Five classic albums that made absolutely no money
A lot of the time, when people are debating what the greatest rock, metal, and indie albums of all time are, they’ll turn towards sales figures.
‘Well, it must be X because it sold more than Y’ is a pretty common argument put forward by the annoying and small-minded. While it’s great for albums to be commercially successful, and that success shows that an LP is connecting with the public, it doesn’t necessarily equate to durable success.
There are plenty of albums which have shot to number one and then been forgotten about almost instantly, and meanwhile, there are plenty of records which didn’t make any money at all initially, but have gone down in history as transformative. You’d be surprised just how many of the albums which people often cite as game changers weren’t well received at the time because so many listeners didn’t know what to do with them.
So, can we use album sales and commercial success as a metric for how good a record is? If you do, then that means these five albums must be terrible.
Classic albums that made no money
The Velvet Underground – ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’
When The Velvet Underground released their debut album, there were a lot of underground music lovers who were curious about the band, but it was very much a case of those in the know being excited, which was an incredibly select group.
As such, while we now recognise The Velvet Underground & Nico as a legendary album that has influenced generations, when it was first released, it only sold around 30,000 copies, proving that commercial sales, or lack thereof, aren’t necessarily a reflection of a record’s impact.
“I was talking to Lou Reed the other day, and he said that the first Velvet Underground record sold 30,000 copies in the first five years,” said Brian Eno when talking about the album, “The sales have picked up in the past few years, but I mean, that record was such an important record for so many people. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band!”
Beach Boys – ‘Pet Sounds’
It seems pretty crazy seeing it on this list, as in the modern age, we tend to hail Pet Sounds as one of the most influential pieces of music ever put together. Granted, a few of the songs off the album did well, as records like ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ were top ten hits; however, the album itself didn’t perform too well commercially.
A lot of The Beach Boys’ original fans were confused by the album and didn’t know what to do with it, hence the poor sales. The critic Dave Marsh has spoken about the album, saying, “Pet Sounds wasn’t a commercial flop, but it did signal that the group was losing contact with its listeners”. It was the band’s worst-selling LP since their debut, but we now know that a lot of people simply weren’t ready for the musical strides that The Beach Boys were making.
The Kinks – ‘The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society’
While there are people who consider The Beatles Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band one of the definitive concept albums, there are other music lovers who deem The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society a much better example of the same, which takes a nostalgic look at life in Britain and whose songs are tied together by a cohesive theme.
This is a record that remains underappreciated, only selling around 100,000 copies when it came out, which might sound like a lot, but it paled in comparison to some of The Kinks former sales figures. It might have been a bit too obscure at the time, but in the modern age, it should be praised as a masterpiece.
The Stooges – ‘The Stooges’
The Stooges were punk before punk was ever a thing, playing music that was packed with energy and incredibly confrontational, and the confusion people felt towards them was reflected in their album sales. Their self-titled record peaked at 106, despite being recognised as a classic in the modern age.
When you talk about the end of the ‘70s and how punk rose to prominence, it was The Stooges who set the stage for these bands to make a name for themselves. The foundation for this new aggressive and confrontational style of music was built and ready for other bands to establish themselves on. It might have cost them commercial success, but The Stooges helped music take a step forward with their self-titled LP.
Ramones – ‘Ramones’
Even though the foundation for punk was set by The Stooges, that didn’t mean that when the genre was officially established, people were necessarily ready for it. The Ramones were one of the first punk bands to officially release music, and they had all the trademarks of what makes a great punk band, with an infectious energy, a great confrontational performance style, and a real sense of chaos embedded into their music. However, once again, people weren’t sure what to make of the sound, and so their self-titled record didn’t sell incredibly well.
The ethos of the album can be boiled down into a simple quote from Joey Ramone, who said, “To me, punk is about being an individual and going against the grain; and standing up and saying ‘This is who I am’.”
