Music Do any Music acts get better with age ?

sullydnl

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Spoon might fit the bill too. First album was in 1996, their most acclaimed six years later, then a pretty consistent stream of well recieved albums across the 15 or so years after that.
 

2 man midfield

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They released Creep in 1992. OK Computer was 1997, and many consider In Rainbows their best which was a decade later. If we’re going by the 5 year mark established by the TC then I think I have a good case.

Two more near and dear to me: Wilco and The Flaming Lips...
I thought In Rainbows was gash apart from House of Cards (I think?). Just my opinion obviously but apart from a few tracks here and there I haven't liked a whole album since Kid A.
 

lsd

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The Beatles ‘formed’ in 1960, with Love Me Do hitting in ‘62. Revolver, often regarded as the greatest album ever, hit in ‘66 starting an incredible run of brilliance for a few more years so that doesn’t hurt my case.

Yes but first album was 1962
 

Rado_N

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In their case i never rated them and they are barely over five years
Your opinion on everything is now invalid

The Roots are still going strong, more than 20 years into this. And I think they hit their initial stride with Illadelph Half-Life/Things Fall Apart in 96/98. Meanwhile Undun is one of the best albums to be released this past decade.
Yes. Have listened to it so many times if it was an analogue recording I would have worn it out. Not one track you skip, just a flawless piece of work.
 

FrantikChicken

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How's D'Angelo's first few albums? His recent one (been 4-5 years now) is probably one of the few RnB albums I've loved (don't like the genre). Would be impressive if he's tipped that before.

Also, wasn't Metallica's most reknown work well after their first 5 years?

One thing to note is that the lead singers voice tends to disclose post the mid 30s. So, that's a factor as well to consider.
D'Angelo's first 2 records are easily just as good, if not better. Some of the best neo soul albums you can possibly listen to. If you liked Black Messiah you'll love em as well.

Metallica is an interesting one because there was an absolutely obvious sense of maturity and progression after the first album, and that string continued well up to the Black Album which was 10 years later. One thing you can't fault them on is that for better or for worse they did change throughout the years and didn't remain stagnant like a lot of rock acts tend to do.
 

lsd

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I love Section 80 but you seriously can't think he peaked with Section 80/GKMC. I mean you can like them better but strictly from a critical acclaim perspective this is false.

Yeah ok i'm not really looking to put any act down . It was just a question from listening to a lot of different music over the past month or so .

I'm more than happy for acts to improve on their early stuff I'm sure there must be acts that have and there have been some good shouts already

As for Kendrick i love everything he has done same for Nas pretty much but yeah in my opinion their very best work were their first couple .

As has been said it is really hard to keep the bar as high over so many years as things will change over time whether its the same hunger or any other circumstance

I notice a lot of rock bands tend to get to a point where the singer just can't hit the same notes any more and that can affect things as can other things like infighting etc

The beatles come up a lot but i think a lot of that is people are still listening to him 40 or 50 years later but forget they only had 7 years of recording and i just didn't feel their last few albums were anywhere near as good
 

Organic Potatoes

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Yes but first album was 1962
Okay, but 5 years on to 1967: Sgt Peppers, White Album, Let it Be, Abbey Road. That could be the greatest run of any band by itself.

There are certainly some bands that hit upon some sort of magic in their first big album and couldn’t recreate it, hence the infamous sophomore slump. But I wouldn’t say it’s a universal theme.
 

lsd

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Your opinion on everything is now invalid



Yes. Have listened to it so many times if it was an analogue recording I would have worn it out. Not one track you skip, just a flawless piece of work.

They are way overrated and i like killer mike but they are an act that it is more trendy to say they are great even though you don't really think that
 

FrantikChicken

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Maybe Aerosmith? In the 70's they were basically a blues rock band and didn't really get big until Toys in The Attic. The late 80's early 90's probably saw them come out with with most of their biggest hits
 

adexkola

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Your opinion on everything is now invalid



Yes. Have listened to it so many times if it was an analogue recording I would have worn it out. Not one track you skip, just a flawless piece of work.
It really is brilliant. This thread would be longer if more artists take their art as serious as the Roots do.
 

Berbaclass

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Sabbath/Floyd/Zep are a good example IMO. You listen back to the production and it's just outstanding for something made 50 years ago.
 

amolbhatia50k

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Newsom started pretty bloody well...is her later work better than MEM?
I think Drivers is her best album. She was fanatastic before that we well, and it can be argued that her earlier work Ys, MeM etc has some tracks of more unbridled raw brilliance. But as a refined and complete album I rate the last album the highest.
 

amolbhatia50k

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I think it's generally accepted that artists' creativity fades with the passing of time (and, often, because of the demands on their time). Regarding musicians, endless tours and record labels' insistence on regular products surely take their toll on enthusiasm, something which I feel is absolutely key to creating great works. Finally, it's a cliche, though surely true enough, that most writers 'pour everything' into their first book(s) - this probably goes for musicians too.
On your post and this thread as a whole, I find that there's an evolution that great artists go through as a result of which the first tends not to be the best. Five modern day artists I like who I can cite as example here are Fleet Foxes, Joana Newsom, Bon Iver, Kurt Vile and Fiona Apple. With them what I observed is that the first album (or two ) tend to be the more raw and natural which creates their niche and establishes their sound/story but it takes the next album or two to create something that is the complete form of what they're going for.
 

