Johnny Cash. Can't think of another but I am pretty certain his American Recordings were much better than his late 70's and whole of the 80's pap.

Well, I had to return to the Fifth Form after a mini exam disaster.

so when interviewed by the world's media and they are asked "so is your new album a return to form?" (as every single REM album in the past 10 years has been tagged) - they can honestly and proudly reply, without having to cross fingers behind backs or touch wood - "Yes, yes it is!"

Frank Black's "Dog In The Sand" was touted as a "return to form" and "the best thing he's done since the Pixies" and that was a pretty good album - shame about the pile of other tedious rubbish he's produced.

...did a thread on this very topic a few months back. .

David Bowie was subject to the same "this-one-really- must-be-the-one" syndrome as REM; but Heathen really is a great album, and by far his best for about two decades. A return to form, in short.

Still waiting for Joni Mitchell to return to form. I'm not holding my breath.

Oh, as far as Woody Allen is concerned, I was a fan, and found things to enjoy in Manhattan Murder Mystery, but the last few have been really poor. Match Point was unbelievable, if for no other reason than that it was his third film in which a male character disposes of (ie murders) a "troublesome" woman without getting his comeuppance. Allen said recently he'd given up therapy. I think he was a bit previous with that.

return to form has to mean that it is up there with the very best of their work. Given the recent dross that Wooldy Allen has put out it wouldn't take much to have some sort of return to form without it being Annie Hall. Likewise, I would say Time Out of Mind was a return to form after the three that went before it. It's not Highway 61, but it's still better than Under The Red Sky. You could say Harps and Angels is a return to form after years of Disney rubbish and a pointless remake of old songs. Doesn't mean it's as good as Sail Away.

...I think Bowie got back on track in the 90s around the time of 'Black Tie White Noise', but I'd certainly agree that 'Heathen' is the best of those albums.

Barnsley have had return to form ! after beating Liverpool and Chelsea last season they've lost all 3 opening matches and thus have returned to form!
conversely the British Olympics team have returned to their 1924 form!
As to pop Morrissey's picked up recently, Van morrison seems to have peaks and troughs.

...if Bob Dylan's dodgy period was in the 80s, Van's was definitely in the 90s. I don't think there's anything too bad in Van's catalogue outside of those dodgy, phoned-in mid 90s albums.
However, I have to still say I've not played any of his last few albums as much as his 70s or 80s albums.

Fifteen to twenty years ago, I saw every Woody Allen film on its release. I was willing to ignore all that "return to form" stuff, and just take his films for what they were: better than average, one-a-year fare, with the occasional absolute stonker - Husbands And Wives, his career best Crimes And Misdemeanors - but now I have managed to not see his last three films. And you know what? I'd barely noticed. But now that I have, I'm genuinely sad. And now that I remember Hollywood Ending, a little nauseous too.

in that the prospect of a "return to form" is all too often utterly precluded by the absence of a vital band member who has popped their clogs, often from the effects of too much of something not particularly conducive to continued existence.

Once one of the mainstays has disappeared, it's impossible for any band to bounce back well enough to produce anything better than their previous triumphs.

There are no exceptions to this rule, even those who have managed to stagger past disaster and heroically and defiantly stick two fingers up to the bastard, can't be expected to be the same without a full team.

Brian Jones, one time mainstay of The Rolling Stones?

After 'Between the Buttons' and 'On Her Satanic Majesties Request', having been left behind rather by The Beatles. Not that 'return to form' was necessarily the term used to describe 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' or if it was it wasn't the overused, largely untrue expression it is now of course.

Neil Young also had a true return to form with 'Freedom' in the late eighties.

Morrisey maybe with 'You Are The Quarry'.

Oddly, Dylan, Young, and Lou Reed all had unarguable returns to form in the same year - Oh Mercy, Freedom, and New York.

And Accelerate definitely IS a return to form for REM. It may not have sold much, but it is a terrific album.

Every album since the mid 90's is a return to form according to Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone(some rag nowhere near as good as The Word).
Bowie with "Heathen" was in this catergory. good shout JJ
And the New Guy Ritchie film apparently.Though the man had no form to return to.

Charlie Rich's 'Pictures and Paintings', released in 1992, was the record he should always have made, a mix of after-hours jazz, R&B and country. Recorded with a small combo, led by Rich once again at the piano, and his deep soul voice more than a little world-weary. It came after a long, long break away from recording, and was so revelatory it should have been named after the great Cindy Walker song that was one of its highlights. Produced by Scott Billington with help from roots/R&B writers Peter Guralnick and Joe McEwen.

I liked The Housemartins and the Beautiful South but gave up on the latter for their last three albums, and couldn't bring myself to listen to anything by them. But Paul Heaton's new solo album - Cross Eyed Rambler - is genuinely a return to the high water marks of both The BS & H. Fantastic voice, great sense of melody and a hugely underrated lyricist.

... or lazy journalism? I think REM were guilty of pushing the last album in such a way, but I don't think Scorcese was claiming The Departed as 'my best since Goodfellas.'
Isn't it just the hack saying 'it reminds me a bit of something they did a while ago so if you liked that you might like this too'?

