Best 6 back-to-back

[MasterCylinder]

I was trying to come up with any band that had ever challenged the amazing string of incredible albums put out by the BEATLES in their best days wherein they released 6 back-to-back great albums:
RUBBER SOUL
REVOLVER
SGT. PEPPER'S
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
WHITE (68)
ABBEY ROAD

I realize one could argue over MMT as well as Yesterday & Today and Yellow Submarine. Those were released, perhaps, for ulterior purposes.

At any rate, the only other band that I could come up with that rivaled the amazing amount of writing and performing talent that could release 6 back-to-back albums that kept my interest was YES (I am showing my bias here?)
THE YES ALBUM
FRAGILE
CLOSE TO THE EDGE
TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS
RELAYER
GOING FOR THE ONE

[Davey]

How about 11 quality albums in 10 years? David Bowie probably had the longest string of solid albums for me. Not everyone is a total gem worthy of a Beatle's comparison, but I could easily pick 6 that were and still are as meaningful to me as some of those Beatles albums. Definitely the Rolling Stones for me from 12X5 through to Exile, especially if I could maybe skip one or two since there's more than 6. And maybe Neil Young if you include Déjà Vu and the Buffalo Springfield Again album (the last one barely had Young on it), and maybe drop Time Fades Away and the first one. Guess that's cheating, eh? Tough to name an artist with that many great albums in a row, and with no missteps. Definitely wouldn't have thought of Yes

1970 The Man Who Sold the World
1971 Hunky Dory
1972 Ziggy Stardust
1973 Aladdin Sane
1974 Diamond Dogs
1975 Young Americans
1976 Station to Station
1977 Low
1977 Heroes
1979 Lodger
1980 Scary Monsters

[ForeverAutumn]

But since Davey beat me too it, I'll have to go with Rush. I know that many here will disagree with me, but IMO Rush's early years were filled with consistantly strong releases.

1975 - Caress of Steel
1975 - Fly By Night
1976 - 2112
1977 - A Farewell to Kings
1978 - Hemispheres
1980 - Permanent Waves
1981 - Moving Pictures
1982 - Signals

[DarrenH]

1969 - Stand Up
1970 - Benefit
1971 - Aqualung
1972 - Thick As A Brick
1972 - Living In The Past
1973 - A Passion Play
1974 - War Child
1975 - Minstrel In The Gallery
1976 - Too Old To Rock, Too Young To Die
1977 - Songs From The Wood
1978 - Heavy Horses
1979 - Stormwatch

Living In The Past wasn't a studio album. Just a collection of singles that weren't released on albums, for the most part, so you can delete that if you want but it's pretty good. Also missing are two greatest hits albums released during that period. The live album, Bursting Out, released after Heavy Horses, was not included as well although I think it's a great live album.

Stand Up and Benefit are hit and miss by many but I'd say from Aqualung forward, Tull had quite a run.

Oh, A Passion Play is certainly an acquired taste, I'll admit that.

So is TAAB.

And for some, ALL OF IT is an acquired taste.

Darren

[tentoze]

Just my opinion, but how about 8 in a row from Van:

68- Astral Weeks
70- Moondance
70- His Band and The Street Choir
71- Tupelo Honey
72- St. Dominic's Preview
73- Hard Nose The Highway
74- Too Late To Stop Now
74- Veedon Fleece

or 12 from Guy Clark (the entire output):

75- Old #1
76- Texas Cookin'
78- S/T
81- South Coast of Texas
83- Better Days
89- Old Friends
92- Boats To Build
95- Dublin Blues
95- Craftsman
97- Keepers
99- Cold Dog Soup
02- The Dark

[dld]

Heres a few artists who, tho not quite Beatlesque, had pretty solid back to back track records

Fleetwood Mac, leave out Penguin and you have some real solid music that spanned several styles over 10 years or so.

1969 Then Play On
1970 Kiln House
1971 Future Games
1972 Bare Trees
1973 Penguin
1973 Mystery to Me
1974 Heroes Are Hard to Find
1975 Fleetwood Mac
1977 Rumours
1979 Tusk

The Boss was solid from the get go, Asbury Park was not a personal favorite but man, he powered up after that with some really good stuff.

1973 Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.
1973 The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
1975 Born to Run
1978 Darkness on the Edge of Town
1980 The River
1982 Nebraska
1984 Born in the U.S.A.

