Albums that get called pretentious tend to fascinate me. The word “pretentious,” in general, is kind of fascinating in how it gets thrown around. What actually makes an album worthy of being labelled as a try-hard attempt to seem intelligent or important? I’ve listened to a lot of music in my life, and rarely have I come across a truly pretentious piece of work. That’s definitely the case for the following classic rock albums that have historically earned that label, but I don’t think they’re pretentious at all. You might just agree with me. Let’s take a look!
‘Lulu’ by Lou Reed and Metallica
“Pretentious” isn’t what I’d initially call a collaboration between Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground and the heavy metal outfit Metallica. “Odd pairing” might come to mind first. However, the most unlikely pairings of artists and genres tend to yield amazing results.
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Unfortunately, nobody else seems to see the brilliance of the 2011 collab Lulu. It was Reed’s final full-length record before his death. And it’s often hailed as one of the worst albums ever. I can understand why people didn’t vibe with all of the spoken word and avant-garde approach to adapting German plays into a heavy metal album. But I really don’t think it deserves as much hate as it gets. Though, I think if they had a stronger concept, this album would have done much better.
‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ by Yes
This is an album that gets a lot of mixed reviews, and I genuinely don’t get why. It’s one of the most prog-rock-y albums of prog-rock albums. It’s like a textbook definition of the genre. Why is this record considered pretentious? I just don’t get it.
This 1973 release from Yes, fortunately, did quite well upon its release and made it to the Top 10 in both the UK and US. It’s quite an ambitious work from the band, and the lack of “payoff” is something I’ve heard often in similar prog records from the 70s. Why is everyone hating on Yes for doing the same thing?!
‘Psychodirect’ by Pete Townshend
Maybe this record is actually pretentious. Maybe it was intended to be. Psychodirect features a song called “Let’s Get Pretentious”, after all. Still, this is one of my favorite classic rock albums from The Who’s Pete Townshend, namely because of how much of a diva moment it is for the famed artist. It’s not his strongest concept album, but there’s something about putting together a satirical work based on one’s own life that hits a sweet spot between self-indulgence and comedic brilliance.
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