Poll

Which of these albums you wish had existed?

THE BEATLES - Post Let it Be album
LED ZEPPELIN - Ninth full album with Bonham
PINK FLOYD - Post The Final Cut album with Waters
DEEP PURPLE - Fifth album from the MK II lineup
DEEP PURPLE - Fourth album with Coverdale
DEEP PURPLE - Post The Battle Rages On album with Blackmore
RAINBOW - Fourth album with Dio
BLACK SABBATH - Ninth album from the original lineup
BLACK SABBATH - Follow up to The Mob Rules with Dio
BLACK SABBATH - Follow up to Dehumanizer with Dio
HEAVEN AND HELL - Second album after The Devil You Know
OZZY OSBOURNE - Third album with Rhandy Rhoads
AC/DC - Post Highway to Hell album with Bon Scott
IRON MAIDEN - Follow up to Fear of the Dark with Bruce
JUDAS PRIEST - Post Painkiller album with Halford
QUEEN - Full post Innuendo album with Freddie
GUNS N' ROSES - Follow up to Use your Illusions with the original lineup
DREAM THEATER - Post Awake album with Kevin Moore
DREAM THEATER - DT11 with Mike Portnoy
others (please specify)

Author Topic: The albums you wish had existed  (Read 12108 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline mikeyd23

  • Posts: 5479
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #105 on: June 08, 2018, 07:17:49 AM »
Oh, and Velvet Revolver with Myles Kennedy just because more Myles is good Myles.

Really good call. I've always wondered what could have been if he took that gig.

Offline SoundscapeMN

  • Posts: 6432
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #106 on: June 08, 2018, 11:05:37 AM »
Was I/O what later became "Up"?  What do you suppose was or would have been different?

I almost put down XYZ and Cinema.   I would have loved either (and still waiting for Trevor to release the 20 min. + "Cinema" song). 

Please, no offense, but the "Proposed Portnoy" do nothing for me; Portnoy Sykes, though, YES PLEASE!, and I would love a new Twisted Sister record with Mike on the skins.

Oh, and Velvet Revolver with Myles Kennedy just because more Myles is good Myles.

I/O
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I/O_(album)

although I posted something in my blog in 2013 with an interview with Gabriel talking about wanting to focus on it finally, but the songs were not fully written. At the same time, I read another interview within the last couple of years with Gabriel that he mentioned he didn't know if he could sing many of the songs for I/O now, compared to when he originally wrote them. At least how he intended them to be sung.

Also on Velvet Revolver, I'll Add Velvet Revolver and/or any project Jimmy Gnecco of Ours with Slash beyond the live benefits they did together.

Offline Stadler

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 43016
  • Gender: Male
  • Pointing out the "unfunny" since 2014!
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #107 on: June 08, 2018, 12:22:24 PM »
Thank you, sir; I learned something from that. I always thought I/O was an embryonic version of Up, but that's not apparently the case.

Offline Architeuthis

  • Posts: 3770
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #108 on: June 08, 2018, 06:09:31 PM »
There was an hard rock band I was in a few years ago, actually in the mid nineties. We had some great originals and had a good following around our area.  After the bass player moved away back to Massachusetts from here (Washington State), we got a new bass player and the band took a weird direction and for some reason it all fizzled out.  We had easily two albums worth of strong songs that never got recorded to see the light of day.
 I've been in bands since where we wrote and recorded some decent music, but we had something much more special back then..  Talk about one that got away.. 😟
« Last Edit: June 08, 2018, 06:16:17 PM by Architeuthis »
You can do a lot in a lifetime if you don't burn out too fast, you can make the most of the distance, first you need endurance first you've got to last....... NP

Online Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #109 on: June 08, 2018, 09:32:10 PM »
Bummer about the one that got away.  But look at it this way: You got to create some great music with some great fellow musicians.  The fact that you never managed to record it means that anyone who heard it  live, including yourselves, "had to be there" -- and that adds infinite value to the experience.  How can you place a value on something that happened exactly once, and will never be repeated?

I've got some great memories of playing with folks over the years, and sure, I wish some of it was recorded.  But it wasn't.  You had to be there.

Offline Architeuthis

  • Posts: 3770
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #110 on: June 09, 2018, 08:39:39 AM »
Thanks Orbert, that's a good way to look at it for sure!  :tup
You can do a lot in a lifetime if you don't burn out too fast, you can make the most of the distance, first you need endurance first you've got to last....... NP

Offline ZirconBlue

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 2550
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #111 on: June 09, 2018, 09:38:44 AM »
Anything more with Ray Gillen.  Dude had the worst timing in rock.

Offline bl5150

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 9132
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #112 on: June 09, 2018, 09:46:20 AM »
Anything more with Ray Gillen.  Dude had the worst timing in rock.

Good call.

I like Badlands but would love Ray to have done more in the hard rock/metal vein .............a la Sabbath/Phenomena
"I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle." - DLR

www.theguitardojo.com.au

Online lonestar

  • DTF Executive Chef
  • Official DTF Tour Guide
  • ****
  • Posts: 29704
  • Gender: Male
  • Silly Hatted Knife Chucker
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #113 on: June 10, 2018, 08:15:56 AM »
I stated it a bit earlier, but any readers here with an interest in this topic need to read a fantastic fantasy novel called Glimpses by Lewis Shiner. In it a stereo repairman is trying to find solace in the death of his father and the breakdown of his marriage, and he does in music. In this process he finds he can recall and get on tape unfinished masterpieces, done through a sort of time travel where he interacts with the artists and fixes what stopped the albums from being finished in the first place, and gets them done and done properly. They dive deep into the history and stories behind The Doors- Celebration of the Lizard, Beach Boys- Smile, and Hendrix- Rays of a New Rising Sun. It's a killer read for any rock fan.


Offline The Curious Orange

  • Lord of the Night
  • Posts: 1444
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #114 on: June 13, 2018, 03:56:53 AM »
It's got to be that one last Beatles album.

Has anyone read the short story "The Twelfth Album" by Stephen Baxter? A pair of engineers are sorting through a dead crew-mate's belongings and come across his collection of Beatles albums. Only there's one extra...

It's a great tale that really makes you want to hear what the Beatles would have done with songs like Instant Karma, Imagine, My Sweet Lord and Maybe I'm Amazed.
"And if love remains, though everything is lost,
We will pay the price, but we will not count the cost..."

Offline Snow Dog

  • Posts: 1022
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #115 on: June 13, 2018, 06:51:53 AM »
Just thought of this the other day.

Beautiful Sin - a follow up to “The Unexpected”. Such a great album. Too bad this group was one and done.

Offline Fritzinger

  • Posts: 2556
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #116 on: June 13, 2018, 07:06:26 AM »
I just listened to the first U.K. album and thought about Bill Bruford. It seems that he has been involved with plenty of bands but I would have loved to hear him on more records:

- A second U.K. album with Bruford
- Follow-up on Close To The Edge with Bruford
- More songs on Seconds Out with Bruford
- More songs on Yessongs with Bruford
(Or the last two completely with him. There are tons of other recordings of the respective bands with White/Thompson)

BTW, I am NOT saying the mentioned albums aren't great as they are. Tales, Danger Money, Yessongs and Seconds Out are tremendous albums. But I love Bills playing and I would have loved to hear what he would have done with material like Tales - or freakin RELAYER!!!
any rock can be made to roll

Offline Peter Mc

  • Posts: 1163
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #117 on: June 13, 2018, 07:15:40 AM »
Is Made In Heaven not considered a full Queen album?  Judging by what they've released without Freddie (that Paul Rodgers album was so awful) I would say maybe it was good to end it there.

I only picked 3 which was more Moore in DT, more Guns N' Roses with the original(ish) line up following UYI and more Deep Purple with Blackmore following The Battle Rages On.  Much as I like Steve Morse, and his first album with them is decent, I haven't like anything since Purpendicular and a lot of that is due to the lack of any memorable riffs or solos.

I'm also going to add that I would have loved another Opeth metal record and this isn't about the vocals, I love Akerfeldt's clean vocals, it's about the style of music, the huge majestic sound they had with great melodies and crushing riffs compared to the grim dirge they've put out since.

Offline MirrorMask

  • Posts: 13326
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #118 on: June 13, 2018, 07:21:27 AM »
Is Made In Heaven not considered a full Queen album?

It is, but some of the songs were previously recorded, for sessions of years before, and some others had to be finished by Brian May and Roger Taylor on vocals because Freddie couldn't complete all his parts, such as in Mother Love. Made in Heaven is legitimately Queen's last album, performed by all of its members, but Innuendo is the last album where all the songs were new and the singer could sing them all without health problems.

Basically the question, more simply, was "would you wish another Queen album after Innuendo had Freddie lived and stayed in good health".
I use my sig to pimp some bands from Italy! Check out Elvenking (Power / Folk metal), Folkstone (Rock / Medieval metal), Arcana Opera (Gothic/Noir/Heavy metal) and the beautiful voice of Elisa!