After culling Paul Simon's live concert and soundtrack for One Trick Pony, he had 6 winners too.

1972 Paul Simon
1973 There Goes Rhymin' Simon
1975 Still Crazy After All These Years
1983 Hearts and Bones
1986 Graceland
1990 Rhythm of the Saints

No way you can leave the Bryds off. Just too damn good and near Beatlesque:

1965 Mr. Tambourine Man
1965 Turn! Turn! Turn!
1966 Fifth Dimension
1967 Younger Than Yesterday
1968 The Notorious Byrd Brothers
1968 Sweetheart of the Rodeo

[Jim Clark]

Well I guess that in the end it all boils down to a matter of taste. While I'm not going to try to argue that the following bands are necessarily on par with someone else's opinion of the Beatles releases they do fit the requirement in my judgement.

Kiss-The first six albums and potentially the first seven if you can excuse "Then She Kissed Me" from the Love Gun lp make it according to me. Actually if you can allow Love Gun then Alive II is a no brainer would automatically make it 8. Clearly I'm not the Kiss fan that I was but these albums do still seem able to withstand critical scrutiny for what they are. Of course you may choose to exclude live albums from consideration which would still leave 6 proper studio albums.

Styx-Begining with the '75 release of Equinox and running until the '81 release of Paradise Theater Styx had a string of 6 albums that for a while sustained them as the recognized #1 rock band in the world. I'll admit that at the time I purchased them all and still have them all on LP.

(wait for the groans to end...)

The Ramones-Put me down for the first straight 10, that's TEN Ramones albums. I'm a bit of an oddity here and I am willing to concede that many don't find Subterranean Jungle as interesting as I do. Even so, were I to knock that one off the list that still gives me 8 solid albums. I won't do that of course and only in part because Too Tough To Die certainly would qualify and that comes after St Jungle

Put me down for the Chemical Brothers as well!

jc

[Slosh]

C'mon

s/t debut
II
III
s/t
Houses Of The Holy
Physical Graffiti
Presence
In Through The Out Door

I'm not counting The Song Remains The Same 'cause it's live and blows; plus Graffiti is a double and makes up for that

Hey Jack70, thanks for the Timemasheen stuff. Wasn't expecting anything. I'll spin some of them later tonight. Any day can be X-Mas in Rave Recs land

[DarrenH]

Styx-Begining with the '75 release of Equinox and running until the '81 release of Paradise Theater Styx had a string of 6 albums that for a while sustained them as the recognized #1 rock band in the world. I'll admit that at the time I purchased them all and still have them all on LP.

(wait for the groans to end...)

jc

No groans from me.

I'm a closet Styx fan so consider this my "coming out"

I have all those albums except for Cornerstone. Most of which I purchased years ago. My favorites are Equinox and the follow up Crystal Ball. Admittedly, the pre-Equinox material sux. "Lady" and possible, "Man Of Miracles" are the only songs even worth mentioning from that period. Many people loathe Tommy Shaw but I think he added a nice dimension to the band. More so than the late John Curulewski for whom he replaced.

Kilroy Was Here sux in the worst way though. They oughtta burn the master copies of that mess and never allow it to be recorded again.

I heard rumours of possible remasters in the works. I wonder if they are true.

Darren

[PPG]

Steely Dan

Can't Buy A Thrill (1972)
Countdown To Ecstacy (1973)
Pretzel Logic (1974)
Katy Lied (1975)
The Royal Scam (1976)
Aja (1977)
Gaucho (1980)

Stevie Wonder

Music of My Mind
Talking Book
Innervisions
Fulfillingness' First Finale
Songs In the Key of Life
Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants

[mad rhetorik]

Pink Floyd (6):
Meddle
Obscured By Clouds (way underrated)
Dark Side Of The Moon
Wish You Were Here
Animals
The Wall

Metallica (4):
Kill 'Em All
Ride The Lightning
Master Of Puppets
..And Justice For All

Pixies (5):
Come On Pilgrim EP
Surfer Rosa
Doolittle
Bossanova
Trompe Le Monde

Death (4):
Human
Individual Thought Patterns
Symbolic
The Sound Of Perseverence

Jimi Hendrix (4):
Are You Experienced?
Axis: Bold As Love
Electric Ladyland
Band Of Gypsys (Live At The Filmore East)

Stevie Ray Vaughan (not counting live releases) (4):
Texas Flood
Couldn't Stand The Weather
Soul To Soul
In Step

Iron Maiden (6):
Self-titled
Killers
Number Of The Beast
Piece Of Mind
Powerslave
Somewhere In Time

Opeth (6):
Morningrise
My Arms, Your Hearse
Still Life
Blackwater Park
Deliverence
Damnation

Talking Heads (5):
'77
More Songs About Building And Food
Fear Of Music
Remain In Light
Speaking In Tongues

Sepultura (4):
Beneath The Remains
Arise
Chaos A.D.
Roots

Black Sabbath (5):
Self-titled
Paranoid
Master Of Reality
Vol. 4
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Led Zeppelin (6):
I
II
III
IV
Houses Of The Holy
Physical Graffitti

The Who (5):
The Who Sell Out
Tommy
Live At Leeds
Who's Next
Quadrophenia

The Rolling Stones (4):
Beggars' Banquet
Let It Bleed
Sticky Fingers
Exile On Main Street

Neil Young (7):
Self-titled (also underrated)
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
After The Gold Rush
Harvest
Tonight's The Night
On The Beach
Zuma

Bob Dylan (7):
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Another Side Of..
The Times They Are A'Changin'
Bringing It All Back Home
Highway 61 Revisited
Blonde On Blonde
John Wesley Harding

Husker Du (5):
Zen Arcade
New Day Rising
Flip Your Wig
Candy Apple Grey
Warehouse: Songs And Stories

Proportionally, Joy Division also ruled. Both studio albums and Substance, a singles compilation, are excellent. And that's not counting the two or three live albums released. The Velvet Underground also had three classics in a row. The worthiness of Loaded, however, is debatable. Some fans consider it a classic, some don't.

[Troy]

This sorta stuff is SO subjective . . .

XTC-
Drums and Wires
Black Sea
English Settlement
Mummer
Big Express
Skylarking
Oranges and Lemons
Nonsuch

Pick your favorite 6.

[Dave_G]

Dang, I'm impressed.

Who have ya'll forgot?

Kansas:

Kansas, Masque, Song for America, Leftoverture, Point of Know Return


Genesis:

Trespass
Foxtrot
Nursery Cryme
LIVE
Selling England
The Lamb

Dang I can't do anymore of this until I get in front of my collection.

Hey Darren email me please on commercial email services.

Dave

[Stone]

I really think that possibly only Dylan and the Kinks can challenge the run of Beatles albums. I agree with the list of Dylan albums by Mad Rhetorik. Here's my list of Kinks albums:

Kontroversy
Face to Face
Something Else
The Village Green Preservation Society
Arthur . . .
Lola . . .
Muswell Hillbillies

As much as I love the Ramones, there was a serious drop off (IMO) after the first four (Phil Spector comes to mind . . .). And the Led Zeppelin albums challenging the Beatles' albums? Not in this lifetime.

[MasterCylinder]

This sorta stuff is SO subjective . . .

XTC-
Drums and Wires
Black Sea
English Settlement
Mummer
Big Express
Skylarking
Oranges and Lemons
Nonsuch

Pick your favorite 6.

DUDE ! You're still alive ?????

So subjective ?

Of course ! That is what gets a good thread started.

[Jim Clark]

No groans from me.


I heard rumours of possible remasters in the works. I wonder if they are true.

Darren

Don't know why they wouldn't be true. The best of volumes 1&2 are both remastered, 24 bit perhaps? At any rate my guess is that these will be more than sufficient to satisfy the rare urge to listen to Styx toons. Someday I may get a TT set up and listen to them in all their former glory but I'm not setting a time table for that to happen.

jc

[Troy]

DUDE ! You're still alive ?????

Look who's talking!

Compare our post counts. Where ya been?

[Finch Platte]

Their first 6 discs, huh? HUH???

First Album, Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres, Fandango!, Tejas and El Loco.

fp

[Dusty Chalk]

I can't think of any.

No, wait:

Tangerine Dream -- Ricochet, Stratosfear, Cyclone, Force Majeure, Tangram, Exit, White Eagle, Hyperborea, Le Parc, Underwater Sunlight, Tyger, Optical Race, Lily on the Beach, Melrose, Rockoon.

