Bands whose first album is/was their best

[AlargeClaret]

but if you want controversial here's some: i think the first stone roses album is overrated (don't stop is a truly rubbish track) and second coming is massively underrated. so much so i'd have them as a tie.

You’re right about “ don’t stop” and also about how underrated Second Coming was . Though not my fav album by a long shout , any album containing I am the resurrection , I wanna be adored and made of stone ( imo) could never be “ overrated” But as the cat said when it licked the dogs arrse “ it’s all a matter of taste “

[Billy Balfour]

Cheeky Girls

Nah, not having that. The third, critically acclaimed album, is their best.

[claret2018]

The first stone roses album is well overrated, as is the second.

[Duffer_]

Rattlesnakes - Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

[dougcollins]

Never been a big Dire Strats fan but I do like some of the uptempo tracks on the first album. They took the wrong direction for me but I'm sure Knopfler would answer that by showing me his bank balance.

[Taffy on the wing]

Kate Bush - The Kick Inside is a really good shout fatboy47. Definitely my fave Kate Bush album.

Hounds of love ....especially side 2 is so brilliant though!

[yTib]

killing joke
the beautiful south
gang of four

[bobinho]

David gray.

[EarbyClaret]

Killing Joke is a great shout. Some standout album tracks and singles throughout their career but as a collection of songs never bettered their debut

Gang of Four - definitely and also Dexys from further up the thread

Difficult to slip a fag paper between the first three Velvets albums in terms of quality

Floyd - effectively two different bands with/without Barrett. I'm firmly in the Syd camp and both of his solo albums would feature in the 'forgotten how good they were' thread

Similarly The Clash who evolved their sound with every album so difficult to compare but all classics in their own right although Sandanista was probably one for the commited fan

I'd also add to the list SLF and the Undertones

[Devils_Advocate]

The Hollies: 'In the Hollies Style' - Started well but got steadily worse as the years (and albums) ticked by

[bobinho]

Yeah good shout Earby, SLF’s inflammable material has a rawness to it unmatched in any follow ups, and they have done some crackers since.

[Cabbage]

Counting Crows - August and Everything After

[bobinho]

Didn’t know you liked them Eric? I have that album. Mr Jones is a good song.

I also like “this desert life” by them, mrs potters lullaby being the stand out for me.

[casualclaret]

I’ve always been a big fan of Def Leppard since first seeing them live at King George’s Hall in 1980. To this day their first album On Through The Night remains my favourite and most played rock album. Raw, undercooked music that I can really relate to. Steve Clark is a bit of a guitar hero for me. Other Def Leppard albums have been good especially High and Dry and Pyromania but subsequent efforts always seem to be overproduced to me. Any other bands whose first effort was/is their best?

Interesting debate ea claret, one that I've had with several people over the years. I too got into Def Leppard in 1980 but still think the following 3 are far better quality wise. Including Hysteria which fans of the more raw, undercooked Leppard ( like yourself) tend to dismiss. The haters will hate, despite it being their best seller. I know a lot of rock fans seem to go off bands when they become too successful or " commercial ". Not that I think On through the night is bad.Far from it. To me it was merely a good starting point. I've enjoyed most Leppard albums to a varying degree, even the much maligned "Slang".

Good shout later in the thread for the first Counting Crowes album.

[ClaretinJapan]

The La's - The La's, 1990.

Still waiting for their next album.

[Wile E Coyote]

I’ve always been a big fan of Def Leppard since first seeing them live at King George’s Hall in 1980. To this day their first album On Through The Night remains my favourite and most played rock album. Raw, undercooked music that I can really relate to. Steve Clark is a bit of a guitar hero for me. Other Def Leppard albums have been good especially High and Dry and Pyromania but subsequent efforts always seem to be overproduced to me. Any other bands whose first effort was/is their best?

I loved wasted, but pyromania and hysteria were masterpieces.

[Claret Till I Die]

David gray.

Great shout. White ladder is a very underrated album

[Swizzlestick]

David Gray had released a few albums before White Ladder.

The Strokes
The Velvet Underground

[Claret Till I Die]

David Gray had released a few albums before White Ladder.

The Strokes
The Velvet Underground

Every day's a school day.

[Mondsley]

ELP by ELP

[Hipper]

Never been a big Dire Strats fan but I do like some of the uptempo tracks on the first album. They took the wrong direction for me but I'm sure Knopfler would answer that by showing me his bank balance.

I agree with Dire Straits. That first album was full of underplayed guitar work and neat little stories. Their later work was more catchy guitar riffs and banal lyrics.

It illustrates another view of a first album - the band has worked together for a while to produce this work because they want to. After that they get a contract for an album a year and have to write stuff because of the contract.

