Favourite late period release by a "legacy" artist/ band

David Bowie- Outside
Neil Young - Sleeps with Angels
Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind
Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun

 

I see your last man standing and raise you Jerry Lee Lewis’ Last Man Standing featuring Willie Nelson, Jimmy Page, BB King, John Fogerty, Buddy Guy, Keith Richards, Little Richards, etc.

 

Well said. I'm in a similar place with Bowie. I always loved him (though like many, I lost track of him for a while after Let's Dance), but I never felt like he was "my" artist until The Next Day. I'm 52, so his early stuff was already classic rock by my teens, and though I liked LD a lot, it was competing with U2, Elvis Costello, and The Clash in my teenage brain. I loved TND so much and few seemed to care about it. So that record and Blackstar are where Bowie stopped being a legacy artist for me.

 

Very well said. I, too, was bummed when friends snarkily said "oh, I didn't realize they were still together." I started an essay (and never made time to finish it) titled, "REM Didn't Start To Suck -- You Did." My argument was that for many around my age (I'm 52), REM's classic peak was accompanied by great times in high school or college and the early burst of post-college adulthood -- falling in love, becoming independent, all of that stuff. The later records were associated with moving to the suburb with the good school district and answering your VP's email at 11:30pm. It's no wonder that this cohort prefers Out of Time or Automatic. I'm generalizing based on my friends, but there's obviously a lot of truth here. ;-)

Around The Sun is the only record of theirs that I don't play a lot, though as @Dodoz said, it's better than most people remember. The live versions of those songs are much better, too.

Great thread!

 

Some of these are now 20+ years old, even if they're still considered "late" inning:

Ray Davies ~ After the Fall, Working Man's Café
Johnny Cash ~ American Recordings
Paul McCartney ~ Flaming Pie
Bob Dylan ~ Time Out of Mind (I'll second the thread starter : )
Neil Young ~ Freedom, Ragged Glory, Mirror Ball, Silver and Gold, Greendale (dicey story, but the songs rock), Monsanto Years, Psychedelic Pill (if you let me trim it to a single cd ; )
David Bowie ~ Blackstar
Judy Dyble ~ Talking With Strangers
Richard Thompson ~ Sweet Warrior, Dream Attic, Electric
Patti Smith ~ Gone Again, Gung Ho, Banga
Rush ~ Snakes & Arrows, Clockwork Angels
Leonard Cohen ~ You Want It Darker (just discovered this one ~ beautiful)

honorable mentions:
Roy Haynes ~ Roy-alty
George Harrison ~ Brainwashed (some truly great moments - "Stuck Inside a Cloud," "Pisces Fish")
The Who ~ Wire and Glass/Endless Wire (again, some great moments - "Endless Wire"!)
Neil Young ~ Fork In the Road (b-list, but super fun)
Bob Dylan ~ Love and Theft, Modern Times

 

Everly Brothers -- EB '84
Roy Orbison -- Mystery Girl (and the rediscovered One of the Lonely Ones, though it probably doesn't quite count here)
Paul McCartney -- Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Memory Almost Full
Warren Zevon -- Life'll Kill Ya

 

Now What is the best rock album of the new century. Wipes the floor with the Senior Stones.

 

I always imagine in an alternate universe that the tracks (John's of course ) for Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey were issued on one album. That would probably go down as one of the best solo Beatles albums.

 

Bowie-Blackstar
Dylan-Oh Mercy
Lou Reed-New York
The Tragically Hip-Man Machine Poem
Squeeze-Cradle to the Grave
Springsteen-Magic
Richard Thompson-Sweet Warrior

 

How could I forget that one.....?!

 

The Cult - "Choice of Weapon" & "Hidden City"
Anthrax - "For All Kings"
Accept - "The Rise of Chaos"
Priest - "Angel of Retribution" & "Firepower"
Maiden - "Brave New World" & "Book of Souls"
Cheap Trick - "Rockford"
Scorpions - "Sting in the Tail"
Tesla - "Into the Now"
Y&T - "Facemelter"
Rolling Stones - "Voodoo Lounge"
Johnny Cash's American Recordings series

 

I've loved both bands for decades, but when you're right, you're right!

 

Paul McCartney: Chaos and Creation in the Backyard

 

Iron Maiden - Brave New World (although I like most of what they’ve put out!)

Motley Crue - Saints of Los Angeles was WAY better than it had any right to be. Very enjoyable album.

 

Hobo Sapiens (2003) by John Cale is probably my 3rd favorite album of his, after Paris 1919 and Fear.

 

Dreamland is also an excellent album

 

Chris Hillman - Bidin' My Time

I also agree with the opinions on some late period R.E.M. like Up, Accelerate, & Collapse Into Now.

And of course, from out of left field, The Monkees terrific album Good Times.

 

Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
David Bowie - Blackstar
Eric Clapton - Journeyman

 

Gregg Allman's farewell, Southern Blood

Warren Zevon's farewell, The Wind

 

Legacy?! Just use the word OLD! lol Are your parents your 'legacy' family. I didn't like when they used that term for software a few years back, either. In robot voice: We are trying to be of the future here, but we got this legacy hanging from our necks like an albatross.

 

Nice choice. I should have thought of that. Black Acetate and M:FANS are nothing to sneeze at either.

 

David Bowie - Blackstar (2016)
George Harrison - Cloud Nine (1987) and Brainwashed (2002)
Paul McCartney - Flaming Pie (1997) and Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005)
Larry Norman - Stranded in Babylon (1991)
Robert Plant/Alison Krauss - Raising Sand (2007)
Cat Stevens/Yusuf - Roadsinger (2009)
Steve Taylor - Goliath (2014)
Roger Waters - Is This the Life We Really Want? (2017)

Also, does Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 count as a late period release by a legacy artist? If so, I would definitely include that. It's a late period release by 5 legacy artists, but is technically an early period release from them as a band.

Some others that I would include, but aren't sure if they qualify:
Green Day - American Idiot (2004)
Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)

 

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Iron Maiden's Book Of Souls. 35 years on & they still release a great album.

Also Uriah Heep's last few albums have been very good & would appeal to fans of their classic period.