Great thread — I’ll give everything mentioned a listen over the next month or two.
Men Without Women — is that the one with “Forever”? I’ve loved that song since I saw the video circa 1983, when I was thirteen — it expressed so well the groove of teens (of all races) in the outer boroughs and inner suburbs of New York City during that era. When I bought my toddler the standard colored kid’s glockenspiel, I immediately played the catchy glock riff from that song (minus one note, not included in the major-octave-scale toddler glock).
I’m aware that the phrase “toddler glock” evokes incongruous firearm images…
I just rewatched that video, and as a geographer, I must correct myself: it’s filmed in Manhattan, not Queens or Newark as I’d thought. Still, the vibe (of the song and video) is more like high school in the latter locations.
Eliott Murphy’s Aquashow. Murphy was anointed as one of the “New Bob Dylan” club (with Loudon Wainwright II, John Prine, and Bruce Springsteen) when it came out, and it’s a wonderful album. But he never caught on in the US (he’s successful in Europe).
People have probably heard of it, but not a lot have heard it: Song Cycle by Van Dyke Parks.
A couple of obscure ones by The Four Seasons. The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette was their attempt at a rock opera, and is pretty good overall, though it flopped badly because the fans weren’t getting typical Four Seasons fare, while those who might like it refused to listen to the Four Seasons. The Four Seasons Live on Stage is not a live album, but it’s mixed pretty cleverly to sound like it is. It was a contractual obligation albums, so they didn’t sing any of their hits, but it does document their lounge act roots.
Steve Miller’s Recall the Beginning…A Journey from Eden, the album before he went mainstream and hit it big. Side one’s do-wop pastiche “Enter Maurice” may not appeal to everyone, but the rest of the album, especially side two, is some of the best stuff Steve has ever put out.
Mark Eitzel was the greatest singer songwriter of the 80s. Come to think of it, he was the only singer songwriter of the 80s. Still as good as many of his greatest forebears. This is their third LP IIRC. And they are a rock band too.
Saw him at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach California in 1975.
Don’t know about Dopers but I lot of people I know have never heard Jamming With Edward by the Stones minus Richards and Woods but with Ry Cooder and Nicky Hopkins.
Also Sufficiently Breathless by Captain Beyond gets a lot of “who’s that” from people I know.
As someone familiar with clutch and not particularly a fan, I’d have to still admit that this is a good description of their music. It’s pretty hard to describe which rock subgenre they are but it is hard and furious.
I’m surprised that this hasn’t come up yet in my YouTube recommendations since I’ve been listening to a lot of semi/obscure hard rock/blues/psychedelic turn of the 70s stuff. It’s weird that even though this is still pretty good, it’s also pretty different from D.O.A.
I had heard of them but didn’t remember any of their songs. I did not know that they wrote “Torn”, which a couple years later became a worldwide megahit for Natalie Imbruglia.
I also vaguely remember Young Fresh Fellows and Ultra Vivid Scene; the former are probably best known for a passing reference in a They Might be Giants song.
