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Post by Kapitan on Jul 29, 2019 15:24:31 GMT
The discussion of U2 in the Top 10s thread got me thinking about the “back to form” album phenomenon. It seems to me that every major artist whose career is long enough and whose sound changed over time has experienced this, either driving the narrative or being subject to it. Artist emerges, artist becomes popular, artist grows or diversifies his sound. So far, so good! Artist’s popularity wanes, artist releases material either explicitly marketed as, or reviewed as, a return to the classic sound. Usually, it seems to me looking back on these albums, the work doesn’t stand up to the classic sound at all, and the albums just fade away (if they make an impact at all), though some end up being considered important or beloved by their fans or critics. I’ll just discuss a few rather than try to be exhaustive, but by all means, weigh in either on these or others. Twisted Sister’s Love is For Suckers is the first example of this phenomenon I was aware of. As you know, the band became a mega-success with the 1984 classic Stay Hungry (still among my 3-5 favorite hard rock albums ever). The 1985 follow-up Come Out And Play was mediocre at best. In the late 80s, I recall reading an interview with Dee Snider in some metal magazine—Metal Edge, Metallix, Circus or one of the other lifelines for pre-internet tween-to-teen me—about how this was a return to form. He said something like “we came up from nothing and scrounged, that was a part of our sound; well, it’s hard to sound angry or to fight the man when you’re living in a mansion and have six luxury cars. I just lost the inspiration as a songwriter.” The way he described the new album, 1987’s LIFS, was that it was musically a return to form, and songwriting-wise switched to “love songs” (via TS lens), which were an eternal topic. I can’t say I found it much better than its predecessor, much less to the standard of any of the band’s first three albums. Lou Reed had a few of these. He’d stray from the Velvet Underground sounds into something too orchestrated, too noisy, too jazzy, and then return to a two-guitars-bass-drums lineup of muscular rock. I’ve seen The Blue Mask (1980), New York (1987), and Ecstasy (2000) described as full returns to form, with even a few more minor albums like Legendary Hearts described as such, too. All three of the first ones mentioned are indeed considered highlights of his solo career, though I wasn’t ever a big fan of Blue Mask. KISS had at least a few as well. The first I recall hearing about (though probably four to five years after the fact) was Lick It Up, their first full-length with Vinnie Vincent on guitar. While it followed Creatures of the Night, for some reason it was this 1983 that was seen as a return to form after the failed proggy Music From the Elder. (Really, it wasn’t any kind of return: its heavy metal sound was very different from their classic rock days.) The band pushed the 1989 Hot in the Shade as a return to form (as when Paul said on Headbanger’s Ball that “it’s the 90s version of KISS in the 70s, which is everyone else’s show of the ‘80s”). And then they and critics repeated the claim for the 1993 Revenge, produced by Bob Ezrin (who did Destroyer and Elder) and some Vinnie Vincent co-writes. There are a million others: Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Prince, U2, Elvis Costello, and many more.
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Post by kds on Jul 29, 2019 15:52:51 GMT
The Beach Boys - That's Why God Made The Radio - After so many missteps, attempts at disco, 80s pop, and rap, the failure to capitalize on a fluky #1 hit, a country / tribute, a failed attempt at a mid 1990s reunion album, and the deaths of Dennis and Carl Wilson, who would've predicted The Beach Boys could release such a strong album in 2012?
Iron Maiden - Brave New World - The 1990s weren't really kind to Maiden. Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson each left the band. The four albums they released in that decade are regarded as the worst of their career (although, even at their worst, Maiden is surprisingly solid). Smith and Dickinson rejoined in 1999, and 2000 saw the release of this masterpiece of an album.
Pink Floyd - The Division Bell - The 1980s saw essentially two solo albums released as Floyd albums. The Final Cut was essentially a Roger Waters solo album with David Gilmour and Nick Mason contributing. A Momentary Lapse of Reason was essentially a David Gilmour solo album with some contributions from Nick Mason and (supposedly) Richard Wright. 1994's The Division Bell was the most band oriented album since Wish You Were Here.
