# Bands that Jumped the Shark **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143 "2004-03-29T19:51:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/61 "2004-03-31T14:24:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Controversial? Its taken for gospel as far as any Deadhead I’ve ever known is concerned. VInce was just too cheesy for words. They had started to make a few inroads (breaking out a bunch of new covers and working up an arrangement of “Unbroken Chain” that would work), but it was too little too late. I had no idea I was in such a majority. 🙂 I agree–there was just something about the way Vince played, and even about the way his keyboards sounded, that was just wrong. FWIW, I’ve heard Phil Lesh express the same sentiment–not about Vince, but that they never really “caught the fire” after 1990. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/62 "2004-03-31T14:47:45Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > And **jarbabyj** , how come we’ve never talked Mode before? Because I’ve been all wrapped up in **Rammstein** as of late (who claim Depeche Mode as an influence, one of the bands they could hear in East Germany). My favorites of Depeche Mode are songs that people rarely think of, like Photographic, Halo, Ice Machine, Sea of Sin, Happiest Girl. I saw them live on the Violator tour with Nitzer Ebb (foreshadowing of my German fetish???) and it was such a perfect, beautiful experience that I’ve never seen them again for fear of sullying that day 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/63 "2004-03-31T16:10:55Z")
I tried to post this before, but it was eaten by hamsters. **Lynnard Skynnard** jumped when the three bandmembers died in the plane crash. **Tom Petty** jumped after the release of the album with “You Wreck Me” and “You Don’t Know How it Feels.” Good album. He has been no where after this. I can’t remember the name! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![International\_Playboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/48db29/32.png) [@International\_Playboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/International_Playboy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/64 "2004-04-01T00:57:42Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > I had no idea I was in such a majority. 🙂 I agree–there was just something about the way Vince played, and even about the way his keyboards sounded, that was just wrong. > > FWIW, I’ve heard Phil Lesh express the same sentiment–not about Vince, but that they never really “caught the fire” after 1990. I wasn’t a big fan until I saw them live after the **After Dark** album came out. Saw them every time they came to Phoenix after that. After Jerry’s death, when the Furthur Fest started forsaking Phoenix, I even made a trip to San Diego to see one there. I was a Tubes fan though, so I liked the fact that Vince Welnick was playing with them. Never got to see the Tubes live, so I settled on a Tube (I guess The Tubes still tour, but not with the same lineup or their elaborate stages anymore). ---
**Author:** ![The\_27th\_Evil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@The\_27th\_Evil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_27th_Evil)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/65 "2004-04-01T01:56:07Z")
::Puddle of Evil who just listened to live U2/REM version of “One” mode on:: Nothing, not even **Pop** or **Up** , will ever decrease my love for REM or U2. I wholeheartledly believe that they can top War or Automatic for the People again… ::Puddle of Evil who just listened to live U2/REM version of “One” mode off:: ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/66 "2004-04-01T23:03:24Z")
I love that version of One! I never really thought much of it as a song until I heard Michael Stipe sing it. And I know this really puts me in the minority, but I love the album Out of Time. ---
**Author:** ![Psychophobia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b19c9b/32.png) [@Psychophobia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psychophobia)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/67 "2014-02-09T10:03:50Z")
Metallica - The Black Album (1991) - Although, I love half of this album (Sad but True, Through the Never, of Wolf and Man, Wherever I may roam…), the moment when I heard the first single, Enter Sandman, on Zrock, it was a huge let down and a harbinger of doom. The over simplistic, uninspired, pop song with absolutely no edge and none of the powerful ambition on the less than perfect, but still passionate Justice album and not to mention awful lyrics, that