Killer albums post-glory days prove aging bands still know how to rock

03/25/09 - Musicians in the realm of pop music seem to have a fairly short shelf life. Artists have a peak when they've reached their creative potential and are at their most culturally relevant. Most often, a musician's early to middle work is considered the most important, and most musicians struggle to remain part of the music-listening consciousness late in their careers.However, musicians don't retire; they plug on, and some of them manage to pop out a late career gem. Here are some overlooked late career albums:

Crown Royal was Run-DMC's last album before the murder of founder Jam-Master Jay ended the group permanently. Crown Royal was released well after the group's mid-80s heyday and was its first album since 1993's Down with the King. Whereas Down with the King saw Run-DMC trying to ride the popular wave of gangsta rap and had the Reverend awkwardly dropping the n-word, this album saw it return to the groups rock-infused rap roots.

The album shows that Rev. Run is still a strong rapper and driving rock -including a sample of "Sweet Home Alabama"- backs his rhymes. The album is notable for the lack of DMC, with Darrell making appearances on just three tracks.

It's also notable for the fact that nearly every track features guest stars. Some, like Method Man, are still respected eight years later, but many others like Third Eye Blind, Kid Rock, Fred Durst and Sugar Ray sound entirely dated. Nevertheless, the album is mostly reminiscent of what an updated Run-DMC album would sound like. Rev. Run's 2005 solo album Distortion continues this sound and is another album worth checking out.

Another early rap group, Public Enemy, has its own late career gem in 2007's lengthy and tongue-twistingly titled How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???. The album blasts out of the gate with "Black Is Back" featuring heavy guitar chords that sound like (but are not exactly) AC/DC's "Back in Black." Chuck D is still angry and it shows. The guitars back him perfectly.

While he starts off just angry, the rest of album also features Chuck D's aggressive style of rapping, but also has him show his maturity-if not his age- as well. He sounds a little slower, heavier, and just a bit tired in many songs. This is particularly true on "Harder than you Think" but Chuck D's maturity does the song a favor and is probably one of the highlights.

Oh, and yes Flava Flav is on the album, reprising his clown prince role in Public Enemy. Ignoring his reality TV exploits, he still fits in with Public Enemy, perfectly cutting under Chuck D's heavy sound with his own nasally rhymes.

Public Enemy is still politically charged, with the group taking on many issues but specifically blasting the prevalence of violent gangsta rappers. Listen to "Sex, Drugs, and Violence" for example, which has a chorus of children singing, "We like those gangsta rhymes/ but make sure they don't corrupt our minds."

Rock bands seem to have more frequent late career reinvigorations. In 2008 two hard rock staples of the late seventies and early eighties released new albums. AC/DC released Black Ice and Motorhead released Motorizer, both of which show the bands still have some juice left.

Going a lot further back in time, The Kinks have a very interesting career arc. They started out with huge hits in the 60s like "You Really Got Me" and "Tired of Waiting." Then it fell out of favor for few years, only to return with another hit "Lola," following which they band seemed to again decline in popularity (at least in America).

However the Kinks have a great album from its Low Budget (1978.) The album is a hard, grungy rock masterpiece. The guitars trudge along depressingly in the title track, perfectly reflecting the economic crisis of the time. "Wish I Could Fly Like Superman" mixes the heavy guitar sound with a relentlessly pulsing disco like drum beat.

It's tough getting old, but some musicians are able to age gracefully and keep on rocking for years after their debut. It's hard to think that your favorite band will one day be thought of as old and out of touch, but there's always hope that like these artists, they'll still have a few good albums left.