No artist has ever gone into the recording process of an album wanting to shock their fans. The fans come before everyone else, but when each artist is locked behind glass in a recording studio and allowed to express themselves, they reveal their own unique creativity. The studio may be an artist's playground, but these albums by U2 and Oasis left nothing but destruction in their wake.
Unlike albums that have some bittersweet moments, these projects have an underlying issue. A botched production concept with mediocre songs from start to finish, fans were reluctant to support these records upon release. Although the band believed in these dance tunes, their fans lost faith after this release.
After years of great music, these records killed the artist's career. While artists like Fiona Apple can occasionally release records and still receive high praise, the records listed below have moved these artists from the world's most in-demand musicians to yesterday's news within months.
Again, only a few on this list have fallen into obscurity since the release of these albums. Musicians should never give up. Any of these LPs can be saved if you get the idea right. Whatever these artists do, things always look different after this disappointment.
Songs of Innocence - U2
U2 has always been behind the scenes in the world of famous artists. Bono seemed to want to keep it rock and roll on albums like The Joshua Tree, but the mid-'90s saw the band feel hotter with more pop-like albums. The 2000s seemed to be on a better track, but Songs of Innocence is where millions of fans jumped out.
Besides, being on this LP list has almost nothing to do with the music. Songs of Innocence remains a strong entry in U2's catalog, but the way it's delivered is terrible. After a deal was struck with Apple, this album was put on most listeners' iPods, whether they wanted it or not.
While Bono thought it was a good cross-brand PR exercise, he admits it was the wrong move in retrospect, especially since listeners had a hard time trying to get the new album off their devices. It has a good U2 album at its heart, but Big Brother doesn't set the world on fire when you put it in your ears.
Another entrance , a door
No Jim Morrison front door. Although Morrison couldn't play an instrument, his stage dancing and vocals were at the heart of every great song they performed night after night. After Morrison's death, this was supposed to be the end of the band, but the remaining members had other ideas.
As the band was working on some material before Morrison's death, they decided to continue recording with a different voice, with keyboardist Ray Manzarek filling in for Morrison on the mic. While the instrumentation isn't terrible (it's still the Doors), there's no magic behind these songs that sound like a jam in a blues bar.
And while Manzarek can carry a melody at will on a song like "Tightrope Ride," the rest of the album sounds weak when listening to Morrison's other vocals. The Doors may set many rock fans on fire, but when you take Morrison out of the picture, they become a much more enjoyable version of the Grateful Dead.
Mardi Gras - Creedence Clearwater Revival
It's amazing to see what Credence Clearwater Revival did in the 1960s. Over the course of two years, they put on tape some of the best rock 'n' roll music that country and rock 'n' roll fans have ever enjoyed. The group
Although the original idea for this album was for the band to function as a democratic space, John Fogerty did not dwell on these few songs. Fogerty was known as the heart and soul of the band, so Stu Cook and Doug Clifford's vocals were not great, especially Cook's strained vocals on "Take Him as a Friend".
When Fogerty came to work, he found himself playing covers, upbeat country songs and one classic, "Someday Never Comes." Whether or not Fogerty tried to sabotage the project has always been an urban legend. If so, it works with flying colors.
The Wall - Rose Floyd
Pink Floyd's Tower can be studied as a masterpiece in the grand scheme of prog rock. While the album may have been laborious, it became a proper rock opera as Roger Waters waxed lyrical about Pink's grief and social isolation. Waters had that vision from the beginning, and the rest of the band had to fight to get that vision right.
With the exception of David Gilmour, it was Waters who ran the sessions, deciding what the rest of the band would play. While it's always good to take constructive criticism, Waters was on a deadline and made sure he didn't miss anything, even hiring another drummer to play "Mother" after Nick Mason didn't play it right.
The real victim of this album is the future of Pink Floyd. After Richard Wright was fired and rehired during production, the accompanying tour broke up the band, and Woods left the group to pursue a solo career. Although Pink Floyd thrived after a few years on hiatus, the band's Dark Side of the Moon era magic was never seen again.
Mesmerize/Hypnotize - one down system
After 20 years in the hard rock industry, audiences have yet to hear anything quite like Down System. Combining metal, alternative music and comedy under one roof, each of the band's albums is a thoughtful look at both the political and the absurd. And while their experience on the sister album is seen as high-profile, not everyone in the group looks back on the albums.
