What are some "non-heyday" albums you love?

[The Analog Cub]

The elimination threads around Sabbath and the recent release of Maiden's Senjutsu to varying opinions got me thinking on this. What are some albums that you love that most would consider "non-heyday"?

 

I'm not talking about what you think is "underrated".

 

My personal picks would be:

 

Clockwork Angels - the obvious Rush one. It's not within that 2112-Moving Pictures run but for me stands the test of time as one of their finest works.

Brave New World - the first 21st century Maiden album. It's not 80's Maiden but IMO stands up against and is better than a lot of 80s Maiden.

Up The Downstair - Porcupine Tree's second album. Far under the radar compared to the metal era but is a good collection of Wilson's psychedelic phase.

[ST3V]

Kansas - The Prelude Implicit and The Absence Of Presence

 

I will always talk about how much I love the current Kansas lineup, and how spectacular these 2 albums are. When Walsh retired in 2014 that gave the band an opportunity to have a semi-fresh start and that really benefitted them and finally get back into the studio.

[invisible airwave]

Stone Temple Pilots self titled

The Cars - Move To This

The Cure - Bloodflowers

Depeche Mode - Sounds Of The Universe

[driventotheedge]

Robin Trower - Go My Way, Living Out of Time

Clockwork Angels

Steely Dan - Two Against Nature

Sabbath - 13 (a reunion album but well past their heyday of the first 6 albums.......I like it so much I thiun k it compares rather favorably with those 6)

Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers (also a reunion album that to my ears compares very favorably to the best of Mark II)

[IbanezJem]

Deep Purple`s Purpendicular. First with Steve Morse so I`m always going to be a little biased, but as a complete record I prefer it to classic Purple with Richie.

[Mithrandir]

Deep Purples third album is fantastic. More psychedelic with great guitar work that is different than the Mark II guitar sound.

 

Rod Evans sounds damn good too.

 

It's probably my favorite DP album

[thizzellewashington]

The album Cheap Trick put out earlier this year is excellent.

[JohnRogers]

Hear in the Now Frontier - Queensrÿche

[The Analog Cub]

Deep Purple`s Purpendicular. First with Steve Morse so I`m always going to be a little biased, but as a complete record I prefer it to classic Purple with Richie.

 

Purpendicular is fantastic.

[custom55]

Aerosmith - Done With Mirrors

[zepphead]

The last two Styx albums - The Mission and Crash Of The Crown. Both superb.

[custom55]

The Rolling Stones - Steel Wheels 1989

 

Great album with a great supporting tour

 

 

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Oh...I don't know

 

The Miracle by Queen

Brave New World by Iron Maiden

Distance Over Time by Dream Theatre

 

others I'm sure

[stoopid]

Interesting topic. I find that my tastes in specific albums seem to follow the general opinion for that artist's 'best to worse', so I'm struggling to think of a single album that fans tend to poo poo that I enjoy (contrary to that general opinion).

[stoopid]

Once upon a time Pink Floyd's Animals would qualify, but it's gained a lot of momentum / popularity in the past decade or two. But if I'm being honest, I was part of that early wave of people revisiting and falling in love with the recording a second time.

 

Now and Zen - Robert Plant (?) [many Zep fans loath some of his solo work]

Edited September 15, 2021 by stoopid

[Union 5-3992]

Stone Temple Pilots self titled

The Cars - Move To This

The Cure - Bloodflowers

Depeche Mode - Sounds Of The Universe

I'd likely put the 2018 self titled by STP on my list.

 

David Bowie - Heathen/Reality/The Next Day was a hell of a run for a guy that late into his career. They get overlooked now after Blackstar eclipsed them.

