"the band will get better as it ages." is this true?

delete this thread if you see fit, but just out of curiosity...have many bands/artists, put out their best work 16 years into their careers?

i hear this statement echoed continuously when people speak about the aging pearl jam. are they fooling themselves or is this legitimate?

i dont know, it seems hard to swallow but i hope someone can give me an example and prove me wrong. i don't want to be unjustifiably optimistic.

greendale and prairie wind.


two of neils best in my opinion.

old man vedder looks and sounds horrible

he needs to mix in a sit-up

i appreciate your attempt at "being honest with yourself" ... but i still think, as a PJ fan, you really suck!

just mho, though.

Bob Dylan did Time Out Of Mind and Love and Theft. Bruce put out The Rising a few years ago.

And don't forget Poison's Hollyweird - that's a classic.

i wouldn't say they were "that" old at the time

but, imho, SOUNDGARDEN holds the all-time world-record for GREATEST FINAL ALBUM OF ANY BAND EVER.

Down on the Upside is fucking amazing ... and no other band i can think of EVER made a better last record.

You can try and say "The Beatles" but i think Let It Be was a real Crapper.

McCartney is to Rock what
Britney Spears is to Punk.

I'm kind of suprised that after 16 years they can still put out a single that people care about...much less a single that tops the charts.

Depends on the artist. I wouldn't say as a rule it goes one way or the other.

best of what? post 90's?

i mean i love Neil like he's my uncle, don't get me wrong, and i loved Greendale (cheesy lyrics and all) and a good portion of Prairie Wind... but man... they def wouldn't be in many Neil fans top 10, but that just goes to show you how strong his catalog is really.

of all his post 90's work that stands up to his best imo, Harvest Moon, Sleeps With Angels, Mirror Ball, and Silver & Gold would be better picks imo. but even still, you just can't deny how amazing shit like On The Beach, Goldrush, Everybody Knows, Harvest, Zuma, etc. are.

everything you just said further proved my point:)

You can hav a great career throughout your entire career:) After all this time...neil young still puts out amazing work.

well,
they got better until Yield.

I think a lot of bands can still put out good records after 16 years, but off the top of my head, I can't think of a band that has put out a "classic" after that long. REM, U2, Bruce Springsteen, and The Cure have all put out "good" albums, but I don't think we'll see another Murmur, Joshua Tree, Born in the USA, or Disintegration anytime soon from any of them.

Bands like that remind me of aging all-star baseball players. Eventually they just get to the point where they switch to first base or DH - they're still good, but don't have that same game-breaking impact they used to.

Eddddddddddiiiiiieeeeeee needs to stop smoking and they band will get better.

Certainly everyone has their own opinion there were definitely a few great songs on that album but it just wasn't consistent. I can listen to superunknown and badmotorfinger, and hell even TOTD all the way through with no problems but I have to skip songs on DOTUS.

This may not count but I think the best final album is Van Halen's 1984 because nothing after that really counts IMO and that album is amazing still.

Eddie has aged more than anybody else in the band. Just look at him in 1990, then look at him 16 years later. He looks like a grandfather already!

At this rate, he'll decompose as fast as Keith Richards.
-Sunny

I'm not so sure. I'd probably place Greendale at least in his top 15, maybe higher, and it seems generally very well regarded by Neil fans... and Prairie Wind's probably in the upper third of his catalogue (it certainly beats out the super-slight Silver & Gold).

Sleeps With Angels is the best example of a latter-day Neil masterpiece though.

As for Pearl Jam, they set the precedent, not the other way around. I really think it's their career that will be the benchmark for quality and longevity in the future.

I made my girlfriend watch SNL and she thought Ed looks way older than the other guys. It must be the new baby and all the sleepless nights.

It's because they all still act like they're 19 on stage.

Gotta agree. Down on the Upside was incredibly disappointing to me. Ah well.

Green Day
Dr. Dre
Rush (Moving Pictures, anyone?)
U2

I think they all put out their best work 10+ years after they started.