Bands that still made good music after their "golden era"?

i think Tattoo You was the last GREAT RS record, ramshackle affair that it is. also, i think Blue and Lonesome is their best release since.

 

With Steppin Out Joe Jackson peaked but his last three albums were strong and signalled a comeback.

 

The Blockheads. Lyrically, there have been some very high points. Not as consistently good as with Ian, but good nonetheless. Musically, it's The Blockheads. That genius hasn't faded at all.
Motorhead. Overkill, Bomber & Ace Of Spades aren't the be all and end all of Motorhead.
Killing Joke. Not sure they ever had a defined golden era. Strong albums all along.
Richard Thompson. Nary a dud.
Elvis Costello. Consistently interesting, even if he doesn't get the airplay.
Iron Maiden.
Rory Gallagher. Another choice where the golden era is tricky to define.

Some bands have been hit and miss post glory years. UFO for example. The first couple of albums with Tonka stand well. The reunion with Michael followed a strong album with a silly name ( High Stakes & Dangerous Men ) with a masterpiece ( Walk On Water ) when Michael, Paul Raymond and Andy Parker were at the helm. Something of a curates egg at times.
Hawkwind. Personal choice dictates the Lemmy albums signalled the glory years. There have been strong albums since, much good music. Some tripe.

 

Exactly! I always say - I can't think of anyone else whose music later in life is better than their earlier stuff. And I loved his early stuff.

 

Ry Cooder has been making great music for many, many years.
I can't think of a single CD he has made that wan't good and several are in my top ten list.
He is among a very small group of musicians I would pay to see.
Others are Los Lobos and Leo Kottke.

Mark

 

Steve Earle
Lyle Lovett
Rodney Crowell
Ray Wylie Hubbard
Willie Nelson


bunch a dern Texans!

 

Yes, to the Dude Looks like a Lady album (Permanent Vacation?). Saw them on that tour and they were great - I think it was one of the few times that they were sober too. Joe Perry was a monster. Guns and Roses opened for them on the Appetite for Destruction tour. So it was a great show all around.

No, to what they did after that. I saw them on the next two tours in the '90s and by the last show the audience was mostly teen girls and they were doing a bunch of pop ballads. Horrible.

 

the Cult

 

Rolling Stones, Rush, Pink Floyd, Cheap Trick - you guys are killing me. All were beloved bands for me once and they've all stunk since the early '80s. Just thinking about post-Waters Floyd and keyboard based Rush is making my stomach turn. Next someone's gonna say '80s Genesis and I'm officially gonna flip out.

 

Ricky Skaggs
Marty Stuart
Chris Hillman
Dwight Yoakum

 

no doubt. Billy Duffy is one of the tastiest hard rock players of that era, and he hasn't slowed down a bit.

 

Merle Haggard. He rode that train all the way home.

 

Robert Palmer.

Unfortunately, most people don’t know anything (before or after) “Addicted to Love” (which was a great era for him, considering I don’t like a lot of 80’s stuff)...his early NOLA-influenced stuff was great, his rocked-up pop, then “Riptide” and the Power Station discs—all good...

But he kept making good albums.
IMHO, his last (I think) album, Drive, was as good as anything he made earlier.

 

I've only got 'Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley' It has to be a high point of sorts for him. The Meters,Lowell George, Alan Toussaint and Simon Phillips backing him, it had to be good. It couldn't be anything but with that cast. I must explore his catalogue further.

 

Opinions are opinions so I’m not arguing or saying I’m right and you’re wrong, but I gotta go with no on this one. I’ll give them up to Permanent Vacation as mentioned previously, maybe even through Pump, but once What It Takes became big, all they did was write that song over and over again.

jh

 

One more from me: Tom Petty. You could say the Heartbreakers’ “golden era” was up to Southern Accents, probably. Dude never produced a bad album, till the day he died.

Still, Damn the Torpedoes is the one.

 

Agree to disagree, on both counts. To me, Tattoo You is just a mess of leftovers. If I never hear Start Me Up again, it’ll be too soon. I really like the mellow side 2 though.

And I just found Blue and Lonesome disappointing. Tonally, it’s all just one palate. Every track sounded like it was recorded with the same guitars, same amps, same everything. It could have been so much more... exciting.

 

i think that's why i liked it. the live feel of the recording is a big plus for me.

 

Classic rock radio stations have probably hurt many of these people mentioned. You won’t hear any new material from people like Plant,Springsteen or the Stones among others on these stations which is why I listen to public radio or independent radio.

 

I actually like the Mudcrutch stuff he was doing in his last couple of years better than anything he'd done since the early '80s.