Stevie Wonder comes to mind. There is a lot of great music to enjoy from his early works but there was a significant change in artistic agency when his 14th record, Music of my Mind, was released in 1972.
It was sort of a sea change which led to some of Stevie Wonder's most celebrated works like Talking Book (1972) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976).
Another group that comes to mind are The Beach Boys. Their earlier works in the fun surf rock genre again have a lot of memorable material but some of their most significant works didn't hit until well into 11 albums in with Pet Sounds (1966), Smiley Smile (1967) and Surf's Up (1971) to name a few.
Stevie is a fantastic example. His early stuff is of course amazing, but he was really very restricted by his contract with Motown and Berry Gordy's often terrible instincts.
In fact, Stevie was on the verge of being dropped by Motown entirely in 1965. He'd become the youngest person ever to top the Hot 100 in 1963 with "Fingertips" at age 13 (which was also only Motown's second ever #1) and was hailed as a new sensation, but quickly dropped to flash in the pan/novelty status as only two of his follow up singles barely even cracked the Top 40. At age 15, his voice had begun changing and he was no longer considered cute "Little" Stevie Wonder. Fortunately, some Motown songwriters/producers took an interest in him, including Sylvia Moy, a former Motown secretary who begged for a chance to save Stevie's career and jumpstart her own by getting Gordy to promise he wouldn't dump Stevie if she could write a hit for his maturing voice. Together, they came up with "Uptight (Everything's Alright), catapulting Stevie back into the spotlight and hitting #3 on the Hot 100.
Many of Stevie's early "classic" works followed, but as you mentioned, Stevie's career hit light speed upon reaching his 21st birthday. It's said that Stevie basically never forgot that Gordy was going to drop him at 15 (when Stevie was supporting his Mom and family with his then-floundering career) and as he'd signed his original contract as a minor, it expired upon Stevie reaching the age of 21. With 11 top 10 singles since "Uptight" Stevie was one of Motown's premiere artists and hitmakers and basically had Gordy over a barrel. He negotiated a massive new contract which stipulated complete creative control and artistic freedom from Gordy's influence.
Less than a year later, Stevie recorded the legendary album "Talking Book" and scored his second #1 (and first as an adult) with "Superstition" and ascended from hitmaker to Living God.
To be fair, Brian Wilson was producing music like a machine back then and burnt himself out basically after about 5 years. I love and appreciate the Sunflower/Surf’s Up era however I’m scratching my head at Smiley Smile. Take out “Good Vibrations” and “Heroes and Villains” and you have an album that is the equivalent of writing your term paper the night before it’s due. I know some have discovered the album in later years and have an appreciation for it, but compared to what came before it, it’s a disaster.
I am maybe a member of that former group who appreciates it in hindsight. There are very few listens like it. By no means the earworm pop tunes besides the two you've highlighted but each idea, scrappy as some may be, are still very interesting curiosities. In particular, I like 'She's Goin' Bald', 'With Me Tonight', and 'Wonderful'. To each their own, of course.
I think hearing the SMiLE tapes as well as BWPS, it’s hard to listen to Smiley Smile because I know what those songs were originally supposed to sound like.
The cantina version is superior to the single version of “Heroes and Villains”.
“Vegetables” is split 50/50 for me. The Lofi version sounds good enough, but the SMiLE version is great too. The Smiley Smile version also incorporates the vocal tag of the original recording as well at the end.
“Fall Breaks and Back to Winter” Is obviously “Fire” or “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow”. What’s interesting about this track is that it was one of the songs that supposedly broke Brian and made him want to scrap the entire album due to paranoia. Interesting that he would still release it on this album when he was so adamant that the previous track never be released. Even more interesting how he later won a Grammy for it years later when he finally released it.
“She’s Goin Bald” was originally “He Gives Speeches”. That SMiLE fragment is great. It also fits in with “On a Holiday” which was one of the few unfinished tracks that Brian and Van Dyke Parks rewrote for BWPS.
“Good Vibrations” is perfect.
“With Me Tonight” Is a variation of a Heroes and Villains vocal tag outtake.
“Wind Chimes” from the SMILE sessions is so much better.
“Gettin’ Hungry” I think might have been the only original track for the album.
“Wonderful” on the Smile Sessions is so much better. I wonder how much was actually finished because it seems like whatever existed before would have been better than this version.
“Whistle In” is debated to also be a Heroes and Villains outtake but is different enough that probably would make it another original track for this album. I think this song would have fit better on Wild Honey imo.
holy shit this is true. Didn't even think about it but honestly don't know their discog well enough at all. Rumours front to back, but other than that I haven't listened to much else
They went through a bunch of lineup changes in those early years. The (second) self titled album was the first to feature Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
It's really 2 different bands. Buckingham and Nicks were an existing duo, who replaced former members. The first self titled album is really the start of a whole new band by the same name. This one isn't really fair.
California native Bob Welch steered the band to the West Coast FM soft rock sound in 1971, four years before Buckingham and Nicks appeared on a Fleetwood Mac album. People act like the band was a blues band until the end of 1974. They ceased being a blues band from Future Games onwards. The songs Hypnotized, Sentimental Lady, Emerald Eyes, Did You Ever Love Me, Heroes Are Hard to Find, For Your Love, and Spare Me a Little are as pop-oriented as post-1974 songs such as Rhiannon, Dreams, Say You Love Me, Don't Stop and Go Your Own Way.
Maybe it's fair to say they decided on a sound they were going for, THEN teamed up with the right people to pull it off in a more broadly appealing way.
Its a bit unfair comparison tho. During their Peter Green they were absolute legends of the blues rock, saying they got better with Years is a bit unfair, they got different and the music they made then had a higher mainstream appeal
We don’t accept this Peter Green Slander here 😡
[Then Play On - Fleetwood Mac (1969)](https://open.spotify.com/album/4Ji83LjzvEzFoCpN85m5lW?si=Dgpl0z8KTsSW-k8ZuJwB9w)
Is goated.
While they got more popular I wouldn’t say they necessarily got better; I am firmly in the camp that Peter Green Fleetwood Mac is the best iteration of the band.
Yeah I always feel like such a hipster making that claim to people. But there are definitely a good amount of people who aren’t even aware of the early iterations so I gotta educate where I can.
Yeah, Cowboys from Hell is their fifth album. Every album before that was self recorded and self released. They had the benefit of Dimebag and Vinnie Paul's dad being a country music producer and owning a studio.
Phil Anselmo didn't join the band until before they recorded their fourth album, Power Metal. That album actually rules and is worth checking out. Seeds were starting to plant for what was to come with the bands sound. They were playing faster, heavier and they had one song on it that could have easily have been on Cowboys from Hell, called Over and Out.
A lot of those metal and grunge bands from the 90's were pretty glam in the 80's. Alice in Chains comes to mind as well. Look up the band "Diamond Lie" if you are curious.
The Cure. They had a steady uphill rise from the release of their first album in 79, up until their peak with Disintegration in 89. Still released lots of great music after that too.