Other bands develop, such as Fairport Convention whose early recordings were tasteful covers of west coast singer songwriter material but then they evolved, with personnel changes playing a part, to produce their opus, Liege & Lief - their fourth album. The difference may be that they started young - Ashley Hutchings was 23 at the time of their first album, Knopfler 28.

As mentioned, Kate Bush's stunning debut, A Kick Inside, is another excellent example.

[Billy Balfour]

I'm glad I'm not the only one to mention the rawness of great debut albums being one of their main attractions. And that point brings me to another one, but it's more my mum and dad's music than mine. So here goes - In the City by The Jam.

This Is the Modern World is also a good album and the second side of All Mod Cons. Of course there are some good individual tracks on the last two, but I there's a marked change and I start hearing Style Council on some of the tracks. A good test of great music is how it sounds years later, and Style Council kind of fail on that one. Even their videos are cringeworthy, whereas The Jam's vids still look great.

Anyhow, The Jam's In the City - their best album for me.

[ClaretAndJew]

Huey Lewis and The News. Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humour.

In 87, Huey released this, Fore, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip to be Square", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself.

[Grimsdale]

The Police - Outlandos d'Amour
The Damned - Damned Damned Damned

[TheFamilyCat]

The Black Crowes

[Jakubclaret]

It’s all subject to opinion but u2 - boy.

[Steve1956]

Great shout. White ladder is a very underrated album

Great Album,Babylon is a fantastic track.

[Stalbansclaret]

I'm glad I'm not the only one to mention the rawness of great debut albums being one of their main attractions. And that point brings me to another one, but it's more my mum and dad's music than mine. So here goes - In the City by The Jam.

This Is the Modern World is also a good album and the second side of All Mod Cons. Of course there are some good individual tracks on the last two, but I there's a marked change and I start hearing Style Council on some of the tracks. A good test of great music is how it sounds years later, and Style Council kind of fail on that one. Even their videos are cringeworthy, whereas The Jam's vids still look great.

Anyhow, The Jam's In the City - their best album for me.

I'm going to disagree with you , as with Nirvana, again I'm afraid. All Mod Cons, Setting Sons, Sound Affects all fantastic albums and all way superior to In The City imo. Setting Sons "concept" songs like Private Hell, Thick as Thieves, Burning Sky and Smithers Jones are particularly great I think. Tales of middle-aged disillusionment and loss of youthful ideals written by someone barely 20 years old...incredible stuff.

[Stalbansclaret]

Great Album,Babylon is a fantastic track.

Two decent songs..Babylon and Please Forgive Me. And not his debut anyway.

[Steve1956]

Two decent songs..Babylon and Please Forgive Me. And not his debut anyway.

Please forgive me,but I never said it was his debut...sorry.

[Steve1956]

Always thought solo artists were great back in the early 70s always had a soft spot for Leo Sayer's Silverbird and the fantastic " The show must go on"

[what_no_pies]

Interpol
The Music
Kasabian
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
The Streets
The Vines
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Shins
The Darkness

Added to the likes of The Strokes, The Coral, Coldplay and a few others mentioned above the 00's was a real golden era for breakthrough bands.

As somebody else suggested, I'm not so sure I agree The Coral's debut is their best. It was for a long time but their last few albums have been brilliant and the latest (Coral Island) probably clinches it for me. A double album where no single track drops the standard is something else. They've been putting out quality for over 20 years and continue to improve. They're the most underrated band I can think of.

[Herts Clarets]

Big Country - The Crossing

Steeltown and The Seer also both great albums but The Crossing edges it for me. Hugely under rated group and in the top 5 of best live bands i have seen. Still performing now, obviously without Stuart Adamson and also no Tony Butler on bass.

[Billy Balfour]

I'm going to disagree with you , as with Nirvana, again I'm afraid.

No problem. It's all subjective.

[Billy Balfour]

I read a Paul Weller story a couple of years ago. It's one retold by Glen Matlock. Something along the lines of Sid Vicious going up to Paul Weller at a club, where he started boasting and taking the pee out of Weller about them nicking the baseline from In The City for their ‘Holidays In The Sun’ single/track. Weller already knew about it and wasn't bothered, but an argument erupted and Sid tried to headbutt Weller. Sid ended up visiting casualty.

[sportak-mustgo]

Some cracking debut albums out of the ska/2-Tone movement during late-70’s/early-80’s
> The Specials: The Specials
> Madness: One Step Beyond
> The Beat: I Just Can’t Stop It
Plus another shout for Dexys debut... Searching for Young Soul Rebels is a fantastic piece of work.

[Cabbage]

Didn’t know you liked them Eric? I have that album. Mr Jones is a good song.

I also like “this desert life” by them, mrs potters lullaby being the stand out for me.

Going to see them at Manchester Apollo in March. Been a long time since they were over here. Should be a great show. I think tickets are still available if you fancy it.