Peak Music

[Flip Wilson]

Red Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson

 

[Songbird]

Van Halen peaked till the day they died which would be when Diamond Dave bolted.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Is there such a thing as non-peak Hendrix?

I was trying to think about when he was at his peak, and his entire career is a toss-up.

If I had to choose, I’d say Monterey was him at his absolute best.

I would say that Hendrix had peaked before Woodstock. With The Experience he deftly merged R&B with psychedelia. With the switch of his backup to Cox and Miles his sound was more funky and much less trippy. My preference was for the trippy Jimi, so others might disagree.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Steely Dan, "The Royal Scam."

 

[qtlaw]

Michael Jackson, "Off the Wall"

Prince, "1999"

 

[Octave]

Graybeard, good argument, but they saw Aja as their artistic zenith. Whether it was or not is subjective.

I know Dan fans who can't stand Aja.

 

[Songbird]

Michael Jackson, "Off the Wall"

The smile is undeniable. Probably the last time he was ever truly himself, and happy, if that's even possible.



But Thriller was peak too.

 

[Spartan Squad]

Ride The Lightning through Master of Puppets, Metallica.

...And Justice For All is still great possible ascending Metallica except they were pissed Jason Newstead wasn't Cliff Burton and screwed him over on the recording. It could have been better. But the follow up with the Black Album was really good and I would say their peak. It is also when it became cool to hate them, which I see as a mark of hitting their peak. Enter Sandman is tremendous. Wherever I May Roam is haunting. Nothing Else Matters and Unforgiven are a great ballads. The only thing they don't have is an instrumental, but the album is solid.

And while personally, I love Load and Reload, I understand why many didn't love it. Garage Inc. was great, but not original. St. Anger would have been better if they fixed the drum (All Within My Hands is still quality, however). Death Magnetic is good, I just don't listen to it enough.

 

[Batman]

Van Halen peaked till the day they died which would be when Diamond Dave bolted.

 

[DanOregon]

What was peak Springsteen - kinda feel like Born in the USA was when he went mainstream, but figure it was before that. Stones? Had to be when Moon was alive.

 

[MisterCreosote]

What was peak Springsteen - kinda feel like Born in the USA was when he went mainstream, but figure it was before that. Stones? Had to be when Moon was alive.

Do you mean The Who? If so, the answer is the Live at Leeds set.

I feel like Springsteen peaked with Born to Run. At very least, Thunder Road is his peak song.

 

[DanOregon]

Stones has to be pre-Altamont.

 

[Songbird]

Gaga peaked early. But what a peak. 1.6 billion views.

Paparazzi is her other all-time song.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Stones has to be pre-Altamont.

The Stones' two best records -- by far -- were post-Altamont.

The Who's peak would by 1969-71, with Tommy, Live at Leeds and Who's Next.

Springsteen is Born to Run.

A lot of this comes down to how you want to define things. U2 certainly hit their stride artistically and then commercially with The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree.... but their best album is Achtung Baby.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Graybeard, good argument, but they saw Aja as their artistic zenith. Whether it was or not is subjective.

I know Dan fans who can't stand Aja.

Aja was their most successful album, certainly. I like "Black Cow," but the rest, meh.

EDIT: OK, "Deacon Blues" is a great tune as well. I'm tired of hearing it, but it is great.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Steely Dan, "The Royal Scam."

Just listened to "The Royal Scam" today for the first time in a while, and I may be in agreement here... but Steely Dan is tough. They were brilliant out of the chute with "Can't Buy a Thrill" and I don't know that the quality ever dipped on the original run through "Gaucho."

 

[Neutral Corner]

Steely Dan, "The Royal Scam."

Oh, hell yes. Everyone talks "Aja", and it's great, but this record blew me away.

 

[Neutral Corner]

Creedence Clearwater Revival, from Jan. 1969 to July, 1970. Four albums that made the Top Ten in eighteen months. Four absolute stone classics I'd put up against any other band's top four - Lodi, Bad Moon Rising, Green River, and Proud Mary, and that leaves out songs like Born on the Bayou, Travelin' Band, Down on the Corner, Fortunate Son, and Up Around the Bend.

If I had to put a date on when Americana took root I'd plant the flag here.

 

[dixiehack]

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was their grand commercial triumph, but OutKast peaked on one of the three albums before that. I would give a slight edge to Stankonia but couldn’t really argue much with ATLiens or Aquemini.

 

[Neutral Corner]

Speaking of Creedence, there's a new documentary on Netflix with their concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. There really isn't much footage of these guys, and apparently the producers got the rights to this right after the film surfaced. There's a fairly standard band doc that follows their progress, and then you get the full concert. There are no theatrics, it's a very businesslike set with the band pretty much walking out and then standing there and playing. The stage is all but bare, just a drum riser, a couple of Marshall stacks and a bass cabinet. No big PA.

What's striking is that they walk out there and bang out the songs and they sound exactly like the record. No theatrics, no drama. There's maybe two guitar pedals. It's very bare bones, these guys just play their music. It's still pretty cool, because you never get concert footage of CCR. It's truly an artifact of another time.