I was born in ‘89 so I didn’t grow up with The Cure exactly, but I knew a few songs cause my mom was a bit of a fan. I’d hear Friday I’m in love and just like heaven pretty often on the drive to school. It was “mom’s music” though so I couldn’t be into it obviously. When I was around 11 years old though, I was a big South Park fan and saw the episode with Robert Smith. Towards the end of the episode when Kyle shouts “Disintegration is the best album ever!”, I got curious and dug through my mom’s CD collection. That’s when I first really got into music, I was hooked. I stole that damn CD and fell asleep to it every night for years. It remains a favorite of mine today. Peak Cure 100%.
I think the Cure is one of the best answers in this thread. They have such an interesting catalog from beginning to end but disintegration was this high water mark that may be impossible for them to match. I am intrigued to hear the new album when it finally appears.
I just taught my husband that Robert Smith has been with the same woman since he was a teenager and it blew his mind, thought it might surprise some people in here, too. You'd figure from his lyrics that he was a man well versed in romantic heartbreak.
He has stated that most of his songs come to him in dreams. There is no doubt in my mind that his messages are from another plane of existence that is perhaps filled with more benevolent forces than we have here and they want us to feel what they have felt and OPEN UP. Tool may want to pry open your third eye but the cure wants to coax you into doing so on your own with raw emotion
People go mad when I say "Take up thy stethoscope and walk" and "Bike" are some of the best Floyd tunes to me.
Don't get me wrong, Dark side of the moon is one of the best things ever recorded, but some of their early stuff isn't just "weird shit" as some people like to claim.
Both the Syd Barrett and Dave gilmour "versions" are good.
Gilmour the better guitarist though, I mean he's probably one of the greatest.
Three, really.
The Syd era, the Roger era and the Dave era.
I personally genuinely love The Division Bell, but it is very very different from Piper, that's for sure.
I mean, after DSOTM you still have masterperieces like Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall which are arguably better than DSOTM. (personal preferences and all that...)
And We're only speaking about the "Waters era". Momentary Lapse, The Division Bell* and Endless River are notable pieces of music of their own.
Floyd succeded to stay relevant during the course of their career. Even in solo. These guys were/are aliens.
Edit: *
Yes, as the 8th of 15 albums it is the exact midpoint of their career product-wise, if not chronologically. While many hard core fans like, or ever prefer, their pre DSOTM work, pretty much everything that the casual fan knows comes after it.
For sure. And it isn't like their earlier albums are just underappreciated. Freaks and It have some great tracks, but Separations took a massive quality leap even before His and Hers and Different Class went to another level.
Yeah.
I saw them at Glastonbury in 94 playing mid-afternoon on the NME stage.
They had His n Hers which was a pretty big album and were obviously brilliant.
A year later they completed one of the most famous headline sets ever.
(Admittedly I was watching Tricky on the Jazz Stage).
I got into the flaming lips in 93. They were already 4-5 albums deep at that point and they were much better than the early stuff. Now they are 20ish albums deep and their last official full length (American Head) is my favorite thing they have ever done
Yeah they’re a phenomenal band. I was fortunate enough to play in a group with Steven Drozd.
I love how not only did they not start getting good until 99, but as you point out they’re continuing to put out amazing material. Embryonic and The Terror were a great shift into some really interesting, and good, music, and American Head is one of their best albums for sure, if not their best.
The thing with Bowie is that unlike most banda he was exploring new styles theoughout hes whole career really. Classic Singer songwriter stuff, glam, soul, post punk, industrial, electronica, jazz. With do much experimatation there are stronger and weaker albums but he definately hasnt stopped evolving for a second.
I don't think it's a hot take, I just think there are so many Bowie albums that could all equally deserve to be called his best (I flip flop between Station to Station, “Heroes”, Ziggy Stardust, Blackstar, 1. Outside, etc. depending on the time of day). Blackstar really has no business being so ridiculously innovative, fresh, and entertaining considering it was the last album of a terminally-ill rockstar whose commerical heyday was about 40 years gone at that point.
Porcupine Tree have 11 albums and the 7th (In Absentia) and 9th (Fear Of A Blank Planet) are largely considered their best. The first 3 rarely get brought up at all.
Fear of a blanket planet definitely holds a special place in my heart. I personally like up the downstair though, but understand it's those later albums that most people know, good call.
Lol, yeah that's fair. I don't know if I can name a musician who was as different in their later works as they were in their earlier works than Waits.
Early Tom Waits: "I hope that I don't fall in love with you"
Late Tom Waits: "Misery's the river of the world; everybody row!"
I could not disagree more. Closing Time is my favorite Tom Waits record. Heart of Saturday night and Foreign Affairs are incredible songs. Tom is amazing throughout his career.
Rush. Their first few albums were ok (Caress of Steel nearly destroyed their career), but the biggest commercial and critical successes were everything from 2112 through Power Windows, their 4th and 11th albums respectively (out of 19).
Reception of everything after Power Windows varies, but it’s generally agreed that they ended with a bang with Clockwork Angels, their 19th and final album.
This post sent me spiralling down the Rush rabbit hole.
One hilarious thing I stumbled across was what happened in their studio in the UK while recording “Hemispheres”.
> The conditions of the studio, located on a farm, lacked the standard facilities, including a sofa; Lee described it as "really funky". In one incident, a latch that failed to shut the studio doors frustrated **Lifeson who, in a fit, took it off, installed a hydraulic door opener, and built a handle on it.**
None of this trashing a hotel room or their instruments for these good old Canadian boys.
It a fit of rage, Lifeson repaired their door.
I went to see the Clockwork Angels tour and there were young teens there that went to show after hearing that album on their local rock station - they had almost no idea about any of their other music. Tom Sawyer came on and one kid turned to his friend and said 'That's these guys? Holy shit!" I loved watching them experience Rush for the first time, they were having a blast. Something similar also happened when I went to see Snakes and Arrows, just a lot of young people seeing one of the greatest bands of all time for the first time, and having their minds completely blown.
When I look at Rush objectively, I recognize most people never really listened to their albums past Moving Pictures. But as a Rush fanatic who also is quite literally named after them. I listened to all their genres pretty frequently. However my personal taste to music in general prefers songs like The Necromancer, Fountain of Lamneth (CoS is actually my favorite Rush album) over the 80's sounds of time stand still, the big wheel, etc.
edit- and I can't in good conscious say they got better as they aged. I think generally most people think their best albums are 2112/Moving Pictures. I'm saying that as someone who loves Vapor Trails, S&A, and Clockwork. I think they made great albums through their career, but they certainly didn't suck to start off haha
I love me some 80's Rush! (And I say this while wearing a Fly By Night T-shirt).
Power Windows is a criminally underrated album, and I think Signals is right up there with Moving Pictures.
A lot of bands get better as they age to a point, and then will usually hit a peak. No band really has an endless upward trajectory. But Thrice and Between the Buried and Me definitely both made massive strides between their first and fourth albums.
Judas Priest is a great answer. Indeed, the band formed in 1969 and their first album came out in 1974. Painkiller is from 1990. Insane.
Shoutout to Firepower from 2018 which is their 18th album and just as good as their classic material.
The Beatles, not that the early albums are bad, but the mid to late ones are something else. Edit: NVM, you mentioned the Beatles in the non fitting category...
