Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Help Keep Boards Alive. Support us by going ad free today. See here: https://subscriptions.boards.ie/.
If we do not hit our goal we will be forced to close the site.

Current status: https://keepboardsalive.com/

Annual subs are best for most impact. If you are still undecided on going Ad Free - you can also donate using the Paypal Donate option. All contribution helps. Thank you.
https://www.boards.ie/group/1878-subscribers-forum

Private Group for paid up members of Boards.ie. Join the club.

Which band/artist has the most consistent discography?

2456

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,034 ✭✭✭rcaz


    Another Radiohead shout here. There isn't an album I don't like, and I absolutely love all but one. I used to be of the 'Pablo Honey is ****' persuasion, but then I grew up a bit and listened to it again, and while totally different, and maybe less complicated/considered, it's still a great rock album.

    I'd love to say The Flaming Lips satisfy this, but their first 3 albums are kinda mediocre at best. Once I get past that, every one of their albums till the present day is great, albums that I'd be proud to call my own (I always think the ultimate compliment you can pay something is "I wish I could've made that..."). But Maybe Hear It Is, Oh My Gawd!!!... and Telepathic Surgery disqualify them?


  • Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 11,407 Mod ✭✭✭✭lordgoat


    Bubs101 wrote: »
    Weezer
    Bubs101 wrote: »
    Good to see the Boards' sense of humour is still here


    Alive and kicking! ;);)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,737 ✭✭✭mawk


    Neill young is still pushing good work through after all the years. Or therapy?(?)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 240 ✭✭Manchegan


    PJ Harvey - never less than totally committed.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,911 ✭✭✭✭whatawaster


    Eh . . . The Beatles

    Please Please Me
    With the Beatles
    A Hard Day's Night
    Beatles for Sale
    Help!
    Rubber Soul
    Revolver
    Sgt. Pepper's Lonley Heart's Club Band
    Magical Mystery Tour
    The Beatles
    Let it Be
    Abbey Road

    Started off as a brilliant pop band. Evolved into the most interesting, innovative and original band we're ever likely to see. They were the Radiohead of their age times a million.

    And it's really not close. Bowie, Stones and Dylan were all great, but all went into serious decline imo


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 417 ✭✭Wolf Club


    Eh . . . The Beatles

    Please Please Me
    With the Beatles
    A Hard Day's Night
    Beatles for Sale
    Help!
    Rubber Soul
    Revolver
    Sgt. Pepper's Lonley Heart's Club Band
    Magical Mystery Tour
    The Beatles
    Let it Be
    Abbey Road

    Started off as a brilliant pop band. Evolved into the most interesting, innovative and original band we're ever likely to see. They were the Radiohead of their age times a million.

    And it's really not close. Bowie, Stones and Dylan were all great, but all went into serious decline imo

    I'm as big a Beatlemaniac as the next man so i can see where you're coming from, but can you honestly say you'd listen to both discs of the White Album all the way through? Around 60% is excellent but the rest borders between average and absolute ****e! In fact, pretty much all of their albums have a few duds.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,034 ✭✭✭rcaz


    Dylan ... went into serious decline imo

    Wouldn't agree with you there... But the amazing thing about Dylan is his sheer volume of work. Have you kept up with The Bootleg Series? Volume 8: Tell Tale Signs, is 5 LPs of unreleased stuff, and it's more music than a lot of bands ever make in their whole career, and all of top-notch quality.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,486 ✭✭✭✭MrStuffins


    Wolf Club wrote: »
    I'm as big a Beatlemaniac as the next man so i can see where you're coming from, but can you honestly say you'd listen to both discs of the White Album all the way through? Around 60% is excellent but the rest borders between average and absolute ****e! In fact, pretty much all of their albums have a few duds.

    I agree here, a lot of The White Album is frankly muck!

    Also, the fact that some of their early work featured so much old work. Sure Please Please Me consists of almost 50% covers.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,911 ✭✭✭✭whatawaster


    MrStuffins wrote: »
    I agree here, a lot of The White Album is frankly muck!

    Also, the fact that some of their early work featured so much old work. Sure Please Please Me consists of almost 50% covers.

