Ones who flopped in 2009 - Rock
2009 has been a hell of a year for rock music. We’ve witnessed reunions, break ups, supergoups and superstars - all very exciting I’m sure you’ll agree. Unfortunately, there were a few beleaguered hopefuls who slipped under the radar this year, too. Despite a promising start for some, they all eventually fell short of stardom. Sorry guys, better luck next year, eh?
U2
U2’s twelfth studio album was released early this year to rave reviews, yet still the Irish rockers failed to impress. Unsurprisingly, it took the band five years to follow up the critically acclaimed “How to dismantle an atomic bomb”. Their latest album, produced by Rick Rubin, reached number one in the charts but failed to impress in the long-run and was unable to reach the level of quality of its predecessor. Nevertheless, Bono still made a packet from the album sales so he won’t be going short of any new sunglasses any time soon.
ACDC
After an eight year hiatus the band that made ‘Highway to Hell’ a rock mantra decided to give it another shot with album ‘Black Ice’. Despite pressures of the ensuing comeback the 5-piece conceived and recorded the album in just 2 months and steered towards the catchier hooks that were reminiscent of ‘Back in Black’ and ‘Dirty Deeds done dirt cheap’. Just like U2, despite great reviews and album chart success, it didn’t take long for these rock ‘n’ roll veterans to slip away under the radar before we’d even noticed.
Guns and Roses
Axl Rose has been a busy man since the Guns ’n’ Roses formation in 1985 and his G’N’R ‘brand’ has witnessed 14 band members come and go from the band. With his new and final line-up (for now) Guns ‘n’ Roses released their latest album in November 2008, called ‘Chinese Democracy’. The album still featured members present in the band between 1998 and 2008. Sadly for Axl, the time, expertise and money invested in its making didn’t seem quite worth it and although the record was generously received, the sales said otherwise.
Stereophonics
The Welsh rockers have had a good run in the last decade, but by the end of 2008 they had resorted to a greatest hits album. Their 10 year career has seen them go from Brit-poppers to established Brit-rockers although their recent input has certainly come under scrutiny by those in the music biz. ‘Decade in the Sun’ may be recognition for the bands lengthy career but it also exposes the gap in quality between their earlier work to now.
Bon Jovi
The once poodle-haired rivals of Nirvana have decided to make a comeback, sadly, with minor success. The album debuted at number 1 on the billboard 200 selling 163,000 copies in its first week. Although the album did well in its first week on the Billboard 200, it dropped to number 19 in its second week, the third worst drop from number 1 in Billboard History. It’s been falling steadily ever since.
Unfortunately for all of these rock-fathers, 2009 was not their year. Take a look at our 'Ones to watch in 2010 - Rock' feature, and sniff out the competition for next year!
Female First – Carla Pearce