Who are some musical artists that are NOT one-hit wonders, but who are virtually 100% known for their work from one album or CD?
I’ll open with a couple of obvious ones:
Carole King - Tapestry
6 years on the charts! Carole has written a LOT of other hits, but if someone owns one Carole King CD, it’s 99%+ likely to be this one.
Sublime - Sublime
They had a hit on 40oz to Freedom but really the self titled is all they got before Bradley died. I’m sure I’ll think up more later but that is the first one to come to mind.
did this thread a while back (sort of) I can give you a few although “hit” might be a stretch on most of them they are all great albums
Remy Shand, this is one a poster in my thread tossed out, the guy is great. Very Marvin Gaye.
Monkey Mafia, hard to define, Reggae Meets Electronica and makes happy babys
to early to remember the rest but there are more.
Alanis Morrisette? I vaguely remember her releasing a couple of albums after the first one, but I admit I didn’t like her enough to pay that much attention.
The Stone Roses’ debut album The Stone Roses definitely falls into this category. It was one of the biggest, best, and most groundbreaking albums of its era in the UK. Then they tinkered around for a few years, released a critically-panned follow-up, and broke up.
Many argued that Portishead was going to follow the same career path* before they came back with Third last year.
*I disagreed with that critical assessment, though: I thought their second album was rather good.
Spin Doctors – Pocket Full of Kryptonite. A couple of big hits and FM success, but nothing of note after that. Turn it Upside Down sold OK, but was generally considered a disappointment.
It’s a Beautiful Day is remembered for their first album; later records were not as successful.
Not what I am looking for. I’m interested in artists that had multiple well-known songs from one album. And I’ve never heard any other New Radicals song.
While the following acts had other recordings, even very successful recordings, these albums represent a moment of triumph and popularity they never reached again:
Death From Above 1979 released one LP, You’re a Woman I’m a Machine, before breaking up. All of their well-known songs (“Romantic Rights”, “Blood On Our Hands”, “Pull Out”…) come from this album. It’s technically not their only album because they also released an EP beforehand.
They may be a little more obscure, but VAST’s major hit (“Pretty When You Cry”) as well as the other songs people might know by them (“Touched”, “Dirty Hole”) all come from their (well, his; it’s one dude) first album Visual Audio Sensory Theater. Everything after that was a bit mediocre in comparison.
The Finnish band The Rasmus enjoyed a bit of fame over here in the US after releasing their album Dead Letters with the hit single “In The Shadows”, and some other songs from that album also had their fans, but I have never heard anything from their (substantial) back catalog played here in the states.
I think (The) Gossip (who have been around for ages) would have qualified for Standing in the Way of Control, but they recently released Music for Men and have had some airplay for that. Similarly, everyone skipped over The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’s second album, but I think they’re back on board for It’s Blitz!
Jeff Buckley, though not by choice or lack of talent, sadly. Grace is still considered one of the best albums of the 90s. I’m sure it got a boost in reputation by Buckley’s untimely (and totally accidental) death, but even removed from that context, I think it would hold up pretty well.
I like his second album, but any song off Andrew W.K.'s that made it into the mainstream was off his first album, I Get Wet.
Boston is a pretty good example. BOC isn’t so good, because “Burning For You” was off a later album (and went to #1 on the rock charts, much higher than “Don’t Fear The Reaper”!)