Underappreciated pop/rock classics

[dlb]

There are many albums out there that once were, for good reason, very popular; albums that launched entire sub-genres of rock and then got lost in the failure of those sub-genres; or second-tier efforts from great bands that appear forgettable when compared to their best work, but are actually much better than more enduring offerings from lesser groups. Then, there are those that somehow just got buried beneath the pile of dreck that is the necessary result of the music industry. Here's my list of essential albums that you may have never heard or haven't listened to in decades, but are much more deserving of attention than much of what gets regular play:

Let It Be, The Beatles
This album suffered greatly from the context in which it originally appeared. In early 1971, when it was released, almost everything about it was a downer. We knew that this was The Beatles last album. It is the soundtrack of a film that documents their demise. One of its two major hits, The Long and Winding Road, is hideously overproduced. But if you remove it from that context (a very difficult task for those of us who were alive at the time), it is a very fine collection of tunes. First, if you ever need to prove Paul McCartney's genius to anyone in five minutes or less, the title track might be your best bet. This is a brilliant song - one, like so many other McCartney tunes, that lends itself to wonderful performances by a wide range of stylists - performed to near perfection by the writer himself. Next, we have what to my mind is the second-best rock & roll tune of all time (the best is the Stones' Satisfaction), Get Back. Along with those two high points, this album contains the very good Two of Us; a fine version of Lennon's Across The Universe; the swan song of the Lennon/McCartney collaboration, I've Got a Feeling; a good old fashioned rocker in One After 909; and a nice blues tune from Harrison in For You Blue. Though even its black cover couldn't keep this album from looking pale in comparison to its immediate predecessor, Abbey Road, this final act from the lads deserves much more credit than it usually gets.

Live At Fillmore East, The Allman Brothers Band
If stuff from groups like The Marshall Tucker Band and Lynard Skynard leaves you wondering why the southern rock sub-genre ever enjoyed any popularity, you really need to hear this album. Capturing a great white-boy blues band in its prime, Fillmore East delivers track after track of hard-driving blues/rock fusion that features absolutely brilliant guitar work from brother Duane along with a gritty, nasally vocals from brother Greg. For about five years after Duane Allman drove his motorcycle into the side of a peach truck, numerous bands tried to get to where these guys were in 1970, but none ever made it.

Quadrophenia, The Who
Pete Townsend created two rock operas; the first, and most heralded, Tommy, has to be considered a failure. The story is lame and the music isn't much better. In the final analysis, it's almost a perfect example of a group's reach exceeding its artistic grasp. About five years later, though, Townsend figured it all out, producing a truly fine rock and roll album that is operatic in both its scope and performance. Perhaps the best example of Townsend's success is the Daltry aria, Love, Reign O'er Me - a truly grand offering that manages to approach the power of the bel canto style from within the Who's "maximum R&B" dynamic.

*****es Brew, Miles Davis
You'll find this album in the jazz section of your local record store, and it had a much greater influence on 1970s R&B groups such as Parliament and Funkadelic than it did on any rock & roll band, but this was the first full-fledged attempt at jazz/rock fusion, and it remains the best. If you're the sort of casual listener who just wants a nice, energetic beat, some singable lyrics and a catchy chorus, by all means, stay away from *****es Brew. But if you want to venture out onto the far frontiers of rock and discover what can happen when a great musical mind teams up with some emerging young virtuosos, you have to hear this.

Blue, Joni Mitchell
I can understand why anybody who was conscious in the early 1970s would never want to hear anything by Joni Mitchell ever again. I can understand why you are especially averse to giving this album another listen, having suffered through the ragged end of Saturday night parties where spaced out chicks sat in a dark corners of smoke-filled rooms at two A.M., stretching their absurdly limited vocal abilities in failed attempts to match Mitchell's vocal gymnastics. But forget all that. This is one of the greatest performances by a pop female vocalist, ever. Not only that, the songs are extremely well written. Consider, for example, the opening line of the title track:
"Blue, songs are like tattoos.
Ink from a pen; under the skin."
Or a tune that has deservedly become a Holiday classic, The River:
"You know, it's comin' on Christmas;
They're cuttin' down trees,
Puttin' up reindeer
And singin' songs about love and peace.
I wish I had a river, that I could skate away on."
Bob Dylan wrote Tangled Up In Blue after listening to this album. Give it a fair shake and you'll understand why.

