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« on: April 20, 2024, 07:20:54 AM »
I decidedly prefer mid-period albums. I think Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is a a better album than the first two Sabbath albums, Purple’s Machine Head and Burn are better than In Rock, Physical Graffiti tops all Zep albums before it with maybe the exception of IV, Wishbone Ash’s Argus is better than the debut and the sophomore efforts. Be Bop Deluxe’s Sunburst Finish and Modern Music beat Axe Victim and Futurama. Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here tops anything they did before or after. Queen peaked with Sheer Heart Attack and A Night At The Opera. Sticky Fingers is the Stones’ best record by a stretch. The Who peaked with Next. Alice Cooper’s Killer, School’s Out and Billion Dollar Babies are a holy triumvirate + Welcome To My Nightmare is mid-period too. Bowie‘s two best albums are Diamond Dogs and Station To Station. Status Quo‘s 74-76 trilogy of Quo-On The Level-Blue For You are all mid-period works, cocaine must have had the best quality then. Kiss‘ Destroyer is the closest this band ever got to recording a remarkable album.
There are a few debuts that really stand out (eg by The Police, Boston and The Ramones), but most bands get better with more professional touring and recording experience - until the rot sets in. If you like your music well-recorded like I do, a bigger studio budget can’t be faulted either. That debut album cult is mostly a myth. Imagine if Sgt. Pepper had been The Beatles‘ debut … (Of course it couldn‘t have been, they and George Martin needed that arc of development from album to album.)
Thinking about it, I like albums that have a touch of decadence to them - when bands feel they can branch out a little.