One Album Wonders

[JohnMichael]

This thread was inspired by a response from nobody to a post where I mentioned a Terrence Trent D'arby album. We have all heard about one hit wonders. I have purchased albums where I liked one song and that was all. How about artists that produce that first record or cd and you loved it all and was amazed by their talent. Then we never hear from them again or their next album is bad or so different that they fall into oblivion. I was interested if anyone else has one album wonders they love. My nomination is of course Introducing The HardIine According to Terence Trent D'arby.

[GMichael]

This thread was inspired by a response from nobody to a post where I mentioned a Terrence Trent D'arby album. We have all heard about one hit wonders. I have purchased albums where I liked one song and that was all. How about artists that produce that first record or cd and you loved it all and was amazed by their talent. Then we never hear from them again or their next album is bad or so different that they fall into oblivion. I was interested if anyone else has one album wonders they love. My nomination is of course Introducing The HardIine According to Terence Trent D'arby.

Although they did make four albums (released three) and had other "hits" I would put Boston in this group. Their first album was great and the others were forgetable.

[kexodusc]

I was really disappointed with "A Perfect Circle"...

Come to think of it, every band even remotely associated with the term Nu Metal probably falls under this category.

[Bernd]

My vote would go three ways:

The Stone Roses - I. Their second album ,also good in parts, comes nowhere close to that first timeless classic.

The Traveling Wilburys - Vol.1 Anything after that sounds forced to me.

But the top spot goes to:

Frankie goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome.
It just shows what a studio can do. The original songs where very different (mostly accoustic) then the versions that appeared on this great debut Album, but the follow up was a stinker.

I am sure there are more, but of the top of my head these are my contenders.

Peace

Bernd

[3-LockBox]

I was really disappointed with "A Perfect Circle"...

Come to think of it, every band even remotely associated with the term Nu Metal probably falls under this category.

I think you're right. Throw a bunch of indie bands in there as well.

APC's first one was killer, but the follow-ups were disappointing, even pedestrian.

Though I wonder if the poster is referring to bands that made one album and then dropped out or bands that only made one decent album and the rest sucked.

Because I know people who think APC's second album (13th Step) was their best.

Some people would say the same for TOOL, but I liked their last one (Lateralus) best, and don't care much for the first two.

[3-LockBox]

My vote goes to 1986's David & David Welcome To The Boomtown. Great album, great songs, not a duff tune in the lot. Both these guys, David Baerwald and David Ricketts, were ubber talented writers (w/ Baerwald doing the vocals) and both these guys played a major role in launching Cheryl Crow's career (credit that she never fully acknowledged) who worked along side the late great Kevin Gilbert on Crow's (theirs) Tuesday Night Music Club.

This album did spawn two hits, the title track and Swallowed By The Cracks, but the rest of it is also a superb time capsule and document of the pop culture driven '80s and its decade long infatuation with conspicuous consumption. It's this aspect of that decade that played a big role in why these two never made an album together again. Baerwald is still recording to this day, but Ricketts never released anything else, both reportedly having struggled with drug abuse throughout the '80s. Baerwald must have kicked his habit.

The album is rich in tales of excess and disappointment, signs that one man's 'good ol days' were another man's hard times. No, it isn't up lifting, its just smartly done, like Don Henley's first couple of solo album or the Eagles' Long Run (yeah yeah yeah...I said Eagles) and like those albums, the production value is superior to alot of its contemporaries. Excellent song craft.

[Woochifer]

A couple that come to mind ...

A Flock of Seagulls - debut album by the band of the same name. The music, that gawdawful hair, and the general sound that they created very much capsulated early-80's new wave as it gained popularity and cemented itself as one of the early heavy rotation videos on MTV. You know they meant something if Quentin Tarantino referred to them in a throwaway line from Pulp Fiction! First album was a top to bottom winner (albeit very repetitive). Second album went nowhere, and by their third album, the entire music world had passed them by.

Loc-ed After Dark - Tone Loc. In 1989, you could not get away from "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina" if you tried! This was only the second hip-hop album ever to top the album chart in the U.S., and it had some other decent songs that supported those two runaway hit singles.

[GMichael]

Does anyone remember the band Asia? Members from the then broken up bands Yes and ELP got together and made one good album. They made more but the others were less than stellar IMO.

[-Jar-]

The Pursuit of Happiness - LOVE JUNK - just an awesome album of smart, tuneful, crunchy guitar pop. I've heard a few things they've done since then and they just never topped their debut.

-jar

[-Jar-]

Does anyone remember the band Asia? Members from the then broken up bands Yes and ELP got together and made one good album. They made more but the others were less than stellar IMO.

When I was in High School marching band we played "Only Time Will Tell"

[N. Abstentia]

Counting Crows. They are still around today, but they'll never recapture the magic of their first CD. It gets a 10 from start to finish. Follow up albums just don't get it done.