I thought Patience was ace. Really.

In addition to being perhaps the most back handed compliment you can give an artist, there’s a great deal of cynicism invested in the line “a return to form” and its equally hackneyed counterpart -“their best album since…”

What these two statements imply is that artists reach a creative peak and then spend the rest of their careers trying to recapture it. And furthermore, that if they don’t somehow manage to match this highpoint with each subsequent effort, they have failed or fallen short.

Form is what athletes have - it can be assessed, measured and quantified. Art is subjective. It’s exploration as opposed to competition. Sometimes it can be an end in-and-of itself, or part of ongoing process – the development of a new idea.

I’m not for one moment suggesting that everyone who writes a song, pens a novel, or makes a film is driven by pure aesthetic motives, but there do seem to be an awful lot of artists out there whose intention is create something that satisfies them, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

Neil Young has made some albums that are widely thought of as awful, but presumably they were the records that he wanted to make, or that at least reflected his state of mind at the time they were recorded. Certainly no one at his record company was rubbing their hands together at the thought of Re-ac-tor and its nine minute centrepiece concerning a glut of mashed potato and the absence of T-bone steak.

The equally mule-headed Van Morrison is apparently happy enough writing Jools Holland-friendly songs about going down to Geneva and the activities that he might partake in upon his arrival there. A sequel to Astral Weeks does not appear to be in the works.

Both of these strong-willed men apparently follow their own muse and give little outward regard to whether the general public consider them as being on form or not. You can call it arrogance or you can call it honesty.

Occasionally a band that has been around for a while will put out an album that feels like a studied attempt at recapturing lost youth and past glories. The problem is that such albums seldom work. When they do engage it’s on a superficial level that satisfies in the short term but loses its appeal over time. There are also bands who tread water; who, often against their better judgement, stick with successful templates long after these have been worn threadbare. Coldplay’s third studio album - X&Y - strikes me as a compromised work. The sound of a band lacking the courage of their convictions, making an eleventh hour retreat to familiar territory.

It seems to be human nature to judge art by comparison and to use past works as an artificial horizon or benchmark to assess all future efforts. When asked by a friend if the new R.E.M. album was worth buying, my considered critical opinion was “It’s a vast improvement over Around The Sun”. Maybe when confronted by a piece of art the question should not be: “Do I like I better than the last thing the artist did, or the thing before that?”, but simply “Do I like it?”

On a marginal tangent: All artists peak at some point. If good form is so important, then why do people continue to give time to lesser works. My favourite Doors album is Strange Days and yet I spent last week listening on and off to it’s significantly weaker successor - Waiting For The Sun. Presumably there are people out there who, when they want to listen to Bob Dylan, will sometimes turn to Self Portrait or Knocked Out Loaded in preference over Blood on the Tracks or Blonde on Blonde.

... to see Woody's new film every year and, yes, they have been poor of late. However, I still find things to enjoy in them (although Curse of the Jade Scorpion & Cassandra'as Dream were totally unlikeable).

Anyway, I'll still plod along next time..... hoping.

I suppose when someone makes great films (or albums, books, etc.) you always hope they'll do it again.

As regards, "the best since" device? It's just lazy journalism.

I liked - that's liked, not merely tolerated or forgave - Curse Of The Jade Scorpion, Shadows And Fog and Manhattan Murder Mystery. Hell, I even thought Celebrity had its good points. Ooh, hang on: I've just remembered seeing Melinda And Melinda on a 'plane and quite liking it. But I'd forgotten that I liked it. Does that count?

... Melinda & Melinda was enjoyable.

Like, I say, there normally is something enjoyable in Woody's films. Hell, I even remember coming out of the cinema in such great form after watching Everyone Says I Love You that I bought the soundtrack!

"Of all our albums this is the most recent".

Once threatened/promised that every new album would come complete with a sticker bearing the legend "Best album since Scary Monsters"...

Listened to this on the way to work this morning and it struck me that this must be Elton's best since the mid-'70s.

Not that there's been a lot of competition mind.

...but if you don't know it, also check out Elton's 2001 album 'Songs From The West Coast'. A great album and- well- a genuine 'return to form'.

At risk of a lashing here, Mule Variations was his best since Rain Dogs for me.

He is due another belter following the clearing out of the barn that was Orphans...

Its all lazy journalism if you ask me, although no one has. Someone alluded to the `form is temporary, class is permanent` thing. Can this be true of many musicians output? I don`t think so because I can`t recall any artist who releases consistently excellent material. Wouldn`t it be refreshing to read reviews that just said `I like this` or ` I don`t like this` instead of reading a paragraph (or paragraphs) trawling over previous output, `form` and otherwise superfluous yadayada. Having said all this I should say that many reviews over the years have had direct influence on what I have bought and listened to. So am I lazy music fan? Most probably.

... by erasing the rubbish from their CV. Anyway, I thought the most chilling three words were "the new Oasis"...