Todd Rundgren’s last album, “Liars”, is one of his best for many, many years.
That strikes me as a baffling assessment. Between the two he released Murder Ballads, The Boatman’s Call and No More Will We Part, all at least the equal of his earlier albums. They contained songs that I have on my Nick Cave car CD such as:
Stagger Lee, O’Malley’s Bar, Where The Wild Roses Grow, Into My Arms, Are You The One That I’ve Been Waiting For?, People Ain’t No Good, Love Letter, and Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow.
I’ll second that and add that I am utterly baffled by the adoration being heaped on his latest double…
One I’d nominate for surprisingly-good-though-maybe-not-great would be Cheap Trick’s 1997 effort Cheap Trick (BTW, how many artists have had more than one eponymously-titled album, anyway?)
I also think the **the Undertones ** latest, Get What You Need, fits in that category as well.
Not a whole record, but Prince’s single “the Most beautiful girl in the World” in 1994 was a great brief return that came entirely out of left field.
Peter Gabriel, the Grateful Dead, and the superb French folk band Malicorne, to name three.
Also Weezer (the “Blue Album” and “Green Album”).
I thought one of Prince’s more recent singles, the funky “Musicology,” was the best thing I’ve heard from him in over a decade. The two songs he performed this past season on Saturday Night Live (off his newest album) just brought the house down as well, and proved he’s still “got it.”
But in poor old Leonard’s case it wasn’t completely voluntary. He was pretty much retired and then found out his financial manager lost/stole all his money )except for his house which he’s since had to re-mortgage). Now he’s trying to rebuild his savings. A cautionary tale for all you rich artistic types who feel it isn’t worth your time to keep tabs on your money.
Jethro Tull was pretty much written off of people’s awareness, but then kicked out the fantastic Crest of a Knave album. Because of that, they will forever be immortalized as the band who, oddly, won the first Heavy Metal category Grammy award. 
An Arky - have you heard Cheap Trick’s new one, Rockford? Really great power pop! And I happen to dig the cover (amazon listing).
And BBVLou - have you heard the following songs by Prince:
- Count the Days
- Five Women
- She Spoke to Me
Ohmigod. All recent stuff. I am a huge Prince guy but let him fade from my radar during the whole “change my name to get out of my contract” debacle. I was talking with a friend who is an even bigger Prince nut - and who had stayed up to speed - and I tossed off a comment about his newer stuff wasn’t up to it. He *dragged * me out to his car (amazing stereo) and put in a mix that included these songs. 'nuff said - anyone who doesn’t get the amazing quality of this music isn’t worth talking to. The language of Count the Days is profane but the juxtaposition of gospel music and thug talk is amazing. And She Spoke to Me is so far above what I have heard from pretty much anyone else in the past decade I don’t know what to do - combines pop, Jobim-like Latin, funk and a Miles Davis (60’s group with Hancock and Tony Williams) breakdown - it just doesn’t get any better. No one comes close.
I thought The Woods was fantastic. It kills me that they’ve broken up because I would really liked to have seen where they went with that.
OK, I’ll admit I don’t have Murder Ballads, and Boatman’s Call was pretty good, though not as good as LLI. No More Will We Part sounded forced, and a little worn out, and Nocturama was, frankly, terrible.
How about Athens Andover by the Troggs? I’m not sure it qualifies as a great album, but I think it’s a pretty good album. And the back story is pretty cool - how in 1991 REM covered the Troggs’ 1968 hit “Love is All Around.” As a result, the Troggs, now true dinosaurs, formed a friendship with REM who backed them on this 1992 release.
Give it a listen if you’re not familar with it.
Oh, yeah, it’s pretty good. I’ve got Special One, too, which has a few of good songs on it.
Still, nothing compares to the initial outburst of songs Nielsen penned for CT; it filled up 3 classic albums.
About 30 years after Ronnie Van Zant died, Lynyrd Skynyrd has apparently come up with a kick-ass album that stacks up with their work in the 70’s. I haven’t heard it, but Allmusic gives it a very good review.
Wow, 27 posts in and nobody has mentioned Brian Wilson, who finally finished Smile last year. It was a pretty stunning work, and was worth the wait. The incredible bonus for those who had heard the bootlegs of recordings for the original Smile, the recreations by the new band were spot on, as close to the sound of The Wrecking Crew as it is possible to get. It is easily the best work of his “mature” period, and a masterpiece that will be difficult, if not impossible, to best.
Sorry, you know I meant to say 37 instead of 27.
Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose was a great album and brought her back to TV/radio. The album was produced by Jack White of The White Stripes and he does vocals on several songs.
Oh yeah, that was a great album, and it introduced me to Loretta Lynn.