Are there any bands who started off great but expanded their repartoire to incorporate a display of shark jumping, to your chagrin? Was it because they became a mainstream pop act, or too pretentious, or became a joke?

That's pretty obvious.....But , a lot of people call Little Richard and Chuck Berry "King" (Because they're ALL Kings.) , but no one would have drawn that conclusion , going by Chuck's Mercury output , or Richard's VeeJay or Okeh material (As good as some of that is . ).....Even Richard's recordings with Don and Dewey and Jimi Hendrix  are pretty cheesy , production - wise.
  
James Porter said:

The Girl Happy soundtrack? I could never get past the title track, which was the only good song on the whole album, IMO. As far as the other songs...if that were the only album he did, no one would be calling him King.

John, when Funkadelic's One Nation Under A Groove came out, band members complained that George Clinton mixed down the guitars too low, turning them into just another anonymous disco-funk band. Considering that the LP contained "Who Says A Funk Band Can't Play Rock?," mixing down the guitars seems to defeat the whole purpose.

Someone told me , years ago , that George Clinton jumped the shark when he switched from LSD to Cocaine as his drug of choice. Well , he had to do what he had to do to sell records. I don't mean he HAD to do blow , but he had to restructure his musical formula , so , much of it , not all of it , bordered on Disco.

Some of that later stuff is'nt bad , but give me screamin' guitars instead of drums so clean , they sound like drum machines. James saw The P-Funk All Stars' big comeback show at The Regal Theatre on The Chicago South Side , which recieved high praise from fans and press , alike.  By the time I saw them , a few years later , they were still a tightly knit unit (Of about 30 people.) , with Clinton very much at the controls . But , later still , they became the darlings of the Deadhead set , and , when I saw them a second time , it was sort of a mess. Good musicians , but , the songs were going nowhere , and Clinton turned up for all of ten minutes.

swt , As far as the weirdest are concerned , I agree with your choices , but ,"Animal Instinct" definitely rates high up there.. Then , there's "The Edge of Reality" , maybe not so strange on the surface , but , as close to Psychedelia as Elvis ever got....Especially when you dig the "Trip Scene"  in "Live a Little , Love a Little" that goes with it.

One is advised to check out "Elvis' Greatest Shit" , if you can. Many of what're considered his worst tracks (Tho' I don't see how "U.S.Male" made the grade.) are laid out , lovingly , there.

That was the first Elvis movie I  EVER SAW , AND , EVEN AT ABOUT THE AGE OF 10 , I THOUGHT "Ft. L. COC." WAS KIND OF ODD.  NOW , I THINK IT'S HILARIOUS. You have to take that era with a sense of humor , or not at all , tho' , for every "Yoga is as Yoga Does" (Again , HILARIOUS....As if Charles Laughton mispronouncing his name on The Sullivan show were'nt enough , now Elvis is , AWKWARDLY ,  dueting with Elsa Lanchester. Bizarro World , man.) there was a "Down in The Alley " , " Long Legged Girl (With The Short Dress On.) , "NIGHT RIDER" , "Dirty , Dirty Feelin'" , etc.
 
swt said:

This inspired me to open with The Cramps' Heartbreak Hotel on my radio show tonight. http://steveterrell.blogspot.com/2012/12/terrells-sound-world-playl...

I love the Girl Happy soundtrack. Even like the weird stuff like "Through the Courtesy of the Ft. Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce."

I compiled a Spotify playlist called Elvis' Weirdest. Check it out Elvis' Weirdest

The Girl Happy soundtrack? I could never get past the title track, which was the only good song on the whole album, IMO. As far as the other songs...if that were the only album he did, no one would be calling him King.

This inspired me to open with The Cramps' Heartbreak Hotel on my radio show tonight. http://steveterrell.blogspot.com/2012/12/terrells-sound-world-playlist_16.html

I love the Girl Happy soundtrack. Even like the weird stuff like "Through the Courtesy of the Ft. Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce."

I compiled a Spotify playlist called Elvis' Weirdest. Check it out Elvis' Weirdest

"Do The Clam" is a rockin' tune, but it took Torturing Elvis (a now-defunct Chicago rockabilly duo) to bring out the rock for me. I've never heard the Cramps' rendition, and Elvis' original is studio sterile.

