4 Rock Albums That Fans Originally Hated but Eventually Loved

These four rock albums weren’t exactly well-received by fans when they were first released. However, sometimes, the audience has to sit on a work for a minute before they can really grasp its brilliance. Let’s take a look at a few classic rock albums that fans initially hated, but eventually loved!

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1. ‘Wild Life’ by Paul McCartney and Wings

Coming out of the end of The Beatles wasn’t exactly easy for anyone involved, especially Paul McCartney. He enjoyed collaborating with his wife, but it was time to start a new band yet again. With that came the birth of Wings and the band’s debut 1971 album, Wild Life.

McCartney’s fans weren’t loving the album, as it didn’t boast McCartney’s perfectionism and obsessive detail. Realistically, the record is a little bit messy. Eventually, fans figured out that that was the charm. Wings and McCartney were discovering their signature sound in real-time as the record went on.

2. ‘The Last DJ’ by Tom Petty

An unfortunate entry on our list of rock albums that fans hated, the 2002 album The Last DJ shows Tom Petty struggling to maintain relevance in a new, evolved, and foreign music industry. Tastes have changed, pop music sounds wildly different than it did 10 years ago, and Tom Petty struggled to keep up with the times.

Rock music will never go out of style, but fans didn’t love this album. We get why. Petty comes off as an old man yelling at a cloud. However, this record has aged incredibly well. A lot of the dystopian garbage Petty was singing about has since come true.

3. ‘Desperado’ by Eagles

Sometimes, a sophomore album just doesn’t hit that well. That was the case for Eagles’ Desperado, which was an overwhelming and disappointing flop upon release. Their label was allegedly angry that they made a “cowboy record” instead of a rock album.

Desperado does sound like a cowboy album, but it has since gained a bit of a cult following for being a weird and delightful concept album. Johnny Cash even said it was one of his favorites.

4. ‘And Justice For All’ by Metallica

One can’t deny that Metallica is one of the most commercially successful metal bands in history. With that success means access to the best producers, best studios, etc. So, we’re still scratching our heads over why And Justice For All was such an awful production job.

This is a fair entry on our list of rock albums that fans hated, though not all fans have come back around to loving it. There’s no bass guitar, the final mix is dryer than sand, and the complexity and genuinely good writing on this album are buried under an unlistenable mix. The instrumentation is excellent and as close to prog-rock as Metallica ever got, but the final cut is just not it.

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