RE: Pop innovators (was The Experimental Side of Burt Bacharach)

Rock artists certainly have to earn their dues, though an artist can unleash something like Freak Out! on the world as a debut.

i think those days are long gone, unless you consider self-released/vanity pressings, which are generally doomed to bad distribution and or total obscurity. there's certainly no major label today, and probably no major indie that would release a debut like freak out! in today's musical/business climate. sean