What's your favourite late career album?

EraserheadEraserhead Posts: 22,016
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Young people often think they have all the best tunes but I've been recently very pleasantly surprised by albums from artists who have been around for decades, making great albums late in to their careers - I'm talking about artists in their 40s, 50s and beyond.

Recent albums by David Bowie and Neil Young have received very positive reviews and those late albums of cover versions by Johnny Cash were met with pretty much universal acclaim.

So what are your favourite late career albums?

Here's a few of my recent favourites:

Swans - The Seer
Ultravox - Brilliant
Wire - Change Becomes Us
OMD - English Electric
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Comments

  • _Magnum__Magnum_ Posts: 215
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    Cher's "Believe" is a wonderful album
  • Hav_mor91Hav_mor91 Posts: 17,183
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    Kate Bush- Aerial it was her first album that i was old enough to be aware of and what a welcome back :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,241
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    The second half of Tom Waits' career from Mule Variations onwards has produced some extremely great avant garde albums. Personally I love Alice, Blood Money and Real Gone.
  • J B OddsocksJ B Oddsocks Posts: 544
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    For me it's Leonard Cohen. It's a long time since I first heard Suzanne and Bird On A Wire but his 2012 album Old Ideas is right up there with his output from the '60s
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 554
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    Eraserhead wrote: »
    Swans - The Seer

    Yes! Great to see Swans get a mention on here and I agree that 'The Seer' is a brilliant album.

    Tom Waits is another good call, 'Alice' in particular is fantastic and on his most recent album 'Bad as Me' he certainly sounds cooler than your average 62 year old.

    I'd have to add Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds as well - 'Push the Sky Away' is one of my favourites of 2013, and Cave was already well into his 40s when career highlights like 'No More Shall We Part' and 'Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus' were released too.
  • jonloch1jonloch1 Posts: 3,175
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    Dunno if this counts as she's only going to turn 34 tomorrow but I never thought pink would beat Im Not Dead but she did with Truth About Love. its her best album by far imo

    Im really intrigued to hear Cher's new album. I love Woman's World :D
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,527
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    Tropical Brainstorm by Kirsty MacColl is a revelation! (It was the last album she recorded before her death, so if you're only as good as your last album... she's bloomin' fantastic)
  • constantino_chrconstantino_chr Posts: 673
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    Like Clockwork... by Queens of the Stone age is by far my favourite albums of theirs.
  • TheshaneTheshane Posts: 1,815
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    As late career albums go, Brian Wilsons Smile is pretty good.
  • bryemycazbryemycaz Posts: 11,735
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    Innuendo, Queen. As good as the stuff they did in the mid 70s. Tinged with sadness though, as it was Freddie's last completed album.
  • rfonzorfonzo Posts: 11,771
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    I like My Love is Your Love, by Whitney Houston and Ray of Light by Madonna.
  • TheTrader78TheTrader78 Posts: 948
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    Theshane wrote: »
    As late career albums go, Brian Wilsons Smile is pretty good.

    'That Lucky Old Sun' is another
  • Slarti BartfastSlarti Bartfast Posts: 6,607
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    Ry Cooder - I, Flathead
    The Beatles - Abbey Road (does this count?)

    As a general rule though I tend not to like late career albums.

    Innuendo, mentioned above, is probably my favourite late Queen album but on the whole their output from the 80s onwards wasn't a patch on their early stuff.
  • FMKKFMKK Posts: 32,074
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    Bridges To Babylon is actually a very good Rolling Stones album and it's from the late nineties. Very underrated. Bowie's most recent album is also very good.
  • AdzPowerAdzPower Posts: 4,861
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    Madonna's Confessions On a Dancefloor is epic, she was in her late 40's when it came out.
  • Hound of LoveHound of Love Posts: 79,880
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    OneK wrote: »
    Tropical Brainstorm by Kirsty MacColl is a revelation! (It was the last album she recorded before her death, so if you're only as good as your last album... she's bloomin' fantastic)

    Agreed. Such a fine album!

    I would add Hurricane - Grace Jones. And Electric - Pet Shop Boys.
  • spaceygalspaceygal Posts: 3,447
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    Crowded House's Time On Earth is a brilliant album and a great comeback.

    Also, I know she's still only in her 30's but Melanie C's 5th album The Sea is excellent, one of her best. Such a shame people didn't seem to bother with her much after her debut album as I think she just got better and better with each subsequent album (not counting Stages as that's an album of showtune covers, not original songs). The Sea is probably her best album, imo! Some amazing songs on it!
  • kyleeekyleee Posts: 347
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    Kylie X - i know it didnt fare v well commercially but its my fave kylie album...a little gem
  • STeelySTeely Posts: 329
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    Tom Jones - Praise & Blame , a great album , full of amazing songs
  • Littlegreen42Littlegreen42 Posts: 19,963
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    Kate Bush's Aerial was outstanding and completely cemented her as the greatest British female singer/songwriter.

    Tori Amos 'Night Of Hunters' is also I believe the best since her 90's output.
  • spaceygalspaceygal Posts: 3,447
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    kyleee wrote: »
    Kylie X - i know it didnt fare v well commercially but its my fave kylie album...a little gem

    Was just about to mention X too, lol! Great album from Kylie, one of my favourites.

    Also, I'm currently listening to the latest offering from Nine Inch Nails, Hesitation Marks, and it sounds pretty damn good!
  • d56d56 Posts: 5,471
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    rfonzo wrote: »
    I like My Love is Your Love, by Whitney Houston and Ray of Light by Madonna.

    I don't know why but this post made me so sad when you think we'll never get another Whitney album :(
  • 19Nick6819Nick68 Posts: 1,792
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    OneK wrote: »
    Tropical Brainstorm by Kirsty MacColl is a revelation! (It was the last album she recorded before her death, so if you're only as good as your last album... she's bloomin' fantastic)

    I liked Kirsty McColl and bought this on the strength of the reviews. Just not for me I'm afraid.

    I have all the America albums by Johnny Cash and they are fantastic. Neil Diamond's last couple of albums have been excellent as well.

    Rick Rubin works his magic.
  • spaceygalspaceygal Posts: 3,447
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    Abba's last studio album, The Visitors, is one of their best, in my opinion.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,241
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    Forgot to say PJ Harvey's Let England Shake released in her early forties was a fantastic thought provoking gem.
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