In music, opinions aren’t the death or determiner of success, but they do carry some weight, so much so that great works can be just as easily reviled as they can be revered. Some of today’s most iconic releases were once spurned by fans and authorities alike.
Videos by American Songwriter
However, no amount of bad reviews or poor record sales could keep these five now legendary albums from influencing the masses and becoming the classics they were always meant to be.
1. The Velvet Underground & Nico – The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
Today, The Velvet Underground & Nico is undoubtedly one of proto-punk’s most important albums, a work that has gone on to influence many an artist and genre. But when The Velvet Underground’s self-titled debut was released in 1967, it was poorly received and financially it flopped.
The Velvet Underground & Nico contained several mentions of subjects that were at the time considered taboo and so the album was too. Not only controversial from the start, but the album was also sonically ahead of its time. It was daringly dissonant and intricately unharmonious, a style that would later go on to influence the alternative, indie, and punk rock sounds we hear today.
2. The Stooges – The Stooges (1969)
The Stooges were another group of now-rock royalty with an at-first iffy debut. Their 1969 self-titled release was more or less met with mixed feelings. Critics were confused by the album more than anything with many relegating the release to dud status, but unable to deny its potential.
Edmund O. Ward for Rolling Stone spurned the record as “loud, boring, tasteless, unimaginative and childish” (via NPR) upon its release, but today the album sits on the publication’s list of 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time.
3. Tusk – Fleetwood Mac (1979)
Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 magnum opus, Rumours, proved a tough act to follow. However, their 1979 album Tusk was not an abject failure. It did garner a Grammy nod … for Best Album Package.
Harboring some of the band’s greatest hits today, it was not the music that caused the album to fall short. In fact, the title track and the tune “Sara” climbed the charts in the U.S. upon its release. The thing about Tusk is it was an expensive album to record – a million-dollar ordeal in which the band’s toe-testing experimentation couldn’t cash – and so the record label dubbed it a failure.
4. Sweetheart of the Rodeo – The Byrds (1968)
Sweetheart of the Rodeo was not a failure by critics’ standards, however, the album was futile in capturing the hearts of the fans. The 1968 release marked a departure for The Byrds, a band that had built a devoted following among a counterculture audience. The band’s venture into the realm of country music for this release left their regular listeners believing the Byrds had flown the coop, so album sales suffered greatly.
5. Pet Sounds – The Beach Boys (1966)
It’s difficult to believe a genius work like The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds could cause the band to fall out of favor, but the 1966 release created a rift between musician and listener. The album was not a commercial failure, but once devoted fans were being re-introduced to strangers. With Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys had stripped away their fun, sun, and surf facades, bidding farewell to the lovable caricatures of California boys they had become, to reveal a more mature group with a more high-brow sound.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
