Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

A number of posters lately have referred to bands who have gone downhill of late. It got me thinking about why this happens; is it akin to a solid writer who produces a brilliant work, gets hired to pump out a bunch of books, and the rest are mediocre or suck?

Regardless, I think there are some interesting examples of bands that have declined this their first commercial hit.

I'll start with Counting Crows. I think Duritz's lyrics on that album were chilling, and I don't think he's touched that level since.

Others?

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

Hootie and the Blowfish
Blues Traveler

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

All 3 of the bands mentioned here "peaked" at beyond awful.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

The Sex Pistols went downhill pretty fast after their first.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
All 3 of the bands mentioned here "peaked" at beyond awful.

[/ QUOTE ]

I never said Counting Crows is a great band, or had a great album. I do, however, think that Duritz's lyrical work on August and Everything After was unique; the first line of Round Here is about as un-cliche a way there is to say someone feels unnoticed.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

let's see. Many years of touring and demos and many songs written ----> contract with label -----> now I gotta make a cd another 14 months later? Aiya

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
let's see. Many years of touring and demos and many songs written ----> contract with label -----> now I gotta make a cd another 14 months later? Aiya

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, that's the point I was making. Sad to see in many cases.

Another poster in the thread about Christian music mentioned Switchfoot, but I have not heard their new stuff.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

August and Everything After is a great album.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

Boston

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

Nirvana (remember that it's commercial album- so we're looking at Nevermind, not Bleach)
Weezer
Dave Matthews Band
Sublime
Guns n Roses
Jimi Hendrix
Incubus

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
Boston

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

The Strokes
Pearl Jam

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
All 3 of the bands mentioned here "peaked" at beyond awful.

[/ QUOTE ]

Blues Traveler was somewhat better than "beyond awful" IMO.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
Boston

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

August and Everything After is a great album.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
Nirvana (remember that it's commercial album- so we're looking at Nevermind, not Bleach)
Weezer
Dave Matthews Band
Sublime
Guns n Roses
Jimi Hendrix
Incubus

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]

Weezer

[/ QUOTE ]

no

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
Nirvana (remember that it's commercial album- so we're looking at Nevermind, not Bleach)
Weezer
Dave Matthews Band
Sublime
Guns n Roses
Jimi Hendrix
Incubus

[/ QUOTE ]

Not sure I agree with Weezer. DMB, definitely; Under the Table was the only album from them I actually liked.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
Pearl Jam

[/ QUOTE ]
wrong.

Stone Temple Pilots, however, is correct.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
Stone Temple Pilots, however, is correct.

[/ QUOTE ]

Core and Purple were both great. Everything after sucked. So, almost.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

Uh, I guess Nirvana is technically true, but calling any of their subsequent discs a downhill slide is kind of ridiculous.
Sublime? Didn't they have, like, one commercial album?
And I don't understand the Hendrix choice.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

Green Day

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
Nirvana (remember that it's commercial album- so we're looking at Nevermind, not Bleach)
Weezer
Dave Matthews Band
Sublime
Guns n Roses
Jimi Hendrix
Incubus

[/ QUOTE ]

Dave Matthews Band isn't even close to a correct answer. Both Crash and Under the Table and Dreaming have the majority of DMB's best stuff.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Nirvana (remember that it's commercial album- so we're looking at Nevermind, not Bleach)
Weezer
Dave Matthews Band
Sublime
Guns n Roses
Jimi Hendrix
Incubus

[/ QUOTE ]

Dave Matthews Band isn't even close to a correct answer. Both Crash and Under the Table and Dreaming have the majority of DMB's best stuff.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wasn't Under the Table their first commercial album? If yes, then they qualify.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

maroon 5

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

"Born To Run" was Springsteen's first "commercial" album.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Nirvana (remember that it's commercial album- so we're looking at Nevermind, not Bleach)
Weezer
Dave Matthews Band
Sublime
Guns n Roses
Jimi Hendrix
Incubus

[/ QUOTE ]

Dave Matthews Band isn't even close to a correct answer. Both Crash and Under the Table and Dreaming have the majority of DMB's best stuff.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wasn't Under the Table their first commercial album? If yes, then they qualify.

[/ QUOTE ]

If your definition of peaked is limited to your personal preference, then I guess I guess so. But if your definition requires some form of peak in terms of music and lyrics, then you are way off.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

NWA

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]

maroon 5

[/ QUOTE ]

lol

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Nirvana (remember that it's commercial album- so we're looking at Nevermind, not Bleach)
Weezer
Dave Matthews Band
Sublime
Guns n Roses
Jimi Hendrix
Incubus

[/ QUOTE ]

Dave Matthews Band isn't even close to a correct answer. Both Crash and Under the Table and Dreaming have the majority of DMB's best stuff.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wasn't Under the Table their first commercial album? If yes, then they qualify.

[/ QUOTE ]

If your definition of peaked is limited to your personal preference, then I guess I guess so. But if your definition requires some form of peak in terms of music and lyrics, then you are way off.

[/ QUOTE ]

Let's not waste a lot of time on DMB -- severly overrated, imo. But I'd still take Under the Table over any of the rest.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

Bradley Nowell (lead singer of Sublime) died before their self-titled album was released. Though Second Hand Smoke and an acoustic album were released after this fact.

IMO, Weezer's Pinkerton is their best album. So they didn't start sliding until the Green Album.

As far as bands that started sucking hard after their first album - Limp Bizkit and Creed come to mind.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

Van Halen
Dire Straits
The Cars
Joe Jackson
Heart
Foreigner

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

Third Eye Blind

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Nirvana (remember that it's commercial album- so we're looking at Nevermind, not Bleach)
Weezer
Dave Matthews Band
Sublime
Guns n Roses
Jimi Hendrix
Incubus

[/ QUOTE ]

Dave Matthews Band isn't even close to a correct answer. Both Crash and Under the Table and Dreaming have the majority of DMB's best stuff.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wasn't Under the Table their first commercial album? If yes, then they qualify.

[/ QUOTE ]

If your definition of peaked is limited to your personal preference, then I guess I guess so. But if your definition requires some form of peak in terms of music and lyrics, then you are way off.

[/ QUOTE ]

Let's not waste a lot of time on DMB -- severly overrated, imo. But I'd still take Under the Table over any of the rest.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea, with this opinion, we won't get far in a discussion on quality music.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
Third Eye Blind

[/ QUOTE ]

They would fall into the "bands that sucked before, during, and after commercial success" category.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

Live
Green Day
Alanis Morissette

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
The Strokes

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes




[ QUOTE ]
Pearl Jam

[/ QUOTE ]
No

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

I think Nirvana is a pretty poor choice, for the reasons Nath stated. Plus, I like Unplugged more.

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

The Strokes second album was a lot better than the first

Re: Bands That Peaked With Their First Commercial Album
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
All 3 of the bands mentioned here "peaked" at beyond awful.

[/ QUOTE ]

Blues Traveler was somewhat better than "beyond awful" IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry, man. Let's smoke a nug and play some hacky sack.