4 Unreleased Classic Rock Albums That Became the Stuff of Legend

Even the greatest rockers of all time are sitting on unreleased music, much to the chagrin of fans. Some of these unreleased classic rock albums have been more or less released decades later or incorporated into other releases, while others are still sitting on the shelf, probably for good. Let’s take a look, shall we?

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1. ‘Rock Is Dead – Long Live Rock!’ by The Who

After releasing the rock opera Tommy, Pete Townshend went hard on the potential follow-up, Lighthouse. Sadly, it never happened, and the songs were funneled into Who’s Next instead. Sadly, his next project, titled Rock Is Dead – Long Live Rock!, also got the boot.

The record was supposed to be an autobiography of sorts about The Who. There were a few sessions that took place in 1972, and Townshend said that the recording process was almost done before the rest of the band decided it wasn’t forward-thinking enough. The project was shelved and they moved on to the legendary Quadrophenia.

2. ‘Get Back’ by The Beatles

This legendary example of unreleased classic rock albums was supposed to be The Beatles’ “freedom” album. The premise was cool, but the conditions were not so cool. The Fab Four were already ready to part ways, after all. Paul McCartney was particularly miffed when the band’s new manager took a few too many creative liberties. The result was Let It Be, and much of the original intention of Get Back had been lost.

3. ‘Black Gold’ by Jimi Hendrix’

Back in 1970, Jimi Hendrix recorded a series of “movements” onto cassette tapes and labeled the tapes “Black Gold”. He then gave the tapes to Mitch Mitchell to conceptualize some drum parts for a true studio recording. Sadly, Hendrix died before that could happen, and Mitchell held onto the tapes for decades. Hendrix’s estate has promised to release Black Gold properly at some point, but that hasn’t really happened.

4. ‘Household Objects’ by Pink Floyd

After The Dark Side Of The Moon came out in 1973, Pink Floyd received the widespread global acclaim they deserved. Knowing what to do next was the hard part. One of the lesser-known entries on our list of unreleased classic rock albums, Household Objects was a bold direction for the psychedelic icons to take. It features no instruments, opting for an avant-garde sound produced entirely by light bulbs, hammers, and other appliances.

Apparently, the process of recording the album was exhausting, and the band eventually opted to use their normal instruments again. The result was only two incomplete tracks (“The Hard Way” and “Wine Glasses). The rest of the project was basically abandoned.

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