"Past their prime" albums that are actually worth a listen

Great thread idea! I'll probably get slammed for this one but I have a soft spot in my heart for Duran Duran's Thank You album. Minus 911 is a Joke of course. I HATE that song.

The title track from Tango in the Night is pretty great, especially Buckingham just going off on guitar at the end.

I'm gonna stick my neck out here--Load.

For the same Metallica that became legend after And Justice For All, yes, it's a damn shame.

Divorced from that knowledge, however, it's a damn solid heavy rock album that gets more shit because of what band's name is actually on the cover than the actual music itself.

David Bowie: 'Outside'. This was him trying to make himself relevant to the NIN crowd. It's nonetheless a fine album with many interesting songs and arrangements. 'The Heart's Filthy Lesson', 'Outside', 'Hallo Spaceboy', and 'I Have Not Been to Oxford Town' are all notable songs off of this album. It requires a few listenings to get into, but it's worth it. His follow-up, 'Earthling', hasn't aged as well and can, for the most part, be ignored.

I thought strays from janes addiction could have turned out a lot worst

perry farrell's new disc satellite party isnt bad either

mighty rearranger from robert plant was good

and some of joe strummer's albums with the mescaleros were even better than some clash material

Not sure if this counts, b/c I think it might be generally regarded as a really strong comeback, but "Misfits" (released c.1980??) by the Kinks is a great album.

I've always held "Red Dirt Girl" by Emmylou Harris in extremely high regard. The production of the thing felt like Emmylou by way of Sarah Maclachlan, but to my ears that was a good thing.

Emmylou's voice and songs like "Michaelangelo" are enough in this world.

i was gonna say Bowie's Heathen.

Pearl Jam's Vitalogy is criminally under appreciated. Hell, Pearl Jam is criminally under appreciated.

Neil Diamond's 12 Songs.

There's no way that Vitalogy constitutes a "past their prime" album.
But, yes, Pearl Jam is way under appreciated.

in the retarded eyes of the american public, as documented by their popularity pre and post Vs., PJ topped out with Ten, and Vitalogy was the first of their albums to be largely ignored (after Vs. was considered some sort of commercial sell out trick...so annoying). personally, i think they keep getting better.

for the purposes of this discussion their newest (self titled) cd would be the most appropriate response....that album kicked ass and brought a lot a of fans back




edit...yeah i was referring to pearl jam

I agree completely. It's a really good album.
Maybe 2 or 3 songs too long, but really strong and it was the last time they put out anything good.

Nobody believes me though.

Steel Wheels by the Rolling Stones. It's not the late-inning home run Tattoo You was, but it reminds me a lot of that album and has at least three rock-solid singles on it ("Mixed Emotions", "Sad Sad Sad" and "Almost Hear You Sigh").

I'm not sure if this counts, but The Rising had some damn good tracks on it.

Count me in the Load camp. As a follow-up to their 80s-early 90s run it's a let down (hence "past their prime"), but as a metal album, it's pretty damn good.

Tears for Fears "Songs From The Big Chair"

This album was better than it had a right to be. Based on the singles I had no clue the rest of the album would be quite so jazzy. I expected flavor of the moment, but even now I consider the album one of my better purchases.

How is that album not Tears for Fears' prime, though?

I wrote up a lengthy post about Tango in the Night (which is quite good, although I haven't heard it for years, since I only have it on vinyl), but the board lost it. Basically, I was saying it was an interesting case study, since it seems that Mac was past their prime only in retrospect and from the perspective that they were a forward thinking, experimental pop band rather than a radio-play-hungry pop band.

At the time, Tusk didn't get props and the post-Tusk releases like Mirage were probably seen as more in the spirit of the radio-friendly Rumours (though this ignores the sharper edges of Rumours, which I think led more to Tusk), and this throughline led directly to Tango. So Tango in the Night did really well for them, chart-wise ("Everywhere," "Big Love," "Seven Wonders," and "Little Lies" were all hits - were there others?), and they probably didn't seem "past their prime" at all when it was released. The way we look at Fleetwood Mac now, though... Tusk has achieved this legendary status among critics and younger rock fans that makes their later work seem like afterthoughts. I think it's interesting to consider Tango in the Night as quite successful from an artistic standpoint as well as a popularity standpoint, though. It certainly has the pop songs, but it still has some experimental bits carried over from Tusk and Buckingham's solo work.

