One of their Best Albums But It was their Worst Selling

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Dandelion1967, Oct 4, 2020.

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  1. john lennonist

    john lennonist There ONCE was a NOTE, PURE and EASY...


    Though The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society is a good 'un, I prefer


    [​IMG]


    It is almost kriminal how vastly underappreciated '67 – '70 Kinks albums were in their day.
     
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2020
  2. john lennonist

    john lennonist There ONCE was a NOTE, PURE and EASY...


    Not necessarily --

    A "cut out" could also be a Promo (sent to reviewers, radio station staff, etc.).

    Some labels put a "Promo" stamp on the cover, others would cut out a top corner, or punch a hole near one of the top corners.
     
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2020
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  3. john lennonist

    john lennonist There ONCE was a NOTE, PURE and EASY...

    I'd expect that Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band" album (now considered to be one of the greatest records ever released) didn't exactly burn up the charts.
     
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2020
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  4. Dylanos

    Dylanos Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Hearts and Bones
     
  5. carlwm

    carlwm Forum Resident

    Location:
    wales
    REO Speedwagon's REO album from 1976.

    It's a brilliant record which takes their sound up to that point and adds a subtle but noticeable country-rock element. Every song is a winner, to my ears with some - Keep Pushin', I Believe Our Time Is Gonna Come, Lightning, Any Kind Of Love - up there at the very highest echelon of their music.

    And yet this seems to be the only one of the Kevin Cronin era albums not to get a major boost in sales from the massive success of Hi Infidelity and remains, I believe their lowest selling record until after Gary Richrath left the band.
     
  6. Ludger

    Ludger ISthisALLreal, ISthisALLnecessary, ORisTHISaJOKE?

    Location:
    Dortmund, Germany
    This guy's music got better with every album but each sold less than the previous:

    [​IMG]
    NIK KERSHAW - THE WORKS

    After this, he gave up for ten years and then returned with the excellent '15 Minutes' - yet again, only few cared.
    (Nik is about to release a new album this month.)
     
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  7. Mother

    Mother Forum Resident

    Location:
    Melbourne
    Village Green _ Kinks
     
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  8. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    1. Clocking in at under 33 minutes, it is certainly shorter than most of their other albums, but since at least half or the songs are over 4 minutes, it's actually a bit longer than many other full length albums. especially in the '60s. Several albums by the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and a number of other artists clock in at around a half hour or less, as do all of the pre-Pepper US Beatles albums on Capitol. Pretty skimpy as albums, but still long enough to not just be considered EPs. All in all, quality matters more than quantity.

    2. Like some of the other Bee Gees albums, Life In a Tin Can doesn't have a lot of tempo variation (as you said, especially on Side 1). In this respect, its shorter than usual duration may work in its favor. Their earlier 12-song Trafalgar album, although quite good, has very little tempo variation with none of the uptempo rockers that provided contrast on most of their other albums. Due to pretty consistently slow tempos, Trafalgar seems a bit long at over 47 minutes. Since Life In a Tin Can is conceptual in nature, the 8 songs go together and set a certain cohesive mood, atmosphere, and texture. It could be that they didn't have more songs at the time that could have been included on the album without clashing with it.
     
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  9. Jack

    Jack Senior Member

    T. Rex - Tanx
     
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  10. pwhytey

    pwhytey Forum Resident

    Awesome and unfairly maligned album, but far from their worst-selling. That dubious honour surely has to go to Bolan's Zip Gun (1975), which didn't chart at all in the UK.
     
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  11. Tristero

    Tristero In possession of the future tense

    Location:
    MI
    The Byrds' Younger than Yesterday and Notorious Byrd Brothers both charted poorly in the US, with the latter failing to crack the top 40, though these are commonly regarded as some of their best albums. Hard to fathom.
     
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  12. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    Although most cut-outs had a small cut in one corner of the cover (or a lopped-off corner or a punch hole), the term "cut out" primarily refers to the fact that most of these discounted albums had been cut out or deleted from their label's catalog due to poor sales or having "run their course" in the market. At that point, the albums were officially out of print and sold at discount prices to get rid of the excess inventory.
     
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  13. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    My 2 favorite Byrds albums.
     
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  14. Deek57

    Deek57 Forum Resident

    The best DP Mk 1 album maybe, but it can't hold a candle to DP Mk 2 and beyond.
     
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  15. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    I certainly agree with quality over quantity. I prefer Life In a Tin Can to Trafalgar. The latter has a handful of songs that I think are very good, and others that I think are lacklustre, and it's possible my opinion of that album might be higher if some of those songs had simply been omitted - without replacing them with anything else.
     
  16. Bloom

    Bloom You're embarrassing me in front of the wizards

    U2- Pop


    Cmon fite me
     
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  17. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    #6 US and went gold.

    "Some Time..." is Lennon's worst seller - by a mile!
     
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  18. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    By a few miles at least ... ;)
     
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  19. Jay_Z

    Jay_Z Forum Resident

    The Guess Who were their best as an album act on Artificial Paradise and #10. But those albums sold poorly.
     
  20. DME1061

    DME1061 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Trenton, NJ
    Cheap Trick's self titled release from 1997

    [​IMG]
     
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  21. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Loved the cut-out/bullet hole bin back in the day. Great inexpensive way to check out bands I'd never heard of before.
    (KTP) Kissing The Pink-Certain Things Are Likely, 1986 was one of them.
    One I bought from the bin at retail (in the blister pack) and another I picked up at my local thrift a couple years ago. Seeing both of them 'bullet' wounded makes me think this was not a good seller here in the US.
    [​IMG]
     
  22. originalsnuffy

    originalsnuffy Socially distant and unstuck in time

    Location:
    Tralfalmadore
    Cut outs were over-runs and discontinuations. They were usually sold at about 1/3 of the original LP price. I think there was a distinction between notches and holes. I think holes created a resale issue but I would not bet a ton of money on that fact.

    DJ/Promo copies were usually stamped as such.

    The difference between cutouts and promo copies was simple. A record store could get into trouble for selling a DJ or promo copy, even if sold as used. Doesn't mean they did not do it; but it was a risk.

    I remember buying "Jamming With Edward" as a cut-out. Kind of an ersatz Stones album minus Keith. Also "the Great Lost Kinks" album and the first Procol Harum on Deram.
     
  23. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Or many kilometers! :D

    Unclear what John's 2nd worst selling album was - at least during his life.

    "POB", "Mind Games", "W&B" and "R&R" are all listed as gold, but that doesn't mean they all sold the same, of course.

    I'd assume that "R&R" is the worst of the bunch, with "MG" 2nd worst.

    Toss-up between "POB" and "W&B", I think. "W&B" probably did better at the time, as it was a #1 album buoyed by a huge hit single, but I suspect "POB" has been the more steady seller over the last 30+ years.

    Anyway, I'm sure "POB" isn't even 2nd or 3rd worst-selling...
     
  24. mbrownp1

    mbrownp1 Forum Resident

  25. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    People are using "didn't sell as well as hoped" to = "worst selling"! :wtf:
     
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