What if a band never made its most iconic album?

[Zzzptm]

This question came to my mind after reading an article about Metallica's And Justice for All. I remember at the time pretty much all the Metallica fans buying it because it was a Metallica album... and being more than a little disappointed at the sound of the drums and lack of bass on it. Master of Puppets was a strong enough release to keep most everybody interested in what would come next, but AJFA was where I lost interest in another Metallica album, and I haven't bought one since.

So then I wondered what would have been the case if AJFA had come next after Ride the Lightning and there was no Master of Puppets. My guess is that I'd be like, "Sheesh, 2 out of 3 albums with crappy production" and maybe a lot more people would have been the same way. AJFA wouldn't have been a double album, and I bet the band would have taken tons of flak from the label about those songs that never ended. That could have been their last album before getting dropped and sent over to Metal Blade records.

My thought then went to Black Sabbath and Paranoid. Go directly from the first album to Master of Reality... I think the band still comes across that gap all right. MoR, V4, SBS, Sabotage - all of these moved from strength to strength, none disappointed on the wake of the previous release. We have to go all the way to TE to find the start of disappointment.

So instead of "Paranoid" and "Iron Man" blaring on the radio, maybe we'd have "Sweet Leaf" and "Children of the Grave" as the Sabbath staple tunes. Other than that, I don't think Black Sabbath would have been less loved or popular in a timeline without the Paranoid album.

Deep Purple without Machine Head, though... that's a world without "Smoke on the Water". Also a world where Deep Purple pretty much goes the way of bands like Mott the Hoople, Free, or The Faces. There's some good stuff in there and collectors get excited about those great, underrated albums of yesteryear, but without Machine Head, there's no money in a big reunion just to play "Demon's Eye" and "Woman From Tokyo".

I would think that Rainbow would still happen, along with Whitesnake and Gillan, but maybe Ian Gillan would have stayed with Black Sabbath instead of heading off to do DP again, at least until Tony and Geezer wanted to record again with Ozzy. But probably no Martin era for the band, and Seventh Star would have actually been a solo album for Iommi... and maybe even with better production, who knows?

What do you think? What other epic albums would have changed or not changed a band's fate?

[Vyn]

Darkside of the Moon - Pink Floyd

They were popular enough among the devoted to have maintained a career to this day a la George Thorogood and The Delaware Destroyers (or maybe King Crimson would be a better comparo). They would have still put out Wish You Were Here, but maybe just the song along with Shine On You Crazy Diamond on a different album. I don't think The Wall would have happened, nor do I think Waters would have split so acrimoniously.

[Zzzptm]

Darkside of the Moon - Pink Floyd

They were popular enough among the devoted to have maintained a career to this day a la George Thorogood and The Delaware Destroyers (or maybe King Crimson would be a better comparo). They would have still put out Wish You Were Here, but maybe just the song along with Shine On You Crazy Diamond on a different album. I don't think The Wall would have happened, nor do I think Waters would have split so acrimoniously.

Interesting thought about the breakup... but I agree, less fame, less centrifugal force.

Whereas the Beatles had already begun their drift prior to Sgt. Pepper... they were already on a path to breakup.

But had they not released that album, then The White Album would be the one that everyone would rave about revolutionizing rock and roll as we know it. They had enough hits on either side of that album to where life without it wouldn't be all that different, in my thinking.

Contrast that, though with Mott the Hoople's All the Young Dudes. That one song on that one album saved them from complete obscurity, pretty much.