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-THE BORACAY ISLAND LIFE-

6 ALBUMS THAT SAVED A BAND’S CAREER

There are plenty of records that nearly killed the career of one of rock's biggest artists, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Sometimes, the right album at just the right time can do wonders. In our rundown of albums that saved a band's career, we'll actually be exploring more than one type of career resurrection. On the one hand, you have bands like Aerosmith who lost everything and were forced to make drastic changes to get it back. “Seeing some of these bands come up, like Whitesnake and Guns N’ Roses, the whole climate was changing and we had to step up to the plate or move on,” Joe Perry has said. “We stepped up to the plate. Adapting to the new climate and the whole video thing, I have to say, we probably had a little lipstick on, but, you know” — he laughs — “just for the cameras.” Then there were artists such as Kiss and Bruce Springsteen, who nearly ran out of chances before breaking through to a mass audience. These career-saving albums are indelible for just that reason. For instance, when Springsteen listens to his breakthrough record Born to Run decades later, “I hear my friends," he once said, "and I hear my hopes and my dreams and what I thought my life was going to be like as a 25-year old kid." As the above gallery of career-saving albums demonstrates, if you've got talent and dedication there's always hope for big success.

✔️ Aerosmith, 'Permanent Vacation' (1987)

Congress passed a law several years ago declaring that any discussion of career-saving albums must begin with Aerosmith‘s shocking 1987 multi-platinum comeback LP ‘Permanent Vacation.’ O.K., that’s a fib. But the story’s plot points are so dramatic they’ve become the template for a hundred lesser “Behind the Music” redemption stories: Band climbs to the top, indulges in drug excess, starts to hate each other and succumb to their addictions, then breaks up. A few years later, they get back together and release a back-to basics album that restores them to their former glory. One catch: That record, the highly underrated ‘Done With Mirrors,’ flopped badly. So the band finally cleaned up, hired outside collaborators to modernize their sound, and you know the rest: Aerosmith was back and maybe bigger than ever.

✔️ Bob Seger, 'Night Moves' (1981)

Heartland hero Bob Seger spent a decade and a half trying to break into the national music spotlight, but prior to the release of 1976’s ‘Night Moves’ it seemed he might have to be satisfied with being “just” another extremely popular regional concert attraction. Of course, the Detroit legend had several near-breakthrough singles in previous years, and in the markets where his songs were played on the radio he could pack the biggest concert halls. But it was the title track of ‘Night Moves’ that finally cracked the whole country wide open for Seger. ‘Main Street’ and ‘Rock and Roll Never Forgets’ soon followed, helping the album sell over six million copies and permanently enrolling Seger into classic rock’s royalty.

✔️ Bruce Springsteen, 'Born to Run' (1975)

Bruce Springsteen‘s first two studio albums racked up tons of critical acclaim, but very little in the way of sales. Which meant it was up to his third album, 1975’s ‘Born to Run,’ to keep “the next Bob Dylan” from being dropped by his label. Columbia Records gave Springsteen a huge recording budget to pursue the “wall of sound” production style he desired, and then probably got very nervous when he spent over a year trying to get it right. Luckily, the undeniably cinematic and fantastic album, along with the massive (and artist-angering) marketing campaign that followed, were more than enough to finally help “The Boss” break through to massive commercial success.

✔️ John Fogerty, 'Centerfield' (1985)

Former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty's fourth solo LP arrived roughly a decade after he’d last issued an album of new material. This hiatus was due to a number of things — the first of which was the rejection of an earlier attempt. Fogerty also found himself embroiled in a nasty, drawn-out legal war over CCR’s legacy. He returned, however, no worse for wear: 'Centerfield' hit No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, while leadoff single "The Old Man Down the Road" went to No. 10 on the Hot 100. A follow-up, "Rock and Roll Girls," hit No. 20; the title track, a No. 4 rock hit, stalled just outside the pop Top 40.

✔️ KISS, 'Alive' (1975)

They had good songs, a live show that was hard to top, and most definitely a look all their own. Still, despite several years of hard work, Kiss‘s career was nearly dead before it came ‘Alive!’ in 1975. For all the excitement generated among rock fans by their blood-spitting, fire-breathing, spotlight-stealing concert appearances, the masked marvel’s first three studio albums sold so poorly that their record company was close to bankruptcy. Casablanca boss Neil Bogart agreed to a “make or break” proposition for both band and label: releasing a double live album in the hopes that the thrills the band generated on stage could finally be captured on vinyl. As you know, the plan worked. ‘Alive!’ sold millions of copies and rocketed the band to the top of the ’70s arena rock mountain.

✔️ Ozzy Osbourne, 'No More Tears' (1991)

Ozzy Osbourne ruled the rock world for much of the ’80s. But as he began work on what would become 1991’s ‘No More Tears,’ declining sales had made it clear the former Black Sabbath trailblazer was dangerously close to becoming just another member of the trend-chasing pack — releasing overly slick pop-metal records, and it must be said, dressing like an old woman. Luckily, new guitarist and songwriting partner Zakk Wylde helped offer the first signs of salvation on 1988’s ‘No Rest for the Wicked.’ The duo really hit their stride with ‘No More Tears,’ a multi-platinum smash that cut out all the B.S. and re-invigorated Osbourne’s career. Together with his annual Ozzfest tours, the album earned Ozzy permanent “elder statesman” status in the rock world.

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