56 replies to this topic

[Sickpup]

Most artists have wipeouts, but I want to know: Who had the most successful artistic recovery? What is the best album that immediately followed an abomination? My first nom: Manic Street Preachers: Gold Against the Soul --> The Holy Bible But somehow, that doesn't seem extreme enough...

[Slackmo]

Arguably his worst.

followed immediately by:


Arguably his best.

[Pavement Ist Rad]

Paul McCartney dissolving Wings at their critical and commercial low-point and then making a stunning, instant comeback with McCartney II and the completely fucking awesome "Temporary Secretary" definitely qualifies as nothing short of a complete non-success, but man, it's still pretty hilarious.

[Montana]

Salvation Blues after Mystic Theater

[avec]

hopefully the next flaming lips/wilco albums will fit this criterion

[The Luscious Phil]

now while this was not as bad as everyone said it was on its initial release, it is in my opinion the weakest SY release:



This just kicks so much ass, and is probably my #3 favorite SY release:

[Saskadelphia]

I have to say Black Sabbath's classic Heaven and Hell, after the utterly disastrous Never Say Die.

[Sid Hartha]

Captain Beefheart

1974 Bluejeans & Moonbeams
- embarrassing, impossible to listen to. Even diehard fans (like myself) left him for dead

1978 Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)
- so fucking good, it's scary

[wh1tep0ny]

Green Day has done it twice Insomniac (awful) followed by Nimrod Warning (so-so and sold poorly) followed by American Idiot

[birdistheword]

Correction:

Arguably his worst.

followed immediately by:


Arguably his best.

EDIT: To be fair, KoA is credited to "the Costello Show," but it's really the same artist.

Personally, I don't think you'll find another pair with a greater disparity in quality than these two.

[The Good Dr Bill]

what's the deal with GCW? Never heard it and doubt I ever will, but what is it that makes people rag on it so much?

[Mitchell]

I'm sure most would cite Time Out Of Mind, but I don't actually think the cover albums are actually that bad, certainly no worse then Knocked Out Loaded and much better than the albums before Oh Mercy

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[d. dewey]

Stevie Wonder
1979 - Journey Into The Secret Life Of Plants
Okay, I only heard it once, but I remember it sounding like bad New Age music. Maybe I need to hear this again; this is starting to become one of those overlooked failures that no one "got" until years later, like McCartney II or Electric Mud.

1980 - Hotter Than July
Now THIS is more like it. Not as experimental as his classic '70s elpees like Innervisions, just a straightforward soul album that deserves more props than it actually gets.

[Campaigner]

Not so much other than being a curio;

The Beach Boys follow up 15 Big Ones with The Beach Boys Love You. 30 years of mediocrity follows that last gasp of brilliance.

[MattDrufke]

Green Day has done it twice

Insomniac (awful) followed by Nimrod

Warning (so-so and sold poorly) followed by American Idiot

Funny, I think Warning is one of Green Day's most solid efforts.

[birdistheword]

I'm sure most would cite Time Out Of Mind, but I don't actually think the cover albums are actually that bad, certainly no worse then Knocked Out Loaded and much better than the albums before Oh Mercy

Definitely a comeback, but personally, I don't think it's a great one. The mediocrity that starts Oh Mercy really slows the momentum IMO. If you ditched the 3 worst tracks and replaced them with "Series of Dreams," "Dignity" and "Born in Time," it would be a different case.

[birdistheword]

what's the deal with GCW? Never heard it and doubt I ever will, but what is it that makes people rag on it so much?

I finally got the Rhino set and listened to it. I think EC had it OTM, it's possibly the worst album he could've made from a decent batch of songs. The demos and live performances of the material aren't bad at all, but on GCW the production and arrangements are horrid. Often dated and wildly unsympathetic and inappropriate for the material, the only time the production seems acceptable is "Love Field."

[Hero]

i know a lot of people on the board love this album

but i thought it was their worst (and i'm a huge Radiohead fan)

I was very pleased months later when they went back to their old ways and released the album "Absolution"

[Mitchell]

Muse are fucking toilet.