was the moment. And a completely Black Album cover - tell me that’s not Spinal Tap. Megadeth - Risk (1999) - BAD Iron Maiden - Dance of Death (2003) - In retrospect they went downhill WAY earlier, but this is when I first noticed it. No gallop whatsoever… boring, plodding, pseudo-progressive snoozefest, and the albums after this were the same. This is the moment I stopped liking stuff like Dream Theater and started liking extreme metal a lot more. Black Sabbath - Born Again (1983) - I love this album, I’m even one of the few people who love the artwork. But when they started excepting this amount of lineup changes was when the band no longer had any hope of keeping up with Ozzy in popularity, and more importantly, the music took a HUGE dive right after this. I actually think their first bad album was Technical Ecstasy, and loved the Dio stuff and Born again, but changing lead singers once and surviving is amazing, doing it twice is impossible, after this it was the Iommi solo project with a lot of boring hired guns. Morbid Angel - illud divinum insanus rar (2011) - You would have to hear this to believe it. Aerosmith - whenever that first boring ass ballad with the overproduced video with Tyler’s daughter came out. I don’t remember the song’s name, because there were about five of them around that time which all sounded the same. Judas Priest - Turbo (1986) - Honorable mention for jumping back (one album only) with Painkiller in 1990 Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies (1994) - they went from good to boring so quickly. Danzig 5 - Blackaciddevil (1996) - Some would say Danzig 4 because they (he) started experimenting with industrial, but I think it mostly worked and still had that bluesy hard rock song still intact. This album, however, was just sad. Guns n Roses - when Axl became the only original member - don’t remember when it was or who as the last, Slash or Duff, but it just should have been called Axl Rose after that. Waiting about 50 years for Chinese Democracy and changing band members sixty times while recording the album kind of proves my point…also the album itself - BAD. In Flames - the album after Clayman - I don’t want to look the name up, it makes me sad. Led Zeppelin - In through the out door (last album of new stuff) - I love Presence - I hate this - very synth pop sounding, no edge, no groove. I don’t understand how everyone in the world doesn’t agree with me on this one. Manowar - Louder than Hell (1996) - I know I’m an immature dork for liking this band at all. Shut up. Mastodon - The Hunter (2011) - I hate to be so cliche, but it’s true. It’s not the un-heavy songs on it that I hate, though. I Love me some “Curl” and said “Burl.” I hate the “heavy” songs on this for the midlife crisis value. In the midsts of a very different, mellower album, “Deathbound” sounds so desperate. The Sword (2010) - Warp Riders - not hating it for trying something new, just a serious decline from its perfect predecessor, “Gods of the Earth.” Van Halen - Diver Down (1982) - What was supposed to be an EP getting fleshed out to a full length album by stuffing in some jokes, outtakes, and bad remakes, an omen of the fat, irrelevance, and laziness that was to come with 1984, and from which they’ve never returned. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/68 "2014-02-09T10:30:48Z")
> [@TitoBenito](#): > > **The Clash** fired Mick Jones and a few years later released “Cut the Crap”. Fortunately they took their own advise. > [@Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](#): > > geez…really…the Clash is my favorite band **EVARR** , but I still cannot bring myself to listen to _that_ album > > Imagine if McCartney kicked Lennon out of the Beatles and hired a shitload of crappy/unknown guitar players to replace him. > > No. Would not work. You’ve got the timeline wrong and the person wrong: The Clash died when they gave Topper the heave-ho, BUT they had to give him the heave-ho: his heroin habit was out of control. If you think I’m wrong, go watch _Westway to the World_ and then we’ll talk. But **Kneepants** , don’t worry, **no one** listens to that album. Somewhere around my house I know I have a print media story with Joe himself saying it was an awful experience to make that record and that even he can’t stand to listen to it. ETA: Well, he _couldn’t_ stand to listen to it. When he was alive. Still. Just wanted to be clear about that. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/69 "2014-02-09T13:49:20Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **RealityChuck** > > **Rolling Stones** - Some Girls - but, after shooting so high for so long, they had no choice but to either break up or produce mediocre materials. Agree completely. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/70 "2014-02-09T14:07:26Z")
