Ten incredibly disappointing albums from the 1990s

Deep Purple - Slaves and Masters

Album number 13 for Deep Purple, is another affected by a lineup change. Ian Gillan had been removed from the band and Joe Lynn Turner of Rainbow fame was brought in on vocals. The songs on Slaves And Masters were seen as lightweight and at best average. 

Critics felt it was annoyingly close to sounding more like a Rainbow album. Perhaps the influence and work of Turner and Richie Blackmore combined. It certainly wasn't seen as anywhere near Deep Purple standard. 

Poor album sales saw the album only hit chart numbers 45 (UK) and 78 (US). After the Slave And Master tour ended Gillan was brought back into the band and Turner was out. The poor album probably wasn’t down to Turner, but the classic MkII line-up with Gillan was seen as the way forward. It feels like some would rather the album and interim line-up hadn’t existed. 

The Stranglers - 10

The Stranglers arrived as a punk-based band with added bass and keyboards. It was still raw, energetic, and rebellious. So when you hear of an album produced by Roy Thomas Baker of Queen fame, with a big band sound to it, surely that can’t be by The Stranglers. 

Unfortunately, it was. March 1990 saw the release of 10, the tenth studio album by the band. It marked quite a change. Baker was brought in to produce a sound aimed at the US market, hopefully leading to a tour there. 

It just didn’t work out for them. It may have been an American-sounding album but failed to register there and in the UK only reached number 15 and just four weeks in the charts. Critics panned it heavily, a US tour didn’t follow and a few months later founder member Hugh Cornwell left the band. It wasn’t the best of albums or times for The Stranglers.