Also, Pearl Jam has arguably been "past their prime" since Ten or Vs, if we take "past their prime" as something determined by the general public. They actually didn't hit their prime until after they ostensibly passed it.

This is a tricky argument. At a certain level of critical acceptance or mainstream success, great "past-their-prime" albums become "comeback" albums: see Neil Young's Freedom or Lou Reed's New York.

ALSO

Rush - Vapor Trails. More energetic, furious, heavy and proggy than anything they have done since the early 1980's. Too bad they ruined it with a recent bland follow-up.

Misfits - American Psycho. I know, I know - no Danzig. Still doesn't deter me from believing this record is one of the band's finest moments.

The Cult - Beyond Good and Evil. Sadly unheard by most people.

Scorpions - Humanity: Hour 1. I'm embarrassed to say it, but their new album is kinda great. Don't ask me how I know.

On the same token, Time Out of Mind for Dylan. Although for all three of these guys, I'd say they never really lost it. They just hit points where the genius wasn't necessarily as glaring as it had been in their early days.

I've never heard that Fleetwood Mac album. I went through a phase where I was way into the '75 s/t album, up through Tusk, and I never bothered to give anything after it a try. Guess I have reason to now.

Good call!

Don't expect anything too revelatory on the level of the three albums you've heard. It's a good rock album, but it's very much a product of its times, 80s production included. For this reason, I prefer Buckingham's solo acoustic take on "Big Love" (although that version doesn't include the neat production trick of Buckingham supplying his own female backing vocals by electronically raising the pitch of his voice). But I should reiterate that it's pretty darn good.

Buzzcocks' Trade Test Transmissions. Awesome album, finally reissued I believe.

I mean, I think everything those guys have done up to and including the most recent release is great, but I think TTT fits Ray's definition best.

I'm probably on an island, but despite my tennaged dirtbag metalhead status at the time I somehow ended up with a copy of George Michael's "Listen Without Prejudice." Liked it. Haven't heard it for years, and it was certainly nothing groundbreakingly original but I found it to be better than anything else he had done. It may not qualify because I'm not sure the public at large was ever aware of it.

This is my secret shame.

Rancid's "Indestructible". It's a good album, but I can't help getting a "been there, done that" vibe from it. And, as much as it kills me to say it, the disc smacks of an effort from a band that's stayed a little past its welcome. Of course, that won't stop me from coming back from future efforts and side projects. I'm particularly digging Armstrong's new "A Poet's Life".

That was George's peak (alongside Faith), and it was a huge album.
It's a very good record, and I still love it - but he wasn't past his prime yet.

It's only a year or two after his big hit, but Thomas Dolby has an album called The Flat Earth that's really great and completely ignored.

I really don't want to listen to most of the albums recommended in this thread.

I'll add that you are wholly correct in holding this record in the highest estimations possible. However I don't think it at all fits the definition of this thread as it was neither an attempt at modern day relevence nor critically panned. As I recall it was by and large spoken of with critical praise and followed previously lauded works in Wrecking Ball and Spyboy. In fact I'd argue that Emmylou is in no way past her prime and is as relevant as she was in the days of Blue Kentucky Girl and previous to that her work with Gram, hell even moreso given the lack of attention the Fallen Angels received in their day. Since 2000 she has colaborated with no lesser luminaries than Neil Young, Ryan Adams, T-Bone Burnette, Mark Knopfler, Connor Oberst, and Elvis Costello. You are right that it is a great album, though.

EXCELLENT call. This cd should have been huge.

Also:
Iron Maiden 'A Matter of Life and Death'.
INXS 'Welcome to Wherever you Are'.
Queen 'Innuendo'
Saga 'Network'

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Mad Man Mundt again.

I want to contribute to this thread but I'm reluctant. For some reason I love that all the artists I'm into; all these older guys from my parents' era; have recorded these great, introspective albums decades after the fact of their initial success. As a young but somewhat pessimistic guy I take great joy in seeing these people remain creatively active in their later years. On the other hand I'm not sure my favorites in this category quite fit into the description of critically panned or ignored, but here we go anyway:

Randy Newman: I'll start with him because he was always sort of the quirky pop outsider to begin with, but Bad Love is fantastic. It's the perfect old man looking back on life album. There's a song about watching TV, songs about his take on world history, and songs containing his advice for the younger generations. It's full of regret and apology and cynical humor. I love it, and the only thing that I have a problem with is that it's been 6 or 7 years since its release with no real follow up.

