The Rock Album You Should Own, But Don't
Among the bonus features on the Bigger than Jesus DVD is a segment focusing on overlooked rock albums...those records which, for whatever reason, escaped public notice upon release, and never attained their rightful spot in the pantheon.
Like everything else, this piece is the catalyst for hours and hours of hair-tearing, teeth-grinding, obsessive-compulsive agony...have I chosen wisely, or poorly?
Some choices are obvious (to me, at least); others are less so, and it's those records about which I fret. I live in the eternal shadow of fear---fear that I've neglected some rock and roll masterwork, some musical crown jewel.
So, as always, I turn to you.
The question is this: What are the most overlooked rock albums of all time?*
* "Rock" is, of course, a subjective term, but, as a great man once said, we know it when we hear it. After a momentously difficult period of vacillation, I was eventually forced to leave The Caulfields' Whirligig off the list because, despite my firm belief that it's perhaps the single most overlooked record of the 90s, it still rings a little too "alternative pop" to quite make the cut. Fantastic stuff, though, and criminally overlooked.
Like everything else, this piece is the catalyst for hours and hours of hair-tearing, teeth-grinding, obsessive-compulsive agony...have I chosen wisely, or poorly?
Some choices are obvious (to me, at least); others are less so, and it's those records about which I fret. I live in the eternal shadow of fear---fear that I've neglected some rock and roll masterwork, some musical crown jewel.
So, as always, I turn to you.
The question is this: What are the most overlooked rock albums of all time?*
* "Rock" is, of course, a subjective term, but, as a great man once said, we know it when we hear it. After a momentously difficult period of vacillation, I was eventually forced to leave The Caulfields' Whirligig off the list because, despite my firm belief that it's perhaps the single most overlooked record of the 90s, it still rings a little too "alternative pop" to quite make the cut. Fantastic stuff, though, and criminally overlooked.
26 Comments:
Those last 5 are all dogs, every last one of them, especially Elder. My grandma could make a better record than Music From The Elder. Your grandma could too.
Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I'm gonna have to nominate Chris Cornell's Euphoria Morning, his solo effort after he left Soundgarden. Am I the only one who owns this wonderful album? Is it rockin' enough though?
Chris nominates Winger. Behold my shock.
speaking of Kix, "Hot Wire" was pretty great too. Kind of a sub AC/DC thing, but still very, very great
Any early Little Feat, before Lowell George died. The live "Waiting for Columbus" is just the best live album ever.
"Gentleman" by Afghan Wigs. A masterpiece in a self-loathing "It's 4:00am, I had too much to drink last night, I just woke up in bed next to a stranger and now I'm driving home home to explain to my girlfriend/wife where I've been all night why am I such a fuck-up who destroys everything good in his life" sort of way. A great sunny day pick me up sort of album
Thanks for bringing up "Music From the Elder" by the way. I'll be singing "World Without Heros" and "I am just a Boy" for the rest of the day. Bastard.
Electric Six -- "Senor Smoke" -- Not as many potential singles as "Fire", but as an album entirely complete. And great. The best Disco-Punk album ever!!
You heard me...
--Dick Valentine
"Disturbing the Peace" by Alcatrazz, my first introduction to the insane guitar skills of Steve Vai. Some folks here will flip me static for that, but the guy does things on guitar that no one had even thought of until then. This disc put my wannabe guitar dude ass in its place, that's for sure.
"Klienfelter" by Clockhammer is an out-of-print ripper by these super-tight, quasi-prog metal weirdoes from Nashville. No one knew about them back in the day, and surely they languish in the cutout bins throughout the country. Bought the instore play copy of it at Hegewich Records in Merrilville, IN after being vaguely aware of it in the background the whole time I was shopping. Once I went to pay for my stuff, asked who we were listening to and discarded whatever I'd decided to buy. It is that good, and that's the only time I can remember doing that.
Thought of another band that put out some underrated stuff, Faith No More. Pretty much everything after The Real Thing is underrated, they just continued to get better and better.
Ok, I gotta chime in just to see if anyone will concur... not so much specific albums, as it is subjective to which are best, but my top three underrated bands, which most rock fans are well aware of, but few know the extent of the talents unless they have seen them live, or actually own the disks:
Mr Big,
Cinderella, &
Kings X
...all of their work is highly underappreciated in the grand scheme, and a crime that these guys aren't filling arenas, imho...
