A long time ago, many moons past, I posted a discussion here talking about how I found a lot of bands, mostly prog, who had reached a peak in their 5th album, or released a well-received 5th album that has become one of their best, if not more popular album among their respective catalogs.
Well, since then, I've thought about it more and have realized that a lot of bands, not just strictly prog, have had great 4th AND 5th albums, so I wanted to put this out there for everyone to talk about. What are some bands that have had great success with their 4th and 5th albums, either in sales, or popularity, overall fan reception, etc.?
To cover some prog ground, here are some bands with great 4th/5th combos that I think deserve a mention in this topic:
Yes - Fragile, Close To The Edge
Genesis - Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound
Kansas - Leftoverture, Point Of Know Return
Rush - 2112, A Farewell To Kings
And a few in rock:
Queen - A Night At The Opera, A Day At The Races
Led Zeppelin - IV, Houses Of The Holy
The Who - Tommy, Who's Next
I am sure there are more out there, but I want to see what you guys come up with! What are some of your favorite 4th/5th combos, or ones that you recognize as being standouts for a band or artist? It's really interesting to see some of these bands, and to think about what they had to get through 3 albums prior, hitting success with the 4th, then trying to top that success with their 5th. I think by the 4th and 5th albums, a band is pretty set in their sound, their ways, and what they are trying to accomplish, and so by then, they've got it all locked in. The band knows what they want, they know what their fans want, and things usually go really well by then!
-Marc.