Offline Stadler

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 43016
  • Gender: Male
  • Pointing out the "unfunny" since 2014!
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #119 on: June 13, 2018, 08:15:47 AM »
I just listened to the first U.K. album and thought about Bill Bruford. It seems that he has been involved with plenty of bands but I would have loved to hear him on more records:

- A second U.K. album with Bruford
- Follow-up on Close To The Edge with Bruford
- More songs on Seconds Out with Bruford
- More songs on Yessongs with Bruford
(Or the last two completely with him. There are tons of other recordings of the respective bands with White/Thompson)

BTW, I am NOT saying the mentioned albums aren't great as they are. Tales, Danger Money, Yessongs and Seconds Out are tremendous albums. But I love Bills playing and I would have loved to hear what he would have done with material like Tales - or freakin RELAYER!!!


I'm with you 100% on the Bruford/Genesis thing.  There are a couple more songs on the Archive 2 box set, and of course the "In Concert" film, but there should be a proper live album from that tour.   

Online Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #120 on: June 13, 2018, 11:09:07 AM »
For a while there, I held Bill Bruford in somewhat low regard.  I got better.

It came entirely from album credits, and obviously only from albums I had.  Bill was the original drummer for Yes, but he left.  On Yessongs, Alan White stepped up and has a much more powerful sound, so I figured okay, Yes traded up in the drumming department just as they did in the keyboards and guitar department.  Then on Seconds Out, kinda the same thing.  It's a document from two tours, but for whatever reason they chose almost all stuff that Chester Thompson played on, so I figured Bill must be kind of a loser.  Everybody seems to prefer someone else.  Hey it was like 1977 and I didn't know any better.  I hadn't yet discovered King Crimson or U.K., or I'd've probably come to a different conclusion.

Offline pg1067

  • Posts: 12440
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #121 on: June 13, 2018, 11:49:45 AM »
It's got to be that one last Beatles album.

Has anyone read the short story "The Twelfth Album" by Stephen Baxter? A pair of engineers are sorting through a dead crew-mate's belongings and come across his collection of Beatles albums. Only there's one extra...

It's a great tale that really makes you want to hear what the Beatles would have done with songs like Instant Karma, Imagine, My Sweet Lord and Maybe I'm Amazed.

Interesting....  I'm not really a fan of most of the solo work of JPG&R, and I particularly don't care for John's stuff.  I'm curious, though, why it would be called "The Twelfth Album."  While the actual number of albums in the pre-Revolver period is a bit blurry, I don't see how one can come up with a number less than 12.
"There's a bass solo in a song called Metropolis where I do a bass solo."  John Myung

Offline Stadler

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 43016
  • Gender: Male
  • Pointing out the "unfunny" since 2014!
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #122 on: June 13, 2018, 12:03:50 PM »
It's got to be that one last Beatles album.

Has anyone read the short story "The Twelfth Album" by Stephen Baxter? A pair of engineers are sorting through a dead crew-mate's belongings and come across his collection of Beatles albums. Only there's one extra...

It's a great tale that really makes you want to hear what the Beatles would have done with songs like Instant Karma, Imagine, My Sweet Lord and Maybe I'm Amazed.

Interesting....  I'm not really a fan of most of the solo work of JPG&R, and I particularly don't care for John's stuff.  I'm curious, though, why it would be called "The Twelfth Album."  While the actual number of albums in the pre-Revolver period is a bit blurry, I don't see how one can come up with a number less than 12.

The UK releases total 11, if you don't count the EP - Magical Mystery Tour - and the George Martin soundtrack - Yellow Submarine.   


Offline Mindflux

  • DT.net Veteran
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 2187
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #123 on: June 13, 2018, 01:07:16 PM »
Redemption - Long Night's journey into Day with Ray Alder  :biggrin:

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #124 on: June 13, 2018, 05:32:01 PM »
It's got to be that one last Beatles album.

Has anyone read the short story "The Twelfth Album" by Stephen Baxter? A pair of engineers are sorting through a dead crew-mate's belongings and come across his collection of Beatles albums. Only there's one extra...

It's a great tale that really makes you want to hear what the Beatles would have done with songs like Instant Karma, Imagine, My Sweet Lord and Maybe I'm Amazed.

We already got Abbey Road.  No way they could have topped that.

Offline romdrums

  • Posts: 4509
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #125 on: June 14, 2018, 07:21:58 AM »
Speaking of the Beatles, if John Lennon hadn't been killed, do you think they would have reunited for Live Aid?  I mean, the scale of that would have been massive.  It would have been real interesting if they had decided after a Live Aid reunion, to make a comeback album.  I really wonder what that album might have sounded like.
Though we live in trying times, we're the ones who have to try. -Neil Peart, 1952-2020.

There is a fundamental difference between filtered facts and firehosed opinions. -Stadler.

Offline MirrorMask

  • Posts: 13326
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #126 on: June 14, 2018, 07:24:47 AM »
Well, history is teaching us that eventually everyone (well, very very almost everyone) reunite. A reunion of some sorts, even for a one-off like Pink Floyd did in 2005, could have been very likely.
I use my sig to pimp some bands from Italy! Check out Elvenking (Power / Folk metal), Folkstone (Rock / Medieval metal), Arcana Opera (Gothic/Noir/Heavy metal) and the beautiful voice of Elisa!

Offline Stadler

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 43016
  • Gender: Male
  • Pointing out the "unfunny" since 2014!
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #127 on: June 14, 2018, 09:20:50 AM »
Speaking of the Beatles, if John Lennon hadn't been killed, do you think they would have reunited for Live Aid?  I mean, the scale of that would have been massive.  It would have been real interesting if they had decided after a Live Aid reunion, to make a comeback album.  I really wonder what that album might have sounded like.

I  have zero doubt that they would  have done SOMETHING.    John was clearly mellowing in his middle age, and if McCartney has shown us anything in the last 30 years of his career, he's generally up for anything.   Ringo wouldn't even have hesitated, not because he's the lesser of the four, but just because that's his nature, amiable guy who isn't going to be the roadblock.  The wild card would have been George, who rightfully earned that reputation of being prickly just for the sake of being prickly.  (I do, though, think that guys like Dylan, Orbison, Clapton could have convinced him to do it for artistic posterity). 

Online Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #128 on: June 14, 2018, 10:23:37 AM »
McCartney has said a few times that he thinks The Beatles would have gotten back together at some point, for something.  A one-off performance like Live Aid would certainly fit that bill.

I agree that Ringo would've done it because Ringo will play with anyone, plus he seemed to be the one that got along with all the others better than anyone else.  George would've come around.  I think those posthumous releases ("Free as a Bird" and I think there was another, equally forgettable one) show that he was willing to put aside his personal feelings and do something for its own sake.  True, working with John posthumously was probably easier than working with him while he was alive, but the principle is similar.

Offline Stadler

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 43016
  • Gender: Male
  • Pointing out the "unfunny" since 2014!
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #129 on: June 14, 2018, 10:29:05 AM »
McCartney has said a few times that he thinks The Beatles would have gotten back together at some point, for something.  A one-off performance like Live Aid would certainly fit that bill.

I agree that Ringo would've done it because Ringo will play with anyone, plus he seemed to be the one that got along with all the others better than anyone else.  George would've come around.  I think those posthumous releases ("Free as a Bird" and I think there was another, equally forgettable one) show that he was willing to put aside his personal feelings and do something for its own sake.  True, working with John posthumously was probably easier than working with him while he was alive, but the principle is similar.

"Real Love".

Interesting story:  I saw King Crimson in New Haven in November of 1995, and for Adrian's solo spot he came out and said (I'm paraphrasing) "Hey, I know all of you are waiting for that new Beatles song to come out, so I thought I would  blow the surprise and play it for you now".    And he played this song, nice, but a little twee and we all sort of laughed at how cheeky Adj was.    Fast forward about two weeks and the song is actually released... and son of a bitch if it wasn't the song that Belew played for us at the show. 

Offline Fritzinger

  • Posts: 2556
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #130 on: June 14, 2018, 10:44:45 AM »
For a while there, I held Bill Bruford in somewhat low regard.  I got better.

It came entirely from album credits, and obviously only from albums I had.  Bill was the original drummer for Yes, but he left.  On Yessongs, Alan White stepped up and has a much more powerful sound, so I figured okay, Yes traded up in the drumming department just as they did in the keyboards and guitar department.  Then on Seconds Out, kinda the same thing.  It's a document from two tours, but for whatever reason they chose almost all stuff that Chester Thompson played on, so I figured Bill must be kind of a loser.  Everybody seems to prefer someone else.  Hey it was like 1977 and I didn't know any better.  I hadn't yet discovered King Crimson or U.K., or I'd've probably come to a different conclusion.