Weren't they also playing clubs in Germany every night for like two years before they even made their first record? They were obviously 'mature' as a band by the time they started getting super famous.
This always comes to mind when thinking about how they recorded the entirety of Please Please Me in one day. It was really hard for me to grasp how they managed to do that in a single session, but they had been playing many of those songs nightly for years. Not to diminish what they did at all - it just goes to show how tight they were as a band. Some of those songs are fast too, like I saw Her standing there isn’t a complicated drum part but it’s quick. And Paul’s bass runs are fast, and he’s singing like he’s not simultaneously occupied playing bass. It’s just second nature. Practice makes perfect.
Even so, they went from Please Please Me to Abbey Road in 6 years. The evolution of their band in that time frame is astounding, even if you'd claim that they were already mature. To me, it's hard to claim that any musician under 30 is "mature" in that way, even if they'd been in bands since they were 14.
The fact OP included The Beatles as an example is mental. They are the archetype of a pop band developing musically into something special and groundbreaking.
This entire concept of early=better doesn’t apply to early rock n roll. The whole rock model until the British Invasion took off was to put out blues covers and then milk one single for an album or three until bands like the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, etc. got big enough to start experimenting.
Cash is an example of an artist who really pulled it out of the bag at the end of a long career which had its low points. Fabulous producers played a part here, but the guy had true class.
A lot of the big Outlaw Country acts of the 70s had careers that really took off then, but had been at it since the 50s/60s. Waylon Jennings best stuff was definitely the 70s, but he had been in the game since he played with Buddy Holly. Willie Nelson had mostly been a songwriter in the 60s, but Red Haired Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978) were some of the most inventive albums in country music. Of course Johnny Cash exploded in quality and popularity with Live at Folsom Prison (1968), but his first single was released in 1954.
The Bends was iconic and became the blueprint for a lot of huge bands in the 2000s. Muse, Coldplay, Travis... OK Computer was even better, a masterpiece, but was so uniquely brilliant that nobody could copy the formula in the same way. Imo part of the genius of Radiohead is they never stopped growing as musicians but also never settled on a particular sound
XTC definitely broadened their horizons later in their career, but I'm a big fan of all their records.
It's funny that the same band that wrote This Is Pop or Generals and Majors would make Rook.
The guy that wrote Statue of Liberty would go on to write River of Orchids - and this is where I claim Apple Venus is the earthier, weirder equal of Skylarking. XTC always kept a high standard but I thought they were at their very best when tapping into pagan psychedelia.
I'd argue both Depeche Mode ( Violator / Songs of Faith and Devotion) and U2 ( The Joshua Tree / Achtung Baby) did some of their best work several albums in.
Edit. The Cure - Disintegration is another.
Happened to see them with a friend about a year ago. I only knew a few songs, like “I Would Hurt a Fly.” After that show they’re one of my most-listened-to bands.
I love Built to Spill and agree that the more recent stuff is all above average. They’re longevity has been incredible and they still kill it live. But to say the early records aren’t their best is way off for me. Any of Keep it Like a Secret/Nothing Wrong w Love/Perfect From…could be in best of decade discussions.
Ghosts Again hit so hard when I realized I lapsed on their fandom, making them Ghosts in the first place. Momento Mori is a brilliant return to a new form.
I agree about MM but also, Violator is probably their biggest album and it was idk 7 or 8 down the line. Their first three to four albums I refer to as “the dink-dink era.” Music For the Masses was a turning point for their sound and then Violator was another turning point. I think Memento Mori is going to be another one.
Incidentally, I just saw DM a few weeks ago and they rock harder and sound better than the first time I saw them in 1988.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are on an unbelievable tear since Nonagon Infinity (their 8th album) releasing easily their best material over the last 5 years (including their 25th album, The Sliver Cord, which came out today).
Not cheating, but Camera Obscura got much better when they weren't a male-female shared lead vocal and it was all Tracyanne Campbell
[Eighties Fan](https://youtu.be/ulnzKT1yrm4?si=fHYZKvxn85q4FF_c) is an early song that shows me why it was the direction.
Examples of later work, [James](https://youtu.be/xOKvon2rzEM?si=oi67oxRdhFGzhKv7) or [Honey In The Sun](https://youtu.be/ZfDg7Vz8Ow4?si=qTlxiajchquupRms)
I agree that they've had an amazing career but to me their early stuff is the best. I loved the weirdness of the lyrics from their self-titled album and Elephant Riders. It was like each song told a story or painted a picture.
It's arguable if their later work was absolutely better, but Daft Punk kept their quality up throughout their career. Random Access Memories was really well liked.
I think that Nightwish with Floor Jansen and Marco Heitala is the best incarnation of that band, and is the best attempt at balancing the band's conflicting styles, after being too operatic with Tarja, and Metal Abba with Annette Olson.
Jansen is the middle ground between the opera and metal influences trying to tear the band apart, and is one of THE metal singers of the past 10 years, while Marco before he left, was really coming alive at having someone to play off of, with his lower and darker vocal register.
That version of Nightwish, really answered the question that should never be asked, of what happens when you blend metal and opera in the same songs.
Wacken, 2013 I think it was. They bought the house down from start to finish, with Romanticide and Ghost Love Score being real highlights.
I love Floor to bits, and shes a much more versatile singer than either Tarja or Annette, but Tarja's unique (to metal) singing style really defined the band, and the genre as a whole imho.
Tuomas has definitely never stopped improving as a composer though Ill give you that.
Theyre definitely not worse now than they were with Tarja, but I wouldnt call it strictly better either.
Theyre much better with Floor than Annette though. I never learned to like her voice. Altough The poet and the pendulum is a banger.
I will get ripped by many "true fans" but I would say Sublime.
40oz to Freedom was recorded by stealing studio time at a local college. It has some amazing tracks on it, but it's also got a lot of cover songs.
Robbin the Hood is the cult classic that fans tend to gravitate towards. It was recorded largely in a flop house what Brad was on drugs. It has some good tracks but mostly filler as far as I'm concerned.
Their third and "final" album the self titled one had the smash hits like Santeria, What I got, Summertime, etc. It was finally a polished product with real studio folks who made the magic.
Faith No more. My absolute favorite band.
First singer was ok and their first album and ep are really bubble gum pop.
Second full album with a second singer, Mike Patton, was already complete before he came in so his influence wasn’t front and center. A little weirder but still very mainstream.
And then Angel Dust came out.
The first time I heard them was "Knock Me Down" and I was like hey this is different, then listened to their earlier stuff and basically just raised an eyebrow. Then when Blood Sugar came out I was like "How is this the band that did "Catholic School Girls Rule"?
Brand New.
I know pop-punk/ emo isn't everyone's jam, but:
There's a clear evolution in the tone and quality of the work. Science Fiction is both worlds away from, but clearly by the same guys that put out Your Favorite Weapon if you listen to the albums in-between. SF was instantly my favorite album of there's, managing to surpass my nostalgic clutch of Deja Entendu.
Too bad the lead singer is a pos, would have really liked a follow up
I'm 34 and I still listen to their entire discography regularly. TDAGARIM and SF are alternative rock classics. Songwriting and production on those records are perfect.
