Showing posts with label Cat Stevens. Show all posts

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Some of the Longest Waits Between Albums

Albums:

Some of the Longest Waits

This list was originally posted on my Dave’s Music Database Facebook page (Some of the Longest Waits Between Albums) on 2/5/2012 and has been updated several times since.

Here’s a little history about this list. In March 2012, I penned an article for PopMatters.com (“I Heard You Missed Us – We’re Back!”) on bands who’d had long breaks between albums. At the time, I’d waited five years for a new album from Fish, one of my favorite acts. That month Van Halen ended a 14-year silence and in recent years Guns N’ Roses received a lot of press for its 15-year delay between albums. I ended up with an extensive list of acts who have tried the patience of their fans to the max.

Note: I’m only looking at album’s worth of new studio material. That includes “specialty” releases of new material for that act such as covers collections or Christmas recordings, but does not include live albums, compilations, remixes, or other reissues of previously released material. Thanks to DMDB fans who contributed to this list!

I also recommend checking out the list by camara_azteca at Rate Your Music: “Longest Gaps Between Albums: Artists Who Waited Over 35 Years to Release a Follow-Up” since I have not integrated that list here. There’s a lot of artists there with whom I’m unfamiliar.

Some of the Longest Waits:

38 years: Chuck Berry Rock It (1979), Chuck (2017)
38 years: John Lodge Natural Avenue (1977), 10,000 Light Years Ago (2015)
36 years: The Yardbirds Little Games (1967), Birdland (2003)
35 years: Vashti Bunyan Just Another Diamond Day (1970), Lookingafter (2005)
35 years: The Sonics Sinderella (1980), This Is the Sonics (2015)
34 years: The Stooges Raw Power (1973), The Weirdness (2007)
32 years: New York Dolls Too Much Too Soon (1974), One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This (2006)
30 years: Magazine Magic, Murder and the Weather (1981), No Thyself (2011)
28 years: Eagles The Long Run (1979), Long Road Out of Eden (2007)
28 years: The Slits Return of the Giant Slits (1981), Trapped Animal (2009)
28 years: Cat Stevens Back to Earth (1978), An Other Cup (2006)
27 years: Big Star Third/Sister Lovers (1978), In Space (2005)
27 years: Dexy’s Midnight Runners Don’t Stand Me Down (1985), One Day I’m Going to Soar (2012)
25 years: Bauhaus Burning from the Inside (1983), Go Away White (2008)
25 years: Levon Helm Levon Helm (1982), Dirt Farmer (2007)
25 years: Throbbing Gristle Journey Through a Body (1982), Part Two: The Endless Not (2007)
25 years: Roger Waters Amused to Death (1992), Is This the Life We Really Want? (2017)

24 years: The Cars Door to Door (1987), Move Like This (2011)
24 years: Steve Perry For the Love of Strange Medicine (1994), Traces (2018)
24 years: The Who It’s Hard (1982), Endless Wire (2006)
23 years: The Zombies Odessey and Oracle (1968), New World (1991)
22 years: Jeff Lynne Armchair Theatre (1990), Long Wave (2012)
22 years: Mission of Burma Vs. (1982), ONoffON (2004)
22 years: My Bloody Valentine Loveless (1991), MBV (2013)
22 years: The Soft Boys Underwater Moonlight (1980), Nextdoorland (2002)
21 years: The Vaselines Dum-Dum (1989), Sex with an X (2010)

20 Years

The Del-Lords Lovers Who Wander (1990), Under Construction (EP, 2010)
Devo Smooth Noodle Maps (1990), Something for Everybody (2010)
The Feelies Time for a Witness (1991), Here Before (2011)
Pink Floyd The Division Bell (1994), Endless River (2014)
Steely Dan Gaucho (1980), Two Against Nature (2000)

19 Years

Del Amitri Can You Do Me Good? (2002), Fatal Mistakes (2021)
Grace Jones Bulletproof Heart (1989), Hurricane (2008)

