Is a HIT essential for an album to a GREAT ALBUM ?

I vote for n.3.
IMO the best example comes from BJ...Crush has a huge hit but it's just an island in a sea of crap...
These Days didn't have a real hit but it's still their best album so far.

On the contrary to These Days not having a hit I disagree. Sure, you didn't have monster hits like Always or IML but still, some songs did very well from that album. TAALS probably the best being the first single and it was quite high up in the charts for a longer period of time. I remember watching it for weeks and weeks on the old Dial MTV show back in -95. Also, in the backwaters of Always I would also consider it hard to get another massive hit, and surely TD was a little in the shades because of the major success Crossroad had.

Concerning the major issue here though, if it even is an issue, is that a band will always aim at being successful with all means possible. What you do and/or change to be successful is to me the important point. Some sell out and do stuff they don't really feel 100% comfortable with and some stand their ground and try to market themselves for who they are. I think most bands and artists are somewhere in between, because in order to survive as an artist or a band in the music industry today you can't go tunnel vision sailing and roll with the punches, but instead be flexible to a certain degree and consider new aspects of music, without turning too far away from what got you there in the first place.
People will always reckognize artists and bands that deliberately try to be hot and trendy as you said, and that won't give you much respect now will it? If you manage to get a hit song and at the same time be true to yourself and your music, then that is what I call real success. And in my book, that's the story Bon Jovi have written so far.

Excellent thread. In my opinion, I think that an album doesnt necessarily have to have a huge hit track for the album to be 'great'. As Jenn says, just because an album has an amazing song which everyone loves and goes and purchese it, it doesnt mean that the rest of the album is going to be any good.

However, when Crush was released in May 2000, it was preceded by Its My Life which was a huge hit, and will now be remembered as one of the fans most well known songs along with Livin On A Prayer and Always, which were also the catalyst of albums which sold extremely well in Slippery When Wet and Cross Road respectively. So my point is, a huge hit DEFINATELY supports the album and helps it sell successfully, but it doesnt mean it will be any good.

Once an album gets to the top of he charts, words spreads about it, and people stand up and pay more attention to the band in question. This creates more fans as well, and in the example of Neil, pursueded him to buy Say It Isnt So and Crush also, so any new album release will generate a new fan base, be it in the younger generation or the elder age group.

For me it's not necessary to have a hit. Even without a hit, the stadiums will be filled with the "old" fans(from the earlier Jovi days)
And for me it doesn't make an album better because it has a hit

Charlotte

True, but not forever.....to keep on filling stadiums you need a hit single sometimes...

I am very happy about how things turn here ... I am agreeing with everyone LOL i is not normal .. I mean everyone has a very valid opinions ...
I think BON JOVI can keep on filling stadiums with their past hits if they are happy to be on stage and show it it's enough for spreading the Jovi love

I am impressed by the interesting replies

I want the band to be happy musically and artistically I want them to make the music they REALLLY want to make and REALLY love ...if it's a HIT it's great if it's not it's great because I'll be happy and they'll be happy ... I think they don't need financially to be at the top and to be trendy for everyone to live happy ... I'd rather see them satisfied artistically better than the NUMBER ONE HOT BAND OF THE MOMENT ...

but that's just me ... I think that if you target to be at the top somehow you are planning to be not totally genuine .. very few bands can get a major hit without doing something trendy that they don't want to do .... I think U2 can do that ... they do what they like and most of the time ppl follow them unconditionally even if the songs are not at all in the "flavor" of what is done at this moment ...

I'd love Bon Jovi to do be like U2 to do it without the ultimate goal to to hook the planet ...

does it make sense ?

No it just needs to possess great music to be a great album. If it doesn't appeal to the mainstream and doesn't even reach the charts, then the music can still be great. It all depends on the genre, advertisements or the airplay that the album gets whether it is successful or not. For example an old fashioned Blues artist such as John Lee Hooker could release an album today that is great, but it wouldn't appeal to the younger generations and therefore wouldn't be a huge hit. That doesn't mean to say the the music isn't great in it's own right. The album may appeal to older generations, and they may regard it as a great album.

In Bon Jovi's case they need a hit album at this time in their career, or maybe just a great album that shows their older fans to keep the faith in their music. Actually, **** the charts. If Bon Jovi make a hit album or not I don't care just as long as I and the hardcore fans like it.

Nope it doesn't but we still love you :P
Just kidding. It does makes sense to me and you are right about U2 but I didn't liked their music when they did the zooropa tour. That was absolutely not my kind of stuff.

Charlotte

I hope jovi albums sell well and get high chart positions, but i will still buy them for as long as im enjoying the music .

If u2 can get to number1 in the albums and singles, i really hope jovi do as well with this latest album

selling well means that there was a HUGE PROMOTIONAL WORK BESIDES
THE ALBUM.....