# Great comeback albums in rock music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 1, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160 "2022-11-01T17:44:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/21 "2022-11-01T21:47:06Z")
I’m not sure that’s quite what the OP’s asking for, but if we’re counting “niche band that was around for a long time before scoring their first big hit”, the Grateful Dead formed in 1966 and had their first top 10 hit with “Touch of Grey” in 1987. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/22 "2022-11-01T22:14:51Z")
Not rock, but jazz. (Sorry, couldn’t help it.) Hammond organ virtuoso [Jimmy Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Smith_(musician)) was very active from the mid 50s to the mid 60s, but his popularity waned in the 70s and 80s, and his output during this time was mediocre. By the time the 90s rolled around he was all but forgotten. And then in 1995 his put out an album called _[Damn!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damn!_(Jimmy_Smith_album))_ that was met with considerable fanfare and was critically acclaimed. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/23 "2022-11-01T22:57:52Z")
IIRC AC/DC’s album “Back in Black” was a comeback album for them. That was one hell of a comeback. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/24 "2022-11-01T23:31:21Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > IIRC AC/DC’s album “Back in Black” was a comeback album for them. In a certain way, it was, though it came out only one year after their initial break-through album “Highway To Hell”. Problem was that their lead singer Bon Scott had one drink too much in an all-night bender in London shortly after, and nobody thought they could replace him adequately and just carry on. So they recruited Brian Johnson and not only carried on, but made a tribute album to Bon Scott that became one of the best selling rock albums of all time. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/25 "2022-11-02T01:00:00Z")
The Bee Gees were making records throughout their careers, but definitely hit a slump from 1971-73, when they had few hits and seemed to be done with. Then “Jive Talking” was released. Their label sent it to DJs in a plain white wrapper so they would listen to it without knowing who recorded it; the song was a big – and ultimately massively successful – departure from their usual ballad-based music. _Main Course_ – which contained it – was their top album in years. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/26 "2022-11-02T01:10:03Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > _Permanent Vacation_ by Aerosmith I quibble and say that Done With Mirrors was Aerosmith’s comeback record. And it was nice to see the boys back together, and the music wasn’t terrible. The record included a cover of a song that was was done much better by the Joe Perry Project, Let The Music Do The Talking. Here is the better, original version: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZVkzvkGeLIo/hqdefault.jpg "THE JOE PERRY PROYECT - LET THE MUSIC DO THE TALKING") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVkzvkGeLIo) ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/27 "2022-11-02T01:19:04Z")
And what I really came here to say was: Perfect Strangers by Deep Purple. But I got sidetracked on an Aerosmith thing. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/28 "2022-11-02T01:30:09Z")
John Farnham was a 60s/70s teen pop idol soloist whose presence diminished as his audience aged. In the early 80s he joined Little River Band. Then at the end of 1986 he returned as a solist and released [Whispering Jack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whispering_Jack). The interest in the project from recording labels was negligible. They couldn’t find a producer. His manager mortaged his own house to fund the project. Local radio ignored it to the point of almost being a boycott. After a bit of a slow start, due to the ambivalence of the radio stations, it became the highest-selling album by an Australian act in Australia and 24x platinum, with local sales exceeding Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms, ABBA’s Gold, MJ’s Thriller and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, only eclipsed by Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/29 "2022-11-02T02:15:46Z")
Thomas Dolby’s _Astronauts & Heretics_ appeared a decade after _The Golden Age of Wireless_. It’s a terrific album that got little attention with a completely new sound - he had moved to New Orleans. The zydeco-influenced “_I Love You Goodbye_” is one of my favorite songs. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/30 "2022-11-02T02:22:35Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > The Doors, Morrison Hotel, after Soft Parade. Those albums were only six months apart. That isn’t a very far way to come back. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2022, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/31 "2022-11-02T04:22:30Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Maybe _Some Girls_ by the Rolling Stones, in 1978. Definitely! Although unlike you (and everybody else in the world apparently) I think Sticky Fingers was the end of their first run of brilliance that began in 1965. For me, _Exile On Main Street_ is as unlistenable as the three albums that followed it. “Stop Breaking Down” being EOMS’s only strong track. I’d given up on the Stones, and then they hit it out of the park with _Some Girls_. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/32 "2022-11-02T04:32:10Z")
