Acts whose debut album is an afterthought in their overall discography

haha, i don't even know why i thought of reba. sometimes i just see records around the store and they look forgotten.

never forget...

http://www.rockofages.uk.com/stock/14502.jpg

http://cdn.discogs.com/l8FASc3zEfxxKDHyXu8wj36Y-aE=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb()/discogs-images/R-2588694-1291932830.jpeg.jpg

the first two jennifer warnes albums are my faves by her and mostly forgotten.

http://eil.com/images/main/Jennifer-Warnes-I-Can-Remember-Ev-488458.jpg

http://www.bsnpubs.com/london/parrot/34.jpg

Didn't Chris Gaines release a couple of things using another name?

eurythmics

Was gonna suggest Sigur Ros's Von, but it looks like they still play Hafsól live.

There's an interesting divide in this thread between bands with strange/obscure/uncharacteristic/unsuccessful debuts, and bands who had two distinct career phases (Human League, Journey) where the second one far exceeds the other in popularity.

blasters' debut didn't get out to too many people.

true about the blasters, but it included two signature songs, and eventually got a wider release.

Wait, are you guys talking their actual debut American Music (which I've never seen, and which I think perfectly fits this thread) or The Blasters (which repeated a couple songs from the previous, really obscure one)?

Before Runt, Rundgren was in a 60s blooze band, Woody's Truck Stop, and then Nazz, who made three albums, incl. the original version of "Hello, It's Me" and psych-pop "Open My Eyes." Dunno how those albums are, but "Open My Eyes" was always cool--with phasing, that "psychedelic Bromo-Seltzer," as Beefheart called it. (The Bangles did a killer cover a few years ago.) The re-recorded version of "Hello, It's Me" sounded Carole King as hell, although not as good as her best, but he did that in her heyday, so smart move, I guess.
A power-pop collector told me that the Shoes may have done as many as five albums before Black Vinyl Shoes, but I haven't tried to verify. Think some of those songs turned up on later, non-self-released albums.

re the Shoes, afaik there were 3 albums before Black Vinyl Shoes - Head or Tails, One in Versailles and Bazooka. The last 2 have been reissued on CD & vinyl over the years. I only know of the 1st one because it's listed on discogs, that's the only place I've seen mention of it.

i was talking about american music. i think it's readily available these days though.

those early Nazz albums are pretty good, though I'd argue that the third one doesn't really count, it's more a pile of leftovers released after Todd's solo career got off the ground. don't sleep on the opener of Nazz II, "Forget All About It", which is about as perfect as "Open My Eyes" was

"Dunno how those albums are, but "Open My Eyes" was always cool"

wow, really, you've never heard the nazz records? you really should.

i was talking about american music. i think it's readily available these days though.

as was i. uber obscure for a long time, but now available indeed. it's even on spotify.

So did anybody mention Robin Scott of M "Pop Muzik" fame's 1969 singer songwriter album yet?

http://www.discogs.com/Robin-Scott-Woman-From-The-Warm-Grass/master/313526

Or Pete Shelley's first album (recorded in 1974, self-released in 1980 -- then reissued a couple years back, which might disqualify for some folks)?

http://www.discogs.com/artist/28754-Pete-Shelley

Oops, for Shelley this one obviously.

http://www.discogs.com/Pete-Shelley-Sky-Yen/master/393053

Also the first two Quiet Riot albums w/ Randy Rhoads that only came out in Japan?

99% of bands fit into one of three categories:

1. Debut album is the best.
2. Debut album is overlooked/non-canonical/crap.
3. They only made one album.

I guess there's Milkwood (Rick Ocasek and Ben Orr), though I don't know if it's fair to count other bands, even if it is the two main guys. How they got from that to The Cars is a mystery though.

Tempted to say the Beatles. I mean, it doesn't get a great deal of attention anymore compared to the middle-period album, or even to the White Album or Abbey Road. And agree with Neil Young definitely.

I don't know, that seems more like a less successful but still well-regarded component of a remarkably popular/beloved discography, don't know if that (or the Rolling Stones or Kinks examples above) really fit the criteria from the top of the thread.

LIke, if you told a Beatles fan that Please Please Me doesn't count, and With the Beatles is actually their first record, I think you'd mostly get confused looks, or accusations of challops

Maybe if it was like, a shitty skiffle record they recorded in 1960 where Stu Sutcliffe sang all the songs, and they never reissued it and distanced themselves from it.

