6 Rock Artists and Bands That Got Better With Age

There are many music artists who spend their entire careers trying to repeat the success of their early years. But it usually ends up being the opposite - churning out inferior work of the material that made them famous, and ending up with a declining catalog in the process. However, every so often, there are other artists and bands who evolve and keep getting better.

Record producer Brian Baker gives his reason why so many music artists decline with age - "The problem starts when you release a great debut album. You've kinda set the bar early, creating expectation, and it's difficult to sustain that level of quality. It's almost like a curse."

So, from Beck to Cohen, here's six rock and roll music artists who only got better with age...

Jeff Beck

Famous rock guitarist Jeff Beck (pictured above) is one of the three noted guitarists to have played with the Yardbirds. Beck also formed the Jeff Beck Group and with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice, he formed Beck, Bogert & Appice. Beck had made a career out of getting better, and there are not many musicians that are superior at 65 than they were at 25.

David Bowie

David Bowie was a phenomenon right from the very start of his career, but no one evolved so consistently and as effectively as the late-great man. With Blackstar, released just before he died, he proved he wasn't done getting better.

Lene Nystrøm

Lene Nystrøm, the Norwegian singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist of the Danish pop-rock group Aqua, doesn't appear to look a day older than she was when she and her band burst onto the scene 20 odd years ago. But it's not just her young looks that have defied nature -- Nystrøm still captivates fans with high-energy performances, and an even better voice to match.

Radiohead

Radiohead were always great to begin with, but they just seemed to keep defying logic by continuously improving. The band's evolution of Pablo Honey, OK Computer, and Kid A to The King of Limbs has been something to behold.

Freddie Mercury

The traditional rockers will always pick out Queen's early albums from the '70s as the band's best work, and from a hard rock viewpoint, it's hard to argue with that. However, as an artist, Freddie grew tremendously throughout his career, peaking in the '80s as the great frontman to grace a stage. His ambition and insistence on trying new styles always kept him ahead of the rest.

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen was already 33 when his first album came out (1967's Songs Of Leonard Cohen), which in the 1960s was definitely 'old'. But at the very least we'd nominate him as an example of an artist who has always maintained a certain level of quality in his work (unlike a peer like, for example, Bob Dylan, who has had a few dips). Some would even argue he go better with age.