Erasure - Loveboat (2000). Erasure fans would be forgiven for not knowing this album even exists. After several great albums in the '90s, particularly I Say I Say I Say and Cowboy, Loveboat was a real letdown. It performed quite poorly in the UK and was even denied a US release.
Backstreet Boys - Black and Blue (2000). Backstreet Boys rode high in 1999 with their third (second in US) album, Millennium--the only "boyband" album to be honored with a Grammy nomination for album of the year--and its massive hit single "I Want It That Way." But they lost their momentum with this uninteresting third release, having already lost the market to the more successful second album by NSYNC, No Strings Attached.
Ricky Martin - Sound Loaded (2000). Another act who was huge in 1999 and tried to follow it up quickly in 2000 but failed. Ricky Martin was everywhere in 1999 with "Livin' La Vida Loca" and its entertaining eponymous album. Nothing from this follow up was as much fun. A few of its singles charted, although none as successfully as the Ricky Martin singles, and then after that he's been pretty much unseen on the pop charts.
Mariah Carey - Glitter (2001). It seems every supermassive pop star eventually stumbles (see the next few entries). For Mariah Carey, this was that moment. After a string of hugely successful albums and a score of #1 hits, Carey switched record labels and embarked on what was supposed to be a crowning achievement: the double-whammy of a major film and accompanying album. It didn't quite work out that way. The movie was universally panned, the album failed to generate a major hit ("Loverboy" charted well, but it was a sales blip, driven by heavy discounting), and Carey suffered a breakdown. The Glitter album deserves a second lesson though--it's better than her lukewarm 2002 offering, Charmbracelet.
Michael Jackson - Invincible (2001). Michael Jackson's death this summer has served to remind us of all the incredible pop music he made during his career with the Jackson 5 and as a soloist. This wasn't one of those. Invincible, his last proper album, was a disappointment, with Jackson chasing R&B trends that didn't suit him and laying on the ballad cheese too thick.
Whitney Houston - Just Whitney (2002). Sandwiched between her late '90s upbeat My Love Is Your Love and her 2009 "I Will Survive" comeback was this awkward album, made during her troubled years with drugs and Bobby Brown. "Try It on My Own" was a worthwhile ballad, the rest was just unnecessary. This album produced no major hits, although remixes of several of the songs topped the US dance chart.
Madonna - American Life (2003). I actually like this album (I gushed about it on Amazon, when I used to write user reviews), but in commercial terms, this was Madonna's low point. Although it did generate several dance #1s, and two UK #2 hits, its the only Madonna album not to score a top 40 hit in the US.
Annie Lennox - Bare (2003). Annie Lennox's 1992 album Diva is among my very favorites, and I liked the 1995 covers follow-up, Medusa. But I failed to bond with her third solo album, which arrived significantly later. The opening track, "A Thousand Beautiful Things" is quite lovely, and I love "Wonderful," but overall, I think this is her weakest solo set. The cover bugs me too.
Celine Dion - One Heart (2003). Remember when Celine Dion was a major force on the pop charts? It all ended with this album, her first US release to not score a top 40 hit. It still sold well, owing to her legion of fans, but surely even they have dwindled by now. Two of the album's tracks were from her previous album, and underneath the CD was an ad for Chrysler. Tsk tsk.
Kylie Minogue - Body Language (2003). After the dazzling dance pop of Light Years and Fever, Kylie took a step back with Body Language, moving away from her clubby dance pop sound to a more electro one. While the first half of the album has some great songs, particularly UK #1 hit "Slow," the second half is pretty dull.
Daniel Bedingfield - Second First Impression (2004). Daniel's debut, Gotta Get Thru This, was great, but his second album was a real buzzkill. Recorded in a year that started with him suffering a terrible car accident, it could have been that he needed more time to recover. He's still yet to deliver a third album.
Air - Pocket Symphony (2007). On this 2007 follow-up to the brilliant Talkie Walkie, Air got a little too mellow, pushing their airy synths into boring territory. Thankfully they rebounded this year.
Kelly Clarkson - My December (2007). This is another album that I enjoy, but failed to connect with an audience. Clarkson's second album, Breakaway, was a massive success, proving without a doubt she was more than just a reality TV show winner. Then for her third album she tried to take the reins away from the record company, resulting in a rather public spat with Clive Davis, who declared her album to be hitless. She's since atoned, but My December did indeed fail commercially.
The Editors - An End Has a Start (2007). Loved The Back Room, but not its lethargic follow-up. So much so that I haven't checked out their newest album, as they don't seem that interesting anymore.
Sugababes - Change (2007). Sugababes made two excellent albums, and a couple of good ones, and then went downhill. Change gave us "About You Now" but little else that was worthwhile.
Britney Spears - Blackout (2007). An intended comeback that actually continued to fuel the negative tabloid fires from its questionable title to its phoned-in feel. Although it managed a few respectable hits--"Gimme More" and "Piece of Me"--the real comeback was around the corner with Circus.
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan - Sunday at Dirt Devil (2008). The former singers from Belle and Sebastian singer and Queens of the Stone Age failed to generate the same spark on their second collaboration, which lacked the quirky charm of the first.
The Verve - Forth (2008). With songs that were long, plodding and lacking in energy, The Verve proved that it was indeed a fine idea to call it quits with their landmark 1997 album, Urban Hymns.
Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns (2008). Final Straw made Snow Patrol a name in the UK and Eyes Open a name around the world, but the momentum was shot with this bland release, which tried too hard to repeat the success of Eyes Open without the element of surprise.
Eminem - Relapse (2009). Vulgar for the sake of it and just downright nasty. Where's the enjoyment in that?Tomorrow: 20 Acclaimed Albums That Just Don't Do It for Me
4 comments:
I gotta feeling... that I'm really gonna enjoy this. I own 11 out of the 20 you listed, obviously including Blackout, which I think is a brilliant album! I really can't see what you see wrong with it, she sounds like she does on all her albums. Love American Life too and Invincible--I love the first four tracks you seem to hate. Hm.
Yay! I hope that you do. I thought your list was excellent. I expected this entry to be controversial, but that's part of the fun. I like American Life, but I included it because it was such an underperformer on the charts. I do think it's Madonna's weakest album this decade. I gave Invincible another chance last summer, and except for a few tracks that fall in the middle of the album, I still wasn't into it.
great article - i actually quite like a lot of these albums - or at least singles from these albums including American Life, Black and Blue, Just Whitney, Bare and Sound Loaded. Oh and Loveboat (though that was a bit of a let down). Can't wait for the acclaimed that don't do it for you, as I feel like that about lots of albums...
BSB, Kylie, and Snow Patrol Love! Can't wait to see the rest. :)
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