Something Appropriate

Favorite albums from artists that should’ve retired long, long ago

There are many musicians that should’ve hung it up long ago, but then continue to release new albums and tarnish their once glossy image.  But sometimes, they put out something special or even memorable. Here is a quick rundown of a few such albums. This doesn’t include “The Dance” or “Hell Freezes Over” or any other live albums that were mostly just old songs. Also, its important to note that most of the people who are successful well after their prime are artists that can easily be considered some of the most talented. Some artists don’t qualify for other reasons as well. Neil Young’s quality never really declined that much, so “Prairie Wind” doesn’t qualify.  People like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen you simply expect this from.
Also, Jimmy Buffet just sat around with the same sound long enough for country music to turn into watered-down pop music. So he got a big hit because he didn’t adapt.  And The Rolling Stones release just-good-enough albums to never quite fall from the limelight. For the record, I haven’t really liked anything much of theirs since “Voodoo Lounge”
The first up, the main reason I decided to write this column. I got this album, expecting little...

The Eagles - “Long Road Out of Eden”
Ok, considering the Eagles first greatest hits is the best selling album of all time, you should figure they can write a good song. Plus, considering all the members had success as solo artists, they are a talented group. Now, as far as all the albums on the list, this one sounds the least dated. They are still the Eagles, and there are a lot of  country-fied harmonies. But overall, as a anti-war release, there are several great tracks and the lyrics range from decent to terrific. On “Frail Grasp on the Big Picture”, Don Henley shows his flair for the dramatic, but still delivers some good lines, “And we pray to our lord/ who we know is American./ He reigns from on high/ He speaks to us through middlemen/ ... He supports us in war/ He precedes over football games.” It’s just a pretty good album, just a bit long as a two-disk set. Surprisingly relevent too.

Boston - “Corporate America”
It’s not the best, but the opening track was just nice. Not forceful, not urgent. The Chorus, “I just wanted you to know, I had a good time,” just seems so honest and open. Like there are no real expectations for the album, but Tom Scholz is a musicians and he doesn’t know what else to do but sit in the studio. There rest of the album is hit or miss. There are some lovely acoustic ballads, and some pretty alternative sounding tracks. Some sounds dated, some would’ve been a hit if it were released a decade earlier.

Brian Wilson - “Smile”
As far as quality of album, this is where the conversation ends. “Smile”, though conceptualized decades ago, was fully rerecorded and mixed. It is simply phenomenal from start to finish. Enough so to give a 70-year-old stage time at some of the biggest and freshest festivals. The album is a gem and is vastly entertaining despite being material written before some of our parents were even born. If you haven’t already heard it, the redone version of “Good Vibrations” does the impossible and improves ever-so-slightly on one of the best songs of all time.

Prince - “3121”
Most people will say, “Hey, what about Musicology? That one sold well,” Sure it did, but it still wasn’t that great. “3121” on the other hand had a new sound and some of Prince’s funkiest work since “Purple Rain.” The title track and “Black Sweat” were both great pop songs, and leaves me wondering why hip-hop artists aren’t banging down Prince’s purple door to get a few tracks. After “The Rainbow People”, he needed a boost anyway. Just, please, don’t try to rap. You can’t, so don’t try.