There is a good reason some artists/bands become great or greatest - they create a body of work that stands heads and shoulders above others, often through the test of time. Yet, at the same time, even those greats come up with big album flops, they often disown themself, realizing that a particular album is quite below par with everything else they came up with.
There could be any number of reasons why a certain album by a great artist/band just doesn’t stand the test of time, from trying to go into unknown musical territory that afterwards remains a mystery to them. Or, they could have been going for production and/or arrangements that, in the final result, just sound like a chicken wearing lace underwear.
They could be in a creative burnout at some point, or they simply wanted to get their recording contract done. Or, they thought at a certain point that hopping on a current musical trend would do them good, and, well, it doesn’t.
These 14 albums from great artists just didn’t cut it
Whatever the case, the bellow 14 albums by some of the great and even greatest artists turned out to be a black spot in their otherwise impeccable careers.
The Doors - The Soft Parade (1969)
Who should be on top - the key songwriter/poet/singer or the band behind him? After two incredible albums with Jim Morrison at the forefront, it seems the Doors decided to focus on the complexity and baroque arrangements rather than on Morrison’s aura that actually drove the band, ruining some of the excellent songs here, like “Touch Me.”
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Mardi Gras (1972)
After a series of brilliant rock albums that rightfully made it big, it was a shame that a great band like CCR had to finish it on such a low note. Tom Fogerty might not have been a key guiding force like John Fogerty was, but it seems was some kind of cohesive element, and sharing of songwriting duties didn’t help much either here.
Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music (1975)
It is easy to say that Lou Reed was one of the greatest around, from his work with the Velvet Underground, as a solo artist, or when collaborating with others. And yes, he did go out of his way to do something that was not supposed to be his forte with great results. Yet, this double album with just noise might have sounded great on paper, but came out just simply as it was - pointless noise.
The Clash – Cut the Crap (1985)
With just Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon remaining from the band that created some of the most exciting music in their prime, it seems that here they just didn’t know what to do. No real inspiration, very little or no good songs, and terrible use of the eighties gear - drum machines and synth horns. They probably forgot this one themselves.
Paul McCartney - Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984)
The film for which the music on this album was created was both poor and received poorly, and the music, comprised of poor reworkings of the Beatles' material and equally lackluster originals, didn’t fare much better. Possibly one of the lowest points in McCartney’s stellar career.
The Rolling Stones - Dirty Work (1986)
In the early eighties, the Rolling Stones practically broke up, but the members eventually decided to patch things up with this album. That patch-up worked later on (more or less), but it didn’t happen when they were recording this one. The attempt to create positive tension seems to have left out that positive element here.
David Bowie - Never Let Me Down (1987)
When you are labeled as a constant innovator who has influenced so many, as David Bowie did, you don’t expect that artist to just churn out a record that is just a regurgitation of the elements he initially created himself. Bowie was responsible for the key elements of 1980s pop-rock. Here, he simply sounds bored and uninspired.
Bob Dylan - Down In The Groove (1988)
With such a huge discography and so many brilliant albums that can be counted as the greatest, you are bound to have your downs, too. Dylan might have had a few downs as far as albums go, but there were always at least a few songs that were more than just redeeming factors for him to pull it off anyway. Well, maybe except here, where the album title just might be one of the biggest misnomers around.
Radiohead - Pablo Honey (1993)
Many Radiohead fans cite two reasons why they still hold on to this album: one, that it was their debut, and the other that includes “Creep,” one of their signature songs. And while both reasons stand, it still doesn’t make this album stand up to anything else they created from there on, as it is all over the place, with some of the stuff here not even to the Britpop standards, the genre that was ruling at the time.
Metallica - St. Anger (2003)
Trying modern (at the time) production and arranging tricks doesn’t really suit everybody, at it certainly didn’t suit Metallica here. Instead of sticking to their signature guitar sound and strong songwriting, they went for that thin snare drum sound that grates, skipping as many guitar solos as possible. Oh, and the songwriting here was at Metallica’s lowest.
Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy (2008)
Guns N’ Roses' concept of going at it hard worked so well for the band. Yet here, they seem to have tried too hard, with the key keyword being overthinking it and taking too much time. Axl Rose wanted to dominate here, and it didn’t bode well for the band - pushing the idea of the most expensive album ever and having too many guest stars simply ruined the existing band chemistry here.
Bruce Springsteen – Working on a Dream (2009)
When you are a great artist, you make allowances for yourself, including drifting into musical fields or genres you are not usually associated with. In most cases, that has worked for the man who got the nickname the Boss. Still, going into a more vapid, upbeat pop territory simply didn’t suit Springsteen, and it probably never will. Luckily, this seems to have been just a one-off.
The Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody (2017)
From the band’s inception, Flaming Lips presented themselves as a band daring to go where everybody else didn’t dare go, and they, in most cases, did it both with great imagination and musical flair. Yet, at some point, you are bound to go too far or in a completely wrong direction, particularly if you didn’t think things through completely. And it sounds like Wayne Coyne and co. went that way here.
Sun Kil Moon - This Is My Dinner (2018)
Mark Kozelek may not be counted among the greatest by many, but at some points, either with Red House Painters or solo, most often as Sun Kil Moon, he was getting close. As a latter, he very often goes the storytelling way, more like melodious poetry reciting than singing. It often sounds quite intriguing and spellbinding, unless, like throughout this album, he was pushing that concept a bit too far.