[GMichael]

When I was in High School marching band we played "Only Time Will Tell"

Can't imagine a marching band playing Only Time Will Tell. How did it turn out?

[BradH]

Big Country comes to mind. I liked their second one, Steeltown, quite a lot, but their debut has a much more natural feel and was a big hit. Not as much whiney lyrics on the first one, either.

Also, Missing Persons never repeated the success of their first lp. Notice how many of these bands, great or otherwise, are associated with big MTV promotional splashes.

[3-LockBox]

Loc-ed After Dark - Tone Loc. In 1989, you could not get away from "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina" if you tried! This was only the second hip-hop album ever to top the album chart in the U.S., and it had some other decent songs that supported those two runaway hit singles.

Oh yeah, I forgot all about that dude. That really was huge back in the day and then POOF! he was gone. it was actually a pretty good album, thanks to Young MC, speaking of one album wonders.

Good call.

[3-LockBox]

The Pursuit of Happiness - LOVE JUNK - just an awesome album of smart, tuneful, crunchy guitar pop. I've heard a few things they've done since then and they just never topped their debut.

-jar

I have that CD and it is vastly underappreciated. They did make other albums, but nothing matched this one.

[Dusty Chalk]

Does anyone remember the band Asia? Members from the then broken up bands Yes and ELP got together and made one good album. They made more but the others were less than stellar IMO.

[snarky]They made a good album?!?!? Tell me it's name, I must get it...[/snarky]

:rollseyes:

In some of these cases, it's not so much that they only made one good album, it's that their other albums got buried by legal nightmares with record companies; or they were only a hit overseas (Australia or Europe most likely). Big Country is an example of this -- they were actually pretty big in their home country, with a small but steady following. They were only huge over here with those two songs from that one album (I think).

Peter Schilling comes to mind. He had a great hit with that Major Tom song, but then the follow-up album went nowhere. The whole album that's from was actually quite enjoyable, from an 80's pop/new wave kind of thing.

Wang Chung's first album was good from beginning to end, also if you like that sort of thing (Points on a Curve).

How about Modern English? Their second album was decent, but not on the order of After the Snow.

And...hey! I liked Rage Hard.

[Duds]

It's interesting to hear that some people think 13th Step isnt any good. I think its a fantastic album. Is it better than Mer De Noms? I think they are too different to say either way.

I'm a huge Tool fan, so I guess I'm a little bias here. By the way, new Tool on 5/2. NICE!!!!![

QUOTE=3-LockBox]I think you're right. Throw a bunch of indie bands in there as well.

APC's first one was killer, but the follow-ups were disappointing, even pedestrian.

Though I wonder if the poster is referring to bands that made one album and then dropped out or bands that only made one decent album and the rest sucked.

Because I know people who think APC's second album (13th Step) was their best.

Some people would say the same for TOOL, but I liked their last one (Lateralus) best, and don't care much for the first two.[/QUOTE]

[Duds]

Not sure how many have heard of them, but their one and only album under that name was very good. The lead singer got all religious I guess, and didn't want to continue under that name, so he started some other band and released an album probably about a year ago that was just generic crap.

[Stone]

Big Country comes to mind. I liked their second one, Steeltown, quite a lot, but their debut has a much more natural feel and was a big hit. Not as much whiney lyrics on the first one, either.

I like The Seer quite a bit -- not as much as The Crossing, but it's a pretty good record. Granted, it had much more of a "commercial" feel to it, but it still had some very good tracks. I like Steeltown too, but not nearly as much as the other two I mentioned.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

The La's is an obvious one, in that they only released one brilliant album.

Aztec Camera - First album was great, 2nd was panned, they did have some success with their cover of VHs Jump.

I don't think Elastica lived up to the promise of their first album

The Members had a great debut, and nothing else, but I don't think anyone has heard them but me.

X-Ray Spex seem to have disappeared after their debut.

[GMichael]

[QUOTE=Dusty Chalk][snarky]They made a good album?!?!? Tell me it's name, I must get it...[/snarky]

:rollseyes:

QUOTE]

Well, I liked it.

[Dusty Chalk]

Babylon Zoo, The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes (they did that "spaceman" song)

[BradH]

I like The Seer quite a bit -- not as much as The Crossing, but it's a pretty good record. Granted, it had much more of a "commercial" feel to it, but it still had some very good tracks. I like Steeltown too, but not nearly as much as the other two I mentioned.

That's interesting because I thought The Seer was totally lame and stopped following them at that point. I saw them live on the tour for The Crossing and they were fantastic. D Chalk makes a good point that they might've still been big in Europe. I'm sure Adamson's comment about America never producing anything worth calling art didn't help his career w/ American execs. But I remember "Wonderland" was promoted on eneMaTV in 1984, it just never took off.

[jasn]

[shokhead]

Airborne-Soldier of fourtune.