Aqualung by Jethro Tull comes pretty close.

Also the first Spirit Album

Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroid
Classix Nouveaux - Night People
John Foxx - The Garden
New Order - Low Life

Any New Waver in the IORR land?

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treaclefingers

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Ross
So many great albums listed here, I am surprised no one mentioned the most obvious one… Metal Machine Music.

Ha ha...I presume you're joking. Whether or not you love the album, it certainly doesn't play like a greatest hits!

Joking!

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Ross

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treaclefingers

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Ross
So many great albums listed here, I am surprised no one mentioned the most obvious one… Metal Machine Music.

Ha ha...I presume you're joking. Whether or not you love the album, it certainly doesn't play like a greatest hits!

Joking!

Knew it! Having said that, not sure why I didn't think of Transformers, that for me is like a greatest hits.

Please Please Me...

Can't believe I mentioned 2 other Beatles albums, and forgot this one.

OK sure, a lot of covers, but they were covers of singles.

The whole thing sounds like an early Beatles Greatest Hits package, and maybe in some way it was.

A greatest hits of their first several years together.

And what a 'fresh' sounding album, though dated now.

The Stones first album I guess is similar in that respect, but the songs far less commercial.

In The Wee Small Hours
Nashville Skyline
New Morning
Pearl
Tupelo Honey
Funky Kingston
The Harder They Come
Heart Like A Wheel
Born To Run
Stardust
Rocket To Russia
Pretty Hate Machine
Dookie
Exile In Guyville

A few of those illustrating that it helps to achieve this when it doesn't have to be original songs.


Many albums that I've always regarded in this way, on scrolling through this thread I see have already been named. In particular

Cosmo's Factory
Willie And The Poor Boys
Every Picture Tells A Story
Moondance
Exile OMS
Led Zep IV
Silk Degrees
Station To Station
Some Girls
Damn The Torpedoes
The Pretenders (debut)
Born In The USA
Joshua Tree
Achtung Baby
Shake Your Money Maker
Jagged Little Pill
Back To Black


Near Misses

Some of the greatest albums ever don't make the list (for me... this all being highly subjective, of course; just depends on what music you love), because of only a song or two.

Green River, but for Sinister Purpose
Abbey Road, but for Maxwell's Silver Hammer and Octopus' Garden
Blind Faith, but for Do What You Like
Let It Bleed, but for Country Honk
Sticky Fingers, but for Sister Morphine
Joe Cocker!, but for That's Your Business
Innervisions, but for Visions
Fulfillingness' First Finale, but for Too Shy To Say
Blood On The Tracks, but for Idiot Wind & Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
The Sun Sessions, but for I Love You Because
Darkness On The Edge Of Town, but for Adam Raised A Cain
Rust Never Sleeps, but for Ride My Llama and Welfare Mothers
Purple Rain, but for Darling Nikki
The Suburbs, but for Sprawl I (Flatland)

****
I'm down in Virginia
with your Cousin Lou



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-04-28 11:46 by TheBluesHadaBaby.

Great list, The Blues.

Except I always thought "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" was a great song. I do agree about "Sister Morphine".

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Elmo Lewis
Great list, The Blues.

Except I always thought "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" was a great song. I do agree about "Sister Morphine".

It is a great list, but I just can't see most/all tracks on Exile being mistaken for a 'single'.

There's a good 8 of them that are, but I mean, Turd On The Run, Just Wanna See His Face, Soul Survivor, Casino Boogie, Ventilator Blues, Stop Breakin Down? All fantastic songs but I don't think anyone is listening and going, "yup, probably a greatest hits set".

Mike Oldfield: Crises.

I am sure some hate it or dismiss it as a sell-out ("An Oldfield album with a Top 10 hit?!"), still, every tune on it is memorable. I dig it a lot, have fond memories of listening to it, and my mom loves Moonlight Shadows.

Fine singers (Jon, Maggie, Roger) and an exceptional drummer (Simon).

<Sticky Fingers, but for Sister Morphine>

Sway, Can't You Hear Me Knocking, You Gotta Move and Moonlight Mile are not hit material.

Moonlight Mile is among my favourites, but it doesn't sound like a hit at all.

On Let It Bleed, Love In Vain, Midnight Rambler and Monkey Man are not hits. Good deep cuts, indeed, but not hits.

Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground
Nirvana - Nevermind
Stones - Let it bleed
MJ - Bad
Alanis Morissette - Jagged little pill

AC/DC - Back In Black
Metallica - Metallica
Zeppelin 4
The Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker

***
I'm just a Bad Boy Boogie

Tattoo You - Rolling Stones (skipping Hang Fire)
Exile On Main Street - Rolling Stones (Ventilator Blues & Just Wanna See His Face together)

Pump - Aerosmith
Dog in the Sand - Frank Black and the Catholics
The Future - Leonard Cohen

Amy Winehouse-Back to black

full stop right there. The entire project is a highlight reel. One and done.

Yes, this one from Aerosmith for sure.

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matxil
Tattoo You - Rolling Stones (skipping Hang Fire)
Exile On Main Street - Rolling Stones (Ventilator Blues & Just Wanna See His Face together)

Pump - Aerosmith
Dog in the Sand - Frank Black and the Catholics
The Future - Leonard Cohen

***
I'm just a Bad Boy Boogie

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DandelionPowderman


Sway, Can't You Hear Me Knocking, You Gotta Move and Moonlight Mile are not hit material.

