Music Musings_Delayed Albums: Worth the Wait?

By: D.J. Hayes

Any artist can tell you that rushing the process can have the unintended effect of tainting the quality.

And when someone is contractually obligated to produce material, such as musicians, forcing the creativity happens quite frequently. Everyone knows of a band or artist that obviously took a nap on one of their albums to meet a deadline (Mine is Lupe Fiasco’s “Lasers”, which quite frankly, sucked an immense amount of ass). So it would seem that anyone trying to stay true to their craft would rather incur whatever penalties the label might offer in order to preserve the legitimacy of their catalog. Perfect example: Dr. Dre’s “Chronic 2001”. Nothing short of immaculate, even after the years of push backs and hype that it couldn’t-but-somehow-managed-to-(and-then-some) live up to. But how long is too long? At what point is someone just spinning their wheels as the window closes on their relevance? Let’s look at some examples:

The Beach Boys – Smile

The first perpetually postponed album, Smile was to be Brian Wilson’s answer to The Beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. Wilson and The Beatles had kept one-upping and inspiring one-another’s albums for the few albums prior to the 1966 recording sessions, an impressive feat considering Mr. California was going against 3 songwriting geniuses (and Ringo) single-handedly. Wilson worked so furiously, with such an excruciating level of perfectionism, that he eventually drove himself into the life of a recluse and addiction. When he finally released a version of the album with a reworked band in 2004, to great critical acclaim, even he had to admit that it was different than what he had wanted as a final product, but it needed to be completed. The original recording sessions did, however yield “Good Vibrations”, widely regarded as one of the most ambitious and greatest songs of all time.

Dr. Dre- Detox

Since Chronic 2001 came out, every single fan of hip-hop has been waiting on Detox. Dre is the only rapper other than Biggie to have 2 universally accepted perfect albums to his name with no misses. But in the 14 years since 2001 (which came out in 1999, for those of you who might be trying to check my math), the level of hype surrounding this album has reached a point very familiar to those of us who waited almost this long for the album that proved us wrong last time. So far we’ve been teased with release dates in 2001, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012. Those of us who don’t like metaphorical blue balls have long given up hope. But there are still plenty of people who rabidly await its official drop, and even more who are vehement critics of an album that has had a total of 2 songs released, which probably won’t make the album now, since they’re stale. There was demand for the album when “Under Pressure” and “I Need a Doctor” came out of nowhere (sounding not too shabby and surprisingly catchy, respectively). Now, having waited twice as long for the third installment as we did for the second, if it’s anything less than perfect, it seems it will be hated into oblivion.

Guns’N’Roses- Chinese Democracy

Similar to Detox, this is another album that had seen its date pushed back more times than a guy asking a girl out who really doesn’t want to but is just too damn nice to say no. There was evmore false hope for Axl Rose’s brainchild than Detox though, because G’N’R had released 5 albums in the 6 years prior to the start of its recording in 1994. After numerous lineup changes (some member’s exit being credited to the totalitarian atmosphere and requirement of absolute perfection from their frontman), vague utterings from the studio, and a couple teases with live performances, the album finally came out in 2008. It sold well due to droves of loyal fans, but was a C+ level effort at best (Leading to this writer’s lifelong rule of never trusting anyone who wears an empty bucket of chicken on his damn head.)

How his Mother never beat him, I'll never know...

Jay Electronica- Act II:  Patents of Nobility (The Turn)

After gaining attention outside of his Southern demographic with the most ambitious song ever by an unsigned rapper with 2007’s Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), Jay Electronica has signed with Roc Nation, released a certified classic with “Exhibit C” (the most “freestyled on” beat ever. EVER.), and put out some pretty solid guest verses for a varied group of artists in that time (including a widely overlooked closer on “Control”. Going after Kendrick must suck.), he’s put out a couple of songs to hype his Roc Nation project, but hasn’t even flirted with the idea of a release date yet. With the hype level he has at the moment, it would be wise for him to strike within the next 18 months or so, because unproven rappers with lofty expectations are often met with a fickle response by the average hip-hop fan (*cough*Papoose*cough*).

Andre 3000- (As Of Yet Untitled Album)

This is probably the most aggravating entry on this list. 3 Stacks has been recording at a steady, if somewhat slow pace since Outkast’s 2006 project Idlewild. Musically, he’s proven to be as ambitious as Brian Wilson time and time again, most notably on his half of Speakerboxx/The Love Below, which won them Album of the Year. He’s touched on funk, jazz, blues, pop, R&B, and spoken word, often all on the same album. And his features are usually a surprise, and always on a level no one in the game can compete with. (See: “Walk It Out”, “Throw Some D’s”, “Green Light”, and “You”).  There has been a demand for a solo album as far back as anyone can remember, but Mr. Benjamin has always been vocal about taking time off of music to focus on his acting, children’s show, and fashion ventures. But with the recent reports of a release date for early next year, and the widespread anger after the rumor was dispelled the next day, it’s clear the demand will be there, and judging by his output, the content will be too. Note to all future artists: if you like releasing music frequently, DO NOT sleep with Erykah Badu.

No!

Lauryn Hill/D’Angelo- (As Of Yet Untitled Albums)

I’m coupling these two together, because the albums have had similar trajectories, and I expect the same results. After each releasing amazing debuts (“Miseducation” and “Brown Sugar”), these two took a sabbatical (4 and 7 years, respectively) before coming out with a follow-up (“Unplugged” and “Voodoo” (Although it might not count to some, “Unplugged” was all original material, and it’s my article, so I’ll allow it.). They both then fell off the cultural map, returning briefly to tour before encountering legal trouble. Although they have both released tracks sparingly in recent years, the demand seems to be there if either can finish a record. A joint album could be a good option, with these two already having a duet on Hill’s “Nothing Even Matters”. If the work is sub-par however, it’s very possible their album’s will be swept under the rug and compared to contemporary chart-toppers like Adele and Frank Ocean.  The evidence seems to say that a long wait isn’t unbearable to fans, providing that the work is up to snuff. It seems to come down to the artists for whether or not they have the confidence to produce and release what they deem acceptable. Out of all the people on this list who haven’t released their albums yet, I don’t believe all of them do (feel free to disagree.) My predictions are as follows:

• Dr. Dre: C+/B- (with A level beats)
• Jay Electronica: A- (but only to his fan base)
• Andre 3000: A/A+ (Editor’s note: I’m biased as hell on this one.)
• Lauryn Hill: B/B+ (depending on guests)
• D’Angelo: B- (due to obscure subject matter)

Feel free to offer your opinions/predictions in the comments.