The history of pop and rock music is littered with bands that were only ever able to deliver one album, never to bring another to life. There are a thousand and one reasons why that happened, with one popping up the most – they just weren’t good enough. Of course, creative slumps, member differences, labels falling through and whatnot else are there too, yet the history of music was usually not kind to those artists.
However, there are quite a few of such albums that critics and fans label as “one hit wonders,” singular albums that not only made their mark, but left both the critics and fans craving for more, and coming up with ‘what if’ explanations of not only why repeat offerings didn’t happen but also searching for the reasons why such high potential never came to full fruition. Of that possibly sizable bunch, the 14 albums below made quite an impact not only on critics and fans but often served as inspiration to other artists who tapped into their potential.
The Monks – Black Monk Time (1966)
When rock historians try to pinpoint to when garage rock first came about, they usually point to a bunch of American servicemen stationed at that time in Germany, who came up with this seminal album. The original idea among the band members is to be “anti-Beatles,” forsaking pop and melody for rawness and energy at full throttle. The album was considered obscure at the time, but it became an inspiration for countless other groups for whom that was the kind of sound to go for. The band initially fell apart as the members were bound to depart for Vietnam battlefields, only to reform in mid-2000’s for a number of live shows.
The United States of America – The United States of America (1968)
Is there a singular album in any genre that can be labelled as revolutionary? Quite possibly, the sole album by this band, led by composer and keyboardist Joseph Byrd, is by many considered as the one that gave psych rock new dimensions. The album itself is full of both innovations and musical retrospectives, gathering both critical acclaim and even appearing in the lower realms of album charts for a few months. Still, the band fell apart, with Boyd having more serious musical ambitions which never materialized fully.
Blind Faith – Blind Faith (1969)
When Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker and Ric Gretch formed Blind Faith, it was not only one of the first so-called supergroups, but probably one of the most touted ones around. And while the music they came up with on their self-titled album still remains as one of rock’s classics, and became a commercial success, the band never came up with another one. The telling signs that the thing is over before it even really started came with the controversial original album cover, but it would have all been smoothed over if it wasn’t for Eric Clapton’s lingering disillusionment with how the band was developing, the supergroup tag that Blind Faith was labelled with, and, of course, personality clashes. Clapton, Winwood and Baker went on to other successful projects, with Gretch promptly disappearing, passing in poverty back in 1990.
Derek and the Dominos – Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)
It seems that in the late sixties and early seventies Eric Clapton had a knack of being involved with other great talent, with Derek and the Dominos being another super group of sorts as others involved keyboardist-singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon were all established session musicians and Traffic’s Dave Mason and one George Harrison being present at the band’s early sessions. And while the band’s sole double album remains as one of the rock classics, the band didn’t come up with another. It is said that Clapton was disillusioned again, this time shaken by the sudden death of two other guitar greats – Jimi Hendrix and Greg Allman.
McDonald and Giles – McDonald and Giles (1970)
Both Ian McDonald and Michael Giles were former members of King Crimson when they set out to record this self-titled album with the help of two other standing members of their former band, Peter Giles and Pete Seinfeld, with Steve Winwood appearing on one track. The album itself has more to do with filling the gaps between psych and prog rock, sidestepping the darker overtones Robert Fripp and his crew favored at the time, and they seemed to fill that gap quite well, but never came up with another one, possibly because the album was a commercial failure at the time.
Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks (1977)
Sure, late Malcolm McLaren was a master of creating hype, but when he gathered a group of practically unknown individuals on the music scene to create Sex Pistols, even he probably was not initially aware that the motley crew would become one of the biggest punk rock bands of all time. And while their sole fully-formed album was actually a collection of highly successful and often at the time controversial singles, it turned out to be a prime example of the energy and rebellious spirit punk rock brought to the music scene. Yet, the band members never gelled personally, usually with lead singer Johnny (Lydon) Rotten on one side and the rest of the band on the other, and combined with some serious drug use and equally serious legal hassles, the band fell apart as early as 1978.
Young Marble Giants – Colossal Youth (1980)
If there ever was an album considered as the classic of minimalist rock, then it would be Colossal Youth, a debut and sole album by a Welsh trio of Alison Statton along with the minimalist instrumentation of brothers Philip and Stuart Moxham. Proving that simple things are hardest to do, with focus on Statton’s incredible vocals, the trio’s album served as inspiration to many other artists searching for a similar sound in decades to come, with the band never coming up with more together, splitting up in 1981, with all members having solid solo careers.
David & David – Boomtown (1986)
Many tried to depict the darker side of life in Los Angeles through music, but not that many achieved as much as this duo of two Davids – David Baerwald and David Ricketts. Nobody expected it, but the smooth pop-rock style carried the noirish lyrics to make this album go certified gold. Even with the success of the album and the tour that ensued, the duo went their separate ways, mostly returning to the studio work they started with. Baerwald recorded four solo albums, but Ricketts remained in the studio shadows.
The La’s – The La’s (1990)
When The La’s released their killer single “There She Goes,” the leading track of their equally excellent self-titled album, the critics (as well as the audiences) kept raving that this is what so-called jangle pop is really about. This and other songs on the album were created by Lee Mavers, the band’s mastermind. And while Mavers was obviously an incredible talent, he was also quite a tricky and elusive character, which made the band’s other creative talent, bassist John Power, leave the band, spelling the end of the whole project.
Temple of the Dog – Temple of the Dog (1991)
Even back in 1991, late Chris Cornell was a musical force of nature, but so were all the future members of Pearl Jam when they joined forces when Cornell wanted to pay tribute to his cherished friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of the bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. The sound of the album is a showcase of all the good things grunge brought along, and probably served as inspiration to similarly-minded artists. Whether it was Cornell’s and other involved intentions for this to be a one-off creation, it left fans craving for more.
Mad Season – Above (1995)
Yes, another super group with a bundle of promise, this time in the prime grunge rock era, including members Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Screaming Trees. When Above, the band’s sole album, was released, it turned out that it was not your run-of-the-mill grunge album, as the band blended in elements of jazz, blues, and psychedelic rock. It also went down quite well with the audiences and critics, reaching #24 in the charts, and its lead single “River of Deceit” did quite well too. Yet the death of bassist John Baker Saunders and drug use by lead singer Layne Staley cut the band’s run short, with the Above album remaining as the testament of talent gone wasted.
New Radicals – Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too (1998)
Gregg Alexander and The New Radicals are mainly remembered for the humongous late nineties hit “You Get What You Give,” but the band’s sole album, with no less an intriguing title, was chock-full of songs of equally attractive, sophisticated combination of pop, soul and rock. Yet, amid the band’s popularity, quite a number of live shows got cancelled, possibly due to the illness of one of the band members, but the key reason the band did not move forward was Alexander’s decision to focus on writing and producing music for other artists.
Life Without Buildings – Any Other City (2001)
Maybe you have to be a true artist with numerous aspirations to be able to come up with true art rock music, with Sue Tompkins, the lead vocalist of Life Without Buildings being one. She and her band members combined art rock with its indie variant, combining post-punk with shoegaze and dream pop. Even though the band’s sole album got a serious reception among the critics and Life Without Buildings got quite a solid fan base, Tompkins (a painter and spoken words artist in her own right) seems to have lost interest quickly, and the band never came up with more music.
Wild Flag – Wild Flag (2011)
Yet another super group of sorts featuring indie luminaries Carrie Brownstein and Mary Timony among others, and their sole self-titled album is another proof of what can be created when talented individuals combine forces, particularly when they try and succeed to combine a number of seemingly disparate music genres. The band didn’t move further after this album, mainly due to the fact that they all lived separately on different coasts, making it a chore for them to cooperate further.
