Bands with only one album you like

[Laura Hunt]

I've been obsessively listening to Gazpacho's "Demon" (seriously, what kind of band name is that) these last couple of weeks and for some reason, while the rest of their discography just doesn't stick with me, this album blows my mind. This got me thinking of some other albums I love even though I don't care at all for the rest of the band's/artist's output.

For example:

- The Gathering, Nighttime Birds. Their music has always sounded kind of bland to me, like they don't know if they want to be metal or pop or who knows, but this album is just one glorious earworm after another, and Anneke van Giersbergen's vocals are intense af.

- Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska. I've always been quite indifferent to "The Boss" save for the odd song here and there, but the bleakness and starkness of this album make it one of a kind.

- Slipknot, Iowa. Unfuckwithable.

- Massive Attack, Mezzanine. Blue Lines and Protection are patchy at best, 100th Window sounds like a collection of uninspired Mezzanine B-sides, and Heligoland is... ok, but it's too poppy and not dark enough for me.

What are some of your "lightning in a bottle" moments of bands you otherwise don't care for?

[JackPutter]

While I respect Bob Dylan as a lyricist and recognise the cultural importance of his work, his music has never been something that I'll choose to play. Occasionally I'll hear "Like A Rolling Stone" or "Shelter From the Storm" or "Blowin' In The Wind" on the radio and I'll happily hum along, but I've never found his music as a whole to be entirely to my tastes. I almost never find myself in the mood to seek out and play one of his records. Except...

I have listened to the album Desire probably hundreds of times. Maybe it's the fact that nearly all the tracks are storytelling songs in some way that makes me enjoy it. It's the only time I can say that all the mumbly slurring word stuff that Dylan is known for actually works for the subject matter, not against it. When I listen to this album, it makes me feel like I'm in a dark pub somewhere, listening to someone with an awful lot of life experience tell me tales of their life.

There's a couple of things I don't like about the album (in particular I don't enjoy the glorification of the gangster Joey Gallo in the track "Joey") but I find it exceptional in creating a mood and atmosphere that I don't experience anywhere else. I've heard some Tom Waits songs that get close, but never a whole album. I'm sure I'm missing out on other Bob Dylan goodness, but the man has written and recorded so much over the years that I've found it hard to cling onto the stuff I'v really enjoyed. This is the only instance where I can point to a single album and say, "All of that is for me," in some way.

[Laura Hunt]

Totally understandable I wouldn't call myself a huge Dylan fan, but I do enjoy several of his albums from start to end. Desire is fantastic, but I also have a place in my heart for Blood on the Tracks, Blonde on Blonde, and Time out of Mind.

Maybe I should have added The Rolling Stones to my list. I like a lot of their songs, but I feel like their albums have so much filler... Sticky Fingers is the only one that doesn't make me reach for the "skip" button at any point

[Snarky]

The only Beatles album I ever connected with (not to say I've made a big effort or even checked out all the others) is Rubber Soul.

[Retro Wolf]

Youth & Young Manhood, the debut album by Kings of Leon. Just didn't seem the same after that.