Top 5 obscure albums

[jerly]

Wow. Buzzcocks. I was going to mention them too.

1. Sebadoh - III
2. Sonic Youth - Sister
3. Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers
4. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
5. XTC - Drums and Wires

 

[Rhoobarb]

5. XTC - Drums and Wires

Wow! Another great one. I can't decide which album of theirs I like better! They're all so good.

 

[Toilet Rocker]

Axe--All I want is more beer!

American Psycho? Haven't heard much of the misfits without Glenn. Their 50s cover album was fitting. I was gonna mention some Samhain.

Jerly--excellent Sonic inclusion there. Great unfriendly record.

 

[Cheesefood]

American Psycho? Haven't heard much of the misfits without Glenn. Their 50s cover album was fitting. I was gonna mention some Samhain.

I haven't heard it either. "Famous Monsters" was pretty horrible - much like the way the Ramone's "new sound" was horrible compared to their old stuff. It's amazing how the Misfits are still an obscure band, despite having one of the most famous logos (visibly speaking) in all of music. Has anyone ever seen the "Crimson Ghost" serial movies from the 40's?

As for Samhain, I can't think of an album of their's that's Top-to-Bottom good. Samhain 2 was decent.

Danzig I and II are close to top-to-bottom great. Too bad he went to crap during and after 3.

 

[andre the giant]

Span-Mass Distraction
Sam Phillips-A boot and a shoe
Talking Heads-True Stories
Stereophonics-You Gotta Go There to Come Back
Marc Cohn-Marc Cohn

Those are just a few. Maybe they're not as obscure as I think.

Honorable mention for a single song...

Q Lazzarus - Good Bye Horses (best known as the song in "Silence of the Lambs" where Ted Levine does his little naked dance in front of the mirror.) Creeeeeepppy!

 

[jerly]

I like doing these. So hears my part 2.

6. Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 - Strangers of the Universe
7. Okkervil River - Down the River of Golden Dreams (Actually. all of their albums have blown me away)
8. Drive Like Jehu - Drive Like Jehu
9. Flaming Lips - In a Priest Driven Ambulance (I definitly don't consider these guys a one hit wonder band. I don't really like the newer stuff, but this album is one of the best psychedelic punk albums ever. My opinion of course.)
10. Violent Femmes - Hollowed Ground (More Well known band, but this album is very underappreciated)

 

[the_bird]

I used to buy a lot of completely random CDs from a local shop that sold them 8 for $10. Lots of trash, but also lots and lots and lots of really good stuff that I never would have found otherwise. One that jumps to mind that I really like was this band/person "Atto," the album being "14 Rounds With The Killer Blondes". "Atto" is Atto Attie, bass player for Darling Violetta, this was a little side project that he did. Very strange album, but very cool; the sticker on the front described it as Tom Waits meets Frank Zappa, which is kind of accurate but doesn't really capture the essense of it. Lots of weird instrumentations, lots of cello, I think some xylephone (sp?), some found sounds. Strangely hypnotic. Kind of gothy, which I don't really like, but very catchy.

I guess what I like about it so much is the really dark lyrics layered on top of this odd, but kind of happy, evil-clownish music. Twisted.

Given that a Google search results in perhaps three references to the album, I think that qualifies as obscure.

 

[jeffg]

9. Widespread Panic - "Widespread Panic"

my favorite band of the last twnety years, hands down.

Some others, although probably not truly obscure:

Big Head Todd and the Monsters--Midnight Radio

Mad Season--Mad Season

Galactic--Coolin' Off

Brute--Cobalt

Little Sister--Free Love and Nickel beer

Honerable mention: Leftover Salmon--any, Funkadelic--Maggot Brain

 

[Cheesefood]

Honerable mention: Leftover Salmon--any, Funkadelic--Maggot Brain

I was going to through some of that good old polyethnic cajun slamgrass up there, but as is with most jam-bands, I hate the studio albums. LoS used to be my fave band, but they suffered a big loss when Mark Vann died. I actually had an opportunity to break in a new piece of glass with him on my 22nd birthday in Memphis. Great band, fun guys but like Phish, terrible studio albums.

 

[Glibbidy]

I actually had an opportunity to break in a new piece of glass with him on my 22nd birthday in Memphis.

LOL!
dirty hippy

 

[Axegod]

I missed the last Misfits tour (1950)..and saw one with Graves singing, and another with Hidious(?) singing...Graves was awesome....
Fear was also great live....from what i remember....Lee Ving wanted to have me thrown out..but was cool after the show whilst we had a beer together -yes a beer with Fear.:rockin: and how can u not like a great (more) beer band.
About the Misfits logo...it is almost everywhere..even on primetime TV...pretty funny.
Anyone who likes Misfits -please give Poison Idea a try..incredible musicians!

Cheers to all for some great records listed here.