caid

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Any recommendations post-OK Computer? I feel like I'm missing out on some gems.
I loved Hail to the Thief. I'd rate that as the only post OK Computer album that stands up vs the earlier stuff. Kid A and Amnesiac grew on me over time and i like them now but that was after months and months of not being impressed by them (friends played them to death, which helped). In Rainbows was pretty close but just fell a tiny bit short imo.
 

adexkola

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On your post and this thread as a whole, I find that there's an evolution that great artists go through as a result of which the first tends not to be the best. Five modern day artists I like who I can cite as example here are Fleet Foxes, Joana Newsom, Bon Iver, Kurt Vile and Fiona Apple. With them what I observed is that the first album (or two ) tend to be the more raw and natural which creates their niche and establishes their sound/story but it takes the next album or two to create something that is the complete form of what they're going for.
I'll add OutKast to this list.
 

Florida Man

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I loved Hail to the Thief. I'd rate that as the only post OK Computer album that stands up vs the earlier stuff. Kid A and Amnesiac grew on me over time and i like them now but that was after months and months of not being impressed by them (friends played them to death, which helped). In Rainbows was pretty close but just fell a tiny bit short imo.
I'll give Hail to the Thief a listen tonight. Appreciate it.
 

Stobzilla

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They are way overrated and i like killer mike but they are an act that it is more trendy to say they are great even though you don't really think that
Imagine being this wrong and having your opinion on a groups music influenced by what you think the motivations of their fan base are.

Weird.
 

Synco

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To be honest while doing this The beatles were the ones i thought off as they obviously got better and developed their own sound after their first couple of albums.
Here I go defending the early Beatles again, but they very much had their own sound from the start. Their later stuff had more depth in many ways, but I think the quality & originality of their beat music stuff tends to get underrated from today's perspective.
 

2 man midfield

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Here I go defending the early Beatles again, but they very much had their own sound from the start. Their later stuff had more depth in many ways, but I think the quality & originality of their beat music stuff tends to get underrated from today's perspective.
It's simple but at the very least good. Even their most basic stuff (Love Me Do, Can't Buy Me Love etc) is great, and has far more replay value than most pop music.
 

Synco

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It's simple but at the very least good. Even their most basic stuff (Love Me Do, Can't Buy Me Love etc) is great, and has far more replay value than most pop music.
They surely knew how to write classics from the get-go. But I think it goes beyond that, them being actual innovators from the get-go as well. Although their importance for rock music is a bit harder to apprehend from today's POV.
 

OnlyTwoDaSilvas

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Can't agree that RTJ are overrated. They seem adequately rated to me. Two MCs that just keep getting better and more inventive despite both being active since the late 90s. El-P is a great producer too who has adapted his style from gritty underground hardcore hip-hop to a sound more palatable to the mainstream, without really watering it down. IMO there's not a lot of successful examples of that.

This is one of their most recent recordings, before the singles from RTJ4, it might be two of their best verses in their catalogue, particularly so for El-P, his verse is incredible.

 

Melbourne Red

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Drive By Truckers are putting out some of their best stuff right now IMO and they're 22 years and 12 albums deep. Their album 'American Band' is one of the best albums I've ever heard.
Thanks for this tip-off. I've listened to some of their stuff in the past and liked it without getting overly invested. Now listening to this album, and so far it's an absolute beauty.
 

The Cat

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Red Hot Chili Peppers took a long time to find their best. (And new band members to be fair).
 

sullydnl

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I'll give Hail to the Thief a listen tonight. Appreciate it.
If most people were ranking their post-OK Computer stuff then Hail To The Thief would be a bit down on the list, I think. Some good stuff on it but even the band admit it's too long.

Kid A and In Rainbows are the big ones.
 

macheda14

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A lot of artists who exploded into the even very young have matured. Like much of the Odd Future alumni, Tyler, the creator, Earl sweatshirt, syd and frank ocean. A lot of electronic acts - Four tet, caribou, floating points. David Bowie, Prince, Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Grizzly Bear, Angel Olsen, Perfume Genius, Blur (and by default Damon Albarn). There are so many, but it’s also quite natural that many musicians have a short shelf life. It takes a lot to constantly reinvigorate your sound well and not go stale.
 

12OunceEpilogue

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Earth Rocker, and my personal favourite, Psychic Warfare.
That's interesting. I don't think I've ever met anybody who prefers Psychic Warfare to Earth Rocker, myself included, but fair play. Clutch definitely prove the point though as you say, I'd mention Blast Tyrant and Robot Hive/Exodus from over a decade after they started.

I often take pelters for on the whole preferring Deftones later stuff, but I think there's no question they've evolved into a better band.