Not every musician out there is a fan of their own music, or at the very least, one particular album. For the following three classic rock albums from the 20th century, the bands that produced them have more or less refused to return to them. Let’s take a look at why the following rock albums are such touchy subjects for these major rock stars.
‘The Bridge’ by Billy Joel (1986)
Billy Joel’s 1986 record The Bridge isn’t his most loved piece of work, and even Joel himself said that he doesn’t love it. Joel admitted that he took all the elements he thought his audience wanted and put them into this record, resulting in something very much not fresh or interesting. Fortunately, his life took a turn after The Bridge was released, and the quality of his songwriting improved. We’re lucky he didn’t just retire after this one. Don’t be surprised if Joel doesn’t whip out many songs from this album for his live performances.
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“I don’t think the material was good,” said Joel of The Bridge. “I was pressured by management to put it out too fast. By the end, I sort of gave up caring, which for me was unusual. I remember reading bad reviews and agreeing with them.”
‘Tusk’ by Fleetwood Mac (1979)
Ah, Tusk. The Fleetwood Mac album that followed the wildly successful Rumours, cost an enormous amount of money to produce, and didn’t do nearly as well as it could have. Christine McVie even said that this album was absurd when she first heard it. There was no real cohesion on Tusk, with each member more or less contributing what sounded like solo songs to what should have been a more collaborative record. It’s no surprise that they haven’t revisited this one that often.
‘Echo’ by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers (1999)
Echo isn’t a bad record by any means. Just look at the reviews of it at the time; critics adored those strong melodies and emotional writing. However, Echo makes it to our list of rock albums that artists don’t want to revisit for a good reason. Ahead of Echo, Wildflowers showed just how bad a spot Petty was in during his divorce from his wife. Echo has a coldness to it with a lot of vulnerable lyrics from a man going through a serious rough patch. Petty himself said that he didn’t try to take control of many of Echo’s songs.
“I wrote the songs, but I wasn’t driving the car,” said Petty.
There were also rumors that Petty was using drugs at the time. And, tragically, his bassist, Howie Epstein, died from a h*roin overdose after this album was released. It’s not surprising Petty didn’t revisit this one often.
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