Rock groups that should have quit long ago when they were good.

WindSock · 03-01-2010 05:38PM

Paul McCartney should've stopped at the Beatles. 'Mull of Kintyre' /shudder

Bob Dylan, saw him last year. Seems like he is just in it for the money now.

The White Stripes. Don't enjoy much of their most recent stuff much.

U2 used to be good when they weren't (one of) the biggest bands in the world. Suppose it comes with the territory.

K-Ren · 03-01-2010 05:38PM

U2 really should have called time on things after POP, because they've only gone backwards and gotten steadily worse. Unknown Caller was the only song on their latest with any sort of decent sound. Zooropa, Original Soundtracks 1 and POP had them on a hot streak.

Bobby D's new stuff ain't bad, and since he doesn't make any pretensions about how 'this album is the most progressive, new blah blah I've ever done' it's fine.

Basically, when a rock band starts using back-up singers, it's time to end it. Ala Use Your Illusion or 70s-80s Clapton. Ugggghh...

RonMexico · 03-01-2010 05:45PM

K-Ren wrote: »

Basically, when a rock band starts using back-up singers, it's time to end it. Ala Use Your Illusion or 70s-80s Clapton. Ugggghh...

You know what bugs me is that Axl is the one who always gets blamed for GNR bringing in the backing singers and horn section. In fact it was Slash who made that decision and then when people didn't like it he tried to make out it was Axl who was behind it. Take a look at GNR now - no backing singers and no horn section. (BTW I am not saying that you made that accusation or anything)

Big Nasty · 03-01-2010 05:47PM

Status Quo! :eek:

K-Ren · 03-01-2010 05:49PM

RonMexico wrote: »

You know what bugs me is that Axl is the one who always gets blamed for GNR bringing in the backing singers and horn section. In fact it was Slash who made that decision and then when people didn't like it he tried to make out it was Axl who was behind it. Take a look at GNR now - no backing singers and no horn section. (BTW I am not saying that you made that accusation or anything)

I think I'm going to go watch the video for November Rain now!

rossie1977 · 03-01-2010 05:50PM

Dardania wrote: »

Another is Snow Patrol - after Final Straw they crossed the good/commercial line to the boring formulaic commercial side...

c'mon snow patrol have released some great stuff since final straw, their only crime since final straw is they became popular so cue the "they sold out" crap

U2 have brought out some good singles especially on All That You Can't Leave Behind and atomic bomb

metallica haven't released anything original even coming close to decent since their self titled album in 1991, they still rock live though

bonerm · 03-01-2010 05:53PM

RonMexico wrote: »

He hasn't got a wig

Nah he has one of those old technology hair-transplant procedures that reads like a horror story if you study at the X Y Z of how it's done .. I think it was called a "flap method" or something like that.

Back on topic :

Smashing Pumpkins should have quit PERMANENTLY in 1998 after the adore Tour.

REM should have quit in 1996 after the release of NewAdventures in HIFI.

Both were great, experimental albums and coincidentally both bands were missing their drummers. After that however their respective output subsequent to ADORE/NEWadventures is at best tedious and at worst cringeworthy.

Ulysses Gaze · 03-01-2010 06:12PM

Purely Metal bands......

Metallica - Nothing really worth talking about, Album wise, since The Black Album. Death Magnetic is an improvement on the last three, but they've lost the fire of 1983-1991.

Ozzy - Probably should have quit around the No More Tears album back in 1991. Has released some pretty patchy albums since then. And let's not forget that abomination of a song 'Dreamer'

Motörhead - Lemmy may be God, but God's been away on other Business since 'Bastards' in 1993.

Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son back in 1988 was their last really great album. The rest have been treading water.

Slayer - Slayer's problem has been that they haven't evolved at all musically since 1991. So 'Seasons in the Abyss' is their last really good album.

El Siglo · 03-01-2010 06:31PM

Really the Rolling Stones should have quit as mentioned before 79-80, but just for the shear novelty of them now I'd like to see them keep going till at least they go completely senile. Muse are getting too commercial, their next album will show whether or not they're just doing it for the money. Their recent album was pretty shit to say the least. A band I would like to see finish up is the Kings of Leon. They're gone way to commercial (first and second albums were absolute genius, third and fourth were bags of shite), you know a band has sold itself out when its music is played in Coppers and appears on a 'Now' album. Another band I think that should go gently into the night are the Foo Fighters, was a fan of them when I was in secondary school but their music now is pretty bad. There really isn't any good music or bands anymore.

Seaneh · 03-01-2010 06:40PM

Metallica

/thread

Run_to_da_hills · 03-01-2010 07:00PM

Bono is another one that should have quit years ago.

He is now demanding Internet Control.

qwertplaywert · 03-01-2010 07:01PM

As previously stated, Weezer- Going from producing two of the outstanding albums of the 90s, to the **** they put out now is shocking.

slipss · 03-01-2010 08:07PM

Oasis - Were back on form for Heathen Chemistry, anything done after was muck.

Eminem - The Eminem Show was the start of a very rapid decline.

Agree with Dylan, Stones, Metallica and U2 aswell.

ashyle · 03-01-2010 08:44PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

c'mon snow patrol have released some great stuff since final straw, their only crime since final straw is they became popular so cue the "they sold out" crap

U2 have brought out some good singles especially on All That You Can't Leave Behind and atomic bomb

metallica haven't released anything original even coming close to decent since their self titled album in 1991, they still rock live though

Snow Patrol are crap now... that 'Take Back the City' single is the laziest songwriting in a long time.

civis_liberalis · 03-01-2010 08:47PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

AC/DC are one of the only classic rock groups that have kept it up. Their black ice tour was outstanding and was one of the Best live shows I have been to.

