Bands with a "perfect" ending to their career

[RoeDent]

Which bands ended their career on a perfect note? I'm struggling to think of examples. Pink Floyd managed to hold their perfect ending (The Division Bell, and High Hopes) for 20 years or so but then they went and did The Endless River, thus ruining it. At the moment, Rush have perhaps got it, with Clockwork Angels and The Garden.

[bill1971]

I was thinking the same thing, Rush and The Garden. Perfect ending. Even their last tour, how they went to in reverse order on the tour until they were "gone".

The Division Bell, High Hopes is pretty damn perfect too. I know they released that "new" album, but I consider that almost just unreleased tracks.

[Bolsters]

Electric Ladyland was the first to come to mind, if you ignore the multitude of posthumous releases (which I prefer to do).

I quite like Roy Orbison's Mystery Girl.

I couldn't get into it myself, but Bowie's Blackstar was very well received.

[Tomislav95]

Leonard Cohen and his You Want It Darker comes to mind. Not just because I love that album but also because of the themes that go throughout the album, he knew the end is near.

[rumborak]

I couldn't get into it myself, but Bowie's Blackstar was very well received.

It was stunning that Bowie, after such a long hiatus, could produce two excellent albums before his death.

[MirrorMask]

Speaking of bands that screwed up the ending... I point my finger at The Scorpions, doing another album after the last track on the "final" one was called The Best is Yet to Come, a perfect statement.

[Zantera]

I mean, depends on how you look at it, I would argue Abbey Road by The Beatles (the End medley is a great ending to the album) but technically Let it Be was released after, even if it was recorded before.

[ZKX-2099]

Dillinger Escape Plan just released what they say will be their final album and I think it's a great way to end a career.

[King Postwhore]

I mean, depends on how you look at it, I would argue Abbey Road by The Beatles (the End medley is a great ending to the album) but technically Let it Be was released after, even if it was recorded before.

This is a great one.

Queen Innuendo -- The Show Must Go On.  This lyrics are haunting and poetic, the music haunting.

[Evermind]

Pink Floyd managed to hold their perfect ending (The Division Bell, and High Hopes) for 20 years or so but then they went and did The Endless River, thus ruining it.

Leonard Cohen and his You Want It Darker comes to mind. Not just because I love that album but also because of the themes that go throughout the album, he knew the end is near.

Speaking of bands that screwed up the ending... I point my finger at The Scorpions, doing another album after the last track on the "final" one was called The Best is Yet to Come, a perfect statement.

I agree with all of this.

[DragonAttack]

'Perfect note' being a great final release, then 'Innuendo' and 'Abbey Road' fit. 

'Synchronicity' ....at their height in popularity, and their best album.

[Samsara]

The first band that came to mind, without reading anything but the OP subject line, was:

RUSH

/thread.

[Art]

Had they not toured without Bill Ward, i would say Black Sabbath. But the way they left him out of the whole reunion was not cool. I do like 13 as an album, though.  And also The Devil You Know is an awesome ending for the Dio-fronted Sabbath.

[rumborak]

The first band that came to mind, without reading anything but the OP subject line, was:
RUSH
/thread.

*reopens thread*

Queen Innuendo -- The Show Must Go On.  This lyrics are haunting and poetic, the music haunting.

That album was an incredible, and poignant, closer to the band's career.

[Adami]

The first band that came to mind, without reading anything but the OP subject line, was:
RUSH
/thread.

*reopens thread*

Queen Innuendo -- The Show Must Go On.  This lyrics are haunting and poetic, the music haunting.

That album was an incredible, and poignant, closer to the band's career.

As far as studio's album go. Agreed. But the band....much like the show, did go on. I think the tribute show would have been a perfect ending. Then they kept going. They're still going. Hard to call just their last album the end of their career.

[Kwyjibo]

Queen Innuendo -- The Show Must Go On.  This lyrics are haunting and poetic, the music haunting.

But then there was Made In Heaven and the Paul Rodgers album, so it wasn't really the ending.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I wouldn't say Dissociation is DEP's best album, but it's a pretty great way to go out.

[Samsara]

The first band that came to mind, without reading anything but the OP subject line, was:
RUSH
/thread.

*reopens thread*

Queen Innuendo -- The Show Must Go On.  This lyrics are haunting and poetic, the music haunting.

That album was an incredible, and poignant, closer to the band's career.

 

Innuendo was an amazing capper.

[rumborak]

I don't view either Queen+Lambert or the posthumous albums to be "Queen". IMO the last album of the band was Innuendo. The rest is "lost tapes" and "The Queen Experience".

