5 Bands You Wont See On The Contrarians.... On The Contrarians!

[@thecontrarians2438]

Hmmm seems maybe we underestimated the Doors catalog, based on the comments maybe we are contrarian after all?

[@ignatiusjackson235]

I think you guys are only contrarian in your dismissal of LA Woman [I'm with you guys on that] - and, to a lesser extent, Morrison Hotel. The only truly contrarian pick for a favorite Doors album would be Soft Parade... MAYBE Waiting for the Sun. However, L.A. Woman seems to have a pretty universal appeal, even though I don't think it's necessarily their strongest release. Picking it as your least favorite is nearly as contrarian as picking the debut as your least favorite. So... yes and no...

[@kevinlathem6616]

The Doors had their own sound on the first three albums. Then there was a shift in to more blues based rock on Morrison Hotel and L.A. Woman,which was not so unique. Robby Krieger would be a good pick for contrarian guitar hero.

[@brandonbelt5055]

I'd have to go with 'Get Your Wings' as my favorite Aerosmith. I'm also quite fond of 'Waiting for the Sun', and while I don't think I could rank it higher than the first two, it's pretty close.

[@JCStorm76]

Love the show. Why doesn’t anyone ever mention Draw The Line? I love that album

[@7777jimbob]

I think with the doors lots of people would pick morrison hotel and LA woman, it would almost be harder to pick the sober choice than a contrarian out of those 4

[@thecontrarians2438]

Yep you're probably right! We really thought it was between the first two, but they did have a pretty solid albeit short amount of output. I kinda think LA Woman is only half great though.

[@patriotpizzaman]

Morrison Hotel is my favorite Doors album but, it isn't so much better than the rest as it is just an album that I've never grown tired of. I have gotten a bit burnt out on the debut and to a lesser degree, Strange Days. I am also quite fond of L.A. Woman and outside of "Hyacinth House" and maybe "L'America" I find it all quite good. The Soft Parade is the weakest of the lot. They probably should have put the best songs from Soft Parade and Waiting For The Sun together as one album that would have rivaled the rest of the catalog for the top spot.

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@patriotpizzaman ya really its too bad Jim passed young, imagine the whole decade of the 70's with morrison led doors albums, we'd probably be having a lot of interesting discussions.

[@thomaswery3087]

your right i love those two albums

[@woutwout8398]

I have a soft spot for the third album Waiting For The Sun cause it's the Doors at their most melodic.

[@ignatiusjackson235]

Yes, I know... And so does the river...

[@Skycladatdusk78]

My favorite Def Leppard is On Through The Night but I love everything through Hysteria. Adrenalize and Retro Active had a few good tracks too. With the Doors I think they saved the best for last with L.A. Woman, that album start to finish is incredible, the debut is a close second. Boston is a band where I can rank the best albums chronologically where the debut is best, Don't Look Back #2, Third Stage #3 and so on. If they didn't start taking 8 years or more between releases after Don't Look Back they could have one of the best classic rock bands ever.

[@thecontrarians2438]

ya, interestingly i keep seeing the love for LA Woman, so now i'm thinking maybe we could do Doors...

[@Skycladatdusk78]

@@thecontrarians2438 I'd love a Doors episode!

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@Skycladatdusk78 haha we might have to concede and do one!

[@drew.reviews]

Awesomeness. I'm literally the only person I know who prefers High N Dry to Pyro and Hysteria. Glad to know that there are many more out there.

[@thecontrarians2438]

Glad to have you aboard!

[@Scrubjay001]

High N Dry is my favorite

[@themightydecibel-heavymeta7130]

Suggestion: You could do a "what's the second best album" for these bands - it might draw out some contrarian picks. (Note: Personally, I put Don't Look Back on par w/the Boston debut. And on the Aerosmith front, my #1 is Draw The Line and Night In The Ruts #2 (Rocks falling in at #3). )

[@thecontrarians2438]

Good suggestion, we kind of Pidgeon holed ourselves with the Contrarian theme that's why we're trying to branch out with specials like this, but Second best could defiantly bring about some interesting conversations! Thanks for the suggestion!

[@hellochicago2]

@@thecontrarians2438 "Defiantly" might even be a freudian slip, as I find this whole Contrarians concept pleasingly Defiant.

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@hellochicago2 haha whoops!

[@gabe2869]

I cant see anyone choosing anything but Superfly by Curtis Mayfield. Who's next by the who. Some others: Blood Sugar Sex Magik, London Calling, Montrose, At Folsom Prison, Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music, James Gang Rides Again, Rising, Night Moves, Nilsson Schmilsson, Plastic Ono Band

[@thecontrarians2438]

yep, we actually did a RHCP episode though! someone (not me i swear) picked something other than BSSM! You'll have to dig it out and yell at Nic in the comments section! lol Love James Gang too, you're probably right about the others... I've been pondering on Funkadelic... I think I have a Contrarian choice (Not Maggot Brain)

[@jerryattwooll4864]

Montrose would surely be another band you won't see on the Contrarians. Maybe if you were to do a show on Ronnie Montrose' output to include Gamma, then I know Martin's pick of the 2 bands might be considered slightly Contrarians (I do love Gamma 2 by the way, but I do think the Montrose debut still tops it.)

