The Real Reason 8 Classic Albums Were Delayed for Years

A finished record can sit on a shelf for a surprisingly long time. Sometimes the tapes are done and the band is ready, yet nothing comes out. The cause is rarely one single dramatic event.

Across rock and pop history, the reasons tend to be human ones: fragile nerves, business troubles, personal heartbreak, and a stubborn need to get things right. These eight albums show how different the causes can be.

Smile by The Beach Boys: Pressure, Doubt, and a Band Divided

Brian Wilson started work on Smile in 1966, and it was meant to follow Pet Sounds. Instead, the project was shelved in 1967. Wilson was under heavy mental strain, and some bandmates, Mike Love among them, were unhappy with the abstract lyrics written with Van Dyke Parks.

The group released a scaled down record called Smiley Smile that September. Wilson finally completed a version of the songs as Brian Wilson Presents Smile in 2004. In 2011, The Smile Sessions collected the original 1960s recordings for the first time.

The Black Album by Prince: A Change of Heart at the Last Minute

Prince’s Black Album was set for release in December 1987. Shortly before it reached stores, he pulled it. Reports at the time and since say he had come to feel uneasy about the album’s dark tone.

Warner Bros. recalled the pressings, and Prince put out Lovesexy in its place. Bootleg copies circulated for years. The album finally got an official release in November 1994, nearly seven years later.

Homegrown by Neil Young: Too Personal to Share

Neil Young recorded Homegrown in 1974 and 1975, in the wake of his breakup with actress Carrie Snodgress. The songs were raw, and he chose to release Tonight’s the Night instead. Homegrown stayed in the vault, though a few of its songs surfaced on other records.

Young often called it a record he found hard to face. It finally came out in June 2020, after decades of fan speculation. The gap of more than four decades makes it one of the longest waits for a finished album from a major artist.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco: A Label That Walked Away

This case was about business, not nerves. In 2001, Reprise Records declined to release Wilco’s album, apparently because it seemed too experimental to sell. The band parted ways with the label and kept the finished recordings.

Wilco streamed the album on its own website, which drew wide attention. Nonesuch Records, part of the same corporate family as Reprise, released it in April 2002. It went on to become one of the band’s best known and most praised albums.

Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple: Leaked, Reworked, Released

Fiona Apple worked with producer Jon Brion on early sessions for the album in 2003 and 2004. Her record label was reportedly hesitant about the results, and the story of what happened has been told in different ways. What is clear is that unfinished tracks leaked onto the internet in 2004.

Fans organized campaigns asking for the album to be released. Apple went back into the studio with producer Mike Elizondo and reworked the material. The finished album arrived in October 2005.

Chinese Democracy by Guns N’ Roses: A Perfectionist and a Revolving Door

Work on Chinese Democracy stretched from the mid 1990s to 2008. Axl Rose ended up as the only original member of the band. Musicians, producers, and engineers came and went, and the sound was reworked many times.

The record was released in November 2008. It was widely reported as among the most expensive rock albums ever made, though exact figures have never been confirmed. The long wait had become part of the album’s identity before anyone heard a note.

m b v by My Bloody Valentine: Twenty Two Years After Loveless

My Bloody Valentine released Loveless in November 1991, and a follow up was expected soon. It took until February 2013. Kevin Shields spent years reworking material, and the band went through long periods of inactivity, including a split.

The band’s early 1990s money troubles also mattered. Loveless was a costly project for its label, Creation Records, and the group later moved on. When m b v finally appeared, the band released it directly to fans online with little advance warning.

Third by Big Star: A Label That Fell Apart

Big Star recorded its third album in Memphis in 1974, working with producer Jim Dickinson at Ardent Studios. The mood of the songs was fragile and often bleak. The band was close to breaking up, and the record had no clear path to release.

Ardent’s earlier distribution deal had collapsed, which left the band’s earlier albums hard to find. Third finally came out in 1978, also known as Sister Lovers. Critics and other musicians have championed it in the decades since.

What the Long Waits Have in Common

Each delay had its own cause, from a label refusing a release to an artist who wasn’t ready to share the work. None of these albums was abandoned because it lacked quality. Most were shelved because of circumstances around them.

Once the records were released, several became landmarks of their eras. Their long journeys to the public are now a big part of how listeners understand them.