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

True, I just feel they should get more credit for showing songwriting skill that actually makes them respectable equals more than just a cheap knock off. Kind of like how there are lots of John Fahey imitators but there are also those that are able to successfully capture the spirit beyond the surface similarities.

xp

i kind of think of that record in terms of... safe as milk. safe as milk is a great album, right now the second-best-known captain beefheart record (hell it might even surpass _trout mask replica_ one day). but it's not an original record; it's just a really great white blues record. having said that, i wouldn't go so far as to call captain beefheart a "respectable equal" of howlin' wolf on the basis of _safe as milk_. knockoffs will always trail behind originals in my book.

xpost: I'm not a huge fan of In The Presence of Nothing, but it's definitely the record that put lilys on the map, without question. "Better" had the hit in England, but in the US it was a bust, and nothing else they did ever made a splash. Love them, not a huge fan of their first album, but it's definitely an outlier that was iconic for the band. So good choice.

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.

― Return of the Flustered Bootle Native (Tom D.), Friday, March 3, 2017 12:28 PM (thirty-six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I thought it was a pretty big shift; out went the 3-guitar attack and five-part harmonies, in came sped-up vocals, throwaway novelties, ornate horn and string arrangements, backwards tapes, and Arthur Godfrey introducing a sleepy Skip Spence singing over a swing orchestra.

That said, I don't really think of post-Cale VU as weird and droney, except maybe for "Murder Mystery".

"What Goes On", man

Suicide.

Nas may be the best answer on here so far.

Kate Bush, The Kick Inside.

JAMC strikes me as a good answer. Feelies too.

I didn't think The Kick Inside was more iconic than The Dreaming or Hounds of Love, although I guess "Wuthering Heights" is a pretty iconic song.

Oasis

ban everyone

Surely there can't actually be that many actual examples of this. Imago is right, this often feels like people just listing the usual bands that crop up on these threads 'cuz they can't think of any actual examples. And no, Fleetwood Mac isn't a correct answer. Or Steely Dan.

The Damned

There probably are a lot of examples of this, but nobody cares because the band became completely obscure after the change. Something like The Bravery for instance.

Elastica (ducks)

There probably are a lot of examples of this, but nobody cares because the band became completely obscure after the change. Something like The Bravery for instance.

I would question how iconic the first album is in this case.

"What Goes On", man

I'll withdraw my offhand VU suggestion if no one agrees but I don't hear this song as all that weird and droney. It seems like a pretty straightforward upbeat rock tune to me, based on a variation on a standard 3-chord progression, at least compared to something like "Venus in Furs".

I would question how iconic the first album is in this case.

― My Body's Made of Crushed Little Evening Stars (Sund4r), 4. marts 2017 14:38 (twenty-five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's definitely their 'most' iconic one, though...

Ha, OK

Casket Girls - first one is their best

A lot of shoegaze/proto-shoegaze bands could go here (some, like Ride and JAMC, have been listed already).

Plenty of second wave techno too, e.g. LFO.

blood sweat & tears, obv.

There's a thread of albums that are 20 years old, and I've seen a bunch of recognition for stuff that is turning 30.

But we all seem to have agreed to let 2017 go by without acknowledging that Velvet Underground & Nico turned 50.