Biggest Decline In a Career?

[Newguy562]

Besides one hit wonders who do you think had the worst transition in a career?..Who was at the top of their career but eventually went through an everlasting dryspell? as far as sales/hits/good music?(besides the beach boys of course)
and what year? album? song? was it that started it?
for me it has to be Marc Bolan//T.Rex i was looking at a documentary on youtube about it and it was so sad :/

[the captain]

Well, Guns n Roses has the biggest selling debut album of all time in Appetite for Destruction (according to a Billboard Q&A citing a 2008 RIAA certification, at about 18 million, surpassing Boston's debut), so I guess a person could argue them. Huge peak as a debut, very successful true follow-up in the Illusion albums, and then a catastrophic implosion.

[MyGlove]

I think the best example would be the Stone Roses. Had a HUGE debut in England, influenced tons of bands, created a scene and are considered one of the most influential bands of the last 30 years. Yet after their huge initial success, troubles within the band and issues at the record caused them to kind of be pushed to the side for all the britpop bands that came on the scene. They hadn't been forgotten, but hype for them wasn't really the same after that. Probably one of most promising acts of that generation. Also come to think of it, Badfinger went down the tube pretty quickly too. Again, they got screwed by their label, and it ended in Pete Ham committing suicide. Horrible, horrible tragedy

[pixletwin]

Smashing Pumpkins had a great career trajectory until Adore. Then they went from hitsville to splitsville.

[JohnMill]

I mentioned this in another thread but for me it's really easy:

Aerosmith.

[Newguy562]

I mentioned this in another thread but for me it's really easy:

Aerosmith.

how they still had hits & sold records?

[JohnMill]

I mentioned this in another thread but for me it's really easy:

Aerosmith.

how they still had hits & sold records?

They were nowhere near the band they were in the seventies.  In my opinion in the seventies Aerosmith was one of the hardest rocking bands on the planet.  Their stuff was unapologetic, balls to the wall brute force rock.  Steven Tyler even once said I think that he almost pulled "You See Me Crying" off of "Toys In The Attic" because he "didn't want any p**ssy sh*t on their records" (though I'm glad he left it on there, amazing vocal). 

The problem with Aerosmith is when talking about declines is while their records still did indeed sell, they seemed to have lost everything that made them great in the seventies.  They went from being these aggressive rockers to being ballad spinners.  Now that isn't to say they still couldn't rock out when they wanted to but for the most part they became a power pop/rock band.  Their songs went from hard rock to hard candy.  I can't even listen to some of their more recent records such as the big hit they had for that movie that Liv Tyler was in entitled "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing", it's such a far cry from the band I grew up listening to it's like listening to two different bands. 

Hits aside in my opinion, biggest decline musically speaking that I've personally ever encountered in mainstream rock music.

[OGoldin]

As far as good music goes -- post-Kirwan Fleetwood Mac.   Dennis and millions of others no doubt would disagree.

There was a pretty huge musical dropoff for Elton John too.

The Rascals

The last years of the Kinks were pretty depressing.

[Sheriff John Stone]

The Monkees.

[Newguy562]

I mentioned this in another thread but for me it's really easy:

Aerosmith.

how they still had hits & sold records?

They were nowhere near the band they were in the seventies.  In my opinion in the seventies Aerosmith was one of the hardest rocking bands on the planet.  Their stuff was unapologetic, balls to the wall brute force rock.  Steven Tyler even once said I think that he almost pulled "You See Me Crying" off of "Toys In The Attic" because he "didn't want any p**ssy sh*t on their records" (though I'm glad he left it on there, amazing vocal). 

The problem with Aerosmith is when talking about declines is while their records still did indeed sell, they seemed to have lost everything that made them great in the seventies.  They went from being these aggressive rockers to being ballad spinners.  Now that isn't to say they still couldn't rock out when they wanted to but for the most part they became a power pop/rock band.  Their songs went from hard rock to hard candy.  I can't even listen to some of their more recent records such as the big hit they had for that movie that Liv Tyler was in entitled "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing", it's such a far cry from the band I grew up listening to it's like listening to two different bands. 

Hits aside in my opinion, biggest decline musically speaking that I've personally ever encountered in mainstream rock music.

wow you don't love "i dont wanna miss a thing"? that's their best song

[MBE]

To his wonderful records with his brothers through early adulthood on to the funkiest of his solo music, Michael Jackson seemed to have it all. The music was still intermitedly interesting, but he became a joke after 1984. Don't get me wrong Bad was decent, but after that his sound gets  noisey and harsh with an occasional glimmer of soul or beauty peaking through. I know he was set to make something of a comeback, and he has since his death, I still feel the second half of his life was just such a sad decent.  

