Lost albums: they’re tales that are almost as old as the recording industry itself, and will probably be a part of it until streaming profits get so bad artists have to start selling every half-finished scrap they write to eat that week. We love to discuss the possibilities (what if Chinese Democracy is actually awesome?), the logistics (I heard Axl Rose has put 3,000 recording hours into this album, gone through 20 drummers and overthrown one nation that wasn’t fully ready to hear it yet) and the inevitable first listen—because, let’s face it, Chinese Democracy was god-awful. But for every long-awaited set that disappoints, there’s the rightfully hyped—look at Brian Wilson’s gorgeous Smile for the opposite here—and with the following long-awaited albums, that’s what we’re hoping for.
Below, we’ve listed a few albums that really, pretty much need to come out this year. From the not-so-hyped (OutKast still refuses to say they’re making an album, but come ON!) to the more under-the-radar but frequently discussed Long Winters album, here are eight releases we’re hoping to catch in the next 12 months. Keep your fingers crossed.
8. Johnny Mathis + Chic
In the late ‘70s, flush with the success of his duet with Deniece Williams (“Too Much, Too Little, Too Late”), Johnny Mathis went into the studio with one of the hottest production teams around: Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic. The music that resulted was daring, especially for the crooner who was urged on to greater emotional heights by the elegant disco flowing around him. Great as it still was, his management shelved the album because, as Rodgers put it in the book Everybody Dance: Chic & The Politics of Disco, “his audience at the time was…middle-aged women who would go out to Vegas, and this was pushing his envelope.”
To date, a scattered bunch of tracks have appeared online and on The Chic Organization box set, with the rest still hidden from view. Considering the success of Rodgers’ recent work with Daft Punk and the crate-digging culture we’re in, someone needs to convince Mathis and his people that setting this one free could be quite a boost to his career at this late stage.—Robert Ham
7. Bill Withers
By all rights, Bill Withers doesn’t need to record another second of music. The iconic singer/songwriter has secured his place in the soul pantheon thanks to peerless classics like “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Use Me.” Incredibly, though, Withers hasn’t released a new collection of material since 1985. And as anyone who has seen the documentary about his career Still Bill knows, the man is still working. One of the film’s most poignant scenes shows him in his home studio collaborating on a track with Raúl Midón. Withers must have a huge backlog of material just collecting dust in his house or on a hard drive somewhere. It would be one of life’s greatest shames if it were to go unheard.—Robert Ham
6. Weezer, Songs from the Black Hole
Okay, so this one is probably never, ever going to see the light of day, but it’s an album this writer would personally love to be able to throw it on a turntable. The story: This space-themed concept album was supposed to be Weezer’s sophomore offering—yes, could you imagine the critical beatdown Pinkerton would have taken if you threw in a space opera element? But with the actual follow-up, Weezer brought us an album that was perfectly flawed (and incredible) in its own right, which was also hated by critics initially and featured a lot of tunes either reworked or redone from Black Hole.
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