Great late career albums

Being 61 years old I've had the pleasure of following some real titans within recorded music. Lot s of them dead now and some in their twilight years still touring and recording. Sometimes late career albums can be a study in goin through the motions or even flagging a dead horse. Occasionally the old legends manage to deliver truly outstanding and moving stuff despite or maybe because of their age. Cohen, McCartney,Cash are imo some examples of that. Would be interesting to lift and discuss late career work that manages to make true musical statements.
I start with BB Kings One kind favor. Released in 2008 the King was 83 when this album was recorded. Produced by T-Bone Burnett and featuring a crack combo with among others Jim Keltner and dr John I think this is one of BB Kings finest albums. Musically he returns to his 50-s blues/swing roots and he does it in style. His vocals have a depth and power that is mezmerising and the guitar playing is both raw and sublime. This is an album I find myself constantly returning to and I find new things to enjoy with each spin. It also sounds great.
There are lot s of other examples of late career masterpieces so let's roll and see what can be found.

 

Cohen, whom you mention, is an interesting case. I agree his final works were amazing - but the circumstances of his "comeback" were strange in that if not for criminal activity robbing him of his money, he probably would never have bothered. You've got to wonder what other great tunes he had in him that just evaporated into the ether over the years.

I also wonder to what extent his unfortunate circumstances once again created the need to make music, the desire, which apparently wasn't strong enough when he had sufficient funds.

 

I’m quite excited to find out who will be making those great late-career albums when I hit 61 (around a quarter-venture to go). Grandaddy, Janelle Monae, Damon Albarn, and Kamasi Washington are my top picks right now.

 

Dylan's Time Out Of Mind was a nice comeback in 1997 when he was about 54 years old. His previous albums were very average, and many felt his career had come to a sorry end. This album had excellent production from Lanois and songs which stood with Dylan's best. I have no doubt that without this album he would not have enjoyed the career which emerged following this release.

 

June Carter Cash's final album Wildwood Flower (from 2003), was recorded when she was about 74 years old. In a documentary on the recording of this album, she said that it was suggested that she record "Wildwood Flower" on her previous album, but she said that the song belonged on her final album. A nice bookend for her career and tribute to her parents.

I recall the first time I heard tracks from the album. What struck me was I was listening to an elderly woman. There are lots of examples of elderly men recording (eg. some of the names mentioned above), but it is relatively less common to hear the voice of elderly women. And June holds her own on this album.

 

James Taylor- Hourglass. Just a fantastic album from top to bottom.

 

Kate Bush - Aeriel
Rush - Clockwork Angels
Mike Oldfield - Return to Ommadawn

Not sure about great masterpieces - but very strong albums late on i their careers (IMHO)

 

She was only 52 at the time, but Peggy Lee's Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota is a hundred times better than you'd expect of an album of mostly contemporary seventies pop from a World War II-era singer.

 

This is the heaviest album they ever made. Fantastic. Came out last year.

 

Love that album that was released 20 years ago. Not sure if it fits in the late-career category though

 

Great thread idea. I will be curious to see what is posted here as I imagine I have given up on some artists too early.

 

The Monkees ‘Good Times!’, 2016. Their first album of new material since 1996, was highly praised by reviewers and fans alike. The album reached number 14 in the Billboard charts and was number one in vinyl, their first official number one album since 1967.

 

Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl

 

He's still going (although not recording much), but since this was 27 years after his debut, I think it counts as late. One of my very favorite Elvis albums.

 

Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose (2004), produced by Jack White. Such an odd combination that worked beautifully to me.

 

Chris Hillman's recent record Bidin' My Time is superb.

David Crosby's last three records are extremely strong.

 

She Shot Me Down, Frank Sinatra's 1981 collection of newly recorded saloon songs, was a largely ignored artistic triumph at age 65.

 

"12 Songs" by Neil Diamond

 

Good choice. But I’d also like to add ‘Oh Mercy’ to the mix. He was floundering in the 80’s, and many didn’t think he had an album like Mercy left in him.

Not coincidentally, wasn’t Lanois also involved in that one?

 

Timothy B. Schmit's last two albums, Expando (2009) and Leap of Faith (2016), are pretty awesome. He was 68 when he released Leap of Faith.

 

Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
David Bowie - ★

 

What is it about elder statesman country stars that they put out these great late career gems? A lot to contemplate and come to terms with I guess...

 

Great choice - though I'd be tempted to remove the word "pretty" from your statement

 

XTC - Apple Venus Volume 1 (1999)

This is in my top 3 favourite XTC albums, and it came out 20 years after their first classic, Drums and Wires!