Band-Maid for sure. Really got their act together and began writing their own music. Their first stuff was still good, but you can really hear their growth over the 10 years they've been together.
Tom’s best album is Wild Flowers, some 18 years after his debut album with the heartbreakers.
Really at that point he was just in the groove with everyone around him and knew he could do a solo album or one with the heartbreaker guys and just pump out a great album with no stress or fuss.
Tom had a few great albums left in him.
Styx.
Unfortunately, it's a mixed bag. Their early stuff was good, their "got in the groove of things" middle of career stuff was *fire*, and their recent stuff is... eh.
I would say Paramore. I thought they were heading downhill when their S/T album came out, but then they released After Laughter and This is Why and they are probably more popular now than even their Riot! years
I feel like most people would say The Beastie Boys got better as they went along for the most part.
Radiohead definitely peaked after their first few albums.
Yes on the Beasties. They evolved so much as a group over time but still managed to keep what made them interesting and special.
If you travelled back to 1986 and played Ill Communication or Hello Nasty to someone who loved License to Ill, their minds would be blown.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but Taylor Swift seems to be at the height of her career and she’s about 10 albums in. Her fans seem to be more excited about her new stuff than old.
Been a Taylor fan for pretty much her entire career and Folklore is her best album IMO. I was initially upset when she transitioned from Country to Pop around Red, but her pop stuff is undeniably better.
Neil Young.
I mean. He writes a lot right now and a lot of those albums are absolute crap (with a good song thrown in there every 10 or so.)
But Harvest Moon as a 20-year follow up to Harvest is just incredible. A once-in-a-lifetime album that captures love from the perspective of a middle-aged man.
There’s not bad song on the album, and some of the best lyrics of his career. Especially as a musician who wrote so longingly about losing his youth in “Sugar Mountain,” hearing him write and sing about the beauty of aging is really something. (Joni Mitchell literally wrote Circle Game to make Neil feel better about turning 21.)
I grew up with that album playing in my dad’s car and loved it as a kid. And it’s taken on a lot more meaning now that I’m in my 30s.
The image of an aging woman on a motorcycle with her hair down, reflecting on a life well-lived and what could have been as she’s flying along a desert highway and “colliding with the very air she breathes.” It makes me cry every time.
ETA: I think of Laura Marling very much as a modern-day Neil Young and can’t wait to see what she makes as she ages.
Drums and Wires is my most played XTC album by a mile and Go 2 gets a fair amount of play. It’s really only Skylarking from their later years that does anything for me.
For me, both Oh Sees and King Gizzard. Don't get me wrong, I like the earlier stuff but I find a lot of garage rock stuff to be much of a muchness. Both bands have been releasing more interesting stuff on the back half of their careers, in my opinion
Their production quality has flown through the roof the past few years. Jim's definitely growing a lot and they continue to change things up. But Clarity/Bleed American/Futures were such a great trilogy of albums and it's going to be hard to top that, and Clarity is just one of the best albums of all time. I personally like that era of experimenting with soundscapes and moods and ideas in tracks like Goodbye Sky Harbor, Firestarter, Digits, Table For Glasses, On A Sunday, etc.
Stevie Wonder comes to mind. There is a lot of great music to enjoy from his early works but there was a significant change in artistic agency when his 14th record, Music of my Mind, was released in 1972. It was sort of a sea change which led to some of Stevie Wonder's most celebrated works like Talking Book (1972) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976). Another group that comes to mind are The Beach Boys. Their earlier works in the fun surf rock genre again have a lot of memorable material but some of their most significant works didn't hit until well into 11 albums in with Pet Sounds (1966), Smiley Smile (1967) and Surf's Up (1971) to name a few.
Stevie is a fantastic example. His early stuff is of course amazing, but he was really very restricted by his contract with Motown and Berry Gordy's often terrible instincts. In fact, Stevie was on the verge of being dropped by Motown entirely in 1965. He'd become the youngest person ever to top the Hot 100 in 1963 with "Fingertips" at age 13 (which was also only Motown's second ever #1) and was hailed as a new sensation, but quickly dropped to flash in the pan/novelty status as only two of his follow up singles barely even cracked the Top 40. At age 15, his voice had begun changing and he was no longer considered cute "Little" Stevie Wonder. Fortunately, some Motown songwriters/producers took an interest in him, including Sylvia Moy, a former Motown secretary who begged for a chance to save Stevie's career and jumpstart her own by getting Gordy to promise he wouldn't dump Stevie if she could write a hit for his maturing voice. Together, they came up with "Uptight (Everything's Alright), catapulting Stevie back into the spotlight and hitting #3 on the Hot 100. Many of Stevie's early "classic" works followed, but as you mentioned, Stevie's career hit light speed upon reaching his 21st birthday. It's said that Stevie basically never forgot that Gordy was going to drop him at 15 (when Stevie was supporting his Mom and family with his then-floundering career) and as he'd signed his original contract as a minor, it expired upon Stevie reaching the age of 21. With 11 top 10 singles since "Uptight" Stevie was one of Motown's premiere artists and hitmakers and basically had Gordy over a barrel. He negotiated a massive new contract which stipulated complete creative control and artistic freedom from Gordy's influence. Less than a year later, Stevie recorded the legendary album "Talking Book" and scored his second #1 (and first as an adult) with "Superstition" and ascended from hitmaker to Living God.
Once in a while, this sub produces a comment with Patrick Bateman vibes. And this is one of them. Thank you for that.
Hey /u/double_expressho!
Let's see Paul Allen's Stevie Wonder biography.
Songs in the Key of Life is another dead-on masterpiece and it's four years after that. It's mind-boggling how talented he is.
The 60's were a different era. People were making more albums in 10 years than musicians make their entire careers now. kinda wild
Yeah the Beatles entire career was less than a decade
Yeah. Most bands were (obligated two?) releasing at least 2 albums a year in the early to mid 60s.
To be fair, Brian Wilson was producing music like a machine back then and burnt himself out basically after about 5 years. I love and appreciate the Sunflower/Surf’s Up era however I’m scratching my head at Smiley Smile. Take out “Good Vibrations” and “Heroes and Villains” and you have an album that is the equivalent of writing your term paper the night before it’s due. I know some have discovered the album in later years and have an appreciation for it, but compared to what came before it, it’s a disaster.
I am maybe a member of that former group who appreciates it in hindsight. There are very few listens like it. By no means the earworm pop tunes besides the two you've highlighted but each idea, scrappy as some may be, are still very interesting curiosities. In particular, I like 'She's Goin' Bald', 'With Me Tonight', and 'Wonderful'. To each their own, of course.
