I am talking about artists that release one amazing full length album and thats it, no more work from them (at least in the form of a full length release)
off the top of my head I have 2
FC Kahuna released “Machine says Yes” back in 02, its a great disc pretty much all the way through, they have had songs on several Tv shows/movies and are well respected in the industry. Here it is 08 and nothing else to date.
Monkey Mafia released “Shoot the Boss” back in 98 and while hes done some singles and other work again No follow up. his blend of Reggae/dance hall with electronica is unique and every time I play His stuff it gets a response, usually people want to know who it is.
The one that leaps to mind for me is Remy Shand. His debut album, “The Way I Feel,” sold pretty well and earned him a Juno up here in Canada, along with four Grammy nominations. He was well on the way to becoming the next big thing for Motown, producing a sweeter, old-school R&B/soul sound than I’ve heard in ages. And then he just seemed to vanish off the face of the earth.
Operation Ivy - Energy is probably the king of this list. Unbelievable album, ska-hardcore at is absolute peak, then they folded and from the ashes sprung Rancid.
In a similar vein, Crimpshrine only released one proper album and it is some of the finest punk rock these ears have ever heard.
The Postal Service’s Give up. Wiki says supposedly they are not scheduled to release another CD. Haven’t heard too much Death Cab but it blows that band out of the water IMO.
Speaking of side projects, the Prise Fighter Inferno’s My Brother’s Blood Machine. Unique combination of adult progressive, techno, and emo. Apparently there will be another album, but since it was recorded over the span of 7 years by one person I find it unlikely that the apparently scattershot and far-flung works of Claudio Sanchez will ever be able to revisit this segment of his world, unless the Amory Wars universe and the Coheed and Cambria saga really do ever come to an end.
There was also Kak. One superb album that went nowhere due to record company politics.
Technically, Renaissance also did this – one superb album. Later the group evolved and started releasing additional albums, but none of the members of the original group were on them.
“Temple of the dog” by the band of the same name should be included here. It was an ad hoc band that included members of Soundgarden and the recently dissolved Mother Love Bone (who would later become Pearl Jam) with the intention of making this, a tribute album to the recently deceased Mother Love Bone front man Andrew Wood.
Mary-Margaret O’Hara Miss America is a work of staggering genius. And the only full length album she’s ever done. She has contributed songs to a soundtrack and to a holiday album featuring others, but her entire solo output is one album. A crying shame.
The Glove’s only album, Blue Sunshine, is wonderful. I don’t know if this really counts, since two of their members (Robert Smith of The Cure and Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees) have each made many other succesful records. The female vocalist, Jeanette Landray, has never made any other recordings AFAIK, though her vocals were perfect for this album.
Jeff Buckley only did the one real record while he was alive, and it’s a great one (although I think I’ve listened to it enough for a lifetime). There are endless repackagings, though.
There are hundreds of garage bands from the sixties, as well as punk bands from the seventies-eighties, who only ever put out one great single, and who turn up on compilations like Back From The Grave or Killed By Death.
There was a Canadian band called Suckerpunch (not to be confused with the American band of the same name) that released a sex-obsessed surf punk masterpiece album named Carols from the Canyon in 1994. They had a minor hit single, “Marilyn Monroe,” then vanished from sight. Many years later a friend of mine ran into the lead singer at a bar in Toronto. The lead singer readily admitted that they broke up because he suffered from stage fright and couldn’t face touring.
Sad thing was, I went to one of their concerts, and I really couldn’t tell. He must have been doing a fantastic job of covering it up.
