The Average Shelf-Life Of A Band

bogey_j · 01-20-2010, 05:22 PM

Okay, shelf-life is a bad term to describe what I'm talking about. But how many albums does it take before a band or an artist starts to fall off artistically?

IMO, I feel an artist usually says everything they had to say with their first 3 albums. After that the quality of their music starts to drop by either repeating themselves, or experimenting for the sake of experimenting and failing at it. But this doesn't really apply to any band before 1975, because back then the top bands used to put out albums every 6 months, so its hard to say..

jackhammer · 01-20-2010, 05:25 PM

Most hyped bands rarely last 2 albums but then there are tons of bands that can still pump out consistently interesting music over 3 albums easily. Got some examples of bands who fit your criteria?

duga · 01-20-2010, 05:25 PM

i don't think there is a standard. it depends on the type of music, style of the artist, talent of the artist, and general public interest in what the artist is doing.

i can think of a band for any situation.

first album was all they needed: stone roses
two albums was all they needed: korn (weird example...but hey first two albums are actually pretty solid)
released a ton of albums and then hit their stride: yo la tengo, rush
every release was solid no matter what: the beatles, led zeppelin

point is you can never tell...it really all depends.

adidasss · 01-20-2010, 06:08 PM

Led Zeppelin, really? Every album?

duga · 01-20-2010, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adidasss

Led Zeppelin, really? Every album?

i'm not saying every album is a classic, but i am saying that every album is listenable and offers something to music in general (to me anyway...)

Rickenbacker · 01-20-2010, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duga

i'm not saying every album is a classic, but i am saying that every album is listenable and offers something to music in general (to me anyway...)

In Through the Out Door was shit. And the Beatles certainly weren't perfect either. With the Beatles, Beatles for Sale, and Yellow Submarine were all shit. Nobody is holy.

duga · 01-20-2010, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rickenbacker

In Through the Out Door was shit. And the Beatles certainly weren't perfect either. With the Beatles, Beatles for Sale, and Yellow Submarine were all shit. Nobody is holy.

yet i know people that would live and die by all those albums. i was talking in a general sense...there are bands where it can be generally agreed by all their fans that they should have ended after a certain number of albums.

lucifer_sam · 01-20-2010, 08:17 PM

I'd say three or four years. By then a band will either break up, hit mainstream, or go down the toilet altogether, and in the process alienate most of their original fans. Bands outlive their welcome all the time, they're what the music industry hangs onto.

**Janszoon** · 01-20-2010, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bogey_j

IMO, I feel an artist usually says everything they had to say with their first 3 albums. After that the quality of their music starts to drop by either repeating themselves, or experimenting for the sake of experimenting and failing at it.

I'm not so sure I agree with this. It's certainly true of some artists, but there are also a lot of artists who take a couple albums before they really find their voice. Tom Waits, Faith No More, Ministry and Ween are all examples that come to mind.

storymilo · 01-20-2010, 08:28 PM

A lot of jazz artists seem to release huge amounts of albums with classics sort of scattered randomly throughout. Miles Davis for example:

Miles Davis discography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

01-20-2010, 05:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
bogey_j Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 95	The Average Shelf-Life Of A Band Okay, shelf-life is a bad term to describe what I'm talking about. But how many albums does it take before a band or an artist starts to fall off artistically? IMO, I feel an artist usually says everything they had to say with their first 3 albums. After that the quality of their music starts to drop by either repeating themselves, or experimenting for the sake of experimenting and failing at it. But this doesn't really apply to any band before 1975, because back then the top bands used to put out albums every 6 months, so its hard to say..

01-20-2010, 05:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	Most hyped bands rarely last 2 albums but then there are tons of bands that can still pump out consistently interesting music over 3 albums easily. Got some examples of bands who fit your criteria? __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

01-20-2010, 05:25 PM	#3 (permalink)
duga MB quadrant's JM Vincent Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 3,762	i don't think there is a standard. it depends on the type of music, style of the artist, talent of the artist, and general public interest in what the artist is doing. i can think of a band for any situation. first album was all they needed: stone roses two albums was all they needed: korn (weird example...but hey first two albums are actually pretty solid) released a ton of albums and then hit their stride: yo la tengo, rush every release was solid no matter what: the beatles, led zeppelin point is you can never tell...it really all depends. __________________ Confusion will be my epitaph...

01-20-2010, 06:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
adidasss Slavic gay sauce Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 7,993	Led Zeppelin, really? Every album? __________________ “Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Last.fm

01-20-2010, 08:17 PM	#8 (permalink)
lucifer_sam Unrepentant Ass-Mod Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 3,921	I'd say three or four years. By then a band will either break up, hit mainstream, or go down the toilet altogether, and in the process alienate most of their original fans. Bands outlive their welcome all the time, they're what the music industry hangs onto. __________________ first.am

01-20-2010, 08:28 PM	#10 (permalink)
storymilo Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,845	A lot of jazz artists seem to release huge amounts of albums with classics sort of scattered randomly throughout. Miles Davis for example: Miles Davis discography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia