You can’t win ‘em all. Bands like The Who and Fleetwood Mac have produced some of the most stunning classic rock albums of the 20th century. However, plenty of classic rock artists out there have delivered less-than-perfect albums. While many of such albums are loved by fans, the artists themselves seem to have a poor opinion of them. Let’s take a look at a few examples, shall we?
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‘One By One’ by Foo Fighters
Released in 2002, One By One was Foo Fighters’ fourth album. Unfortunately, the production of the record wasn’t the best experience. During the initial sessions for the record, the band members had a lot of tension going on, and initial recordings were considered “unsatisfying.” Grohl opted to redo the entire album from scratch at his home.
One By One was a commercial success and won a Grammy Award. However, Grohl has since said multiple times that he never wants to play any tracks from the album again.
‘It’s Hard’ by The Who
The 1980s were a tough spot for The Who. Keith Moon had passed, most of the band’s contemporaries had opted to go the pop route, and Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey were butting heads.
In 1982, the band released It’s Hard. The album charted quite well, and I happen to think it’s a great piece of work. However, not everyone in the band loved it. Roger Daltrey said in 1994 that the album “should never have been released” and that it was “a complete piece of sh*t.”
Even Townshend made it clear that the band wasn’t in the best spot when it was released. “‘Face Dances’ and ‘It’s Hard’ were made by a band who were very unsure about whether or not they wanted to be making a record, and I think that’s a terrible doubt,” said Townshend.
‘Atom Heart Mother’ by Pink Floyd
Released in 1970, Atom Heart Mother was Pink Floyd’s fifth album. It’s a very loved piece of work, and it got a ton of recognition at the time. In fact, this album was Pink Floyd’s first record to hit No. 1 in the UK.
David Gilmour, though, really didn’t love this record. He probably still hates it. Gilmour considered Atom Heart Mother to be a bit of a disaster. He called it “a load of rubbish” and said the album sounded like “we didn’t have any idea between us, but we became much more prolific after it.”
And at one point, he even said he’d have to be paid a lot of money to even consider performing this record live again. Roger Waters apparently also thought negatively of the album, too.
‘Time’ by Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac released some of the best classic rock albums of all time, especially when it came to their signature album Rumours. However, by 1995, the band had gone through extreme lineup changes. Time, their album from that year, was the first record by the band since 1974 to not feature any contributions from Stevie Nicks. Lindsey Buckingham wasn’t involved outside of backing vocals on one track.
People really didn’t love this album. It was a commercial flop, and critics gave it poor reviews after it was released. In the years since this album hit the shelves, Mick Fleetwood said that he more or less knew that this particular record would be a flop.
“This was the one time I should not have soldiered on,” said Fleetwood in his 2014 autobiography.
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