Great Musical Runs

[Falls City Beer]

Thinking about the thread that got temporarily derailed on the baseball side by my "Beatles intrusion," I got to thinking about great runs made by bands in their prime, that is, unbroken stretches of great albums by any particular band. What leaps to mind, of course, is the string beginning with Rubber Soul and ending with Let It Be (1965-1970), this being the gold standard in terms of greatness and volume of work released over a span of time. Most other bands would be reduced to ashes by comparison to this run of greatness. But other shorter runs exist, to be sure: The Rolling Stones (Beggars Banquet to Exile), Pixies (Surfer Rosa and Doolittle--okay that's a short one, but very, very bright), Sonic Youth (EVOL to Daydream Nation), Bowie (Low to Lodger), Pavement (Slanted to Wowee Zowee), all incredible runs in rock music, dizzying, in fact. What are yours? (Remember there can't be broken streaks--no clunkers breaking up the run--live albums and b-sides collections don't count).

[westofyou]

Neil Young 70-79

[Falls City Beer]

Neil Young 70-79

See my Neil Young streak would span three albums, On the Beach, Zuma, and Tonight's the Night. There's a bunch of clunk in there, and I love Neil.

[westofyou]

True, but I can stomach his crap at times.

Wilco is in the midst of a nice run

Replacements Let it Be to Please to meet me.

[Falls City Beer]

True, but I can stomach his crap at times.

Wilco is in the midst of a nice run

Replacements Let it Be to Please to meet me.

Neil's tricky: you've got gold ("Like a Hurricane") embedded in the proverbial horseflop (American Stars n Bars).

[pedro]

Camper Van Beethoven

telephone free landslide victory
camper van beethoven
II & III
our beloved revolutionary sweetheart
key lime pie


sparklehorse

vivaladixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
good morning spider
it's a wonderful life

[M2]

Clash

The Clash
Give 'Em Enough Rope
London Calling
Black Market Clash
Sandinista!

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin IV
Houses of the Holy
Physical Graffiti

You could go longer with them dependent on how you feel about III and Presence

Pink Floyd

Dark Side of the Moon
Wish You Were Here
Animals
The Wall
The Final Cut

U2

War
The Unforgettable Fire
The Joshua Tree

Bad Brains

Rock for Light
I Against I

Fugazi

Can I just toss out Steady Diet of Nothing and count their whole career? Please.

The Misfits

Earth A.D.
Walk Among Us
Legacy of Brutality

I prefer Static Age to LoB - which was mostly a SA remaster, but no one knew it existed until long after the band split

The Ramones

Ramones
Leave Home
Rocket to Russia
Road to Ruin
End of the Century
Pleasant Dreams

Saving the world from AOR in the process

AC/DC

High Voltage
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Let There Be Rock
Powerage
Highway to Hell
Back in Black

[Johnny Footstool]

I think a "musical run" needs to contain at least three albums.

In addition to U2, the Pixies (I think you can include Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde in their run), and Fugazi, here are a few others:

Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom, Irresistible Bliss, and El Oso. All three albums are masterpieces.

Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me, Bug, Green Mind, Whatever's Cool with Me, Where You Been?

Afghan Whigs - Congregation, Gentlemen, Black Love. Gentlemen was one of the best albums of the '90s, IMO. Black Love was very good, but you could feel the greatness slipping away.

Smashing Pumpkins - Gish, Siamese Dream, and the ten good songs scattered throughout Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

[Redsland]

At the risk of sounding like a tool--(Tool!) -- I liked everything Rush did from 2112 until Vapor Trails. That's covers more than 20 years.

And REM had a nice little thing going until "Green."

[wheels]

The Stooges 1969-1972

The Stooges
Fun House
Raw Power

The Velvet Underground 1967-1970

The Velvet Underground and Nico
White Light/White Heat
The Velvet Underground
Loaded

The MC5 1969-1972

Kick out The Jams
Back in the USA
High Times

Captain Beefheart 1967-1972
Dropout Boogie
Safe as Milk
Strictly Personal
Trout Mask
Lick My Decals Off, Baby
Clear Spot
The Spotlight Kid


I dunno, call me silly for still playing those stupid vinyl records, but I've gotten a kick out of these for a long time. In my mind nothing beats slumping down in my record room for a few hours on a tuesday afternoon spinning them and drinking beer.

No one's ever accused me of being some kinda sophisticate anyway.

[wheels]

[QUOTE=M2

[b]The Ramones[/b]

Ramones
Leave Home
Rocket to Russia
Road to Ruin
End of the Century
Pleasant Dreams

Saving the world from AOR in the process

So true, and you can also say that they're still saving the world from another great evil....O.A.R. (yeeeeccchhh)

You'd get a kick out of my record collection.

[WVRedsFan]

I know y'all gonna love this...

Buffett, Jimmy

1978-2004

All platinum (I think) and still chugging.

I think...

[Blimpie]

Led Zeppelin IV
Houses of the Holy
Physical Graffiti

You could go longer with them dependent on how you feel about III and Presence

IMO Led Zeppelin III was a pretty strong effort, but Achilles Last Stand and Nobody's Fault But Mine were the only highlights of the Presence album

[Blimpie]

Please, let us not forget the Boss and his run from 1975-1980...

Born To Run. Released August 25, 1975. Chart high #3.

Darkness On the Edge of Town. Released June 2, 1978. Chart high #5.

The River. Released October 10, 1980. Chart high #1.

[M2]

Please, let us not forget the Boss and his run from 1975-1980...

Born To Run. Released August 25, 1975. Chart high #3.

Darkness On the Edge of Town. Released June 2, 1978. Chart high #5.

The River. Released October 10, 1980. Chart high #1.

I'd include Greetings from Asbury Park and The Wild, the Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle