Following on from Lodey’s post mentioning the ‘six album rule’ in the Artists you really miss thread.
Johnny Cash is a classic example of an act who’d been effectively written off only to release a remarkable album (in his case a run of albums) at the fag end of his career.
There are, I am sure, loads of others
David Crosby is an obvious one. Between 2014 and 2021 he released 5 albums of original material, which is more solo work than during his entire career. They were also amongst his best work. He sensed time was short and had something to prove.
Suede. 5 albums since reforming in 2013.
The last 2 (Autofiction and Antidepressants) are asgood, if not better, than their first run
Well, I must mention Van der Graaf Generator in this context.
A hiatus of 28 years, between The Quiet Zone (1977) and Present (2005); then they lose Jackson but decide to continue as a three piece, releasing four more albums – the last of which (Do Not Disturb) was arguably the best. Many tours and six (!) live albums since 2005, all of which demonstrate their determination to confound the audiences with the unexpected, capped by the complete live …lighthouse keepers on the 2013 tour, captured on the Merlin Atmos album.
Remarkable band all round, really.
I do love the legacy recordings but 60% credit to Rick Rubin, 30% to Johnny and 10 % to Tom Petty and the lads.
ABBA – not just an excellent album after a 40-year hiatus, but also the creative instigators of a dazzling, revolutionary stage show.
Muddy Waters made some cracking albums with Johnny Winter in the 70s having not done much for 20 years.
I would have said Nick Lowe thanks to the brilliant run from The Impossible Bird to At My Age. But then I realised At My Age was 18 years ago, so it’s more like a mid-career resurgence followed by (well-deserved) pleasantly coasting through the rest of it.
So it has to be Leonard Cohen. The last 4 albums were arguably his best (maybe aside from I’m Your Man – that was his mid-career resurgence) and he also had the live resurrection to enjoy.
Dexys have released more, and toured more, since 2003 than during their pomp. I’m not sure you’d call them career highlights, though.
One Day I’m Going to Soar is wonderful. But yes the others, less so.
I didn’t like the production, I think because of the way the drums were recorded. The songs were much better on the live album.
Bill Fay. Waited 40 years to release his third studio album proper, then followed it with a couple more — all excellent IMHO.
I heartily concur.
I was going to come all curmudgeon and say that nobody creates music that equals their first run. But then the answer for me is Slowdive. Twenty year hiatus then two wonderful albums the equal or possibly even better than their mid-90s output. Stellar live shows too.
And perhaps slightly less surprising, Ride.
I think Ride were victorious in battle, but Slowdive won the war. They seem to be a hit wiv da yoof, too.
Unlike Ride the law of diminishing returns has not yet set in for Slowdive. Post-reformation I thought Weather Diaries excellent, This Is Not a Safe Place good and Interplay, Peace Sign aside, a bit meh.
Ride’s second coming has been – nice but Interplay didn’t have much to it beyond the nice cover (and yes Peace Sign is OK). Couldn’t get enough of Nowhere, Going Blank Again and there’s some superb stuff on Carnival of Light but yes, after Weather Diaries it’s been all pretty meh
Willie Nelson, his last 3 studio albums have been absolutely superb. He’s 92 you know!
At the risk of stating the bleeding’ obvious, Bob Dylan has been written off countless times only to come back with albums like Blood on the Tracks, Oh Mercy, Time Out of Mind, and, most recently, Rough and Rowdy Ways. Truly a lifetime of work which is rarely less than fascinating.
Rodney Crowell, who was around 50 when The Houston Kid was released, at which point his metamorphosis from big haired country act to reflective singer-songwriter was complete. Since then he has released 8 or 9 more albums of great songs marked by clever wordplay and great tunes, plus a couple of albums of duets with Emmylou Harris. Now a grand old man of 75, his latest, Airplane Highway, came out this summer. He’s a class act.
Levon Helm (Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt) would be another example
In 2011 Andy Kim released ‘Its Decided’ one of my favourite singer songwriter albums of recent times (anything this century is recent to me). Not an artist I had heard of since Rock Me Gently and before that Sugar Sugar which he wrote for The Archies.
It was another of those collabs with a more contemporary artist this time Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew. Covers a few of his older songs but mainly some excellent new ones. Well worth a listen. As far as I’m aware not done anything since.
The Chameleons? Maybe not so much in the case of actual product , though they have just released an album, but they are touring and touring , USA, Europe and here and seem to be attracting larger and younger audiences.
I think Buddy Guy fits this category very well. And also Charlie Musselwhite. Each began careers in the 1950s, derailed by successive fads in the appetite for blues, each derailed by booze, each bouncing back as active elder statesmen.
Somebody has to mention Sparks when we do a thread like this, so it may as well be me.
21st Century Sparks > 20th Century Sparks
Completely agree. I’m not sold on their latest album, but the previous few have been top-drawer Sparks. I’m glad they’re still able to plough their own particular furrow, and seemingly picking up new fans, after all these years.
Agree too but would say MAD! Is as good as any ‘recent’ album. And live they are just brilliant. Never been at a gig with such a connection between artist and audience. And yes, I know that sounds w***y .
In a hidden codicil, the 6 Album Theory states an artist/band may continue to release records until they have made 6 albums that are actually, as they say, any good. Exceptions are allowed (Dylan a prime example) but everyone else must cease and desist.
I would humbly suggest that, exceptions aside, not one of the above ever has or ever will release 6 top notch, Hall of Fame albums (unless of course you either have ears of cloth or love Abba/Sparks/ VDGG etc, in which case you are clearly bonkers)
The fact that the number 6 appears exactly three times in the above post tells us all we need to know about this Anti-Hepworth and his apocalyptic heresies!
My red eyes are firmly fixed on your insignificant and worthless visage.
What a mean-spirited comment…
You too will soon feel my wrath
To the ones who give me service, I grant my scorn (etc)…
Lou Reed was shit from late 70s to late 80s then New York started a sequence of excellent albums. He would have been a mere whippersnapper in his late 40s though compared to many. Neil Young had a renaissance at a similar time, but he didn’t die and his quality control disappeared
NY quality control – present & correct for Ragged Glory, Harvest Moon, and the live Weld.
It was after those that it all fell over a bit (a lot?)
Still awesome live though.
Oh yes
I reckon he made it through to Unplugged and Sleeps with Angels. After that, not so much. And that’s 30 years!
Mavis Staples and Bettye Lavette. Both have had fallow periods but still going strong in, ahem, late middle age.
Mavis has new album out soon. I’m looking forward to it.
It is utterly fabulous; I have an advance and it is probably her best. Out a week tomorrow.
I saw Mavis at the Cambridge Folk Festival about 20 years ago. She was great and already quite, erm, late middle aged.
We’re all going to live to be 130, aren’t we?
Except for the ones who don’t.
Yes.
I was looking up someone on Wikipedia yesterday and was surprised to discover they were still alive aged 94.
Not going to name them in case I jinx them.
Jeff Tweedy has produced and written songs for Mavis which helps her remain relevant to these days