Bad Opinions II • Page 14

Steely Dan at LEAST Royal Scam-Aja-Gaucho

 

alexisonfire are pretty close. if old crows young cardinals matched their standard theyd be there

 

Herbie, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Sly and the Family, Stevie for sure

 

the kinks run from face to face through muswells hillbillies is up there tbh

 

Is there a difference in this discussion between “classics” that I would say means that they’re significantly influential and important within their genre / time period / culture vs albums that are “just” excellent, and don’t necessarily have had an impact beyond the artists fan base?

 

only ones of the OG run I wouldn’t consider classic are Countdown or maybe Pretzel Logic. Everything else 100% and if you include Nightfly even more so

 

steven hyden has written about this a ton with "the five album test" except its five albums in a row

 

Classic rock bands used to be really prolific, like an album per year. Not a super fan of any but I’m sure Rolling Stones, Beatles, Who or Led Zeppelin fit the description.

 

I feel like the "five albums" question is not one asked by someone with diverse listening habits. Tons of artists outside of rock (I'm especially thinking of jazz, experimental and electronic but I'm sure there are loads of examples) have way more than 5 great albums.

In unrelated news, I can safely tune out or ignore new music I'm not into as being just Not For Me but Militarie Gun continue to be actively horrible in a special way. I feel like I'm being gaslit or pranked every time I hear them.

 

Chevelle, from Wonder What's Next to Hats Off to the Bull is a great run. Hell extend it to La Gargola even.

 

Yes

 

I love that you said this, and to complete the circle I'll say White Pony through Koi No Yokan is an excellently superb run for Deftones.

 

I think 5 definitive “classics” in a row is tough, and we’re loosening that leash a little too much. Kanye, Bruce, Bowie, Neil Young

 

(loosens the leash a lot)

Three Dollar Bill Y'all
Significant Other
Chocolate Starfish
Results May Vary
Gold Cobra
Still Sucks

Perfect six album run, no notes.

 

I'm not looking for a watertight definition but 'classic' has to mean more than ‘I really like this’.

 

Yeah, as has been pointed out multiple times, “great” albums aren’t inherently “classic.” (And honestly, I could see someone defending a definition of “classic” that also isn’t inherently “great”?)

Outside of whatever semantic questions, I personally don’t have any takes ‘cause my average music consumption these days isn’t that deep, lol. Not an area I strive to have expertise in besides “here are things I dig these days.”

 

At least not all classic rap albums are great all the way through. College Dropout is a great example because it is undeniably a classic but it has some stinkers.

 

immediately was my next thought next to Breaking Benjamin but I didn't want to muddy the waters too much

 

i forgot the specifics. in a row is tough. Stevie has 5 or 6 depending on if you count Music of My Mind (I do) but definitely all of them from Talking Book to Secret Life of Plants

 

I’d argue Van has one (Astral Weeks through Saint Dominic’s Preview), but idk how many people consider Tupelo Honey a “classic”

 

First 5 talking heads albums

 

Muddy Waters is a different genre, man.

 

The more difficult question would be who is the most recent/active artist to have a 5 album run of classics. I cannot think of one outside of Kanye

 

im def factoring in scene and cultural influence when i think of this, like albums where enough of a handful of folks beyond myself consider it such

if its just subjectively who has 5 perfect albums, erra have 5 perfect albums. boom

 

I feel like Death Cab qualifies for the run of Facts to Narrow Stairs