# Albums perhaps not widely known that you think should be huge **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161 "2017-08-20T01:39:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/21 "2017-08-24T19:25:36Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Big Star in general should have been bigger, but their first two albums (#1 Record and Radio City) come immediately to mind, with tracks such as “Thirteen” and “September Gurls” and “Don’t Lie To Me” and “Life Is White” having been tailor-made for radio and movie soundtracks. I agree. **Big Star** should be much bigger than it was. **Laura Nyro’s** three great albums from 1968-70: ELI AND THE THIRTEENTH CONFESSION NEW YORK TENDABERRY CHRISTMAS AND THE BEADS OF SWEAT **The Replacements** three great albums of the '80s: LET IT BE TIM PLEASED TO MEET ME (which includes “Alex Chilton,” maybe their best song ever and their tribute to **Big Star.** [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RYQ8Y-ObMw) ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/22 "2017-08-24T20:59:33Z")
> [@Art\_Rock](#): > > Porcupine Tree - Fear of a blank planet. This is a great album, but I can’t be surprised that the album doesn’t get airplay when the title track is a seven and a half minute song without lyrics until a minute in that bounces in and out of 5/4 time. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/23 "2017-08-24T22:36:14Z")
> [@HookerChemical](#): > > This is a great album, but I can’t be surprised that the album doesn’t get airplay when the title track is a seven and a half minute song without lyrics until a minute in that bounces in and out of 5/4 time. Hey! “Take 5” is five and a half minutes, has no lyrics whatsoever, is 5/4 throughout, and gets airplay! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/24 "2017-08-24T23:02:26Z")
Hot Tuna: Double Dose [http://furpeaceranch.com/store/product\_info.php?products\_id=634](http://furpeaceranch.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=634) Here’s a Tuna link: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gJi9yJQ2GYw/hqdefault.jpg "Hot Tuna - I Wish You Would - 11/20/1976 - Capitol Theatre (Official)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJi9yJQ2GYw) ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/25 "2017-08-24T23:18:17Z")
The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall. Sample: [The Fall - Stephen Song - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDTHa9Lc5RE&list=PLX3-1WjsUYw_iLYY2vSjReY3AFLoekxo2&index=9) ---
**Author:** ![Nocheins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6de8d8/32.png) [@Nocheins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocheins)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/26 "2017-08-25T01:48:15Z")
Badfinger’s Wish You Were Here album. Released and withdrawn by Warner Brothers within weeks, it never stood a chance. The Pete Ham suicide and Stan Polley make it all that much worse. Tough to listen to time capsule. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/27 "2017-08-25T01:59:45Z")
[quote=“bobot, post:24, topic:794161”] Hot Tuna: Double Dose [http://furpeaceranch.com/store/product\_info.php?products\_id=634](http://furpeaceranch.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=634) Here’s a Tuna link: [/QUOTE] **Hot Tuna** should be so popular that Jack and Jorma should be living on a tropical island being tended constantly by naked beautiful island girls who hold coconuts full of tasty rum drinks to their lips. But then they wouldn’t be touring to my city to delight me and all the other old hippies. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/28 "2017-08-25T02:00:41Z")
Two of the best albums ever: Marillion- Clutching at Straws. I don’t know how big it was in Europe but it got no airplay in the US. I could still listen to it everyday. I would also say Misplaced Childhood but that at least had their only US hit. Robbie Robertson- Self titled first solo album. Amazing songwriter. Also another album I could listen to front to back every day for the rest of my life. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/29 "2017-08-25T02:12:26Z")
Touch. 1969. Album cover [here](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/duDur1fFv24/hqdefault.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/30 "2017-08-25T03:57:38Z")
> [@scoots](#): > > I’ll start off with this album. A band with left wing, anti-nazi, anarcho punk sensibilities but I don’t think this album (or the band themselves) ever got the recognition it or they deserved. Pointed lyrics and great harmonies but the main thing is the really catchy tunes. > > [Chumbawamba - Swinging With Raymond](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew9u6FESPLA) Yeah, I’ve always thought of them as a one-hit wonder (“Tubthumping”)—I’ll have to check out this album, and at least some of the others mentioned in this thread. Thanks, everyone! I could probably think of quite a few albums that fit the description in the thread title, but I’ll limit myself to two, at least for now: [Lulu](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ylDXN6sJ8I&list=PLZOKaoBztbKeuZY_A2pKh61F7q2fTznji) by Trip Shakespeare. [Sticks and Stones](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFwfgKam9vE&list=PLFc7_JS3cjtvVJ2DmrmxU0-xnAvQlZmCs) by the 77s. (Some guy with a blog called “An Atheist’s Guide to Christian Rock” makes an extended case for this album [here](https://jedwardkeyes.tumblr.com/post/131684065540/the-77s-sticks-and-stones-broken-1990).) ---