[@zodiac6968]

Morrison Hotel is my fave Doors album by a mile, one of the greatest albums of all time along with Stooges Funhouse.

[@zodiac6968]

Correct Sir, two of the greatest.

[@Peatmoss0979]

Anything on Budgie or Samson would be greatly appreciated love them bands.. Marty loved u and Pete's show on Budgie back then..

[@DamageCase91]

Soft Parade is my favorite Doors LP. Ditto on the first 3 DL albums, with H&D topping it. That first Boston album is just crushing and timeless-the second album is damn good, as is Third Stage, but man that debut is a perfect album (even SoT with Martin guesting had that one 😆). Funhouse is definitely my favorite. Nutty as hell. Bowie did a great job on Raw Power, and it’s very tight despite the drugs all around, that would be my #2.

[@MexicanradioDJ]

I have only in the last couple of days come across your youtube channel, although I am well aware of Martin's writing and work on Banger tv. I look forward over the next few weeks sampling the videos. Will start with the ones I know well. I will comment as I go, even if I am years behind the threads. Interesting ideas and work. Look forward to it.

[@thecontrarians2438]

thank you!! hopefully you'll get some entertainment from it, and hopefully you wont get too mad from our choices!

[@joniturbe7535]

Good episode but I feel a contrarian this time 😂😂 Funhouse is easily my favourite album of all time. You hardly can go further than they did on that one. I'm sorry but I think that Hysteria is a masterpiece. Too comercial? For sure, but the songs are incredible well constructed

[@joniturbe7535]

@Martin Popoff 😂😂 yes. Or a guilty pleasure call It as you want to 😉

[@ahmadbarqawi8031]

I feel like Pantera in some weird way belongs in this category as well, each and every one of their (major label) releases are so beloved by their fanbase that it's practically impossible to go contrarian given that each album has its own consensus among their fans... that is unless one picks one of their 80's albums in which case it won't be a contrarian choice as much as it would be just an "F U" argument... Opeth as well, no matter which album you pick you'll find a sizable following agreeing with you!

[@thecontrarians2438]

Yep and that's the point of this special... Which Pantera would make a good one if we do a follow up to this episode... We try to pick albums we really believe and try to stay away from the "f u" arguments as you put it, just to argue lol

[@ahmadbarqawi8031]

@@thecontrarians2438 exactly, it can be a slippery slope... you said best when describing it as a sober choice rather than picking an album for the sake of pissing people off!

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@ahmadbarqawi8031 and trust me, we've pissed a lot of people off already!

[@andreijurca5546]

1. Toys In The Attic 2. Night in the Ruts 3. Get Your Wings 4. Rocks 5. Draw The Line 6. Aerosmith 7. Done With Mirrors 8. Rock in a hard place The rest for me is not interesting

[@ChrisNorwood3]

Nine Lives is my favorite Aerosmith album.

[@andreijurca5546]

very contrarian choice :)

[@afermata949]

Fun House is the one that deserved to be called "Raw Power." It's like mainlining adrenaline.

[@blammo13]

Stooges Fun House has always been my favorite. It embodies the rawness I look for in punk rock.

[@thecontrarians2438]

Yep, im pretty split on the first 3... but for me Fun House is JUST edged out at number 3... I love Stooges!

[@blammo13]

@@thecontrarians2438 if you get into the Iggy solo albums I thought I had a contrarian favorite with New Values but I think that album’s stock has risen over the years.

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@blammo13 you might be on to something!

[@joehixson5340]

Hey guys. First time watching the channel. Some great stuff! I would love to see a show on one of my favorite groups, Killer Dwarfs. I live in the state's so they were rarely played on MTV and forget radio. They should have been a household name in the 80's!

[@thecontrarians2438]

haha thanks!! I actually met Russ Dwarf at a Moxy show no less when he briefly fronted Moxy in about 2007-8 or so in Toronto, my Uncle and cousin's band Stir of Echoes opened for them, Thank you for the comments, I'll ask Martin about what he thinks of a Killer Dwarfs show!

[@i3ar310]

Strange Days over self titled. Album sounds more cohesive. After LMF self titled loses steam for me.

[@RoseOfTheRedDeath]

What about Guns N Roses? Has anyone ever picked anything other than Appetite For Destruction?

[@thecontrarians2438]

not on this channel, we did a worst album episode on Chinese Democracy where we chose it as worst but also praised it for having good qualities... I think for us we're either in Appetite camp or Illusion camp, and neither of those are very contrarian..

[@RoseOfTheRedDeath]

That’s kinda what I meant. I’m a huge GNR fan, and while the Illusions have some very good tunes, indeed, the band probably could’ve cut a few from Illusion I and a few from Illusion II and made one singular great album. I think I had this question mostly because of the conversation in this video about Boston and their first album being great from start to finish, and it made me wonder, wouldn’t that also apply to GNR and Appetite, as well?

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@RoseOfTheRedDeath Absolutely! we tried to stick with 5 bands, and GNR actually came p in our discussion so maybe it'll end up in another one if we did this again, but you're right!

