Cancel that–not his first album. What the hell was I thinking?
Well, it was his first album of songs, right?
As amazing an accomplishment as The Kick Inside was, personally both The Dreaming and Hounds of Love surpassed it, pushing musical boundaries.
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.
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.
I preferred “Free” - really a much better album.
THeir only “hit” was off of Bloodletting, which also had a huge following, iirc.
Guns and Roses
For me, Strange Days is still their pinnacle. But I do feel that LA Woman has aged better than the rest of their albums.
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)
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.
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.
.
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.
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.
Sigh. I feel about this the way I do about It’s a Beautiful Day. And it’s probably more common.
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.
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.
Which debut? The 1972 “Blue Öyster Cult” self-titled album, or the recently unearthed “St. Cecilia” from 1970?
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!
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.
Um…am I supposed to know?
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.”
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.
It may not be his singing debut, but Bat out of Hell is definitely his first album as a solo artist.
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.