Garbage (1995)
This is a Butch Vig creation and vehicle, despite your extreme desire to spend some quality time with lead singer Shirley Manson. She was picked up for sex appeal, not talent (Yes, I enjoy pointing out the obvious). Near (or at, or after…it’s been a long night, ok?) the end of grunge as a major musical force, this album sprouts some pop hooks and flies away from the wreckage Vig himself helped create. I vaguely hate it, even as I bop along to it.
(“Stupid Girl”)
Grade: B-
2012: “Hate” is a strong word. The catchiness here is much less guilty than, say, ABBA.
Grade: B-
Version 2.0 (1998)
A slight alteration on their debut, adding electronica to the boppy pop-grunge. But the overall results are about the same.
(“When I Grow Up”)
Grade: B-
Absolute Garbage (2007)
What do you get when you make a greatest-hits album from a band that had only two decent albums? A really good first half. The pop leanings become more pronounced as one goes along, almost to the point of absurdity when you consider this was, at one time, considered an “alternative” band. But it’s a really good first half!
(“When I Grow Up”, “Push It”)
Grade: B
5/27/12: A really good first half is more impressive when there are 18 songs on the album, since half of 18 is 9, and nine is about what a good album normally runs, give or take.
Grade: B+