Here's 20 examples of albums in development limbo:
1. Angels Advocate by Mariah Carey
Depending on the success of her 2009 album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, Carey began recording material for what could have been a "part two" album Angels Advocate, which was supposed to comprise new material, outtakes, remixes of the songs.
The album spanned two singles (which were remixed versions of the songs from the previous album) "Up Out My Face" featuring then-unknown Nicki Minaj and "Angels Cry" featuring Ne-Yo. However Memoirs flopped, which resulted to the cancellation of the album and the worldwide releases of the two singles. Still it appears on Last FM.
This is the book cover.
2. Black Gold by Jimi Hendrix
Prior to his death in 1970, Hendrix recorded an album called Black Gold and gave the tapes to drummer Mitch Mitchell to let him listen. However, the location of the tapes were unknown with rumours that it was stolen, until 1992, when a fan interviewed Mitchell at his house.
It's likely that Black Gold will be released in full in the near future, as one song "Suddenly November Morning" appeared in the 2010 greatest hits album West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology.
3. Chinese Democracy by Guns N' Roses
The hard rock band Guns N' Roses began working on the follow-up to the 1993 cover album "The Spaghetti Incident?" and the double-album Use Your Illusion in 1998.
The album was going to be the first to include the new line-up of the band consisting of frontman Axl Rose, new guitarist Robin Finck (better known as the guitarist for Nine Inch Nails), new rhythm guitarist Paul Tobias, new bassist Tommy Stinson, new drummer Josh Freese, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and new keyboardist Chris Pitman.
The line-up only lasted until 2000, when Finck was replaced by experimental guitarist Buckethead and then Freese replaced by Primus drummer Bryan Mantia. The line-up wouldn't last either when Finck returned a few months later and Tobias replaced by Richard Fortus. Plus Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal replaced Buckethead in 2005.
In 2006, the penultimate line-up change happened when Mantia quit and was replaced by Frank Ferrer and Finck left the band in 2007, with the final line-up for Chinese Democracy becoming: Rose, Bumblefoot, Tobias, Stinson, Ferrer, Pitman and Reed.
Not only that the album was delayed several times and the industrial rock-influenced album was almost unreleased. However it was finally released on November 2008 to mixed to positive reviews. Also it is indeed banned in China.
This is the single cover.
4. Cigarettes and Valentines by Green Day
Punk revivalists Green Day began recording the follow-up to the 2000 folk-heavy Warning in 2003. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said that the album would mark a return to their punk rock roots from Kerplunk and Insomniac. As the album was almost complete, the master tapes comprising of 20 songs recorded for the album were stolen, which Green Day finally said it was a blessing in disguise.
Although backup tapes of the 20 songs exist, bassist Mike Dirnt said the album wasn't maximum Green Day. Indeed it was a blessing in disguise, as the band later recorded the punk rock opera American Idiot in late 2004.
Eventually songs from the scrapped album have been performed by the band recently. Even the song "Cigarettes and Valentines" saw an official release on the 2010 live album Awesome as F*** and was released as a promo single. Let's just say the album will finally be released via backup tapes in the near future.
5. Dahlia by X Japan
The influential Japanese rock band began recording their latest album in June 1993. Instead of doing a full album in 1994, the band released seven singles to lead the album during the three years. The reason why the album only had ten songs was because guitarist and founder Yoshiki suffered a neck injury during a concert.
It was finally released in November 1996 to positive reviews. Despite being a ballad album, the album spanned four number-ones and it was the last to feature guitarist hide before his 1998 death.
This is not the official album cover. It appeared in this link.
6. Detox by Dr. DreDetox was intended to be the rapper-turned-producer's final album before focusing on hip hop production. The highly-anticipated follow-up to 2001 began recording in 2000, then it was delayed several times.
The album was almost completed in time for a 2010 release, with "I Need a Doctor" becoming a hit. However the album is still in limbo since Dr. Dre has focused on more hip hop production.
Still "I Need a Doctor" remains as Dr. Dre's last successful solo single to date. However to satisfy fans, he has released some of the songs from the album-in-limbo on his mixtape series The Detox Chroniclez.
This is the cover of the 1998 B-sides bootlegged album. It appeared in this link.
7. G-Sides by Garbage
After completing the Version 2.0 tour, Garbage compiled the B-sides for their compilation album, however Interscope's acquisition of Almo, resulted the album to be scrapped. Prior to this, fans have done a B-sides compilation called The G-Side Collection in 1998. One fan has even put the 1995-1996 B-sides on a video, found on YouTube.
This is not the official album cover. It appeared in this link.
8. Jumping Trains by JoJo
Who could forget JoJo? Her third album Jumping Trains (originally called All I Want Is Everything) was intended for a 2010 release, however label disputes with Blackground resulted the album to be in development limbo several times. During this time, JoJo recorded two mixtapes to satisfy fans who eagerly waited for the new album.
I probably doubt that the new JoJo album will ever come out since the ongoing Blackground feud.
This is not the official album cover. It appeared in this link.
9. Korn Kovers by Korn
The highly-anticipated cover album by the nu metal band began recording in 2005, but it was scrapped by the band in favor of Korn III five years later.
10. Lifehouse by The Who
You didn't realise that "Won't Get Fooled Again" appeared on this scrapped album. The Who recorded this rock opera in 1971, but some songs appeared in Who's Next and Who Are You in 1978. However guitarist Pete Townshend never gave up hope when Lifehouse was finally first heard as a radio play on BBC Radio 1 in 1999, to be followed by a six-disc box set consisting of the songs that were intended under the name Lifehouse Chronicles.