But it has Twist and Shout on it! Among many other oldies staples!

Clemenza, as a Shoes fan in long standing, have you ever heard any of those almost-unknown pre-Black Vinyl albums?

Stabbing Westward - "Ungod"

Any album with enduring hits (say, first Beatles or first Who) seems weird to include.

So try The Rolling Stones. Featuring one Jagger/Richards composition, and nothing anybody ever hears on the radio.

White Zombie - Soulcrusher. sure, there's a lot of people who stan for it, but the majority of the fanbase know them as originating on La Sexorcisto. and Rob was going by "Rob Straker" back then!

I have Bazooka, Chuck--if you like the Shoes, it's quite good. I wouldn't call it afterthought, though; it wasn't released until years after the fact, though (unless it was out there as a bootleg), and to me that's a different dynamic.

I was mistakenly thinking of With the Beatles as their debut--you're right, it's Please Please Me. But I do think both are kind of an afterthought...in terms of things like message-board discussions and such.

One too many "though"s...

good thread!

i'd nominate the first rosanne cash album

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosanne_Cash_%28album%29

only released in europe, no hits whatsoever.

The three songs from Bazooka on your comp are three of my favorites - best sound of the Shoes discography based on my limited listening

How the albums that kicked off apocalyptic screaming Beatlemania could be afterthoughts in the career, come on.

and scott, i'd love to hear those jennifer warnes albums!

the first one i know well is the third album, which is a very nice kind of arty (john cale produced) singer-songwriter cover album. and even that album is pretty well forgotten, i'm pretty sure it's out of print and was maybe released on CD only in japan or something. but it's a really pretty record. it has this on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqk7gorwWAo

(xpost) I mean afterthoughts now, not then. Quick example: my guess is that every Beatles album past a certain point (Help!?) has been polled on here. I did a quick check on the first two and found nothing--that kind of thing. If they have been polled, call me Emily Litella.

Fair enough, one of the problems with polling is the huge differences between the British & US versions of all their albums before Sgt. Pepper.

I'm pretty comfortable saying "Please Please Me" and "She Loves You" and probably some early others still rank with my favorite Beatles songs anyway.

it wasn't released until years after the fact, though (unless it was out there as a bootleg)

According to wikipedia it was self-released on cassette in 1976. No idea if that's true or not though.

The one I was really wondering about was One In Versailles, which as I say above I remember reading about in one of those old Trouser Press new wave guides from the '80s (which I believe mentioned at least one of the other two, too.)

wasn't one in versailles an EP... or something? man, i do not have a good grasp on the Shoes discography.

for a long time i just assumed "black vinyl shoes" was the debut, b/c it was the first to make a splash (such as it was), and it would certainly be a good story to come out of the gate with something so formally perfect.

Absolutely, individual songs are still loved and talked about and the rest. I meant only the albums--which is partly a function of pop albums just generally not being taken as seriously till '65 or '66. (I do see Please Please Me was #39 on Rolling Stone's Top 500, so that may or may not disprove my point.)

According to wikipedia it was self-released on cassette in 1976.

Didn't know that. Guessing very, very few copies--maybe mostly a rumour until it was officially released? Don't have Versailles, no.

it's just silly to bring up please please me when we're talking about Randy Newman and Writer

"Acts whose debut album is an afterthought in their overall discography." You disagree. Wonderful.

No hits. Nothing played live. Hated/discounted by the general listening public. Even better if most fans don't even know its existence.

1. Ride The Tiger - Yo La Tengo

― kornrulez6969, Sunday, May 10, 2015 2:34 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

first post

the hitless, unrevisited, hated, almost entirely unknown album with "i saw her standing there" on it

I didn't read the first post, just the thread title. Pointed such things out without the "silly" attached works too.

"Pointing..." But then you wouldn't be you, would you?

I get hung up more on the "nothing played live" part because I know it's not absolute and nothing is disqualified cos Jimmy Marvin and the Cleveland Steamer Five decided to pull out some rarities 47 years into their career...

but I find some bands I don't know enough about what songs survived in their setlist years later to know for sure did the album outright vanish or is there still a crowd favorite that gets played from it. though setlist.fm is kinda helpful with that.

(not a criticism, it's actually made the thread more interesting)