Just wanted to second Vashti Bunyan. I love everthing about her album Just Another Diamond Day, including the cover.
A few more great obscurities: Sweet Child by Pentangle, Morris On, Lazaruz, a folk trio produced by Peter Yarrow, who had one amazing album, then disappeared.
And, of course, all of these.
Oh, yes! Thirty years on, and I still find some of those tracks bouncing through my head at random moments.
I opened this thread specifically to see if It’s a Beautiful Day was mentioned and there it was - twice.
Also Planxty, album and band of the same name - awesome Irish music, and where my youngest son’s name came from
New Muzik - Sanctuary
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
I now completely agree on Spirit, Early Out and RealityChuck. Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus is great! These so-called “old acts” never really get obsolete. Not like the manifactured shlock we get today - but we know that, it’s practically a commonplace.
unclviny, you’re lucky. All I could find was the shitty CD release without goodies. Even the story is brutally cut when the Moorglade is assembled.
Let’s try something different in the mix. Something that might be obscure now, but wasn’t when released: In Search of The Lost Chord, by The Moody Blues. Considered completely unhip now (as if I cared!), but I really like the music the ole guys made.
Greg Kihn’s Mutiny : Great to listen to on Sunday mornings–unlike his mainstream pop hits,the CD is sort of laid back, laced with blues, a capella, and traditional songs.
Got the 1st 2 on both vinyl & CD. If you want me to burn ya a couple of nostalgic CDR’s let me know. BTW: I’d recommend “The Crazy World of Arthur Brown” if you haven’t heard it.
I’ll post:
The Howlin’ Wolf Album Cadet Concepts/Chess 1969.
A.K.A. The Dogshit / Birdshit Album or This is Howlin’ Wolf’s New Album.
Before any purists jump on my back about it, I’ll include my usual disclaimer:
I have one request for anyone who holds a negative opinion about the Howlin’ Wolf Album: Get off your high horses and quit bashing it . You don’t like it? Fine. But enough already with how it’s “the worst recording ever released.” The Wolf is alleged (meaning that I’ve never seen it cited anywhere before) to have called the album either dogshit or birdshit in an article that came out in Rolling Stone soon after the release. Sure, Marshall Chess confirmed the fact the Wolf wasn’t thrilled with it on Scorsese’s PBS series - but that doesn’t mean hated he it? Let’s say he did - I doubt he’s the 1st artist to come along and criticize his own work. If it was that awful an experience for Burnett to have gone through: [ol][li]Why did he do almost the same exact thing a year or two later on The London Sessions?[]On the album, in his very own words, why does he introduce Back Door Man as follows: “Now Listen Peoples, Everybody Say They Don’t Like The Blues. But You Wrong. See The Blues Come From Way Back. And I’m Gonna Tell You Something Again. The Thing That’s Going On Today Is Not The Blues, It’s Just A Good Beat That People Just Carry. But Now When You Come Down To The Blues, I’m Gonna Show You How To Play The Blues. Now You Just Sit Here And Watch Me.” It doesn’t sound to me that as he sat with Electric Mud @ Chess studios, someone was holding a gun to his head.[]On Side 1, why do you think on the intro to Tail Dragger he says: "Now I Didn’t Like It You See. These Queer Sounds, You See. These Electric Guitars They Got Them Queer Sounds. Most People Still Don’t Understand It. You Know. You Know What I Mean?” Could he have meant: It’s still new to me - but just because it’s not completely understood, that doesn’t make it a bad thing.’ ?[/ol]If it was up to some of the purists who bemoan the Howlin’ Wolf Album, anything that didn’t sound exactly like grainy, acoustic Robert Johnson recordings could be labeled unfaithful to the genre - much like the crowd who booed Dylan off the stage at Newport because he plugged in. The way I see it (or should I say hear it…): it’s a great album. Is it the blues? Well I say yeah, it is (God knows it isn’t bubblegum pop).[/li]
My antithetical opinion lies in the fact it’s a very nostalgic recording to me: It was my 1st exposure to the genre - something I picked up at a used record shop in 1984 while I was in High School. It opened up new doors and turned me on to a whole new style of music. For years I listened to it on a cassette I made until I wore it out. I wrote MCA asking them to release it on CD and never got a response. I scoured the net in hopes it was available as a European or Japanese import in the digital format - that went nowwhere. Then, 1 day, I found a record shop in Ohio who burned me a completely pristine copy of it on CDR - with very professional packaging & all the original art. I listen to it at least once a week at my office and never get bored of it. Call me a non-purist, or a tasteless, tin-earred moron if you like. Just try and remember not everything is as black and white as you seem to see it…except for the album cover itself.
