4 Classic Rock Albums That Became Popular Despite Never Being Officially Released

Once a rock star reaches a certain level of fame and notoriety, their albums don’t necessarily need to be “officially released” to become popular. In fact, sometimes, the taboo nature of a bootlegged album can increase public intrigue, thereby increasing its appeal and global reach without the logistical headache of an official mastering, promotion, or coinciding tour.

Of course, it’s only up to the artist to decide if these potential benefits are worth someone else releasing your artistic work to the public without your consent. But in the case of these four rock albums, we’d imagine that the overwhelming success of their bootlegs might’ve softened the blow of this creative hijacking. At the very least, it gave the rest of us great music that we might not have had otherwise.

‘Live’r Than You’ll Ever Be’ by The Rolling Stones

Some sources consider the Rolling Stones’ Live’r Than You’ll Ever Be to be one of the first live rock ‘n’ roll bootlegs in history. It’s certainly one of the most popular and influential, gaining so much critical acclaim that the Rolling Stones and their label, Decca Records, eventually released an official live album to satiate public demand. Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert came out almost exactly one year after their performance at the Coliseum Arena in Oakland that comprised their first unreleased live album. 

‘The Black Album’ by Prince

Rock icon Prince wrote The Black Album in response to critics who said he had crossed over too far into the pop genre. But days before the album’s release date, Prince demanded that Warner Bros. pull all the records and cancel the release, claiming he had a spiritual epiphany that made him realize the album was actually evil. Surviving copies of the album became incredibly popular bootlegs, despite Prince blatantly asking fans not to buy any existing copies of The Black Album.

‘Great White Wonder’ by Bob Dylan

If Live’r Than You’ll Ever Be was the first live rock bootleg, Bob Dylan’s Great White Wonder is the first rock album to become popular despite never being released, period. The four-side album contained studio outtakes, home recordings, and a live performance from The Johnny Cash Show. The popularity of the compilation inspired Dylan to put out The Basement Tapes in 1975, which had a similar homegrown feel with better production value. The release of Great White Wonder changed the music distribution forever, ushering in bootleg albums as a popular and lucrative industry offshoot.

‘Dark Side of the Moo’ by Pink Floyd

Unlike other unreleased albums that featured tracks unavailable elsewhere, Trixie Records’ Dark Side of the Moo is a compilation of Pink Floyd cuts, some of which did have commercial releases. Trixie Records compiled these Pink Floyd songs out of frustration over the discrepancies between commercial releases in the U.K. and the U.S. The name, of course, is a tribute to the Pink Floyd’s magnum opus Dark Side of the Moon, and the album cover (and switch from “Moon” to “Moo”) is a reference to the band’s 1970 album Atom Heart Mother.

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