The first to come to mind hasn’t been mentioned yet; **American Recordings** by Johnny Cash. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/33 "2022-11-02T10:57:14Z")
It’s probably not realised because its relatively recent, and I’ve never managed to like the first side, but the second disc/side of **The Eagles - Long Road Out of Eden** is up there with their greatest songs. I am talking comeback as in song quality, not as in sales, by definition Eagles fans tend not to be seekers of “new music”. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/34 "2022-11-02T12:33:12Z")
Similarly, Genesis’ “comeback” album “A Trick of the Tail”, their first studio effort after Peter Gabriel left the band. The general consensus at the time was that the band would not survive the departure of their flamboyant front man. Boy were they wrong. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/35 "2022-11-02T14:58:59Z")
_All That You Can’t Leave Behind_ was something of a comeback album for U2. They weren’t down and out, but it revitalized the band after the lesser albums, _Zooropa_ and _Pop_. This might just be a personal take , however, considering that those albums both hit number 1. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/36 "2022-11-02T15:07:57Z")
To some extent the Eagles, though maybe more through tours than albums. Meatloaf is a better example. Possibly Rush - 2112 in 1976 and Moving Pictures in 1981 - though fans would disagree with me. Or Van Halen II compared to Van Halen and 1984, which sold half the copies of the other two (though still 8M). There are many bands whose breakout album sold well, subsequent albums much less, that released a pretty good or amazing selling Greatest Hits thing. I presume these are not what this thread has in mind. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/37 "2022-11-02T15:50:39Z")
It’s Great When Your Straight…Yeah. By Black Grape: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/on5TLUz-ag4/maxresdefault.jpg "Black Grape - Reverend Black Grape (Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on5TLUz-ag4) The Happy Mondays were one of the all time greats. Who collapsed in drug soaked lunacy before making it really big. Their break up story is the best ever. They were recording their doomed final album in the Caribbean, when they were caught allegedly selling all the furniture from the studio for crack. Allegations they later denied, saying as crack was so cheap there they didn’t need to sell the furniture. It was just the studio had much nicer furniture than the crack house, and they were spending all their time in the crack house not the studio, it only made sense to take the furniture there. The main core of the Happy Mondays (Sean Ryder and Bez) then formed Black Grape with rapper Kermit years later. And produced an epic, unclassifiable, album of bangers. Including one of my favorite lyrics: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NGTRKy--Iyk/maxresdefault.jpg "Black Grape - Kelly's Heroes (The Bank Job Version)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGTRKy--Iyk) “Jesus was a black man, No Jesus was batman, No that was Bruce Wayne” ---
**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:** [November 2, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/38 "2022-11-02T16:18:07Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > _Eliminator_ by ZZ Top. Prior to that, their best performing album was “Tres Hombres” in 1973. > > Eliminator came along a decade later, and became a global hit. Eliminator provided their first top-10 hit as well (“Legs”) Furthermore, it restarted their career. ZZ Top had always been a niche band for people who liked American southern blues-based rock. After Eliminator, they were a global pop sensation and their next several albums were all hits. I think of the J. Geils band as having a similar arc as ZZ Top: kind of a niche band. In J. Geils’ case, that niche was “Jock Rock”; at least in my high school circles, the party jocks all loved their music, but I didn’t think of them as being all that famous otherwise. According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_J._Geils_Band), though, that’s not really so true; they got up to #12 on the Bilboard charts with “Must Of Got Lost” in 1975. But it wasn’t until they “sold out” with more mainstream, pandering ‘pop’ tunes, first “Love Stinks”, then “Centerfold” and “Freeze Frame”, that they really blew up in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/39 "2022-11-02T16:23:02Z")
I liked both the Happy Mondays and this Black Grape album when it came out. Even saw Black Grape when they came to Montreal with my friends. But am not sure the album aged well - I don’t have the same enthusiasm for most of the songs I once did. And still prefer Step On… ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160/40 "2022-11-02T16:39:33Z")
Queen coming back with “The Works” after the dopey _Flash Gordon_ soundtrack and the well-nigh unlistenable “Hot Space” is the example that leaps first to my mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comeback-albums-in-rock-music/974160.md?page=3)