# Bands that went out on a high note with their last album? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-went-out-on-a-high-note-with-their-last-album/709989 "2015-01-16T16:11:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-went-out-on-a-high-note-with-their-last-album/709989/61 "2015-01-18T18:19:54Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Good answers! (Except… “Steve”?) Two errors, it’s Stewart and there not their. ---
**Author:** ![Lemmytheseal2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lemmytheseal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemmytheseal2)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-went-out-on-a-high-note-with-their-last-album/709989/62 "2015-01-18T20:32:58Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > **The Smiths** - [Strangeways Here We Come](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangeways,_Here_We_Come) Yes, good one. Also, did we decide if disbanding-due-to-death counts or not, because if so, Joy Division’s **Closer** and Nick Drake’s **Pink Moon** are examples. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-went-out-on-a-high-note-with-their-last-album/709989/63 "2015-01-18T21:40:50Z")
I don’t think LPs like “Blind Faith” or “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs” should count in this thread. I’m not saying that they aren’t great albums, but when they were made, the musicians did NOT go into the studio with the attitude “Well, this will be our last album, we might as well go out on a high note!”. Blind Faith and Derek et al broke up on their post release promotional tours. “Good-bye Cream”, on the other hand, could count. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-went-out-on-a-high-note-with-their-last-album/709989/64 "2015-01-19T02:22:18Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Simon and Garfunkle’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was their last album and, until “Thriller”, was the best selling album ever. Was it? I’d always heard “Tapestry” was, although Wiki rounds both off to 25 million. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-went-out-on-a-high-note-with-their-last-album/709989/65 "2015-01-19T15:58:04Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Yeeeahhh…to my understanding it was not such a clean, friendly break. It may not have been public, but apparently the rest of The Band was not quite on the same wavelength with Robbie Robertson breaking everything up and kind of resented it. Apparently there were indeed some genuine hard feelings in the aftermath. And they would reform to tour and cut new albums without Robertson a few years after The Last Waltz. Levon Helm in particular seems to have developed some real issues with Robertson, particularly over copyrights. I didn’t know about those three post-LW studio albums they made without Robertson (who was their main songwriter), so you’re right - that alone disqualifies them by my own criteria. Sigh - another illusion shattered. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-went-out-on-a-high-note-with-their-last-album/709989/66 "2015-01-19T17:04:03Z")
> [@Lemmytheseal2](#): > > Yes, good one. Also, did we decide if disbanding-due-to-death counts or not, because if so, Joy Division’s **Closer** and Nick Drake’s **Pink Moon** are examples. I think disbanding due to death counts, since there are several examples of the remaining members of a band trying to keep it going after a death of a key member (like The Doors, as mentioned- shoulda hung it up after JM’s death and let LA Woman stand as the last album). What I _ **don’t** _ think counts is saying, “LA Woman, because I don’t count the albums after Morrison died” or “Van Halen’s “1984”-- I don’t count the later albums with that guy who can’t drive the speed limit”. They made many albums as Van Halen with that guy, and if you consider those inferior, that’s the very definition of milking it. If you want to make an argument that their last album with the speedy guy (or was it the guy from Exxtreme)? Was a high point to go out on, fine, though I may personally not agree. Pink Floyd arguably did their best work with Roger Waters after Syd Barrett left. Someone up thread said he thought post-Waters “Division Bell” was a high point for Floyd to go out on. I don’t personally agree, never liked the post-Waters stuff, but I think it’s a valid argument under my OP. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-went-out-on-a-high-note-with-their-last-album/709989/67 "2015-01-19T17:20:24Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Was it? I’d always heard “Tapestry” was, although Wiki rounds both off to 25 million. Well, I was going by what Wikipedia said (always a questionable move), but the point is still valid – their S&G’s last album was immensely popular. So I think you can say they went out on a high note. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-went-out-on-a-high-note-with-their-last-album/709989/68 "2015-01-19T22:21:40Z")
The Police’s last full studio album was _Synchronicity_. Far and away their best recording, with Side 2 being a perfect side, no duds. The only real _bleh_ song on the entire record was “Mother,” an Andy Summers oddity, and even that has an interesting 7/4 (or possibly 7/8, I haven’t looked at the sheet music) time signature going for it. I mean, this single album includes “Synchronicity I,” “Synchronicity II,” “King of Pain,” “Every Breath You Take,” “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” “Tea in the Sahara,” and “Murder By Numbers.” It’s crazy! I consider “O My God” and “Walking in Your Footsteps” solid songs too, especially the former. Even “Miss Gradenko” is cute, if not on a par with the rest (albeit still better than “Mother.”) ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-went-out-on-a-high-note-with-their-last-album/709989/69 "2015-01-20T06:40:28Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > This isn’t always a popular opinion among Replacements fans, but similarly I think that _All Shook Down_ was a fine swan-song. Yeah, it’s an agreeable set of songs, even if it doesn’t reach the transcendent heights of their earlier work. In addition, the only time that I ever saw them play live was when they were touring behind this album, so it gets a few bonus points for me on pure sentimentality. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-went-out-on-a-high-note-with-their-last-album/709989.md?page=3)