    I completely disagree about the White Album. There are a couple of poor tracks on it – but I prefer to look at it this way: It probably has more great songs than any other album I’ve ever heard. Back in the USSR, Blackbird, Happiness is a Warm Gun, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Helter Skelter, Dear Prudence . . . it’s got so much variety

    Regarding their early work – you do realize that they were working in a completely different time, when bands didn’t really write their own songs. Buddy Holly was one of the first, and the Beatles weren’t far behind.
    The fact that their early albums have covers is not a valid point of criticism imo. For one thing, they were writing more songs than any other band at the time. As well as that the quality of their covers was outstanding – Twist and Shout, Roll over Beethoven, I wanna be your man, Money – are all outstanding performances, regardless of who wrote them


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 993 ✭✭✭Twin-go


    Zwan FTW:D


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,486 ✭✭✭✭MrStuffins


    I completely disagree about the White Album. There are a couple of poor tracks on it – but I prefer to look at it this way: It probably has more great songs than any other album I’ve ever heard. Back in the USSR, Blackbird, Happiness is a Warm Gun, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Helter Skelter, Dear Prudence . . . it’s got so much variety

    Regarding their early work – you do realize that they were working in a completely different time, when bands didn’t really write their own songs. Buddy Holly was one of the first, and the Beatles weren’t far behind.
    The fact that their early albums have covers is not a valid point of criticism imo. For one thing, they were writing more songs than any other band at the time. As well as that the quality of their covers was outstanding – Twist and Shout, Roll over Beethoven, I wanna be your man, Money – are all outstanding performances, regardless of who wrote them

    Man, im a massive Beatles fan you dont have to tell me.

    But as for "regardless of who write them", i disagree.

    By this tokem i could re-record each Radiohead album on my own and stick myself in this thread.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,911 ✭✭✭✭whatawaster


    MrStuffins wrote: »
    Man, im a massive Beatles fan you dont have to tell me.

    But as for "regardless of who write them", i disagree.

    By this tokem i could re-record each Radiohead album on my own and stick myself in this thread.

    If you could record each Radiohead again to as high a standard, or a higher standard, then maybe


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 749 ✭✭✭Bill2673


    lordgoat wrote: »
    Alive and kicking! ;);)

    Simple Minds!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 749 ✭✭✭Bill2673


    I had a good long think about this,

    and I can't think of anyone.

    (certainly not Radiohead, but thats just a personal choice, evidently).

    My closest would be the Pogues.

    And the Smiths, as was mentioned.

    And Bon Iver (although the fact that he only has one album might count against him).


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,732 ✭✭✭Reganio 2


    MrStuffins wrote: »
    Man, im a massive Beatles fan you dont have to tell me.

    But as for "regardless of who write them", i disagree.

    By this tokem i could re-record each Radiohead album on my own and stick myself in this thread.
    So any band/artist that has writers for them can't be great?

    Its quite obviously not that logic that you could do it. As whatawaster said, if you could perform them to a better degree than the original artist then yeah, you can put yourself in this thread.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 749 ✭✭✭Bill2673


    MrStuffins wrote: »
    Man, im a massive Beatles fan you dont have to tell me.

    But as for "regardless of who write them", i disagree.

    By this tokem i could re-record each Radiohead album on my own and stick myself in this thread.


    On a like for like, I would consider Beatles albums from the point they first started writing all the songs.


    Certainly, from around mid 1964 when A Hard Days Night was released through to 1969 when Abbey Road was recorded, no other artist or group released material of such consistently high quality. And also, very productive, albums every nine months or so.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,034 ✭✭✭rcaz


    Bill2673 wrote: »
    And Bon Iver (although the fact that he only has one album might count against him).

    Hahah, I would say that definitely doesn't count. From a mathematical point of view :P


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 46 JayJay10


    Of course this is only my opinion but i think the following havent got a bad album between them.

    ACDC
    Kasabian
    The Strokes
    Yeah Yeah Yeahs
    Arctic Monkeys


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,486 ✭✭✭✭MrStuffins


    Reganio 2 wrote: »
    So any band/artist that has writers for them can't be great?