I wasn't terribly amused when I heard black ice was coming out, but I was pleasantly surprised, some great tunes.

A friend saw them on the Barcelona leg of their tour. "Epic" was how he described it.

chopperbyrne · 03-01-2010 08:52PM

I thought AC/DC were fairly rubbish down in Punchestown.

RonMexico · 03-01-2010 08:55PM

chopperbyrne wrote: »

I thought AC/DC were fairly rubbish down in Punchestown.

Yoy gotta be kidding me. You weren't they guy that was so pissed out of his skull that he passed out in a stream of other peoples piss by any chance?

chopperbyrne · 03-01-2010 08:59PM

Nope, they just weren't very good.

4zn76tysfajdxp · 03-01-2010 09:00PM

Metallica should've quit after And Justice For All.

RonMexico · 03-01-2010 09:03PM

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Nope, they just weren't very good.

Christ you have high standards then because the amount of people that said it was one of the best gigs they have ever been to is unreal. The footage on youtube more than proves this. I was at the gig and had the time of my life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtqnxH-hUvM

grumpytrousers · 03-01-2010 09:13PM

I can't really disagree with any of the acts mentioned already; it's nearly always the case that (I think with the exception of Madness, who seem to have taken 30 years to release their magnum opus, Norton Folgate!) the best a band is at is when they're young, lean and hungry. Once 'happiness' with their lot, whether brought about by wives, glamour, drugs or being surrounded by 'yes-men' who tell them that this new album is *just* what the world is waiting for, it's inevitable that they'll start to release a load of muck!

Thing is...WHAT ELSE DO THEY DO? The Stones are a prime example. If they had stopped after Some Girls - and that's as good a high point as any to go out on - where then? Can you imagine Keith Richards just sitting around the house for the rest of his days? Christ, he's not going to go out and get a job in his local Walmart; he doesn't need it. But what can he do? The only sodding thing that he knows how to do - play guitar and write songs. He probably knows in his heart and soul that the odds (despite what the press release of the latest album says) on him coming within pissing distance of writing anything as good as an Exile era B-side are as remote as the chances of me discovering a cure for cancer by half ten; he'll still do *something* cos it's just better than doing nothing.

As for us...whether we're fans of 'when they were good' U2, Muse, Chilli Peppers or Metallica, we just need to remember the good albums and have them close to hand at ALL times...

rossie1977 · 03-01-2010 10:39PM

Halle Uneven Goalie wrote: »

Metallica should've quit after And Justice For All.

no black album then :eek:

GLaDOS · 03-01-2010 10:46PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

no black album then :eek:

Meh, overrated

rossie1977 · 03-01-2010 10:55PM

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Meh, overrated

justice is the over-rated album, not a patch on puppets or RTL, though justice does contain my favourite tallica track

Ulysses Gaze · 03-01-2010 11:03PM

The production on ...And Justice ruins it. It's a horribly tinny sound with no bass and very little bottom end.

If ever there was an album that needed to be remastered, ...And Justice is it.

bnt · 03-01-2010 11:04PM

I actually thought the Smashing Pumpkins got it right in 2000, calling a halt when they did. Their last album Machina had lots of great songs and three great videos, including about the most shocking pop music video ever made (Try, Try, Try). Then Billy goes and screws it up by re-forming the band, and he's now the only original member left ploughing on.

Fans of Progressive music might be wondering what the hell is happening with Yes: after Jon Anderson had a health scare, Chris Squire & the gang replaced him with the lead singer from a tribute band (Benoit David) - who is like Jon 20 years ago, able to reach the notes that Jon no longer can. He was supposed to be temporary, for that tour only, but 18 months later he's still up front.

I agree with grumpytrousers, though: just what do a bunch of musicians do when we decide we've had enough of them? Sometimes they go back to normal jobs e.g. I've seen the recent documentary about Anvil, which starts with the lead singer delivering school dinners before he gets the idea to try one more tour. Yes are an example of a band who were considered dead in the water by 1981, but had a "reboot" and were top of the charts in 1984. Who knows what the future holds for them now?

Retrovertigo · 04-01-2010 01:19AM

bnt wrote: »

I actually thought the Smashing Pumpkins got it right in 2000, calling a halt when they did. Their last album Machina had lots of great songs and three great videos, including about the most PRETENTIOUS pop music video ever made

FYP.

hatrickpatrick · 04-01-2010 01:33AM

I knew for a fact when I clicked on this thread that people would use it to bash modern U2. I don't understand it TBH, Pop and All That You Can'T Leave Behind weren't the best, but Atomic Bomb was amazing and Horizon was absolutely EPIC. Is anything actually bad about the songs themselves except that they don't have exactly the same guitar sound that the 80s albums did? If you heard one of the new U2 albums as a debut album from another band would you equally view it as being crap, or do people just say that because they want U2 to sound the same after 20 years of writing songs as they did when they were younger?

How can you possibly say songs like the following are no good?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uku9YcleoIo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUvBHNr28zc

slipss · 04-01-2010 01:58AM

Retrovertigo wrote: »

FYP.

Come again now? How exactly is it pretentious?

Seems it fits the song perfectly to me, is well shot, decent narrative, good acting. Not sure what else you can ask from a music video.

bnt · 04-01-2010 02:08AM

Retrovertigo wrote: »

FYP.

WTF is FYP? If you think I'm wrong, say so by all means, but who the hell gve you the right to change what I wrote? I wrote it and I meant it, and you can go and take a long walk off a short pier.

Rock groups that should have quit long ago when they were good.

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