Kraftwerk -- their entire discography up until 1981: Tone Float (as Organisation), Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk 2, Ralf und Florian, Autobahn, Radio-Activity, Trans Europe Express, The Man Machine, Computer World

Klaus Schulze -- starting with Picture Music, Timewind, Moondawn, Body Love, Mirage, Body Love Vol. 2, "X", Dune, Live, Dig It.

Sorry, I'm just not a big Beatles fan. Kudos to the previously mentioned: Yes (although I would start with The Yes Album and work my way to 90125), Genesis, Jethro Tull, Rush, Bowie. Golden Earring just wasn't consistent enough to have 6 in a row. Numan might've, but I missed a couple in the middle, so can't honestly vouch. Plus, Outland is kind of mediocre, and shortly after that, he got a little mixed up in releasing a lot of compilations and live albums and such.

Mike Oldfield -- Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Incantations, Platinum, QE2, Five Miles Out, Crises, Discovery, Killing Fields, Islands, Earth Moving, Amarok, Heaven's Open. (Never really got into TB2, which stops me from putting Songs of Distant Earth on the list.) Plus, Discovery might be pushing it -- it wasn't a gem the way the others are to me.

Vangelis? Let's see: Earth was kind of weird, so start with Heaven & Hell, Albedo 0.39, Spiral, Beauborg...oops, stumble...start over...China, Opera Sauvage (I know, I ruled out one of his other soundtracks, why didn't I rule out this one? Because I suck at rules), See You Later...dagnabit, another stumble...Chariots of Fire, Antarctica, Soil Festivities, Mask, Direct...meh, I give up.

Skinny Puppy? Let's try: Remission was an EP, so start with Bites, Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse, Cleanse Fold & Manipulate, VIVIsectVI, Rabies, Too Dark Park, Last Rights.

That's all for now.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

...with his first six;

My Aim is True
This Year's Model
Armed Forces
Get Happy
Trust
Imperial Bedroom

Not quite Beatles or Dylanesque, but not a bad run of albums.

Mark

[jack70]

Best 6 back-to-back
I was trying to come up with any band that had ever challenged the amazing string of incredible albums put out by the BEATLES in their best days wherein they released 6 back-to-back great albums:
RUBBER SOUL
REVOLVER
SGT. PEPPER'S
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
WHITE (68)
ABBEY ROAD
I realize one could argue over MMT as well as Yesterday & Today and Yellow Submarine. Those were released, perhaps, for ulterior purposes.

As for the Beatles, I'll disagree with the strength of some of those albums... MMTour was a "made up" album (EP+singles)... Yellow Sub was also weak IMO because it wasn't a "real" album, "Let It Be" as well (it was recorded before Abbey Rd)... and The White Album was weak (disjointed at best, a mess at worst... and a glimpse at their soon-to-be breakup). But Help and For Sale were as strong as Rubber Soul in many ways... I'd start there for consecutive back-to-back albums. IMO, The Beatles later album work (post-Sgt Pepper), had great peaks... and great valleys. Even Abbey Road. Not a knock on them, but they lost their consistency (songs within albums) over their last few years (still better than 99%).

Stone is 100% correct (pretty good, that's yer 100'th post too!)... that Kinks run is without peer. (you forgot Percy, although it's not up to par to the others... of course it's not a "real" album either, so lets not count it). But it should be noted that the Kinks released another 2+ albums worth of cuts during that period, but they were either not on albums, or never "officially" released ("4 more respected gentlemen" etc). So it's really more like a 10 LP run. Kinks win!

Although not as consistently strong, I'd pick these too: Man (from 69-74), XTC (starting with their 1'st), King Crimson (starting with their very 1'st), Hendrix, SBB, and Zappa's first 10 (up through 71's Live @ Filmore), Genesis (up through W&W).

[Slosh]

And the Led Zeppelin albums challenging the Beatles' albums? Not in this lifetime.

..just a pretty good run. OK, how about Prince?

Dirty Mind
Controversy
1999
Purple Rain
Around The World In A Day
Parade
Sign 'O' The Times

Not the Beatles either but one could argue a much wider cross-cultural appeal, which I won't.

Not the BeAtles either but all of the Bon Scott-era AC/DC albums made for an impressive run (if you're into that sorta thing)