[@mmk7340]

I would say your reason for not doing Def Leppard is contrary in itself. I've heard many more people pick Pyromania or Hysteria as their favorite album. Especially females. I happen to agree that High N' Dry is their best BTW..

[@jimmycampbell78]

Yes, I have heard a few people prefer the Pyromania/Hysteria/Adrenalize era of the band. They tend not to be rock or metal fans though, its usually pop or general music listeners, male or female, who stumble across Def Leppard’s music from this era. You could definitely make a contrarian case for the Mutt Lange Def Leppard imo. Although I also agree with you and Martin Popoff.

[@YT-wg8vt]

High N Dry is absolutely the best Def Leppard album. From top to bottom, it is a stone cold classic. Pyromania would be a close second for me.

[@francoisjus]

Hysteria is such a massive album. I just love it. BUT, is it a good Def Lep album ? Just like Slang, an underestimated gem.

[@kimberlywalker3970]

Excuse me?! Are you saying Pyromania and Hysteria are albums for girls?! I'm a girl, shocker! I like Pyromania and Hysteria. I don't know how old you are, but I was 10 when Pyromania was released and 14 when Hysteria was released. If I were you, I'd think about that statement a little bit harder before making it again. BTW, I know plenty of guys who like Pyromania and Hysteria. I frankly find your comment a bit offensive. But, since I'm not a huge Def Leppard fan, I'll save my fight for another girly band or album I truly like!

[@gavinsmith9016]

Def Leppard..... I found the comments here interesting. I've always favoured Pyromania as a more complete album than any of their other albums that I own (their first 5). Personal taste. But the comment that got my attention was that most people rate High n Dry as their best album - I immediately thought ohh that's a contrarian view! Def Leppard always had a funny relationship with the UK critics and fan base so perhaps that skews my view and recollection; anyhow I did a Google search on the top five returned 'Def Leppard best albums' reviews and 1 put High n Dry as their best album. However, what they all agreed on was that the run of High n Dry through to Hysteria were their best three. Anyhow I'm off to listen to Hign n Dry again - which is the great thing about watching these videos.

[@thecontrarians2438]

Awesome! Ya sometimes we get a little surprised by the viewer comments too, apparently we're pretty Contrarian about the Doors...

[@jimg6570]

I've always rated On Through The Night as DL's best, possibly because I owned and loved it before they became famous and was proud to be ahead of my time (for a change!). Start to finish, I'd still take OTTN over Pyromania or High & Dry..

[@edguygz7889]

Soft parade love that album

[@itkojecockot]

yeah, they sounded different, but some of those later albums were still great

[@BunterHiden66]

How could it be such unanimous consensus that high and dry is Def leppard's best album when the two successors to that are universally recognized in the public consciousness and culture beyond rock music? whereas high and dry appealed only to metal heads, the following two albums appealed to people of all shapes sizes colors and creeds. To me that's the mark of greatness rather than just appealing to a small subset of the population. You would think if high and dry was so much better than everything else then it would also be on par sales wise with pyromania, hysteria, and adrenalize but that is simply not the case.

[@thecontrarians2438]

yep you could be right... interestingly i keep hearing people tell me that "popularity" doesnt make a record "better" or "good" so now im hearing it from the other point of view! lol! I think Martin's point though was that we all kind of whole heartedly agree we arnt really contrarian enough to do an episode on Def Leppard. You make a great point though! Now if only I could have you around when people yell at me for quoting album sales and chart positions!!

[@thecontrarians2438]

I get what you’re saying , but If we did do High n dry most people would probably say “this isn’t contrarian” know what I mean?

[@DonJoeBob]

3 yrs later.. (never too late to chime in) I discovered Def Leppard on HIgh N Dry but I truly love Hysteria #1 and Pyromania #2 and I've been made fun of but I might even go Slang #3. High is good but for me is only half great and half decent, those other 3 are excellent from top to bottom. Doors - not that into them but they're career seems very spread out on where the good stuff came from. I recall liking them all pretty well Boston - no denying that first album is the pinnacle. Although there's a lot of other great ones too. Stooges - no opinion really Aerosmith - Rocks is it. In my tops of all time albums. But yeah so many great ones to choose from.

[@aleksandarfrick2656]

" Love " from The Cult is perfect album , from production , Bill Daffy guitar , Ian leadership , all songs are classic .

[@paulmonahawk4921]

Rocks is definitely one of those perfect albums but my favourite is Toys, ten inch record brings it down a peg but sweet emotion kicks it out the park!!

[@jakobthonen9411]

Pyromania is my favorite just because I only know the radio songs and it has the most on it lol

[@Justin_Kipper]

I agree 100% with the choice of The Doors here. I think the second album is great, but it just can't top the first. The later albums all have shining musical moments but also have sharp drops in overall start-to-finish quality in comparison. The same holds true for Boston.

[@paulharper9711]

I agree 100% with Rocks by Aerosmith, but I also hold their first album pretty high. It has a bluesy, gutter rat, raw sound to it that I really like. But, yes, Rocks is the top choice.