[Newguy562]

To his wonderful records with his brothers through early adulthood on to the funkiest of his solo music, Michael Jackson seemed to have it all. The music was still intermitedly interesting, but he became a joke after 1984. Don't get me wrong Bad was decent, but after that his sound gets  noisey and harsh with an occasional glimmer of soul or beauty peaking through. I know he was set to make something of a comeback, and he has since his death, I still feel the second half of his life was just such a sad decent.  

Bad was better than Thriller and Dangerous was fuckin awesome as well (Black and White,Remember the Time,Will You Be There) but yes as the years went by his career and life was slowly slipping away.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

There was a pretty huge musical dropoff for Elton John too.

Oh God, yes. 100% agreed.

Rod Stewart is another good example.  The general consensus is that after Never a Dull Moment, he started sucking. I disagree with that, as yeah his work post-Faces was not up to the standards of his first four solo releases (or his work with the Jeff Beck group), but he still made good pop/rock. Even when he was shamelessly trying to be hip in the early 80s, or his move towards AC from 1988 onwards, he still put out some decent recordings (even if they were guilty pleasures). NO, I'm talking about him basically becoming a karaoke singer. I mean, really?!

I disagree about Bad being better than Thriller. Bad had way too much filler, and even the best cuts were not a patch on Thriller (or Off the Wall, for that matter). That said, he still put out good stuff the rest of his career; he just didn't make any more good albums after Dangerous.

[JohnMill]

To his wonderful records with his brothers through early adulthood on to the funkiest of his solo music, Michael Jackson seemed to have it all. The music was still intermitedly interesting, but he became a joke after 1984. Don't get me wrong Bad was decent, but after that his sound gets  noisey and harsh with an occasional glimmer of soul or beauty peaking through. I know he was set to make something of a comeback, and he has since his death, I still feel the second half of his life was just such a sad decent.  

Yeah which something I always bring up when someone mentions Michael Jackson's "greatness".  His albums got progressively worse not better.  Compare that to say The Beatles whose albums got progressively better as their career went along.

[Newguy562]

There was a pretty huge musical dropoff for Elton John too.

Oh God, yes. 100% agreed.

Rod Stewart is another good example.  The general consensus is that after Never a Dull Moment, he started sucking. I disagree with that, as yeah his work post-Faces was not up to the standards of his first four solo releases (or his work with the Jeff Beck group), but he still made good pop/rock. Even when he was shamelessly trying to be hip in the early 80s, or his move towards AC from 1988 onwards, he still put out some decent recordings (even if they were guilty pleasures). NO, I'm talking about him basically becoming a karaoke singer. I mean, really?!

I disagree about Bad being better than Thriller. Bad had way too much filler, and even the best cuts were not a patch on Thriller (or Off the Wall, for that matter). That said, he still put out good stuff the rest of his career; he just didn't make any more good albums after Dangerous.

Seriously bad was all big hits every song except one you find another album thats filled with hit singles...the work was decent i actually enjoyed that album much more than thriller & off the wall.

[JohnMill]

There was a pretty huge musical dropoff for Elton John too.

Oh God, yes. 100% agreed.

Rod Stewart is another good example.  The general consensus is that after Never a Dull Moment, he started sucking. I disagree with that, as yeah his work post-Faces was not up to the standards of his first four solo releases (or his work with the Jeff Beck group), but he still made good pop/rock. Even when he was shamelessly trying to be hip in the early 80s, or his move towards AC from 1988 onwards, he still put out some decent recordings (even if they were guilty pleasures). NO, I'm talking about him basically becoming a karaoke singer. I mean, really?!

I disagree about Bad being better than Thriller. Bad had way too much filler, and even the best cuts were not a patch on Thriller (or Off the Wall, for that matter). That said, he still put out good stuff the rest of his career; he just didn't make any more good albums after Dangerous.

Seriously bad was all big hits every song except one you find another album thats filled with hit singles

Simple: Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA".

[Newguy562]

There was a pretty huge musical dropoff for Elton John too.

Oh God, yes. 100% agreed.

Rod Stewart is another good example.  The general consensus is that after Never a Dull Moment, he started sucking. I disagree with that, as yeah his work post-Faces was not up to the standards of his first four solo releases (or his work with the Jeff Beck group), but he still made good pop/rock. Even when he was shamelessly trying to be hip in the early 80s, or his move towards AC from 1988 onwards, he still put out some decent recordings (even if they were guilty pleasures). NO, I'm talking about him basically becoming a karaoke singer. I mean, really?!

I disagree about Bad being better than Thriller. Bad had way too much filler, and even the best cuts were not a patch on Thriller (or Off the Wall, for that matter). That said, he still put out good stuff the rest of his career; he just didn't make any more good albums after Dangerous.

Seriously bad was all big hits every song except one you find another album thats filled with hit singles

Simple: Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA".