Just a few comments for Chris...
All the Seattle-Grunge-Crap, yes.. 99% was musically worthless imo.. although from an industry standpoint, I comprehend why the 'movement' had to happen when it did...
Ace Frehley, overblown guitar god.. well, maybe overblown.. but certainly not worthless... take it from someone who attempts to emulate every note they guy played.. what he did on guitar was not completely mind-boggling, but his execution (how he did it it) was extremely original, unique, and frankly, not all that easy to pull off...
Which brings me to non-makeup era KISS... the most polished and focused songwriting, yes, clearly... but keep in mind at that point, they had a LOT of help in that department, despite whether due credit was given or not...
The Cult: Sonic Temple kicks ass.
Chris, you forgot to mention your two music degrees. ;-)
All I know about KISS is that Gene could buy and sell me 50 times over, Paul is the most obvious closeted gay man since Liberace, and everything I know about Ace I learned by watching Jayster.
And also, when I was 8, I broke the only KISS record I ever owned into a million pieces because I thought that I would go to hell if I listened to it. Shoulda told that story in the documentary...
I first want to agree with anyone that says Chris Cornell blows. That guy sucks so much ass! That being said, the early soundgarden stuff is pretty good metal. Not overlooked, it recieved all the credit it deserved, but good.
Second, yes, Sonic Temple, by the Cult is great and it is criminal that it didn't go any bigger. I know that it was their biggest album, but it wasn't big enough. Those guys rock!
Third, though I love it too, any butt-rock band (read Cinderella, Warrent, Winger, Poison, KIX and the like) got all the attention they, and more importantly we, needed. They are fun, they are all about partying and power balleds, but they are the most genuine rockers. Something about most of those groups sounds to "market tested."
Lastly, while I agree that not everything coming out of Seattle was gold, anyone that doesn't see the sheer power and beauty in Nirvana and early Pearl Jam has no place talking about rock. Those bands brought us back to an era where bands were more concerned that their songs were more of a sonic snapshot in their lives than whatever would sell the most albums. In short, they wanted to connect with listeners, not just sell albums to them. And that they did this while rocking as they did is what makes them great. Take STP, a band that was technically better than any of the Seattle bands of the same time, but never achieved the same following, because their songs, their sound was obviously formulaic, not genuine. Just because you grew up with KISS and the butt-rock bands does not make those that followed them worthless "fertilizer." On top of all that, these Seattle bands live performances far outshine any of their studio work. You could tell these guys loved what they were doing, not just the people there watching them, as is too often the case with popular "stars."
My most underrated band is local here to Portland, and since this started with Rick's BTJ project here in Portland, I hope I am OK to reference a local band. Floater is the most underrated band in the region. They have rocked since day one and through their evolution have continued to shine. Why no local press is given to them is beyond me. Instead, the local print and broadcast "personality's" talk up the likes of Richard Cheese or Storm and the Balls. While I am not here to say these musicians have no ability, I will say this "Why the hell does anyone talk up a talentless hack whose claim to fame is to "lounge up" someone else's writing by slowing the tempo and over singing every word. This town has plenty of great, origional bands that are far more deserving of the press and prais than some lame cover band banking off someone else's talent." That said, check out Glyph, Alter and Acoustics. Also, any live album or show is worth it, these guys have a fantastic live energy.
Jared
Agreed on Floater.
Their first album was nothing short of amazing.
The only way to describe them is some sort of fusion of Pink Floyd and Tool. Great stuff, and totally low key on local press. They really live on their local fans and nothing else.
Van Halen - Diver Down. Has some great riffs. Just enough camp to usher in Dave's game show host persona. I've like almost all of Van Halen's choices for cover tunes. Pretty Woman was given a sharp edge. Happy Trails was not. ( Little known fact that I may have just made up; Diver Down was the first CD recording to be given a price markdown during the initial boom of the whole Compact Disc introduction. Queen's - Jazz was the second ).
David and David - Boomtown. Far from metal though.
