An Album a Day: Comebacks

Featuring George Harrison, Johnny Cash, D'Angelo, and others

My friend Ken and I decided to listen to an album every day this year. Each week is themed. At the end of each week, we rank what we listened to. To be clear, we aren’t ranking every album that fits the theme. We are only ranking what we chose to listen to during the last seven days.

This week’s theme is “comebacks,” meaning an album that reestablishes an artist. By our definition, there were two types of albums that fit the comeback definition. First, an artist takes over 10 years between album releases. Second, a once critically- or commercially-successful artist spends a decade in relative obscurity before releasing another album that brings them praise and riches.

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#8 Supernatural by Santana (1999 - First platinum record since 1981)

With the help of label maestro Clive Davis, Santana put together an album of radio-friendly collaborations to try to climb his way back onto the charts. It worked! And the big hits, like “Smooth” and “Maria Maria,” are quite memorable. But because nearly every track has a different vocalist, this record doesn’t feel cohesive.

#7 Private Dancer by Tina Turner (1984 - First platinum record as a solo artist)

Though her cover of “Let’s Stay Together” was the first single from Private Dancer, it was the second, “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” that put Tina Turner’s solo career on the map. “What’s Got to Do with It” is one of the best cuts from Private Dancer. But there’s a moment on the song that I think captures why I didn’t connect that deeply with the album: the solo.

The short solo on “What’s Love Got to Do with It” is something that could only have happened in 1984. Much of this record is dated to the 1980s. While I like 1980s production in some cases, the production of Private Dancer didn’t do it for me. Still, Tina Turner is so compelling that I enjoyed many moments of this album (e.g., “Better Be Good To Me”). Except the cover of “Help!” I did not find Turner’s rendition of The Beatles’ classic very enjoyable.

#6 Mystery Girl by Roy Orbison (1989 - First hits since the 1960s)

After inventing his own operatic style of popular music in the early 1960s, Roy Orbison fell on hard times—for decades. Starting in the 1980s, a bunch of stars wanted to help one of their heroes get back on his feet. Bruce Springsteen. k.d. lang. George Harrison. Bob Dylan. Tom Petty. Jeff Lynne. Those final four started a supergroup with Orbison, The Traveling Wilburys. The final two helped The Big O write and record a new record.

Though Orbison’s voice wasn’t at its full power on Mystery Girl, it was pretty close. And if you were into Orbison’s work from the 1960s, many of the songs here lean into the motifs that defined that earlier work. “You Got It,” the lead single, stands alone, though. It wears a bit more 1980s’ sheen but in a way I really enjoyed.

#5 Cloud Nine by George Harrison (1987 - First platinum record since 1970)

Right around the time Jeff Lynne was helping relaunch Roy Orbison’s, he was doing the same for fellow Wilbury, George Harrison. If you’ve heard anything on Cloud Nine, it is like “Got My Mind Set On You,” a James Ray cover dressed up for the 1980s. The rest of the album doesn’t lean into that sound as much. It’s classic Harrison. Lots of meditative lyrics and slide guitar. It makes you wish his solo catalog was more extensive.

#4 Wildflower by The Avalanches (2016 - First album since 2000)

In 2000, The Avalanches released Since I Left You, one of the greatest examples of plunderphonics. Plunderphonics is a fascinating genre. Songs in this style are almost completely assembled from previously recorded material, or samples. The Avalanches stack hundreds of samples together on Since I Left You. While they do the same on Wildflower, they also get some help from featured vocalists, like Danny Brown and MF Doom. Because of that, recordings on Wildflower resemble traditional songs a bit more than those on Since I Left You.

Still, the instrumentals are all composed of stacks of samples from 1960s and 1970s gold. And those samples give this record a warmth that feels like a hug. Honestly, it almost made me cry.

#3 American Recordings by Johnny Cash (1994 - First critically acclaimed album in decades)

Outside of his work with the Highwaymen, country legend Johnny Cash was not at the forefront of everybody’s minds in the 1990s. Then Rick Rubin came along. The genre-bending producer brought Johnny Cash into the studio to record 13 acoustic songs, some original and some covers.

While this isn’t my favorite of the sessions Cash would do with Rubin over the last decade of his life, I could listen to Johnny Cash sing the phone book. His rich baritone pulls more out of a song than nearly any other vocalist.

#2 Black Messiah by D’Angelo (2014 - First album since 2000)

Often compared to Sly & the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On, D’Angelo’s final record is a murky soul record. Whereas you can hear every word that Johnny Cash intones on American Recordings, you won’t be able to make sense of almost anything that comes out of D’Angelo’s mouth on Black Messiah. That’s okay, though. Even though the words that D’Angelo sings are powerful, his message is clear through the dense, layered texture of this album.

#1 We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your service by A Tribe Called Quest (2016 - First album since 1998)

There are many reasons that this album could have aged poorly. First, it was released just after the death of Phife Dawg. Because of that, the rap legends could have used this record to cash in on his legacy. Second, it was released around the first election of Donald Trump. Independent of your opinions, records steeped in specific political moments can often feel stuck in the past.

Neither of these things hold this record back, though. A Tribe Called Quest’s socio-political commentary transcends the moment it was created. In fact, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service is as rich as anything else in their catalog. As Pitchfork put it upon the album’s release, “We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service is all just beats, rhymes, and life … [I]t feels like a legit A Tribe Called Quest album. We should be the ones thanking them.”

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