Genesis - Invisible Touch

[Newguy562]

To his wonderful records with his brothers through early adulthood on to the funkiest of his solo music, Michael Jackson seemed to have it all. The music was still intermitedly interesting, but he became a joke after 1984. Don't get me wrong Bad was decent, but after that his sound gets  noisey and harsh with an occasional glimmer of soul or beauty peaking through. I know he was set to make something of a comeback, and he has since his death, I still feel the second half of his life was just such a sad decent.  

Yeah which something I always bring up when someone mentions Michael Jackson's "greatness".  His albums got progressively worse not better.  Compare that to say The Beatles whose albums got progressively better as their career went along.

also pink floyd they kept getting better & better.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Ummm...Thriller was pretty much all hit singles, and the two non-singles were my two favorite on the album!

As for Pink Floyd, I'd agree up until a point. I personally love Animals, but it was not better than Dark Side or Wish You Were Here...or Meddle...or Obscured by Clouds. As for The Wall...well... I actually think its somewhat overrated.

[Newguy562]

Ummm...Thriller was pretty much all hit singles, and the two non-singles were my two favorite on the album!

As for Pink Floyd, I'd agree up until a point. I personally love Animals, but it was not better than Dark Side or Wish You Were Here...or Meddle...or Obscured by Clouds. As for The Wall...well... I actually think its somewhat overrated.

baby be mine? the lady in my life?  
i love animals and i prefer it over dark side any day the wall is so over-rated but i respect it as a creative piece of art, just musically it didnt do it for me.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Yep...The Lady in My Life is my favorite cut on the album, and one of my favorite Michael Jackson recordings.

I personally like Dark Side the best, but really all of their albums pre-Wall were great pieces of work, possibly aside from Atom Heart Mother.

[Ron]

To his wonderful records with his brothers through early adulthood on to the funkiest of his solo music, Michael Jackson seemed to have it all. The music was still intermitedly interesting, but he became a joke after 1984. Don't get me wrong Bad was decent, but after that his sound gets  noisey and harsh with an occasional glimmer of soul or beauty peaking through. I know he was set to make something of a comeback, and he has since his death, I still feel the second half of his life was just such a sad decent.  

I can't agree with this.  While his life was kind of tragic, you can't really say he had a 'professional' decline.  Any issues he had with money or sales or chart position or whatever were self inflicted, and then, after death he was more popular than ever.  Also his 'Dangerous" album was HUGE and made him a mint, it was nearly as successful as Thriller.  He also did big business with the "History" double album in 95 or so, even had a #1 hit off of it. 

So since it's 'biggest decline in a career' I don't think you can possibly say Michael's career declined much at all.  Anything looks like a decline compared to 100 million album sales. 

[JohnMill]

To his wonderful records with his brothers through early adulthood on to the funkiest of his solo music, Michael Jackson seemed to have it all. The music was still intermitedly interesting, but he became a joke after 1984. Don't get me wrong Bad was decent, but after that his sound gets  noisey and harsh with an occasional glimmer of soul or beauty peaking through. I know he was set to make something of a comeback, and he has since his death, I still feel the second half of his life was just such a sad decent.  

I can't agree with this.  While his life was kind of tragic, you can't really say he had a 'professional' decline.  Any issues he had with money or sales or chart position or whatever were self inflicted, and then, after death he was more popular than ever.  Also his 'Dangerous" album was HUGE and made him a mint, it was nearly as successful as Thriller.  He also did big business with the "History" double album in 95 or so, even had a #1 hit off of it. 

So since it's 'biggest decline in a career' I don't think you can possibly say Michael's career declined much at all.  Anything looks like a decline compared to 100 million album sales. 

I think we need to define what exactly is meant by decline here because people are talking about two different things.  There is a decline in sales and an artistic decline.  The music industry is littered with artists who continue to rack up sales based on past glories but haven't put out a decent record in decades.  So two different things here.

[Ron]

Anything but sales is subjective, though. 

On Michael, another thing: The last thing he did professionally before he died, was sell out 50 shows in a row at the 02 Arena in London, nobody else could have done that (or would! hell it helped kill him!).  


If his career was in tatters, he never would have sold out a 20,000 seat arena, in the same city, for 50 shows, BEFORE he even performed the first one.  His career was incredible, with the exception being the long periods of self-imposed recluse.  

[JohnMill]

Anything but sales is subjective, though.  

Who cares?  That's what we're here for.  

Edit: In regards to Jackson, his career wasn't in tatters but his reputation had taken a significant beating.  That being said Jackson might have the most rabid fanbase on the planet.  These are the same people who rallied blindly to his defense no matter what allegation was being hurled at him.  I'm not surprised his final concerts sold out.  Look I'll admit, the guy had a great deal of talent but I was never enamored with him enough to get past a lot of his eccentric behavior.  If you want my honest opinion on the guy: It's tragic that he had to pass away so young but frankly I don't miss him, his life had become a spectacle and tabloid fodder.  The fact that he's gone now hopefully opens the door for other musicians who will make music just as good (or better) as he did without all the fanfare.