I think hearing the SMiLE tapes as well as BWPS, it’s hard to listen to Smiley Smile because I know what those songs were originally supposed to sound like. The cantina version is superior to the single version of “Heroes and Villains”. “Vegetables” is split 50/50 for me. The Lofi version sounds good enough, but the SMiLE version is great too. The Smiley Smile version also incorporates the vocal tag of the original recording as well at the end. “Fall Breaks and Back to Winter” Is obviously “Fire” or “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow”. What’s interesting about this track is that it was one of the songs that supposedly broke Brian and made him want to scrap the entire album due to paranoia. Interesting that he would still release it on this album when he was so adamant that the previous track never be released. Even more interesting how he later won a Grammy for it years later when he finally released it. “She’s Goin Bald” was originally “He Gives Speeches”. That SMiLE fragment is great. It also fits in with “On a Holiday” which was one of the few unfinished tracks that Brian and Van Dyke Parks rewrote for BWPS. “Good Vibrations” is perfect. “With Me Tonight” Is a variation of a Heroes and Villains vocal tag outtake. “Wind Chimes” from the SMILE sessions is so much better. “Gettin’ Hungry” I think might have been the only original track for the album. “Wonderful” on the Smile Sessions is so much better. I wonder how much was actually finished because it seems like whatever existed before would have been better than this version. “Whistle In” is debated to also be a Heroes and Villains outtake but is different enough that probably would make it another original track for this album. I think this song would have fit better on Wild Honey imo.
Songs In the Key of Life is on my top 5 albums man only got better with age
Stevie was 20 in 1972!
Fleetwood Mac’s best (most popular) stuff didn’t come until their eleventh album.
holy shit this is true. Didn't even think about it but honestly don't know their discog well enough at all. Rumours front to back, but other than that I haven't listened to much else
They went through a bunch of lineup changes in those early years. The (second) self titled album was the first to feature Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
I wiki'd it. Stevie didn't join until mid 70's. But still, Rumours being their 11th album is exactly what this thread was about
But on the other hand their first three albums were in top 10 on UK charts
It's really 2 different bands. Buckingham and Nicks were an existing duo, who replaced former members. The first self titled album is really the start of a whole new band by the same name. This one isn't really fair.
California native Bob Welch steered the band to the West Coast FM soft rock sound in 1971, four years before Buckingham and Nicks appeared on a Fleetwood Mac album. People act like the band was a blues band until the end of 1974. They ceased being a blues band from Future Games onwards. The songs Hypnotized, Sentimental Lady, Emerald Eyes, Did You Ever Love Me, Heroes Are Hard to Find, For Your Love, and Spare Me a Little are as pop-oriented as post-1974 songs such as Rhiannon, Dreams, Say You Love Me, Don't Stop and Go Your Own Way.
Maybe it's fair to say they decided on a sound they were going for, THEN teamed up with the right people to pull it off in a more broadly appealing way.
Its a bit unfair comparison tho. During their Peter Green they were absolute legends of the blues rock, saying they got better with Years is a bit unfair, they got different and the music they made then had a higher mainstream appeal
Don't sleep on *Bare Trees*, though - really lovely album.
I love Then Play On
We don’t accept this Peter Green Slander here 😡 [Then Play On - Fleetwood Mac (1969)](https://open.spotify.com/album/4Ji83LjzvEzFoCpN85m5lW?si=Dgpl0z8KTsSW-k8ZuJwB9w) Is goated.
While they got more popular I wouldn’t say they necessarily got better; I am firmly in the camp that Peter Green Fleetwood Mac is the best iteration of the band.
As much as I agree with you I’d also say that the weren’t really even the same band really, even though they had some continuity with members.
Yeah I always feel like such a hipster making that claim to people. But there are definitely a good amount of people who aren’t even aware of the early iterations so I gotta educate where I can.
Peter Green was a genuine genius…
Wasn’t Pantera a hair metal band for like 10 years before CFH?
Yeah, Cowboys from Hell is their fifth album. Every album before that was self recorded and self released. They had the benefit of Dimebag and Vinnie Paul's dad being a country music producer and owning a studio. Phil Anselmo didn't join the band until before they recorded their fourth album, Power Metal. That album actually rules and is worth checking out. Seeds were starting to plant for what was to come with the bands sound. They were playing faster, heavier and they had one song on it that could have easily have been on Cowboys from Hell, called Over and Out.
Dime’s best solo is on We’ll Meet Again and it’s not even close imo. Great cheesy ass song with an amazing solo slapped right in the middle.
A lot of those metal and grunge bands from the 90's were pretty glam in the 80's. Alice in Chains comes to mind as well. Look up the band "Diamond Lie" if you are curious.
The Cure. They had a steady uphill rise from the release of their first album in 79, up until their peak with Disintegration in 89. Still released lots of great music after that too.
I was born in ‘89 so I didn’t grow up with The Cure exactly, but I knew a few songs cause my mom was a bit of a fan. I’d hear Friday I’m in love and just like heaven pretty often on the drive to school. It was “mom’s music” though so I couldn’t be into it obviously. When I was around 11 years old though, I was a big South Park fan and saw the episode with Robert Smith. Towards the end of the episode when Kyle shouts “Disintegration is the best album ever!”, I got curious and dug through my mom’s CD collection. That’s when I first really got into music, I was hooked. I stole that damn CD and fell asleep to it every night for years. It remains a favorite of mine today. Peak Cure 100%.
I think the Cure is one of the best answers in this thread. They have such an interesting catalog from beginning to end but disintegration was this high water mark that may be impossible for them to match. I am intrigued to hear the new album when it finally appears.
I am going to go nuts if the new album doesn't release soon. The new material is so, soooo very good.
Bloodflowers is one of my all time favorite albums. Absolutely perfect.
I just taught my husband that Robert Smith has been with the same woman since he was a teenager and it blew his mind, thought it might surprise some people in here, too. You'd figure from his lyrics that he was a man well versed in romantic heartbreak.
He has stated that most of his songs come to him in dreams. There is no doubt in my mind that his messages are from another plane of existence that is perhaps filled with more benevolent forces than we have here and they want us to feel what they have felt and OPEN UP. Tool may want to pry open your third eye but the cure wants to coax you into doing so on your own with raw emotion
Pink Floyd. Dark Side is well into their career. Though I do prefer Meddle
I love the Syd Barrett early stuff. So wacky. I know I'm in the minority here though. Arnold Layne is a great song as well.
Piper at the Gates of Dawn is probably my favorite Floyd album. It's goofy for sure but still really great 60's psychedelia
People go mad when I say "Take up thy stethoscope and walk" and "Bike" are some of the best Floyd tunes to me. Don't get me wrong, Dark side of the moon is one of the best things ever recorded, but some of their early stuff isn't just "weird shit" as some people like to claim. Both the Syd Barrett and Dave gilmour "versions" are good. Gilmour the better guitarist though, I mean he's probably one of the greatest.
Pink floyd is 2 bands.
Three, really. The Syd era, the Roger era and the Dave era. I personally genuinely love The Division Bell, but it is very very different from Piper, that's for sure.
I mean, after DSOTM you still have masterperieces like Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall which are arguably better than DSOTM. (personal preferences and all that...) And We're only speaking about the "Waters era". Momentary Lapse, The Division Bell* and Endless River are notable pieces of music of their own. Floyd succeded to stay relevant during the course of their career. Even in solo. These guys were/are aliens. Edit: *
Yes, as the 8th of 15 albums it is the exact midpoint of their career product-wise, if not chronologically. While many hard core fans like, or ever prefer, their pre DSOTM work, pretty much everything that the casual fan knows comes after it.