Moonlight Mile is among my favourites, but it doesn't sound like a hit at all.

On Let It Bleed, Love In Vain, Midnight Rambler and Monkey Man are not hits. Good deep cuts, indeed, but not hits.

So true words!

In fact, to me an album that is not a compilation, very seldom plays like an album of greatest hits. The nearest I have come to think that of an album before this, relates to one album only. The UK version of the Beatles' A HARD DAY'S NIGHT.

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Witness

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DandelionPowderman


Sway, Can't You Hear Me Knocking, You Gotta Move and Moonlight Mile are not hit material.

Moonlight Mile is among my favourites, but it doesn't sound like a hit at all.

On Let It Bleed, Love In Vain, Midnight Rambler and Monkey Man are not hits. Good deep cuts, indeed, but not hits.

So true words!

In fact, to me an album that is not a compilation, very seldom plays like an album of greatest hits. The nearest I have come to think that of an album before this, relates to one album only. The UK version of the Beatles' A HARD DAY'S NIGHT.

What is talk about hits? Doesn't that mean that the song, no matter of is 'goodness', has an appeal to make the charts or something? I don't believe there is a hit that never made the charts, no matter how matter 'hit potentiality' we might think it has. In that sense, in terms of reality, I think only that British redhead's album actually qualifies. He filled the UK top ten with all of his album tracks some time ago. Had there've been streaming back in the day surely The Beatles or The Stones would have made the same ages ago.

Honestly, is there really a point comparing a hit to a simply great song? To be some sort of expert in commercial thinking?

I hope not.

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-05-06 02:32 by Doxa.

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Doxa

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Witness

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DandelionPowderman


Sway, Can't You Hear Me Knocking, You Gotta Move and Moonlight Mile are not hit material.

Moonlight Mile is among my favourites, but it doesn't sound like a hit at all.

On Let It Bleed, Love In Vain, Midnight Rambler and Monkey Man are not hits. Good deep cuts, indeed, but not hits.

So true words!

In fact, to me an album that is not a compilation, very seldom plays like an album of greatest hits. The nearest I have come to think that of an album before this, relates to one album only. The UK version of the Beatles' A HARD DAY'S NIGHT.

What is talk about hits? Doesn't that mean that the song, no matter of is 'goodness', has an appeal to make the charts or something? I don't believe there is a hit that never made the charts, no matter how matter 'hit potentiality' we might think it has. In that sense, in terms of reality, I think only that British redhead's album actually qualifies. He filled the UK top ten with all of his album tracks some time ago. Had there've been streaming back in the day surely The Beatles or The Stones would have made the same ages ago.

Honestly, is there really a point comparing a hit to a simply great song? To be some sort of expert in commercial thinking?

I hope not.

- Doxa

Great songs are great songs. But in the case, the thread is about albums that you listen to, and maybe mistake for a greatest hits set because all the songs sound like they could have been singles.

It does speak to the commercial nature of that album and doesn't inherently mean it's great, but usually is. Most bands have very few albums that play like that.

A couple of albums I made that mistake on, when I was younger included T Rex Electric Slider, and Aerosmith Toys in the Attic.

But I was young and foolish!

A few by the ladies:

Carol King - Tapestry
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Janis Joplin - Pearl

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treaclefingers

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kovach
Billy Squire - Just Say No

No

I don't even own it, was just the first one that came to mind that while in high school everyone had and played from start to finish.

Then he came out with the "Rock Me Tonight" video and almost ended his career!

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kovach

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treaclefingers

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kovach
Billy Squire - Just Say No

No

I don't even own it, was just the first one that came to mind that while in high school everyone had and played from start to finish.

Then he came out with the "Rock Me Tonight" video and almost ended his career!

Yeah sorry...you can see from my reply to your post that I was just being flippant!

Velvet Underground, Loaded. Forgot how good this one is...listening to side 2 now, with my head held high.

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kovach

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treaclefingers

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kovach
Billy Squire - Just Say No

No

I don't even own it, was just the first one that came to mind that while in high school everyone had and played from start to finish.

Then he came out with the "Rock Me Tonight" video and almost ended his career!

Actually it did

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treaclefingers

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kovach

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treaclefingers

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kovach
Billy Squire - Just Say No

No

I don't even own it, was just the first one that came to mind that while in high school everyone had and played from start to finish.

Then he came out with the "Rock Me Tonight" video and almost ended his career!

Yeah sorry...you can see from my reply to your post that I was just being flippant!

No offense taken, I actually laughed when I saw your response!

A Hard Day`s Night - The Beatles.

Machine head,.......deep purple

I'll add a couple more from my teen metal years: British Steel by Judas Priest and Number of the Beast Iron Maiden.

Band on the run
Exodus

Velvet Underground - the debut. Zero hit songs, zero initial radioplay yet heavily influential, copied, used in films etc.

A few metal albums qualify:

Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
Van Halen - Van Halen (debut)
Def Leppard - Pyromania
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
Kiss - Kiss (debut)
Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell

Also:
Grateful Dead - American Beauty
The Doors - The Doors (debut)
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Eazy-E - Eazy Duz It
Geto Boys - Geto Boys (self-titled album produced by Rick Rubin)