Self-Titled Albums: C/D

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Most of the big names have made them - either as first albums, or as mid-career albums whose titles seem meant to advertise some combination of "reintroducing the artist" / "introducing the artist to a larger audience" / "back to basics" / "here's a new direction." (This thread was suggested by Liz Phair). Then there are a few mid-career classics, which could probably have been called anything (The Velvet Underground, The Beatles).

I like albums to have titles. But I admire Prince for self-titling his second album, as well as those acts who have more than one (or close to it) - the Grateful Dead, Royal Trux, Cher.

― Sam J. (samjeff), Saturday, 3 May 2003 06:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Metallica
The Beatles
REM - Eponymous

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Saturday, 3 May 2003 06:40 (twenty-three years ago)

the Glands (their second). go buy it Now.

― Will (will), Saturday, 3 May 2003 06:43 (twenty-three years ago)

TOTAL DUD. Use that noggin of yours and come up with a title.

― Squirrel_Police (Squirrel_Police), Saturday, 3 May 2003 06:53 (twenty-three years ago)

Peter Gabriel - three (sort of four) in a row!

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Saturday, 3 May 2003 07:17 (twenty-three years ago)

Tubeway Army
Echo and the Bunnymen (the EP and the LP)

― Tad (llamasfur), Saturday, 3 May 2003 07:39 (twenty-three years ago)

(oh yeah ... all three of the above-referenced are classic)

― Tad (llamasfur), Saturday, 3 May 2003 07:39 (twenty-three years ago)

As far as Gabriel's concerned, that 4th album is also untitled. Geffen is responsible for calling it Security.

I think that, in general, most bands need an untitled work. In most cases, however, the wrong album gets the untitled distinction.

― paul cox (paul cox), Saturday, 3 May 2003 07:45 (twenty-three years ago)

surely by self-titled albums you mean untitled ones - albums bearing the artist's name on them but no record title?

― DV (dirtyvicar), Saturday, 3 May 2003 07:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Not exactly untitled, the artist's name is generally accepted as the album title too. It's partly a layout/design question - the name doesn't usually appear twice. But sometimes it does: the spine of Erasure's 1995 album reads:

Erasure "Erasure"

That one falls into the "here's a new direction" category of s/t albums. And I will, perhaps controversially, vote "Classic" (despite Dud lyrics).

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Saturday, 3 May 2003 08:14 (twenty-three years ago)

It's completely weird in retrospect, but as a teenager I always believed that self-titled albums were self-titled because they were so strong that the artist or band was confident enough to identify themselves with it by giving it their name. Moreover if the album was named after the first single, I believed that this was a bad sign, signifying a lack of faith in the album on the part of the artist; and, in addition, if they named the album after their second single, this was a really bad sign, for the single and the album. This firmly held belief was such that I wouldn't even listen to an album if they'd named it after the second single. Strange superstition, doesn't seem to have any rational basis.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Saturday, 3 May 2003 11:49 (twenty-three years ago)

That's a pretty good take on it. I'm trying to figure out if it's just me, or if it was most widespread circa the late '70s; the first three examples I thought of when I saw the header were the Clash, the Cars and Van Halen. There's also the Ramones and Blondie.

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Saturday, 3 May 2003 13:39 (twenty-three years ago)

(all self-titled debuts, for that matter. Maybe they figured "we're so new that just establishing our name will require us to leave out any other extraneous confusing details such as actual album titles"?)

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Saturday, 3 May 2003 13:41 (twenty-three years ago)

Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin IV

― Adam A. (Keiko), Saturday, 3 May 2003 14:10 (twenty-three years ago)

Bands whose 4th and 5th albums are eponymous have usually reached the stage whereby they all hate each other's guts so much that they (or their lawyers) cannot agree on an album title anymore - usually this a prelude to them splitting up acrimoniously.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Saturday, 3 May 2003 15:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Albums with title tracks... that's a good one. Two "classics" pop immediately to mind, by the same two bands - White Light/White Heat and Let It Be. Sometimes it seems like laziness, but one title is also often a good "description" of both the album and its signature song: 1999, Born in the U.S.A. (Books of short stories are often titled like this, whereas you'll never see a book, debut or otherwise, called John Updike.)

I guess I left Weezer off the "more than one self-titled album" list.