[@esteeb67]

The only ones here that I sometimes differ are The Doors and Aerosmith. Every Doors album, except for Soft Parade, has been my favorite at one time or another. Usually it is the debut, but I also really love Morrison Hotel, Strange Days and LA Woman and there may have been a period where I was very into Waiting For The Sun. Aerosmith. For me it's Toys. Rocks is great and more solid than the debut, but I have a soft spot for the debut because of songs like Mama Kin, Make It and Movin' Out. I listen to those tracks more than anything on Rocks. A lot of people complain about those raw first albums (Aerosmith, Maiden, Zeppelin), but I seem to always gravitate to those albums that have a rawer production. Side note: Except on On Through The Night. It's just ok.

[@thecontrarians2438]

Ya i was a little surpirzed at how many people were more varied with their doors choice, i honestly always thought it was Strange Days, now i think maybe we are a little contrarian on it, other than if we did do strange days i dont think its contrarian enough, people will probably say "thats not contrarian"

[@oldenyz3148]

Though I personally agree with your picks here you might have a collective contrarian view with the general public with the Doors & Def Leppard. It seems people are all over the place with Doors albums. . With Def Leppard most classic hard rock folks like High and Dry as #1 but many people like albums that came soon after better. Aerosmith is tough to go contrarian on and an obvious "why bother " but I think if you took a poll Rocks & Toys would be close. Stooges- no idea Boston- Though there will be a few I think it's a no brainer.

[@thecontrarians2438]

Yep we right away were surprised about the The Doors, though i would argue that if we did a Def Leppard episode, most people in the comments would probably say "High and Dry isnt Contrarian" but you're right

[@czarevich]

The Stooges on this list seems so delightfully random. Do you not agree on Fastway? I'm contrarian on Aerosmith: Toys by a mile.

[@thecontrarians2438]

Love Stooges, we are doing an Iggy Pop episode real soon... Fastway im not sure where Martin lands on that!

[@Rabant777]

An American Prayer is my favourite Doors album. Aerosmith I could pick any number of albums as their greatest: debut, Get Your Wings, Draw the Line, Night in the Ruts or Permanent Vacation ...... Not Rocks, and definitely not Pump - that 's where I dropped off (hated that). I wouldn't pick a favourite Leppard album as I don't believe I have ever heard an album beginning to end. Obviously I know the first 4 and a scattering of singles after 1987. Obviously Boston's debut is their greatest album (although I've never heard the two post 2000 albums). Stooges? I have no idea - never owned them and only know 2 or 3 songs.

[@zaprowsdoweriii662]

Must be the Mutt Lange thing, but to me, you could take any post-Pyromania Def Leppard song and put it on a Shania Twain album, and vice-versa. Maybe a little more electric guitar on one album and a little more steel guitar on the other, but basically the same songs.

[@thecontrarians2438]

haha good point!

[@keviniles8748]

I definitely have a contrarian opinion on Boston. My favorite Boston album is Third Stage!

[@domielakrabi3276]

The first two Doors albums are great! I would put Strange Days a bit over the debut. Ad. Stooges - Funhouse is what the band stood for ;) It's not my favorite. Aerosmith - Pump - is a great album. The most popular song - Love in the Elevator - may be the weakest, but has a cool guitar solo. Rocks - simply great!

[@adamsasso1]

'Pyromania' is my favorite Def Leppard album. I never considered that that could be seen as a contrarian point of view.

[@thecontrarians2438]

Ya and it’s not, the idea was that we all agreed on High n Dry and realized that we couldn’t do High N Dry cause it’s not very Contrarian, otherwise if we did Pyromania, people would absolutely say “that’s not contrarian” because for one it’s a diamond selling album lol, between High N Dry, Hysteria and Pyromania we were not contrarian. Same with if we did Doors, if we picked either the debut or strange days it’s the same kind of thing, it’s not contrarian, now if one of us liked Soft Parade then that’s a different story. Hope that makes sense

[@jukeboxcowboy]

I reckon it would be impossible to talk you out of your mutual choice of Boston's first album, so I'll just speak for myself. Whenever I reach for a Boston album, it's almost always Don't Look Back. It's sleeker and more modern, brighter and more colorful. It's peppier. The harmonies are more Beatle-y, The hooks are hookier, The basslines are bouncier....I mean, dannnng, that is some insanely great bass playing, brothers, and it really pops out on the remasters.... On the Journey, they stretch out beyond the first album into epic electronic space rock. One of the few albums that never ever seems to get old.

[@davoshaunessy3428]

I refuse to make any comments because of the subject matter Def La Pard - they cood sing the phone book Mutt should never due a group twice in a row NEVER !!!!! By the way ( I’m still not going to make a comment ) NEVER EVER LISTEN TO THE BASE LINE ON DONT LOOK BACK - IT WILL ABSOLUTELY KILL THE BUZZZ

[@alexandergilles8583]

Let it be known that I actually think pretty highly of Pump and Permanent Vacation. Sure they aren’t classic Aerosmith, but those are still two REALLY good albums

[@kevinputry5655]

OK I'm going to get contrarian here for a second. Now I love Def Leppard's first 3 albums and only their first 3 albums but... my favorite has always been On Through The Night.

[@daicullinane7746]

My favourite Doors album is Waiting for The Sun,

[@edguygz7889]

Have you guys done overkill yet

[@thecontrarians2438]

Not yet!