The Tragically Hip - Man Machine Poem

Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue

[The Analog Cub]

As others have mentioned I give props to AIC's Black Gives Way to Blue. DuVall is a great vocalist and the post-Layne Alice is honestly an entirely different sounding band, but it sounds great

[bluefox4000]

Firepower-Judas Preist

Chaos and Creation.......-Paul Mccartney

XIV-Toto

Brave New World-Maiden

Songs From The West Coast-Elton John

Hang Cool Teddy Bear-Meat Loaf

Dream Theater-Dream Theater

Tom Waits-Bad As Me

The Mission and Crash of the Crown-Styx

 

Mick

[The Analog Cub]

Dream Theater is hard for me because I don't consider them ever having a "heyday". There are plenty of opinions that prefer the old days of Images and Words, the middle years of Scenes and Octavarium, or the Mangini years.

 

 

If the criteria for DT is "non-Portnoy", then I guess my answer is Distance Over Time, what a banger of an album

[J2112YYZ]

As others have mentioned I give props to AIC's Black Gives Way to Blue. DuVall is a great vocalist and the post-Layne Alice is honestly an entirely different sounding band, but it sounds great

 

They are?

 

There's very little they've recorded with Duvall that I couldn't see them doing with Layne if he was still around. Yes, the sound is a somewhat different without Layne but it's not a completely different band at all. Their current sound still has a lot in common with the old one.

[The Analog Cub]

As others have mentioned I give props to AIC's Black Gives Way to Blue. DuVall is a great vocalist and the post-Layne Alice is honestly an entirely different sounding band, but it sounds great

 

They are?

 

There's very little they've recorded with Duvall that I couldn't see them doing with Layne if he was still around. Yes, the sound is a somewhat different without Layne but it's not a completely different band at all. Their current sound still has a lot in common with the old one.

 

The double lead vocals is what I hear in common but the music is different to me somehow. Darker, maybe? Stuff like A Looking In View or The One You Know doesn't sound like it'd fit in with the older albums to me. They sound awesome though.

 

Maybe it's the mixing

Edited September 16, 2021 by The Analog Cub

[The Analog Cub]

Once upon a time Pink Floyd's Animals would qualify, but it's gained a lot of momentum / popularity in the past decade or two. But if I'm being honest, I was part of that early wave of people revisiting and falling in love with the recording a second time.

 

Now and Zen - Robert Plant (?) [many Zep fans loath some of his solo work]

 

I'm gonna pick Division Bell. Love that album to death. All Floyd albums are pretty popular but you could argue their heyday ended with The Wall.

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Once upon a time Pink Floyd's Animals would qualify, but it's gained a lot of momentum / popularity in the past decade or two. But if I'm being honest, I was part of that early wave of people revisiting and falling in love with the recording a second time.

 

Now and Zen - Robert Plant (?) [many Zep fans loath some of his solo work]

 

I'm gonna pick Division Bell. Love that album to death. All Floyd albums are pretty popular but you could argue their heyday ended with The Wall.

 

It certainly ended with The Wall, if only because The Final Cut cannot possibly be considered a part of their golden period.

[Steevo]

Once upon a time Pink Floyd's Animals would qualify, but it's gained a lot of momentum / popularity in the past decade or two. But if I'm being honest, I was part of that early wave of people revisiting and falling in love with the recording a second time.

 

Now and Zen - Robert Plant (?) [many Zep fans loath some of his solo work]

Once upon a time Pink Floyd's Animals would qualify, but it's gained a lot of momentum / popularity in the past decade or two. But if I'm being honest, I was part of that early wave of people revisiting and falling in love with the recording a second time.

 

Now and Zen - Robert Plant (?) [many Zep fans loath some of his solo work]

 

Just Principle of Moments I have time for.

[Relayer2112]

Mike Oldfield - Amarok (to me, this album is just about perfect)

 

Supertramp - Brother Where You Bound (No Hodgson on this one and the result is a, dare I say, ballsy album. Unfortunately that era was over as soon as it began)

 

Yes - Drama - The band were between heydays and were without Jon Anderson, so they had a chance to write an album without his new age influence

 

Blue Oyster Cult - Club Ninja - I think many fans as well as the band themselves don't give it the time of day, but I think it's got some really good stuff on it.