3 Unreleased Albums I Would Give Anything To Hear

There’s no telling how many unreleased albums are floating around on hard drives, CDs, or cassette tapes. Here are three that we know existed at one point or another that we really wish we could have heard.

Videos by American Songwriter

‘Nebraska’ (Full Band Version) — Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen released Nebraska in 1982. The stripped-down demos were a departure from Springsteen’s earlier work backed by The E Street Band, presenting a vulnerable side of the rock and roller.

However, while the demos that became the final album are great, there’s something intriguing about the lost recordings of Nebraska with the full band. While Springsteen and the band did attempt to record the album, the continued existence of the recordings is still a rumor. Still, fans who have seen Springsteen live have gotten a small taste of what that unreleased album could have been.

‘Cigarettes And Valentines’ — Green Day

In 2003, Green Day had an entire album planned, recorded, and nearly finished. Cigarettes And Valentines saw the band returning to a rapid, energetic punk sound after the album Warning from 2000.

Rumor has it that the unreleased album was stolen from the studio, leading to Green Day scrapping the project and moving on. However, while we all missed out on Cigarettes And Valentines, there’s never been a better example of the old adage “everything happens for a reason.”

Because these recordings were stolen, Green Day was forced to go back to the drawing board. This directly led to the release of American Idiot in 2004.

‘Hot Sauce Committee’ — Beastie Boys

Prior to 2009, The Beastie Boys were planning a two-part album titled Hot Sauce Committee. When Adam Yauch was diagnosed with cancer, the boys delayed part one while he underwent treatment. When Yauch passed in 2012, it remained an unreleased album indefinitely.

The Beastie Boys released Hot Sauce Committee Part Two after Yauch’s death. However, that is the only part of the duology that exists. During a Reddit Q&A in 2020 while promoting the film Beastie Boys Story, Ad-Rock answered a question about the location of Hot Sauce Committee Part One.

“We lost it,” he said. “We can’t find it. If we find it, we’re gonna try to work on it and put it out.”

However, fans shouldn’t have been too disappointed. He also shared that he and Mike D could possibly put out some other unreleased music in the future.

Featured Image by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic