Getting an album out is often a tedious, complicated process that includes a set of so many steps that the whole process can be botched at any point. The number of challenges that can crop up is so numerous that they probably can’t fit on fingers of two hands (sometimes two feet also) - from record label disputes and censorship to technical difficulties, personal tragedies, and internal band conflicts.
These problems can sometimes completely derail greatness (remember the legend of the Beach Boys original Smile album?), or they can result in an album with audible (and visible) problems.
Yet, there are quite a few albums out there that are hailed as classics (which they are), but had quite a few serious problems and distractions while they were being made, but the listeners did not or would not guess from the finished and released results. Here are 18 such albums that had serious problems while being created, but the final results turned out to be great.
Making these 18 albums was a pain, but they are worth it
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (1966)
It wasn’t enough that there was a strife within the Beach Boys when this album was being recorded, as Mike Love in particular didn’t like the fact that Tony Asher was the main lyricist (some of the lyrics were changed during the recording). Capitol Records were quite sceptical, as they seemed to be missing the surf, girls and cars concept. And while the initial sales (in the U.S.) were not great, critics all over loved it, and the audience caught on through time, making it one of the most influential albums around.
Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison (1968)
Mid-sixties were not so great for Johnny Cash; slumping record sales compounded personal problems. To revitalize his career, Cash came up with the idea to record a live album for an audience of prison inmates within a prison itself. Of course, the executives at Columbia found the idea to unconventional and risky for those times, but Cash persisted, coming up with one of the most influential live albums around.
The Beatles – Let It Be (1970)
The tensions and strife within The Beatles were mounting while this album was being recorded, and the fact that at least half of the band didn’t like the way Phil Spector did the initial production made the strife deeper. George Harrison left the band for a while, the tapes were on hold for a year, and when Harrison eventually came back, McCartney guided a completely new production for the final results.
Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On (1971)
Motown Records built its reputation (and sales) on coming up with some exquisite crossover pop/soul/R&B, so when Marvin Gaye came up with something completely different, a complex, socially complex soul, most of the company’s executive were against it. But Gay didn’t want to budge or come up with anything else at that moment, and luckily prevailed, coming up with one of the greatest albums of all time.
The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main St. (1972)
Maybe Ian Dury came up with his smash “Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll” after he heard (and read) the chaos that followed the recording of this album in a rented house in France, as The Stones had all of the above there in addition to tax problems. Maybe the complete chaos that ensued during the recording was exactly the reason why this album turned out to be one of rock’s undeniable classics.
The Stooges - Raw Power (1973)
Iggy Pop and the band were never a group willing to compromise, and the recorded results were loud and brash, not sitting well with the label executives (Columbia), so they wanted to tone down the results during the mixing process, with a conflict ensuing between them and the band. David Bowie was brought in as a compromise, and the result is one of the most influential punk albums around.
Neil Young - Tonight’s The Night (1973)
After Neil Young made it big with Harvest and in the midst of recording a new one, two of his best friends Bruce Berry and Danny Whitten, died quickly one after the other. Devastated, Young shelved the recorded material and came up with a mostly acoustic, raw and emotionally tense album that turned out to be one of his outstanding ones.
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run (1975)
It didn’t matter that Springsteen’s first two albums were hailed by the critics and that the fan base was quickly forming - Columbia Records was still contemplating to drop him as the sales were not as they expected. Under pressure, Bruce wanted to make the album as perfect as possible, so the recording process took over a year, mounting the pressure even further. Not wanting to waste the investment, Columbia released the album, and they didn’t regret the results, nor did the audience.
Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks (1975)
Scrapping recorded music and substituting it with something different is not so unusual, and Bob Dylan switching his musical course, possibly even less so. And that is exactly what happened here. Being unsure about the sound of some of the initial recordings for the album, he dropped quite a few of the already finished takes, and recorded new ones with a completely different set of musicians. The final result is one of the greatest albums Dylan recorded.
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours (1977)
Making up and breaking up and doing it all over again could be a somewhat fitting description of the recording process for this album, as it was all happening within the band itself, creating a strange, often tense and quite emotional atmosphere during the recording of this album. It is quite possible that this tension created one of the biggest sellers in rock history.
David Bowie – Heroes (1977)
Not many technical or label issues with this one, but quite a few personal ones, as Bowie was battling both with addiction and depression, with the height of the Cold War, with the album being recorded at then-divided Berlin, adding to the problem. Yet, both Bowie and all involved in the recording persevered, surmounting RCA’s doubts, coming up with one of Bowie’s best.
Pink Floyd – The Wall (1979)
The rift between band members, particularly Roger Waters and David Gilmour, was growing bigger by the minute, with Waters taking control both of the concept for the album and its recording process, with things almost falling completely apart. Still the wall held firm and became one of the band’s most successful albums.
Clash - London Calling (1979)
Sure, Clash were one of pivotal punk bands, but one part of the band led by Joe Strummer wanted to expand the sound; there was internal fighting about that within the band, and the eccentric production techniques of Guy Stevens added to the chaos. The recording costs grew, CBS (Columbia) was anxious, yet what came up is the highest rate Clash album, both by the critics and the band’s fans.
AC/DC - Back In Black (1980)
The band was in the midst of a recording process of a new album, as Highway to Hell, the previous one, was the band's breakthrough, when singer Bon Scott died. Other members were so devastated that they wanted to give up recording. At some point, Malcolm Young suggested that finding a new singer and constant rehearsing would help with the grief. Turns out he was right, as the resulting album proved.
Prince - 1999 (1982)
When Prince delivered the masters for this album to Warner Bros., the company execs didn’t know what to do, as they really couldn’t neatly file it within a single specific genre or think of a way to market it as such. Prince insisted on the album being released as is, and the results proved him right.
Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)
When Nirvana switched from at the time very independent Sub Pop to the giant that was Geffen Records, the company that was known for its singer-songwriter and soft rock catalog was not exactly sure what to do with the band or the first album the band recorded for it, so it only pressed some 50,000 copies of it. Yet when “Smell Like Teen Spirit” became one of MTV’s greatest hits, they couldn’t find enough presses for the album.
Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)
Up to this album, Radiohead were considered a standard guitar band, some critics lumping them with all the other Britpop bands. Whether the band didn’t like the branding or simply wanted a shift in their musical direction, they came up with something completely different, with the record label not liking the results too much, but releasing the album anyway. The result is one of the most influential modern prog albums around.
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Tweedy and the band recorded this album, delivered it to the initial record label (Warner’s Reprise), who hated it so much that they fired the band and gave them the tapes back. Tweedy and Co. started streaming the songs from the album through the band’s website, and after positive results, got a new contract with another Warner subsidiary - Nonesuch. After all, and paying the band double for one album, they had a big one on their hands.