Ok, I see. Then how about Neil Young’s album Tonight’s The Night? I don’t know a messier, rougher, sludgier or sloppier album by a big name artist, and it’s wonderful. For example:
That whole album, Beach Boys’ Party!, is like that. It was recorded in the studio, but the goal was to make it sound like it was recorded in someone’s living room. Motel Shot by Delaney & Bonnie is a similar concept (a motel shot is an impromptu jam session in a motel room after a gig).
The White Stripes & Black Keys are probably the best examples of the “lo-fi” trend that seemed to be in vogue for a while.
Other examples of musicians deliberately recording themselves under less than ideal conditions include the Beatles, who recorded “Yer Blues” in a closet, and Neil Young, whose recent album A Letter Home was recorded in a refurbished 1947 Voice-O-Graph recording booth.
I’d say that “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People sounds like a demo, but that would be untrue.
It actually is a demo with Mark Foster performing all the instruments himself, that the band ultimately decided to release as is rather than re-recording it as a group.
Guided By Voices had a very lo-fi sound in their early days. Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes are both amazing records.
John Lennons solo work.
“Build Me Up, Buttercup” sung by the Foundations.