18 Years

Black Sabbath Forbidden (1995), 13 (2013)
Faith No More Album of the Year (1997), Sol Invictus (2015)
Was (Not Was) Are You Okay? (1990), Boo! (2008)

17 Years

Blondie The Hunter (1982), No Exit (1999)
The Go-Go’s Talk Show (1984), God Bless the Go-Go’s (2001)
Kraftwerk Electric Café (1986), Tour de Force Soundtracks (2003)
Steve Miller Band Wide River (1993), Bingo (2010)
Squeeze Domino (1998), From the Cradle to the Grave (2015)

16 Years

The Beach Boys Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 (1996), That’s Why God Made the Radio (2012)
The B-52’s Good Stuff (1992), Funplex (2008)
Dr. Dre 2001 (1999), Compton (2015)
Gang of Four Shrinkwrapped (1995), Content (2011)
Gil Scott-Heron Spirits (1994), I’m New Here (2010)
Kansas Somewhere to Elsewhere (2000), The Prelude Implicit (2016)

15 Years

Camper Van Beethoven Key Lime Pie (1989), New Roman Times (2004)
Electric Light Orchestra Balance of Power (1986), Zoom (2001)
Roky Erickson All That May Do My Rhyme (1995), True Love Cast Out All Evil (2010)
Foreigner Mr. Moonlight (1994), Can’t Slow Down (2009)
Guns N’ Roses The Spaghetti Incident? (1993), Chinese Democracy (2008)
Don Henley Inside Job (2000), Cass County (2015)
Nitzer Ebb Big Hit (1995), Industrial Complex (2010)
Alan Parsons A Valid Path (2004), The Secret (2019)
The Rainmakers Skin (1996), 25 On (2011)
Shania Twain Up! (2002), Now (2017)

14 Years

Accept Predator (1996), Blood of the Nations (2010)
Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (1995), Black Gives Way to Blue (2009)
David Baerwald Here Comes the New Folk Underground (2002), Hellbound Train (2016)
Big Country Driving to Damascus (1999), The Journey (2013)
Lindsey Buckingham Out of the Cradle (1992), Under the Skin (2006)
Crowded House Together Alone (1993), Time on Earth (2007)
D’Angelo Voodoo (2000), Black Messiah (2014)
Electric Light Orchestra Zoom (2001), Alone in the Universe (2015)
Emerson, Lake & Palmer Love Beach (1978), Black Moon (1992)
Hooters Out of Body (1993), Time Stand Still (2007)
Lynyrd Skynyrd Street Survivors (1977), Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 (1991)
New Kids on the Block Face the Music (1994), The Block (2008)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Universal (1996), History of Modern (2010)
The Swans Soundtrack for the Blind (1996), My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky (2010)
Television Adventure (1978), Television (1992)
Van Halen Van Halen III (1998), A Different Kind of Truth (2012)

13 Years

Garth Brooks Scarecrow (2001), Man Against Machine (2014)
Dennis DeYoung One Hundred Years from Now (2007), 26 East Vol. 1 (2020)
Jane’s Addiction Ritual de lo Habitual (1990), Strays (2003)
Tool 10,000 Days (2006), Fear Inoculum (2019)
The Who Endless Wire (2006), Who (2019)
The Zombies New World (1991), As Far As I Can See… (2004)

12 Years

Kate Bush The Red Shoes (1993), Aerial (2005)
The Go-Betweens 16 Lovers Lane (1988), The Friends of Rachel Worth (2000)
Wire The First Letter (1991), Send (2003)
Hole Celebrity Skin (1998), Nobody’s Daughter (2010)
The House of Love Audience with the Mind (1993), Days Run Away (2005)
Billy Idol Cyberpunk (1993), Devil’s Playground (2005)
Loretta Lynn Van Lear Rose (2004), Full Circle (2016)
Polvo Shapes (1997), In Prism (2009)
Styx Big Bang Theory (2005), The Mission (2017)