Living Colour - Stain
Queen - II. Often cited as a gem within the metal community. Couldn't agree more. It's like NO other Queen album. It doesn't contain any of my personal favorites. But the sheer production value is not to be sneezed at - 30 YEARS LATER! The tracks blend seamlessly from one to the next. Makes it especially hard to skip a track - in a good way. I suspect that album was the one that they ( Freddie ) had in his head from an early age. Most bands spend 10 years preparing for their first album and 6 months on their second. I get the feeling that it was the opposite for Queen II.
Remy Zero - Villa Elaine. Well produced and arranged. They took their time on some of those songs and let them breathe at 6 minutes plus for a couple songs.
Shudder To Think - Pony Express Record. Transitional album between their punk roots and their glam aspirations. Impossible time changes and tasty chord progressions. Good band.
Producers may be a future topic worthy of discussion.
First off remember this isn't a popularity contest or a "that album sold millions" discussion. It's the rock album you should own, but don't thread.
Gruntruck - Push
Sweet Water's debut
Living Colour - Time's Up
Nirvana - Bleach
Screaming Trees - Sweet Oblivion
Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight
Georgia Satellites' debut
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
These are some personal favorites. that didn't get much press. Well, ok maybe the Iron Maiden did, but it is one of their best.
Judas Priest - "Stained Class"
Iron Maiden - "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son"
Manowar - "Kings of Metal"
Flotsam and Jetsam - "No Place for Disgrace"
Derek says:
Refused "The Shape of Punk to Come..."
Fugazi... anything by Fugazi.
Social Distortion "Mommy's Little Monster."
The Rev. Horton Heat "Full Custom Gospel."
I guess it's not technically an album, but I'm going to nominate it anyway. The Nine Inch Nails EP Broken. Six in your face, kick your ass rock songs that you should own.
My pick would be the album Sparticus from a little heard of band from the 70's called Truimvirat. They were a mix of Emerson, Lake and Palmer (circa Brain Salad Surgery), Pink Floyd and a little Moody Blues. High powered orchestral rock.
Anyone who say's Chris Cornell is talentless, is talentless. Because it takes talent, to see talent. Paul Stanly sounds like an old lady under water, and Kiss has and always will suck ass. They look cool, don't get me wrong, they just don't sound cool. ooh sorry.
I second early Little Feat.
Also, Dash Rip Rock's "Boiled Alive" is punk-infused southern rock mayhem.
Enticed by their cool classic TV moniker, I've been a fan for years. Check out their website [note: not site spam, just a fan], rife with streaming MP3 goodness at http://www.dashriprock.net/pages/1/index.htm
Not metal, but awesome nonetheless.
Did anyone mention Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds? Jules and The Polar Bears? Souixsee and The Banshees? Early Pretenders? Times Square Soundtrack? The Baseboard Heaters? Could we discuss genre in more depth? If these are not metal enough, I may come across as some sort of sub-niche tool.
Aerosmith - "Live Bootleg"
I had it in the '70s and my brother stole it from me to take to California with him. I never saw it again. It's difficult to find these days for some reason.
I want to agree with a couple and add a few more to the discussion.
Faith No More...Angel Dust, King for a Day, and Album of the Year are phenomenal albums. I'd add in both of Tomahawks' albums as well.
Refused...The Shape of Punk to Come
Amen...We've Come for Your Parents
Anthrax...Among the Living, State of Euphoria, Sound of White Noise
Every King's X album
24-7 Spyz...Harder than You
Quicksand...Manic Compression
Shuvel...Set if Off
Snot...Get Some
Some of my favorite albums that not enough people know about.
The Rainmakers first three albums (The Rainmakers, Tornado, The Good News and The Bad News). Rock with brains and a sense of humor. Probably why they remained unknown.
I know it's waaaaay too late to get on the record for this, but I'll chime in anyway with Shaw/Blades: "Hallucination"
A little bit country, a little bit rock'n'roll, great earthy production, a lot more genuine soul than one might expect from former members of Styx & Night Ranger, and hook after hook after hook after hook. Great record.
It was a strong bid for serious singer-songwriter credibility from these guys, and they may just have obtained it (instead of being sentenced to the nostalgia circuit for the rest of their lives) if the music-biz stars had aligned differently 10 years ago.
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