When I was in 7th grade, the first Ian Hunter-less album by Mott came out - DRIVE ON. My brother bought it on 8-track, and he and I both liked it just fine. The 8-track eventually was eaten by the player, as 8-tracks tended to be, but years later I found a copy of it on vinyl for 99 cents and eagerly bought it. I discovered it to be one of the worst pieces of crap ever released and I never listened to it again.
The weird thing is, though, that when I recall certain songs from it in my mind (most notably "Monte Carlo" and "Stiff Upper Lip,") they still sound damn good. Even though I know for a fact that if I were to actually listen to them I would poke holes in my eardrums with an icepick before they finished.
The opposite happened with Judy Tzuke, whose album SPORTS CAR I bought largely due to a series of photos of her that Creem ran as a running joke in 1980 or so. ("Largely due to," hell - it was the only reason. I was 16 years old and a pig, so buying an album based solely on the fact that it was recorded by a gorgeous blonde with a very, very impressive chest was a rational decision in that context. Apparently Elton John was quoted as saying you could throw her off a ship and she wouldn't sink because of her built-in floatation devices, which was what got Creem's attention in the first place.) I listened to it and was horrified by how awful I thought it was.
However, I found it in my stack of albums not too long ago and tossed it on the turntable and was amazed to discover it was a really nice, lovely little album. But still, when I summon up the songs in my head, they sound unlistenable.
Anyone else have any albums their memories insist were good even though they know for a fact they weren't? Or they remember as awful, even though they now know they're good? (Or bought an album only because Elton John proposed tossing its creator off a ship to see if she'd float?)
Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron by The Royal Guardsmen- Terriffic! Just as good as I remember. "Curses, foiled again!"