11 Years

Boston Life, Love & Hope (2013), Corporate America (2002)
Crowded House Intriguer (2010), Dreamers Are Waiting (2021)
ESG ESG (1991), Step Off (2002)
Grandmaster Flash Flash Is Back (1998), The Bridge: Concept of a Culture (2009)
Heart Desire Walks On (1993), Jupiter’s Darling (2004)
Kiss Psycho Circus (1998) Sonic Boom (2009)
The Libertines The Libertines (2004), Anthems for Doomed Youth (2015)
No Doubt Rock Steady (2001), Push and Shove (2012)
Portishead Portishead (1997), Third (2008)
The Power Station The Power Station (1985), Living in Fear (1996)
The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang (2005), Blue and Lonesome (2016)
Bob Seger It’s a Mystery (1995), Face the Promise (2006)
The Verve Urban Hymns (1997), Forth (2008)
Scott Walker Climate of Hunter (1984), Tilt (1995)
Scott Walker Tilt (1995), The Drift (2006)

10 Years

American Music Club San Francisco (1994), Love Songs for Patriots (2004)
David Bowie Reality (2003), The Next Day (2013)
Bush Golden State (2001), The Sea of Memories (2011)
Dinosaur Jr. Hand It Over (1997), Beyond (2007)
Eurythmics We Too Are One (1989), Peace (1999)
Peter Gabriel Us (1992); Up (2002)
Gin Blossoms Congratulations I’m Sorry (1996), Major Lodge Victory (2006)
The Human League Secrets (2001), Credo (2011)
Journey Raised on Radio (1986), Trial by Fire (1996)
The Knack Round Trip (1981), Serious Fun (1991)
The Lemonheads Car Button Cloth (1996), The Lemonheads (2006)
Matchbox 20 More Than You Think You Are (2002), North (2012)
Steve Perry Street Talk (1984), For the Love of Strange Medicine (1994)
Sade Lovers Rock (2000), Soldier of Love (2010)
Suicide Why Be Blue (1992), American Supreme (2002)
Supertramp Free As a Bird (1987), Some Things Never Change (1997)
Scott Walker We Had It All (1974), Climate of Hunter (1984)
Stevie Wonder Conversation Peace (1995), A Time to Love (2005)
Yes Magnification (2001), Fly from Here (2011)

9 Years

The Allman Brothers Band Brothers of the Road (1981), Seven Turns (1990)
The Allman Brothers Band Where It All Begins (1994), Hittin’ the Note (2003)
Leonard Cohen The Future (1992), Ten New Songs (2001)
Deep Purple Come Taste the Band (1975), Perfect Strangers (1984)
Styx Edge of the Century (1990), Brave New World (1999)

8 Years

AC/DC Stiff Upper Lip (2000), Black Ice (2008)
Aerosmith Honkin’ on Bobo (2004), Music from Another Dimension! (2012)
Berlin 4Play (2005), Animal (2013)
Blondie The Curse of Blondie (2003), Panic of Girls (2011)
Boston Don’t Look Back (1978), Third Stage (1986)
Boston Third Stage (1986), Walk On (1994)
Boston Walk On (1994), Corporate America (2002)
Camper Van Beethoven New Roman Times (2004), virus_installer.exe (2012)
Chicago Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album (1998), XXX (2006)
Leonard Cohen Dear Heather (2004), Old Ideas (2012)
Fleetwood Mac Time (1995), Say You Will (2003)
Michael Jackson Invincible (2001); Michael (2010 – released posthumously; Jackson died in 2009)
Mick Jagger Wandering Spirit (1993), Goddess in the Doorway (2001)
Modest Mouse We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007), Strangers to Ourselves (2015)
The Rolling Stones Bridges to Babylon (1997), A Bigger Bang (2005)
Rush Test for Echo (1996) Vapor Trails (2002)
Sade Love Deluxe (1992), Lovers Rock (2000)
Bob Seger Face the Promise (2006), Ride Out (2014)
The Smithereens God Save the Smithereens (1999), Christmas with the Smithereens (2007)
Stevie Wonder Characters (1987), Conversation Peace (1995)