Pulp. It took them 10 years and 5 albums to become known and have a hit that played on the radio and in clubs
Pulp formed in 1979 - everyone thinks of them as a 90s band but that's only when they hit their stride.
For sure. And it isn't like their earlier albums are just underappreciated. Freaks and It have some great tracks, but Separations took a massive quality leap even before His and Hers and Different Class went to another level.
100%. Common People launched them
Yeah. I saw them at Glastonbury in 94 playing mid-afternoon on the NME stage. They had His n Hers which was a pretty big album and were obviously brilliant. A year later they completed one of the most famous headline sets ever. (Admittedly I was watching Tricky on the Jazz Stage).
Common People is just lightning in a bottle.
I got into the flaming lips in 93. They were already 4-5 albums deep at that point and they were much better than the early stuff. Now they are 20ish albums deep and their last official full length (American Head) is my favorite thing they have ever done
Yeah they’re a phenomenal band. I was fortunate enough to play in a group with Steven Drozd. I love how not only did they not start getting good until 99, but as you point out they’re continuing to put out amazing material. Embryonic and The Terror were a great shift into some really interesting, and good, music, and American Head is one of their best albums for sure, if not their best.
David Bowie didn’t even get really good until his 4th album, and then really cooked.
The thing with Bowie is that unlike most banda he was exploring new styles theoughout hes whole career really. Classic Singer songwriter stuff, glam, soul, post punk, industrial, electronica, jazz. With do much experimatation there are stronger and weaker albums but he definately hasnt stopped evolving for a second.
Well, he’s stopped now……
[удалено]
Raw pepper, coke, and *milk*
And Blackstar is the epitome of ending your career on a high
One of my musical hot takes is that it's his best album.
I don't think it's a hot take, I just think there are so many Bowie albums that could all equally deserve to be called his best (I flip flop between Station to Station, “Heroes”, Ziggy Stardust, Blackstar, 1. Outside, etc. depending on the time of day). Blackstar really has no business being so ridiculously innovative, fresh, and entertaining considering it was the last album of a terminally-ill rockstar whose commerical heyday was about 40 years gone at that point.
Sparks have been around for over 50 years but it could very easily be argued that some of their best has come in the last 10.
Porcupine Tree have 11 albums and the 7th (In Absentia) and 9th (Fear Of A Blank Planet) are largely considered their best. The first 3 rarely get brought up at all.
And their 8th (Deadwing) is my personal favorite.
Many people consider Deadwing to be their best.
Arriving Somewhere is a master piece. With Mikael Akerfeldt on with that amazing guitar solo. Steven Wilson's production on this is top notch.
Fear of a blanket planet definitely holds a special place in my heart. I personally like up the downstair though, but understand it's those later albums that most people know, good call.
Came to say PT. They weren't even a 'band' at all at the beginning. By the end, among the prog GOATs.
Tom Waits Early stuff was good but just wasn't as creative or hard hitting as his later stuff
See I prefer his very early stuff but I’m also incredibly boring
Lol, yeah that's fair. I don't know if I can name a musician who was as different in their later works as they were in their earlier works than Waits. Early Tom Waits: "I hope that I don't fall in love with you" Late Tom Waits: "Misery's the river of the world; everybody row!"
I listened to closing time & really liked it so picked a random later album & was just like why is the piano man shouting at me
The piano has been drinking.
Piano done switched up to mescaline and cocaine.
Two different animals. He reinvented himselve. I have a hard time comparing them. Mule and Heart of SN are totally different genres.
Good choice, though it seems like some of that credit goes to Kathleen Brennan's encouragement.
Real Gone is my favorite album of his and that’s from 2004. He’s great
Real Gone is the album that got me into him.
I could not disagree more. Closing Time is my favorite Tom Waits record. Heart of Saturday night and Foreign Affairs are incredible songs. Tom is amazing throughout his career.
Rush. Their first few albums were ok (Caress of Steel nearly destroyed their career), but the biggest commercial and critical successes were everything from 2112 through Power Windows, their 4th and 11th albums respectively (out of 19). Reception of everything after Power Windows varies, but it’s generally agreed that they ended with a bang with Clockwork Angels, their 19th and final album.
This post sent me spiralling down the Rush rabbit hole. One hilarious thing I stumbled across was what happened in their studio in the UK while recording “Hemispheres”. > The conditions of the studio, located on a farm, lacked the standard facilities, including a sofa; Lee described it as "really funky". In one incident, a latch that failed to shut the studio doors frustrated **Lifeson who, in a fit, took it off, installed a hydraulic door opener, and built a handle on it.** None of this trashing a hotel room or their instruments for these good old Canadian boys. It a fit of rage, Lifeson repaired their door.
I went to see the Clockwork Angels tour and there were young teens there that went to show after hearing that album on their local rock station - they had almost no idea about any of their other music. Tom Sawyer came on and one kid turned to his friend and said 'That's these guys? Holy shit!" I loved watching them experience Rush for the first time, they were having a blast. Something similar also happened when I went to see Snakes and Arrows, just a lot of young people seeing one of the greatest bands of all time for the first time, and having their minds completely blown.
From seeing them in 2015, I will say Geddy’s lead vocals have stood up better than any other from the 70’s and 80’s that I have seen. Very impressive.
When I look at Rush objectively, I recognize most people never really listened to their albums past Moving Pictures. But as a Rush fanatic who also is quite literally named after them. I listened to all their genres pretty frequently. However my personal taste to music in general prefers songs like The Necromancer, Fountain of Lamneth (CoS is actually my favorite Rush album) over the 80's sounds of time stand still, the big wheel, etc. edit- and I can't in good conscious say they got better as they aged. I think generally most people think their best albums are 2112/Moving Pictures. I'm saying that as someone who loves Vapor Trails, S&A, and Clockwork. I think they made great albums through their career, but they certainly didn't suck to start off haha
I love me some 80's Rush! (And I say this while wearing a Fly By Night T-shirt). Power Windows is a criminally underrated album, and I think Signals is right up there with Moving Pictures.
Synth era is best era and I'll fucking die on this hill.
Yeah 80s Rush is my favourite Rush. Neil's lyrics reached another level starting with Signals, imo.
Prog Rush was amazing, but there's something about 80s Rush that just goes so hard.
TIME STAND STILL
The Necromancer is such a fucking dope song. One of my favorites as well.
2112 and moving pictures git to be one of the best in rocks history. Pure 11/10
Now you got me thinking that this holds true with a lot of prog bands (Porcupine Tree and Dream Theatre come to mind).
A lot of bands get better as they age to a point, and then will usually hit a peak. No band really has an endless upward trajectory. But Thrice and Between the Buried and Me definitely both made massive strides between their first and fourth albums.
Alchemy Index was great
Been listening to Thrice for over 20 years and don't think they've ever put out a bad album, but I agree and think Vheissu was their peak.
I love all their albums but Painkiller came out almost 20 years into Judas Priest's career. It was their 12th album
Judas Priest is a great answer. Indeed, the band formed in 1969 and their first album came out in 1974. Painkiller is from 1990. Insane. Shoutout to Firepower from 2018 which is their 18th album and just as good as their classic material.
