RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Media Top Ten Comeback Albums

Time Magazine's Top Ten Comeback Albums.

Not a bad list as far as these things go, but I would have definitely removed "American Idiot" from the list and put the Elvis '68 album on there instead, especially since people have even called it the "comeback" album.

Don't call it a comeback!

The problem with the Green Day entry was they called Nimrod "tepid". The album in between Dookie and Nimrod could arguably be called that, but Nimrod was Green Day's most artistically diverse album at that time and is still one of my favorites.

Yeah, regardless of the artistic merits of the album as a whole, "Nimrod" had what had to be their biggest hit on it ("Good Riddance-Time of Your Life"). As a result, you can't really say they were "coming back" with "American Idiot."

The other albums on the list tend to be ones that followed long periods of both commercial and, in most cases, critical failure.

With that in mind, "Elvis 68" really should have been on the list. It was the album where he stopped doing the "movie soundtrack" shit he'd been cranking out for at least eight years and went back to blues, gospel and rockabilly hybrid that made people again consider him "the King" in the first place



If anything, the "unplugged" stuff Elvis did on that record was the forerunner to what Rubin did with Cash on the American Recordings.

The '68 comeback special should definately be on there. Always thought it was a shame he didn't maintain that style, he seemed to give up the rock and roll edge. The most interesting stuff he did after that was probably the Gospel. Only guy I have come accross that can make me listen to Gospel!

I'm really surprised Aerosmith isn't on that list anywhere.

They're "comeback" wasn't on their own album, however. Aerosmith's comeback was when the guested on the Run-DMC remake of "Walk this way."

Tina Turner is one ugly dude.

G, I think Snarf is referring to Aerosmith's comeback in the early 80's.

No, I meant the album after the Run-D.M.C. collaboration. Also, I think Weezer's Green Album should be up there. After all, there was a 5-year gap where nothing happened, someone even told me they had broken up, and then they're back, still nerd-rocking.

Sadly,I have to agree with Snarf.Aerosmith's career was shit and yes,"Walk This Way" with Run-DMC put them back in the public eye,but it was their "Permanent Vacation" album that I'd consider a "comeback" album in the truest sense due to a lot of their previous album's failures and the problems the band was having both personally and commercially until then.

I'd have to say it was "Pump".

It was a huge album.

"Jaime's Got a Gun"

"Love in an Elevator"

..And so on.

"Pump" was a very successful album. But it followed the success of "Permanent Vacation," which given them their first major MTV exposure (back when MTV played videos) and the big hits "Rag Doll," "Angel" and "Dude Looks Like a Lady." Furthermore, PV was their first successful album since their 1980 "Greatest Hits" package.

By the time of "Pump" Aerosmith was already back on top.

As such, if any album of theirs counts as the comeback (as opposed to the Run-DMC song), it's "Permanent Vacation."

I'm sorry, I thought PV came out after Pump.

My bad.

Bon Jovi - Keep the faith, should have maybe had a mention.

Neil Diamonds - 12 chords was another Rick Ruben revival, just like Johnny Cash.

Kid Rocks latest was somewhat of a comeback, as his self titled album didnt do too well (and I'm not even sure it recieved an international release), and then it took 4 more years for this album!

The current AC/DC album is probably the most recent big comeback.

Best comeback album in recent years for me was the Billy Idol one, Devils playground, but sadly I dont think it achieved anywhere near the success it should have.

Alice Coopers Trash was also a massive comeback after quite a few tepid albums.

I agree with NWM about Alice Cooper, and the people who mention Permanent Vacation, but I'd point to Charmed Life over Devil's Playground as Idol's comeback album, simply because Charmed Life was the album that no one thought would be made after Idol's near-fatal motorcycle accident. That it was even made makes it a comeback album. Also, I think it was better received than Devil's Playground (which is still a great album).

What? No mention of Chinese Democracy???

This is a list from an American magazine, however, and presumably reflects the American record charts, etc. With that in mind, can one say that Idol ever really "came back", at least over here?

Charmed Life was a huge album at the time. I'll leave it to Nowhereman to give you the proper amount of abuse for such a dumb comment.

I understand that "Charmed Life" was a big hit in the U.S., circa 1990, and continued his string of US hits here in the 1980s.