On the one hand, these albums contain the most important lyrical themes of systemic projects, such as exposing Hollywood conspiracies and rallying against the Iraq War. Surz Tankian, on the other hand, said that he was too busy to carry out the project and could not bring as much enthusiasm as he would have liked.
The album seems impossible without Tankia, but creative tensions eventually broke up the band and no new music was released for two decades. Since Daron Malakian helped produce each of these albums, this seems like a warm-up to what he's been doing in his solo band The Broadway Scars.
Second coming - stone rose
The Stone Roses' debut album is where you start your time watching the best of Britpop. Although they burst onto the Madchester scene in the late 80s, every band that came after them tried to copy their style, from Oasis to the Ocean Color scene. While listeners wait to hear how the second album will sound, the band has been in the studio.
After years of failure, Resurgence ran out of results, songs that lasted too long and didn't earn much. Although songs like "Love Spreads" have stood the test of time, there has always been disagreement about what should be included, as John Squire hides behind an electric guitar and plays riff after riff.
Shortly after the album's release, the band announced that legendary drummer Rennie was leaving just a few months after the album hit the shelves. Britpop may have continued for a few years, but it was then that cracks began to form within the genre.
Just press Play - Aerosmith
Success is as scary as failure. While bands may love the idea of a number one hit, there's a good chance they'll spend the rest of their days chasing the same hits and hoping they hit it twice. And the crazy idea turned into Just Push Play when Steven Tyler saw I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.
Even though the band put together the album, most of the songs sound like corporate Frankensteins, a color missing from previous Aerosmith albums. Titled Beyond the Bad Boys of Boston, Tyler's It tries to navigate various early 2000s pop trends, from the weird sound of "Jade" to the strange Zeppelin-techno of the title track.
Although the band made the album fantastic production-wise, they didn't sound like Aerosmith, and guitarist Joe Perry ended up cutting a few songs from the record. While some of these songs come close to being great, they should have been reserved for a Steven Tyler solo project.
Cut the layer - conflict
After the punk wave came and went, conflict seemed to drive the genre into the next decade. The band previously released an acclaimed double album London Calling , and Fight Rock brought their impressive new wave style to MTV. However, the Clash had always been their worst enemy, and things changed after Mick Jones left the band.
Although Joe Strummer was determined to continue without his writing partner, Crap Cut is nowhere near the level of a Glash album. With new faces lined up to replace Jones, half the songs feel unfinished, cheap electronics are added, and Strummer sounds like he's scraping the bottom of the barrel on songs like "Dirty Punk."
While "This Is England" celebrates the Clash's legacy, the band reads like a sad example of what the 1980s were like. They started out as one of the most militant forces in punk history and remained what they could be.
Now stay here , Oasis
For a brief moment it looked like Oasis would take the world by storm in 1990. After two successful albums, the Gallagher brothers' ability to write classics was matched only by their hatred for each other. Noel Gallagher was hoping his name would drop , only for things to come to a screeching halt with the likes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
After their success, the bands set out to do more on their next project, with long-running songs and the opening track 'D'You Know What I Mean'. While songs like "Don't Go" capture a sense of innocence, the rest of the album takes a bit of a breather as the band slowly transitions from being the biggest band in the world to yesterday's news.
Although the Gallaghers received high praise, Noel was keen to listen to critics, later saying that the album was a disaster from start to finish. Britpop sounds like it's about to take over the world, but when the doors close in the album's final seconds, the genre is pretty much dead.
Holy Rage - Metallica
In the early 2000s, Metallica was bigger than any other metal band in existence. Starting out in the underground beat scene, The Black Album made them the biggest band on the planet, playing stadiums all over the world. Although the team was on shaky ground during Lod's tenure, no one was prepared for what happened in 2003.
After losing bassist Jason Newsted and leaving James Hetfield to go to rehab, the band reunited and performed Holy Rage as a therapeutic exercise. Although the band was much healthier after this record, they created one of the saddest albums in metal history, from Hetfield's vocal performance to Lars Ulrich smashing drums and hitting your eardrums as the album flowed.
Although Metallica has come back from their slump and become a mainstream metal band again, they will never be able to top the charts. Death Magnetic may have put them on solid ground, but they seemed to be apologizing for their past metal abuse towards their fans.
