10 Underrated Gems
This is a list consisting mainly of records by well-regarded bands that, for whatever reason, are often given short shrift by fans and critics alike. I also happen to really like all of them and thus I will defend them here.
Amongst fans of The Dears, this is universally regarded as their best record. Thus, this entry is less about this record in particular and more about The Dears specifically. They’ve released two excellent albums in a row (along with a good debut album and several stellar EPs as well) and while they’re definitely more popular now than were a few years ago, they’ve never been able to achieve the kind of success that their fellow Canadians such as THE ARCADE FIRE and BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE have. When one listens to this beautiful, moody, emotional and yet highly melodic record, one can’t help but wonder why. Furthermore, many have said that the shorter songs on here like “Lost in the Plot” are better than the longer, rambling pieces on here. I disagree wholeheartedly. I love this record in its entirety and I think it flows together very nicely, so I guess have defended it in this entry after all.
I will never, ever understand why most Blur fans regard Parklife as their masterpiece and this the weak follow-up. To my ears, this is not only Blur’s best album, but the best album in the Brit-pop genre as a whole. It isn’t even close, frankly. When I first heard this album, it reminded me heavily of THE SPECIALS, early XTC and MADNESS. I eventually figured out that it was Blur, but they evoked that era so well that it immediately got to me. The songs on this album read like a good chunk of a greatest hits collection with gems like “Charmless Man,” “The Universal,” “Stereotypes,” “Country House” and many more. Perhaps this record was criticized at the time for veering away from THE KINKS-inspired sound of Parklife, but in hindsight those who dismissed it at the time should re-evaluate it.
When their catalog was reissued in the U.S. for the first time by Rykodisc in the early ‘90s, the liner notes for a promo disc consisting of tracks from each of their four albums said that this album was one of the most underrated records of the new wave era and that their audience didn’t give them a chance to mature. I couldn’t agree more. Not only their finest moment, this is also one of my favorite albums of all-time by anyone, in any genre. It’s simply stunning. Veering away from the pop-punk sound that they perfected on their first two (also great) albums, Positive Touch found them heavily inspired by late ‘60s West Coast psychedelia (LOVE were a big influence at the time) as well as mid ‘60s ROLLING STONES albums like Aftermath and Between the Buttons. Today, the band and others who deride this album as inferior to its predecessors point out the subdued production, but I always believe that it was an intentional attempt by the band and ROGER BECHIRIAN (who was also at the helm for their first 2 records) to evoke that period in the mid to late ‘60s when things in the both the U.S. and U.K. were veering from r’n’b inspired rock and roll to something a little bit more psychedelic. “Fascination” is the best song that the mid ‘60s edition of THE WHO never wrote, “Julie Ocean” is a beautiful ballad (a first for them at the time) and the title track features slide guitar work worthy of RY COODER on CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND THE MAGIC BAND’s debut album Safe as Milk. Elsewhere, tracks like “Crisis of Mine” and “It’s Going to Happen” (both reminscent of SQUEEZE, though it should be noted that Bechirian also co-produced Squeeze’s masterpiece East Side Story the same year as this album) found songwriters JOHN O’NEILL (and his brother DAMON O’NEILL) writing obtuse lyrics that tried to address the situation in their native Northern Ireland without being too overtly political. “His Good-Looking Girlfriend” and “Hannah Doot” are throwbacks to the sound of the first 2 records while the album closer “Forever Paradise” has a brilliant fake ending.
Furthermore, check out this great defense of the album.
Although The Beach Boys’ late ‘60s and early ‘70s period has been rehabilitated by both fans and critics who have finally accepted that this great band was much more than just Pet Sounds, for whatever reason this 1972 gem always gets dismissed or characterized as the weakest record from this time period. Thus, I’m here to correct that notion. The main knocks on this album are that it doesn’t sound like a traditional Beach Boys album and that its only good song is “Marcella”. In truth, I love “Marcella”, but I prefer this album’s “deep cuts” like “He Came Down,” “All This is That” and especially the DENNIS WILSON penned and sung “Cuddle Up”. In fact “Cuddle Up” and “Make It Good” are two of his finest songs. Furthermore, “Hold on Dear Brother” is almost like the finest song THE EAGLES never wrote.
On the surface, an album with contributions by BRIAN WILSON, his brothers Dennis and CARL WILSON (who was the bandleader at this time) and new members RICKY FATAAR and BLONDIE CHAPLIN could be disjointed, but this album hangs together really well. At the time of its release, this record was packaged together as a double Lp set with Pet Sounds, so little was Warners’ faith in its selling ability. Today, with 35 years of hindsight, those who dismissed at the time should give it another chance.
