Musicians Gone Bad

I bought the last New Order album "Waiting for the Siren's Call" at the weekend for a pound. What a crock of rubbish it was. I've been a New Order fan since before I was a teenager (my cousin was a huge Joy Division fan who got me into them and Joy Division) and the first ever 12" I bought was Blue Monday (it was a toss up between that and Genesis' Mama - I think I made the right choice!) and I've got every album and nearly every 12" (their period between Blue Monday in 1983 and Neworderengland in 1990 was unsurpassed in brilliance in my view). Being so disappointed with their last album (and Get Ready the one before) led me to think of other artists who have created brilliance and then lost it;

David Bowie - From the soul/funk of Young Americans (best track is the butt-wriggling Fascination), through Station to Station, the Berlin Trilogy (Low, Heroes and Lodger), Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) and the searing combination of Nile Rodgers and Stevie Ray Vaughan on Let's Dance, Bowie could do no wrong and in so many different musical styles. Then he lost it. Completely. Tonight, Never Let Me Down and the Tin Machine albums where aberrations on a glittering career. He knew that to get the best out of his own talent he needed like minded collaborators and through the 70's and early 80's he had Mick Ronson, Iggy Pop, Tony Visconti, Brian Eno, Carlos Alomar etc. Then the quality of collaborators fell dramatically (or people working willing to work with him) which might account for the downward trend his careers gone in.

Stevie Wonder - After arguing with Motown over creative control in early 70's Stevie went of and recorded two albums independently, Music of My Mind and Talking Book that were so good that Berry Gordy had to eat humble pie and agreed to release them. These soul classics were followed by other equally brilliant soul/funk classics; Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, Songs in the Key of Life and Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants. And then Hotter than July was released with Happy Birthday on it and it was down hill from there on. Shame.

Prince - After a couple of warm up albums Prince hit his stride and virtually every album from Dirty Mind in 1980 to the Batman soundtrack in 1989 (that's 9 albums in 9 years!) was worth listening and dancing to with some stonewall classics amongst them (1999, Around the World in a Day, Sign O' The Times and Lovesexy). Then dross for the last 18 years. Where did all his talent go? He couldn't have just lost it overnight, but that seems the case. Last seen giving his album away on the front of the Mail on Sunday - which shows the depths he's plummeted to.

Anyone else I've missed out?