What Came Next...
There are those albums that are artistic, critical and commercial milestones. They are generally agreed to be the pinnacles of an artist’s career. This is not about those albums. This is about what came next.
Episodes
Ghost is one of those rare modern rock bands that has increased in popularity over the last few years, selling out stadiums and frequently debuting in the upper realm of the album charts. Not a mean feat as that is usually relegated to pop acts, with rock having become a thing of the past. With their faux occult stylings and extensive comic lore, Ghost have managed to gain fans of all ages despite heavy gatekeeping in the metal c...
After five albums within the span of two and a half years Creedence Clearwater Revival was starting to have some issues. John Fogerty was the songwriter, lead guitarist, lead singer and producer for all of their material, and by Pendulum, their second album for 1970, that was wearing him down. Combine that with the rest of the band getting jealous of his frontman status and the cracks began to show.
After a decade absent John Fogerty returned to the spotlight with the hit album Centerfield in 1985, only to be promptly sued by his old label boss Saul Zaentz for plagiarizing himself. Fogerty won, but legal costs and the desire to remain in the spotlight meant a second album had to come out fast. That album was 1986's Eye of the Zombie, which saw Fogerty embracing the synths and rum machines of the mid-1980s with predictably di...
Pop Will Eat Itself elevated themselves above their grebo roots with 1989's This Is the Hour... This Is the Day... This Is This!. Combining hip-hop, punk rock and alternative rock with sampling and experimentation the album was one of the best of the 1980s. Somehow, they managed the same feat with the follow-up, Cure for Sanity, in 1990 while embracing the club culture of the time.
After departing Yes during the sessions for the follow=up to 1978's Tormato Jon Anderson took his songs with him. They formed the backbone of his second solo album, Song of Seven, in 1980. The album is a hodgepodge of different styles, ranging from the folksy stuff he wanted to do with Yes to more progressive music. Unfortunately, it doesn't make for a satisfying follow-up to Olias of Sunhillow.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were declared to be the new Beatles, blasting out of Liverpool and taking the British music scene by storm in 1984 and the U.S. by drizzle in 1985. However, band in-fighting, conflicts with their record company and a general disinterest on the behalf of their lead singer delayed the release of a follow-up to 1985's Welcome to the PleasureDome. When it did arrive the attention of the record-buying public ...
After the success of 1973's We're an American Band Grand Funk Railroad (or simply Grand Funk) maintained producer Todd Rundgren for their 1974 album Shinin' On. Although it gave them another number one song with their cover of "The Loco-Motion" it didn't measure up in quality to the predecessor. The signs of the upcoming burnout were there but they still managed to produce a decent album.
After a series of lackluster albums in the second half of the 1980s AC/DC came roaring back in 1990 with The Razors Edge. It gave them a top-40 hit with "Moneytalks" and revitalized their flagging career. It was a while before the next album came out and, when it did in 1995, Ballbreaker sounded like it came from a band and singer that were worn out.
Gin Blossoms scored a surprise hit with their second album New Miserable Experience. However, that success was bittersweet. Most of the songs were written by Doug Hopkins who was fired from the band while making the album due to his increased unreliability due to his alcoholism. A&M Records made things worse by making him sign over his royalties despite the fact he played on the majority of the release. Hopkins committed su...
Peter Gabriel achieved his biggest solo success in 1986 with the album So. Not only did it produce some of the most memorable music videos of the decade, but it also produced some of the best songs. It took a number of years before the proper follow-up, Us, was released in 1992. By then things had changed but, in many ways, Gabriel had not.
After the runaway hit that was Appetite for Destruction Guns n' Roses kept themselves both on the chart and as the targets of controversy with the stop-gap G n' R Lies in 1988. The real album to follow their smash debut was actually two: Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, released on September 17, 1991 at midnight. With over four standard albums' worth of music the band remained radio staples throughout the early 1990s...
The death of Randy Rhoads during the tour for Diary of a Madman was a severe blow to Ozzy Osbourne, especially after the success of that album. Jack Blades replaced Rhoads on guitar for the live recording, Speak of the Devil, but it was Jake E. Lee that was brought in to be a permanent part of Ozzy's band for Bark at the Moon. However, behind the scenes, there was always Sharon, making sure her husband got all the credit and the ...
Progressive rock music had dwindled in popularity as the '70s came to a close. Still, Asia was able to score a major hit with "Heat of the Moment" from their 1982 debut album Asia. Their record label wanted more and wanted in quick and the result was 1983's Alpha, where the band tried to copy the hitmaking formula, but failed at making as engaging an album as their first.
Although only a minor hit in the U.S., "Video Killed the Radio Star" topped the charts in a number of countries, and Buggles' 1979 The Age of Plastic became a hit in many countries. It was popular enough that Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, the two main members of the band, were asked to join Yes for their Drama album in 1980. When Yes broke up the plan was to make another Buggles album, only Downes got recruited into Asia. Horn w...
Although he was already popular with fans of Dr. Demento, "Weird Al" Yankovic scored a top-40 hit with "Eat It" in 1984 from the album In 3-D, and followed it up with one of the best comedy albums ever in Dare to Be Stupid. It seemed that a "Weird Al" parody was just the thing an artist needed to be relevant. Or, that was what his label Scotti Bros. thought. Instead of letting him do what he does best they started making suggest...
The Stranger was the album that, after a decade of setbacks, finally made Billy Joel a success. It was no surprise it's follow-up, 1978's 52nd Street, debuted at number one. The sound was a bit jazzier - it was named after the street that hosted a number of famous jazz clubs - and it still produced a number of hits. It would, however, find itself in thrift store bins within a few years of its release, and ultimately sell a bit l...
Born to Run made Bruce Springsteen a star, but he had a major problem with manager and producer Mike Appel. Appel wanted to control how Springsteen's career went while the Boss thought he should definitely be the boss. It came to legal blows, delaying the recording and release of a new album for three years. When Darkness on the Edge of Town was released in 1978 it had a darker tone than its predecessors and a more focused lyric...
Thompson Twins combined intelligent lyrics, sparking synth-pop and a unique visual image to spawn an international hit with their 1983 album Into the Gap. For the follow-up they didn't change the formula much, but producer Alex Sadkin was out and, eventually, former Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers was in. Several factors delayed production of the album but, in the end, it was still a moderate success, although nowhere near as good as...
Foreigner was immediately popular from the start, with their 1977 album being a major hit. Things just got better until 1981's 4, which spawned a number of hit singles and hand multi-Platinum success. When Agent Provocateur was released in late 1984 it produced a number one hit with "I Want to Know What Love Is", but failed to reach the heights of its predecessor.
Achtung Baby was an even bigger hit for U2 than The Joshua Tree. With a change of sound they increased their worldwide fandom yet continued to make challenging music. During a lull in their tour they decided to make a quick EP of new material, but that soon expanded into 1992's Zooropa. While still a hit with fans and critics it would signal a turnaround in the fortunes for the Irish band.
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