I will be on vacation for a while - so I'll chat in a week or so. I am going to Georgia
so I hope to buy Promash and a sparge arm -and maybe hops !

 

[Ize]

Ok, I have occasionally been sober over the past 2 days, (ok not a LOT) but I'm having difficulty for a few reasons. Hence Cheese's original post...

List 5 albums you're really into from bands that most people probably haven't heard of.

Rules:
Bands have to be generally accessible, so don't list ultra-local bands.
Album must be top-to-bottom awesome.
It has to be generally accepted by those in the know as an awesome album.
Has to be an album or band that's not very popular. Pink Floyd, Peter Frampton, Smashing Pumpkins, Frank Zappa and others are pretty well known.

Ok, the prob I've been having is with the "album or band that's not very popular" and the part about "Bands that most people probably haven't heard of..."

I'm 40, you guys have heard most of the crap I've heard. And honestly, you all are more up on current than I am.... refer to the beginning of this paragraph for the reason....

But adhering to the above criteria here are 2 that really blew me away in the 80's and left a lasting impression to this day, and were SUPERB top to bottom. Both, for the record, are still available in one form or another I believe. the D.R.I. especially... just do a search for "Dirty Rotten Imbeciles"

Gang Green - "This is Boston, Not L.A.
D.R.I. - "Dealing With It"


Anyhow....

After much pondering and consideration, I've stuck with the "Top to Bottom Awesome" vein and come up with these. These to me I can throw in and not hear a bad track from beginning to end....

In no particular order....

Phish - "Rift"
The Ramones - "Rocket to Russia"
The Allman Brothers - "Eat a Peach"
The Presidents of the United States of America - "The Presidents of the United States of America" (IGNORE "Lump" and you will downright LOVE this album)
The Red Hot Chili Peppers - "The Uplift Mofo Party Plan"


HONORABLE MENTION:

Cracker - "Kerosene Hat"
Primus - "Sailing the Seas of Cheese"
Pink Floyd - "Animals"
Montrose - "Montrose"

The above is based on listenability from beginning to end and i deem these HIGHLY satisfying.

With all due respect Cheese, methinks there shoud be a different thread, "Great albums by Great Bands that, alas, were largely ignored"....)

If that's the case...

Van Halen - "Fair Warning"
Led Zeppelin - "Presence"
AC/DC - "Let There Be Rock"

But like I said, another thread.

Good Lord I rambled on...

But then again LZ-II is superb all the way round as well.....


12:23 AM (And I think that is the LAST of my edits...)


CRAP... I almost left Cracker - "Kerosene Hat" off the list.....

(12:44 EDIT Sheesh.....)


Ize

 

[Toilet Rocker]

Axe--I nearly included Dealing With It in my selections. Excellent album you can never get bored of.

Doyle teamed up with Glenn on the last Danzig tour...happen to catch that? I was stoked to hear Glenn belting out those misfits tunes and seeing doyle ravagining the strings...

 

[Cheesefood]

With all due respect Cheese, methinks there shoud be a different thread, "Great albums by Great Bands that, alas, were largely ignored"....)

See, the only problem with that is that we'll end up with the typical Top 100 Albums or people will just start spouting off the most obscure album by a large band that's probably obscure because it sucks.

DRI are great. I was a fan of them in the 80's. I don't know every rock band from the 60's, 70's and 80's, 90's and 00's. I know a lot of the more popular ones.

I think everyone's got it right so far. These are the "push play and forget" albums where every single song is awesome and you want to listen to the album in its entirety instead of just one or two tracks.

If all you listen to is mainstream, that's cool too but this is more about discovering new, non-mainstream bands.

 

[Cheesefood]

Fear was also great live....from what i remember....Lee Ving wanted to have me thrown out..but was cool after the show whilst we had a beer together -yes a beer with Fear.:rockin: and how can u not like a great (more) beer band.

I forgot about Fear! Flea's best band, in my opinion. What was the movie that they were in?

 

[Wolf]

In no particular order…

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult – I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits
Save Ferris – It Means Everything
Skankin’ Pickle – Sing Along with Skankin’ Pickle (Includes the song ‘Thick Ass Stout’ )
Less Than Jake – Losing Streak
Smashmouth – Fush Yu Mang: Yeah, I know ‘Walkin’ On the Sun’ was a huge radio song for a while, but overall Smashmouth was maybe a 3 Hit Wonder. This ENTIRE album is awesome from top to bottom, with the possible exception of ‘The Fonz’.

Hmmm, when I started this I wouldn’t have guessed how much of the list would be ska or ska-influenced. I’m mostly a Rock and Metal guy. Guess those bands are more mainstream.

 

[Walker]

anyone ever listen to the Rolling Stone's psychedelic "Her Satanic Majesty's Request"?

That's actually the only Rolling Stones album that I like.

 

[olllllo]

Ok, the prob I've been having is with the "album or band that's not very popular" and the part about "Bands that most people probably haven't heard of..."

