BY MIKEY MIGO
One album. That's it. That's all the bands we're going to look at put out. One official studio album. Sure, they might have had more music waiting to record or on a single somewhere but in the end their entire recording career is summed up by one single album. You'd be surprised by how many bands go wayside after one effort. Maybe of them we'll forget or never heard of. But some "one and done" bands do slip through the cracks and make an impact. A rock and roll defining song was given to us, a revolution born, and some of the biggest collaborations in music history all happened on the one album released by a few iconic bands.
In many cases once a band or artist becomes famous enough, they'll continue their musical career together for at least a few albums. Except for tragic events like death or something like that most bands just break up because they got too much too soon. This sucks, but doesn't take anything away from the work they've done. There's nowhere that says an album cannot be enjoyable if it's the only one by that artist. Hell, some bands would have been way better off if they'd of stopped with just the one. Today we're going to take a look at the top nine one album bands that I can think up. I'm sure I'm missing some obvious ones, so this is why I'm not actually ranking them. This is a very open ended top nine presented in a chronological order….
"Blind Faith"
Blind Faith
(Released: 1969) This band was a bit of a super group if I do say so myself. You have Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood, and Ric Grech in a very underappreciated band and album. With the breakup of "Cream", Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker hooked up with friends Steve Winwood and Ric Gerch of Family. The album debuted at #1 on the pop charts and made a lot of money at that time. They would tour, but with being a new band they didn't have material to fill an hour set. This forced them to play hits by "Cream" and "Traffic", which led to crowds being way more enthusiastic about that then the new band's work. Once done and home, the band just kind of went their own ways.
"Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs"
Derek and the Dominos
(Released: 1970) This album is in the Grammy Hall of Fame, named 89th greatest album of all time by VH1, and 115 on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time list. While on tour with the above mentioned "Blind Faith", Eric Clapton became friends with and joined "Delaney and Bonnie and Friends". Then that band broke up and Clapton and a few people from "Delaney and Bonnie" joined forces. Clapton didn't want the band to be in his name or shadow so they went with the "Derek and the Dominos" band name. The album has plenty of great tunes on it, but the obvious iconic pick here is "Layla". It's not really up for debate. "Layla" is one of the best rock songs ever written.
"Never Mind The Bollocks"
The Sex Pistols
(Released: 1977)One of the most definitive and influential acts in punk history was confined to only one album. Formed in the early70's, the band didn't get their first gig until 75. It was cut off before they could play their original music and before they knew it they developed a following. The chaos and following continue to build up when they finally record their first and only album. This album is a classic for many reasons, but the number one reason has to be the "Anarchy in the UK" single. The song crossed over many bodies of water and gave attitude and focus to a whole generation of disenfranchised youth. The band broke up not long after hitting it big. The main reason seemed to be drugs and the fact that the band is pretty mental to begin with. Don't think this album is a rock and roll landmark? Then explain how Johnny Rotten has earned a living since 1977.
"Energy"
Operation Ivy
(Released: 1989) They did put out a few short run releases, but the only studio album released by this late 80's punk icon band was the 11 track "Energy". Tim Armstrong, Matt Freeman, Jesse Michaels, and Dave Mello go together and started just making music together in 87. They played gigs in garages and anywhere and everywhere that'd take them. This lead to a quick rise and a signing with "Lookout! Records". They both released "Energy" and broke up in May of 89. Mello went on to a band called "Shlong" as Michaels did a few projects as well. Armstrong and Freeman would go on to form one of the biggest modern punk bands in "Rancid" and perform with bands like The Lj's, Dance Hall Crashes, and of course Transplants(shampoo will never be the same).
"The La's"
The La's
(Released: 1990) This band lasted 8 years, but still struggled to get out much more than their one album. I don't remember much about this band except for their huge hit single "There She Goes". You know the song I'm talking about, it goes "Theeeere Sheee Goeees." Yeah, you know the song that's been in a lot of movies, shows, and basically all over. It's one of those "Let My Love Open The Door" type of songs that'll always be around in romantic comedies and "quirky" scenes in them. It's been in that Lindsay Lohan classic "The Parent Trap", "Fever Pitch", and even "Girl, Interrupted". And you know what? The song is about heroin. Go figure.
Temple Of The Dog
Temple Of The Dog
(Released: 1991) When Chris Cornell's roommate and friend Andrew Wood died, he wrote songs as a tribute and as a way to deal with it. With the songs being more stripped down, slower, and melodic he decided to look for some collaborators other than his harder grunge rock main project in Soundgarden. First on board was Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament and then Matt Cameron and Mike McCready. Eddie Vedder flew out and auditioned for "Mookie Blaylock" (later Pearl Jam) around this time. He ended up joining in on the record and provided back up and really co-vocals for the project. So yeah, basically Chris Cornell put together Pearl Jam. The album was and still is great. It's early 90's grunge styled music before it became overly commercial corporate fodder. Songs like "Hunger Strike", "Say Hello 2 Heaven", and "Pushin Forward Back" are all timeless. It's hard to believe that this album is going on twenty years old. A reunion of sorts would amazing, but I'd even jump at a Pearl Jam/Soundgarden tour with a few cross overs each night.
"Grace"
Jeff Buckley
(Released: 1994) For years Buckley was a hired gun for many LA bands in need of a guitarist. He would move to NYC in 90 and continue to play around as a hired gun, some small bar/club shots, and taking in more and more different styles of music. When his father, also a musician passed on he played the tribute show. This helped gain attention on Jeff for his skills and talent. He started writing more and more and playing more and more. This got him attention from the labels and he would eventually sign with Columbia Records. "Grace" would be released in August of 94 and got some pretty awesome reviews. The cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is often considered one of the best covers of all time and Rolling Stone listed it in their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The album is held in high regards by many of the top musical acts of all time. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant enjoyed it, Bob Dylan called Buckley "one of the great songwriters of the decade" and David Bowie went as far as saying this album would be one the ten albums he would talk with him to a desert island. In May of 97, Buckley would die by accidental drowning before any more of his work was officially released. An autopsy reported no signs of drugs or alcohol in his system at the time.
"Above"
Mad Season
(Released: 1995) Many people, myself included for a long time, thought "River of Deceit" was an "Alice In Chains" song. But that's not the case. What we have here is one of the best 90's "side projects". In 94, Pearl Jam's Mike McCready went to rehab in Minnesota and met John Baker Saunders. They went back to Seattle and pulled in Barrett Martin of "Screaming Trees" and then of course Layne Staley. They made the album in about a week. The album spawned "River of Deceit" and "I Don't Know Anything", which still gets airplay today. The band went on hiatus so everyone could go back to their main projects. It would never really get back off the ground. By this time Layne was too hooked into his drugs and the band attempted to move on without him. They tried for awhile and then when Saunders died, it was just never meant to be.
"You're a Woman, I'm a Machine"
Death From Above 1979
(Released: 2004) They only made it 5 years, but in their native land Canada that's at least 8 years. I remember enjoying their album for the most part. It didn't blow my mind, but they toured with Nine Inch Nails and that gave them a little bit of MiGoville street cred. They couldn't agree on anything and officially broke up in 2006. Somehow I think we'll manage.
What are some of YOUR favorite "one and done" bands?
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