Rule of Three for Great Albums (and Films?)

[crumbum]

I did a quick search on the Forum but I don't think this topic has been done before: what are the greatest three album runs in rock history? They've got to be consecutively released, obviously, and full-lengths only.

Here are my picks:

The Kinks Face to Face, Something Else, Village Green
Neil Young On The Beach, Tonight's The Night, Zuma
Wire Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, 154
Yo La Tengo Painful, Electr-o-pura, I Can Hear The Heart...
Stereolab Mars Audiac Quintet, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, Dots & Loops

I wanted to do the same thing for movies, but strangely as I think about it I can't come up with any examples for which I've seen all three and loved them unequivocally. Every time I thought I had one, a quick IMDB check revealed that there was at least one forgotten stinker breaking up the set (I tried Preston Sturges, John Huston, Ingmar Bergman, Brian DePalma, Martin Scorsese and Werner Herzog to name a few).  I'm sure there are some great examples out there, just not as obvious -- or maybe I'm more critical in this area. I'll have to post again when I think of some.

[Christina]

Ingmar Bergman, Brian DePalma, Martin Scorsese and Werner Herzog to name a few). 

What?

Raging Bull (1980)
The King of Comedy (1982)
After Hours (1985)

[Christina]

Also Malick:

Badlands (1973)
Days of Heaven (1978)
The Thin Red Line (1998)

[Christina]

And Ashby:


Harold and Maude (1971)
The Last Detail (1973)
Shampoo (1975)

[Martin]

Michael Ritchie:

Prime Cut (1972)
The Candidate (1972)
Smile (1975)

Though some would cut Prime Cut out of that trifecta and go with The Bad News Bears (1976) instead.

[Martin]

John Waters:

Female Trouble (1974)
Desperate Living (1977)
Polyester (1981)

[wood and iron]

Francis Ford Coppola:

The Godfather (1972)
The Conversation (1974)
The Godfather Part II (1974)

[fonpr]

Beggars Banquet
Released: 6 December 1968
Label: Decca Records (UK)
Label: London Records (US)

Let It Bleed
Released: 5 December 1969
Label: Decca Records (UK)
Label: London Records (US)

Sticky Fingers
Released: 23 April 1971
Label: Rolling Stones Records

[masterofsparks]

Excluding live albums and compilations:

Let It Bleed --> Sticky Fingers --> Exile on Main Street
Cheap Trick --> In Color --> Heaven Tonight
Get Your Wings --> Toys in the Attic --> Rocks
Stand Up --> Benefit --> Aqualung
Fighting --> Jailbreak --> Johnny The Fox
Welcome to the Infant Freebase --> Extended Revelation --> Behind the Music
Rio Grande Mud --> Tres Hombres --> Fandango!
Tumbleweed Connection --> Madman Across the Water --> Honky Chateau
Tons of Sobs --> Free --> Fire and Water
Paranoid --> Master of Reality --> Vol. 4
Let There Be Rock --> Powerage --> Highway to Hell
The Stooges --> Fun House --> Raw Power
Blue Oyster Cult --> Tyranny and Mutation --> Secret Treaties
Curtis --> Roots --> Superfly
The Brought Low --> Right on Time --> Third Record
Sound of Confusion --> The Perfect Prescription --> Playing With Fire

Just to name a few.

[bmills]

Velvets?

Nico (1967)
S/T (1969)
Loaded (1970)

Still works if you count White Light/White Heat (1968) as a full length.

[masterofsparks]

Steven Soderbergh's tough because he's kinda all over the place, but I like these three:

Schizopolis (1996)
Out of Sight (1998)
The Limey (1999)

Cassavetes:
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
Opening Night (1977)

Hitchcock:
Vertigo (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Psycho (1960)

Allen:
Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

OR

Sleeper (1973)
Love and Death (1975)
Annie Hall (1977)

[Martin]

That Soderbergh x 3 is really something.

[Christina]

That Soderbergh x 3 is really something.

No kidding.

[buffcoat]

I hate Raging Bull with the fury of a thousand suns.   Well, five hundred suns.  The thousand suns I reserve for my hatred of Gladiator and the fact that it got a Best Freaking Picture Oscar.

[mackro]

Amon Duul ii : Phallus Dei , Yeti, Tanz Der Lemminge
Neu! : Neu!, Neu! 2, Neu! '75
James Gang: Yer Album, Rides Again, Thirds
A-Frames : A-Frames, A-Frames 2, Black Forest
The Lights: Beautiful Bird, Diamonds & Dirt, Failed Graves
John Martyn: The Tumbler, Bless The Weather, Solid Air
Nick Drake: Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter, Pink Moon
Wire: Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, 154
The Who: A Quick One, The Who Sell Out, Tommy
Alice Cooper: Easy Action, Love It To Death, Killer
De La Soul: 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul Is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate
A Tribe Called Quest: People's Instinctive Travels, Low End Theory, Midnight Marauders
The Impressions: This Is Our Country, Young Mods' Forgotten Love Story, Check Out Your Mind!
PiL : First Issue, Metal Box, Flowers of Romance
Motörhead: Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades

plenty more