In college, my band covered Capaldi’s Cafe, off of Don’t Stop the World.
The only song on which I got to sing lead vocals!
One of the few LPs I still own.
Siegal-Schwall shouldn’t be too obscure to anyone who was in or around Chicago in the 60s-70s. I saw Corky Siegal within the last year (as well as Bonnie Koloc, from the same vintage.)
And rackensack - isn’t it funny how what is familiar to some is obscure to others. The idea that folks would not know (and love) Brins, the Motors, and Ducks Deluxe. You beat the hell out of me…
A couple of albums I used to have, and wish I still did, were TRB 1 and 2. Any Mink DeVille fans out there?
Wish You Were Here - Badfinger – Should have been a power-pop classic, but was instead pulled from the shelves weeks after its release due to the financial shenanigans of their manager (money missing from an escrow account).
Kindred Spirit - Kindred Spirit – The only release by the group which was Debbi Peterton (Bangles) and Siobhan Maher (River City People)
John BckWLD, I’ve got em too. Thanks for the offer. Now if you had the Harper album…
Soul Coughing Ruby Vroom. Here’s part of a review:
“Soul Coughing burst onto the scene with an eclectic hybrid of heavy, in-the-pocket drumming, fat, slinky basslines, guitars that lend accents and wiry phrases, keyboards, loops sampling everything from seagulls to Raymond Scott, and–through it all–associative, poetic lyrics sung or rapped in the distinctive, nerdy whine of frontman M. Doughty. In this music, jazz meets hip-hop, sonic collage meets pop accessibility, and surrealist imagery is filtered through hard jams.”
I tell people that Janine features a woman singing other songs into a telephone in the background but unlike me they remain indifferent. I just love it.
FYI-I ran across his name while reading about Bob Dylan in a book, that would be Sam Lay, drummer for S-S, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy, Dylan and many others.
Also, David Oliver - Jamerican Man. I love this album, actually own two copies, the other one has a different title too. Has Friends & Strangers, What Kinda Woman, Ms. and others. Kinda soul-ish music.
I gotta say, I thought I listened to some obscure stuff, but after reading this, sheesh! There’s a lot of stuff out there.
Well, obscure’s always in the eye of the beholder to a degree, but even twenty years ago, when pub rock was still recent rather than ancient history, and when I was hanging around with people who had LP collections numbered in the thousands, I was invariably the only person I knew who had even heard of, much less owned anything by, Brinsley Schwarz or Ducks Deluxe. Could have said the same thing about Big Star back then, except that about the time I started college R.E.M., the Replacements, and lots of other bands started citing them as a major influence.
And yeah, I had a couple of Mink DeVille LPs back in the day (Cabretta and Return to Magenta); Garland Jeffreys too.
OMG!!!
Someone GAVE me that album in my teens as a joke birthday present. WHO THE HELL WAS FATHER ABRAHAM?
I dunno, but apparently the old coot had seven sons and was really into exercise.
Got copy from a friend. If you want a CDR let me know via e-mail.
<p>I can’t believe someone besides me owns this record! Elephant Sex is an especially alluring track!
I still have TRB 2 and the live album, awesome! Also I’ve always had a place in my heart for Mink DeVille. THere are a couple of Australian import CD’s available that I got from eBay pretty cjheaply. One with Coup de Grace and Where Angels Fear to Tread and one that’s a compilation. Both are excellent.
My vote for obscure albums would go to either of the 2 LP’s by Boston band Classic Ruins, Lassie Eats Chickens and Ruins Cafe. also a bad album by a band called Elvis Hitler, with one of the most inspired covers ever. It’s called Green Haze, and it’s the music from Purple Hze, and the lyrics to Green Acres. It really fits, though one wonders just how much herb was smoked too figure out that it DID fit!
Indeed, although my favorite tracks are “Ghost in Hollywood” and their rendition of “Cielito Lindo”, which I used as the theme song for a radio show I used to do on a really really small station out here.
I didn’t think I shared musical taste with anyone else on the planet but I have a LOT of the albums that have been mentioned, along with ones by Beaver and Krause, Orchestra Luna, and Portsmouth Synmphonia. Any of those ring a bell?