When bands hit their peak - Music - Forums : Best Ever Albums

Guest

Alright, I don't know if anyone else will find this interesting, but I was bored. I took each of our current top 50 artists and put them into a list based on the point in their career where they reached their peak (according to our charts). I actually thought some of the results were pretty intriguing:

Artists who peaked on their debut (12):
Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced (1967)
Pearl Jam - Ten (1991)
The Doors - The Doors (1967)
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (1979)
The Strokes - Is This It (2001)
The Stone Roses - The Stones Roses (1989)
Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (1987)
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)
Weezer - Weezer (The Blue Album) (1994)
Jeff Buckley - Grace (1994)

Artists who peaked on their 2nd album (9):
Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)
Pixies - Doolittle (1989)
Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane over the Sea (1998)
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (1968)
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (1991)
Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)
Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun (1999)

Artists who peaked on their 3rd album ( Cool

:
Radiohead - OK Computer (1997)
The Clash - London Calling (1979)
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead (1986)
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run (1975)
Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
Muse - Absolution (2003)
The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
Neil Young - After the Gold Rush (1970)

Artists who peaked on their 4th album (4):
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
The White Stripes - Elephant (2003)
Queen - A Night at the Opera (1975)
Talking Heads - Remain in Light (1980)

Artists who peaked on their 5th album (5):
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)
The Who - Who's Next (1971)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (1988)

Artists who peaked on their 6th album (2):
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)

Artists who peaked on their 7th album (2):
The Beatles - Revolver (1966)
AC/DC - Back in Black (1980)

Artists who peaked on their 8th album (2):
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
R.E.M. - Automatic for the People (1992)

Artists who peaked on their 9th album (1):
The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin (1999)

Artists who peaked on their 10th album (1):
The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St. (1972)

Artists who peaked on their 11th album (2):
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (1966)
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977)

Artists who peaked on their 20th album (1):
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959)

Note that most of these numbers came from either wikipedia or from my own knowledge, so I can't guarantee that they're all 100% correct, but they're all fairly close. Anyway, I mostly found it interesting how many bands managed to create their masterpiece on their very first go. If these numbers were to remain consistent (not to say they will, as the sample size IS small), this would imply that 24% of bands will hit their peak on their first album, 58% will hit their peak within their first 3, and a surprising 14% won't hit their peak until their 8th album at the EARLIEST (granted, the vast majority of bands won't even release 8 albums nowadays, so this statistic probably doesn't hold).

Still, I think it's interesting.

Kiki

We should take 50 artists who released a debut after Jan 2010 and line them up against each other. Then we can make wild guesses about when their peaks will be. One of them must be put in 20th album catorgy so we have something to look forward to. Razz

Error Finn

Gender: Male
Age: 54
Location: Finland

Artists who peaked on their 20th album (1):
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959)

This is a good example of a peak or brandy, which is created after the death of artist (1991). The album was written in so-called rock magazines, which marked the presentation of the general public. The album was until then been the only jazz enthusiasts alike ode. When it was added to Miles Davis' role in rock type (fusion) jazz, was ready to drink brandy. The same brandy legend has grown in the case of Stanley Kubrick. When someone a younger movie friend (like myself) who saw the film Full Metal Jacket (1987), was certainly surprised that this gentleman has been making films for over 30 years! Tell me what is Davis' first album, and what is Kubrick's debut film? Those could not be the most popular!
Those bands, which are at the top of its debut with, have created the band's trademark.
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Vandentop

What do we consider a peak? An artistic or a commercial peak?

paladisiac
= music

Gender: Male
Location: Denver

I contest Radiohead's artistic peak was a combination of "ok computer" and "kid a".
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Guest

I think Radiohead hit their peak at 9.52am on the 17th February 2004.

Guest

I actually think with rock, pop, indie and hip-hop acts, the debut album is often likely to overshadow later output. This is because a band's debut album is usually the culmination of years of work and ideas without any outside pressure. Then, once a debut album is released to critical and/or commercial acclaim, there is pressure from fans, critics and labels - as well as time constraints. Say a band or artist works for seven or eight years, writing hundreds of songs, before they get discovered. They can then pick the best of those songs from which to create a debut album. However, if a new album is expected 18 months after the release of the first album, they have less time to write as many songs. Add in the pressure of expectation, and the time limitations of publicity/touring etc., and it stands to reason that the second album will not live up to the high standards set by the debut.

You find it is often bands and artists universally regarded as geniuses who continue to better themselves - the Dylans, Beatles, Neil Youngs, Radioheads, Springsteens of this world.

Guest

Vandentop wrote:

What do we consider a peak? An artistic or a commercial peak?

swedenman wrote:

I took each of our current top 50 artists and put them into a list based on the point in their career where they reached their peak (according to our charts).

For the purposes of this thread, an artist's "peak" is considered to be the album of theirs that is highest on our charts. Otherwise it's very subjective.

Guest

lethalnezzle wrote:

I actually think with rock, pop, indie and hip-hop acts, the debut album is often likely to overshadow later output. This is because a band's debut album is usually the culmination of years of work and ideas without any outside pressure. Then, once a debut album is released to critical and/or commercial acclaim, there is pressure from fans, critics and labels - as well as time constraints. Say a band or artist works for seven or eight years, writing hundreds of songs, before they get discovered. They can then pick the best of those songs from which to create a debut album. However, if a new album is expected 18 months after the release of the first album, they have less time to write as many songs. Add in the pressure of expectation, and the time limitations of publicity/touring etc., and it stands to reason that the second album will not live up to the high standards set by the debut.

You find it is often bands and artists universally regarded as geniuses who continue to better themselves - the Dylans, Beatles, Neil Youngs, Radioheads, Springsteens of this world.

Yes, this was what I always thought. It kinda makes you wonder how bands who peaked on their 2nd album managed to pull it off :/

Mother Nature's Son

Gender: Male
Age: 31

Weird. I thought ¨Funeral¨ was Arcade Fire's second album. What I thought was their debut-album happens to be just an EP. A really long EP actually, more than 30 minutes! Haven't heard it though!