old 70s and 80s radio.
 
It’s a standard music snob sentiment. I am equally guilty. “I preferred their earlier stuff on the **** label” etc.
 
It’s a standard music snob sentiment. I am equally guilty. “I preferred their earlier stuff on the **** label” etc.

Nope, this is completely different. Let's take Kate Bush as an example. Hounds of love is her most successful album and slap bang in the middle of her career releases wise and containing the smash hit (for want of a better term) Running up that hill. My three favourite KB tracks - The man with the child in his eyes (pre HoL), This woman's work (post HoL), Moments of Pleasure (post HoL). Are they more or less commercial... no idea, are they well known... yep... are they her 'early stuff' .. nope (well one is). The fact is I wasn't that keen on the first side (vinyl) of HoL when it was released and nothing has changed my opinion over time. Same with So by Peter Gabriel. Remove Mercy street and In your eyes and I can leave the rest yet every track on PG3 and PG4 is on my Gabriel top tracks playlist as is most of Us, Up and a lot of Ovo. Sledgehammer was a great video and a mediocre song, Games without frontiers (also a number 4 'hit' in the UK) is a much better track IMO.
 
Nope, this is completely different. Let's take Kate Bush as an example. Hounds of love is her most successful album and slap bang in the middle of her career releases wise and containing the smash hit (for want of a better term) Running up that hill. My three favourite KB tracks - The man with the child in his eyes (pre HoL), This woman's work (post HoL), Moments of Pleasure (post HoL). Are they more or less commercial... no idea, are they well known... yep... are they her 'early stuff' .. nope (well one is). The fact is I wasn't that keen on the first side (vinyl) of HoL when it was released and nothing has changed my opinion over time. Same with So by Peter Gabriel. Remove Mercy street and In your eyes and I can leave the rest yet every track on PG3 and PG4 is on my Gabriel top tracks playlist as is most of Us, Up and a lot of Ovo. Sledgehammer was a great video and a mediocre song, Games without frontiers (also a number 4 'hit' in the UK) is a much better track IMO.
You have proved my theory in that you prefer the less well known work; you feel encroached upon when non-proper fans become interested. It actually took me a while to get HoL, I think it’s ubiquity put me off. Ultimately as proper music snobs we prefer the less well known album tracks;)
 
You have proved my theory in that you prefer the less well known work; you feel encroached upon when non-proper fans become interested. It actually took me a while to get HoL, I think it’s ubiquity put me off. Ultimately as proper music snobs we prefer the less well known album tracks;)
Sorry Woodface but this is nonsense. Explain therefore why, as a massive U2 fan, I think their best album is The Joshua Tree and the next best is Achtung Baby, by your logic I should prefer October and Boy. Or Bowie.... favourite album is Ziggy not Lodger or Heathen. I just find that in the majority of cases I don’t fall in with accepted wisdom from the outset, it’s not a factor of time or popularity, e.g. I just didn’t click with So or HoL (the first side) from the first time I heard them.
 
Sorry Woodface but this is nonsense. Explain therefore why, as a massive U2 fan, I think their best album is The Joshua Tree and the next best is Achtung Baby, by your logic I should prefer October and Boy. Or Bowie.... favourite album is Ziggy not Lodger or Heathen. I just find that in the majority of cases I don’t fall in with accepted wisdom from the outset, it’s not a factor of time or popularity, e.g. I just didn’t click with So or HoL (the first side) from the first time I heard them.
There is no logic to being a U2 fan so I cannot really help you;) Your other examples support my case though.
 
I was a given a copy of Led Zep 4 by my uncle at the age of 9 or ten, before I'd ever heard of them. I thought Misty Mountain Hop was easily the best song on the album and it remains my favorite Zep song today.

Cheers BB
 
massive U2 fan, I think their best album is The Joshua Tree and the next best is Achtung Baby, by your logic I should prefer October and Boy.

Not a U2 fan but I do like those two albums.

Led Zep, my joint fave is In Through The Out Door, I'll burn for that one!

Two of my favourite Deep Purple songs are on Who Do We Think We Are, crikey they're urinating on my ashes now...
 


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