Which bands have kept up a consistently high standard throughout a long career?

hollywoodrox

CharlieShaw said:

Pjon said:

Haych said:

The Police - all their albums sound much alike to me, I couldn't tell you which songs come from which album, but I do have them all and I don't think they had a weak album.

Did The Police have a long career? Late 70s to mid 80s? Just checked - 5 years and 5 albums. 

The second Police album, Regatta de Blanc, was a complete dud after the first one.

I love regatta de blanc especially the instrumental title track 

rlw

LastMantra said:

ICBM said:

Cranky said:

Do the Beatles count?  Most of their stuff covers like 4 years.

It still astounds me that the Beatles entire recording career spans just less than seven years. How much they changed music, and helped to change the world, in that short time is incredible.

I'm not sure the Beatles changed the world anywhere near as the world changed the Beatles.

They did.  You had to be there to see it.

Mattharrier

I'll add my vote for Pearl Jam - I've just finished listening to all of their albums in order, and there's not a duff one among them. There's some shit songs (if you can call Foxymophandlemama a song), but overall the catalogue is brilliant.

Cols

I’ve seen Pearl Jam name checked on this thread multiple times which puzzles me, as I’ve got them as a prime example of “Bands which never topped their debut album”.

Ten was a dazzlingly flawless first album; there’s not a dud track on there.  Magnificent guitar work, poignant vocals and excellent production.  Put it on today 30 years later and it still stands up effortlessly.

Vs was a really good album.  Not quite scaling the epic heights of Ten, but still a finely crafted collection.

Vitalogy… had enough good songs to make a decent EP.  But by this point they were wandering off into indulgent musical experimentation like the meandering accordion of Bugs or the bizarre collage of Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me, to which nearly 8 minutes were devoted.

After that?  I’ve found any of their subsequent albums difficult to listen to, with none of them compelling me to stick it on again for another go.

Yet obviously many hold their later work in high regard.  What am I missing?  Can somebody point me towards some later standout tracks?

I mean, they’re still around as the sole survivors of the grunge era.  They must be doing something right, but I just don’t get it.

prowla

RocknRollDave said:

Philly_Q said:

I going to say the converse of @axisus's opening post in that other thread... Rush.

I agree with him that Hold Your Fire was their worst album, and they went through a mediocre patch (by their standards) after that, but they got back to top form with Counterparts (IMO) and pretty much maintained it after that.

I think they're one of the very few bands to have had a really long career which always felt like they were moving forward and not just trading on past glories.

I agree. The latter Rush albums are generally underrated.

I was going to say Rush (and I like Hold Your Fire), but I think Feedback is a dog of an album and doesn't fit in at all.

I really like Clockwork Angels, bar the one song (which they didn't much like either and didn't play it when I saw them on the tour).

Philly_Q

@Cols I totally agree regarding Pearl Jam - in fact I don't disagree with a single word of your post!  But I wonder if, like me, you're a fan of the rockier side of things?  Ten's a hard rock album, with brains.  The later stuff... it's much more low-key, Vedder gets mumblier, the sound is looser, more rootsy, experimental, they're rather self-important (sorry fans).  It's not my kind of thing but maybe it's exactly what other people love.

Philly_Q

prowla said:

I was going to say Rush (and I like Hold Your Fire), but I think Feedback is a dog of an album and doesn't fit in at all.

I really like Clockwork Angels, bar the one song (which they didn't much like either and didn't play it when I saw them on the tour).

Feedback was never intended to be "a Rush album", it's just a little side project they did for fun.  It can be easily ignored if you don't like it!

ICBM

Not mentioned so far I don't think...

Echo & The Bunnymen

Very different to their early stuff but I think the later albums are pretty good as well, and so is the 'alternative Bunnymen' Electrafixion album when McCulloch & Sergeant went grungy for a bit.

Reverend

ICBM said:

Not mentioned so far I don't think...

Echo & The Bunnymen

Very different to their early stuff but I think the later albums are pretty good as well, and so is the 'alternative Bunnymen' Electrafixion album when McCulloch & Sergeant went grungy for a bit.

The 90s comeback was awful

ICBM

Reverend said:

The 90s comeback was awful

I like Evergreen and What Are You Going To Do With Your Life, if those are the ones you mean - I think they're both pretty good. As far as I know the only crap one is Reverberation, but without McCulloch being on it, and after Pete DeFreitas died, it's not even worth of inclusion really. I admit to never having heard it!

Cols

Philly_Q said:

@Cols I totally agree regarding Pearl Jam - in fact I don't disagree with a single word of your post!  But I wonder if, like me, you're a fan of the rockier side of things?  Ten's a hard rock album, with brains.  The later stuff... it's much more low-key, Vedder gets mumblier, the sound is looser, more rootsy, experimental, they're rather self-important (sorry fans).  It's not my kind of thing but maybe it's exactly what other people love.

That’s spot on.  Ten is essentially an outstanding rock album with intelligent, angst-ridden lyrics which went beyond the regular “beer and tits” which was de rigueur at the time.  And I love my rock music.

rustneversleeps

Not mentioned  yet but I think Mr Weller’s been going a few years now  with grey hair to match.

Litterick

The Necks, who have a new album:

"The Necks started in 1987 as an experiment conducted in private, not intended for public exposure. That changed as soon as the three musicians realised how well their collectively improvised music was working, and with Travel, their 19th studio album, they stay true to the process that has served them so effectively."

ICBM

Sparks.

RocknRollDave

ICBM said:

Not mentioned so far I don't think...

Echo & The Bunnymen

Very different to their early stuff but I think the later albums are pretty good as well, and so is the 'alternative Bunnymen' Electrafixion album when McCulloch & Sergeant went grungy for a bit.

I agree. 

Evergreen was a solid album, as were the next few, though I stopped following them after I saw them live a couple of times. The words “tune”, “bucket”, “carry” and “couldn’t” spring to mind.

Lowdown (from Electrafixion’s Burned album) might be my favourite thing Mac and Sergeant ever did.

Philly_Q

Winger.


Stop sniggering at the back.  Beavis.