    Its quite obviously not that logic that you could do it. As whatawaster said, if you could perform them to a better degree than the original artist then yeah, you can put yourself in this thread.

    That's not what i'm saying. They can be great at what they do sure.

    But for me, to be considered an "artist" (your word not mine) they must first create art, not just reproduce someone elses.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 749 ✭✭✭Bill2673


    MrStuffins wrote: »
    That's not what i'm saying. They can be great at what they do sure.

    But for me, to be considered an "artist" (your word not mine) they must first create art, not just reproduce someone elses.


    So where would you leave Frank Sinatra in this scenario? Or Elvis? or Christy Moore.

    There is creative art, and there is interpretive art.

    Jeff Buckleys version of Hallelujah is a thing of beauty, although he didn't write the song.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 102 ✭✭Alan Noir


    Camera Obscura. They don't even have a bad song. Some are so-so, but no trace of a turkey.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 15,913 ✭✭✭✭loyatemu


    agree with SFA/Gruff Rhys - whilst SFA's last few records haven't been quite as good as their earlier stuff, Rhys's solo material and the Neon Neon album have more than made up for that.

    re: The Beatles, don't agree with any criticism of the White Album - its their best record and one of the best albums of all time. Yes, its chock full of ropey material, but somehow as a whole its remains awesome. Their first LP (Please Please Me) is IMO their weakest, everything else is great.

    As for Neil Young - I'm a big fan, but he's the dictionary definition of inconsistent, you really never know what you're going to get both in terms of style and quality.

    I'll throw in Tindersticks and their US equivalents Lambchop - both have released loads of records over 10+ years and I don't think there's a dud in either catalogue. Particularly impressive in the case of Tindersticks as they broke up for 6 years in the middle.

    Put your money where yer mouth is... Subscribe and Save Boards!

    https://subscriptions.boards.ie/



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,419 ✭✭✭Cool Mo D


    mawk wrote: »
    Neill young is still pushing good work through after all the years. Or therapy?(?)

    Neil Young consistent? Are you joking? He has been responsible for some awful, awful muck, along with the really great music. His record label once sued him for being so absolutely all over the place with his output.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,486 ✭✭✭✭MrStuffins


    Bill2673 wrote: »
    So where would you leave Frank Sinatra in this scenario? Or Elvis? or Christy Moore.

    There is creative art, and there is interpretive art.

    Jeff Buckleys version of Hallelujah is a thing of beauty, although he didn't write the song.

    Perhaps, but i like to think there is creative art and then interpreting someone else's art!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 405 ✭✭dream brother


    Cool Mo D wrote: »
    Neil Young consistent? Are you joking? He has been responsible for some awful, awful muck, along with the really great music. His record label once sued him for being so absolutely all over the place with his output.

    I think he was trying to get out of a contract with his record label thats why he recorded all that "muck".


  • Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 11,407 Mod ✭✭✭✭lordgoat


    I think he was trying to get out of a contract with his record label thats why he recorded all that "muck".

    I don't know.... could also have been the massive amounts of drugs...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,419 ✭✭✭Cool Mo D


    I think he was trying to get out of a contract with his record label thats why he recorded all that "muck".

    Think you might be confusing him with Lou Reed there. Nearly everything he recorded in the 80s was bad, and he tried almost every possibly genre while he was at it. Not that it really takes away from the amazing stuff he's done.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,429 ✭✭✭trashcan


    Teenage Fanclub have an almost immaculate body of work from Bandwagonesque on.Trashcan Sinatras also have a pretty much faultless back catalogue, though they've only released 5 studio albums in 20 years, but still, quality not quantity. My two favourite bands.

    (Oh and on the Beatles, they really have to almost viewed seperately to everything else in my view. Of course they did some well dodgy stuff, but they practically invented modern pop/rock music as we know it, including the absolutely crucial idea that bands would write their own material.)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,915 ✭✭✭cursai


    Midlake
    Elbow
    Radiohead
    Pink floyd


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,811 ✭✭✭Stompbox


    Phoenix would be a fairly solid candidate. Only four albums in but all stonkers.


Advertisement