For me, Pink Floyd jumped the shark with Dark Side. They started out with brilliant psychedelic whimsy, developed (post-Syd) into cool spack-rock, and then devolved into self-obsessed self-indulgent twaddle. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/71 "2014-02-09T15:05:46Z")
Well, clearly the Zombies took a dive about April first, 2004. I have to take exception with the claims that the Dead jumped after losing Brent. Cite: [So Many Roads](http://www.headyversion.com/song/310/grateful-dead/so-many-roads/). Along with [Days Between](http://www.headyversion.com/song/335/grateful-dead/days-between/)and others, it made a call to classic Jerry tunes, emotional whirlwinds that eased your soul. The couple Bruce years were a lot of fun, but I’ve been a solo Bruce fan for a while. Not that losing Brent wasn’t a huge loss, just that there were gems among the final years and a huge amount of promise. And Vince wasn’t all bad; [Samba in the Rain](http://www.headyversion.com/song/341/grateful-dead/samba-in-the-rain/)hits some good notes, and [Tomorrow Never Knows](http://www.headyversion.com/song/355/grateful-dead/baba-oriley-tomorrow-never-knows/) were pretty good. Hey, '77 was one of their peak years–but Keith on keys the 'boards didn’t overly shine (and as much as I love her on PitB and Music Never Stopped, well, Donna). (Note that Corrina could probably be a counter-cite, and though I’d give my right arm for just one more, I thought the Liberty closer was overdone). ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/72 "2014-02-09T15:09:02Z")
**Fairport Convention** - When Sandy Dennis left **Beach Boys** - After “Pet Sounds”. Brian Wilson put the kibosh on the guys performing at Monterey 67 (he wasn’t touring with them anyway, why did he care?). After that they were mostly just a nostalgia act, even though they did have the occasional hit. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/73 "2014-02-09T15:27:29Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **Renaissance** – after Keith Relf quit. :dubious: Seems to me that they came into their stride with their new (and almost universally acknowledged) classic lineup. I mean, “Mother Russia”, “Can You Hear Me?”, “Song of Scheherazade”, “Carpet of the Sun” (which just shuffled on my computer’s player)…? [Only posted because **RC** is still an active member.] [This Doper was last on on Jan 8 of this year, so he gets some too…] > [@Nutty\_Bunny](#): > > I’ll add mine from the above referenced thread: > > **U2** - “The Joshua Tree” > **REM** - “Monster” Fully agreed on the latter, but I still don’t get the hate for _Joshua Tree_ that I’ve seen here and elsewhere; seems like that album represents a group at their absolute peak. I’d definitely peg **U2** as having lost It on _Zooropa_-that album is just so durned boring and lifeless. Other people have pegged **REM** as having lost in sometime in their IRS years, which, given the existence of both _Out of Time_ and _Automatic For the People_, is also incomprehensible to me (even if you hate “Shiny Happy People” as much as Michael Stipe does)… I do think _Reveal_ was a nice return to form, even if I am a minority of one. As for me, I have to comment on my favorite band, Australia’s **The Church** , when they penned _Magician Among the Spirits_, almost wholly abandoning their core strengths (melodic guitar counterpoint, hooks, powerful propulsive rhythm section) for ambient noodling. With a few exceptions here and there, they subsequently left that sound at the curb, drifting into fuzzed-out psychedelia. I honestly don’t get it when a band deliberately goes out of their way to eschew their core strengths-I really don’t. **Echo and the Bunnymen** -definitely after _Ocean Rain_ (tho that album despite its quality indicated the death knell for classic post-punk, both in their specific case as well as in general), tho “Lips Like Sugar” is probably my favorite cut from them, ever. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/74 "2014-02-09T15:31:41Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **Rolling Stones** - Some Girls - but, after shooting so high for so long, they had no choice but to either break up or produce mediocre materials. WordMan, is that still your opinion? I love _Tattoo You_. “Start Me Up,” “Slave,” “Hang Fire,” “Little T&A,” “Neighbors,” “Waiting on a Friend”…seems like a really strong album to me, one that still holds up…that’s the album I would pick for the Stones as the end of their greatness, the last point in their relevance as a cultural force (outside of being iconic for their catalog and history)… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/75 "2014-02-09T15:38:20Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > WordMan, is that still your opinion? I love _Tattoo You_. “Start Me Up,” “Slave,” “Hang Fire,” “Little T&A,” “Neighbors,” “Waiting on a Friend”…seems like a really strong album to me, one that still holds up…that’s the album I would pick for the Stones as the end of their greatness, the last point in their relevance as a cultural force (outside of being iconic for their catalog and history)… I can’t argue the point - I enjoy that album. I don’t put it up at the same level as their Big 4+Some Girls, but totally get why others would… ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/76 "2014-02-09T16:48:09Z")
> [@TwistofFate](#): > > \throw it all away because you can afford really fast cars and are shagging Denise Van Outen.\ Well, in Jay Kay’s defense, if I were shagging [Denise Van Outen](https://www.google.com/search?q=Denise+Van+Outen&espv=210&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=HrD3UpSCGIPEyQGAiICwDg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1600&bih=799#imgdii=_), I’d probably be distracted from writing great music, and would want to brag about her to the world, too. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/77 "2014-02-09T17:45:26Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Fully agreed on the latter, but I still don’t get the hate for _Joshua Tree_ that I’ve seen here and elsewhere; seems like that album represents a group at their absolute peak. I’d definitely peg **U2** as having lost It on _Zooropa_-that album is just so durned boring and lifeless. > > Other people have pegged **REM** as having lost in sometime in their IRS years, which, given the existence of both _Out of Time_ and _Automatic For the People_, is also incomprehensible to me (even if you hate “Shiny Happy People” as much as Michael Stipe does)… I do think _Reveal_ was a nice return to form, even if I am a minority of one. _The Joshua Tree_ received almost unanimous critical acclaim, as well as huge sales. About the only place I’ve seen hate for it is on here, for some reason. I was already a big U2 fan, and I still remember the day I went to the music store and bought it. IMO, it’s a nearly flawless album but sometimes I enjoy _Achtung Baby_ more. As for R.E.M., _Automatic For The People_ is probably their best work. Personally, I don’t like _Out of Time_. To me, _Monster_ and _New Adventures in Hi-Fi_ are both better than _Out of Time_. I was a huge R.E.M. fan since 1983 but didn’t really follow them much after _New Adventures_. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/78 "2014-02-09T17:59:54Z")
Biggest sharkjump nosedive in my book: ELP never could have topped _Brain Salad Surgery_. When _Works_ finally came out it was obvious they’d never again come anywhere close to it. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/79 "2014-02-09T18:11:48Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > For me, Pink Floyd jumped the shark with Dark Side. > > They started out with brilliant psychedelic whimsy, developed (post-Syd) into cool spack-rock, and then devolved into self-obsessed self-indulgent twaddle. This is a totally valid POV, IMO, but since I’d still say that DSoTM and WYWH were good albums, you could also say that some of their self-obsessed self-indulgent twaddle was of a higher quality. Specifically, the change occurred with Animals, when Roger Waters began to marginalize David Gilmour’s contribution. The results stink for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/80 "2014-02-09T18:36:20Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > **Bob Mould** – when he decided to put down the guitar and start fiddling around with samplers and sequencers and drum machines (a move that prompted me to give him the derisive nickname “Depeche Mould”). Not that samplers and sequencers and drum machines are inherently bad, but he has yet to do anything remotely interesting with them. > > **Perry Farrell** – when he stopped getting high on smack and started getting high on life. Some people are just more interesting on drugs, unfortunately. When this thread was fresh, I would have agreed with you. It took a few years, but Bob’s back. I think “Silver Age” is his best solo work, rivaling his work with Sugar or even Husker Du. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143.md?page=5)