[@edguygz7889]

@@thecontrarians2438 can’t wait

[@blaisebarshaw2534]

Vert sober choices! I get really tired of hearing discussions related to bands like these rehashing the same fan boy stuff I’ve been hearing since I was a 70’s teenager.

[@painless465]

I like the last two Doors albums with Morrison the best. I think any choice outside Waiting for the Sun or Soft Parade is non contrarian. Def Leppard it's Pyromania,unless your a big fan or a metal guy. Boston debut is obvious. I stopped caring about Aerosmith after Draw the Line ,but Rocks is the choice. FWIW,friends who's music opinion I respect always tell me that Done with Mirrors was the best post Night in the Ruts Aerosmith album. I wouldn't know. Here's a couple of contrarian picks I have; Favorite Black Sabbath album-Sabotage(most probably say Paranoid or MOR) Led Zeppelin-III(not IV or Physical Grafitti) Mott the Hoople-Brain Capers(not Mott or ATYD) Captain Beefheart-Shiny Beast(not Trout Mask Replica)

[@thecontrarians2438]

haha nice, and we did a sabbath episode where martin picked sabotage and i argued against him with paranoid, but i could even go master or 4... Zeppelin we havnt done yet.. you're probably right about the doors!

[@dawnthechaldean5377]

I just thought of a way you guys can do more episodes on these bands and other bands when your top album picks are not the contrarian choice. Just start a new series within The Contrarians that deals with your favorite SONGS by those bands if your favorite song IS an extreme contrarian choice.

[@thecontrarians2438]

haha ya thats an interesting idea! we're trying to think of ways we could do some type of contrarian list idea

[@sarcastanaut]

But...you already did an Aerosmith episode?? 🤔

[@thecontrarians2438]

That was a Worst Album episode, another series we do, The Contrarians is our regular series.... Maybe we should make that more clear... You're right though!

[@sarcastanaut]

@@thecontrarians2438 Ah, gotcha. 👍

[@bathtubgeorge]

Strange view of LA Woman, IMO it's their finest album, it's raw around the edges, and yet very atmospheric and a different band to the one that produced the debut, but it should be.

[@thecontrarians2438]

ya i dunno, maybe im wrong on that one, every seems to think i am, i always thought half of it was amazing, Lover her madly being one of my top doors songs, Riders, LA Woman, but i thought Strange Days was just better overall. I tend to think most of their albums are half amazing and half kind of meh, but strange days works a bit better for me.

[@bathtubgeorge]

@@thecontrarians2438 Everything between the debut and LA Woman I can take or leave. Now, the fact that the debut and LA Woman are my favorite Doors albums may be down to a bit of nostalgia too, but at the same time, LA Woman in particular just does it for me, start to finish, a real almost stoner vibe to it, Jim's voice is clearly on the wane but he makes the most of it and it certainly adds to the atmosphere. I hate to make a list of say favorite albums / desert island discs, but it would be on there if there was a gun to my head.

[@andreijurca5546]

@@thecontrarians2438 in my opinion la woman is the worst the doors album

[@davoshaunessy3428]

Toys is the best Debut is my favourite NO COMMENT

[@EmptyeyeDotCom]

Coming into this late on Def Leppard, but while the initial argument on "Everyone agrees High N' Dry is their best album" surprised me a bit (Though it's not an unreasonable argument), I do get the larger point being made after sitting with it for a bit. Essentially, you all agree that High N' Dry is their best, and a lot of people who have heard it tend to agree, which, fair. So you'd have to argue for a different album for the show, and neither of the two reasonable choices in that regard, Pyromania and Hysteria, can remotely be called "contrarian" picks just because of their overall popularity. Related, I actually think you'd get more people arguing for Pyromania and/or Hysteria as their best, simply because those two outsold the rest of their catalog by a mile. This isn't to say "sales = quality" by any means, but you can't like what you don't know, and way more people know those two than the rest of their albums, I think. (For me, I bounce back and forth between any of that three-album High N' Dry/Pyromania/Hysteria run as their best, depending on where on the "pop-metal" spectrum I happen to fall on that particular day.)

[@ignatiusjackson235]

Fun House is definitely the best Stooges LP, but I don't think any of those first three records could be considered a truly "contrarian" pick. Fun House would be the closest, but even it's getting a lot of newfound love these days for being a perfect bridge between the experimental impact of self-titled and the naked aggression of Raw Power. It's definitely got the highest production value of any Stooges release. To that point, I would love to see a remaster of Raw Power that doesn't completely blow. Neither Bowie's original mix nor Iggy's '97 remix does the source material justice.

[@MexicanradioDJ]

I am not sure where you get your 'consensus' on Def Leppard. I accept entirely there is a narrow field of albums considered the best Def Leppard album, but I am surprised you have not heard other critics prefer other Leppard albums. Certainly this side of the Atlantic there is no consenus on which is the best album. When the major publicans and British rock websites have ranked the albums High and dry has not not come out on top every time, instead it did just once. I sampled some of the major web sites and magazines decated to rock and metal and only one has High and Dry at the top ranking. Hystria and Pyromania are more likely to be ranked at number one. Personally although I do love High and Dry, I rate Pyromania the better album.

