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UNPLANNED DOWNTIME: 12th Oct 23:45
All the bands I loved in my life went stale
Thinking back over my life, all the bands that I really had a big love affair with changed and produced boring albums after a while - except one (who I will mention later).
Quite possibly as much me changing as them I guess, but I wonder why it is so hard to stick with a band forever?
So ... favourite bands:
They almost don't count as a fave band, but the first album I ever bought was ELO Out of the blue. I loved the singles that invaded the charts when I was mid-teens, bought the album and it was amazing. However, by the next album (Discovery) the magic was gone. Everything that came after seemed pants.
My first big love affair was Queen. For me their first 7 albums were, and still are pure gold. I was so into the band, but then they did that terrible Flash soundtrack, which inexplicably was marketed as a 'Queen album' rathe than a soundtrack (not good enough!). The first 7 albums all said 'nobody played synth', but for Flash Roger bought one, and then they were used from then on. The game just sounded like the wrong production to me, the next album was DIRE (Hot Space) and although the Works was sort of OK, they lost me. I have never even heard the last few albums.
At 6th form I discovered Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd. Yes, I loved everything up to Going for the one (their best for me). Drama and 90125 were OK, but everything since - terrible. Genesis, loved everything until Steve Hackett left, don't own any albums after that. Pink Floyd, It's about the middle stuff for me - Meddle to The final cut.
Rush were one of my most important bands, I love all the early and middle stuff, I HATED Hold your fire, and I find every album after that boring - approx half of their career! What went wrong!?! How did the band that produced amazing albums like Hemispheres, Permanent waves, Moving pictures, 2112, Signals etc go so wrong!?!? I still love the guys, I own ALL the albums, I just never choose to play the latter ones.
Next up was Marillion, boy did I love them! But 4 albums in and it was over, Fish left. I bought another 8 albums but there is no magic in any of them for me. I really wanted to still like the band, but they changed so much
I then discovered Dream Theater, and they were fantastic. I was a total fanboy up to Octavarium, but after that for some reason I just found all the albums boring. I still bought albums but haven't got the last few. Done with them.
So that's pretty much all of my fave bands over the decades, not including bands with just a few albums. I went off all of them, which seemed unthinkable when I was at the height of my fandom. I still love the 'classic' albums of course, but everything from a certain point on - horrible. Only one band has made it intact my whole life, and that is highly unfashionable prog outfit Pendragon. For me all their albums are gems - yes some much brighter than others - but to this day they are still ticking all the boxes. Their last album just before the pandemic, was superb, and their best seller since the height of their fame, they have also just released a lovely mini-album. I say 'band' but it is totally the baby of guitarist/singer/sole songwriter Nick Barrett.
So, bands don't generally last for me, they go stale at some point. Is this the case for everyone or do you stick with bands for life?
Quite possibly as much me changing as them I guess, but I wonder why it is so hard to stick with a band forever?
So ... favourite bands:
They almost don't count as a fave band, but the first album I ever bought was ELO Out of the blue. I loved the singles that invaded the charts when I was mid-teens, bought the album and it was amazing. However, by the next album (Discovery) the magic was gone. Everything that came after seemed pants.
My first big love affair was Queen. For me their first 7 albums were, and still are pure gold. I was so into the band, but then they did that terrible Flash soundtrack, which inexplicably was marketed as a 'Queen album' rathe than a soundtrack (not good enough!). The first 7 albums all said 'nobody played synth', but for Flash Roger bought one, and then they were used from then on. The game just sounded like the wrong production to me, the next album was DIRE (Hot Space) and although the Works was sort of OK, they lost me. I have never even heard the last few albums.
At 6th form I discovered Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd. Yes, I loved everything up to Going for the one (their best for me). Drama and 90125 were OK, but everything since - terrible. Genesis, loved everything until Steve Hackett left, don't own any albums after that. Pink Floyd, It's about the middle stuff for me - Meddle to The final cut.
Rush were one of my most important bands, I love all the early and middle stuff, I HATED Hold your fire, and I find every album after that boring - approx half of their career! What went wrong!?! How did the band that produced amazing albums like Hemispheres, Permanent waves, Moving pictures, 2112, Signals etc go so wrong!?!? I still love the guys, I own ALL the albums, I just never choose to play the latter ones.
Next up was Marillion, boy did I love them! But 4 albums in and it was over, Fish left. I bought another 8 albums but there is no magic in any of them for me. I really wanted to still like the band, but they changed so much
I then discovered Dream Theater, and they were fantastic. I was a total fanboy up to Octavarium, but after that for some reason I just found all the albums boring. I still bought albums but haven't got the last few. Done with them.
So that's pretty much all of my fave bands over the decades, not including bands with just a few albums. I went off all of them, which seemed unthinkable when I was at the height of my fandom. I still love the 'classic' albums of course, but everything from a certain point on - horrible. Only one band has made it intact my whole life, and that is highly unfashionable prog outfit Pendragon. For me all their albums are gems - yes some much brighter than others - but to this day they are still ticking all the boxes. Their last album just before the pandemic, was superb, and their best seller since the height of their fame, they have also just released a lovely mini-album. I say 'band' but it is totally the baby of guitarist/singer/sole songwriter Nick Barrett.