On the other hand...the title track to Elvis' Girl Happy movie is a rockin' monster. ("Do The Clam" is on that same soundtrack elpee.)

I've never disliked anything they did , tho' , as I said earlier , "Look , Mom!No Head" gets the least play with me. Yes , their live NZ album kills. They were trying to get some of the loot back from the bootleggers. It even looked like a bootleg in some respects. I guess a lot of people think "Do The Clam" was one instance in which Elvis jumped the shark , even tho' I was surprised to learn it's a plenty rockin' tune.

The Cramps WAS the shark. I think my favorite is Stay Sick, but I;m extremely fond of all of their works. Rockin' 'n' Reelin' in Auckland, New Zealand is an under-rated album. Great cover of Elvis' "Do the Clam" (not to mention "Heartbreak Hotel." A double shot of The King!)

Yes , Edmunds really jumped the Shark by shaking hands with Jeff Lynne at the crossroads.

But , he continued to be a strong live act. Wish I'd seen him on that '88(?) tour with Dion and others. But , I was'nt really listening to Edmunds , then , had'nt for a long time. I saw him do two acoustic sets , later. He sounded great , but , left me wanting.  Get a BAND !!!!!

Those two McCoys psych LPs on Mercury never did it for me. I understand a band has to die or grow, but in this case I'd sooner stick with their earlier records like "Hang On Sloopy." At least they didn't go total "easy listening" like the New Colony Six did.

And I haven't paid much attention to Dave Edmunds starting with that Information LP, but most of what I've heard from him since then is on the blah side.

"Noooo-body dooooes it bet-ter..." It's true, can't think of a conventional rock & roll combo who will evarrr top the Cramps live. And it's nice to see a band in an interview who refuses to trash-talk about bands they've played with. A class act.

John Battles said:

THERE WERE DEFINITELY SOME CHANGES MADE IN THE GRUELING FIVE YEARS WE HAD TO WAIT FOR  THE CRAMPS TO PRODUCE A THIRD ALBUM , AND , WHILE I THOUGHT THE "SMELL OF FEMALE" EP CONTAINED SOME OF THEIR BEST MATERIAL TO DATE , I NEVER THOUGHT THAT THE CRAMPS EVER DID A BAD ALBUM .SOME WERE BETTER THAN OTHERS , BUT , "A DATE WITH ELVIS" AND "STAY SICK !", IN PARTICULAR , CARRIED ON IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS BEFORE  , THOUGH  WITH MORE HUMOR AND BETTER PLAYING , IN GENERAL. THE CRAMPS REJECTED THE PSYCHOBILLY MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND , WHO , IN TURN , REJECTED THE CRAMPS.    IT'S TRUE , THEY GOT INTO MORE JACKED - UP ROCKABILLY TEMPOS ON LATER ALBUMS , BUT , I WOULD'NT SAY WHAT THEY CAME UP WITH WAS COMPARABLE TO THE METEORS OR DEMENTED ARE GO , AND DEFINITELY THE MORE METAL - BACKBONED , VIRTUALLY FREE OF 'BILLY INFLUENCE , "PSYCHO" BANDS OUT THERE , NOW.    THE CLOSEST THING TO A BAD ALBUM , I THINK , WAS "LOOK , MOM , NO HEAD !" , AND THAT WAS MAINLY BECAUSE IT WAS OVERPRODUCED , AND THE LATTER DAY VERSION OF THE BAND HAD'NT BEEN GIVEN AMPLE TIME TO REALLY BECOME A BAND. JIM SCLAVUNOS WAS ALREADY GONE BY THE TIME THEY WENT OUT ON TOUR IN SUPPORT OF THE ALBUM. NICKY BEAT , WHO DID THE TOUR , IS A FINE DRUMMER , BUT , HARRY DRUMDINI MADE MORE SENSE AS THE DRUMMER FOR THE CRAMPS.   TO BE FAIR , PEOPLE LIKE NICK , BRYAN , AND KID DID'NT JUST SHOW UP AT THE DECIDEDLY LOW - KEY LUX AND IVY'S DOORSTEP (OK . KID THREW A ROCK IN THEIR WINDOW TO GET THEIR ATTENTION.) , PARTICULARLY NOT AFTER THEY MOVED TO L.A.     BUT , THEIR STRENGTH WAS ALWAYS THEIR LIVE SHOW , AND , AFTER WAITING NINE YEARS TO SEE THEM FOR THE FIRST TIME , I WAS GLAD THAT I STILL HAD MANY MORE CHANCES TO SEE THEM AGAIN. WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE SEEN THE EARLIER VERSIONS OF THE GROUP , BUT ,  THEY ALWAYS MADE AN ASS OF VIRTUALLY ALL THEIR CONTEMPORARIES AS A LIVE ACT.

 
Spencer said:

As much as I love them, I'd argue that the Cramps really took a nosedive after Smell of Female. At least to me, that's where they began to lose their "sound" and started to move closer to a typical psychobilly style.

THERE WERE DEFINITELY SOME CHANGES MADE IN THE GRUELING FIVE YEARS WE HAD TO WAIT FOR  THE CRAMPS TO PRODUCE A THIRD ALBUM , AND , WHILE I THOUGHT THE "SMELL OF FEMALE" EP CONTAINED SOME OF THEIR BEST MATERIAL TO DATE , I NEVER THOUGHT THAT THE CRAMPS EVER DID A BAD ALBUM .SOME WERE BETTER THAN OTHERS , BUT , "A DATE WITH ELVIS" AND "STAY SICK !", IN PARTICULAR , CARRIED ON IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS BEFORE  , THOUGH  WITH MORE HUMOR AND BETTER PLAYING , IN GENERAL. THE CRAMPS REJECTED THE PSYCHOBILLY MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND , WHO , IN TURN , REJECTED THE CRAMPS.    IT'S TRUE , THEY GOT INTO MORE JACKED - UP ROCKABILLY TEMPOS ON LATER ALBUMS , BUT , I WOULD'NT SAY WHAT THEY CAME UP WITH WAS COMPARABLE TO THE METEORS OR DEMENTED ARE GO , AND DEFINITELY THE MORE METAL - BACKBONED , VIRTUALLY FREE OF 'BILLY INFLUENCE , "PSYCHO" BANDS OUT THERE , NOW.    THE CLOSEST THING TO A BAD ALBUM , I THINK , WAS "LOOK , MOM , NO HEAD !" , AND THAT WAS MAINLY BECAUSE IT WAS OVERPRODUCED , AND THE LATTER DAY VERSION OF THE BAND HAD'NT BEEN GIVEN AMPLE TIME TO REALLY BECOME A BAND. JIM SCLAVUNOS WAS ALREADY GONE BY THE TIME THEY WENT OUT ON TOUR IN SUPPORT OF THE ALBUM. NICKY BEAT , WHO DID THE TOUR , IS A FINE DRUMMER , BUT , HARRY DRUMDINI MADE MORE SENSE AS THE DRUMMER FOR THE CRAMPS.   TO BE FAIR , PEOPLE LIKE NICK , BRYAN , AND KID DID'NT JUST SHOW UP AT THE DECIDEDLY LOW - KEY LUX AND IVY'S DOORSTEP (OK . KID THREW A ROCK IN THEIR WINDOW TO GET THEIR ATTENTION.) , PARTICULARLY NOT AFTER THEY MOVED TO L.A.     BUT , THEIR STRENGTH WAS ALWAYS THEIR LIVE SHOW , AND , AFTER WAITING NINE YEARS TO SEE THEM FOR THE FIRST TIME , I WAS GLAD THAT I STILL HAD MANY MORE CHANCES TO SEE THEM AGAIN. WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE SEEN THE EARLIER VERSIONS OF THE GROUP , BUT ,  THEY ALWAYS MADE AN ASS OF VIRTUALLY ALL THEIR CONTEMPORARIES AS A LIVE ACT.

 
Spencer said:

As much as I love them, I'd argue that the Cramps really took a nosedive after Smell of Female. At least to me, that's where they began to lose their "sound" and started to move closer to a typical psychobilly style.

