name a band whose first album was their best and nothing they did after came close.
two i put in this catagory are aztec two step and dave mason.
I guess Boston's first album is the obvious choice. I do love the title track of "Don't Look Back," the second album.
Hootie's 1st album?
The ABB's first is my fav studio album of theirs.
The Cars' first album was so good that they just couldn't match it, though they had a lot of popular stuff.
Montrose comes to mind 1st. Kinda hit or miss after that. I did like the 80's release Mean. That was good.
Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise. They're first release showed a lot of potential , and I was pretty high on it. The 2nd was ok. But after that there were some lineup changes and never the same.
I am sure there are others, need to think for a bit....
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
I guess Guns'n'Roses could go under this as well as under the "Bands with 5 albums or fewer."
I do enjoy "Lies" and some of "Use Your Illusion," but their first album is clearly the best.
Three Dog Night never even came close to their first one, "Three Dog Night." That one sure is a classic though, IMO one of the greatest vocal rock records ever made. Just incredible singing on that.
Led Zeppelin 1
The Outlaws
Jonathan Edwards
agree with Aztec 2 Step and Dave Mason
I wouldn't say "burnout" but debuts that were hard to follow:
Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf
New Riders of the Purple Sage - N.R.P.S.
Pearl Jam - 10
Marty Robbins - Gunfighter Ballads
Marshall Tucker Band - Marshall Tucker Band
Blind Faith - Blind Faith
[Edited on 7/14/2020 by BrerRabbit]
Blind Faith
so good they couldn't follow it up with anything!
Blind Faith
so good they couldn't follow it up with anything!
I guess Boston's first album is the obvious choice. I do love the title track of "Don't Look Back," the second album.
Hootie's 1st album?
Totally agree with both. I would definitely add The Black Crowes but I know some folks would disagree with that.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
50 Cent.
Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Seatrain
Dire Straits
agree on Marshall Tucker
Eagles
King Crimson: Court of the Crimson King
Doesn't mean garbage beyond, just IMO, initial best home run.
It's a fascinating topic.
I LOVE the Black Crowes' second album the best, but the first was their radio hit album for sure.
King Crimson changed so much over the years, and I like the Wetton line-up the best, but the first album sure established them and broke new ground in a big way.
I'm not enough of an Eagles fan to know how their first album stacks up against the rest. Obviously, "Hotel California" is the one I saw the most in people's dorm room!
I bought the first Eagles album. I knew a girl who was a big Linda Ronstadt fan and was curious about them because of being Linda's back up band. They were a California/Poco/country rock sounding band with one member playing a banjo. Midnight Flyer had a lot of banjo on it. Bernie Leadon played guitar and banjo and sang. Heck they all sang.
By the time they got to Hotel California their lineup had expanded and Henley, Fry and Meisner were the only originals left and Meisner was gone after the album was released and apparently Fry and Henley ran the band rather heavy handed and if those two got on the wrong side about you, you were gone.
Of course you saw Hotel California in every dorm room. That album sold more copies than all the new release Allman Brothers Band albums including Brothers and Sisters COMBINED! Hotel California has sold over 26 million copies in the US and over 32 million copies worldwide. The album was a big piece of the fact that Don Henley is worth more money at 200 million than all the members of the ABB COMBINED! Including Dickey was is the wealthiest.
And I know Don Felder was fired by Henley and Fry after he and Fry almost came to blows on stage and is left out of any future Eagles plans. But Felder's participation with Hotel California earned him 40 million of his 60 million net worth. So don't worry too much about Felder. He knows where his next meal is coming from.
[Edited on 7/15/2020 by blackey]
The topic is not if the Eagles were successful; the topic is if their first album was the best and blew everything else away.
This topic can be seen in two different ways: does it mean "Was the first albums their best artistically" or "Was it their most commercially successful / iconic?" Did the band drop off after that album in terms of quality, or did they drop off in terms of sales?
Certainly the Eagles did not drop off in terms of sales. I am wondering if their first albums is just better artistically than everything after.
and it can be argued Music from Big Pink is The Band's masterpiece.
Jim Sheridan. The Eagles first album is very good if you like the Eagles. But the band says Hotel California was their best creatively and of course their biggest commercially. With the exception of The Eagles Greatest Hits which competes with Michael Jackson's Thriller as the best selling album in all of music history. As of today in America, the Eagles Greatest Hits 1971 to 1975 has sold over 36 million copies. Michael Jackson's Thriller over 33 million copies. Hotel California has sold over 26 million copies in the US for third place. Next is Billy Joel's greatest Hits at 23 million. Followed by Led Zeppelin IV at 22 million.Actually Led Zeppelin is tied with The Wall by Pink Floyd.
The best selling live album is Garth Brooks Double Live at 21 million.