So, bands don't generally last for me, they go stale at some point. Is this the case for everyone or do you stick with bands for life?
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Comments
But when it comes, what's next? It can't be that enjoyable to keep playng the 'same old' night after night, but, well, the songs still make you a fortune and people seem to like them.
The record company's will also be pushy. Contract you to produce when you just want to take a backseat and get some inspiration.
Most stories of musical inspiration seem to come from having tough times in some way, but when life comes easier financially that surely quietens the inspiration a little I guess.
Many band members can't handle it and leave early in the band's career, perhaps just craving a normal life. So they lose that edge too and a replacement comes in who has to adapt. Although they might be an excellent musician they may not have that edge the original band member, perhaps because the original member had an understanding of the lyrics and energy behind them.
Some bands go and do better when their expertise becomes more competent and they have more time to devote to it. So I would guess that there as many that improve as there are who take a downturn.
I recall seeing Pendragon opening for Marillion at Hammersmith Odious on their 1984 Fugazi tour. By 'eck, I'm old.
Trying to think of my own exceptions to the rule…failing so far.
When they replaced Joey?
I'm quite a collector-ish person, and there are a number of bands I still buy every new release from, even though they're not what they were - Wishbone Ash, Scorpions, Robin Trower, AC/DC and I suppose Metallica. There are one or two I've given up on e.g Aerosmith, Def Leppard. King's X? I'm not sure if I've given up on them or not.
We've done the Rush debate several times, and I agree that they had a bit of a lull starting with Hold Your Fire and continuing through the next couple of albums, but I think they returned to form on Counterparts and everything which came after. They're probably the only one of my favourite bands who I think were as good at the end as they were at their peak.
Iron Maiden have a different kind of "stale" - they've been working with the same producer for too long and making "samey" albums, but there are still a lot of really good songs and I think their career's been more gentle ups and downs than any long downward slide.
One band I'm not sure about is Clutch. I've loved them for a long time, but somehow I've struggled to get enthused about the last two or three albums although they've had good reviews and I think they're still good... in that case I think it is down to me, not them.
This is an I-could-go-on-forever subject... I'm mostly thinking about bands who've been going for 40+ years, but there are others who lost it after only a couple of albums, and conversely others who've been consistently good but have had relatively short careers. And how much of it is purely subjective?
Bowie - changed a huge amount over his career and I can't be doing with the 90s stuff but his last couple of records are among his very best.
Radiohead are similar - still going but slowing down and still doing interesting things when they do work together.
I could've made an argument for U2 but their last couple have been meh and certainly not a patch on their best work.
Jason Isbell is getting better with age as far as I can tell, but he's not even 50 yet.
Get used to it because it applies to every creative endeavour - music from classical through jazz to pop and metal, literature, drama on both stage and screen, visual arts, sport from cricket through golf to football, chess, science and engineering ... you name it. People start out not-so-great, they get better at their trade, they become masters of the art, then they fade away and in almost (but not quite) all cases their last works are perfectly competent but not to the standard of the work they did at their peak.
It is very rare to see someone producing their best work in late-career.
So who *did* produce stuff equal to their best at the end of a long career? A few who come to mind are Haydn, Bach, possibly Bowie (though Bowie had so long off doing nothing much that I'm not sure we should list him in that company), Bradman, maybe Jimmy Anderson (watch this space!), Pelé ... There are others, but they are rare enough to be able to list them individually.
In contrast, look at some of the giants who faded out and produced sub-standard work toward the end of their careers. Dylan, Beethoven (controversial view there but one I'll defend - his best work was in the mid-period), Terry Pratchett, Mozart (was in magnificent all-time-best form when he died, but he died very young), Einstein - in short, practically everyone.
REM also suffered when Bill Berry left the band which also lies to the dynamic that might be there early on does change one way or another over time
Sonic Youth - at least solid albums til the end, also very consistent.
Bob Mould - see above.
Guided by Voices - see above.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg_imQDC4eUOjuBBRl2mBwA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyQgllCIpqY
https://rozaliftwave.bandcamp.com/
Bands like Do Make Say Think sound as good as they ever did. Low is another band who changed their sound a lot as the years went on.
I still listen to those first three albums though - there are some absolutely killer tracks on all of them.
Funnily enough, although I listen almost entirely to hard rock and metal, Bob Mould is one of the artists whose albums I collect (although I'm at least a couple behind, I don't know how many because he's pretty prolific). I'm not always in the mood for his stuff - I might even go a couple of years without listening to him at all - and I don't like all his albums, he's so eclectic, but he certainly hasn't gone stale.
Ian
Lowering my expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
I'd argue that no music will ever be as vital, as incredible, as essential as the music you discover at the right point in your life - which for most of us I'd wager is the music that soundtracked becoming an adult. Those summer gigs with mates when you feel like you could take on the world, that band your first girlfriend got you into, the rebels who understood you the way your parents don't, those speaking truth to power when you're at your most idealistic, etc etc etc.
However, all that you've said there can also apply to the bands themselves. They had that youthful energy, idealism etc and for many that's when they made their best music. It's not there any more twenty years later, even if they've theoretically become "better" musicians and songwriters.