[@thecontrarians2438]

Ya but we agreed that we couldn’t really do an episode of the contrarians on high and dry because people would probably say that’s it’s not a very contrarian choice, that’s why I said I’m the video, I could argue pyromania sold more albums but that’s about as far as my argument would go, because I agree high and dry is a great def Leppard album and am not offended if someone picks it.

[@thecontrarians2438]

plus I hear all the time in the comments “albums sales and critics opinions don’t mean anything!”

[@MexicanradioDJ]

@@thecontrarians2438 I know what you mean, but in this instance, Martin said he said he had never heard, 'a sober view' that critics chose anything other than High and Dry. So I was commenting based on whether there is a general critical consensus. Nit picking, I know. But I am happy to have found your videos, as debate and a fresh view is always welcome.

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@MexicanradioDJ ya and i dont want to speak for Martin... but I know he has conversations with plenty of other authors critics and music insiders so maybe he meant in all of his conversations with those people High and Dry is usually the consensus? But you have a point maybe we'll have to revisit the Def Leppard question...

[@onekoolmedic]

Didn’t you have some of these bands on the show?

[@thecontrarians2438]

ya. because we ended up having new hosts we were able to incorporate bands that the 3 of us initially were not contrarian on. For example Tim (not on the show at the time of this video) went with Aerosmith and Def Leppard

[@meowkittyxx9763]

Great episode 🔥 tight rope ride is a great song 🎵

[@leswadley6792]

Great episode guys! Agree 100%!

[@thecontrarians2438]

Thank you!!

[@wernermoritz882]

Don’t get it. With the Stooges pick it should be pretty clear by now that it doesn‘t fit this category at all. 😄

[@edguygz7889]

What about bringing in an outsider

[@thecontrarians2438]

Yep... We have some things in the works to bring in viewers like you! Stay tuned!

[@edguygz7889]

@@thecontrarians2438 cool

[@johnbenard9550]

LA Woman would be my choice for best Doors album. Hysteria was undoubtedly the best Def Leppard album. How can Marco not know of Boston? Their songs have been constantly played on the radio for decades. Aerosmith’s best have to go with Toys in the Attic.

[@thecontrarians2438]

Of course I know Boston, just not well enough to have an argument about which album is their greatest, or be able to have competent conversation about their music... theirs soo many bands and soo much music out there, sometimes you just cant get to everything

[@averagejobyt]

Wait a minute - Aerosmith was on The Contrarians 4 Months Ago !

[@thecontrarians2438]

Haha ya But that’s our Worst Album series, we should have been more clear, The Contrarians main series is where we pick a contrarian album, you won’t see Aerosmith on that series because we’re not contrarian on it... You’re not wrong!

[@mattymac1399]

Funhouse is da bomb. LA Woman is Badass. Jerry Scheff on bass!

[@gilbertgonzalez1365]

With out reviewing the catalog I would say la woman is my favorite

[@thecontrarians2438]

hey, you're not a lone, seems maybe we are a bit contrarian, LA woman is coming up like crazy in the comments.

[@gilbertgonzalez1365]

I think the soft parade would be their ultimate contrarian.

[@Gershom.]

Marco, you know that you can’t credibly say that popular equals good.

[@thecontrarians2438]

Sure I can! Objectively an album that sells more is "better". Subjectively maybe not. I don't only use album sales though, i'll use critical consensus, fan polls, live setlists, greatest hits track listing etc our show is a debate style show, i obviously am not as sophisticated a music fan as Martin, so I try to arm myself with statistics to bounce off Martin and give him something to respond to or comment on. But trust me, i love a lot of obscure bands that are not considered financially successful or popular.

[@jensbaumann6945]

@Martin Popoff so.. to push it a bit further... does it mean, britney spears is better as every Jazz Album there is? Cause thats what happens if you put popularity in as a factor.😉 or is the Black Album better than ride the lightning? Is sabaton better than death? I think i get your point within this context though i chose to be a Contrarian here Btw, great Show, enjoy it... as almost everything that has mr popoff in banger sot... entertaining thanks for caring about music... i dont like live Albums as well 😉👍

[@andreijurca5546]

Night in the ruts is the contrarian choice...Unfortunatly It has 3 covers on it...the original songs are perfect

[@drummer78]

LA Woman is great...If say almost every song on it is killer. I’d be curious to know which songs the one guy thought were “so-so”. He said half the album was great....so which 5 songs did he think are not great? I think LA Woman endnotes perfectly the Jim Morrison era that begins with the equally classic debut. Regarding The Stooges, “Funhouse” is ultimate Stooges album. Raw Power is killer but Iggy basically used the Stooges as sidemen.

