The reason bands start to suck shortly after massive success is not because they get too old or too comfortable, its because everybody in the world is afraid to tell them "no." Every great album happened that way because a producer shot down like a thousand terrible ideas. Later stuff is just the music as the artist intended, which can occasionally be brilliant, but usually spells doom. Artists with longevity seek out producers that will still veto them.
Typo to "shut"?