As for self-titled vs. untitled - with Royal Trux, their first album is called "Royal Trux," and their third album is supposedly "untitled." But I don't know anyone who's ever referred to that or any other album as "Untitled," or "the untitled one." And part of what I don't like about s/t in general is it's awkward to say "Do you like Bob Dylan?" or "do you like his self-titled album?" People usually end up saying "their first one," "Prince's second one," etc... Or give the albums different names altogether. ("The White Album," "Skull & Roses.")

― Sam J. (samjeff), Saturday, 3 May 2003 15:57 (twenty-three years ago)

xxx
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― VEGAN STRIKE FORCE, Saturday, 3 May 2003 16:33 (twenty-three years ago)

The Monkees had a self-titled album.

― Sam J. (samjeff), Saturday, 3 May 2003 17:31 (twenty-three years ago)

classic, if for Sugar Ray's Sugar Ray alone. I wish Elvis Costello would make one. Or call it "This Is Me."

Dud= Joe's "My Name Is Joe." I don't know why that title pisses me off so much.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 3 May 2003 17:42 (twenty-three years ago)

Wasn't the image of that monkey in 2 posts above (mis)appropriated from the Pixie's?

― Roman (Roman), Saturday, 3 May 2003 19:22 (twenty-three years ago)

self-titled debuts are generally good. self-titled albums a few years in are normally so-called because the artist has got it into his addled head that he has made the album his career has been building up to, whereas it actually has none of the energy of their best work, acieved at the start of their career.

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Saturday, 3 May 2003 19:39 (twenty-three years ago)

clearly you have not heard Sugar Ray's Sugar Ray.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 3 May 2003 19:42 (twenty-three years ago)

i haven't, would you believe. reasons why my theory doesn't stand up pt.2

queen - queen
the beta band - the beta band (if we're calling it a debut, that is...)

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Saturday, 3 May 2003 20:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Orbital - Orbital and Orbital
Tindersticks - Tindersticks and Tindersticks

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Sunday, 4 May 2003 05:52 (twenty-three years ago)

Duran Duran's debut album was self-titled because that's what you did in those days, apparently. It was to be expected, as album titles IMHO set the stage for what the album itself is going to be like and I feel that as a new band they probably only wanted to present themselves. Plus, they probably needed the extra name recognition, so voila, self-titled album.

Their 1993 album was self-titled as well, but this time it wasn't fully their decision. They had someone design the album cover for this album they were putting together ca. 1992, and when the artwork came in they saw that only the band name was printed on the cover. They looked all over the cover for a place they would be able to put an album title on, but were unsuccessful at doing so. Thus, they decided to keep the cover as is and self-titled this album as well. Now it's known best as its nickname, "The Wedding Album".

<voice="Paul Harvey">And that's the rest of the story!</voice>

― Dee the Lurker (Dee the Lurker), Sunday, 4 May 2003 06:02 (twenty-three years ago)

nine months pass...

The only album in an artist's catalogue that should be self-titled is the eventual all-encompassing anthology or greatest hits set.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 18:45 (twenty-two years ago)

It's alright if it's your first album, but after that....it only makes you seem rather unimaginative.
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000025JR4.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00009V3R2.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 18:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Weather Report had two self titled records, their first one and the last one with Jaco.

― earlnash, Wednesday, 3 March 2004 19:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Self titled debut albums are pretty OK. But releasing a self titled album way into your career I would classify as dud. I mean, naming an album after yourself (or your band) means that this is your first release.

So Peter Gabriel: Shame on you! (Those four albums were all great though...)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 4 March 2004 01:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Best self-titled album. Best album EVER.

http://perso.club-internet.fr/fperfect/fperfect/modernlov.jpg

― maypang (maypang), Thursday, 4 March 2004 01:21 (twenty-two years ago)

peter gabriel spoiled it by actually starting to give his records titles. as a schtick, i've encountered worse.

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 4 March 2004 01:22 (twenty-two years ago)

I find his approach great. His three last albums have all had almost similar sounding two-letter titles. Which is great.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 4 March 2004 01:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Chicago is the king of this thread.

― Jim Reckling (Jim Reckling), Thursday, 4 March 2004 04:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Except in special circumstnces, (band breaks up/reforms, signs to a new label), DUD. There's the strange case of doom-metallers Trouble: After a few idle years, they resurface in 1990 with a brand new record deal & producer (Rick Rubin's American Recordings) and call LP #4 simply "Trouble". Which means they have to re-title their '84 debut to avoid confusion! So what was originally "Trouble" is now "Psalm 9".

― Myonga Von Bontee, Thursday, 4 March 2004 10:30 (twenty-two years ago)

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