Still Waiting…

42 years: Led Zeppelin In Through the Out Door (8/15/79) (1979)
28 years: Billy Joel River of Dreams (1993)
24 years: Genesis Calling All Stations (1997)
23 years: Lauryn Hill The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
20 years: Mick Jagger Goddess in the Doorway (2001)
19 years: Supertramp Slow Motion (2002)
18 years: The Allman Brothers Band Hittin’ the Note (2003)
18 years: Fleetwood Mac Say You Will (2003)
18 years: Kraftwerk Tour de France Soundtracks (2003)
18 years: Steely Dan Everything Must Go (2003)
17 years: Tears for Fears Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004)
16 years: Stevie Wonder A Time to Love (2005)
14 years: Hooters Time Stand Still (2007)

Resources and Related Links:

My article for PopMatters.com (3/5/2012). I Heard You Missed Us – We’re Back!
Dave’s Music Database Facebook Note (2/5/2012). Some of the Longest Waits Between Albums)

First posted 2/5/2012; last updated 5/18/2021.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2014

image from nydailynews.com

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its inductees for the 2014 class. Artists are eligible for the Hall 25 years after the release of their first single or album. The newest slate will be inducted on April 10, 2014, at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in New York City. HBO will air the event in May. Here are the inductees:

Peter Gabriel: He was inducted into the Hall in 2010 as a member of Genesis. As a solo artist since the ‘70s, he has explored electronic and world music. His video for #1 hit “Sledgehammer” ranks as one of the best videos of all time.

image from details.com

Daryl Hall & John Oates: This blue-eyed soul duo has the most successful Billboard chart run of any twosome in music history. They started in Philadelphia in the early ‘70s, but hit their peak in the early ‘80s with #1 hits “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” and “Maneater.” They’ve sold more than 13 million albums.

image from nydailynews.com

Kiss: Miracles never cease. Members of the Hall induction committee swore they’d never let the mother of all hair bands in while fans have raised a stink in the 15 years the group have been eligible and been passed up. Critics have never liked the band, but the KISS Army represents one of the most loyal fan bases in the history of rock. They’ve sold over 20 million albums on the strength of rock classics like “Rock and Roll All Nite” and power ballads like “Beth.”

image from blabbermouth.net

Nirvana: The group most associated with grunge enters the Hall in its first year of eligibility, 25 years after the release of the single “Love Buzz” in 1988. Three years later, they would take over the world with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and parent album Nevermind. The group’s heyday was short-lived when lead singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide months after the release of the 1994 follow-up, In Utero, but their influence had been cemented.

image from coolcleveland.com

Linda Ronstadt: She emerged from the folk scene in Los Angeles in the 1960s and became one of pop music’s biggest successes in the 1970s with a blend of country and rock, selling more than 30 million albums and winning a slew of Grammy awards. She regularly covered classics from rock’s pioneers – among them were the Everly Brothers’ “When Will I Be Loved,” Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day,” and Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou.”

image from fanart.tv

Cat Stevens: This British folk singer/songwriter made a name for himself in the 1970s with hits like “Wild World” and “Peace Train.” He converted to Islam in 1977, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and stepped out of the spotlight for more than two decades. He has sold more than 15 million albums.

image from pianosheetmusiconline.com

E Street Band: Bruce Springsteen was inducted into the Hall in 1999. Now his backing band since 1973 is inducted with the Award for Musical Excellence.

image from morrisonhotelgallery.com

Brian Epstein: He receives the Ahmet Ertegun Award (for non-performers) for his work as the manager of the Beatles. He signed them and then sheparded them until his death in 1967. Paul McCartney said, “If anyone was the fifth Beatle it was Brian.”

Epstein in white hat, image from efemeridesdelamusica.blogspot.com

Andrew Loog Oldham: He also receives the Ahmet Ertegun Award (for non-performers) – and also for producing one of rock music’s most acclaimed bands – The Rolling Stones. He was with them for their formative years, helping to push Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to write original material.

Oldham (second from left) with the Rolling Stones, image from zombiesenelghetto.tumblr.com

Resources and Related Links:

RockHall.com: The 2014 Inductees
CNN.com: Nirvana, Kiss, Linda Ronstadt among Rock and Rlll Hall of Fame inductees. By Jethro Mullen (12/17/13).
RollingStone.com: Nirvana, Kiss, E Street Lead Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 2014 Class. By Andy Greene (12/16/13).

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Coldplay landed at #1 in the U.S. with “Viva La Vida”

Viva La Vida

Coldplay

Writer(s): Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Chris Martin (see lyrics here)

Released: May 25, 2008

First Charted: May 24, 2008

Peak: 1¹ US, 1³ DG, 11 RR, 1¹ AC, 1⁶ A40, 1¹¹ AA, 1² MR, 1¹ UK, 4 CN, 2 AU, 10 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 6.14 US, 1.44 UK, 19.5 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.6 radio, 739.0 video, 1578.22 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Chris Martin, Coldplay’s lead singer, saw the phrase “Viva La Vida” on a painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. He told Rolling Stone he “loved the boldness of it” and decided the use the phrase – which loosely translates to “long live life.” ^SF Guy Berryman, the band’s bassist said the song – which never actually uses the phrase “Viva La Vida” – was “about a king who’s lost his kingdom.” ^SF Martin echoed that idea, saying it was about a deposed dictator reduced to sweeping the streets. He saw it as a “turning-over-a-new-leaf kind of song.” ^SF He also explained that lines like “I know Saint Peter won’t call my name” referred to the “idea of finishing your life and then being analyzed on it.” ^SF Berryman also said the song reflects the idea that “We're human beings with emotions and we're all going to die and the stupidity of what we have to put up with every day.” ^SF

Musically, the song eschewed the band’s usual guitar or piano base for a riff consisting mostly of a string section and digital piano. ^WK IGN critic Chad Grischow said it was “their one and only foray into unabashed orchestral pop” but that it was “far too charming and lively to dislke and even harder not to love.” ^WK

Several acts accused Coldplay of plagiarizing the song. Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, claimed the song resembled his 1973 “Foreigner Suite.” ^SF Guitarist Joe Satriani filed a lawsuit accusing Coldplay of lifting the melody from his 2004 song “If I Could Fly.” The case was settled out of court. ^SF Music professor Dr. Lawrence Ferrara showed in a 2011 documentary how the melodies of all three songs resembled “Se Tu M’ami” by Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, who died in 1736. ^WK

Creaky Boards’ singer Andrew Hoepfner alleged Martin attended one of their concerts in October 2007 and lifted the melody from “The Songs I Didn’t Write.” It turned out “Viva La Vida” was written and demoed seven months before the night in question. ^SF Creaky Boards later suggested both songs might have been inspired by the video game The Legend of Zelda. ^WK Will Champion, Coldplay’s drummer, said, “It’s tough when people accuse you of stealing something, when you know that you didn’t…There are only eight notes in an octave and no one owns them. And there are probably about 12,000 songs that feature the exact same chord progression.” ^SF

Coldplay was the first British male group since Jesus Jones and Escape Club in 1991 to land a second top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. ^SF When the song went to #1, it made Coldplay the first British group since the Spice Girls (“Wannabe”) in 1997 to top the U.S. charts. ^SF The song, which won a Grammy for Song of the Year, was iTunes’ best-selling song of 2008> ^WK The band opened their 2016 Super Bowl halftime performance with “Viva La Vida.”

Resources:

^SF Songfacts
^WK Wikipedia

Wednesday, February 10, 1971

Cat Stevens “Wild World” charted