The most UNDERRATED albums of all time.

[Condem]

I'm listening to one, now. 16 Lovers Lane by The Go-Betweens. The late, great Grant McClennan and Robert Forster. Australia's finest. Released in the mid-eighties. Had the chance to see them at the 9:30 Club in DC just after the release. Fabulous. There's many more, but this one came to mind. Yours?

[happyiowan]

1. Anything by The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Never got the attention they so richly deserved.

[Condem]

3. Tantara by The House of Freaks.

To this day, so refreshing. And what a tragedy. I still can't believe it.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

38. and underrated within the JAMC catalog is "Munki"

their last album was panned by most critics, but I think it's one of their top 3

[Mike 03]

104. I agree Munki is a fantastic album.

"Stone and Dethroned" I was not so thrilled about.

NT

[NightWatcher]

62. J&M's Stoned and Dethroned is excellent

[nomorenomore08]

65. YES! 'Darklands' is one of the best albums of the 80's, and 'Psychocandy' isn't far behind.

Add 'Honey's Dead' and 'Stoned and Dethroned,' and it becomes clear that these guys were *criminally* underrated. Sure, there's a few hipsters giving them props nowadays (thanks to the reunion), but that just seems to me like too little too late.

[JCMach1]

71. Honey's Dead is still my fave...

[nomorenomore08]

74. "I wanna die just like Jesus Christ..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZYSbIubUdU&feature=PlayList&p=A9FA0D092C2FA9B0&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=9

I was literally screaming along with this one when I saw them last summer.

[JCMach1]

78. "do it if you feel it, kiss it on the tongue"

:)

[nomorenomore08]

79. "I can't get enough of you, God gave me strength and he gave it to you..."

And to think that (IMHO) it's only their third or fourth best album. Truly an exceptional band...

[guy]

90. I agree, especially Automatic

And the Stone Roses, Second Coming is just an incredible album. The sound of the guitar really does it for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYFK1R-wUwg

[Mike 03]

103. Yes.

"Honey's Dead" is a masterpiece.
"Automatic" is a masterpiece.
Damn near every album of theirs was a masterpiece.

One of my favorite memories ever was seeing them peform live (and totally trashed/drunk) at the Hollywood Palladium.

Incredible band (or musician brothers to be precise)

[greenbriar]

2. Ambrosia

very much liked their sound

[Condem]

4. How long was it going on, greenbriar?

[no name no slogan]

35. "How Long" was by Ace, Paul Carrack's old band

Ambrosia did "How Much I Feel"

:)

[cinci_democrat]

95. Nice, nice, very nice. So many people in the same device

Really liked Ambrosia too. Time to slap that baby on the turntable tomorrow.
Thanks for the reminder. :)

[WCGreen]

126. Nice Nice Very Nice....

[EastTennesseeDem]

5. "Argus" by Wishbone Ash

A complete masterpiece

"Lost and Gone Forever" by Guster

[happyiowan]

6. Big Country. In a Big Country.

And Steeltown. Why did Stuart Adamson hang himself?

[KamaAina]

10. The question is, why did he come all the way to Hawai'i to hang himself?

Seriesly.

http://archives.starbulletin.com/2001/12/17/news/index.html

A member of the Scottish rock band Big Country was found dead of an apparent suicide in a hotel room near the Honolulu Airport yesterday.

The body of Stuart Adamson was found at The Plaza Hotel at 3253 N. Nimitz Highway at 1:15 p.m. The Honolulu Medical Examiner determined that Adamson died of asphyxia by hanging, said Lt. Bill Kato of the Honolulu Police Department....

Adamson, 43, checked in on Dec. 4 as William Adamson. His full name is William Stuart Adamson. A maid had looked in on him Saturday and thought he was sleeping on the floor, Kato said. When she found him in the same position yesterday she called security who called police, Kato said.

Adamson's estranged wife, Melanie Shelley, reported the singer missing from his Nashville home Nov. 26, said Nashville Police Detective Clinton Vogel.

:(

[happyiowan]

14. God, I loved the sound.

I never knew he lived in Nashville, of all places. I still miss him.