The Beatles White Album has sold 19 million copies..
Best selling Allman Brothers album is Brothers and Sisters at a measly 4 million plus and Eat A Peach and A Decade of Hits 1969 -1979 at 2 million plus.
We are not Allman Brothers fans because they sell a ton of records:)
How can there only be one reply to this topic be The Brother's 1st album? I sat on my older brothers bed after he moved out in 74 listening to The Allman Brothers Band album over and over . I learned so much about myself and the music I would be listening to , by melting the grooves from play after play of that album. Sure there was Idlewild South , LAFE, Eat a Peach and Brothers and Sisters but that 1st album grabbed me the balls and let me know immediately that i'm not getting paroled . I'm that die hard who can find a few gems on each of those mediocre Arista albums . It all started with Duane , Jaimoe, Dickey, Berry , Butch and Gregg laying the foundation with:
Don't Want You No More
Not My Cross To Bear
Black Hearted Woman
Trouble No More
Every Hungry Woman
Dreams and Whipping Post
7 Cuts and 33 Minutes that would shape my life !
Other than Canadian Mule the rest of you need an intervention followed by some therapy.
Jim Sheridan. The Eagles first album is very good if you like the Eagles. But the band says Hotel California was their best creatively and of course their biggest commercially. With the exception of The Eagles Greatest Hits which competes with Michael Jackson's Thriller as the best selling album in all of music history. As of today in America, the Eagles Greatest Hits 1971 to 1975 has sold over 36 million copies. Michael Jackson's Thriller over 33 million copies. Hotel California has sold over 26 million copies in the US for third place. Next is Billy Joel's greatest Hits at 23 million. Followed by Led Zeppelin IV at 22 million.Actually Led Zeppelin is tied with The Wall by Pink Floyd.
As you have a tendency to do blackey, you have gotten way off topic here. Also, your statistics are wrong. Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill has sold over 33 million. So how could the Eagles at 26 million come in at #3, ahead of Jagged Little Pill?
The Cars and Boston are obvious choices. Their debut albums are preferable to their greatest hits records!
Surprised by some of the other answers here. Dire Straits Making Movies is a great album (their 3rd). The second Crowes album may be my favorite. I like 3 Eagles albums better than the debut. Led Zeppelin? They put out a series of all time classic albums in the 70s. And the Allman Brothers? I assume that answer must mean that the debut is someone's favorite ABB album.
It’s a confusing thread, at 1st I thought it was about overplayed debut albums people had gotten burned out on
It’s more about a debut album that was so good that nothing they did afterward touched it
I’ll never get burned out on debut albums like Capt Beyond, ITCOTCrimson King, the Cars, Zeppelin, Montrose, obviously the ABB....
Got burned out on the Boston album for awhile but dig it still - that’s greatest debut album ever imo
robslob. Jagged Little Pill is 16 million plus in the US. 33 million worldwide. The figures I listed for the Eagles and Michael Jackson are US sales only.
The biggest selling album in the US is The Eagles Greatest Hits which has sold 42 million copies worldwide. Of note; the estate of Michael Jackson questions those sales for the Eagles and suggest Thriller is the world's best selling album at 66 million copies worldwide and most likely the best selling album in the US as they doubt Asylum and its parent Elektra Warner Music Group can prove all the worldwide sales they claim. The Jackson estate even claims the figures for the US is inflated by 6 to 7 million copies.
I think the thread means their debut album was their best work and they never came close to it again. The word burnout in the title I believe refers to the band's inability to match their debut music again.
Well yes I guess that is the thread. The ABB'S first album may be someone's favorite but Idlewild South is just as good with more songs that became ABB classics and same with Eat A Peach and Brothers and Sisters. So the ABB doesnt fit this thread does it?
Hootie and the Blowfish is a great example of this thread. First album sold 20 million copies, second 3 million, third 1 million and the rest less than 500,000 which is a gold record.
Blues Traveler had one huge album but it was their 4th which sold 6 million copies. Chuck and Warren played on it. As far as I know Blues Travler has released 8 more albums but they were like the first 3. Didn't sell enough to earn a gold album (500,000 copies)
Defending the Cars!
Their first album was very much, "all that". Initially, they appeared as sort of psychedelic post-punk band. If anything, they're guilty of progressing in terms of depth and texture. The 2nd LP (Candy-O - with Alberto Vargas cover art!) was acceptable as a continuance of that style. Ric Ocasek's songs ranged from dark to danceable. I'll confess that I personally only bought the first two or three. My sister owned "Panorama", which had some good stuff on it - including the epic, "Who's Gonna Drive You Home" (cinematic video directed by Timothy Hutton!). Elliot Easton can play with ANYBODY's band!
