The hell you say! Reroute to Remain was a brilliant album, almost perfect. However, it’s certainly a shame that they got mired in that sound, and from Come Clarity onward it was shark-jumping time.
Dark Tranquility achieved perfection with Projector and The Mind’s Eye, but as with In Flames, became generic SMDM with Damage Done, Character, and onward.
Carcass possibly jumped the shark before Heartwork, most certainly after.
Opeth, despite the mixed reception of Heritage, IMO ain’t even near the waterskis.
Clearly, the Zombies jumped the shark after Time Of The Season!
I cannot agree with anyone that deems post-Syd Barret Floyd to be inferior to when Syd was in the band. That psychedelic “whimsy” was utter trash, IMO. I have tried and tried to get into that music and for whatever reason I just can’t stand it. Dreck like “See Emily Play” and “Arnold Layne” make me think of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyWo6Y-i-U0
I also disagree that Animals was the last great album the Floyd recorded…The Wall, for all it’s self-loathing faults, is still one of the best concept albums ever and has some excellent, if depressing, tracks on it that stand up still today.
I don’t understand how Meddle, Dark Side, Animals, WYWH and the Wall aren’t all pantheonic. Personal preferences are one thing; strong penchants for Syd or loving Rodger’s solo work to the point where Final Cut is in someone’s favourites list certainly make sense. But to say they *jumped the shark *before any of those Floyd-defining albums is simply mind-boggling.
ETA: KarlGauss, have you ever listened to Journey before Steve Perry joined? Completely different animals (heh): from a great session band to lobotomy rock.
Ok, I know this was posted ten years ago but LOL at U2 jumping the shark with “The Joshua Tree.” Just…LOL, I say. It’s only their magnum opus!
Other ten-years-late comments on Depeche Mode: IMO, Violator is their apex, Songs of Faith and Devotion was a very close second, and then it was all downhill after that. I could still listen to subsequent albums and not want to rip my ears off, but there’s just no soul there any more.
Yeah, and Pink Floyd with DSotM? :dubious: Some people don’t understand what “Jumped the Shark” means. (Hint: It doesn’t mean ‘reached their peak and then started to decline’)
I think the problem with Joshua Tree is that the first three tracks all share a sort of “sameness” that gets old when listening to the album straight through. These days, I often bypass some/all of them and listen to the rest of the album much more.
Achtung Baby is a killer album, and I think has a much more raw, energized, and personal feel than Joshua Tree. If I were going to pick one to keep in my collection and one to throw away, it’d be close, but I think I’d ditch Joshua Tree.
Heck, I wouldn’t even say that it took him a few years. Body of Song came out the year after that post, and even though Bob felt the need to toss a couple of annoying techno-influenced songs into the mix, I thought it was pretty much a strong return to form. I’ve really enjoyed all of the albums that he has put out since then (helped in no small part, I’d say, by the fact that he has recruited the drummer from Superchunk, one of my other all-time faves, as a regular musical collaborator). God willing, he’ll stick to his guitar and just keep knocking them out of the park.
I love how the phrase developed from a Happy Days episode where Arthur Fonzarelli literally jumped a shark on his motorcycle. It makes it even more bizarre. What if the shark had lasers on it’s frikkin’ head? What then?