[Samsara]

I don't view either Queen+Lambert or the posthumous albums to be "Queen". IMO the last album of the band was Innuendo. The rest is "lost tapes" and "The Queen Experience".

I don't either. I think it was a wise move for Queen to call themselves Queen+Paul Rodgers and Queen+Adam Lambert. It allows them to benefit by using the band name, but at the same time making clear it isn't quite the same. Very smart marketing.

[Mladen]

Rush, with Bowie being right behind them.

I would have said Queen - however, Made in heaven.

[King Postwhore]

Rush, with Bowie being right behind them.

I would have said Queen - however, Made in heaven.

As Rumbo said "lost tapes"  It was the other band members finishing up songs. I don't count that as the true last album.

[LordCost]

Dillinger Escape Plan just released what they say will be their final album and I think it's a great way to end a career.

First band that came to my mind reading this post

[Luoto]

Out of the bands not already mentioned, Sentenced comes to mind immediately. "End of the Road", the last song they ever wrote, is excellent and it was a worthy ending for their "funeral" at Teatria back in the day. Their last album was received really well too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BtC3hnea0E

[RoeDent]

...and 'Abbey Road' fit. 

Ah, but then they undermined that with Let It Be. Abbey Road should have been their swansong as far as studio albums go, but there you go.

[Lowdz]

I mean, depends on how you look at it, I would argue Abbey Road by The Beatles (the End medley is a great ending to the album) but technically Let it Be was released after, even if it was recorded before.

This is a great one.

Queen Innuendo -- The Show Must Go On.  This lyrics are haunting and poetic, the music haunting.

This. The Queen + albums don't count.

[Nick]

Obviously, I'm biased, but definitely Rush. The last album was amazing. If I could pick any song from any album to be the last studio track on Rush's last studio record I would be hard pressed to find a better one than The Garden. And the last tour was absolutely phenomenal.

[RoeDent]

Even without Queen+, you still have Made in Heaven, which undermines the finality of Innuendo and The Show Must Go On. And Made in Heaven includes Freddie, so you can't use the lack of Mercury as an excuse to exclude MIH from the canon. So Queen are out of the equation, as it were.

It's difficult, though, isn't it? So many band endings are ambiguous. There aren't that many definitive, "this is the end" moments in rock history.

[MirrorMask]

It's difficult, though, isn't it? So many band endings are ambiguous. There aren't that many definitive, "this is the end" moments in rock history.

I hope my favorite band of all time, Iron Maiden, will have this. I don't want them to end the way Black Sabbath did, dragged out amidst many years of uncertainty and lineup changes, with the risk of goddamn cancer having the final word on it instead of them (luckily Tony Iommi is doing well so far).

[Anguyen92]

It's difficult, though, isn't it? So many band endings are ambiguous. There aren't that many definitive, "this is the end" moments in rock history.

I hope my favorite band of all time, Iron Maiden, will have this. I don't want them to end the way Black Sabbath did, dragged out amidst many years of uncertainty and lineup changes, with the risk of goddamn cancer having the final word on it instead of them (luckily Tony Iommi is doing well so far).

The potential for that perfect ending could not have happened if Adrian and Bruce did not come back to Iron Maiden and would have probably ended the way that Sabbath did.  However, since they did came back and five new albums strong with the same line-up and a big legion of fans, old and new, supporting them, I think their chance for that perfect ending is really high.

[TAC]

And also The Devil You Know is an awesome ending for the Dio-fronted Sabbath.

I was thinking about this, but more in terms of Ronnie James Dio. He struggled for a number of years, but he was fantastic on this album and tour.

[Mosh]

Iron Maiden are definitely on the path to a perfect ending, will probably go the way of Rush.

[TAC]

Iron Maiden are definitely on the path to a perfect ending, will probably go the way of Rush.

As long as we don't get Reraising Hell, I'm good with whatever happens.

[KevShmev]

I am also biased, but I think the answer is Rush.  Great last album and the final tour was really good.

Bowie went out great, too, releasing a fantastic album, one of his best, days before he died.

I might have said Pink Floyd, especially if Live 8 had been the last thing Floyd ever did, but while a solid release, The Endless River kind of took away from it.

Same for Queen and Made for Heaven.  Had Innuendo been the end, that would have been fitting, but Made in Heaven counts as a real final release.  I like Made in Heaven quite a bit, but it's not Innuendo.

[jammindude]

Up until a few months ago, I would have said Galactic Cowboys.  Let it Go is *AMAZING*....but now they are releasing a new album, so that disqualifies them.