[@thecontrarians2438]

Ok, my take, i really like doors so these are just my bone head subjective opinions: The Changeling - cant stop thinking about funky town when i listen to it lol but thats obviously not their fault, but i just think its average at best (IMO) though the guitar performance good on it Cars - it's straight up blues but to me its not anything special for a blues song, see BEEN DOWN SO LONG, i like as a door blues performance WAY better than this, the vocal and guitar performance are better on that song... i kind of get tired of bands doing that straight ahead blues riff you hear a bunch, i love Groundhogs but their first two albums are too bluesy for me in this vein, after BEEN DOWN, it seems an uneeded "lets jam more blues" song L'America - not much to say just to me it progresses to like a chaotic nails on a chalkboard thing (to me, its subjective) Crawling Snake - i kinda like the vocals but its more blues like: see above, but also look at WASP, another somewhat bluesy song but i just find the performance more Doors-ish, i like the keys on it, it grooves better and reminds me a little of GFR which i like a lot, Crawling so you have like 4 or 5 blues tunes already and about half of those are not great for me NOW RIDERS, LA WOMAN, LOVE HER MADLY are like 3 of my top Doors songs for sure, anything i didnt mention like Hycenth house i can enjoy (actually prefer the demo version from the boxset) but they probably fall along the average rating for me... so maybe youre right, its not quite half the record BUT... STRANGE DAYS: I have more than just the THREE killer tunes that i like from LA WOMAN... STRANGE DAYS, LOVE ME TWO TIMES, MOONLIGHT DRIVE, PEOPLE ARE STRANGE, MY EYES HAVE SEEN YOU, WHEN THE MUSICS OVER, UNHAPPY GIRL, I CANT SEE YOUR FACE IN MY MIND.. almost every song i like quite a lot, and though there are blues elements.. it's not overbearing generic blues like the couple of songs i mentioned from LA Woman... so i hope you actually read this lol, but yes, I am a Doors fan, i just prefer Strange Days BUT you're right, maybe a little less than half is un desirable for me...

[@thecontrarians2438]

haha i actually went back and did a quick listen back... so basically it reminded me again why i said what i said, i could skip every other song on LA, strange days i dont, i think half of strange days is amazing and the rest is really good... ANYWAY, with stooges i really love all three i probably go back and forth on the first and raw power as being my fav but i really do like funhouse a lot too

[@drummer78]

@@thecontrarians2438 The Changling kicks butt, Texas Radio is cool spoken word with flanger type effects, I’ve Been Down So Long...Morrison at his cigarette/booze fueled throated best, Hyacinth House is like dreamy psychedelic crooning...and there are the big songs like Riders, LA Woman, Love Her Madly...great too but the others are what I go for.

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@drummer78 ya and those are just my opinions, it is a great album, so maybe i am a bit contrarian on doors, and it seems a lot of viewers agree more with you!

[@drummer78]

@@thecontrarians2438 Oh, no problem. I love the show and the debate.

[@mehernoshtarapore8902]

No U2 please on the show

[@thecontrarians2438]

lol ok, i dunno if any of us are super into U2, so you might luck out with that one!

[@wernermoritz882]

I know everybody hates U2 but I think you can‘t deny they were really great in the early years until Achtung Baby. As artists they had much more to say than let‘s say Def Leppard in my opinion. I would love to see The Contrarians discussing U2.

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@wernermoritz882 i dont hate them i just dont really know anything about them... maybe Nic or Martin does...

[@martythemusicmonster6772]

LA Women is my favourite out of the 6 great record to drink a few beers to

[@mehernoshtarapore8902]

I like too see zz top on the show

[@thecontrarians2438]

We have done ZZ Top!!! Check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHWmfpmDj8yJY5Y&ab_channel=TheContrarians

[@cabowabodude]

Def Leppard's best is Pyromania. i just love how all these people that say they adore the debut. it bombed initially, as did Hign n Dry to a lesser degree. they were a bubbling under band until Pyromania. then those records went gold and platinum. don't get me wrong, i adore High n Dry, and like On Through The Night. it is what it is, an average debut record. they didn't come alive until Mutt got a hold of them.

[@mehernoshtarapore8902]

No u2

[@wernermoritz882]

If you like em or not: U2 has made TWO masterpieces, The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby (even with a remarkable stylistic shift!), so they definitely fit to this channel. 😁

[@kimberlywalker3970]

They're also my favorite U2 albums and their best. However, my favorite changes daily. But I tend to lean more towards Achtung Baby. I'll also say INXS won't be on this channel. Most, who aren't serious fans, will say Kick is their best album. I'm a huge fan and like Kick too. But some diehard fans will either choose Listen Like Thieves, which is a very close second for me, or Shabooh Shoobah.

[@kevinthetruckdriver353]

My choice of *a band you won't see* on the Contrarians... will be *Barclay James Harvest.* *First:* - They are not well known here in the states. *Second:* After breaking up in 1998. The 4 original members (was a trio from 1979 until 1998) split into 2 separate Barclay James Harvest bands. Both original drummer & keyboard player have since died. Leaving the guitarist & the bassist fronting their own versions of Barclay James Harvest. *Third:* Too much output. 17 studio albums. But they were better live. They release 6 live albums. Tons of compilations albums.

[@thecontrarians2438]

four: im going to have to look up Barclay James Harvest because i dont know anything about them Thanks for the suggestion!

[@kevinthetruckdriver353]

@@thecontrarians2438 - They are a progressive band with a mix sound of Yes & Moody Blues. Pardo from Sea of Tranquility knows them.

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@kevinthetruckdriver353 Im amazed by the amount of stuff Pete and Martin know about bands ive never even heard of!