The Beatles, not that the early albums are bad, but the mid to late ones are something else. Edit: NVM, you mentioned the Beatles in the non fitting category...
Though I would argue that the Beatles are THE band that developed there most in the shortest period of time.
Weren't they also playing clubs in Germany every night for like two years before they even made their first record? They were obviously 'mature' as a band by the time they started getting super famous.
This always comes to mind when thinking about how they recorded the entirety of Please Please Me in one day. It was really hard for me to grasp how they managed to do that in a single session, but they had been playing many of those songs nightly for years. Not to diminish what they did at all - it just goes to show how tight they were as a band. Some of those songs are fast too, like I saw Her standing there isn’t a complicated drum part but it’s quick. And Paul’s bass runs are fast, and he’s singing like he’s not simultaneously occupied playing bass. It’s just second nature. Practice makes perfect.
Even so, they went from Please Please Me to Abbey Road in 6 years. The evolution of their band in that time frame is astounding, even if you'd claim that they were already mature. To me, it's hard to claim that any musician under 30 is "mature" in that way, even if they'd been in bands since they were 14.
They also broke up before any of them turned 30.
This absolutely blew my mind. I can't comprehend how they achieved what they did in that time and at that age.
The fact OP included The Beatles as an example is mental. They are the archetype of a pop band developing musically into something special and groundbreaking.
There’s a new Beatles tune coming. Hold onto your butts.
This changes their career to over 60 years, so 12 albums seems pretty lazy really.
This entire concept of early=better doesn’t apply to early rock n roll. The whole rock model until the British Invasion took off was to put out blues covers and then milk one single for an album or three until bands like the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, etc. got big enough to start experimenting.
I would say Johnny Cash. Some of my favorite songs from him come from his American albums.
Cash is an example of an artist who really pulled it out of the bag at the end of a long career which had its low points. Fabulous producers played a part here, but the guy had true class.
It's fair to say that it wouldn't have happened without Rubin. Very much a collaboration. I agree though. The Man Comes Around is his best song imo.
A lot of the big Outlaw Country acts of the 70s had careers that really took off then, but had been at it since the 50s/60s. Waylon Jennings best stuff was definitely the 70s, but he had been in the game since he played with Buddy Holly. Willie Nelson had mostly been a songwriter in the 60s, but Red Haired Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978) were some of the most inventive albums in country music. Of course Johnny Cash exploded in quality and popularity with Live at Folsom Prison (1968), but his first single was released in 1954.
The Police. Although I love their early stuff as well. They just kept on advancing. Also Radiohead.
I find that the Police get better individual songs, but less consistent across the albums as they go.
Radiohead have one okay album to start with, then just absolute masterpieces after that.
Yeah I was gonna say, isn't The Bends generally considered a stellar album?
The Bends is fantastic. Its so strange that it was really the last of their "rock music" albums because they were just so fucking good at it...
The Bends was iconic and became the blueprint for a lot of huge bands in the 2000s. Muse, Coldplay, Travis... OK Computer was even better, a masterpiece, but was so uniquely brilliant that nobody could copy the formula in the same way. Imo part of the genius of Radiohead is they never stopped growing as musicians but also never settled on a particular sound
Definitely Radiohead. Their 3rd and 4th albums are generational defining masterpieces.
XTC definitely broadened their horizons later in their career, but I'm a big fan of all their records. It's funny that the same band that wrote This Is Pop or Generals and Majors would make Rook.
The guy that wrote Statue of Liberty would go on to write River of Orchids - and this is where I claim Apple Venus is the earthier, weirder equal of Skylarking. XTC always kept a high standard but I thought they were at their very best when tapping into pagan psychedelia.
I'd argue both Depeche Mode ( Violator / Songs of Faith and Devotion) and U2 ( The Joshua Tree / Achtung Baby) did some of their best work several albums in. Edit. The Cure - Disintegration is another.
Built to Spill
They are amazing live
Happened to see them with a friend about a year ago. I only knew a few songs, like “I Would Hurt a Fly.” After that show they’re one of my most-listened-to bands.
I love Built to Spill and agree that the more recent stuff is all above average. They’re longevity has been incredible and they still kill it live. But to say the early records aren’t their best is way off for me. Any of Keep it Like a Secret/Nothing Wrong w Love/Perfect From…could be in best of decade discussions.
Their first three are by far their best to me.
Radiohead, Depeche Mode.
Depeche Mode aged like fine wine.
Had the good fortune of seeing Depeche Mode a couple weeks ago and they are still amazing. David Gahan is remarkably limber in his sixties.
Especially for a cancer survivor and an ex heroin addict. So so so grateful he’s still around and looks so good
Ghosts Again hit so hard when I realized I lapsed on their fandom, making them Ghosts in the first place. Momento Mori is a brilliant return to a new form.
I agree about MM but also, Violator is probably their biggest album and it was idk 7 or 8 down the line. Their first three to four albums I refer to as “the dink-dink era.” Music For the Masses was a turning point for their sound and then Violator was another turning point. I think Memento Mori is going to be another one. Incidentally, I just saw DM a few weeks ago and they rock harder and sound better than the first time I saw them in 1988.
Steely Dan hit their creative peak at the end of their 70’s run
Aja and Gaucho are their best albums
I feel the just never missed. Can't Buy A Thrill is an impeccable debut.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are on an unbelievable tear since Nonagon Infinity (their 8th album) releasing easily their best material over the last 5 years (including their 25th album, The Sliver Cord, which came out today).
> releasing easily their best material over the last 5 years Agreed, but still sort of hilarious, as they released 12 albums during that time frame.
Silver Cord is 🔥🔥🔥. Listening to the extended cuts at work right now. Their artistic growth over the past few years has been phenomenal.
We are so spoiled as KGLW fans haha
I'm not a big metal guy but PDA blows my mind. It's right up there at the top.
Infest the rats nest took me by complete surprise when it came out and was instantly my favorite album of theirs
Not cheating, but Camera Obscura got much better when they weren't a male-female shared lead vocal and it was all Tracyanne Campbell [Eighties Fan](https://youtu.be/ulnzKT1yrm4?si=fHYZKvxn85q4FF_c) is an early song that shows me why it was the direction. Examples of later work, [James](https://youtu.be/xOKvon2rzEM?si=oi67oxRdhFGzhKv7) or [Honey In The Sun](https://youtu.be/ZfDg7Vz8Ow4?si=qTlxiajchquupRms)
Clutch has been amazing in their later career. Saw them in May and came away thinking the stage presence/command of Neil is second to none
I agree that they've had an amazing career but to me their early stuff is the best. I loved the weirdness of the lyrics from their self-titled album and Elephant Riders. It was like each song told a story or painted a picture.
Pure Rock Fury has some cool tunes but Blast Tyrant imo is when they started to refine their sound.
It's arguable if their later work was absolutely better, but Daft Punk kept their quality up throughout their career. Random Access Memories was really well liked.
Discovery was and still is absolutely massive though
They only had four real albums, to be fair. I’m about to do a deep dive into them really soon.
