Bands that started off great then went downhill.

[Kenno]

Man I had great hopes for a bunch of young kids from Newcastle called Sliverchair. The made a great first album when all three of em were just 15 or 16 years old called Frogstomp. Then they went all soft and I reckon lost their edge.

Another band that dissapointed me was Live, great album in Lightning Crashes then went blah.

Honorable mention goes to U2. They were awesome when they first started off then around the middle of their career went I dunno,,took a left turn,, instead of powering ahead.

 

[wedwards]

Agree on all accounts. Most bands' first albums are their best. They are the ones that have songs tested on sweat and tears and constant pub gigs, and out of that comes great music. Once bands hit the big time they seem to go soft.....a few others to add to your list are Jet, Skid Row, Black Stone Cherry, Pearl Jam, Creed.....cant think of any others at the moment.

Some bands not in this boat would be Motley Crue (Dr Feelgood is still their best for me), Tom Waits, Def Leppard (cant beat hysteria for a bucket of good songs), Cold Chisel, Queensryche (Empire), and many more.....

 

[Protocol]

I think that the breakout album of most bands is the one that requires the most thought, but there are some exceptions to the rule. There are artists out there that continue to take artistic risks and innovate. For this, they are both loved and hated in almost equal proportions. I may not like what some of them have come up with, but I have to admit that they put in work and have pushed the boundaries of their genres. Here is a short list of those who have.

Miles Davis
Peter Gabriel
Michael Jackson
Madonna
U2

In my opinion, the "petering out" phenomenon comes from the inability or the unwillingness to go beyond the formula that got them the prosperity of their first breakout album. You may hate Madonna, but you have to admit that she invented entire genres that were imitated by others. The same goes double for Michael Jackson. I don't happen to be a fan of either, btw.

 

[Arctic]

Cant forget Metallica and Slipknot.

 

[Kenno]

Agree on all accounts. Most bands' first albums are their best. They are the ones that have songs tested on sweat and tears and constant pub gigs, and out of that comes great music. Once bands hit the big time they seem to go soft.....a few others to add to your list are Jet, Skid Row, Black Stone Cherry, Pearl Jam, Creed.....cant think of any others at the moment.

Some bands not in this boat would be Motley Crue (Dr Feelgood is still their best for me), Tom Waits, Def Leppard (cant beat hysteria for a bucket of good songs), Cold Chisel, Queensryche (Empire), and many more.....

wasn't meant to be just about first albums.

disagree about cold chisel, they were good all the way and pearl jam are just gettin stronger no? i agree with creed,, what is it about pearl jam that put you off?

 

[Kenno]

I think that the breakout album of most bands is the one that requires the most thought, but there are some exceptions to the rule. There are artists out there that continue to take artistic risks and innovate. For this, they are both loved and hated in almost equal proportions. I may not like what some of them have come up with, but I have to admit that they put in work and have pushed the boundaries of their genres. Here is a short list of those who have.

Miles Davis
Peter Gabriel
Michael Jackson
Madonna
U2

In my opinion, the "petering out" phenomenon comes from the inability or the unwillingness to go beyond the formula that got them the prosperity of their first breakout album. You may hate Madonna, but you have to admit that she invented entire genres that were imitated by others. The same goes double for Michael Jackson. I don't happen to be a fan of either, btw.

agree with m jackson, but madonna has been strong all the way i reckon?

 

[Kenno]

Cant forget Metallica and Slipknot.

man don't chuck me beloved metallica in there,,st anger wasn't that bad?

 

[newboy]

Portishead gone
The prodigy nothing worthwhile after 1997

I feel ripped of by Velo Deluxe, it was a cool CD for 1994, then nothing.

Most of my collection is pre 1997, all the bands I like either went **** or broke up, not much since then has been decent including australian bands like nick cave, the cruel sea etc.
But plenty of good stuff to listen to from to 90s back to classical.

edit: forgot sigur ros, flogging molly and the flaming lips that's pretty much the only post 1998 stuff I listen too more than a couple of times. It's shorter to answer you question this way, nearly every decent band went downhill or broke up.

