Here is a topic to open up for weekend discussion. I have several artists in mind [[some being more "soul" than others) who in my opinion released a sensational debut album but never matched it in any subsequent release. Just interested to see who will agree on one or more of these. Here they are in alphabetical order:

Whitney Houston: That first album was such a blockbuster that she probably could not have topped it if she had tried. At least the second one came close but in my opinion, nothing else measured up. From those first two, she released so many hit singles that she still left other potential hits as mere album cuts......Examples All at Once from the first album and You're Still My Man from the second one.

The Jones Girls: In my opinion, their first album did not have a weak cut on it, and You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else was soooo hot and radio-friendly but nothing else matched it for me. Great harmonies on every song as we have discussed in other threads.

Odyssey: They too started off with a classic hit in Native New Yorker but never matched it. But the first album had lots of other great songs...Golden Hands being the first that comes to mind. If I am not mistaken, they had personnel changes very early in their career and that may have impacted their longevity or hit potential.

Freda Payne: For the purposes of this discussion I am referring to the Band of Gold album, although I know it was technically not her first. Yet it was her first that attracted major attention and had hit singles. Again not a weak cut to be found and there were some other great ones, such as The Easiest Way to Fall, Unhooked Generation, and I Left Some Dreams Back There.

Curtis Stigers: Not everyone's cup of tea I realize but that debut album on Arista in the early 90s was amazing! I could listen to You're All That Matters to Me all day long. But he almost immediately changed his style to stripped down more acoustic jazz and to this day, he still releases that kind of music. He has in fact put out a new CD here in 2020. So congrats on his longevity but his personal choice of style change sure ruined things for me!