Event Albums

[TheMonk]

ABBA's Voyage is about to drop and it feels like a proper old fashioned event album.
Looking forward to sitting down and enjoying it.

Keenly awaited album's seem a bit of a thing of the past but what good memories do you have of buying and putting on one?

[Magnum Valentino]

As a young metaller, Slipknot's Iowa and Metallica's St Anger were huge cultural events. St Anger may have becomie a sort of totemistic punching bag, but at the time it was beloved. Got great reviews and all my pals really liked it. History seems to suggest that wasn't the case.

[BeardFaceMan]

As a young metaller, Slipknot's Iowa and Metallica's St Anger were huge cultural events. St Anger may have becomie a sort of totemistic punching bag, but at the time it was beloved. Got great reviews and all my pals really liked it. History seems to suggest that wasn't the case.

I remember that and Toxicity by SOAD being released on the same day, I booked the afternoon off work so I could get to the record shop early. That was a nice afternoon.

[Magnum Valentino]

Friend of mine and me were down south with his family about a week before Iowa came out and found it in a wee indie music shop with bodhrans and harps in the windows. We couldn't believe "the free state got it early!" and took turns listening to it on his discman. The following February I got my vinyl copy signed in Glasgow and wish I still had it now two of those scribbles came from dead men.

[Twonty Gostelow]

Dave Bowie's The Next Day was the last seismic one, I think. It came out of nowhere. Blackstar obviously didn't have the same impact.

If re-releases count, fans would go apeshit with anticipation for whatever old album Steven Wilson was remixing. Very silly.

[The Mollusk]

Blackstar obviously didn't have the same impact.

Dunno mate there's not much more eventful than DEATH

[earl_sleek]

Steven Wilson

Just announced a new Porcupine Tree album is out next year, feels pretty event-ish.

[SpiderChrist]

[purlieu]

Be Here Now comes to mind for this kind of thing, the hype around that was ridiculous. I also remember This is My Truth Tell Me Yours feeling like a bit of a 'moment'.

[The Crumb]

Random Access Memories was a big one, all that hype and frothing, then no one cared about it 6 months later.

[Norton Canes]

Not sure they were released in exactly the same week but I bought the just-released Front By Front and Vivisect VI from Eastern Block records at the same time and when I got them back home it took me literally ages to decide which one to play first

I think I even toyed with the idea of playing alternate tracks from each because I didn't want to wait until one had finished before I heard the other

[the science eel]

Not sure they were released in exactly the same week but I bought the just-released Front By Front and Vivisect VI from Eastern Block

what the HELL










is this

[Norton Canes]

Oh sorry

Front By Front by Front 242; Vivisect VI by Skinny Puppy

Eastern Bloc Records, Manchester (a city in the North of England)

[the science eel]

aha!

[imitationleather]

Random Access Memories was a big one, all that hype and frothing, then no one cared about it 6 months later.

See also: That really shit last Boards of Canada album that no one can even remember now. I swear down people who had no idea who Boards of Canada are were getting fully caught in the hype for that one.

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

Mastodon's new double album feels like an event album. It's fucking magnificent too.

[Johnny Textface]

I seem to remember The King of Limbs being quite an event at the time, what with all the theories about it being only half an album (which it was basically).

The Great Escape was another one that, again, was a bit of a wet noodle.

[PaulTMA]

R.E.M. appeared to be the kings of this until it stopped being the 90s

[Glyn]

I seem to remember The King of Limbs being quite an event at the time, what with all the theories about it being only half an album (which it was basically).

Just not intentionally.

In Rainbows was a great one. 'We've made an album, it's out next week, pay what you like'. Helps that it was actually good too.

[Pauline Walnuts]

See also: That really shit last Boards of Canada album that no one can even remember now. I swear down people who had no idea who Boards of Canada are were getting fully caught in the hype for that one.

It wasn't that bad a version of that same album, it's just by the fifth time round even the fans were starting to notice.

[Brundle-Fly]

The Thriller video was a massive event at the time, even though it was the seventh and final single off the album.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

m b v

[Pauline Walnuts]

Actually I've just remembered those Boards of Canada 12"s with the IP address of the new website for the new album, gotta collect 'em all!

[PaulTMA]

In Rainbows was a great one. 'We've made an album, it's out next week, pay what you like'. Helps that it was actually good too.

Imagining an alternate universe where Usher called Radiohead to the back of a plane and said "Men, you kinda fucked up music"

[peanutbutter]

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy felt like a massive event to me at the time. Between the whole first wave of his mania after his mams death, 808s being received with bemusement, the Taylor Swift thing, having Power as the first single and then Runaway at the VMAs, buildup was absolutely off the charts.
In general Kanye's been quite good at that side of things. The 7 track ones coming out every friday for a few weeks, TLOP's super manic release, would say Donda felt like a less successful attempt to redo TLOP without enough groundwork to ensure he already had the tunes ready before launching into the release mania


U2's iTunes album was definitely an event of sorts. Might just be because I'm from Ireland but it seemed like U2 were big enough in the 90s and early 00s that every album (including the first Best Of) was event worthy.


Blackstar felt like more of an event than the Next Day to me, very much felt like "oh shit, this is going to be a good album!" I know the Next Day was the bigger event until Bowie died, but Blackstar always felt more like it had some purpose whereas the Next Day didn't really seem to give me any sense it was going to be drastically better than other late period Bowie that I spent relatively little  time returning to.

[idunnosomename]

Will never shit my pants at another record like I did at Lateralus ever again. Lived up and beyond my expectations as a teen who lusted after the 1970s.

[shiftwork2]

The second Stone Roses album was hugely anticipated followed by 'Ten Storey Love Song' is good and the rest, meh.

[H-O-W-L]

Blackstar obviously didn't have the same impact

What???!!????!?!?!

Like Peanutbutter I couldn't give a shit for The Last Day because it felt like more of the later Bowie that I have no real interest in, but Blackstar felt like a horrible (and I mean tonally, content wise it's brilliant) album in a way that still effects me to this day, and it did even in the short period between it releasing and his death. Even then it felt like the absolute poisonous (but beautiful) death throes of a man who lived a very chequered life. A heart-rending album. Definitely not Bowie's best, nor the BEST ALBUM EVER but fuck is it effective.

[kngen]

St Anger may have becomie a sort of totemistic punching bag, but at the time it was beloved.

Really? All I remember is people complaining (correctly) about that bloody snare sound. I couldn't even make it to the end of the record. Then again, I bought the Black album the day it came out, and took it back on the same day, because that's the kind of bloody-minded twat I am.

[Magnum Valentino]

Sounds like you're older too. As 15 year olds we didn't give a fuck about what the snare sounded like. At 25, I'd have been more discerning, too.