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September 12 is a busier-than-usual day for album anniversaries, with no less than 10 famous or noteworthy titles celebrating their birthdays on this day. Here’s a quick rundown on the highs, lows and everything in between:<\/p>\n
Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here<\/em> (1975)<\/strong><\/p>\n It took Pink Floyd<\/a> a bit to figure out how to record a follow up to 1973’s massively successful The Dark Side of the Moon<\/a><\/em>, but they eventually landed on an album dominated by the nine-part “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” a tribute to their former bandmate Syd Barrett. Wish You Were Here<\/em><\/a> also found time to savagely critique the music business with “Welcome to the Machine” and “Have a Cigar.”<\/p>\n Read More: How Pink Floyd Remembered Syd Barrett on ‘Wish You Were Here’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Thin Lizzy, Fighting<\/em> (1975)<\/strong><\/p>\n After years of struggles and lineup changes,\u00a0Thin Lizzy<\/a>‘s classic four-piece roster finally jelled together while touring in support of 1974’s Nightlife<\/em>. They emerged from the studio with Fighting<\/em>, which as its name implied showcased a new, more aggressive attitude.<\/p>\n It became the band’s first album to chart in the UK, setting the stage for the breakthrough success of 1976’s Jailbreak<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Read More: How Thin Lizzy Set the Stage for a Breakthrough With ‘Fighting’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n David Bowie, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)<\/em> (1980)<\/strong><\/p>\n After completing his critically acclaimed Berlin trilogy, David Bowie<\/a> kicked off the ’80s by shifting his focus a bit more towards the mainstream on Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)<\/em>, which resulted in the worldwide hits “Ashes to Ashes” and “Fashion.”<\/p>\n After spending a couple of years working on soundtracks, Bowie would blow the doors off the charts with his next album, 1983’s Let’s Dance<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n Read More: Revisiting David Bowie’s Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Aerosmith, Pump<\/em> (1989)<\/strong><\/p>\n After making one of rock’s most dazzling comebacks with 1987’s multi-platinum\u00a0Permanent Vacation<\/a><\/em>, Aerosmith<\/a> somehow managed to outdo themselves two years later with Pump<\/em>. The album was leaner, meaner and less glossy than its predecessor, and went on to become an even bigger commercial success.<\/p>\n Read More: Aerosmith’s Comeback Gets Even Stronger on ‘Pump’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Vince Neil, Carved in Stone<\/em> (1995)<\/strong><\/p>\n After the so-so reaction to his 1993 solo debut Exposed<\/em>, former Motley Crue<\/a> lead singer Vince Neil<\/a> decided to swing for the fences. He hired the Dust Brothers – famous for their work with the Beastie Boys and Beck – to produce Carved in Stone<\/em>, which melded hip-hop and rock.<\/p>\n Reviews were not favorable, and Neil’s ambition wasn’t rewarded commercially either. “That was before Kid Rock so no one was really ready for it then,” he told Classic Rock<\/em> in 2000. “If it came out today, it’d probably sell 50 million copies.”<\/p>\n A little over a year later, Neil reunited with Motley Crue. He hasn’t released a solo album of original material since Carved in Stone<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read More: How Vince Neil’s Solo Career Stalled With ‘Carved in Stone’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Red Hot Chili Peppers, One Hot Minute<\/em> (1995)<\/strong><\/p>\n By his own admission, Red Hot Chili Peppers<\/a> guitarist John Frusciante wasn’t ready for the world-shaking success of the band’s 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik<\/em>. He quit the band mid-tour, and it took several years for the band to replace him with Jane’s Addiction <\/a>guitarist Dave Navarro and release One Hot Minute<\/em>.<\/p>\n Although the album had its high points, the chemistry between Navarro and his new bandmates never fully clicked, and the album sold about one-fourth of Blood Sugar Sex Magik<\/em>‘s (admittedly amazing) total. After a few more years of turmoil, Frusciante returned to the group for 1999’s Californication<\/a>, which put the band right back on top of the rock world.<\/p>\n Read More: The Red Hot Chili Peppers Deal With Turmoil on ‘One Hot Minute’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Jimi Hendrix Experience<\/em> (Box Set, 2000)<\/strong><\/p>\n 30 years after his untimely death and after years of patchy and sometimes controversial posthumous albums,\u00a0Jimi Hendrix<\/a>\u00a0was honored with a comprehensive box set worthy of his legacy – right down to the luxurious purple cover fabric.<\/p>\n Read More: How the ‘Purple Box’ Threw Jimi Hendrix’s Vaults Wide Open<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Paul McCartney, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard<\/em> (2005)<\/strong><\/p>\n Nigel Godrich clearly does not lack for confidence. The Radiohead and Beck producer intentionally and repeatedly pushed Paul McCartney<\/a> -a %$#%#$ Beatle, in case you forget – outside his comfort zone as the two recorded 2005’s Chaos and Creation in the Backyard<\/em>.<\/p>\n He refused to let McCartney record with his touring band, and fought him on arrangements and tempos. “There were one or two moments on the album when I had to think to myself, ‘You know, I could just fire this guy,”‘ McCartney told the Associated Press. But he stuck it out and the result is one of McCartney’s finest solo albums.<\/p>\n Read More: How Paul McCartney Reinvented on ‘Chaos and Creation’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Bob Seger, Face the Promise<\/em> (2006)<\/strong><\/p>\n Bob Sege<\/a>r made his fans wait over a decade for the follow-up to 1995’s It’s a Mystery<\/em>, reportedly spending six years working on 2006’s Face the Promise<\/em>. The album featured collaborations with Patty Loveless, Kid Rock and future Eagle Vince Gill. In 2026 Seger released an expanded edition of the album, featuring four previously unreleased tracks.<\/p>\n Read More: Bob Seger Expands ‘Face the Promise’ With Four New Songs<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Metallica, Death Magnetic<\/em> (2008)<\/strong><\/p>\n Nearly two decades after shifting toward more conventional hard rock with their 1991’s “Black Album” – and half a decade after bewildering a large segment of their audience with the kinda pointlessly experimental St. Anger<\/em><\/a> – Metallica<\/a> made a welcome and convincing return to their thrash roots with Death Magnetic<\/em>.<\/p>\n