I'm 40, you guys have heard most of the crap I've heard.
Ize

Got me thinking, Ize 'cause we're about the same age.
There was a good deal of vinyl that never saw got released in the complicated disc format (at least not in the US).

These two took forever to finally become CDs:
Rum Sodomy & the Lash by Pogues
(20 Years)
The Name of This Band is Talking Heads by Talking Heads
(22 years to be exact)

There's a real good chance that if you were one of this forums younger members, these wouldn't even be on the radar for you.

I miss that there used to be sides on records. Sometimes a good Side A or Side B is all you need. Very analagous to bottles vs. draft.

 

[Toilet Rocker]

The Pogues put out consistently colid albums in the 80s. Once Shane departed, things really went sour...I never thought of them as an obscure band though.

 

[Toilet Rocker]

anyone ever listen to the Rolling Stone's psychedelic "Her Satanic Majesty's Request"?

That's actually the only Rolling Stones album that I like.

That album is fantastic. Huge Stones fan and I especially dig that album. "Sing this all together", "2000 light years from home"...nice!

 

[Cheesefood]

Speaking of The Misfits, today is Glenn Danzig's 51st birthday.

 

[Toilet Rocker]

Glenn's 51?! So I gotta spend the afternoon listening to NJ's real boss.

 

[Ize]

I think everyone's got it right so far. These are the "push play and forget" albums where every single song is awesome and you want to listen to the album in its entirety instead of just one or two tracks.

If all you listen to is mainstream, that's cool too but this is more about discovering new, non-mainstream bands.

You're absolutely right. :rockin:

There was a good deal of vinyl that never saw got released in the complicated disc format (at least not in the US).

Yeah that kills me. I was amazed I found The Godz on cd, but havent found Dust on cd at all.... (BOTH were debut albums and could be on the list as well....)

A couple more I thought of this morning before I go back to my scheduled landscaping project...

Urge Overkill - "Saturation"
Zebra - "Zebra"
Fastway - "Fastway"

They're all older, and didn't see a whole lot of commercial success, but the albums rock top to bottom! :rockin:



Ize

 

[Toilet Rocker]

Cheesefood, have you seen this clip?

http://www.guzer.com/videos/danzig_knockout.php

 

[Glibbidy]

Can't forget these either:

Bodycount- Bodycount
The Goats- No Goats, No Glory
U3- Hand on the torch

 

[sudsmonkey]

Gotta agree n the Zebra album. I just showed Monkey Jr. Cheesefood's avatar. He's 15 now. I got an extreme thumbs up from him. I think my son is a lesbian, too. Takes after his Old Man. IT"S JUST COOL!!!!


1. Zebra- Zebra
2. Guadalcanal Diary- Flip Flop
3. The Cure-Any of them... I know, I suck! ! Can't help it, I like them.
4. Deep Purple- Perfect Strangers
5. Bob Marley- Talkin' Blues

Go ahead, have a problem with it. I'll put Monkey Jr. on you !

 

[Spyk'd]

3. The Cure-Any of them... I know, I suck! ! Can't help it, I like them.

Don't be ashamed, scroll back a few pages to see what I think of them.



The short version is, they're my favorite band...

 

[sudsmonkey]

I went back, but I'm too uh, impaired to find it. I really dig their darkness. Killing of an Arab, and all that. I also got into the B-52's and 10,000 Maniacs at one time. Natalie Merchant and Kate Pearson would've made a great pair.
You mentioned Kamper Van Beethoven earlier. The Pictures of Matchstick Man cover was great. Bauhaus was another good one with their Rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars cover. Damn! I'm having a college radio flashback! There was a song called The Skin by a band that contained someone called the Big Kahuna on guitar. Think it was Girl Trouble. Which leads me to the Violent Femmes.... Cowboy Mouth????
My embarrasing musical tastes have now come to the surface. Somebody stop me before I get to Cliff Richards and Neil Diamond !
Danke Shane, anyone????? :cross:

That's one tore up monkey !!

 

[Spyk'd]

And from Bauhaus, there was Love and Rockets...


I don't mean to blow your mind...really!


How about some Siouxsie and the Banshees? Maybe Bow Wow Wow?


Let us not forget
They Might Be Giants or Devo


Back on topic:

Crowded House - Woodface

 

[Kevlar]

Ok, I am new to this forum, and I do listen to some of music posted in ths thread (especially Danzig), but after quickly running through the thread there isn't any country??? (At least real country that was recorded before 1980 with few exceptions). I have listen to hard rock and Metal for many years but when it comes to beer drinking nothing goes better than

Jonhnny Cash
George Jones
Tom T Hall.
Keith Whitley
David Allen Coe
Loretta Lynn
Patsy Cline
Marty Robbins
Vaghne Monroe
Red Sovine
CW Mc Call
Buck Owens


Just to name a few. Am I really that big of a redneck or does anyone listen to this music???