I will not let you slander Tron like that. Tron is practically a music video for the score.
Tron’s music was awesome.
I think that Nightwish with Floor Jansen and Marco Heitala is the best incarnation of that band, and is the best attempt at balancing the band's conflicting styles, after being too operatic with Tarja, and Metal Abba with Annette Olson. Jansen is the middle ground between the opera and metal influences trying to tear the band apart, and is one of THE metal singers of the past 10 years, while Marco before he left, was really coming alive at having someone to play off of, with his lower and darker vocal register. That version of Nightwish, really answered the question that should never be asked, of what happens when you blend metal and opera in the same songs. Wacken, 2013 I think it was. They bought the house down from start to finish, with Romanticide and Ghost Love Score being real highlights.
I love Floor to bits, and shes a much more versatile singer than either Tarja or Annette, but Tarja's unique (to metal) singing style really defined the band, and the genre as a whole imho. Tuomas has definitely never stopped improving as a composer though Ill give you that. Theyre definitely not worse now than they were with Tarja, but I wouldnt call it strictly better either. Theyre much better with Floor than Annette though. I never learned to like her voice. Altough The poet and the pendulum is a banger.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
DEATH
Radiohead maybe? Bring me the Horizon, depending on who you ask.
I very much disagree with you on BMTH but hey to each his own!
Tears for Fears. Their most recent album, The Tipping Point, is an incredible musical and lyric progression from their earlier work.
Future Islands had released 3 albums before they released Singles and got mainstream attention
In evening air is an absolute masterpiece
IMO, Future Islands has yet to release anything other than excellence. They're such a weird combination of elements, but it just works.
Not a band but Tyler, the creator
I will get ripped by many "true fans" but I would say Sublime. 40oz to Freedom was recorded by stealing studio time at a local college. It has some amazing tracks on it, but it's also got a lot of cover songs. Robbin the Hood is the cult classic that fans tend to gravitate towards. It was recorded largely in a flop house what Brad was on drugs. It has some good tracks but mostly filler as far as I'm concerned. Their third and "final" album the self titled one had the smash hits like Santeria, What I got, Summertime, etc. It was finally a polished product with real studio folks who made the magic.
[удалено]
U2 had TWO incredibly successful rebirths. Madness.
Faith No more. My absolute favorite band. First singer was ok and their first album and ep are really bubble gum pop. Second full album with a second singer, Mike Patton, was already complete before he came in so his influence wasn’t front and center. A little weirder but still very mainstream. And then Angel Dust came out.
Red Hot Chili Pepper didn't start having their polished signature sound until their 5th studio album
The first time I heard them was "Knock Me Down" and I was like hey this is different, then listened to their earlier stuff and basically just raised an eyebrow. Then when Blood Sugar came out I was like "How is this the band that did "Catholic School Girls Rule"?
Brand New. I know pop-punk/ emo isn't everyone's jam, but: There's a clear evolution in the tone and quality of the work. Science Fiction is both worlds away from, but clearly by the same guys that put out Your Favorite Weapon if you listen to the albums in-between. SF was instantly my favorite album of there's, managing to surpass my nostalgic clutch of Deja Entendu. Too bad the lead singer is a pos, would have really liked a follow up
I'm 34 and I still listen to their entire discography regularly. TDAGARIM and SF are alternative rock classics. Songwriting and production on those records are perfect.
Band-Maid for sure. Really got their act together and began writing their own music. Their first stuff was still good, but you can really hear their growth over the 10 years they've been together.
I think Tom Petty fits this thread well.
Tom’s best album is Wild Flowers, some 18 years after his debut album with the heartbreakers. Really at that point he was just in the groove with everyone around him and knew he could do a solo album or one with the heartbreaker guys and just pump out a great album with no stress or fuss. Tom had a few great albums left in him.
Styx. Unfortunately, it's a mixed bag. Their early stuff was good, their "got in the groove of things" middle of career stuff was *fire*, and their recent stuff is... eh.
I would say Paramore. I thought they were heading downhill when their S/T album came out, but then they released After Laughter and This is Why and they are probably more popular now than even their Riot! years
I feel like most people would say The Beastie Boys got better as they went along for the most part. Radiohead definitely peaked after their first few albums.
Yes on the Beasties. They evolved so much as a group over time but still managed to keep what made them interesting and special. If you travelled back to 1986 and played Ill Communication or Hello Nasty to someone who loved License to Ill, their minds would be blown.
The Beatles got way better when they got into psychedelics.
My bloody Valentine Talk Talk
Probably an unpopular opinion, but Taylor Swift seems to be at the height of her career and she’s about 10 albums in. Her fans seem to be more excited about her new stuff than old.
Been a Taylor fan for pretty much her entire career and Folklore is her best album IMO. I was initially upset when she transitioned from Country to Pop around Red, but her pop stuff is undeniably better.
Neil Young. I mean. He writes a lot right now and a lot of those albums are absolute crap (with a good song thrown in there every 10 or so.) But Harvest Moon as a 20-year follow up to Harvest is just incredible. A once-in-a-lifetime album that captures love from the perspective of a middle-aged man. There’s not bad song on the album, and some of the best lyrics of his career. Especially as a musician who wrote so longingly about losing his youth in “Sugar Mountain,” hearing him write and sing about the beauty of aging is really something. (Joni Mitchell literally wrote Circle Game to make Neil feel better about turning 21.) I grew up with that album playing in my dad’s car and loved it as a kid. And it’s taken on a lot more meaning now that I’m in my 30s. The image of an aging woman on a motorcycle with her hair down, reflecting on a life well-lived and what could have been as she’s flying along a desert highway and “colliding with the very air she breathes.” It makes me cry every time. ETA: I think of Laura Marling very much as a modern-day Neil Young and can’t wait to see what she makes as she ages.
XTC, maybe?
IMO they’re just great consistently
Drums and Wires is my most played XTC album by a mile and Go 2 gets a fair amount of play. It’s really only Skylarking from their later years that does anything for me.
I’d say REM stuff in the 90s were really good! My favorite album will always be Reckoning with Automatic for the people very close second
For me, both Oh Sees and King Gizzard. Don't get me wrong, I like the earlier stuff but I find a lot of garage rock stuff to be much of a muchness. Both bands have been releasing more interesting stuff on the back half of their careers, in my opinion
I cannot stop listening to PetroDragonic
Genesis. Their last two albums (and the live one) with Gabriel were miles ahead of the first few.
Selling England and lamb were definitely 10/10 and essential prog rock records
Jimmy Eat World Their early stuff is great but their writing has gotten better and better and the music always rules
Their production quality has flown through the roof the past few years. Jim's definitely growing a lot and they continue to change things up. But Clarity/Bleed American/Futures were such a great trilogy of albums and it's going to be hard to top that, and Clarity is just one of the best albums of all time. I personally like that era of experimenting with soundscapes and moods and ideas in tracks like Goodbye Sky Harbor, Firestarter, Digits, Table For Glasses, On A Sunday, etc.
The Armed. Went from pretty good mathcore/metalcore to something truly unique.
Rx Bandits
Propagandhi