Amazing Albums Followed Up By Terrible Albums

[Outcrier]

Grace Under Pressure terrible? It's one of their best past the five big albums.

[Lowdz]

^^^P/g is by FAR my least favorite Rush record, even after Caress and the debut (because, in my view, they should have known better by 1985). 

Grace Under Pressure is a top.5 Rush album, in my book..
Caress of Steel is a chore to get through, and Test for Echo sounds just uninspired 90% of the time.

Agree with most of that. P/g was a trade up from most of Signals. I don't mind Caress of Steel but it's not a go to album. TFE is a turd.

[Stadler]

^^^P/g is by FAR my least favorite Rush record, even after Caress and the debut (because, in my view, they should have known better by 1985). 

Grace Under Pressure is a top.5 Rush album, in my book..
Caress of Steel is a chore to get through, and Test for Echo sounds just uninspired 90% of the time.

Agree with most of that. P/g was a trade up from most of Signals. I don't mind Caress of Steel but it's not a go to album. TFE is a turd.

Wow.    Literally we could not be farther apart.  Signals is a Top 5, maybe Top 3 Rush album for me.   Love it, top to bottom, start to finish.  The only song that doesn't blow me away is "Chemistry".  Conversely, there is little that - outside of the live setting - I will even listen to.   Every couple years or so I put on it and Radiohead's OK Computer to see if anything has changed, and every time, for over two decades, the answer has been the same:  Pffffffttttttttt.   

Rush got right back on the horse with Power Windows (not coincidentially, my first Rush show) and while I don't love ALL of PW (side two lags for me) the first side of that record is about as good as anything that came after.  Manhattan Project is one of my top ten favorite Rush songs. 

Not a huge fan of Test For Echo, if that matters.   

[masterthes]

The Beatles one is kind of unfair, because Abbey Road was written after Let It Be, it was just released the wrong way. If anything, it should go in the other thread

[Outcrier]

Wow.    Literally we could not be farther apart.  Signals is a Top 5, maybe Top 3 Rush album for me.

Interesting, because i generally see similar praise for both Signals and Grace Under Pressure.

[Kotowboy]

(What's The Story) Morning Glory - - - > Be Here Now.


Be Here Now isn't AWFUL but it wasn't a good sign. I loved it when it came out and learned the entire album on guitar. But after " D'You Know What I Mean " - the first song I heard was

I Hope I Think I Know - which was the first sign to me that they might be running out of ideas.

It's not as bad as Shoulder Of Giants though.

[Stadler]

(What's The Story) Morning Glory - - - > Be Here Now.


Be Here Now isn't AWFUL but it wasn't a good sign. I loved it when it came out and learned the entire album on guitar. But after " D'You Know What I Mean " - the first song I heard was

I Hope I Think I Know - which was the first sign to me that they might be running out of ideas.

It's not as bad as Shoulder Of Giants though.

Dude.  Brah.   

I feel like I'm in the twilight zone on a lot of music discussions here.   I think Be Here Now is solid from top to bottom, and I listen to it more often than Definitely Maybe, for example.   SOTSOG is a little more patchy, but it too is a solid record, and the highs are very high.  I think Oasis only started to lose the plot for me when Noel abdicated his songwriting to others.  I think when he had to come up with all the goods it was great.  When he started being one of many voices in the band, it diluted them (and weakened his inputs as well, in my opinion).

[Crow]

kinda thinking about it
Obsidian Kingdom: Mantiis -> A Year With No Summer could go here, the latter isn't awful but it's pretty meh while the former is great

[Stadler]

By the way, it should be said:  I'm not taking these positions to be an iconoclast.  I really and honestly do LOVE most of Oasis and detest p/g.   The latter is almost unlistenable to me. 

And as always, it's never personal.   Just throwing alternative viewpoints out there. 

[Kotowboy]

(What's The Story) Morning Glory - - - > Be Here Now.


Be Here Now isn't AWFUL but it wasn't a good sign. I loved it when it came out and learned the entire album on guitar. But after " D'You Know What I Mean " - the first song I heard was

I Hope I Think I Know - which was the first sign to me that they might be running out of ideas.

It's not as bad as Shoulder Of Giants though.

Dude.  Brah.   

I feel like I'm in the twilight zone on a lot of music discussions here.   I think Be Here Now is solid from top to bottom, and I listen to it more often than Definitely Maybe, for example.   SOTSOG is a little more patchy, but it too is a solid record, and the highs are very high.  I think Oasis only started to lose the plot for me when Noel abdicated his songwriting to others.  I think when he had to come up with all the goods it was great.  When he started being one of many voices in the band, it diluted them (and weakened his inputs as well, in my opinion).

I LOVE Be Here Now.. But you could definitely tell they'd blown their load on the first two albums and B sides. Dyou Know What I Mean is Wonderwall again. I Hope I Think I Know is Some Might Say part 2. Stand By Me is a great song and Fade In Out.

Shoulder of Giants is definitely weaker but you could tell something was up on Be Here Now.




EDIT : But Noel's 2 solo albums are better than anything Oasis did since Morning Glory in my opinion - they're awesome.

[Outcrier]

I feel like I'm in the twilight zone on a lot of music discussions here.

 

Don't ever go after the consensus on Oasis post Morning Glory 

[Kotowboy]

Definitely Maybe = Morning Glory > Be Here Now > Shoulder of Giants < Heathen Chemistry < Don't Believe The Truth = Dig Out Your Soul.

