hi.
i submit that the two greatest three-release sequences in the history of recorded music are:
the beatles:
rubber soul (1965)/revolver (1966)/sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band (1967)
radiohead:
the bends (1995)/ok computer (1997)/kid a (2000)
this submission is no real stretch, of course, but i welcome your comments/additions!
caleb sawyer, b. 11/14/02
levi peterson, b. 2/12/05
current ear food:
"hail to the thief" - radiohead
"murmur" - r.e.m.
"in rainbows" - radiohead
"houses of the holy" - led zeppelin
11 comments:
UM, EXCUSE ME, YOU HAVE MADE A GRAVE MISTAKE BY OVERLOOKING A FINE THREE-DISC COUP BY SAMANTHA FOX:
Just One Night/21st Century Fox/Angel with an Attitude.
In all seriousness, might a case be made for War/The Unforgettable Fire/The Joshua Tree?
of course! come to think of it, any three-in-a-row combination of their first five records is better than almost anything else by most anyone else.
I'd argue for Unforgettable Fire/Joshua Tree/Achtung Baby. And yes, I know I'm leaving out Rattle and Hum... but that was a soundtrack (and not a great one either), so I don't count it as a fully-realized studio project.
Friend Josh and I have debated this same phenomenon for years... we call it the Arc, as in "Arcade Fire's Neon Bible is definitely a top-of-the-arc effort..."
funny, a -- i was thinking the same exacr thing about those three U2 records, but wondered if leaving out 'rattle' would count. i concur!!
how 'bout the three nick drake studio releases? strong work.
Agreed! But does the arc effect count if one only HAS three albums?
Speaking of brilliance gone way too soon, I submit Morphine's Good/Cure For Pain/Yes.
To be sure, I agree with the 'arcs' already noted (though I don't love Kid A, frankly) But choose any three of these:
Murmur
Reckoning
Life's Rich Pagaent
Document
Green
Out of Time
Automatic for the People
Monster
In fact, that's a heck of an 8-album arc if you ask me, rivaled perhaps only by the Beatles (if you can skip Magical Mystery Tour as another dreaded "soundtrack project" - not a bad album but gets penalized for being an atrocious movie) and U2.
By the way, I like Ratlle & Hum. Angel of Harlem. God Part II. Silver & Gold (starts with "in the s**thouse a shotgun" and ends with "don't mean to bug ya..Ok Edge, play the blues!") Desire, When Love Comes to Town, All I Want is You... C'mon!
Did you consider a Zeppelin arc?
What about the best arc of the 21st Century? U2 looking good so far... we'll see if they squeeze in a third album. Jack Johnson is due to release a third of the century in 2008. ColdPlay? John Mayer?
Dream of the Blue Turtles
Nothing Like the Sun
Ten Summoner's Tales
Yes, I skipped Soul Cages. Just because it sucks.
Wait a minute... you can't just skip an album because it sucks, and then claim a three-album arc! Sucking is automatic grounds for dismissal from arc-hood.
If we had to pare down that R.E.M. colossus, I'd say Life's Rich Pageant/Fables of the Reconstruction/Document. You forgot "Pageant"... how, I'm not sure.
"Monster" should never have been made.
Whoops, I meant you forgot "Fables." I always liked how the cover art left the title ambiguous: "Fables of the Reconstruction" or "Reconstruction of the Fables?
Speaking of Life's Rich Pageant, I took it out and dusted it off about a fortnight ago, and not only have its Southern-flavored melodics been on my mind, but that album hasn't aged a particle. I miss the *good* REM years.
Nat, here's what I just posted on my Facebook:
Most bands have a 2-3 album peak which they don't get back to. Let me know if you think there are any examples of bands that have a comeback that equals the high. Is it because the old albums have become "classics" or hold some nostalgia? Or do they truely incapable of attaining past glory? Here are a few examples. Discuss, add more, ignore...
U2 = Joshua Tree & Actung Baby
Prince = 1999 & Purple Rain
Rolling Stones = Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street
The Who = Tommy & Who's Next
The Cure = Kiss Me & Disintegration
Oasis = Definitelyt Maybe & What's The Story
Radiohead = The Bends & OK Computer
Pearl Jam = Ten & Vs
Michael Jackson = Off The Wall & Thriller
Joni Mitchell = Blue & Court and Spark
NIN = Pretty Hate Machine & The Downward Spiral
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