Most Cheap Trick fans regard anything after 1979’s Dream Police as scattershot and inconsistent. For the most part, they’re right, but this is one of the exceptions that proves the rule. Produced by TODD RUNDGREN, this record works in spite of his tendency to break several cardinal rules of producing. First off, he loves to play on the records and in many cases, the records he’s produced sound like one of his own as a result. Fortunately, in this case, it’s kept to a minimum, but it’s a match that really works because of the melodic abilities of both entities. Check out “Heaven’s Falling”, which could be an early ‘80s UTOPIA song. I’ve long thought that Todd played on it, uncredited of course. However, most of this album sounds rawer and more garage-like than its two predecessors. This combined with the best batch of songs the band produced post Heaven Tonight makes this a real winner and the most underrated record in their entire catalog. “Borderline” may be their best song ever, the title track and “Younger Girls” feature lascivious lyrics that could get them in a lot of trouble today and “Invaders of the Heart” is an ace tune that pays tribute to The Who’s “My Generation”. The only misstep here is the cover of THE MOTORS’ “Dancing the Night Away”, which was placed on here at the record company’s insistence along with “You Say Jump”, a song reminscent of their hit “I Want You to Want Me”.
There’s always a huge risk that’s undertaken when a legendary band goes back into the studio after more than 30 years to make a record whilst using the same name. This album is a great case in point. Although it’s actually a good album, my feeling is that the disappointment that fans felt upon hearing it is mainly due to the fact that it sounds very little like any of their three previous studio albums from the ‘70s. In fact, it almost plays like two albums in one. The contributions from ALEX CHILTON are almost like a hodge-podge of styles he’s dabbled in for the last three decades. They range from disco-fied soul (the much underrated “Love Revolution”), and Beach Boys-esque pop gems (“Hung Up on Summer”) to instrumentals like “Aria Largo”. However, the contributions of original drummer JODY STEPHENS and newer members JON AUER and KEN STRINGFELLOW are far more remiscent of Big Star’s first 2 albums. In particular, Auer’s “Lady Sweet” almost steals the show by being a great tribute to CHRIS BELL and thus a song that could’ve fit in nicely on #1 Record. Stephens’ contributions are also stellar, including the rollicking “February’s Quiet” and the equally upbeat “Best Chance We’ve Ever Had”. Stringfellow’s contribution, the Beach Boys homage “Turn My Back on the Sun, is less memorable. However, overall I find this to be a very listenable and likable album with only the last track “Makeover” being truly skippable.
Very few fans would argue that their debut Group Sex is this group’s finest moment, though others could make the case for the very good (but poorly recorded) follow-up Wild in the Streets and their third album Golden Shower of Hits. The rest of their catalog is looked upon much less fondly. Therefore, defending this album (their last, not counting their live album Gig and the 1995 reunion set Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities) is a tough job, but someone has to do it.
Aside from Group Sex and maybe Wild in the Streets, this is my favorite Circle Jerks album. Let me explain. Instead of straight hardcore, this album is an almost perfect blend of punk and hard rock. In fact, very few bands were able to pull this off as in many cases, the balance veered too much towards one side or the other. In this case, though, it’s almost perfect. The highlights are the closer “I Don’t” and their great cover of CREDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL’s “Fortunate Son”.
Despite the title, this is actually the fourth Violent Femmes album. With that said, I’ve always found this album to be an underrated and overlooked gem. While nothing they did afterwards topped their classic, self-titled debut, they still put out plenty of good material afterwards. “Nightmares” was a minor alternative rock hit at the time and also a staple on MTV’s 120 Minutes at the time, though others will perhaps recognize “Fat” from its inclusion in the movie Super Size Me. Other highlights include “Just Like My Father,” “Telephone Book” and the chilling “Nothing Worth Living For” along with the album closer “See My Ships”. What separates this from some of their other material is the stripped-down production, which coupled with the strength of the material here makes this an enjoyable album.
By including this album here, I’m not suggesting that this album is better than some of their subsequent (read: more recent) work. On the contrary, I’m quite fond of their more recent work. Furthermore, I do acknowledge that its follow-up Being There represented a quantum leap in terms of songwriting and ambition, setting the stage for the rest of their career to follow. However, A.M.’s critical reputation shouldn’t suffer as a result of the quality of their subsequent work. Ignoring JEFF TWEEDY’s subsequent achievements, many songwriters would be content to write a song as catchy or memorable as “Boxful of Letters” not to mention other gems like “I Must Be High” and especially the rollicking “Casino Queen”. This album is also notable for containing the JOHN STIRRATT-penned and sung “It’s Just That Simple”. To the best of my knowledge, it’s the only song in the entire Wilco catalog that the long-time member (the only one from this version of the band who’s still even in the band, in fact) wrote and sang. Its quality is no surprise given that Stirratt fronts his own band THE AUTUMN DEFENSE as well.