Alice Cooper - Like KISS, he's had a few, depending on one's taste. There's the slick late 80s comeback album Trash. Or you could look at the reunion with Bob Ezrin on 2011's Welcome 2 My Nightmare. And there are a few in between.
Metallica - Death Magnetic - After the abysmal St. Anger, Metallica parted ways with producer Bob Rock in favor of Rick Rubin for their 2008 return to form. Their strongest album since the 1991 self titled album, and they haven't released anything as good since.
Van Halen - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge - Personally, I don't 100% agree with this one because I really enjoy the preceding 5150 and OU812 albums, but this is the most hard rocking VH album since Fair Warning.
George Harrison - Cloud Nine - George partnered with Jeff Lynne for his late 80s comeback. Lynne would also help Roy Orbison have a return to form shortly before his death.
Johnny Cash - American Recordings - Rick Rubin recorded Cash with nothing but an acoustic guitar, and the results are some of Cash's strongest material in decades. Several more American Recordings albums followed, giving Cash a nice run before his 2003 death, and after.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 29, 2019 16:00:23 GMT
I actually thought of that same VH album after my first post.
One thing to keep in mind is, we’re not necessarily talking comebacks or latter-day great albums, but albums seen as returning to some classic-era sound somehow. So liking 5150 or OU812 (as I do too) isn’t necessarily relevant. F.U.C.K. was definitely seen at the time as a return to their rock sound, though like some others I mentioned, it sounds to me more like yet another new sound as opposed to a reversion.
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Post by kds on Jul 29, 2019 16:02:15 GMT
I actually thought of that same VH album after my first post. One thing to keep in mind is, we’re not necessarily talking comebacks or latter-day great albums, but albums seen as returning to some classic-era sound somehow. So liking 5150 or OU812 (as I do too) isn’t necessarily relevant. F.U.C.K. was definitely seen at the time as a return to their rock sound, though like some others I mentioned, it sounds to me more like yet another new sound as opposed to a reversion. That's why I included it despite not fully agreeing that it's a "return to form."
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 29, 2019 16:18:53 GMT
Captain Beefheart’s 1978 Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) is another example that comes to mind. From the mildly psychedelic and quirky blues-rock of his 1967 debut Safe As Milk through the 1971 release of older tracks Mirror Man, Beefheart churned out five albums of increasingly bizarre, angular, Dadaist music. He turned, or was turned, toward more commercial objectives in the early ‘70s, first with two albums that achieved a kind of balance between dissonant insanity and relative pop, and then with two slick, terrible, wholly uninspired attempts at mainstream audiences. He recorded an album around 1976, Bat Chain Puller, that remained unreleased for contractual reasons for decades. However, he rerecorded several of those same songs again, along with a few new songs, and released them a couple years later under a similar-but-modified title (sound familiar, BBs fans?), Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller). While it didn’t have the edge of the original or of his earlier work, it was back to the unorthodox approach to songs. He went on to do two more albums of similarly left-field music to some critical acclaim before retiring to paint.
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Post by kds on Jul 29, 2019 16:32:48 GMT
Dio's 2002 Killing the Dragon album was a bit of a return after a few lackluster 1990s albums. Dio tried to modernize his lyrics in the 1990s, but in the 2000s, he went back to his wheelhouse to release two classic Dio sounding albums.
In hard rock and metal, there are actually quite a few "return to form" albums from the 2000s. The 1990s was not a good decade for many artists in that world.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 29, 2019 17:12:08 GMT
Queen is another band that had several albums that were purportedly “back to form” albums. As far as I know, the first was 1984’s The Works, the follow-up to the divisive dance-oriented Hot Space. A Kind of Magic, with more of a rock sound, was, too. Their last album during Freddie’s lifetime, Innuendo, was seen as such not because of a return to rock, but a return to a wide diversity of sounds (several in the title track itself). And recently while watching a series of interviews from the release of The Miracle, I learned they were touting that as a more back-to-basics, classic Queen kind of album as well. Of those albums, I like Innuendo most of all (though I like all four). None sound like classic era Queen to me, though.