Nevermind, I can live forever on stuff from the 60s to the late 90s without having to put up with overproduced divas, boy or girl bands, the latest britpop sensation that will end up overdosing sooner than later, the same old recycled rock or bands that have gone downhill. Thankfully most of my favourite bands just disappeared or broke up

 

[Kenno]

Portishead gone
The prodigy nothing worthwhile after 1997

I feel ripped of by Velo Deluxe, it was a cool CD for 1994, then nothing.

Most of my collection is pre 1997, all the bands I like either went **** or broke up, not much since then has been decent including australian bands like nick cave, the cruel sea etc.
But plenty of good stuff to listen to from to 90s back to classical.

edit: forgot sigur ros, flogging molly, the flaming lips and a few other bands, that's pretty much the only post 1998 stuff I listen too more than a couple of times.
I can live forever on stuff from the 60s to the late 90s without having to put up with overproduced divas, boy or girl bands, the latest britpop sensation that will end up overdosing sooner than later, the same old recycled rock etc.

man i wish cruel sea woulda taken off

 

[Kenno]

oasis is another band that comes to mind.

 

[chainfire]

It must suck being a band. If you do the ZZ Top/Motorhead thing and stick to the same sound, all your songs sound the same and you're either loved or hated, doomed to never really expand your fan base with anything fresh. OTOH, if you go out and try to do different things with your sound, you eventually tick off segments of your fans no matter what direction you take.

In today's iTunes single song world, I've reached the point where I'm almost a fan of individual songs anymore. There are very few bands I hear who are good enough to make an effort to listen to their entire album worthwhile.

 

[wedwards]

wasn't meant to be just about first albums.

disagree about cold chisel, they were good all the way and pearl jam are just gettin stronger no? i agree with creed,, what is it about pearl jam that put you off?

pearl jams first album was chock full of great songs that stand up even to this day. every album following had at least 3 good songs, but was by no means a collection of songs that i could listen to all the way through.

i think you misunderstood what i said about chisel - they are and will always be one of the best aussie bands ever. i doubt any other aussie band will ever be that consistently good for such a long period of time....bring on the reunion next year and a new album!!

 

[wedwards]

man i wish cruel sea woulda taken off

oh hell yeah!! the honeymoon is over baby....its never gonna be that waaaaaaaaaayyyyy....yeah!! even an acoustic gig with just me on guitar and vocal gets people up with that one....and black stick is just a mean dirty piece of awesomeness....they had such potential....

 

[wedwards]

man don't chuck me beloved metallica in there,,st anger wasn't that bad?

metallica's first album certainly wasnt their best in my opinion....it was ground breaking on a number of fronts in the world of metal, but it was their live shows at that time that you went to see if you wanted "real" metallica - the albums were just made to get some extra cash if you ask me, and really didnt capture the stadium sound you heard live. im still undecided about what is actually their best....i like every album for different reasons, but st anger was definately the "worst" by a long shot

 

[newboy]

oh hell yeah!! the honeymoon is over baby....its never gonna be that waaaaaaaaaayyyyy....yeah!! even an acoustic gig with just me on guitar and vocal gets people up with that one....and black stick is just a mean dirty piece of awesomeness....they had such potential....

Not to mention they were good live. Tex put on a great show.

 

[SRock]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Green Day. Their Pre-Dookie days were great punk. Their first two albums were still what I would call punk but Dookie (their third album) was a far departure from who they were prior to going mainstream and everything after that was just weak. Green Day fans of today are not Punk fans, they are mainstream Green Day fans.

 

[newboy]

Also forgot tumbleweed, Mark of Cain and spiderbait for aussie music.

 

[profsaffel]

I liked Nickleback when they first emerged, at least until their second compilation, now they are just crap.

 

[johnniegold]

The Rolling Stones. I mean, their first 20 years together were pretty good but the following 20 or so years have a bit uneven.

 

[SRock]

The Rolling Stones. I mean, their first 20 years together were pretty good but the following 20 or so years have a bit uneven.

That covers their first 40 years, but what about the last 40?