Musical Turkeys: Disappointing Albums of 2015

As they traditionally do to honor Thanksgiving, various shows feature what they call “Turkeys of the Year.” These unwelcome birds are failures that occurred in whatever field the program covers, much to the chagrin of those in charge.

Perhaps the most well-received of these involves the world of sports, where ESPN’s sorry for the interruption shows fifteen minutes of bloopers of the year. The show’s hosts, reporters Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, add some humorous commentary alongside the video clips.

In the music world, the best segment of “Turkeys” can be found on National Public Radio’s solid opinion. The show’s hosts are Jim Rogatis and Greg Kot, who take turns identifying the albums they found the most disappointing throughout the year.

Among his picks for the 2015 turkeys were albums by some legendary artists. One host lamented Rolling Stones co-founder Keith Richards’ solo album, titled cross-eyed heart. They didn’t like the last Prince album, hit and runthey didn’t care about Mark Robson Uptown Funk.

Those of Neil Young were also criticized The Monsanto Years, which the hosts felt was one of the weakest efforts in folk rocker’s extensive discography. Young’s contemporary, Bob Dylan, is also on the list. Tea solid opinion the hosts concluded that Dylan singing Frank Sinatra classics made for a disappointing album, shadows in the night.

Here are five other records that could qualify for turkeys of the year, after disappointing efforts by major artists.

Mobile Orchestra by Owl City

After two stellar albums and a third that showed growth, Adam Young’s latest effort was too spiritual. It was a strange feeling when the first voice heard on the album was not that of Young, but that of hip hop artist Aloe Black.

game land by Johnny Marr

No one can question Marr’s musicality, but his guitar wizardry only goes so far to disguise mostly hackneyed lyrics that have Smith fans genuinely longing for an unlikely reunion of Marr and Morrissey.

Therefore, there by Ben Folds

The yMusic ensemble backs the Folds on this album, and “Phone in the Pool” was one of the first promising singles. The rest of the songs lacked Folds’ generally reliable wit, with some even relying on off-putting humor about minorities and the obese.

What a terrible world, what a beautiful world by The Decemberists

Indie darlings took a step back in 2011 The king is dead so many fans hoped that the long break would allow them to regain the magic of The Crane’s Wife Y Picaresque.

poison season by destroyer

Dan Bejar’s contributions to the New Pornographers are always solid, but most of his stuff with the group he leads sounds inferior. The album features a couple of quality songs, so perhaps it should have been released as an EP instead of the dozen mostly forgettable Baker tunes on this record.

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