[@codymeaney2108]

L.A Woman and Morrison motel are there best doors albums hands down. Other voices has some great gems on there

[@thecontrarians2438]

I know!! We’re getting slaughtered in the comments because of this...

[@sspbrazil]

Morrison Hotel is the best Doors album and then The Soft Parade. Fight me.

[@thecontrarians2438]

haha no no, i wont!

[@sspbrazil]

@@thecontrarians2438 haha just messin’ with yah.

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@sspbrazil haha good! I probably wouldn’t stand a good thrashing, but it might set me straight from being a Contrarian!

[@sspbrazil]

@@thecontrarians2438 I’m there with you fellow contrarian. 😃

[@JCStorm76]

LA Woman is their best. Fight me!

[@itkojecockot]

Def Leppard is a tough one...... they made many shitty overproduced albums, but at the same time they also made one of the best metal albums of all time..... that's why I had to jump off the "lets hate DL" bandwagon

[@TheIslandersDynasty]

The Doors were great. Boston is weak. Boston's 1st album was very good and their 2nd Don't Look Back was good but nothing close since.

[@agentstanley29]

The Contrarians won't talk about Boston but they've probably seen Boston Pizza, eh! 🇨🇦

[@thecontrarians2438]

lol, i Boston Pizza would end up on a worst episode if we ever started talking about restaurants

[@agentstanley29]

@@thecontrarians2438 Ha! It is not hard to SEE a BP (they were everywhere) but harder to eat there? 😆 I rememeber seeing them everywhere like 10 yrs ago when I lived in Toronto.

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@agentstanley29 i think the quality has gone down, i was not satisfied with my last couple of visits, though that was years ago lol

[@FriedFings]

Great work as always!

[@thecontrarians2438]

Thanks brotha! You the man!

[@wernermoritz882]

The Stooges? Martin is right, a lot of people love fun house and also the debut.

[@thecontrarians2438]

i like all three, with fun house slightly behind 1 and 3. I love iggy pop though... I kinda feel the same way about MC5, i like all 3 almost the same.

[@wernermoritz882]

@@thecontrarians2438 For me Raw Power is the best one. But you could argue this is a different band anyway called Iggy and the Stooges. Ron was not allowed to play guitar and forced to switch to bass and James Williamson came in on guitar.

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@wernermoritz882 and the OG drummer had passed away right? and wasnt it recorded in the UK? i watched a stooges doc like 6 months ago

[@wernermoritz882]

@@thecontrarians2438 With OG you mean Original? Yes, Scott, Ron‘s brother died in 2014. By now, all founding members have died except for Iggy. I can recommend the Jim Jarmusch documentary Gimme Danger if you haven‘t watched it, it‘s pretty good.

[@wernermoritz882]

@@thecontrarians2438 And yes, it was recorded in London, produced and mixed by David Bowie, who was a big Stooges fan.

[@sspbrazil]

Funhouse IS the best Stooges album.

[@thecontrarians2438]

I really like them all a lot, i wouldnt disagree with any of them tbh

[@sspbrazil]

@@thecontrarians2438 there was a bar many of us frequented when I was in college called The Foolery, it was the place a lot of bands played when they came to town, the owner of the bar was a huge Stooges fan and “Funhouse” was the bar’s anthem. I’m from the Detroit area, so The Stooges and MC5 are in my blood.

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@sspbrazil I absolutely love MC5! That was another band we talked about doing on this episode but we won’t with stooges! We will be doing something about MC5 for sure!

[@sspbrazil]

@@thecontrarians2438 Nice, I’ll look toward to that.

[@sspbrazil]

@Martin Popoff Funhouse is chock full of entertainment and is more diverse in musical selection. I think Raw Power gets the nod because of the Bowie connection, but Funhouse is a more unique album. I would say Detroiters rate Funhouse higher than Raw Power, but everywhere else it seems to be Raw Power.

[@starchild6347]

Def Lepperd??? You've got a 3 way split for their best album amongst rock fans, surely?

[@thecontrarians2438]

Ya and we all agree that those 3 are the best so we couldn’t really be contrarian on them, hence why we put them here on this list of bands we aren’t contrarian on

[@starchild6347]

The Contrarians Ha! But, to say "On Through The Night" is the album everyone says they like the best, is contrarian! 😄

[@thecontrarians2438]

@@starchild6347 ha gotcha, yep you got a point!

[@anthonybomberry9935]

What about Starz they were goin a be better music kiss kirkus streetview judas priest

[@thecontrarians2438]

How many albums did Starz have? Sometimes we dont do a band if they didnt have a lot of output... Martin definitely would know Starz better than myself or Nic., he might do one

[@JohnF-007]

sorry Marco, La Woman is there best album

[@thecontrarians2438]

really? Maybe we are Contrarian.... I always thought it was was half really good.

[@seangerant653]

great white !!!

[@godetonter4764]

I prefer the Proto Death Metal of Funhouse

[@godetonter4764]

Don't Look Back is way better than the debut

[@diamondd2778]

WTF! High n dry is so NOT! their best! Zillions think pyro n hysteria are better then HAD

[@thecontrarians2438]

Ya cant argue with that! We probably are contrarian on that one!