Paul Simon: The man continues to make really amazing music. I think most people would look at his solo catalog and lose interest sometime around Rhythm of the Saints, but 2000's You're the One and last year's Surprise really did it for me. Lots of musical exploration and honesty from a guy who could've coasted comfortably into history without ever releasing an album after his 20's. God Bless 'im.

Roy Orbison: Makes my list for 1989's Mystery Girl, which was really supposed to be more of a comeback album, but the man died before or shortly after the release of this one. Maybe not quite in the same category as the others but a haunting and soulful collaboration with some of the younger folks he inspired (U2, Elvis Costello, etc.) Like a great tribute album for a guy who's still around. As an aside I want to mention that Rhino is re-releasing the Traveling Wilburys albums in a special collection later this month.

I feel much the same way about Johnny Cash's American Recordings. The fact that these tend to be collections of covers doesn't bother me, because hearing what Johnny Cash can do with an old favorite is almost better than hearing an old favorite come up with something new.

Neil Diamond: I'm going to share my love for 12 Songs. Reading about how Rick Rubin got involved and the initial conflicts of interest between he and Neil is interesting to consider. Rubin's take was that Diamond had gotten so caught up in the image of a cheesy 70's singer with big production values and over-produced music that audiences had lost sight of a guy who had always been a really talented songwriter and musician. Taking him back to his roots as a man with a guitar seems so obvious in retrospect.

Paul McCartney: I know John Lennon's supposed to be everyone's favorite Beatle, but sue me, I always liked Paul's solo stuff the best. Maybe it's just that he lived long enough to produce more of it, but there you go. I will admit that a large portion of it can probably be ignored, but I would heartily recommend 2005's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard and the new Memory Almost Full. Both very good, but very different. I won't go on too much since they're both so recent, but I like to make this favorable comparison to his older work: Chaos and Creation is to McCartney as Memory Almost Full is to Band on the Run.

There's more of this stuff I'd like to check out, like Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam's An Other Cup and Ray Davies' Other People's Lives, but truth is I just haven't gotten around to it yet. If anyone can weigh in on these two I'd be grateful.

Special Bonus Pick: Has Been by William Shatner.

That's because you are thinking like the general public - that these artists are past their prime, so the albums are not attractive. This thread however is saying that these are great records and you should force yourself to discover some of them.

However, Randy Newman hurts my head. I can't think of very many singers I like less, young or old.

I love him and I think he's a genius, but I feel this is totally fair. He puts a lot of people off.

I was gonna say Bowie's Earthling (1996). Reznor remixed a song from this album ("I'm Afraid of Americans") and that's what people remember, but as a lifelong hardcore Bowie fan, this to me was his last really solid album, though I liked Hours as well. Outside, Heathen, and Reality all left me cold.

I'll second Load. Trim the fat, add the best songs from Re-Load, and you would have yourself a great album.

Pearl Jam's Riot Act - Along with Binaural I think this sits lowest in the Pearl Jam fan collective fan circle, where as the general public stopped listening after Vs. Their recent self titled album, which I still like, seems like a reaction to the reaction of Riot Act, it's a much faster and less experimental set of songs but a lot of the songs feel kind of overly manufactured, where as Riot Act seemed honest.

Pink Floyd's The Final Cut - Rumored to be pretty much a Roger Waters solo project with the Floyd guys as session members, this comes right after the lyrically great but musically sliding "The Wall" and before the Waterless era, that I hesitate to even call Pink Floyd. I guess their prime would be considered to be Dark Side - The Wall in mainstream circles, but if you extend that out one album both ways, that's how I see it. On a side note, while technically during their prime but also often overlooked, Animals is one of the few albums I consider damn near perfect.

When I took a quick 1st glance at this thread's title, I thought it was going to simply be about musicians who are past their prime. And I immediately thought of Satellite Party's recent appearance on Letterman (http://youtube.com/watch?v=5kxTct_iyBQ). Perry, who is pushing 50 and looking the part, generally remained stationary. But midway into "Wish Upon a Dogstar", he slinked, swayed his hips, and briefly gave us a geriatric Saturday Night Fever demonstration. *But he still seems so passionate about music that you have to love the guy anyway. Just don't get me started on the SNL-skit worthy maneuvers that his wife was busting behind him.

