If anything, most pop/rock musicians do their best work on their first records, when there's not any audience yet. It's the rarer beasts, like Beatles, etc that improve with later releases (this doesn't usually apply to jazz and classical, where maturity and experience matters more).
Besides, the idea of an artists having a writer's block because they have to follow a large hit, or feel pressured by their huge audience and the demands that entails, is so common it's almost a cliche.
Correction, they do their best work on their breakout record. Doesn't have to be their first. And the obvious explanation is regression to the mean, same reason you feel better after visiting a doctor.
This doesn't apply to Rollins and Black Flag. The work they did got better and better, more and more innovative, culminating in 1984 with the release of both "My War" and "Slip it In". Totally innovative records. And that's not to mention the graphic work/cover art of Raymond Pettibon. He's got a huge retrospective up right now at the New Museum in NYC. Amazing output from another creative workaholic from that crew.
I would agree with that, and it is a rare thing for bands to get better and not fall into that conforming pattern of what the label wants in order to generate money.
Its interesting to note that a lot of people parallel The Beatles with U2. U2 was always ahead of the curve in terms of music they were making. They were using EDM in their music as early as 1993 - years before other bands even began experimenting with it. Their Zooropa album had themes of electronic over stimulation and it was the start of them breaking away from their traditional sound - something they would continue doing until 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind.
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Citation needed.
If anything, most pop/rock musicians do their best work on their first records, when there's not any audience yet. It's the rarer beasts, like Beatles, etc that improve with later releases (this doesn't usually apply to jazz and classical, where maturity and experience matters more).
Besides, the idea of an artists having a writer's block because they have to follow a large hit, or feel pressured by their huge audience and the demands that entails, is so common it's almost a cliche.
Correction, they do their best work on their breakout record. Doesn't have to be their first. And the obvious explanation is regression to the mean, same reason you feel better after visiting a doctor.
This doesn't apply to Rollins and Black Flag. The work they did got better and better, more and more innovative, culminating in 1984 with the release of both "My War" and "Slip it In". Totally innovative records. And that's not to mention the graphic work/cover art of Raymond Pettibon. He's got a huge retrospective up right now at the New Museum in NYC. Amazing output from another creative workaholic from that crew.
I would agree with that, and it is a rare thing for bands to get better and not fall into that conforming pattern of what the label wants in order to generate money.
Its interesting to note that a lot of people parallel The Beatles with U2. U2 was always ahead of the curve in terms of music they were making. They were using EDM in their music as early as 1993 - years before other bands even began experimenting with it. Their Zooropa album had themes of electronic over stimulation and it was the start of them breaking away from their traditional sound - something they would continue doing until 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind.