Bands In Which Their Early Music Was NOT Their Best Stuff
#1
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Thread Starter
Bands In Which Their Early Music Was NOT Their Best Stuff
About practically every band (or singer), it's usually said that their "early stuff was best". It's so commonly said that it's a cliché, but it is true in most cases.
However, there have to be some exceptions to the rule, groups in which their better music came later in their career, say past their 2nd or 3rd album. The most obvious example is The Beatles. Who else is like this?
However, there have to be some exceptions to the rule, groups in which their better music came later in their career, say past their 2nd or 3rd album. The most obvious example is The Beatles. Who else is like this?
#6
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Originally Posted by Randy Miller III
-ringding-
#8
DVD Talk Reviewer
Originally Posted by cdollaz
I'll take Document/Automatic/Green over Murmur/Reckoning/Fables any day.
#9
Moderator
As far as R.E.M., I really can't stand any of their music after Fables of the Reconstruction. Their first couple of albums are masterpieces, and then it all went to shit.
As far as The Beatles, I'd rather listen to Please Please Me or With the Beatles than Sgt Pepper or Let It Be any day.
In terms of the original question, I think Everything But the Girl got better later on, and I feel the same way about Kraftwerk.
As far as The Beatles, I'd rather listen to Please Please Me or With the Beatles than Sgt Pepper or Let It Be any day.
In terms of the original question, I think Everything But the Girl got better later on, and I feel the same way about Kraftwerk.
#10
Moderator
Alice In Chains.
#14
DVD Talk Reviewer
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Formerly known as "12thmonkey"/Frankfort, IL
Posts: 7,790
Received 35 Likes
on
31 Posts
Originally Posted by maxfisher
A handful pop to mind...
- Jump Little Children
- Jump Little Children
And I'll go old school and add Fleetwood Mac (pre/post Buckingham/Nicks) to the pile...
Last edited by Pointyskull; 05-12-06 at 10:10 AM.
#16
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally Posted by cungar
Wow I thought I was into some obscure bands but I've never heard of the National or Jump Little Children. Are they good?
http://www.beggars.com/features/thenational/
You can check out the last album from Jump, Little Children here:
http://www.jumphq.com/musicplayer/ju...sionthree.html
It's not as good as Vertigo, which was their absolute best work.
#17
DVD Talk Hero
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Hail to the Redskins!
Posts: 25,295
Likes: 0
Received 49 Likes
on
38 Posts
Since I've recently gotten into them, I'd add Snow Patrol to the list. Final Straw and Eyes Open are miles better than their early stuff. I'd also add Coldplay to the list, because ROBTTH and XY are leap years ahead of Parachuttes.
#18
Moderator
Oh yeah - Husker Du.
#20
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by mdc3000
Pearl Jam
Originally Posted by dogmatica
Alice In Chains.
#21
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
Didn't they only put out 3 albums?
I would name ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) to the mix. Their first 3 albums are pretty poor listens and not very catchy. Lynne got going on Eldorado, their fourth album, and stayed strong until their demise (strictly my opinion...critics tend to hate all ELO albums).
I definitely think Queen didn't really hit their stride until their 3rd album Sheer Heart Attack and then stayed stong until the release of Hot Space.
Level 42 - started as a jazz fusion band and evolved into a catchy pop/rock band. It took 5 albums until they had their first real hit (and truly coherent album...again in my opinion) in World Machine, their 6th album!
#22
DVD Talk Godfather
Radiohead immediately came to mind. My friend is a huge fan and doesn't own Pablo Honey.
No one's mentioned Nirvana? Bleach is forgettable at best. It seems they hit their stride after that album because everything on Incesticide is good. To me, they only kept getting better.
I'm also going to mention Beck. His very early work (Golden Feelings, A Western Harvest Field by Moonlight, Stereopathetic Soul Manure) I admire but they're just not very good. It's just too odd or experimental, almost not musical. While we're at it, let's put Folk Implosion and Ween in this group.
Grandaddy's first album (A Pretty Mess...) wasn't good either, and they improved again after Under a Western Freeway.
I also thought the first Hives album was their weakest. And I like the more recent stuff by The White Stripes, or at least I'm pretty sure I do.
Maybe add Yo La Tengo to this list...
No one's mentioned Nirvana? Bleach is forgettable at best. It seems they hit their stride after that album because everything on Incesticide is good. To me, they only kept getting better.
I'm also going to mention Beck. His very early work (Golden Feelings, A Western Harvest Field by Moonlight, Stereopathetic Soul Manure) I admire but they're just not very good. It's just too odd or experimental, almost not musical. While we're at it, let's put Folk Implosion and Ween in this group.
Grandaddy's first album (A Pretty Mess...) wasn't good either, and they improved again after Under a Western Freeway.
I also thought the first Hives album was their weakest. And I like the more recent stuff by The White Stripes, or at least I'm pretty sure I do.
Maybe add Yo La Tengo to this list...
#24
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by brianluvdvd
I definitely think Queen didn't really hit their stride until their 3rd album Sheer Heart Attack and then stayed stong until the release of Hot Space.
Queen has always been , and always will be, one of my all-time favorite bands, but I don't think they should have ever gone to synthesizers, and just grew more and more mediocre with each album after they did. I think they tried a little too hard to be mainstream, and produce "hits", which is what the record companies began wanting more from their artists in the 80's, and from then on. Total albums of great music became a thing of the past from all the artists we grew to expect, and enjoy, them from, in favor of a couple hits and a group of throwaway songs.
Last edited by The_Infidel; 05-13-06 at 12:17 PM.
#25
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by The_Infidel
I was going to mention Queen as well, although I don't think they hit their stride until Night At The Opera and Day At The Races, which I consider sister albums not only because of their titles but for the equally superb production and songwriting. The production on the first two albums was really bad, and only got slightly better with Sheer Heart Attack. The songwriting grew progressively with each album, but I don't think they stayed as strong up until Hot Space. In their own ways, each album after the "sister albums", while maintaining great songwriting and performances, got somehow weaker as a whole...IMHO.
There are times when listening to SHA that one might think...is this even the same group that I heard on the previous track? Good stuff.
Sorry for the side track.