I agree that Jane's Addiction's "Strays" was pretty damn good and certainly a lot better than I was expecting. I was even more surprised at how hard the Cult's "Beyond Good and Evil" rocked for a band that a lot of people semed to forget about in the late 80s/early 90s. In the case of Robert Plant, anything that is post-Zeppelin and still a good listen could be mentioned here. But "Mighty Rearranger" is some of his best work in years, so good call there too.

As for Pearl Jam, they've long been one of the greatest rock bands on the planet, regardless of sales figures. I still listen to all of their albums, but I think everything after "Vitalogy" fits into this discussion.

This would've made more sense to mention before Audioslave came together, but people generally seem mixed on solo Chris Cornell at and I've always really dug "Euphoria Morning". I'm less enthusisatic about "Carry On", though. And to rewind a bit further, I don't know any Soundgarden fan besides me who cares anything about "Down On the Upside". I wouldn't put it up there with "Loud Love" or "Superunknown", but it's still great. And I think a lot of the songs on there are fantastic, actually.

It crossed my mind, but there is no way that Dylan or Waits fit here because each is in his prime now as much as ever before, in my opinion.

Since I'm a big fan of mid-to-late period Beatles, but have never purchased any solo stuff by John, Paul or George, I'm interested in what you guys like from their post-Beatles albums.

[*Similar to Mick Jagger who gets a pass for the same reasons, but the Stones have still mostly sucked for a long, long time now.]

I'd say start with John's Imagine, Paul's Band on the Run, and George's All Things must pass. Even RINGO! Is a lot of fun, and since he was the only one in the group to not piss off all the rest, they all contributed to this one, albiet seperately.

This would be just for starters, though. There's a lot of great post-Beatles stuff.

Alice Cooper - Brutal Planet
Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer

Agreed completely, the only reason I didn't talk specifically about No Code was because there's a lot of reverence for Yield. Binaural is probably the one I go to least, but it's still good stuff and (mostly) great to hear live.

I consider Down on the Upside to be my favorite Soundgarden album, I have many fond memories of listening to the thing front to back over and over again while completing my NHL seasons on the SNES with whichever year had The Beezer on the cover. When I went to see Chris Cornell this year and did the usual listen to the back catalog on the way to the show, Down on the Upside held up the best. Burden in my Hand is sublime. The two solo albums are pretty damn good. I'm no fan of Audioslave.

I am not very familiar with Paul or George's stuff, but I can recommend Double Fantasy, Imagine, Plastic Ono Band, and Mind Games from John. Be warned, they aren't necessarily very reminiscent of any of the Beatles stuff and some of it dated. Some of the more experimental stuff didn't hold up too well either, but the gems on these are worth listening through that stuff.

David Bowie's "Reality". Fantastic album. The wife likes it too!

Dehumanizer is pretty good - but it's no Heaven & Hell, Mob Rules, or even Born Again...
All of which traditional fans would consider past their prime albums.

Speaking of old Brit metal, I remember Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers" fondly (sadly I haven't heard it since my phonograph died around 1991) but does anyone remember whether it was well-received outside of the metalhead community?

I don't think any Deep Purple besides Machine Head has been accepted by anyone outside of the boomer-rockerguy community...

I'm in total agreement on The Final Cut. It does sound like a conceptual and musical successor to The Wall, since many of the songs were written for that album and cut for various reasons. Which should be obvious listening to the title track, particularly the line "and if I'm in, I'll tell you what's behind" with the word "wall" obscured by a gunshot sound -- that was meant to be on The Wall and when it was cut, Waters removed the wall reference. Hell, some of the string accompaniment even sounds like it belongs in "Comfortably Numb".

I think a lot of people were getting tired of Waters trotting out his dead father over and over again, and some Floyd fans probably resented his increasing control over the band. Judging by how his solo albums have been received compared to those by Pink Floyd 3.0 (which are just as much Gilmour solo albums with Floyd backing him up as Final Cut was a Waters solo album with Floyd backing him up), I'd guess that's the case.

Heaven & Hell is past their prime?? Personally I much prefer the Dio Sabbath.