It's one of the better tracks on that comp , and , this is just my opinion , you can take it with a grain of salt , that is'nt saying much. I'm not a fan of Barton's , but I thought their duet of "Starry Eyes" , in a better world , could have been a hit.

The recent "Sonic Cathedral" Roky tribute album had one outstanding track , and it's by ROKY !! I traded my copy back in , already. I mean if you love drum machines and slow - moving covers of your favorite Roky/Elevators songs , this might be for you. I know Sonic Boom is a big fan , but , I only ever had a passing interest in Spacemen 3 , and that was almost 25 years ago.
 
swt said:

My favorite Roky cover is LuAnne Barton's "Don't Slander Me." She's a Texas blues singer who later did a duet with Roky on "Starry Eyes."

Alison said:

Well, I just listened to the R.E.M. version of "I Walked with a Zombie" on youtube for the first time.  I think it sucks, but I rarely enjoy R.E.M. cover songs.  Also, I think derangement should be a prerequisite for singing any Roky song.

It's almost anathema to admit it, but in the early 80s, if you were lookin' for new music, R.E.M woulda been one of the groups you'd listen to. I even saw 'em live (reckoning, not bad, but). Nothing topped the Chronic Town/Murmur sound, but they changed mebbe a li'l bit too fast. I like yr quote that's in here, somewhere, John, from Rev. Horton Heat. After Murmur, everyone wanted to sound like them (if not jangle-y, then the rootsy-ness of Reckoning [ever notice from 84-87 how many folks did the Born In The USA bit? Ugh!])

John Battles said:

To be fair , REM , for me, jumped the shark after their first album. I admit , this is like an intervention , but , I liked the "Chronic Town" EP and the "Murmur " LP , but , that was 30 years ago.....They seemed different when they first came out.
Stipe's unintelligible drone was novel.  For a short time.

 
John Battles said:

That was early REM ? How many millions of albums had they sold when that appeared on the well - intentioned , but vastly disappointing, "When The Pyramid Meets The Eye".?...I guess it was right around that time that REM went from being huge in our eyes , to HUGE in the eyes of the whole goddamn universe , that early 90's turning point for them......I thought it was fair , I guess. I could probably name four or five tracks on that comp that I'd say were very good. I thought ZZ Tops' "Reverberation" was the best , and I have'nt been a ZZ Top fan since the late 70's.
 
IDON MINE said:

What did you all think of REMs version of Roky's "I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE"? I know, it's one of their earlier ones, but you know, it never hurts ta ask.

John Battles said:

Thank You !!!!! I always liked what Jim Heat (Horton Heat) said , "I liked REM , until they became a GENRE".  They were getting carbon - copied by 85 - 85 like Nirvana was by the early '90S.
 
Alison said:

Well thank god R.E.M. finally broke up.... dudes jumped the shark years ago, and now Peter Buck is finally unleashed...

My favorite Roky cover is LuAnne Barton's "Don't Slander Me." She's a Texas blues singer who later did a duet with Roky on "Starry Eyes."

Alison said:

Well, I just listened to the R.E.M. version of "I Walked with a Zombie" on youtube for the first time.  I think it sucks, but I rarely enjoy R.E.M. cover songs.  Also, I think derangement should be a prerequisite for singing any Roky song.

I HATED REM's Roky cover! Stipe doing that stupid pseudo Boris Karloff voice. I reviewed that Roky tribute album for the paper. There were some good covers on it, but REM's was the worst. 

IDON MINE said:

What did you all think of REMs version of Roky's "I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE"? I know, it's one of their earlier ones, but you know, it never hurts ta ask.

John Battles said:

Thank You !!!!! I always liked what Jim Heat (Horton Heat) said , "I liked REM , until they became a GENRE".  They were getting carbon - copied by 85 - 85 like Nirvana was by the early '90S.
 
Alison said:

Well thank god R.E.M. finally broke up.... dudes jumped the shark years ago, and now Peter Buck is finally unleashed...

As much as I love them, I'd argue that the Cramps really took a nosedive after Smell of Female. At least to me, that's where they began to lose their "sound" and started to move closer to a typical psychobilly style.

To be fair , REM , for me, jumped the shark after their first album. I admit , this is like an intervention , but , I liked the "Chronic Town" EP and the "Murmur " LP , but , that was 30 years ago.....They seemed different when they first came out.
Stipe's unintelligible drone was novel.  For a short time.

