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World's Most Underrated Albums

post #1 of 48
11/24/04 at 5:51am
Thread Starter 
Mirroring the Overrated albums topic.

What are the worlds most underrated albums according to you?
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post #2 of 48
11/24/04 at 10:08am
my personal pick: two that recently emerged in another thread - the screaming trees "dust" and "sweet oblivion" as the arguably best albums to emerge out of grunge.

the screaming trees were definitely the most underrated grunge band, with mudhoney a close second.
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post #3 of 48
11/24/04 at 10:57am
I'm not sure what criteria constitutes underrated, but Cameo's Real Men Wear Black is (was) a forgotten soul masterpiece. Although Korn's lame attempt of covering their classic "Word Up!" is paying tribute to the album in a way. Don't you just hate when white boys try to get funky?
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post #4 of 48
11/25/04 at 1:32pm
Also from another thread, U2's Boy. What a stellar first album. I really have high hopes for the Steve Lilywhite produced songs on the new album (if it ever gets here!).

I'd also give a nod to Ryan Adam's Demolition. It was roasted in the press, but I think it's a much more significant work than Gold.
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post #5 of 48
11/25/04 at 9:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by elrod-tom
Also from another thread, U2's Boy. What a stellar first album. I really have high hopes for the Steve Lilywhite produced songs on the new album (if it ever gets here!).

I'd also give a nod to Ryan Adam's Demolition. It was roasted in the press, but I think it's a much more significant work than Gold.

Boy really was something else. A very mature album for a bunch of 18 year olds.

My pics...well I think Tetsu Inoue's Ambient Otaku or Organic Clouds would qualify, James - Wah Wah (produced by Eno), any early Pedro the Lion Albums...dang...can we change this to underated artists instead? I have a list!
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post #6 of 48
11/25/04 at 10:06pm
The Afghan Whigs "Black Love". An amazing concept album.

I could list 100 more.
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post #7 of 48
11/25/04 at 10:13pm


One I was just listening to is the first Mink DeVille album from 1977. Sometimes called just Mink DeVille, and sometimes (and I think more properly) known as Cabretta, which is how it is titled on the back cover. But no matter what it's called, it is and always has been a classic in my mind. Just 10 songs clocking in at about 35 minutes, yet it is sequenced with the fast and slow songs interspersed so that the flow seems to cycle, kind of an ebb and flow. Still goes by pretty fast, though. I guess it's partly because I like all the songs so much. Nothing to drag it down. Anyway, great album. Willy has a very distinctive and soulful voice and a very tight band working behind him on this one. Add in a well written collection of tunes with a couple well chosen covers and add a top producer and the scene was set. I just checked at the Rock Around The World site and they have a nice interview section with Willy DeVille talking about "The Tale of the Mink" that you can read if you like, but I'll post a short paragraph below which ends with a very telling line, something that seems to characterize a lot of classic albums - that being, the artist really had no idea at the time how good it was, nor exactly where the magic came from. Guess that's why they so often never recreate that greatness again....

The services of legendary Jack Nitzsche were procured to produce the first Mink DeVille album . . . it was a completely natural choice, as Jack had worked with groups that had provided the soundtrack to Willy's youth -- like The Crystals and The Ronettes: "Jack and I hit it off beautifully. It's a real spiritual relationship. Sometimes it's like looking in a mirror with him . . . it got to the point where I didn't even have to talk, just say, 'Jack . . . ' and he'd say, 'Yeah, I think so . . . ' It was very tight, very magic -- a lot of pressure, but good, positive pressure. It snowballed. There is something in that album that I don't even understand."
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post #8 of 48
11/29/04 at 10:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr_superlove
The Afghan Whigs "Black Love". An amazing concept album.

I could list 100 more.
mmmh, yes - their best by far in my opinion, rarely mentioned, often overlooked.

care to list, say, 10 more of your 100? or maybe just a couple...pretty please?
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post #9 of 48
11/29/04 at 11:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Riordan
mmmh, yes - their best by far in my opinion, rarely mentioned, often overlooked.

care to list, say, 10 more of your 100? or maybe just a couple...pretty please?
Yes, by far.

I'd be happy to:

Spoon - Girls Can Tell
Faith No More - Angel Dust
Gomez - Bring It On
The Twilight Singers - Blackberry Belle (Another Greg Dulli project)
Chris Lee - Chris Lee Plays & Sings...
I Mother Earth - Scenery & Fish
Tomahawk - Mit Gas

OK, maybe not 100 but this is what a quick glance through the ipod yielded. And some of these I wonder about classifying as "underrated" outside of the US. Most Americans prefer to have their music choices spoonfed to them. Like Gomez, for instance. Almost unknown here in the US, but could very well be overrated in the EU.

Edit: Chris Lee in general. I read quite a few reviews describing him as the second coming of Jeff Buckley. He really does have an amazing voice and I can agree with the comparisons. The album I've listed is my favorite, but his self-titled and last year's "Cool Rock" are also grand.

2nd Edit: Here's a link to his website with some mp3 links. http://www.chrislee.org
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post #10 of 48
11/29/04 at 11:38am
Miles Davis - Amandla

Purchased it recently, and couldn't believe how good it was. Reminds me of his stuff from the late 50's and early 60's.
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post #11 of 48
11/29/04 at 6:54pm
Blackwater Park and My Arms, Yours Hearse from Opeth. They truly are undiscovered gems from the rest of the uninfomed world; however, I'd like it to stay that way so MTV doesn't "eff" it up for them. MTV has the "UN-Midas Touch"... everything they touch turns to crap.
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post #12 of 48
11/29/04 at 8:04pm
Mortal Kombat soundtrack!
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post #13 of 48
12/2/04 at 12:37pm
"Lauryn Hill - MTV Unplugged" - Of course her stellar solo debut album "The Miseducation of..." got all the press, and deservedly so. But then she faded into relative obscurity. This 2-CD unplugged recording is a collection of some incredible acoustic music. I just re-listened to this for the first time in a while over the weekend. She is awesome! I could do without all the philosphical, "I've seen the light" banter in between songs though. Maybe that's why it doesn't get rotated in so often?
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post #14 of 48
12/2/04 at 12:58pm
Graham Parker and The Rumor- Squeezing Out Sparks

A greatly overlooked artist in general but this album is his best and has terrific songwriting and tough rock. Discovering Japan and passion is no ordinary word are just two of the great song on there.

Unfortunately most people, if they heard of him at all was from the mediocre duet he did with Bruce Springsteen "Endless Night"
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post #15 of 48
12/2/04 at 1:06pm
Frank Zappa - Joe's Garage

Really anything by Zappa is underrated in my opinion. He was a misunderstood genius.
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