11. The Lillywhite Sessions by Dave Matthews Band
This album-in-limbo made an unofficial release in March 2001. Jazz rock band Dave Matthews Band began recording the follow-up to Before These Crowded Streets in winter 1999 with producer Steve Lillywhite. However the album was scrapped by the band themselves after a falling out with Lillywhite.
They later recorded the replacement album Everyday in ten days. After fans were unhappy with Everyday, the scrapped album was leaked by a fan in March 2001. After the leak, fans were happy the usual DMB sound appearing on the album, also critics praised too. Even the band began performing songs from the scrapped album.
Nine of the songs would later be recorded for the 2002 album Busted Stuff.
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Influential synthpop band New Order began recording Waiting for Sirens' Call in during the year of 2003 and 2004. Songs that made it were the hits "Krafty", "Jetstream" and the title track. Only seven songs failed to make it on the 2005 album (the first with the second line-up, synth guitarist Gillian Gilbert left after marrying drummer Stephen Morris and was replaced by Phil Cunningham), including "Hellbent".
The seven songs plus the remix of album song "I Told You So" was going to be released into their ninth album Lost Sirens in 2007, but the band broke up after bassist Peter Hook departed. However, "Hellbent" made it on the joint greatest hits album with predecessor Joy Division, titled Total in 2011.
The band finally reunited in the same year with Gilbert returning plus Bad Lieutenant (spiritual successor to New Order with frontman Bernard Sumner, Cunningham and Morris as the members) bassist Tom Chapman. The album was going to be released in 2012, but to legal issues, it finally released this year.
13. Made in Heaven by Queen
British rock band Queen began recording Made in Heaven in January, months before frontman Freddie Mercury's death from AIDS. Mercury recorded vocals for the album and gave the band an instruction to complete the album after his death. The vocal parts of the album was completed in June of the same year, with Mercury spending his final months.
After his death in November, the band planned to complete the album in 1992, but the memorial concert took place on the same year and the band began to complete it the following year in their Montreux studio. It was finally completed on 1995 and the album came out on November of the same year, to critical and commercial success.
This is the cover of their compilation album Conventional Weapons.
14. MCR5 by My Chemical Romance
Emo-goth band My Chemical Romance began recording their follow-up to their 2010 glam rock-inspired Danger Days in February 2012 with new drummer Jarrod Alexander for a 2013 release. In order to satisfy fans, the band released two unreleased songs every month from October of the same year as part of their compilation Conventional Weapons.
After the final A-side single released from the album in early February, the band abruptly broke up the following month, which means that MCR5 will never be released unless the band reunites in the near future, which is still a possibility.
15. Peace by The Cult
Gothic rock band The Cult began recording their third album Peace in 1986, however the band was unsatisfied with the result and decided to hire a new producer, which they choose the legendary record producer Rick Rubin.
Rubin helped to change their sound from gothic rock to hard rock. With this, they re-recorded "Love Removal Machine" and the album eventually became Electric in 1987. It became a critical and commercial success.
Peace would be in development limbo until 2000 when it was finally released as the third disc of Rare Cult box set. It would be released with Electric in 2013 as Electric Peace.
16. Shinwa by Malice Mizer
Influential visual kei band Malice Mizer began recording their follow-up to their major label debut Merveilles in autumn 1998, however lead singer Gackt left the band in January 1999, the band left Nippon Columbia and returned to their own record label Midi:Nette, also tragedy struck when drummer Kami died of a cerebral haemorrhage on June 21 of the same year, aged 27.
The songs recorded for the intended follow-up eventually became an EP/video album named Shinwa, which was released the following year as a tribute to the drummer. Then the band soon changed their image from a goth-glam look to more funeral goth look in their next album Bara no Seidou with new lead singer Klaha.
The Beach Boys recorded this avant-garde pop album in the period of 1966 and 1967. The album was scheduled for a Spring 1967, however due to lead singer Brian Wilson's battle with paranoid during recording caused the album to be shelved, also resulting the departure of Van Dyke Parks.
Still some of the songs would appear in the replacement album Smiley Smile. The album was later revived into a Brian Wilson solo album in 2004 to critical acclaim.
The album was finally released as The Smile Sessions, still retaining the cover intended for the album in 2011, to universal critical acclaim and is considered by most fans as The Beach Boys' greatest work.
18. Songs from the Black Hole by Weezer
Power pop band Weezer began recording a rock opera follow-up to their 1994 breakthrough self-titled debut in later that same year. But due to frontman Rivers Cuomo suffering from writer's block in 1995, caused this album to be scrapped and some of the songs would later appear in the Madame Butterfly influenced album Pinkerton, which was released in 1996 to lukewarm critical and commercial performance though in recent years, it has been critically acclaimed.
Some of the songs would later appear in Cuomo's solo album series Alone and the deluxe edition to Pinkerton in 2010. The album has appeared in Last FM and fans have made their versions of the albums too.
Let's hope that this album is Weezer's Smile and that it will finally be released.
19. Togetherland by Seal
British pop-soul singer Seal began recording the follow-up to the 1998 album Human Being in 2001, however his record label Warner was unsatisfied which caused Seal to record his third self-titled album. Still one song from the album, did get released, which was "This Could Heaven". Seal has since put the scrapped album in a vault.
20. Untitled by Shirley Manson
Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson began recording her debut solo album in 2006 after the band took a break. Several people collaborated with her on the album, even her Garbage bandmate Butch Vig did the drumming.
The album was scheduled to be released on 2007, however the greatest hits album Absolute Garbage was released the same year and it was postponed to the following year. But her record label Geffen rejected it, leading Manson to quit music in 2009, leaving Garbage's future in doubt. However, she changed her mind later that year and Garbage was reunited in 2010.
But the solo album's status is now "dead", as confirmed by Manson in January 2012. We may never know how her debut album sounded like, however three demos from the album have been released on her Facebook profile.
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