Preferred Eras of Musical Artists/Bands

[Toomstone.Part.Duex]

Great topic

 

U2- I was a huge fan of Boy through Achtung Baby.   I saw them 4 times and think that they really started to go downhill after How to dismantle...   My two fav albums are Unforgettable Fire and Achtung Baby (*) 

 

Rush-  I became a huge Rush fan when I started playing drums at 15.  A co-worker gave me a copy of Chronicles and I bought every album.  I'm a fan of all Rush.  The early years, keyboard years, and after.   Moving Pictures and Counterparts(*) were my favorite.   

 

Van Halen-  Being in bands my whole life you can't find a guitar player who doesn't know who EVH is.  I love all VH.  Though I favor the Sammy era.  My first album I ever bought was 5150 on vinyl.   I was briefly in a VH tribute band also.  Scheduling was a nightmare with bandmates with young kids so it fizzled out.  

 

Tool-  All of them!   Danny Carey is a BEAST on drums.  As a drummer those songs are insanely difficult.  I can play Rush all day but Tool is on another level of difficulty.  Neil and Danny are my 2 fav drummers.  along with Stewart Copeland.  Speaking of... 

 

The Police-   As I said, I love some Stew on the drums.  I like all the albums, Sync, Ghost, Zen Mon, Reg da blanc.   Not a big fan of Sting solo.  Glad I just saw them in 07 at MSG.   

 

*   Anyone else have certain albums that just go along with a certain time in your life?  Achtung Baby, Counter Parts and VH For Unlawful are those albums.  That's why they're my fav of those bands.  Kinda the soundtrack of my late teens early 20s.   

 

 

[Gugny]

17 minutes ago, Toomstone.Part.Duex said:

Van Halen-  Being in bands my whole life you can't find a guitar player who doesn't know who EVH is.  I love all VH.  Though I favor the Sammy era.  My first album I ever bought was 5150 on vinyl.   I was briefly in a VH tribute band also.  Scheduling was a nightmare with bandmates with young kids so it fizzled out.   

 

I'm glad someone brought up Van Halen.

 

This is seriously a scenario in which we're comparing two entirely different bands, even though there was only one personnel change.

 

I became a huge Van Halen fan in the early 80s.  Loved ALL of the DLR-era albums.  

 

When Sammy Hagar joined the band, I refused to listen to 5150.  Of course, I really couldn't avoid it altogether with the heavy radio play.  But I dismissed it as pop crap.

 

I finally caved and listened to the album.  And I instantly fell in love with it.  5150, OU812 and F.U.C.K., were all fantastic albums.  After that ... junk, IMO.  I won't even acknowledge the Gary Cherone album.

 

The DLR albums and the Hagar albums are nothing alike.  It's seriously like two different bands/two different genres.  And two awesome bands.  I seriously can't even say which era I like more.  Love 'em both.

 

 

[Greg S]

With Van Halen I prefer the DLR years over Hagar. They were good with Hagar but better with DLR. IMHO

[Bill from NYC]

On 11/7/2022 at 10:01 AM, Greg S said:

Grateful Dead. I prefer the 70's. To me they were at their best in the 70's. Most Deadheads will tell you 1972 or 1977 were the best years of this decade. My favorite year was 77. The 80's were good as well with Brent Mydland on the keyboards. To me the band lost the 'it" factor when Brent died. Never really cared for Vince on the keys although they did have their moments when Bruce Hornsby was playing with them. To me the 90's had to many "misses" than "hits as far as concerts went.

I prefer the Dead in 1989. Jerry appeared to be at least somewhat sober most of the time and they had some GREAT concerts that summer, including one in Buffalo.

[Draconator]

On 11/7/2022 at 9:47 AM, Gugny said:

Piggy-backing onto the other "one song," thread (which is fantastic).  Looking at some of the responses in that thread got me thinking about how many artists/bands stuck around a long time (perhaps too long, which is one of the points of this thread) and changed over time.

 

I think it would be fun to get others' opinions about bands that they like, but only certain eras of said bands.

 

First one the pops into my head is Pink Floyd.

 

I enjoy the albums with Syd Barrett.

I LOVE the albums post-Barrett, but only those which include both Waters and Gilmour.

I (again ... this is purely opinion) think anything post-Waters is garbage.

 

One more and I'll bow out for a while so others can chime in.

 

Rush.

 

Rush is one of those band who, to me, stuck around too long (as far as continuing to make new studio albums is concerned).

 

I am a huge early Rush fan.  After "Signals," (1982), they lost me.

 

I think they went on to record another ten studio albums over 20+ years and I honestly thought they were all crap.  But again ... that's just me!