Interesting. I personally liked Bill better than Alan from the very first listen...
I had to laugh at your "I figured Bill must be some kind of a loser" comment  :lol But you're right, I always wondered why his recordings were often not chosen. Maybe it's because he left and he and the the (respective) band didn't split up in good terms? Or maybe this is just simple coincidence and the recordings with the other guys just have better sound.. Who knows.

I hope you have changed your mind and that now you admire him, otherwise  :censored !!!
any rock can be made to roll

Online Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #131 on: June 14, 2018, 12:01:35 PM »
Oh yeah, I've definitely changed my mind since then.  A long time ago, actually.  But when all you have to go by is what little you've been exposed to at the time, all you can do is draw your own conclusions.

Offline Grappler

  • Posts: 3414
  • Gender: Male
  • Victory, Illinois Varsity
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #132 on: June 14, 2018, 12:05:05 PM »
Damn Yankees - Album #3   :metal

Offline Fritzinger

  • Posts: 2556
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #133 on: June 14, 2018, 12:18:11 PM »
Oh yeah, I've definitely changed my mind since then.  A long time ago, actually.  But when all you have to go by is what little you've been exposed to at the time, all you can do is draw your own conclusions.

Man sometimes I wish I would have been exposed to the music of that time AT that time. I'm 25 and my music taste is the music taste of a 59 year old prog fan.
any rock can be made to roll

Online Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #134 on: June 14, 2018, 03:42:40 PM »
It was definitely something else to live through that time.  Each new album was an event.  Unless you or someone you knew followed the fan magazines, you had no idea when things were coming out.  You just went to the record store one day and BOOM! new album by one of your favorite bands!  Hope you have five bucks on you.

Offline Kwyjibo

  • Worse troll than Blabbermouth
  • Posts: 5998
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #135 on: June 14, 2018, 11:44:09 PM »
I remember going to the record store, not to buy something I had in mind, but just to look if there is a new album by one of my favorite artists. And then going home and putting the record on the stereo with the sleeve in your hands and following the lyrics while you were listening for the first time.
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D

Offline Fritzinger

  • Posts: 2556
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #136 on: June 15, 2018, 12:16:18 AM »
I remember going to the record store, not to buy something I had in mind, but just to look if there is a new album by one of my favorite artists. And then going home and putting the record on the stereo with the sleeve in your hands and following the lyrics while you were listening for the first time.

I always do that when a new record of my favorite bands comes out :)
any rock can be made to roll

Offline Kwyjibo

  • Worse troll than Blabbermouth
  • Posts: 5998
  • Gender: Male
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #137 on: June 15, 2018, 12:42:26 AM »
I still like to do that too, but more often than not I just don't have the time to sit down and just listen to a record all the way through. So I listen to it in the car on my way to work or while I do other stuff. But then I can't immerse myself into the music like I used to do.
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D

Online Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #138 on: June 15, 2018, 07:16:58 AM »
After a while, it was simply "the ritual".  Totally absorbing everything you could about the new album.  The lyrics, the pictures, even the production credits and who plays what on each song if they have that.

These days, my car during my commute is my listening room, and I catch up on the liner notes separately.  Not really the same, but at least the audio in my car blows away the little stereo I had in junior high, so there is that.

Offline Stadler

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 43016
  • Gender: Male
  • Pointing out the "unfunny" since 2014!
Re: The albums you wish had existed
« Reply #139 on: June 15, 2018, 08:25:01 AM »
Fritzinger, it was more than that.   Orbert is only talking about one aspect of it.   Yeah, you had no idea when a release was coming  out, but  further, you had no idea about ANYTHING, except what might be leaked out by a magazine like Cream or Hit Parader, and even then, the writers were more interested in their take on things than any real insight.  There was MYSTERY about bands.   I only ever knew what Sabbath looked like from the pictures  on the album covers (and if you've seen "Sabotage" you know that that's not a ton of good info).   There was no Twitter, there was no "The Osbornes" reality TV bullshit, there was just the myth, the legend.   When Orbert said "totally absorbing everything you could  about the new album", it doesn't do it justice; it was hunting for every little scrap in what was otherwise a desert of information.

There were no "making of..." DVDs with albums, there was no "Behind The Music", there was no "EPK", there was no Twitter/Facebook/website to explain the releases and build temptation...   for the very biggest bands, you MIGHT get an advance single* and maybe a poster at the record store saying an album would  be released in the coming weeks.

* Didn't help much, because if there was a dearth of info on the records, the singles were even worse.  At best, it was a 12" with a picture on the front and writing credits on the back - ala Iron Maiden - but at worst (and typically) it was a 7" with a plain paper cover.