Bands whose most iconic record is their first one, but which is also stylistically an outlier in their catalog

The Knife

Even if that were true, which I'm not sure of, was Cop really a radical departure? xp

No, but both Filth and Cop are outliers in their catalogue as a whole.

Oh, I read the thread as being about iconic individual records.

Having the first album be the "iconic" LP of the artists catalog is the tough part of the equation. There are many other bands that stylistically diverged from where they started, but often the first albums is not the one they perhaps are most known. I gave it a good thought and came up with four possible choices. A couple of these are bands where the first record lineup just didn't last past the first record and in some ways the first one was very timely for their sound. The other two were major albums but are by artists that have such extensive catalogs, there is probably debate on what is the iconic album.

The Damned - Damned Damned Damned

The Damned never really abandoned what they did after the first record, but they did evolve and change as the lineup shifted. It also perhaps might not be the 'iconic' Damned album in the UK.

King Crimson- In the Court of the Crimson King

This lineup made this record, which is huge in the beginnings of progressive rock then split. The 70s group and 80s group did much more music, but perhaps this record is still the one KC album.

Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True

I'd probably lean that This Year's Model is perhaps the iconic EC album, but this one does have many of his most popular songs and since it was before the Attractions has a much different sound from what followed.

Frank Zappa - Freak Out

Zappa's music was pretty much constant change, even still if you were going to pull out one out of all of those albums this might still be the one. It is similar to In the Court of the Crimson King that it was a major record at the time and foreshadowed change.

The Doors maybe

Ignoring the pre-album years, Black Flag's Damaged. Though in retrospect My War doesn't feel like the departure it did at the time.

I will say Gallowsbird's Bark, but I know most people on ILM seem to like their later stuff better.

The Fiery Furnacese, like many of the bands/artists mentioned itt, have no release that could even charitably be considered "iconic".

I considered Freak Out and the 1st Violent Femmes album, but they are pretty damn similar to Ruben And The Jets and Hallowed Ground stylistically, which was the OG question. Not totally sure they qualify, but they also get the "iconic and somewhat different from the rest" badge

^ "Freak Out" is a good call

Hallowed Ground's plunge into darkness distinguishes it from the relatively upbeat debut, though the arrangements, performances & production are similar. Enough for me to call it an outlier, anyway.

Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam? Though I guess one could argue Deserter's Songs is more popular...

No way on the Doors, all of the first album and Strange Days, and some of Waiting For the Sun were all from the initial batch of songs the band had prior to signing

there are probably a few ILMers who consider 'piper' pink floyd's iconic record

(i am not one of them)

Dizzee Rascal, perhaps?

DJ Shadow

bless you imago for saying what i was thinking as i ambled thru this bollocks

Can't Buy a Thrill is in no way the most iconic Dan record btw

yea wtf close thread

VU was always weird and droney. Zappa's "Freak Out" had that extended "Who could imagine?" bit with the silly voices. The Doors, as noted above, spread the same batch of songs across their first 3 albums.

pretty much all of these suggestions are weak. i don't have any good ones though - imo this isn't really a thing at all.

I feel like Immolation fits this because even though most hardcore DM fans find their whole catalog to be amazing, the 'famous' album of theirs that everybody, including non-diehards knows is Dawn of Possession, which is a good album but doesn't really sound like any of their other albums as it's more of a traditional death metal album.

there's also Pearl Jam's Ten which, again, the non-diehards all rave over this one and it's the most polished, commercial sounding cut of their history, which they never really replicated (a good thing).

Bathory. First album is totally iconic and invented Black metal (even the cover is iconic).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathory_(album)#/media/File:Bathory_album.jpg

But the band quickly merged off and invented Viking Metal. Although the change was not immediate, gradually happening over the first handful of releases, the first one remains a quality that the band abandoned, yet there are many who still point to it as it's finest hour.

http://www.bathory.nu/00discography/bathory.jpg

Ignoring the pre-album years, Black Flag's Damaged. Though in retrospect My War doesn't feel like the departure it did at the time.

― juggulo for the complete klvtz (bendy), Thursday, March 2, 2017 6:07 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is a good one

not the iconic Bathory album (maybe the iconic album art) and also not radically different from the other pre-viking stuff.

xp

impvho interpol's subsequent output is different enough from the 1st album that they qualify

how is the futureheads 1st album that much different than the 2nd one? (other than having better songs)

Their first album still feels unique to me...short, Zoloish phrases, cool a capella bits, big early XTC influence. Nothing about their subsequent albums made me want to hear them again.

Yeah Bathory is not really a good example, they did two more black metal records (more successful than the debut too) before going folk/viking.

Thinking of Robert Miles, there must be more dance producers that had initial succes with a novelty/commercial sound but then quickly moved on. Kevin Saunderson maybe (the Inner City debut was his first album, no?), Erick Morillo (Reel 2 Real), etc.

i'm afraid that is Rong xxp

Snoop, Doggystyle

p much none of his other albums were g-funk (Doggfather was more 80s bounce) and even though many of them are lauded, none of them have the wallop of that one

VU was always weird and droney... i don't have any good ones though - imo this isn't really a thing at all.

Admittedly, I don't know the iconic albums in the OP so I'm not sure how radical the difference needs to be for the first album to be an outlier. It seems that it would be pretty unusual for a popular music artist to make a tremendously successful first album and then immediately abandon the formula and skillset that led to success, unless they were brilliant and accomplished enough to be able to come up with another iconic record. That said, I don't really think of post-Cale VU as weird and droney, except maybe for "Murder Mystery". I was wrong about the viola but I think Nico's presence alone makes the first VU a bit of an outlier in their catalogue and pretty distinct from WL/WH. All relative, though.

Does Buzzcocks' "Spiral Scratch" count?

how is the futureheads 1st album that much different than the 2nd one? (other than having better songs)
Their first album still feels unique to me...short, Zoloish phrases, cool a capella bits, big early XTC influence. Nothing about their subsequent albums made me want to hear them again.

― frogbs, Friday, March 3, 2017 7:54 AM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think News & Tributes is pretty underrated and whether you like it or not is not the point, listen to this and say it's a "radical departure" from the XTC influenced modern indie they did on the first album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M8sqFuLidw

honestly this is the rare thread where I'm not sure I buy any example that's been given

(though bathory i will take your word for)

good call on Snoop

xp

Snoop is probably the only good answer so far.

No, Moby Grape def otm too

Eurythmics In The Garden probably fails to be iconic. But I find it sublime and the input of Can/Blondie members and Conny Plank make it pretty different to more mainstream later stuff.

D.A.F's Die Kleinen Und Die Bosen is probably not iconic either nor their first lp but is pretty fantastic so more people should be aware of it. It's just teh first lp on Rough Trade innit?

Clock DVA's Thirst was the first vinyl lp cut by that version of teh band but I think has some preceding cassette releases. Later band is pretty different.

Gun Club's Fire of Love? less psychedelic than later stuff more straightforward though there is jazz and other otherness in the ramalama. The one lp loved by psychobillies and the one most lauded I think. I've always preferred Miami myself.

do any of the vanilla fudge's subsequent records really sound like their first? i don't really care for the vanilla fudge so i can't really say myself.

well I thought of all the rap ones I posted at least the Pharcyde would get some nods of agreement

maybe "black noise" by fm? nash the slash quit right after it, and even when he rejoined their sound had gotten a _lot_ more radio friendly...

The Fiery Furnacese, like many of the bands/artists mentioned itt, have no release that could even charitably be considered "iconic".

― “Remember,” he says, “Noddy Holder is a gangster.” (contenderizer), Friday, 3 March 2017 01:21 (sixteen hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

blueberry boat is the best album of the last twenty years

As a Lilys super fan, I maintain Lilys is also a perfect answer here.

blueberry boat is the best album of the last twenty years

― an uptempo Pop/Hip Hop mentality (imago), Friday, March 3, 2017 12:25 PM (forty-eight seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

too proggy

No, Moby Grape def otm too

I don't think they changed too much stylistically on the 2nd album, it just wasn't as good and was a bit over-produced.

I kinda refuse to believe that the Lilys most iconic album is the one that's been out of print for ages, resulting in me never having heard it. To me their most iconic release is the one that actually got widespread distro - Better Can't Make Your Life Better

As far as I can tell, everyone seems to want to remember Lilys as a shoegaze classic first and a band that went on to do other things (indie rock phase, Kinks phase, etc) second, despite the overall availability of the LPs. I could be wrong but the first record seems to have made the biggest lasting impression over the other phases the band went through.

if you're going to call _in the presence of nothing_ the most iconic lilys album might as well go all the way and call _loveless_ the most iconic lilys album.