Overlooked Classics

[Lifes-A-Blast]

I agree with you on this one . A well exucuted jem . 75% of which is hit material!!
OY OY OY

[3-LockBox]

With so many different genres of music, I'm amazed that any of you could keep it to one release. I know I can't.

Lindsay Buckingham:Out Of The Cradle I know, I know...many people here are probably burned out on Fleetwood Mac, and its members. I know so few people that have ever listened to it, and considering how spotty his other solo efforts have been, maybe I can't blame them. Ever the perfectionist, his studio talents and musicianship are in perfect harmony on this, his last solo album to date. Even though it went mostly unnoticed, this album ranks up there among some the great pop/rock albums of all time, like Gerry Rafferty's City To City and...

David And David: Boomtown It did have one major radio hit, and maybe there's a dee-jay or two who still play songs from the album, but this one is vastly under appreciated by mainstream listeners. This is very ironic given that Baerwald and Ricketts (last names) have contributed heavily (seperately or together) on other artists material over the course of the '80s, artists who enjoyed great success. This release, their only performance collaberation, plays like a late '80s version of the Eagles' Hotel California. It's infectious pop/rock with dark, brooding undercurrents is enough to make Jackson Browne jealous.

The Wild, The Innocent, and The 'E' St. Shuffle: Sure, Bruce Sprinsteen would go on to become an icon, but this jem of album woulda made me a lifelong fan of his, had I heard it long ago. I just happened to be at a neighbor's house playing cards and he had this on his carousel player. I borrowed it for a few days, then I bought it within weeks. Of course, this was the last album made with David Sancious at the helm, just before his and Springsteen's falling out. No songs from this album made it to Springsteen's greatest hits CD from the early '90s, even though most fans consider it his best work ever.

Masque: For most people, their familiarity with Kansas begins with Leftoverture, but Masque slipped in under the radar and save for a few diehard fans, most haven't heard this masterpiece, which is every bit as good as the band's next two releases.

Captain Beyond: Sufficiently Breathless- This band was a supergroup of sorts, formed in the early '70s by former Iron Butterfly and Deep purple members. They only made three albums, the best ones being the first two with Rod Evens (from Deep Purple), which were a mixture of psychadelia, blues and progressive structures. As good as anything from most groups of the day, you'll never see any of this group's songs on a '70s comp or classic rock comp, yet its readily comparable to groups like Black Sabbath, early Steve Miller, Santana, or even Alman Brothers. While this band's first release (self titled) is more in the vein of prog rock, the second release Sufficiently Breathless is more psychadelic-blues oriented and is a showcase for both musicianship and song writing and its amazing that they never 'caught on'.

And pick any XTC album over the last two decades. I'll sit through just about any banal awards show or Hall of Fame show that finally recognizes this group's brilliance.

[Stone]

RIYL: The Chameleons and other similar sounding 80s bands.

[Mr MidFi]

OK, 3LB, I'll pick an XTC...Oranges and Lemons. A lot of folks love Skylarking, English Settlement, Black Sea, etc. And they are all outstanding works too. But I don't believe O&L gets its due. There's just so much going on in there.

(And, once again, I'll sing the praises of the oft-overlooked Infidels album by Bob Dylan, and New Adventures in Hi-Fi, the overlooked REM gem.)