[Outcrier]

I meant the consensus that everything sucks after Morning Glory 

"Sucks" is an huge exaggeration but, that nothing comes close to the two first albums.

[Kotowboy]

I meant the consensus that everything sucks after Morning Glory 

"Sucks" is an huge exaggeration but, that nothing comes close to the two first albums.

I think Don't Believe The Truth comes very close.

[Outcrier]

Yes, but what to do.

[Kotowboy]

La Tristesse Durera.

[Lowdz]

^^^P/g is by FAR my least favorite Rush record, even after Caress and the debut (because, in my view, they should have known better by 1985). 

Grace Under Pressure is a top.5 Rush album, in my book..
Caress of Steel is a chore to get through, and Test for Echo sounds just uninspired 90% of the time.

Agree with most of that. P/g was a trade up from most of Signals. I don't mind Caress of Steel but it's not a go to album. TFE is a turd.

Wow.    Literally we could not be farther apart.  Signals is a Top 5, maybe Top 3 Rush album for me.   Love it, top to bottom, start to finish.  The only song that doesn't blow me away is "Chemistry".  Conversely, there is little that - outside of the live setting - I will even listen to.   Every couple years or so I put on it and Radiohead's OK Computer to see if anything has changed, and every time, for over two decades, the answer has been the same:  Pffffffttttttttt.   

Rush got right back on the horse with Power Windows (not coincidentially, my first Rush show) and while I don't love ALL of PW (side two lags for me) the first side of that record is about as good as anything that came after.  Manhattan Project is one of my top ten favorite Rush songs. 

Not a huge fan of Test For Echo, if that matters.

I think p/g was my first "new" Rush album after becoming a fan. I love most of it, though Red Lenses is p/g's Chemistry. PW is a great album. Love all of it.

[Outcrier]

La Tristesse Durera.

Praise the High Flyng Birds, true heir of the Oasis legacy.

[Kotowboy]

La Tristesse Durera.

Praise the High Flyng Birds, true heir of the Oasis legacy.

Chasing Yesterday is great. It would have been the 3rd best oasis album.

[TAC]

I am not a Power Windows fan, but I know most Rush fans consider it some kind of Masterpiece, so what about PW>>HYF?

[Enigmachine]

I am not a Power Windows fan, but I know most Rush fans consider it some kind of Masterpiece, so what about PW>>HYF?

No Rush album is terrible though, really.

[Outcrier]

I am not a Power Windows fan, but I know most Rush fans consider it some kind of Masterpiece, so what about PW>>HYF?

I think Counterparts > Test for Echo is the obvious one.

But like the gentleman said, i don't think any Rush album is truly terrible.

[KevShmev]

True. Even Rush's worst albums are still pretty solid, but Test for Echo was definitely a severe drop-off from Counterparts.

[chaossystem]

In my opinion Counterparts was a pretty severe drop-off from Roll the Bones, and Test for Echo was just more of the same. Both of those albums were just too BLAND for me. I stopped listening and buying their albums after that.

[DebraKadabra]

Styx-Pieces of Eight--> Cornerstone,  Paradise Theater--> Kilroy Was Here

At least Cornerstone has more redeeming songs than Kilroy Was Here.

[pogoowner]

Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane --> BE

[Crow]

Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane --> BE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Zantera]

That almost qualifies for the other thread, with an OK album (Remedy Lane) leading into the much better BE.

[pogoowner]

Everything after Remedy Lane has been a big step down (though 12:5 is amazing and Falling Home isn't bad), but I don't even bother to listen to BE. It's like 75% filler.

[Adami]

BE --> Scarsick

[Crow]

That almost qualifies for the other thread, with an OK album (Remedy Lane) leading into the much better BE.

i also disagree here, Remedy Lane is definitely better than BE but both are great 

[Stadler]

I am not a Power Windows fan, but I know most Rush fans consider it some kind of Masterpiece, so what about PW>>HYF?

No Rush album is terrible though, really.

Not trying to be controversial here, or beat a dead horse, but I do think p/g is close to terrible.   The songs aren't bad - though they aren't good - and I enjoy (most of) them live, but for me, it's the sound.  It's the one album (besides the debut, for obvious reasons) that I can't name one moment of Neal's that I dig.  I don't like his sound on that record, and I don't feel his playing is organic and propulsive like it is on almost every other album.   I really like Counterparts, and I REALLY like Presto (one of my favorite Rush albums).

As for Oasis, I like Dig Out Your Soul easily as much as the debut.  I don't think it is Morning Glory (which it sounds like is the most favorite of the Oasis records) but it is close.   I really like the first Noel solo record (though my most favorite song of the sessions isn't on the album, "Simple Game of Genius") but to be honest the second still hasn't sunk in yet. 

[lordxizor]

Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane --> BE

I completely agree with this. I was a huge, huge POS fan before BE came out. It completely ruined the band for me. I have hardly listened to them since. I found BE to be in listenable apart from a couple tracks.

[Outcrier]

Not trying to be controversial here, or beat a dead horse, but I do think p/g is close to terrible.

That's controversial as fuck though 

[Heretic]

Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz -> Carrie & Lowell

Carrie and Lowell might be Sufjan's second best album. Overall it was received better than Age of Adz, too... Nowhere near a step down in quality, if anything a leap up.