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Post by kds on Jul 29, 2019 17:21:49 GMT
Queen is another band that had several albums that were purportedly “back to form” albums. As far as I know, the first was 1984’s The Works, the follow-up to the divisive dance-oriented Hot Space. A Kind of Magic, with more of a rock sound, was, too. Their last album during Freddie’s lifetime, Innuendo, was seen as such not because of a return to rock, but a return to a wide diversity of sounds (several in the title track itself). And recently while watching a series of interviews from the release of The Miracle, I learned they were touting that as a more back-to-basics, classic Queen kind of album as well. Of those albums, I like Innuendo most of all (though I like all four). None sound like classic era Queen to me, though. I was thinking Queen, but I'm not sure why I didn't include them. The Works came to mind at first since it was a big improvement over the Flash Gordon Soundtrack and Hot Space, but it's still a far cry from their 70s albums. Innuendo is probably the best pick, because, for my money, it's the most consistently good Queen album since Jazz. I've, somewhat confusingly, read fans calling Made in Heaven a "return to form," but I'm not really sure why as it's really a hodgepodge album that really lacks coherence or consistency.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 29, 2019 19:12:59 GMT
This a tough one. Most of the artists and albums that come to mind are more comeback albums or latter-day great albums as opposed to a return to their classic sound.
I was thinking about Dylan's Blood On The Tracks, but he had already returned to his classic sound somewhat with Planet Waves and Before The Flood. I also considered Oh Mercy, but Dylan really hadn't drifted too far with Empire Burlesque and Knocked Out Load. Oh Mercy was a much superior album but it wasn't a "return" to anything.
How about Morrison Hotel after alienating a lot of fans with The Soft Parade.
It's an obscure one, but Sparks' Whomp That Sucker was somewhat of a return after Ron and Russ experimented with Giorgio Moroder and his electronic sound on a couple of albums.
Does Neil Young's Freedom qualify?
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 29, 2019 19:16:10 GMT
Planet Waves occurred to me, too.
Dylan’s covers albums in the 90s and then Time Out of Mind were spoken of in that way.
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Post by kds on Jul 29, 2019 19:32:14 GMT
How about Brian Wilson with That Lucky Old Sun, after the lukewarm reception to both Getting In Over My Head and What I Really Want For Christmas?
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Post by B.E. on Jul 29, 2019 19:36:32 GMT
How about Morrison Hotel after alienating a lot of fans with The Soft Parade.
This sprung to my mind as well. Morrison Hotel seems to be viewed as a 'return to their roots' and a comeback (quality-wise). Does Neil Young's Freedom qualify?
I think so. Harvest Moon, too .Planet Waves occurred to me, too. Dylan’s covers albums in the 90s and then Time Out of Mind were spoken of in that way. I think New Morning qualifies. The Rolling Stone review proclaimed, "WE'VE GOT DYLAN BACK".
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 29, 2019 19:44:55 GMT
How about 15 Big Ones? I'm not sure how much it succeeded, but by bringing Brian back they were trying to get back to that classic sound.
Heck, The Beach Boys are full of 'em. M.I.U. after Love You. Keepin' The Summer Alive after L.A. (Light Album). Still Cruisin' after Beach Boys 1985. And Summer In Paradise!
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Post by B.E. on Jul 29, 2019 19:49:14 GMT
How about 15 Big Ones? I'm not sure how much it succeeded, but by bringing Brian back they were trying to get back to that classic sound.
Heck, The Beach Boys are full of 'em. M.I.U. after Love You. Keepin' The Summer Alive after L.A. (Light Album). Still Cruisin' after Beach Boys 1985. And Summer In Paradise! Geez, I can't help but notice how much further away that "return" got to their classic sound.
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Post by kds on Jul 29, 2019 19:53:50 GMT
How about 15 Big Ones? I'm not sure how much it succeeded, but by bringing Brian back they were trying to get back to that classic sound.
Heck, The Beach Boys are full of 'em. M.I.U. after Love You. Keepin' The Summer Alive after L.A. (Light Album). Still Cruisin' after Beach Boys 1985. And Summer In Paradise! Considering Brian and Dennis's vocals were shot, and 15 Big Ones sounded more like a band trying to sound like The Beach Boys, I'm not certain that qualifies. If there were one other than TWGMTR, I might say Wild Honey, after the career crippling Smiley Smile.
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