What Came Next...

Pop Will Eat Itself elevated themselves above their grebo roots with 1989's This Is the Hour... This Is the Day... This Is This!.  Combining hip-hop, punk rock and alternative rock with sampling and experimentation the album was one of the best of the 1980s.  Somehow, they managed the same feat with the follow-up, Cure for Sanity, in 1990 while embracing the club culture of the time.

After departing Yes during the sessions for the follow=up to 1978's Tormato Jon Anderson took his songs with him.  They formed the backbone of his second solo album, Song of Seven, in 1980.  The album is a hodgepodge of different styles, ranging from the folksy stuff he wanted to do with Yes to more progressive music.  Unfortunately, it doesn't make for a satisfying follow-up to Olias of Sunhillow.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood were declared to be the new Beatles, blasting out of Liverpool and taking the British music scene by storm in 1984 and the U.S. by drizzle in 1985.  However, band in-fighting, conflicts with their record company and a general disinterest on the behalf of their lead singer delayed the release of a follow-up to 1985's Welcome to the PleasureDome.  When it did arrive the attention of the record-buying public had gone elsewhere.

After the success of 1973's We're an American Band Grand Funk Railroad (or simply Grand Funk) maintained producer Todd Rundgren for their 1974 album Shinin' On.  Although it gave them another number one song with their cover of "The Loco-Motion" it didn't measure up in quality to the predecessor.  The signs of the upcoming burnout were there but they still managed to produce a decent album.

After a series of lackluster albums in the second half of the 1980s AC/DC came roaring back in 1990 with The Razors Edge.  It gave them a top-40 hit with "Moneytalks" and revitalized their flagging career.  It was a while before the next album came out and, when it did in 1995, Ballbreaker sounded like it came from a band and singer that were worn out.