3 Low-Rated Albums of the 1970s That I Still Love

The beauty of music is that one man’s trash is often another man’s treasure. Conjecture and opinion will always be at the heart of music history. What one individual might find grating or boring, another might find delightful and beautiful. The following three records weren’t popular with many and earned lackluster reviews. However, I think there’s something to love about each of them. Let’s take a look!

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‘Metal Machine Music’ by Lou Reed

According to the review aggregate RateYourMusic, Lou Reed’s 1975 album Metal Machine Music scored an average rating of 2.82 out of 5.00. And to this day, it’s one of the most controversial albums out there, and definitely Reed’s most controversial album of his career.

So, what’s the problem with Metal Machine Music? To start, it was a massively radical departure from Lou Reed’s previous sound, both as a soloist and as a member of The Velvet Underground. It’s a noise album that lacks structured songs and is made up of modulated feedback, noisy guitar effects, and varying tape speeds. 

This album was so poorly received that it almost ruined Reed’s career. Some would say it did ruin his career. However, I think it’s a fascinating work of art. Reed was doing noise before noise was a thing among audiophiles on the internet. It’s not an easy album to get through, don’t get me wrong. But I think if it had been released a few decades later, it would have gotten more respect.

‘Pin Ups’ by David Bowie

This Bowie record from 1973 has an average score of 2.70 out of 5.00 via RateYourMusic. To be honest, I get why this glam proto-punk record did so poorly. Pin Ups is a collection of cover songs, and Bowie more or less released it to get his label off his back. Despite quite a few negative reviews from critics who thought the covers were subpar, this entry on our list of low-rated albums was a commercial success.

There’s something nostalgic about this album that provides a look into Bowie’s mind. He took songs that inspired him as a teen in the 1960s and put his own spin on them. A lot of these covers aren’t great, but the experimental edge of this album is at least interesting enough to get through one thorough listen.

‘Björk’ by Björk 

While many think that Debut is Björk’s debut album, it technically isn’t. One of her earliest albums was a self-titled record released in 1977. And this collection of songs, released under her full name of Björk Guðmundsdóttir, has a rough rating of 2.54 out of 5.00.

If Björk started a cult, I’d probably be a part of it. I’m one of her biggest fans. So, it’s hard for me to hate this album. A lot of people aren’t fans of how cutesy this collection of cover songs is, but I’m not sure what they were expecting. Björk was 12 years old when it was recorded. If anything, it’s a lovely little piece of music history and a peek into the childhood of one of this generation’s most creative artists.

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