STIFFS! Killer Albums that Didn't Sell by Popular Artists

[Franklin]

Hmm, would Blood, Sweat and Tears: Child is Father to the Man count?

 

[Scott M4]

I'm also a big fan of Open Road. My sister had bought it, but I wore it out. There's some real magic in those "grooves".

 

[leevitalone1]

How about The Fents? great band- found by pure accident at a used sale.

 

[JonUrban]

"Desperado" - Oh yeah, my FAVORITE Eagles album. Bought it when it came out and thought it was great. It took the title song being covered by Linda Ronstadt to get noticed, and it and "Tequila Sunrise" being part of their "Greatest Hits" album to get the rest of the Eagles fans to listen.

"Izitso" - Another great forgotten LP. I actually have the 12" of "Was Dog a Doughnut"! Although I haven't played it in decades.

 

[ClarkNovak]

Marshall Crenshaw's "Life's Too Short". His only shot on MCA, after leaving Warners (or should I say, being unceremoniously dumped by Warner's). Some really great tracks here, including "Don't Disappear Now", "Delilah" and "Fantastic Planet Of Love". MCA failed to promote it (there's a reason folks in the biz called them Music Cemetary of America) and he was dropped, but it's a great record.

 

[Franklin]

I only heard bits of Izito in the last couple of years. I thought it was pretty bad (and not in the meaning good way).

 

[Neb-Maat-Re]

Several friends in the record business have used the term stiffs for albums by popular artists that sold poorly. The criteria here is that:
1- You LIKE the album
2- You'd HIGHLY RECOMMEND it
3- It is by a very popular artist, at least at the time they were releasing albums
4- It sold poorly. Poorly is relative. Someone who sold 250,000 units after their previous albums all sold a million or more would qualify. An album that sold 5,000 units by an artist who consistently sold 10,000 units probably isn't a stiff.

With initial sales of 4 million units, Fleetwood Mac's Tusk was considered to be a relative flop compared to Rumours.

 

[Doug G.]

I like "Izitso" and I love "Hurdy Gurdy Man". Yes, one the THE most Psychedelic songs of the era.

I remember reading somewhere that a lot of artists back then were jealous of Donovan and wished they could be as good as he was.

Doug

 

[DocCasualty]

Izitso - Cat Stevens

I completely forgot about this album. I just pulled my turntable out of mothballs, bought a new preamp and stylus and celebrated by playing this LP. Great album and sounded much better than I expected to hear from vinyl. Superb dynamics were a bonus.

BTW, great idea for a thread. Wish I could think of a contribution but maybe as I start sifting through some old LPs I'll run across a candidate.

 

[wavelength]

I like "Izitso" and I love "Hurdy Gurdy Man". Yes, one the THE most Psychedelic songs of the era.

I remember reading somewhere that a lot of artists back then were jealous of Donovan and wished they could be as good as he was.

Doug

I saw Donovan back in the mid-70s. Just him and his guitar (the one with the moon cut-out sound hole). He sat cross-legged on a trunk. He was captivating. Had the audience in the palm of his hands for the whole concert. It was in an auditorium so the acoustics were great.

 

[Quad Linda]

My Daughter and I met Donovan. He was most gracious and taken aback that I had a CD of HMS Donovan, a UK only children's album. Yes, he signed it, my Open Road CD and a few others.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

With initial sales of 4 million units, Fleetwood Mac's Tusk was considered to be a relative flop compared to Rumours.

In the eyes of the record company it was a flop... considering it cost a million dollars in studio time...a record at the time..of course I like that album and I sure many more Fleetwood Mac fans feel the same way..

 

[John S]

Joe Walsh - Analog Man
Heart - Fanatic
ZZ Top - Mescalero

 

[EMB]

Hmm, would Blood, Sweat and Tears: Child is Father to the Man count?

Not really, if only because, of the group members, only Al Kooper was really well known, and as a debut album, it was somewhat of a sleeper but did very well and garnered positive reviews. Since it wasn't a supergroup despite the Blues Project alumni, I doubt Columbia was bothered by its modest (during '68) sales (which picked up after the second album went big).

IZITSO, on the other hand, was a top ten album, so it was no more a commercial failure than TUSK was. The latter, as a 2-Lp set, sold very well, given its high list price (at least I remember that it was a higher list than your normal two-record set), but following the mega-success of RUMOURS, any album would have come up commercially wanting. Hell, a #1 album--WISH YOU WERE HERE--was at the time considered something inferior to DSOTM, though I actually liked it better than that one, and still do.

ED

 

[doity]

I know that the Tubes were considered a cult band, but I have always thought that their "Love Bomb" should had been a hit. Great production and help from Todd Rundgren and a real crossover album for them with a bit of everything in there. The last major album from them I believe.

 

[kap'n krunch]

Three more to the list..
the first two are thanks to my baby..btw, all three of these; their LP version blows the CDs AWAY big time...especially the Thomas Dolby one..

Bourgeois Tagg ‎– Yoyo
A wonderful 80's production by Todd Rudgren, it yielded a minor hit "I don't mind at all"-they even played it on Letterman....PERFECTLY!!!
Every song is GREAT!!!



Mr. Mister- ...Go On

RCA abandonded them BIG TIME - AFTER the group generating RCA MILLIONS with the previous LP ("Welcome to the real world"),
A Highly underrated and undiscovered LP, to me, their best ("Pull" was ..well...another band in a way)


One of my faves..
Thomas Dolby- Aliens ate my Buick
Thomas' art dept did such a great job that people thought it was a soundtrack for a movie...and it didn't sell...well, "Airhead" was a popular single, but the LP went basically nowhere -there were a LOT of cutouts ...
Featuring the now sadly gone incredible bassist Terry Jackson, this is a Tour de Force...-warning, the CD includes an edited version of the single "May the Cube be with you" with George Clinton, but the LP DOESN'T...

 

[EMB]

This one really WAS a commercial failure but a very fine effort, more painful because his previous (and first) solo album was a big hit:



ED

 

[LizardKing]

......

One of my faves..
Thomas Dolby- Aliens ate my Buick
Thomas' art dept did such a great job that people thought it was a soundtrack for a movie...and it didn't sell...well, "Airhead" was a popular single, but the LP went basically nowhere -there were a LOT of cutouts ...
Featuring the now sadly gone incredible bassist Terry Jackson, this is a Tour de Force...-warning, the CD includes an edited version of the single "May the Cube be with you" with George Clinton, but the LP DOESN'T...
View attachment 16666

One of my faves also...

I have the May the Cube Be With You 45 RPM EP - Fantastic!!!

 

[kap'n krunch]

One of my faves also...

I have the May the Cube Be With You 45 RPM EP - Fantastic!!!

I also have the 45!!!!

 

[kap'n krunch]

This one really WAS a commercial failure but a very fine effort, more painful because his previous (and first) solo album was a big hit:

View attachment 16669

ED

This is one of my faves..I think that , since it was SUCH a RADICAL departure from his first LP, it was not very "welcomed" by the Label..I used to play "Go Insane" when I was a DJ in an FM station...love the music on the runout groove of Side A...