[SoxFan]

66. The Crossing

That's the album you're thinking of, and yes, it is an underappreciated gem. Too many people think of Big Country as a 1980s novely act like Men Without Hats, but The Crossing, Wonderland, and Steeltown constitute a remarkable run of "Big Music".

[sammythecat]

116. great choice

thanks for reminding me of that

[Condem]

7. The JetBlackBerries.

Sundown on Venus. Some wild ass shit. From Louisville.

[RagAss]

8. This one...no doubt...

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

92. Mmmm, seeing him in May at the Orpheum in L.A. doing Astral Weeks.

6th row. Saint Dominic's was a great one too.

[fishwax]

96. same artist, different album

But a great album, imo:

[Beetwasher]

11. Chris Whitley "Living With The Law"

n/t

[flvegan]

12. Self titled album by a band called Fat.

Late 90's. Brilliant

Here's "Downtime"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRzzc_xWnks

[Condem]

18. I'm getting too old, flvegan

That shit's beyond me. Sigh.

[rucky]

13. Catherine Wheel - Adam & Eve

[dana_b]

107. I don't have that one but I'm glad to see someone

else knows who they are. I love Dickinson's voice.

[Condem]

15. The first Marshall Crenshaw album.

Not one bad tune. All good.

[mac56]

16. Second on that.

Also "Beat And Torn" by the Spongetones.

[gmoney]

23. I've always preferred "Downtown" for some reason...

"I'm Sorry (But So is Brenda Lee)" wasn't his song, but damn he did a great job with it. I even said that to Ben Vaughn.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

57. That song plus "Little Wild One"...

...it was his "Buddy Holly shot out of a cannon" performance. I like the first three albums, but in terms of investing in a CD, "The Best of Marshall Crenshaw: This Is Easy" works for me as a collection of the essential tracks.

:toast:

[gmoney]

24. Doh!

Dupe

[abq e streeter]

17. 2 that come to mind: The Fugs 2nd album, & Kid Creole & the Coconuts' Wise Guy

Marquee Moon by Television too...

[happyiowan]

19. The Chameleons Script of the Bridge

What a unique band.

[no name no slogan]

36. What a brilliant album!

Check these out:

Monkeyland:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBjJIInF26Y

Up the Down Escalator:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iwxkLByt68

"Demo" videos shot at Strawberry Studios in Manchester-- the same studio owned by members of 10cc.

The Chameleons are amazing.

[Condem]

20. Wall of Voodoo's Call of the West.

The great Standard Ridgeway.

[Symarip]

51. I agree with this one

Early 80s Los Angeles had some real groundbreaking music. In terms of albums underrated, I'd also lump Oingo Boingo's Nothing to Fear in there. I think you can hear in alot of Wall of Voodoo and early Boingo how they kind of played off each other. Maybe an unspoken kinship of sorts.

Just my take on things.

[asthmaticeog]

83. Just saw Stan Ridgway play a couple of weeks ago.

He's still superb. :thumbsup:

[MrPerson]

21. Crowded House

[gmoney]

26. All four original albums are just amazing, and hold up really well.

Hard to believe it's been almost 25 years since that first one.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

39. agreed

everything the Finn's put out is solid work

[gmoney]

58. Well, Tim's stuff can be kind of dodgy

It's funny how bad the early Split Enz stuff was, trying so desperately to be wacky, with the bad costumes/hair/make-up and shit -- Oingo Boingo at their worst.

Then little brother Neil joins the group and starts actually bothering to craft proper SONGS and you get True Colours, Waiata, Time and Tide, and Conflicting Emotions.

Tim's solo stuff I find very hit and miss, although Big Canoe is a solid record.

[MissMillie]

53. +1

Crowded House albums, all of them, are terrific.

[Sebastian Doyle]

22. Get The Knack

Sure, everybody remembers "My Sharona" as well they should. But the whole damn album was as good or better.

Probably the only better albums made that year (1979) were "London Calling" and "Highway to Hell".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LjsOoO0VdM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCqD055X8MQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc3KXwd8ZWQ

[gmoney]

29. Loved that record!

I still remember going to the record department in the basement of the Elder-Beerman department store to buy it. I bet I still have that LP.

[Forkboy]

25. Everything that Alice Donut did, especially The Untidy Suicides Of Your Degenerate Children.

Revenge Fantasies of the Impotent, and Bucketfuls Of Sickness And Horror In An Otherwise Meaningless Existence are pretty damned awesome, too.

Revenge Fantasies also has one of my favorite covers.

[LostinVA]

27. Under Rug Swept -- Alanais

[mvd]

30. Yes, it's her last great album IMO

:hi:

[eyepaddle]

80. I agree.

I know that will surprise folks, but I do like Alanis quite a bit, especially Under Rug Swept.

[LostinVA]

86. I put it in the top 20 albums

[mvd]

28. Do you mean underrated by critics, not noticed much by the public, or both?

[ceile]

31. Anything by the Ocean Blue or Judybats....

:shrug:

[Condem]

50. Great call.

Saw 'em both back in the day. The Ocean Blue. Very underrated.

[Arugula Latte]

60. I swear, ceile, your brain and mine are wired the same when it comes to music.

:hi:

[mix]

32. wowee zowee - pavement

"...there is no castration fear..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcJ7GpHQT24&feature=PlayList&p=96490D899266CFAB&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=7

[rucky]

47. great choice

Pavement ich rad!

[keroro gunsou]

33. the who: quadrophenia

eternally overshadowed by tommy.

[mvd]

34. Some right off the bat that fit both categories I mentioned above

Merril Bainbridge - The Garden (had only the one hit, but is a great CD)
A Fine Frenzy - One Cell In The Sea (one of my favorite CDs of all time)
The Alanis CD mentioned by another poster
The Beatles - Let It Be
Michelle Branch - Hotel Paper
Kay Hanley in Letters To Cleo and solo
Nina Gordon's two solo CDs
Kelly Clarkson - My December
Vanessa Carlton - Heroes & Thieves

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

37. Grant Lee Buffalo - "Fuzzy"

Or anything by the band by that matter. The most underrated and neglected group of all time. If their label had promoted them properly, they would be ranked right up there with REM and Wilco as one of the great bands of Americana.

[underpants]

44. Love Grant Lee Buffalo

of course their lead singer ended up being a troubadour in a small New England town (Gilmore Girls)

[no name no slogan]

72. Completely agree

Grant Lee Buffalo was the whole package-- great musicianship, excellent production and awesome songwriting. Their record company totally blew it with them. I still find GLB's records more listenable than most of the Wilco catalog.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

40. Several.

Empty Glass by Pete Townshend (1981)

Preservation Act II by the Kinks

(Not to be confused with Preservation Act I or The Village Green Preservation Society).

Far better than TOMMY. Much more variety in the musical styles.

Discipline by King Crimson.

Grand Hotel by Procul Harum

[Jamastiene]

41. Pick a Ramones album, any Ramones album, for $1000 Alex.

:)

[Oeditpus Rex]

42. If you hadn't said it

I was gonna have to.



:headbang:

[Symarip]

52. I love The Ramones

But I don't see how they were ever underrated. They were all living legends and every album has a track or two still in heavy rotation today. Again, I'm not arguing their genius. But I don't think of them as ever underrated or underappreciated.

[Oeditpus Rex]

43. Warner Brothers Presents... Montrose

Their third album and first without Sammy Hagar. A lotta people bagged on Montrose without Hagar, but on this album Ronnie Montrose broke out into the non-headbanging music that proves his guitar virtuosity. (Listen to "Whaler" and "One And a Half.")



Great cover, too. :D

[underpants]

45. Fleshtones "Roman Gods" and Game Theory's "Lolita Nation"

and anything by Buffalo Tom

[Magrittes Pipe]

84. Hope come back!

Your mama's cryin'...

[underpants]

94. The Dreg

I am amazed that I don't hear that as intro/background music in movies

Saw them at a club in Norfolk-truly a great show

[Tikki]

88. One of my most prized possessions...my Fleshtones EP....

UP-FRONT...
with "Theme From The Vindicators"


Tikki

[underpants]

93. Sadly a car vacuum claimed my copy of Roman Gods

out of print as far as I can tell

:cry:

[dysfunctional press]

46. high ball me. by moose.

[Richardo]

48. Little Feat's Debut Album - 1971

Sold only 7,000 copies in its first run - but it's a great, bluesy collection, including a stripped-down, demo-style version of "Willin'" :thumbsup:

[argyl]

73. Great pick. "Willin'" a lot rougher sounding. Also done in E instead of G.

[Condem]

49. The Church. Sometime Anywhere

In fact, anything by The Church.

[fishwax]

97. a track from that album

radio cut rather than the album version, but even so: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGF5DlPvyhU

[Condem]

102. The last song, fishwax

Dead man's dream. I want that played at my funeral.

[MissMillie]

54. I can think of 2... Robbie Robertson's "Storyville" and

"Hats" by the Blue Nile

[southpaw]

55. Duran Duran's debut album

While it's true that they owed a lot to Japan and Roxy Music, the early Duran Duran were pretty unique in and of themselves... and the first album was really solid.

[datasuspect]

56. OKKO - "Sitar and Electronics"

[Arugula Latte]

59. I like the Go Betweens song "Cattle and Cane"

[DBoon]

61. Mothers of Invention - "Freak Out"

I'm convinced side 4 is the great ancestor of all sounds industrial

[Initech]

113. We're Only In It For The Money as well.

Fuck, anything Zappa did was pretty spectacular. Truly a man ahead of his time.

[Tikki]

63. Jesus of Cool/Pure Pop For Now People...Nick Lowe (1978)

"Primordial Ooze Flavored"....the Unclaimed
"KRLA/King of the Wheels"....Bobby Fuller Four
"Here Are the Sonics"...the Sonics...
http://surf.to/sonics
"Mendocino"....Sir Douglas Quintet


Tikki

[GOPisEvil]

101. Good call on The Sir Douglas Quintet!

:thumbsup:

[mix]

108. nick lowe is a god

seconds of pleasure - rockpile - is also the shizz

teacher, teacher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BpfFEd7Uro

[LynneSin]

64. The Globe II by Big Audio Dynamite

Might have to listen to it right now!

[JCMach1]

70. Nice pick...

[SoxFan]

67. Translator's self-titled album

Alternative pop masterpiece


Jason & the Scorchers, "Lost and Found"

[dembotoz]

81. yep

[CrownPrinceBandar]

68. "Living With the Law"by Chris Whitley......

Greatest album no-one has ever heard.

[JCMach1]

69. Globe of Frogs- Robyn Hitchcock

a masterpiece... finally picked up the digital version of this hard to find classic...

[JCMach1]

75. Skylarking- XTC

[SoxFan]

89. Hard to call XTC "underrated"

They never sold well, but they were always at the top of the critical darling list.

[argyl]

76. "Younger Than Yesterday" by the Byrds. Kinda got lost in the Sgt.Pepper hoopla

and the psychedelia craze. The Byrds had done their psychedelia phase and this one featured their first country rock tunes,"Girl With No Name" and "Time Between." And Clarence White was sitting in with some fantastic guitar work.

Also had "So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star," a scathing comment on the cynicism and crass commercialism of the recording industry with the great South African trumpet player Hugh Masakela sitting in.

Throw in "My Back Pages," probably their best Dylan cover and the gorgeous and grossly overlooked "Have You Seen Her Face" and you've got a hell of an album.

[nomorenomore08]

77. Yeah! That one too!

'Mr. Tambourine Man' and 'Fifth Dimension' are the ones the critics drool over, but while excellent I don't think they *quite* match up to 'YTY.'

[PeaceNikki]

82. Solar Radio - Camera Oscura

Or When Seas Collapse.

I can't decide.

[Sheets of Easter]

87. "Item" by a mile.