**Author:** ![scoots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@scoots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scoots)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/31 "2017-08-26T01:42:11Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Yeah, I’ve always thought of them as a one-hit wonder (“Tubthumping”)—I’ll have to check out this album It’s an album of two halves - quiet and loud. The first side is acoustic, folky. On the second side the band joins in. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2017, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/32 "2017-08-26T08:25:50Z")
Clutch [Blast Tyrant](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0D7hnwIik8) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2017, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/33 "2017-08-26T11:23:14Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Big Star in general should have been bigger, but their first two albums (#1 Record and Radio City) come immediately to mind, with tracks such as “Thirteen” and “September Gurls” and “Don’t Lie To Me” and “Life Is White” having been tailor-made for radio and movie soundtracks. Love Big Star. Love Television’s Marquee Moon. Love My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless and Isn’t Anything. There are many albums who have their respect and cult followings that should be bigger IMHO. An album I’ve spoken of in this type if thread is **Jet’s Get Born**. It has the Apple iPod song Are You Gonna Be My Girl, and pretty much every song was licensed for commercials. To me, it’s like Shake Your Money Maker by the Black Crowes. At first listen, it feels like it’s been in my rotation forever. Solid songs that show their influences clearly - and they are influences I like - but a bit of _something_ that keeps them from sounding like a faded retread. And it sounds great - the guitar and amp sounds are some of the best I’ve heard in recent recordings. It’s a classic that gets regular play in our house. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/34 "2017-08-26T15:17:55Z")
Minutemen - _Double Nickels On The Dime_ - still jaw-droppingly awesome 35 years later. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/35 "2017-08-26T17:37:19Z")
Pentagram should have been a lot bigger, as big as Black Sabbath, but the reason they weren’t had a lot to do with their own self destructive tendencies. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/36 "2017-08-26T20:02:37Z")
[Gandalf Murphy - Flapjacks From The Sky](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeTZWUtfgJA) [2NU - This Is Ponderous](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gYIbMwswKM&list=PLL7RdLuGax8LnglqHl0MAk2c1SvBxFdSt) [Sopwith Camel - The Miraculous Hump Returns From The Moon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxyCnWYVJ1w&list=PL-nB5bdmSrtAWEBTurpxKH88UfNU8Hszi) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/37 "2017-08-27T17:13:20Z")
Jeb Loy Nichols was in a band that fused reggae, dub, folk & alt-country: [Fellow Travellers](https://www.discogs.com/artist/298440-Fellow-Travellers), [Things And Time](https://www.discogs.com/Fellow-Travellers-Things-And-Time/release/1024867). Huh, it’s not on iTunes. Here’s [Just a Visitor](https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/just-a-visitor/id308401081)… ---
**Author:** ![tuesdayweld](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@tuesdayweld](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tuesdayweld)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/38 "2017-08-27T17:49:49Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Minutemen - _Double Nickels On The Dime_ - still jaw-droppingly awesome 35 years later. Could not agree more! I still listen to it weekly. D. Boone RIP. ---
**Author:** ![Miles\_Standoffish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/54ee81/32.png) [@Miles\_Standoffish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miles_Standoffish)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/39 "2017-08-28T16:30:42Z")
NRBQ: “At Yankee Stadium.” Great vocals, guitar playing, songwriting. not a wasted cut. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DRjDgiQnTMQ/maxresdefault.jpg "NRBQ "I Want You Bad"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRjDgiQnTMQ) ---
**Author:** ![Miles\_Standoffish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/54ee81/32.png) [@Miles\_Standoffish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miles_Standoffish)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161/40 "2017-08-28T16:41:22Z")
I’m listening to Sopwith camel right now. This is a great thread. thanks, OP and all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-perhaps-not-widely-known-that-you-think-should-be-huge/794161.md?page=3)