I’m reminded of a music biz cliche: “You have your whole life to come up with the songs for your first album, and then you have 6 months to come up with the songs for your second.”
When you look at it in THAT light, you understand why so many artists put out brilliant first albums, and follow them up with something weak.
That said, the best debut albums I can think of are (in no special order):
“Blue Oyster Cult”
Jimi Hendrix Experience: “Are You Experienced?”
King Crimson: “In the Court of the Crimson King”
“Led Zeppelin”
Morrison made two solo albums before Moondance (Astral Weeks–which is better than Moondance IMHO–and Blowin’ Your Mind, which contains “Brown Eyed Girl.”)
I suppose the extreme example of “their first album was their best” would have to be the Sex Pistols.
Dead Kennedys-Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegtables was an important milestone of american music that changed the face of american punk rock by introducing politics and world news into the mix.
The ROIR album from BAD Brains also was an influential debut blending feirce hardcore punk with soulfull reaggae.
Two detroit classic, The MC5s Kick Out The Jams and The Stooges’ self titled first album are probably the greatest and most influential debut albums of all time (I could give 10 million reasons for this, but thats another thread alltogether)
Flash and the Pan Gorilla by the Bonzo Dog Band Santana The Doors Led Zeppelin Dear Mr. Fantasy by Traffic Kak (they never had a second, alas Emitt Rhodes Rennaisance
Bush’s Sixteen Stone was their best release. Razorblade Suitcase was a disappointment. The two songs I heard on the radio from their third CD was enough to convince me not to waste money on it.
“Moondance” was Van Morrison’s second album on Warner Bros. His first was “Astral Weeks,” which is even better than “Moondance,” (IMHO). Chock full of jazz players who had no idea who Morrison was. “If I ventured in the slipstream, between the viaducts and your dreams…”
Full agreement on Evanescence, Ender, as I’ve been listening to it pretty frequently this past week.
Other nominations:
Live-Mental Jewelry
Tori Amos-Little Earthquakes(at the risk of being nitpicked, but Y Kant Tori Read apparently only sold 4 copies, and sucked ass, from what I read.)
Tool-Undertow
Santana
Little Earthquakes
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Rage Against the Machine
and add:
The Allman Brothers Band, The Allman Brothers Band (fantastic album, and when you do what the record companies have done and combine it with their second album, you’ve really got something)
Derek and the Dominos, Layla And… (picky, since everyone in the band was a veteran at this point, but hey, it’s D&D’s only studio album and it rocks)
Manic Street Preachers Generation Terrorist was one of the best debut albums, and IMHO not improved uppon by any later album from the same band.
I’m not sure we should include debut albums from musicians who had gone solo from album producing groups. (So no Ozzy, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, etc) as such break the spirit of newness that a true debut album has.
