I have bought a number of recent (using the term loosely) recordings by classic rock acts from bygone years. While I consider these new efforts to be very good, I find that I'm done with them after a few listens and revert to listening to their 'classic' recordings. This is despite higher sound quality of the new recordings, Atmos, etc. I can speculate that the reasons for this could be:
1) Old Fart Syndrome: New material just doesn't stick in the brain anymore.*
2) Newness wears off: There is a degree of infatuation because it is new material from a beloved act; but it fades rather quickly.
3) The new stuff simply isn't as good as the old stuff: The artist's creative peak is long gone...along with his / her singing ability.
4) I spend too much time writing this sort of crap on this forum rather than going back to listen to the stuff.
Thoughts?
* I once read that people are done with new music once they turn 39. Hmmmmmm. That was a loooooooooong time ago.
IMHO, music in the 60's for the most part were pop songs, where you could remember the vocal hook from, and can still today! In the 70's, what we consider "classic rock", was much more album based, and the "hook was instead more commonly a guitar "lick" or intro. (Look how many millennials know our much because of "Guitar Hero" video game.) Since albums were longer than singles, artists got to express their art through solos, and I remember many hours not only listening to their solos, but looking at the whole package, the cover art, the gatefold cover with maybe lyrics and maybe snippets about the band members. Better yet, listening to "album rock" stations like WNEW in New York to hear a whole album side of a band that wasn't even released yet. But to this day, very young people can still recognize those licks or intros. As music progressed in the 80's and more so in the 90's and beyond, music has become less and less about "hook" driven music, and less and less about that classic rock album experience of cover art, etc. that people I feel are less invested in the artist per se and more about the individual songs again.
There were also a much, much smaller group of artists that make up the genre of what we call Classic Rock. You either waited for the next Black Sabbath, or the next Deep Purple, or Cream, or Creedence, or Clapton, or Yes, or ELP or ELO, or Zeppelin, etc.album to come out, but there were definitely a much more finite group or people that you were waiting their next effort to come out, and hopefully it was as good or better than their last. Back in the 70's if I didn't like an artist at that time, I probably have at least heard of them. Today, there a millions of artists, literally, that I have never, nor will ever hear of in my lifetime, either from streaming sites, and social media sites etc.
Unfortunately, even when artists have wanted to make music more like they used to, classic hook driven music, that has much recognizable melodies, very often they say that the record companies have told them it doesn't fit in with the current era, and if you want to keep your contract then make it sound like 'todays" music, which is always very transient, for that particular moment in time. Nothing classic about that. I (we) long for the era when we can remember not only who the hell they are, but can remember the music because it was very melodic, even hard rock, and very hook driven.
I wish one record company would go these old bands and say, hey, make us a new classic rock album, that has melodies and guitar riffs that will be remembered for generations. Unfortunately, I think that era has come and gone.