Too bad it's long out of print. :(

[PeaceNikki]

99. The band was in such a weird place then... the whole Shaw and Ahern "thing".

[EstimatedProphet]

98. Yes! Seconded.

[hellbound-liberal]

85. Led Zeppelin's Presence is my choice. Not well-received by critics or the public but

I think it contained a lot of good music: Royal Orleans, Hots On For Nowhere, Candy Store Rock and of course, Achilles last Stand:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU1oD3JqfN8

[SoxFan]

91. Half a dozen overlooked greats

Sidewinders, "Witchdoctor"
Crazy Horse meets Pearl Jam in the Arizona desert


The Waterboys, "This Is The Sea"
Kind of lost in the soon-to-follow U2 breakout; the capstone to their triple play of 1982-1985



Foster & Lloyd, "Foster & Lloyd"
Is it country? Janglepop? I don't care. Gorgeous harmonies, great songwriting, and just enough twang



Guadalcanal Diary, "Jamboree"
REM's weirder Georgia neighbors. Lyrics about serial killers and 3 Stooges with sweet pop craft



Scruffy the Cat, "Tiny Days"
One of the great bands from Boston's late 1980s garage rock heyday.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_O852wsIW7LQ/SDKqSkvw2ZI/AAAAAAAAAu8/Y7Ri8ogMWFk/s320/Scruffy+The+Cat+-+Tiny+Days+-+Front.jpg


Steve Wynn, "Kerosene Man"
Rather than pick one of the criticgasm Dream Syndicate albums, I'm going with this odd little gem

[mix]

111. have you seen this?

i've posted it before: the waterboys - this is the sea - from riding giants

rad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk469q3-EIc

[tigereye]

120. that Sidewinders album was great

I have a number of the albums you mention here.

[GOPisEvil]

100. "You're Living All Over Me" or "Bug" Dinosaur Jr. "Copper Blue" by Sugar

Two name just two/three.

[ghostsofgiants]

117. Bug is a killer album.

:thumbsup:

[happyiowan]

105. Jesus Christ Superstar

The original Rice-Webber cast. Ian Gillan of Deep Purple as Jesus. I listen to it every Easter. A great Rock Opera!

[Condem]

106. Who can forget the great Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene?

Am I right?

[dana_b]

110. that is a good one

We saw the play a couple of years ago and Corey Glover from Living Colour was Judas. He was fantastic!! Stole the show away from Jesus.

[dana_b]

109. The Coup "Pick A Bigger Weapon", Boomtown Rats -

"The Fine Art of Surfacing" - there's a lot more but those came to mind right away

[Bennyboy]

112. Leftover Salmon ...The Nashville Sessions

http://www.leftoversalmon.com/salmon/HistoryandBios/Discography/tabid/100/Default.aspx

including Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Reese Wynans, John Cowan, and Sally Van Meter. Country legends Earl Scruggs, Waylon Jennings and Lucinda Williams also contributed, as did many of the bands friends from the road, including Blues Traveler’s John Popper, John Bell from Widespread Panic and Big Head Todd’s Todd Park Mohr.

[Initech]

114. Katatonia - Viva Emptiness

Absolutely fucking amazing album.

[Initech]

115. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

I didnt like the style of the album the first couple times I heard it but it definitely grew on me and now it's one of my absolute favorites of the last couple of years.

[EastTennesseeDem]

122. I like that one too

but as for underrated I'd give the edge to "This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About", "The Lonesome Crowded West", and "The Moon and Antarctica". Modest Mouse definitely underwent a change around the mid-2000's. I thing WWDBTSES actually hit number one.

[driver8]

118. I love 16 Lovers Lane -- I got it after seeing a video for "Streets of Your Town."

Lots of good songs on this album.

[driver8]

119. "Mavericks" by Peter Holseapple and Chris Stamey.

If you haven't heard it, do yourself a favor and check it out!!

[tigereye]

121. I love pretty much everything Stamey ever did. Great voice.

[cherish44]

123. Let It Be by The Beatles

It's always been dismissed as a subpar "swan song" type album by them but it's of their best I think

[Mendocino]

124. Rough Mix

by Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane

[Condem]

125. The House of Love

Audience of the Mind.

[happyiowan]

127. Yes.

But the first album might of been a wee bit better.

[triguy46]

128. Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks (1983) by Brian Eno