Sandwiches between two masterpieces

That's true... and 'Ticking' is essential as well... but 'Caribou' is by far the weakest link in the classic 1970s album run.

 

i love all three, perhaps animals the most

 

All of those albums are truly great, but "Young Americans" and "Around the World in a Day" are my faves out of the ones you've listed, and are groundbreaking/essential parts of both artists' catalog.

I'd say Batman>Graffiti Bridge>Diamonds & Pearls for Prince
And for Bowie, I'd go Alladin Sane>PinUps>Diamond Dogs

you could skip PinUps and Graffiti Bridge and not miss anything about either artist.

 

Maybe it's just not the masterpiece the other two are, but weaker in my mind.
Strange Days
Waiting For The Sun
Soft Parade

 

Kiln House is one of the best FM albums, period, regardless of lineup.

Someone posted Kiln House/Penguin/Mystery To Me earlier, which would be more accurate, as Kiln House and Mystery to Me are both top tier Mac.

 

And as weak as that album was (in comparison), I still loved it.

 

I'm a fully paid-up member of the Tales-loving faction! Though I love all three of these albums.

 

I too swim in the Topographic Ocean quite frequently. Actually, I like it better than Relayer.

 

Stevie Wonder's Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants between Songs in the Key... and Hotter Than July.

The Go-Go's with Vacation inferior to Beauty and the Beat and Talk Show.

(Yeah, I know—it’s a bit of a stretch to call the Go-Go’s albums masterpieces.)

 

I have to disagree: whilst I like Danny Kirwan's contributions, Jeremy Spencer's fifties pastiches do nothing for me.

The problem here is that this wasn't a consecutive run of albums: Future Games and Bare Trees come in between Kiln House and Penguin, so I'm not sure that adheres to the premise of the thread.

 

He a actually had Bare Trees/Penguin/Mystery to Me, so in that context it makes more sense.

I guess Kiln House isn't as good as Then Play On or Bare Trees, but I'm such a Mac fan, and part of what I love about them is each and every album has a singular identity amongst the catalog...

 

U2 October, between Boy and War

October didn't stink, but it just doesn't measure up to what came before and after

 

Probably a controversial opinion, but...

Blood On The Tracks
Desire
Street Legal

 

Oh yes. I have no interest hearing the end of those 1970 Mac shows. I asked Graham Parker, who saw them then, if it was Spinal Tap-ish. He said it definitely was.

 

"No.10 Upping Street"
"Tighten Up, Vol. 88"
"Megatop Phoenix"

 

Triumph is The Jacksons, is that what you mean?.

 

Teenage Fanclub:

Bandwagonesque
Thirteen
Grand Prix

Personally I've always liked Thirteen and thought it was the natural bridge between the two other albums, but didn't realise until years later that the band themselves didn't like it much and that it got largely panned upon release.

 

Morrissey. Depending how you could look at it:

(Viva Hate)
Bona Drag (really a compilation, but IMO his strongest ever 'album' and usually given a free pass as a 'proper album')
Kill Uncle
Your Arsenal

 

Kate Bush

The Kick Inside
Lionheart
Never For Ever

Lionheart isn't a bad album but to me it sounds like leftovers from TKI.

 

Elvis Costello and The Attractions

Trust
Almost Blue
IbMePdErRoIoAmL

 

Jesus Wept is a forgotten great album!

 

I originally typed Michael Jackson/The Jacksons, but I changed it because I imagined some would wonder what MJ album it is. That's enough to list it here.

 

So you only got it wrong in the subject line. Drives me crazy every time I see Sandwiches between albums.

 

Especially when it's like the above In The City, This Is The Modern World, All Mod Cons example.





A Jam Sandwich.....................

 

Probably will get disagreement here but:

Arcade Fire

Funeral > Neon Bible < The Suburbs

Funeral was a stone cold masterpiece. The Suburbs was a minor masterpiece. Neon Bible was just alright but a bit overblown (even for them). Everything after... ugh.