Consistent Artists

Since you're rolling that way... you always knew who The Carpenters were, and they were always good. Too bad they weren't around for long. Ditto Creedence Clearwater Revival.

 

Aretha was a national treasure and was consistently amazing, yet she couldn't sing a song the same way twice - not at all a bad thing since it was because she lived completely in the moment with each and every performance rather than trying to replicate something (even her own past performance). Because of that she reportedly gave the _Blues Brothers_ filmmakers nervous fits while they were trying to edit various takes of the "Think" scene into the final product.

 

Consistent artists to me, means they morphed over time and you still knew who they were when the music played. Like Van Halen, U2, Smashing Pumpkins & a lot of others. With vocals, that's probably the easiest & most recognizable (Beach Boys), but there are guitarists that have done that consistency with their song writing & play. Taking Dire Straits as an example, Making Movies was really the only album they had that I even liked enough to consider even buying. Their mid & later 80's hits & albums left me short, just wanting the songs to end. Maybe I was one of the few that had already moved on from Dire Straits at that time. Sultans of Swing was the start of it all. But that very 1st album didn't have much on it for a complete album to be considered great ? But I still think Dire straits should be on any list of consistent artists because what they played was instantly recognizable.

 

Los Lobos has been really consistent over the years. Elvis Costello is another one, and so is Robyn Hitchcock.

 

True: the Rolling Stones have been consistently disappointing for more than 30 years


I'm pretty surprised to read names such as The Clash (the band lasted 5 years!) or Television (even shorter).

 

Brevity makes consistency easier.

 

Nice list but I'd have to add The Beatles to it.

 

Never did get into Barry and Copacabana really done me in....

 

I like your list!

 

Paul Simon

 

The Beatles are among my top three rock artists of all time.
I really wanted to add the Beatles, but I didn’t because even though the quality was consistent, the music changed so dramatically say , from Beatles For Sale to The White Album, and , from HELP! to Magical Mystery Tour, I couldn’t in good conscience say that the music was consistent.
Their music hit so many different eras and genres, employed so many woodwind, string, and brass arrangements, and presented everything from Bach (“Because”) to Country (“Rocky Raccoon”) to Blues (“Yer Blues) to Lullaby’s (“Goodnight”) to Psychedelia (“Tomorrow Never Knows”), that their audience would have a difficult time calling their sound or music consistent.

 

I get bored if an Artist doesnt grow and take chances, as long as they come back once in a while with the goods that got them on the charts. With in reason.. I dont want to hear anything by the Stray Cats now, or ever. It was a time, a place, youth... The artist burst forth from that plant and grew into maturation(BSOrchestra), then delivered consistently while throwing out his own penchant for different brush strokes (Cross of Love to Wolfgangs big night out) while at the same time giving a taste of the old grindy Cat we grew up with (68 comeback special/ignition -rockabilly riot) plus sharing his variety of muses (songs from lonely avenue) for possible future direction post BSO.
We got that from U2 as well hittin the charts with NEw Years Day to Streets have no name.. and then they got creative...people wanted to drop them like a hot rock through Achtung Baby, Zoo TV, POP.. so they HAD to come back to elevation to revisit their youth, but Achtung Baby shows maturity and a beautiful palette of expression in my book. One of my favorite times in their long careers.

 

Love 'em or hate 'em, they didn't stray far from their golden formula.