# Enduring musical artists whose first albums were never bettered **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2011, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410 "2011-06-14T10:31:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/81 "2011-06-14T21:39:22Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > George Harrison: **All Things Must Pass** Cancel that–not his first album. What the _hell_ was I thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/82 "2011-06-14T21:42:27Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Cancel that–not his first album. What the _hell_ was I thinking? Well, it was his first album of _songs_, right? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/83 "2011-06-14T22:00:48Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > Kate Bush - I have loved most of what Kate Bush has done, but I personally don’t think that any album surpassed “The Kick Inside.” The fact that she wrote pretty much all of it before she turned 18 makes it all the more remarkable. As amazing an accomplishment as _The Kick Inside_ was, personally both _The Dreaming_ and _Hounds of Love_ surpassed it, pushing musical boundaries. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/84 "2011-06-14T22:09:29Z")
A couple of my picks… **Concrete Blonde** ’s first self-named album is IMO their best, perfectly crafted guitar-pop tunes. **Alan Parsons Project** Tales of Mystery was a great album, their following albums put out a few catchy tunes but nothing as ambitious. ---
**Author:** ![samjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@samjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samjones)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/85 "2011-06-14T22:36:36Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > As amazing an accomplishment as _The Kick Inside_ was, personally both _The Dreaming_ and _Hounds of Love_ surpassed it, pushing musical boundaries. Agreed. I’m amused at how people insist that their favorite musician’s first album is far and away the best even though the musician is clearly better known for at least one song on some other album. And “Running Up That Hill” _is_ what KB is best known for - at least in America. The Wuthering Heights thing never really worked here. Running Up That Hill was practically a mid-80’s anthem. ---
**Author:** ![samjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@samjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samjones)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/86 "2011-06-14T22:43:33Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > **Concrete Blonde** ’s first self-named album is IMO their best, perfectly crafted guitar-pop tunes. I preferred “Free” - really a much better album. THeir only “hit” was off of Bloodletting, which also had a huge following, iirc. ---
**Author:** ![samjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@samjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samjones)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/87 "2011-06-14T22:48:29Z")
Guns and Roses ---
**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:** [June 14, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/88 "2011-06-14T22:53:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > **The Doors**. > > **L.A.Woman** came close, but nothing beats the self-titled debut. For me, **Strange Days** is still their pinnacle. But I do feel that LA Woman has aged better than the rest of their albums. ---
**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:** [June 14, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/89 "2011-06-14T23:00:37Z")
First album never bettered: **Leon Redbone** (On The Track) **Dave Clark Five** (Glad All Over) **James Gang** (Yer Album) **Tiny Tim** (God Bless) **Boz Scaggs** (S/T) ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/90 "2011-06-14T23:33:41Z")
**Asia** ’s self-titled debut springs to mind, as does **Skid Row** ’s. **Richard and Linda Thompson** did 6 or 7 albums as a duo, and _I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight_ is the best. It’s a tougher call with this one, but **Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy** ’s _I See A Darkness_ is probably my favourite. **The Band** may have equalled _Music From Big Pink_, but surely never surpassed it. ---
**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:** [June 15, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/91 "2011-06-15T01:52:39Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Well, it was his first album of _songs_, right? It is if songs have to have lyrics. His second album, _Wonderwall Music_, is all instrumntal songs. In my opinion it’s still the greatest album by any of the solo or former Beatles. . ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/92 "2011-06-15T02:03:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Peter Frampton _Frampton Comes Alive!_ was his best album. Never came close to improving beyond it. Wind of Change (1972) Frampton’s Camel (1973) Somethin’s Happening (1974) Frampton (1975) Frampton Comes Alive! (1976) And to my ears, that voice box guitar gimmick makes much of the _Comes Alive_ actively annoying. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/93 "2011-06-15T03:05:54Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > It is if songs have to have lyrics. By strict definition, a song is sung. I use “song” in a looser sense, but it’s come up on this board several times in the past that there are some people who prefer to use “song” in the strict sense, requiring the human voice and therefore, usually, lyrics. An instrumental “song” is a tune or simply an instrumental. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/94 "2011-06-15T03:18:30Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Blood Sweat & Tears: **The Child Is Father to the Man**. The second album had the hits, but the debut was the great one. Sigh. I feel about this the way I do about It’s a Beautiful Day. And it’s probably more common. > [@](#): > > Traffic: **Mr. Fantasy** I like lots of Traffic: I’m probably the only one who remembers the truly-for-once dreamlike “Dream Garrard” off their **When the Eagle Flies** album. Half of their second album made the charts and **The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys** has classics on it. **John Barleycorn Must Die** is superior all the way through, even so. Agree or not, Traffic is an example of a group that made consistently fine albums. I’m not even sure I agree with myself about Buffalo Springfield. Their second album was thoroughly listenable. If you want another argument starter, try this: \*\*Gorilla \*\*by the Bonzo Dog Band. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/95 "2011-06-15T03:31:57Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > - > > Reckless \*was his **fourth** album. Wow, thanks for that. I really got that one messed up, didn’t I? Not sure why I thought it was his first; probably the first one I was aware of. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/96 "2011-06-15T03:38:33Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Blue Oyster Cult has had a long, successful career and has had much more commercially successful albums than their first… but I think their debut album was by far their best. Which debut? The 1972 “Blue Öyster Cult” self-titled album, or the recently unearthed “St. Cecilia” from 1970? > **[St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cecilia:_The_Elektra_Recordings)** > > St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings is a compilation album consisting of recordings by the American rock band the Stalk–Forrest Group,\[a\] who would later be known as Blue Öyster Cult. It is a combination of two albums recorded by the group for Elektra Records – one in 1969 and the other in 1970 – as well as the promotional single "What is Quicksand?" released in 1970. Except for the single, the tracks were not officially released until 2001, although bootlegs had existed and individual tracks h... I guess you could argue that because “St. Cecilia” was recorded when they were “The Stalk Forrest Group”, it isn’t technically BOC… but it’s the same band. The only difference between the two line-ups is the bassist. Here’s the YMMV part of my post… Personally, I prefer “St. Cecilia” to “Blue Öyster Cult”. The songs are much more “jam-like”, and at times the band sounds like The Grateful Dead. And again, personally, I prefer “Fire of Unknown Origin” to either of those two. So I heartily disagree that “Blue Öyster Cult” (or “St. Cecilia”) was never bettered. “Blue Öyster Cult” is a great album though, and I admire your taste in music! ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/97 "2011-06-15T03:39:57Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > As amazing an accomplishment as _The Kick Inside_ was, personally both _The Dreaming_ and _Hounds of Love_ surpassed it, pushing musical boundaries. Glad you popped in **gaffa**. When I wrote the OP I was thinking “I bet **gaffa** won’t agree with this.” 🙂 I think it’s true that most hard core fans share your opinion - I suppose I’m more of a casual fan. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/98 "2011-06-15T04:16:28Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Sigh. I feel about this the way I do about It’s a Beautiful Day. And it’s probably more common. Um…am I supposed to _know?_ > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > If you want another argument starter, try this: \*\*Gorilla \*\*by the Bonzo Dog Band. I actually was going to mention _The Doughnut in Granny’s Greenhouse_ in the second album thread, but I figured people would bitch about a four-album career not qualifying as “enduring.” ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/99 "2011-06-15T12:19:59Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Better than his second, **Bat Out of Hell**? Me and the critics would not agree. ``` Meh... the "Stoney and Meatloaf" album was not a Meat Loaf album, it was an album written and produced by a Motown production team to capitalize on the duo's success with their production of *Hair*. Shaun Murphy and Meat Loaf were only brought in to provide lyrics. In fact, Meat Loaf's and Stoney's lyrics on "Who Is the Leader of the People?" were replaced by Edwin Starr and he subsequently quit the project. The album was re-released in 1979 after the success of **Bat Out of Hell** with Stoney's vocals removed and the Meat Loaf version of "Who is the Leader of the People?" and it tanked ...again. ``` Furthermore, Meat Loaf himself was appalled that it was re-released and accredited to him. [Cite.](http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JyBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OT8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1129,1914396&dq=meat+loaf+bat&hl=en) It may not be his singing debut, but **Bat out of Hell** is definitely his first album as a solo artist. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/100 "2011-06-15T13:32:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, and for this, I’d definitely say _Southern Harmony and Music Companion_ is where they hit their stride and find their voice. The first album is pretty good, too, but it still sounds “young,” like a band on the cusp of greatness, but still in the last stages of woodshedding. Not that it’s sloppy or anything like that–I just still hear a band that is a little green and gelling together their sound and songwriting, which they nailed on the next album. I would agree musically they were better, Marc Ford was a great addition. But as far as record sales are concerned, _Shake your Moneymaker_ went5x platinum and silver in the UK as opposed _The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion_ sold 2x platinum. That’s a huge margin. Def America Recordings also considers it their most successful record. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410.md?page=6)