[nanwynnfan]

I kinda enjoyed Maria Muldaur [singer and album title], with the likes of "Don't You Feel My Leg," "Any Old Time," "Three Dollar Bill," and "Midniight at the Oasis."

[Wiggen]

Agree with you on 'Let it Be', dlb. It generally shows up as either last or next to last (With Magical Mystery Tour) on the Beatles album charts - probably unfairly. Actually a Beatles album that often gets downgraded is 'Beatles for Sale' because it has a number of covers on it. I like it a lot, because it's really the last album in the opening phase of the band and the originals are pretty good.

[noetsi]

Isnt an "unapreciated classic" an oxymoron?

Personally I think the Carpenters despite their huge sales get little respect from the music industry and made some of the most beautiful melodies in rock history. Karen Carpenter had one of the best voices in the history of the industry.

If you want an album I guess their greatest hits one will do (I don't know album names very well).

How about White Christmas, which last time I looked was the greatest selling album of all time. I read it never left the top hundred for something like forty years....

BTW dlb while Let It BE was the last released regular album there was a Christmas album released to their fan club that came out later I think. And it was not actually the last recorded. Just the last released.

[LaxD]

Dear Prudence-The Beatles

[noetsi]

If by the Beatles, LaxD, you mean the White Album, how is that underappreciated?

It gets more ink than almost any album in history.

[Wiggen]

I think he's talking about the song 'Dear Prudence', which I would agree is somewhat downplayed when it comes to Beatle songs. Nice guitar and a great bass line, coupled with clever lyrics.

The last Beatle album recorded was Abbey Road, although it was not the last released. The last session in the recording studio was at the end of July, 1969 - and that was it. No more Beatles.

[perfectstormhits]

Viva Teralingua - Jerry Jeff Walker

[DiamondDave]

Paradise Theatre - Styx
90125 - Yes
Infinity - Journey
A Saucerful Of Secrets - Pink Floyd
Sheik Yerbouti - Frank Zappa
Sonic Temple - The Cult

[LaxD]

Originally Posted by noetsi

If by the Beatles, LaxD, you mean the White Album, how is that underappreciated?

It gets more ink than almost any album in history.

Yes, I understand. But from people I've talked to they never give any credit to the genius behind that song.

[noetsi]

I thought you meant the album not the song.

Formally at least Let It Be was not the last Beatle album released.

BEATLES CHRISTMAS ALBUM is issued to fans club members only. Compiled on the album were all the previous holiday greetings (45 r.p.m. singles) done by the group and becomes the final yuletide gift. This album was distributed by "Beatles (U.S.A.) Limited, Headquarters of the Beatles Fan Club."

This occured Dec 18, 1970.

But I doubt there was any original material on that.

Beatles Timeline

[dlb]

Another one worth noting is Paul Simon's Hearts and Bones. Simon's career basically breaks down into four parts: the "bard of the 60s" partnership with Art Garfunkel that brought us Sound of Silence, I Am a Rock, The Boxer, Bridge Over Troubled Water (which some say was the inspiration for Let It Be), and some other folk/rock staples. Then came the 70s solo stage when he churned out mostly silly Top 40 hits that are well-crafted but rather weightless. This ended with the truly awful One Trick Pony. Then, Simon found his voice again with Hearts and Bones, a truly fine set of introspections inspired by his breakup with Carrie Fischer.

The third stage - his "world music" period - began with Graceland and ended in another failure - the overly ambitious and too-sincere Broadway musical, The Capeman. His two albums since then represent his fourth stage, which is a good blend of his various styles.

[kflo]

the replacements pleased to meet me probably should have been a breakout album from one of the 80s great bands (and arguably only their 3rd best album). and can't hardly wait, if released by springsteen, would have been one of his big hits.

jeff buckley's grace is one of the great albums of the 90's, very influential, and still underappreciated by the general public. his death was arguably, in my mind at least, the greatest loss in rock history.

neutral milk hotel's in the aeroplane over the sea is one of the greatest albums ever made. and unfortunately, the last one we've heard from them.

[LaxD]

You're my Best Friend-Queen
So Happy Together-The Turtles

[dlb]

Happy Together reminds me of the greatest rock parody albums ever made, Freak Out, by the Mothers of Invention. It's a fantastic send-up of all the 60s pop/rock cliches.