8 Amazing Comeback Albums Nobody Thought Possible
Jun 24, 2016 • Tim Henares
4. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (2013)
Via en.wikipedia.org
Previous Album: Human After All, 2005 (8 years)
Human After All gave us “Technologic,” but you know what Daft Punk’s entire career since 1997 never gave us? A #1 album. In 2013, Random Access Memories, featuring “Get Lucky” with Pharell, changed all that. Considering that Pharell also had “Blurred Lines” and “Happy” in the same year, that was a pretty huge year for him, and Daft Punk definitely played a huge role in that.
3. D’Angelo – Black Messiah (2014)
Via stereogum.com
Previous Album: Voodoo, 2000 (14 years)
D’Angelo’s album was supposed to come out in 2015, but the Ferguson shootings hastened his comeback. With critical acclaim backing his last album, the pressure was high for D’Angelo’s follow-up to really make a huge impact. Needless to say, Black Messiah was worth the wait, peaking at #5 on the Billboard 200.
2. Dr. Dre – Compton (2015)
Via rollingstone.com
Previous Album: 2001, 1999 (16 years)
There are probably 710 million things between 1999 and 2015 for Dr. Dre, but Compton was no less anticipated by everybody, knowing full well how awesome the 2001 album was. Yes, 2001 came out in 1999, as confusing as it sounds. It took Dre 11 years of working on his supposed comeback called Detox before he scrapped the whole thing, and Compton enters our consciousness as one of the most important hip hop works of this decade.
1. Rick Astley – 50 (2016)
Via hasitleaked.com
Previous Album: Red Book (demo only), 2013, Portrait, 2015 (11 years)
Rick Astley, for all intents and purposes, was last truly relevant on his own, without help from 4Chan, in 1993, when he came out with “Cry For Help” from his Body and Soul album. And if you really wanted to go back to when he last actually mattered, that was wayyyy back during his first album, Whenever You Need Somebody, which came out in 1987. It’s been that long.
Well, turning 50 this year, Rick Astley proves that he has truly come into his own as an artist, and this album, hitting #1 in the UK charts, is just the proof in the pudding.
Any other comeback albums that caught you off guard? Sound off in the comments section!
