An artist's best period?

[The Curmudgeon]

When a band or an artist has a career that lasts over a certain amount of time, there's always going to be certain periods that you like more than others. Whether its the music they're making, the outfits they're wearing or the line-up of the band.

Madonna, for example. I'm no expert but I know there are certain "era's" that Madonna fans would love over other times in her career. Grown up "Evita" Madonna for some, while others may enjoy the sex-mad whore Madonna from the Justify My Love era.

The artist I'm going to talk about, surprisingly, is Prince. Now he's been in the music scene now for 30 years, and he's had more changes than most. Bores will say his best period was the Sign Of The Times days, and whilst the music was flawless, his look from 1987-89 wasn't something to write home about. That fucking awful beard for one,



That's actually the best I've seen him look from that time. Imagine that beard x 100 and then add polka dots to his shirt. Yeesh. Not just the look, but his band weren't my favourite line-up either. A lot of Prince purists will probably balk at that statement, but for me, the best Prince was the early-mid nineties Prince.

In 1992, Prince and the NPG were just fucking IT. It wasn't just Prince and some backing singers, the band had personalities and room to breathe. Tommy Barbarella, Sonny T, Michael B and the gorgeous Mayte - I used to have a poster of them all in my bedroom and there just wasn't a cooler group of people in my eyes. They're certainly better than the non-descript tools he's hanging around with nowadays anyway. And with songs like Sexy MF Prince was at his dirtiest, most perverse ever. Sure, he'd always been like that, but with the likes of Dirty Mind he came across as more of a simple perv - but by 1992 with the golden gun mic and the police hat with the chains over his face he looked like some kind of sexual demon.



He kept the original line-up of the NPG for a good few years and thus followed my other favourite Prince era - the Artist Formerly Known as Prince era. The death of Prince will forever be ridiculed in the press, but it actually resulted in some of the best albums from Prince; Come, Gold Experience and Emancipation, some of my all-time most played records. It was like a whole mythology and in-depth storyline came with the music, and in the days before the internet ruined everything I would pour over album sleeves and lyric books looking for "clues." It was a GREAT time to be a Prince fan.

Anyway, that's my choice. I know you all have different tastes than mine, so what band or artist, for you, were defined by a particular time?

[trashcanman]

My favorite alternative band Husker Du -who were a primary influence to everyone from REM to Nirvana/Foos to The Pixies- went through some serious artistic changes. First, they were the fastest, loudest, screamingest band in the early hardcore scene (give "Land Speed Record" a listen if you doubt this). Then they mellowed just a bit for the still harsh but more accessible "Everything Falls Apart" era (they even covered Donovan!). Then Bob Mould found this amazing fucking guitar sound that he would use for a long time and they recorded their last hardcore set on the "Metal Circus" EP. Then come the glory days. "Zen Arcade" was this amazing conceptless concept album that mixed everything from solo piano interludes and backwards instrumentals to heartfelt punk that many consider to be the foundation of emo with spiteful hardcore along with some really unique and moody songs and ballads into one entirely flawless and seamless work of noise art. So they turn this awesome thing into Black Flag (who ran the label the Huskers were signed to) and Henry Rollins tells them to get off their high horse and just stick to writing individual songs. So they did. The result -less than a year later- was "New Day Rising" which is considered by many to be their best. It's not as seamless as ZA, but the songs are just as good. Maybe better. "Flip Your Wig" was great, but not as good as the masterpieces that preceded it and their record label debut, "Candy Apple Grey", was a complete change of pace where the band started to schism and the result was more solo acoustic and piano songs and less of the full three-man volcanic assault. "Warehouse: Songs and Stories" saw a much less unique guitar sound and a much more middle-of-the-road approach then any album that preceded it. Great songs, but little fire. The two singer/songwriters weren't really speaking at this point so Husker Du did one last tour for the fan's sake and called it quits.

So, in conclusion: 84-85 were the glory years for alternative rock's founding fathers and I've got an amazing live bootleg from the era to prove it in case the two untouchable albums themselves didn't.

[The Curmudgeon]

I've always written off rock music in the 80s as something that is just totally not "me." Rock in the 70s - yes. Rock in the 90s - yes. But I think I always associate rock in the 80s with metal bands that, unless you loved them from the start, you could never actually get into now.

Husker-Du I've heard OF, but never heard anything by. But your description makes them sound like something I could really buy into. I'm going to have to check them out.

[trashcanman]

Sonic Youth, any number of hardcore punk bands, The Clash, then Big Audio Dynamite, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Fishbone, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, and plenty of other bands laid the groundwork for the alternative rock surge of the 90's during the 80's. It was largely thrash, hardcore, and awful pop-metal at the time, but there was some serious innovation going on. Husker Du evolved so much during their career that nearly every CD I bought was a surprise. I just didn't know what they were going to sound like, but I knew it would be good. I love that kind of band.

[InvisibleWolfMan]

Well, I'm labeled a "bore" by The Curmudgeon...albeit the fact that it's really only half-true. Lyrically, Prince's strongest and most memorable output remains to this day from his first album FOR YOU until LOVESYMBOL. Honestly, which tune are you most likely to remember ALL the words from..... EMALE or LITTLE RED CORVETTE?

Now, for a bold statement I'm going to label COME and THE GOLD EXPERIENCE as the two albums that constantly beat the shit out of each other for the position of "first place" while the constantly knock PURPLE RAIN around like a two-dollar hooker in a diamond studded g-string. PURPLE RAIN is often unfairly labeled as his best album but only because it struck a nerve at the right time. However, COME and THE GOLD EXPERIENCE just have the perfect marriage of Prince's musical genius and showmanship while the lyrics just make each song as sexy as your eardrum prefers. Much of the later 90's input...starting with EMANCIPATION is musically rich but lyrically challenged. Going so exclusive for die-hard fans only makes it even harder to remember the great stuff that managed to survive. 3121 was a recharge of the Prince I felt made COME and THE GOLD EXPERIENCE and it may need some more time before it passes into the upper ranks.

Changing gears, AC/DC would be my choice to discuss. They were fantastic from their first album HIGH VOLTAGE all the way up until BACK IN BLACK. The earlier AC/DC tunes were full of dirt and blues and Bon Scott's impishly fun wording and vocal style really rose the material above the bar. When he died, the bar remained but Brian Johnson's gravel filled howling vocals kicked it on the other side of the schoolyard. BACK IN BLACK stands as AC/DCs "fuck you" to the claims they couldn't go forward without Bon. In doing this, they kicked the bar so even they had troubles reaching it...let alone grasping it for a few brief moments. Johnson's material outnumbers Bon's but only because of death. THE JACK is a good yardstick to prove why Bon can still outdo Brian even in death:

[trashcanman]

Nice, Wolfman. I love Johnson, but there was truly only one Bob Scott. But any AC/DC is good AC/DC in my world.

[Ben]

I almost always prefer bands' early-middle material. Maybe it's because they're young, maybe it's because they're not rich yet, whatever. I hate when artists and bands reach the point where they strum a few chords on the guitar, call it a riff, and record it (I'm talking about you, James Hetfield) and sell it for 16 dollars at the store just because they bought a new mansion the other day. They also feel the need to run said riff through a computer until it loses almost all musical value.

Give it to me raw and with an in-your-face attitude, please. I can't get enough of old 80's bands with their shitty sound quality. If only modern bands spent their production money on cocaine like in the good old days...

[trashcanman]

Nice!