What I mean by this title is that sometimes an artist represents an artistic vision on one album and on the next one simply proceeds to perfect it a few years after - but not necessarily change the style much at all. In this case the previous album can become sort of "redundant" or "obsolete" (however you'd like to describe it). With sung pop music there's always the entertainment factor of melodic songs and the emotional adaptability of the lyrics, but I think with certain types of instrumental, electronic, hip-hop and even jazz albums this phenomenon can occur sometimes. Some albums just lose much of their artistic value because the following one is just so much better version of the same approach.

I realized this while listening to Autechre's back catalogue and noticed how "Incunabula". "Draft 7.30" and especially "LP5" seriously suffer from this. It's almost as if the artists themselves choose to "kill off" their previous effort with the new one without any mercy. The older albums become merely drafts and curiosities in this process.

So, any similar examples of yours?

not really. i usually tend to like the earlier albums of the artists i follow, because in the beginning, they had less resources and had to rely more on their imaginations to get their ideas out. with success comes a bit of bloat, unfortunately. when you have tons of money thrown at you to make an album, you don't have to worry over what dime store toy you can find to produce the sounds in your head. you can just get someone to program some shit. i much prefer the anguished toy store model, even if the later, lusher stuff also shows some true evolution of the artist.

But it doesn't always go that way. Sometimes the first one just becomes outdated. It's not a matter of polishing or being able to access better technology, just being compositionally far improved. Or on jazz albums, the players have evolved so much that something on the previous outing starts to feel almost embarrassing.

With music, it seems if the new album is the first done better, then it's a part of a natural progression.
I can, however, see a second album being redundant. That happens all the time.

Yep. It happens way more often.

Novabreaker said:

Leave it to you to see something upside down or backwards...which is a good thing.

Now I'm thinking about obsolete CD's.

Do you think this ever happened in Prince's evolution?

Not really, as Prince has always changed so much. He can't stand still or stay concentrated for long enough. Maybe from "Controversy" to "1999" to a slight degree? - but they're still quite different from each other and some cuts on "Controversy" are arguably still stronger than some on "1999". Nawh, can't see it really even there.

But had he released the projected album between "1999" and "Purple Rain" with tracks like "Extraloveable" and such on it, it just might have happened. I think Prince was conscious of the factor that he needed to wait for another year for his music to develop fully to what it later became on "Purple Rain". He had VERY strong cuts ready in the "1999"-vein, but the shift wouldn't have been enough big and the new album could have overshadowed the importance of "1999", but not standout as a stylistical progression like "Purple Rain" did in the end.

Novabreaker said:

Totally agree about this exact release!

Really thoughtful topic: how an artist's improved execution of a similar idea could make old projects sound obsolete.

I think this happens alot in electronic music or maybe I'm just familiar with more examples of this. Boards Of Canada come to mind. They have some old bootleg tapes from the 1990s that can't compare to their later material.

It happens in film too.

When Vince Clarke left after Speak and Spell, I think Depeche Mode didn't really find their sound again until Some Great Reward. There are a few good songs in between, but A Broken Frame and Construction Time Again are not very good records. And then they just kept getting better and better up through Violator.

GangstaFam said:

So which album became redundant? (Trying to bring this back on topic)

CinisterCee said:

A Broken Frame and Construction Time Again when they were still trying to find their sound.

GangstaFam said:

Gotcha.

Well now I'm just thinking about weaker albums within a catalog, like U2's October becoming redundant by War, but I'm not sure that's a great example.


I feel like Digable Planet's second album Blowout Comb left their debut in the dust.

One could also think of this in terms of weak debuts.

Every cut that Boogie Down Productions released before making the songs on Criminal Minded sound obsolete, except for maybe "(We Have Got To) Advance".

Destiny's Child weren't on their shit until the second album, and their debut is redundant, with the exception of maybe "No No No (Wyclef remix)".

The Fugees' 1994 debut Blunted On Reality became redundant...

...after the release of The Score.

CinisterCee said:

For real!

CinisterCee said:

good one.

Possibly "Kill 'Em All" to "Ride the Lightning" by Metallica, although I'm not sure that the two are similar enough in style.


Actually, I can think of more examples of this in reverse, where the artist had a style years ago, and then tried in vain to revisit it, but the album just sounded stilted, and failed to live up to the intended work.

REM - Automatic for the People and Reveal

Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses/Violator and Playing the Angel.

even something like:

David Bowie - Heathen and Reality

Bowie... Young Americans >>> Station to Station

Prince... For You >>> Prince

Like a Virgin and True Blue

These are stuck betwee the best 80s albums madonna did: "Madonna" and "Like a Prayer"

For me Like a virgin is dreadful!!!!

Dayspring said:

holy shit. I would have to say that's the most obvious one considering the site. Here I was thinking about Controversy vs. 1999.

CinisterCee said:

I totally missed that one too and I'd have to say it's the nearest Prince came to this in his career.

"Controversy" is more of a "Dirty Mind" soundalike.

CinisterCee said:

i disagree. i think both of those albums have their own thing going on, and that while he's certainly drawn from the styles of those albums in years since, nothing has matched the mood of either of those releases.

yes, he's evolved TONS since those albums. obviously. but i don't think these albums were made redundant by what he's done since.

I know this isn't exactly what Novabreaker means, but Dimmu Borgir recently rerecorded their entire album 'Stormblast' from 2000 so that the playing is better, the production is cleaner, etc. Most reviews I've read say it's a big improvement over the original, but of course some fans disagree.

Anx said:

I think you missed the point. The one that followed made the first one redundant. In this instance, "Prince" expanded on and perfected what he was trying to achieve with "For You."

CinisterCee said:

Sorry, but my copy of The Score doesn't have "Nappy Heads" on it.

sextonseven said:

Haha. I can only imagine if all the old Black Metal bands from the early 90s decided their punky lo-fi approach was shit and went on to produce contemporary versions of their albums.