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Textbook 
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 Topic: Bands That Never Made A Less Than Four Star Record
Posted: February 02 2010 at 14:26 |
This for me is what makes you one of the big boys, greatest band of all time stuff. Almost all groups, even our very favourites with multiple masterpieces to their name, have an album or more that is just OK (3 stars) or a bit wobbly (two stars) or frankly rubbish (one star). Who has always stayed above the four star mark in your opinion? (I think a group has to have released at least three LPs before it makes sense to include them- a lot of acts can do it once or twice in a row, but three in a row seems to be where it gets hard.)
Off the top of my head I can only think of Led Zeppelin and Opeth.
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Vompatti
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 14:38 |
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The Smiths.
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Textbook
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 14:42 |
Nah... well not for me at least, we can all have our own opinion. I'm a huge Smiths/Morrissey fan but I find their debut a bit colourless and drab. Some great songs on there but it's hard to listen to as a whole.
Maybe Husker Du?
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rushfan4
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 14:53 |
I love Led Zeppelin but Coda is kind of less than 4 stars. For me personally, Rush meets this category, however, I have no illusions that this isn't the case for most. That said I have rated a couple of Rush albums two stars based on PA standards, even though those aren't my personal feelings on the albums.
Pretty hard to do though. Bands tend to either start off with less than 4 star albums while they are getting their feet wet, or finish off with less than 4 star albums after key members leave and the remaining members go in a more commercial direction.
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Pekka
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 14:54 |
System of a Down and Tool are the only ones to come to mind right away. I rate all of SoaD's actual studio albums five stars and the leftover collection Steal This Album! strong four stars or even a half on top of that. Tool have a couple of five star masterpieces and the rest is solid four star material, including the Opiate EP and Salival.
What the hell was I thinking, TMV obviously. Except Scabdates, but we can take the liberty of excluding live albums.
Edited by Pekka - February 02 2010 at 14:57
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lucas
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 14:55 |
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"Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood)
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ExittheLemming
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 15:13 |
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This is a lot harder than it sounds (if you're honest enough about it) Discounting the 'one album wonders' and those bands with less than 3 albums to their name leaves:
Magazine
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harmonium.ro
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 15:22 |
I once started a thread trying to find out PA albums that have only ***** reviews from Prog Reviewers / Collabs. Needless to say the thread was short-lived because I couldn't find any.  RE this thread, I'd say that Magma comes very close; they have only one album which is rated bellow ****. For me every second of Zeppelin recordings (official or not) mean a ***** experience, but as the general consensus is concerned, ITTOD is sub-par.
Edited by harmonium.ro - February 02 2010 at 15:29
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rushfan4
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 15:27 |
ITTOD? Forget it, I figured it out. 
Edited by rushfan4 - February 02 2010 at 15:28
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J-Man
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 15:32 |
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Transatlantic is the only one I can think of.
Genesis' later stuff sucks, Opeth has 2 albums below a 4, Pain of Salvation released Scarsick, Spock's Beard's newer albums aren't quite a 4, and Neal Morse's Lifeline is a 3.
Those are all of my favorite artists...
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martinprog77
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 15:33 |
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TRANSATLANTIC
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Nothing can last
there are no second chances.
Never give a day away.
Always live for today.
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heyitsthatguy
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 15:41 |
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Mastodon, Mr. Bungle, Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Blue Lambency Downward hasn't aged as well for me as I'd hoped but otherwise Kayo Dot would definitely fit here
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Stooge
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 15:43 |
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I can't think of a band off the top of my head that have made more than 3 albums that don't have any albums I'd rate 1,2, or 3.
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Marty McFly
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 15:56 |
 rushfan4 wrote:
That said I have rated a couple of Rush albums two stars based on PA standards, even though those aren't my personal feelings on the albums.
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Common, you don't have to be too harsh on them, they're doing good. However, if you, or anyone else can help me with how to rate their first album, because I like it, very, very much, but I'm not sure about how much prog it is. But the fact that I like it will surely helps to increase the rating. Not overly, not behaving like blind fan, but it will help.
To the topic - all bands releasing one album, sometimes two has a big chance to reach this goal.
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There's a point where "avant-garde" and "experimental" becomes "terrible" and "pointless," -Andyman1125 on Lulu  Even my
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Marty McFly
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 15:58 |
J-Man wrote:
Genesis' later stuff sucks,
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Can we think of them as two bands, real Genesis
& the other Genesis ?
:-) this would help
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There's a point where "avant-garde" and "experimental" becomes "terrible" and "pointless," -Andyman1125 on Lulu Even my
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rushfan4
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 16:00 |
Marty McFly wrote:
rushfan4 wrote:
That said I have rated a couple of Rush albums two stars based on PA standards, even though those aren't my personal feelings on the albums.
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Common, you don't have to be too harsh on them, they're doing good. However, if you, or anyone else can help me with how to rate their first album, because I like it, very, very much, but I'm not sure about how much prog it is. But the fact that I like it will surely helps to increase the rating. Not overly, not behaving like blind fan, but it will help.
To the topic - all bands releasing one album, sometimes two has a big chance to reach this goal.
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I gave their debut 3 stars myself, but again mostly because of the community's feeling towards it than my feeling towards it.
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harmonium.ro
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 16:01 |
Marty McFly wrote:
J-Man wrote:
Genesis' later stuff sucks,
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Can we think of them as two bands, real Genesis
& the other Genesis ?
:-) this would help |
No. By that logic you couldn't say that Real Madrid won 9 continental league titles because the team was vastly or completely different each time.
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topofsm
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 17:09 |
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Godspeed You Black Emperor! is probably the only one I can think of, though I haven't heard all of their stuff. I'd love to say Tool, but I'm wavering between a 3 and a 4 for Undertow and I haven't heard Opiate, same for BTBAM since I haven't heard their debut of The Anatomy Of... Mastodon may be a good contender. If The Devin Townsend Project albums are all good then they may qualify.
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micky
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 17:25 |
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if you eliminate fanboys who love everything their favorites do...
none...
if they had any kind of career..
even the Beatles had average albums...
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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Moatilliatta
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Posted: February 02 2010 at 17:27 |
The ones I agree with are The Smiths, Godspeed and Mastodon.
Keeping bands that have released at least 3 albums, and not counting EPs at all, I'll mention these:
The Shins
Andrew Bird
Manitoba/Caribou
The Dear Hunter
The Decemberists
Iron & Wine
Isis
Jaga Jazzist
M83
The Microphones
Russian Circles
TV on the Radio
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Bands That Never Made A Less Than Four Star Record