 

Who you got?!?!

 

Some of Rush's best work is post Moving Pictures. With Moving Pictures, they reached a pinnacle in one style of rock. That wasn't satisfying enough, so they set out to explore other avenues of rock. 

 

I still say Clockwork Angels is their best, most complete album from beginning to end. Kinda like Moving Pictures with no duds on the album. I was listening to Snakes and Arrows today, and I'll have to say that is their most underrated album. 

[T&C]

I love Joni Mitchell  but don't care for her earlier stuff and don't care for her later stuff. Sure, there is a song here and there but none of the lps overall is my taste. People love the Blue album ... I have it... but not my cup of tea at all. However, Court and Spark, Hissing of Summer Lawns are fantastic. Hejira is a little different but a good listen too. After that nothing for me anyways. So I guess it's her middle few that really make it here.

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

A lot of fun stuff in here.  Just throwing out my own Pink Floyd preferences- I absolutely LOVE the Syd Barrett Floyd.  It was very weird but so not so heavy as later Floyd became.  I love Animals(very heavy but ***** amazing), and Meddle- entrenched in a moment, but beautifully well done. 
 

I ***** HATE The Wall.  If I never hear a single moment from that album again, your life will be a better place.  What a stupid, depressing, solutionless piece of pomposity.  
 

On that cheery note, how's about a band that really was pretty ***** good, but stood:

I still think this is one of the greatest albums of the 80's.   The whiny later stuff is whoa bad.  

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

This was pretty good:

 

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

 

I know they had several other bigger hits, but these are my 2 faves. 

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

1 hour ago, BringMetheHeadofLeonLett said:

 

I know they had several other bigger hits, but these are my 2 faves. 

Before any youngens go self-pleasuring about how they knoe INXS or U2, the 80's were just shite- a decade where it's incapsulates had to f'n survive frickin terrible concepts about hair-metal, chicks with three-foot-tall hair, somehow an awful pass from 1971 synthesizer to 1986 synthesizer, and what a handoff that was.  Early 1970's cocaine superstars making unplugged comebacks

 

 

but then the 90's struck. And all that got to go rot in hell

 

(until the managers of all the coked-out 70's superstars and other horrific acts got their claws back into the action)

Edited November 21, 2022 by BringMetheHeadofLeonLett

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

49 minutes ago, BringMetheHeadofLeonLett said:

Before any youngens go self-pleasuring about how they knoe INXS or U2, the 80's were just shite- a decade where it's incapsulates had to f'n survive frickin terrible concepts about hair-metal, chicks with three-foot-tall hair, somehow an awful pass from 1971 synthesizer to 1986 synthesizer, and what a handoff that was.  Early 1970's cocaine superstars making unplugged comebacks.  It felt like an inescapable thing- like humanity as a horrible thing was inescapable-  but thankfully it's only, 'almost true'.  

 

 

but then the 90's struck. And all that got to go rot in hell

 

(until the managers of all the coked-out 70's superstars and other horrific acts got their claws back into the action)

 

 

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

Preferred:

 

Hey San Diego!

 

 

[Joe Ferguson forever]

On 11/7/2022 at 6:54 PM, Rico said:

Fleetwood Mac:  Rumours is a top 10 album for me, and I also love ":Fleetwood Mac". The earlier blues era is very good, but I just don't play it compared to the big 2. Tusk was a major disappointment, never into them after that.

 

Rolling Stones: my favs until they morphed into the Vegas Stones with the Steel Wheels tour & album.

 

Springsteen: 1978 thru 1981 tours. BITUSA has some great songs, but the tour while great felt like he was selling out, and I loathe Tunnel Of Love. Still capable of putting on great concerts, but he's a total clownshow as a person these days.

 

AC/DC: Back In Black is a great album, but in general, no Bon Scott, no sale.

 

The Band: only when they're backing Dylan.

 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: only when they're backing Dylan.

 

Bowie: Jumped the shark for me with Tonight/Never Let Me Down.

 

Elvis Costello: LOVE the 1st 3 albums, lost interest after that.

 

LZ: love everything studio, live stuff best when Plant could still wail.

 

Prince: great album every summer until Batman.

 

Talking Heads: everything until Little Creatures.

 

U2: all downhill after Boy.

 

Neil: made a comeback for me in the late 80's/early 90's, but honestly all downhill after Live Rust (maybe Reactor).

 

Dylan: early folk era = zzzzzzzz, 65-66 incredible, 74-78 next best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I try to judge song by song.  Even when their muse hides for a while, great artists are great artists.Give this a try: