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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Mar 13, 2006 16:27:48 GMT -5
While I still hope to do the Album Hat Tricks feature, I thought I'd kick off another feature that will HOPEFULLY start more discussions.
Each week (or whenever I get to it), I'll feature a different artist and discuss when I personally thought their career took a down turn, or jumped the shark.
In some cases, maybe the artist came back creatively or commercially, but in many cases, there was no going back over the shark.
One word of note-in most cases, I'll be featuring albums where the jump happened. It is NOT limited to albums. It could be a single or even an event (a bad concert appearance or a stupid quote to the papers would be examples). For instance, the Dixie Chicks are scheduled to release a new album, and we'll have to see if their "Bush statements" have made them jump the shark or not.
Starting at the beginning of the alphabet......
AC/DC-
I guess you could say they jumped the shark on For Those About to Rock because it wasn't the "classic" that their previous efforts were. But that was their I'm in You or Tusk album-the album that was following a mega-hit which would never live up to the previous record. So in spite of a couple of decent songs in the title cut and Put the Finger on You, we pretty much knew this wasn't going to be Back in Black II.
The following album, 1983's Flick of the Switch, is another story. I don't recognize a single song here. And the Rock station here LOVES AC/DC, so if they're not even playing it, it has to be pretty bad.
Subsequent albums such as Fly on the Wall did little to save them, with only Who Made Who getting airplay that I remember.
Supposedly Razor's Edge put them back on the map but Thunder Struck is not a classic and Money Talks is one of the most annoying songs every made.
On later, more recent releases like Ballbreaker and Stiff Upper Lip, the boys were just rehashing old riffs. No one ever accused AC/DC of coming up with brand new original songs on each album, but it really became apparent and bad with their past couple albums.
So I guess I am saying that by 83's Flick of the Switch, the shark was jumped.
Thoughts?
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Post by Pete70s on Mar 13, 2006 18:34:28 GMT -5
Never jumped!
Only got better after Back In Black! OK, so they made the same album over and over... They NEVER sold out but they ALWAYS sold mega-albums every time they put something out.
Their early albums, "High Voltage" and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" haven't aged well with me (I don't ever care to hear "Big Balls" again!), but every album from "Powerage" on is great.
I'll admit there WAS a bit of a slump with "Flick Of The Switch", "Fly On The Wall" and "Blow Up Your Video". But all three of those delivered some great no-frills AC/DC rock (especially "Fly", which I got when it first came out in '85)!
I LOVE "The Razors Edge"!! And I DO consider "Thunderstruck" a classic!
I'm not THAT familiar with Ballbreaker and Stiff Upper Lip (I've heard a few songs). I have, however, heard a lot of good things about both.
AC/DC is one of the few bands that never bothered with expirmentation (which is a good thing! Look what happened to Smashing Pumpkins when they started messing around with electronic shit...), an AC/DC show today is as good as an AC/DC show in 1980!
Great feature, BTW! Looking forward to more!
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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Mar 13, 2006 19:02:37 GMT -5
Never jumped! Only got better after Back In Black! OK, so they made the same album over and over... They NEVER sold out but they ALWAYS sold mega-albums every time they put something out. Their early albums, "High Voltage" and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" haven't aged well with me (I don't ever care to hear "Big Balls" again!), but every album from "Powerage" on is great. I'll admit there WAS a bit of a slump with "Flick Of The Switch", "Fly On The Wall" and "Blow Up Your Video". But all three of those delivered some great no-frills AC/DC rock (especially "Fly", which I got when it first came out in '85)! I LOVE "The Razors Edge"!! And I DO consider "Thunderstruck" a classic! I'm not THAT familiar with Ballbreaker and Stiff Upper Lip (I've heard a few songs). I have, however, heard a lot of good things about both. AC/DC is one of the few bands that never bothered with expirmentation (which is a good thing! Look what happened to Smashing Pumpkins when they started messing around with electronic shit...), an AC/DC show today is as good as an AC/DC show in 1980! Great feature, BTW! Looking forward to more! Thanks Pete, I'm glad you like it!  Hoping others feel the same! Now starts my discussion back, and it's just that-discussion, not challenging what you have said, your taste is your taste. First I was suprised at your response because in all your loves of music, I don't remember them being one of them! I don't know about all the albums selling in MEGA numbers though-in my research today, it said those mid 80's albums I listed did pretty poorly. So to you, (and again, I'm not being a smart ass, just asking), the later albums were every bit as good as the Highway to Hell/Back in Black period? I mean, I love all the Beatles, but Let it Be pales in comparison to Rubber Soul. Thanks again for the nice words about the feature! |
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Post by Pete70s on Mar 13, 2006 19:10:15 GMT -5
Never jumped! Only got better after Back In Black! OK, so they made the same album over and over... They NEVER sold out but they ALWAYS sold mega-albums every time they put something out. Their early albums, "High Voltage" and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" haven't aged well with me (I don't ever care to hear "Big Balls" again!), but every album from "Powerage" on is great. I'll admit there WAS a bit of a slump with "Flick Of The Switch", "Fly On The Wall" and "Blow Up Your Video". But all three of those delivered some great no-frills AC/DC rock (especially "Fly", which I got when it first came out in '85)! I LOVE "The Razors Edge"!! And I DO consider "Thunderstruck" a classic! I'm not THAT familiar with Ballbreaker and Stiff Upper Lip (I've heard a few songs). I have, however, heard a lot of good things about both. AC/DC is one of the few bands that never bothered with expirmentation (which is a good thing! Look what happened to Smashing Pumpkins when they started messing around with electronic shit...), an AC/DC show today is as good as an AC/DC show in 1980! Great feature, BTW! Looking forward to more! Thanks Pete, I'm glad you like it! Hoping others feel the same! Now starts my discussion back, and it's just that-discussion, not challenging what you have said, your taste is your taste. First I was suprised at your response because in all your loves of music, I don't remember them being one of them! I don't know about all the albums selling in MEGA numbers though-in my research today, it said those mid 80's albums I listed did pretty poorly. So to you, (and again, I'm not being a smart ass, just asking), the later albums were every bit as good as the Highway to Hell/Back in Black period? I mean, I love all the Beatles, but Let it Be pales in comparison to Rubber Soul. Thanks again for the nice words about the feature! I'm pretty sure they at LEAST went Platinum. I do know they all charted high. I think it's more a case of many people feeling they were "just going through the motions" with "Flick", "Fly" and "Blow" (Hey, I like the way that sounds!! ;D). That was NOT, however, the case with "Razor", that was a STRONG album! I've always liked AC/DC a lot (except back in '82, when I got picked on by AC/DC fans for liking The Beatles). The thing about them is, I don't listen to them often, but it's always a BIG breath of fresh air when I do! |
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Post by Triple J on Mar 13, 2006 20:18:37 GMT -5
Never liked them, so... NEXT!  |
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Post by lora on Mar 14, 2006 0:28:51 GMT -5
I'm not an AC-DC fan and I know very little about their career as a whole, but I have to agree with you that they had jumped the shark at this point. I can't think of a single AC-DC hit after Back In Black. (This could just be due to my lack of knowledge of this era of rock, however.) Besides, Angus Young is STILL dressing in those awful school uniforms. Do something new already, dude.
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Post by Dawn on Mar 14, 2006 9:33:12 GMT -5
Cool feature idea! I'm not a fan of theirs and am not that familiar with their albums, but Mark had some of them on cassette years ago when we were dating.
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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Mar 14, 2006 10:18:49 GMT -5
Thanks Pete, I'm glad you like it! Hoping others feel the same! Now starts my discussion back, and it's just that-discussion, not challenging what you have said, your taste is your taste. First I was suprised at your response because in all your loves of music, I don't remember them being one of them! I don't know about all the albums selling in MEGA numbers though-in my research today, it said those mid 80's albums I listed did pretty poorly. So to you, (and again, I'm not being a smart ass, just asking), the later albums were every bit as good as the Highway to Hell/Back in Black period? I mean, I love all the Beatles, but Let it Be pales in comparison to Rubber Soul. Thanks again for the nice words about the feature! I'm pretty sure they at LEAST went Platinum. I do know they all charted high. I think it's more a case of many people feeling they were "just going through the motions" with "Flick", "Fly" and "Blow" (Hey, I like the way that sounds!! ;D). That was NOT, however, the case with "Razor", that was a STRONG album! I've always liked AC/DC a lot (except back in '82, when I got picked on by AC/DC fans for liking The Beatles). The thing about them is, I don't listen to them often, but it's always a BIG breath of fresh air when I do! Flick, Fly & Blow-wasn't that a Big Joe Turner song?  One other thing I meant to agree with you on-that they never sold out. They didn't use hairspray or wear spandex and braclets, etc, and they never did a "lighter" song like Home Sweet Home or I Remember You, etc. |
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Post by H2IZCOOL on Mar 14, 2006 12:09:39 GMT -5
I'm not that familiar with them to answer the question, Adam. But I think musical jump the shark posts in general is a great idea. Looking forward to others I can answer.  |
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Post by Ken on Mar 14, 2006 16:55:34 GMT -5
I originally was not a big fan of the band but that's all changed, over the passed several years I've gotten into their music more and more.
AC/DC are a band that have their own sound and you know it the second you hear it.It's no question that albums such as Back in Black, Powerage and Highway To Hell are classics.
Obviously at the time of Back in Black the band were going through sad times still coping with the loss of Bon so to have HUGE success with the album no doubt was a sigh of relief knowing that Brian would be excepted as their new singer and the band could carry on..
I don't think any of the later albums are bad (except for Flick of The Switch) which I'm not familar with at all although I do remember when it was released.Each have a few songs that I think are really good.
On For Those About To Rock I like Let's Get It Up and the title track . I also like Money Talks and Thunder struck from Razor's Edge.
I guess the band figures with all the success they've had over the years "If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It"
So to answer the question - No I don't think the band have "Jumped The Shark."
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Post by KittyKat - RIP Luciano on Mar 14, 2006 17:30:06 GMT -5
LOVE this new feature Adam.
I think that because of their particular fan base etc. that AC/DC have not officially jumped the shark.
Do I think they'll ever have a commercial radio-friendly hit again? Probably not. So I guess the opinion on the shark jumping varies on who you ask.
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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Aug 28, 2006 14:51:53 GMT -5
Never liked them, so... NEXT! LOL-tell it like it is! |
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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Aug 28, 2006 14:52:31 GMT -5
I'm not an AC-DC fan and I know very little about their career as a whole, but I have to agree with you that they had jumped the shark at this point. I can't think of a single AC-DC hit after Back In Black. (This could just be due to my lack of knowledge of this era of rock, however.) Besides, Angus Young is STILL dressing in those awful school uniforms. Do something new already, dude. LOL-but that's his schtick, Lora! |
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Post by Pete70s on Aug 29, 2006 14:01:50 GMT -5
MAN, I miss these...
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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Aug 30, 2006 10:51:34 GMT -5
Returning to theaters, fall of 06........ |
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Hoping others feel the same!
