Best Ten Comeback Albums

There have been numerous recent releases from recording artists who used to frequent the billboard charts. Many of these comeback attempts receive much hype but end up being disappointments for the fans of the artists. The Eagles' Long Road Home, for instance, did not live up to the band's best stuff from the 70s. Bob Dylan's Together Through Life had strong production and some sincerity, but it was certainly not Dylan's best comeback album.
Some once-heralded artists are planning new releases this year. Ringo Starr intends to offer the follow-up to Liverpool 8, his comeback album of a few years ago. OK Go, the band whose treadmill video made them stars nearly a decade ago, has just released a new album. Other big names from the past will also release new records, so be prepared for likely disappointment.
Occasionally a band or artist does manage to record a fantastic comeback record. After years of non-productivity or ill-advised releases, these ten artists have managed to please their fans with enjoyable comeback albums.

10. Momofuko by Elvis Costello: The title belies the energy and creativity in the tracks on this album. Costello finally returns to the clever wordplay and takes political snipes, especially in "American Gangsta Time." The man in the red shoes had not pleased his fans like that since 1986's Blood and Chocolate.

9. Hermit of Mink Hollow by Todd Rundgren: After getting close to the top of the pop charts in 1972 with several songs from Something?Anything, Runt started to go prog rock and several other disappointing directions. I had just about abandoned my faith in Runt when he released Hermit in 1978. The album did not have any top ten hits, but the songs are all solid pop tunes, especially "Too Far Gone."

8. Fair and Square by John Prine: The influential folk singer went almost 30 years between great albums, though 1991's The Missing Years shows glimpses of Prine's genius. Fair and Square has Prine returning to clever lyrics and simple folk melodies unheard from him since Bruised Orange in 1978.

7. Two Against Nature by Steely Dan: Between Gaucho in 1980 and this album Steely Dan had released exactly zero new albums. I had given them up for dead when Donald Fagen and Walter Becker reunited for this album in 2000. The pair picked right up from where Gaucho left off, perfecting the Dan-type jazz on tracks such as "Cousin Dupree" and "What a Shame About Me."

6. Long Distance Voyager by The Moody Blues: For nine years fans waited for a good follow-up to A Question of Balance. Finally we got Long Distance Voyager in 1980, probably the band's best album ever. It charted "The Voice" and "Gemini Dream" and was rife with a variety of tunes from the band's five songwriters.

5. Who Are You by The Who: A welcome change from the shameful Who By Numbers album, this comeback marked the band's return to energetic rock from the embarrassing "Squeeze Box."Pete Townsend's forceful lyrics and twirling guitar are prominent, and bassist John Entwistle's "905" is his best composition ever. Unfortunately the band lost drummer Keith Moon after this release, so fans of the band could not rejoice too much in this excellent comeback.

4. Scary Monsters by David Bowie: Bowie revisited Space Oddity's Major Tom on "Ashes to Ashes" for this 1980 comeback album that showcases his ability to master a variety of styles, including the funk in "Fashion," the acoustic "Up the Hill Backward," and the psychadelic title track. It is Bowie's finest album since his portrayal of Ziggy Stardust in 1972.

3. Silver and Gold by Neil Young: Almost a decade after Harvest Moon, Young returns to his acoustic muse with this 2000 release. The sparse production serves Young well, giving the songs, especially "Distant Camera," a timelessness that not even After the Gold Rush can match.

2. Double Fantasy by John Lennon: Mind Games from 1973 had marked the end of the creativity former Beatle, as he released only one original album after that, until he recorded this unforgettable record. "Watching the Wheels" and "I'm Losing You" explore the serious and humorous sides of Lennon, and "Starting Over" is a beautiful song made even more poignant when he was assassinated shortly after the release of this comeback album.

1. Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan: To stay in the business for fifty years, you have to make several comebacks. Dylan has done just that, but his best one came with the release of this album. His writing is enigmatically autobiographical, and the songs are mostly acoustic. There are some bitter songs ("Idiot Wind" and "Buckets of Rain"), but they're sweetened by the beauty of Dylan's words and rhythms. Blood was a most welcomed change for the fans who had had to suffer through New Morning, Planet Waves, and the awful Self Portrait.