 
John Battles said:

That was early REM ? How many millions of albums had they sold when that appeared on the well - intentioned , but vastly disappointing, "When The Pyramid Meets The Eye".?...I guess it was right around that time that REM went from being huge in our eyes , to HUGE in the eyes of the whole goddamn universe , that early 90's turning point for them......I thought it was fair , I guess. I could probably name four or five tracks on that comp that I'd say were very good. I thought ZZ Tops' "Reverberation" was the best , and I have'nt been a ZZ Top fan since the late 70's.
 
IDON MINE said:

What did you all think of REMs version of Roky's "I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE"? I know, it's one of their earlier ones, but you know, it never hurts ta ask.

John Battles said:

Thank You !!!!! I always liked what Jim Heat (Horton Heat) said , "I liked REM , until they became a GENRE".  They were getting carbon - copied by 85 - 85 like Nirvana was by the early '90S.
 
Alison said:

Well thank god R.E.M. finally broke up.... dudes jumped the shark years ago, and now Peter Buck is finally unleashed...

That's the same band?  I know they wanted to sound a bit more sophisticated on NOW DIG THIS! but man this one really stinks.  How ironic though that they call the song "Right back on Track"  when that could be furthest from the truth. 
 
Gringo Starr said:

They went from garage gods to boy band - Well, I'll let the music speak for itself:

1986:

1990:

Chris Henniker said:

How did that happen?

Gringo Starr said:

One of the saddest cases was The Creeps. I'm surprised that John didn't include them in his list. I'm sure that he will elaborate.

Well, I just listened to the R.E.M. version of "I Walked with a Zombie" on youtube for the first time.  I think it sucks, but I rarely enjoy R.E.M. cover songs.  Also, I think derangement should be a prerequisite for singing any Roky song.

Of course "I Walked With a Zombie" , comprised of the title , sung repeatedly , which Roky pulled off , if you're going to cover that , you have to bring something new to the table.  The Hate Bros.' (Very) little known version was really good. I know The UK Subs did it  , but , I've never heard it.....
 
John Battles said:

That was early REM ? How many millions of albums had they sold when that appeared on the well - intentioned , but vastly disappointing, "When The Pyramid Meets The Eye".?...I guess it was right around that time that REM went from being huge in our eyes , to HUGE in the eyes of the whole goddamn universe , that early 90's turning point for them......I thought it was fair , I guess. I could probably name four or five tracks on that comp that I'd say were very good. I thought ZZ Tops' "Reverberation" was the best , and I have'nt been a ZZ Top fan since the late 70's.
 
IDON MINE said:

What did you all think of REMs version of Roky's "I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE"? I know, it's one of their earlier ones, but you know, it never hurts ta ask.

John Battles said:

Thank You !!!!! I always liked what Jim Heat (Horton Heat) said , "I liked REM , until they became a GENRE".  They were getting carbon - copied by 85 - 85 like Nirvana was by the early '90S.
 
Alison said:

Well thank god R.E.M. finally broke up.... dudes jumped the shark years ago, and now Peter Buck is finally unleashed...

That was early REM ? How many millions of albums had they sold when that appeared on the well - intentioned , but vastly disappointing, "When The Pyramid Meets The Eye".?...I guess it was right around that time that REM went from being huge in our eyes , to HUGE in the eyes of the whole goddamn universe , that early 90's turning point for them......I thought it was fair , I guess. I could probably name four or five tracks on that comp that I'd say were very good. I thought ZZ Tops' "Reverberation" was the best , and I have'nt been a ZZ Top fan since the late 70's.
 
IDON MINE said:

What did you all think of REMs version of Roky's "I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE"? I know, it's one of their earlier ones, but you know, it never hurts ta ask.

John Battles said:

Thank You !!!!! I always liked what Jim Heat (Horton Heat) said , "I liked REM , until they became a GENRE".  They were getting carbon - copied by 85 - 85 like Nirvana was by the early '90S.
 
Alison said:

Well thank god R.E.M. finally broke up.... dudes jumped the shark years ago, and now Peter Buck is finally unleashed...