My All Time Top Underappreciated Albums
Submitted by sseay on Sun, 08/13/2006 - 02:29
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- 1. Key Lime Pie - Camper Van Beethoven - Perhaps only a couple hundred thousand people even own this album. That is a horrible shame because it is one of the most brilliant albums ever. The last album CVB made before David Lowery went on to form the marginally more successful Cracker, Key Lime Pie is the greatest album no one's ever heard of. Worth the purchase simply for the brilliant cover of Status Quo's Pictures of Matchstick Men. Best tracks: Jack Ruby, Sweethearts, Pictures of Matchstick Men
- 2. Tim - The Replacements - Regularly overshadowed by the equally fantastic Let It Be and Pleased To Meet Me, Tim is the culmination of the sheer badassery that is the Replacements. Combines elements of the early punk/thrash sound of Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash and the more midtempo sound of All Shook Down into a fantastic assault on the ears that everyone should hear. Best Tracks: Bastards of Young, Left of the Dial, Kiss Me On the Bus, Here Comes a Regular.
- 3. 1965 - Afghan Whigs - Excellent sexy funk/soul album by suburban white boys from Cincinnati. This is the kind of music Marvin Gaye would be making if he had lived. If you need some background music for seduction, you could do much worse than putting on this record. Best tracks: Somethin' Hot, Crazy, Neglekted.
- 4. The Low-End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest - Without Tribe there would have been no Arrested Development or Digable Planets but they can not be held accountable for the subpar efforts those bands put out. Take away these guys and De La Soul and there would be no Gorillaz either. One listen to Butter, Buggin' Out or Show Business and you will be hooked and shakin' your ass all night. Best tracks: Buggin' Out, The Infamous Date Rape, Butter.
- 5. Shame - Brad - Outside of Temple of the Dog, and maybe even including them, \]98
- easily the best of the side projects of the Seattle bands of the early nineties. Featuring Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam on guitar and the criminally unknown Shawn Smith on vocals, Brad was as far from grunge as existed among the various Seattle side bands. Soulful, ebbulient, sad, sexy and above all excellent. I can't overstate how wrong it is that Shawn Smith isn't famous. Best songs: Buttercup, Screen, Nadine.
- 6.If I Should Fall From Grace With God - The Pogues - While it is tempting to pick Rum, Sodomy and the Lash for this spot, If I Should Fall is simply a stronger album front to back. For some reason this band never caught on in America, perhaps Shane McGowan's copious drinking had something to do with this. Anyways, like the Clash's London Calling, If I Should Fall is kind of a mish mash of musical styles that somehow is turned into a cohesive album. From the middle eastern sound of Turkish Song of the Damned to the anarchic spanish sound of Fiesta, the Pogues never were or would be again, as tight of a working band. This album also contains the greatest Christmas song ever in Fairytale of New York. Best songs" Fairytail of New York, Thousands are Sailing and Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six.
- 7. Somewhere Between Heaven & Hell - Social Distortion - Sure Mike Ness has a voice like gravel, sure they are not the most musically gifted band, sure the songwriting is somewhat pedestrian but this album has always rocked my socks off. Social D is definitely a band worth checking out. Think country lyrics mashed-up with somewhat hardcore music. Best songs: When She Begins, Bad Luck, Born To Lose
- 8. New Adventures in Hi-Fi - R.E.M. - It's always difficult to put any R.E.M. album on the underappreciated lists but I feel this album was overlooked upon its release. The loose spontaneous feel of this album is the sound of a band that has been on the road, which is where this album was mostly recorded, for years. The last hurrah for the original lineup, New Adventures is perhaps the strongest R.E.M. album front to back this side of Document and should have been their last album probably. E-Bow the Letter is perhaps the oddest lead single ever. Best Songs: E-Bow the Letter, Low Desert, Undertow
I know that the descriptions are lackluster at best but I wasn't trying to do a critical review of these albums just trying to explain what it is I personally love about them.