I would also note that, as general rule, I found his 1980s work (which is the only music of his I'm familiar with and, which I include "Charmed Life" as a part of) to be uniformly enjoyable

My question was whether or not Idol had a comeback in the US after that.

The same could be said of any on the list. Elvis had two god years after the album you mentioned then small vegas gigs, so was that really a comeback?

Actually, Elvis still sold pretty well after the 68 album, including the 1973 "Aloha from Hawaii" live album and TV special which was, at the time, the most watched TV show ever.

But even if we say Elvis only had two good years after the 1968 album he had still come "back", even if only temporarily.

In contrast, with Idol I'm not sure he had any US hits after "Charmed Life."

"Devil's Playground" might have been a comeback in the UK and elsewhere, but if it didn't hit big over here I can understand why Time wouldn't have it on the list.

I think it did hit big over here.

Wasnt the Elvis comeback special more about his return to performing live, than returning to releasing successful music?

Okay. I wasn't aware of that. Thanks.




It was also a "comeback" in the sense that it was a return to music, not movies, as his primary occupation and to music that was more "mature", and not just soundtrack filler.

Besides the "Unplugged" aspects of the 68 album, you also had the hit "If I Can Dream," which kicked off his creative resurgeance, stuff like "Suspicious Minds," "Burning Love," "In the Ghetto," etc.

I suppose an argument could be made for Charmed life being a comeback, but as its only four years since his last album (which was a success), it wouldnt really classify as a comeback in my eyes, accident or not.
Devils playground though, was a full 12 years after Cyberpunk (which wasnt that successful anyway), and is actually his most consistant album, start to finish, and easily my personal fave.
All the same, it wouldnt appear on a list like this as it kinda slipped under the radar for most people even here.
If it was based purely on the strength of the material, then it would certainly be a contender!

As for Chinese Democracy, I dont really see it as a comeback, purely based on the age of the material.
Of course another argument would be that its not actually GNR thats come back, just Axl.

Good points.

But I think that this list is more about artists who have either taken long breaks between recordings, or had lean spells where their musical output flopped.
Whether they are as well regarded now as his earlier stuff, or his post "comeback" stuff, he still continued to rack up hit singles and albums!

But, by that argument, you can't really have Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan on the list. Both of them were still recording regularly and, while most of the stuff wasn't as popular or good as their earlier work, they were still somewhat in the public eye.

I think the Elvis 68 album is a very clear analogy to Cash's "American Recordings." In each case you had someone who was still working, but whose output wasn't as critically or commercially successful as it had been for a long time. In each case, they chose to move back, in part, to a stripped down sound that touched on their early style. In each case, they found renewed critical and commercial success.

Cash was out of the public eye for a long while until he did the live Folsom album wasnt he?

Btw, I believe Devils Playground reached #46 in the billboard chart, so it at least made a blip in the states, just not a huge one!

The single, Scream, hit #26 on the mainstream rock chart!

But it was their lack of success during this period (Cash/Dylan), rather than being inactive that points to their comeback.
Elvis was still successful!

As I say, a comeback is either driven by being out of the public eye, or returning to the top of their game after a period of less successful output!

Actually, I think he won a Grammy the year before that album for his duet with June.

Not really. He was a pretty consistent hitmaker during the the fifties and sixties. I think people believe "Folsom Prison" was a big comeback beause the movie made it out to look like that.

The latter of which would seem to still qualify Presley's 68 comeback, at least given the other records on that list. Sure, he was recording consistently during the 1960s but it was all material for his movies (his primarly occupation during that time) and, with few exceptions in the early sixties ("Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Little Sister" for example) never made the dent that the 68 album did.

And, once the Beatles hit, Elvis was pretty much sidelined (other than some movie output) until 1968. For example, nowadays its a song we associate with the King, but at the time (1964) Viva Las Vegas wasn't a hit and was, in fact, only a "B" side to a remake of Ray Charles "What'd I Say."

And his singles chart successes were pretty much similar after the 68 comeback, with only a few high placing singles on the billboard!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley_hit_singles

But, again, if you're going to do that, then Cash and Dylan are off the list, not to mention at least a couple of others.

My point with Elvis was that, using the criteria that seemed to be established by the list itself, the 68 album was his comeback. Furthermore, as far as I can remember, both critics and the general public have recognized 1968 as his "comeback."

Accordingly, it seems odd to find it's not on the list instead of one of the other albums, such as "American Idiot."