10 Most Overlooked (non-surround) Albums

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YES!! Elmer, you were reading my mind. I have CD's & LP's of both albums. Imagine My Surprise if these were mixed in surround. Don't hold your breath. Anyone who digs 70's jazz, Chicago, or B,S&T should pick them up. YOU NEED THESE!

AFIK, the individual vinyl and CD's are out of print - however, the UK reissue label, BGO released a remastered 2 disc set of both albums back in 2010 (BGOCD940). My vinyl copy of Imagine My Surprise is unplayable (maybe 'cause back in the day, the album cover served the primary purpose of providing a flat "rolling" surface :cool:
 
Ecch, Elmer! You were rolling cookie dough on those Gahan Wilson caricatures? lol!! Or, could it have been wacky tobacky? You should have done it on NRPS' New Adventures of Panama Red.

Dreams and Imagine My Surprise have been OOP for most of the last 40 years. They've been back in print briefly a couple times.

I'll be searchin' all the joints in town for Panama Red. I have an SQ, Q8 & CD of that. Imagine rollin on a Q8. lol!!

AFIK, the individual vinyl and CD's are out of print - however, the UK reissue label, BGO released a remastered 2 disc set of both albums back in 2010 (BGOCD940). My vinyl copy of Imagine My Surprise is unplayable (maybe 'cause back in the day, the album cover served the primary purpose of providing a flat "rolling" surface :cool:
 
Please list your votes for the 10 obscure albums deserving wider recognition. Please don't list albums available in Quad or 5.1.

1- Moby Grape (1st) My all-time favorite album. Listen my friends...

Short (about half an hour long) and great it is--but not obscure. Not only did it get to #24 in Billboard back in '67, but most critics and guides I've read rate it very highly. That five (count 'em) singles (with picture sleeves) were issued simultaneously probably hurt their chances of having a big hit ("Omaha" did crack the Hot 100, "Hey Grandma" Bubbled Under in Billboard), but they were pretty well known and popular for a few years. Their 2nd release, WOW, is far more underrated. Leaving the GRAPE JAM bonus disc aside, WOW has plenty of strong sides, but again, no singles chart luck, which an accessible band like this coulda used to keep it going.

Roger Eno - Lost In Translation (he'll always be overshadowed by his more famous brother)

Good as that one is, my special Roger album is VOICES, as atmospheric and intoxicating a 'mood' piece as I've ever had the pleasure to hear. If one could 'fly' underwater or in deep space, this would be my soundtrack music.

have we forgotten the Kinks? I would say anything by them qualifies.
very talented people.

Underappreciated at times, perhaps, but the Kinks could never be considered obscure: too many hits (bigger in the UK than US), and even an album like VILLAGE GREEN is well known to many fans, even though it didn't chart in the US.

ED :)
 
The Kinks can be considered overlooked compared to, say, the Beatles or the Stones, but every generation has its "B" team that put out work just as good as its "A" team. Not technically incorrect, but I think we're looking to dig deeper here.

And, yes, Roger Eno is often the Jeremy Giambi of ambient.

Would love to see some more recent music discussed in this thread.
 
Unless I list the entire discography of English musician Mark Gillespie, living in Germany, I have the following... Not 10, but hey:

Maria McKee - Late December
Tears for Fears - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
ABC - Traffic
Foreigner - Can't slow down
Gary Clark - Ten short songs about Love
King L - Great Day for Gravity
 
Unless I list the entire discography of English musician Mark Gillespie, living in Germany, I have the following... Not 10, but hey:

Maria McKee - Late December
Tears for Fears - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
ABC - Traffic
Foreigner - Can't slow down
Gary Clark - Ten short songs about Love
King L - Great Day for Gravity

Big ABC fan, but I didn't even know about the 2008 album. Worth a shot for me for sure.

Roland Orzabal's solo album was also pretty overlooked. Hell, "Elemental" was as well.
 
How about Rauol? Raoul!!!!! Raoul and the Kings of Spain. Since Curt was long gone, they should have called it Tear for Fear.

Call me mellow.

Big ABC fan, but I didn't even know about the 2008 album. Worth a shot for me for sure.

Roland Orzabal's solo album was also pretty overlooked. Hell, "Elemental" was as well.
 
How about Rauol? Raoul!!!!! Raoul and the Kings of Spain. Since Curt was long gone, they should have called it Tear for Fear.

Call me mellow.

"Raoul" never grabbed me. Don't know why.

I got to see them......three years ago, maybe? Nostalgia dollars make the worst of relationships suddenly better. They were fantastic, though.
 
[Would love to see some more recent music discussed in this thread.[/QUOTE]

This is where our differing ages show up on this thread.....:)
 
Would love to see some more recent music discussed in this thread.

Well okay, since you asked I'll continue!

Almost anything by Gemma Hayes
Aviv Geffen - With the Time (many of us know him from his collaborations with Steven Wilson as Blackfield but his Hebrew recordings are well worth investigating if you'r at all a fan
Azure Ray - just about anything they've released in the last 5 or 7 years...
Richard Hawley - either Cole's Corners or Trulelove's Gutter - great albums


DKA- The Hawley albums would be really good candidates for up mixes if you hear them want to give it a go....
 
[Would love to see some more recent music discussed in this thread.

This is where our differing ages show up on this thread.....:)[/QUOTE]

Age ain't nothin but a numbah. I can do the 60's and 70's rock, and I was born in '74. These folks here can do the same. ;)
 
Speaking of numbers, and they can vary a bit from year to year, but conservatively, more than 25,000 new albums are released every year and of those less than 1500 sell more than 10,000 units each (this is per Soundscan) - so we're talking about ALOT of overlooked music - much of which is for good reason but still, it's a sobering number.

In my original top 10, I listed 2 that were released last year and another 3 that were released in the last 5 years. I've been actively listening (or purchasing) music for the last 44 years - that's a big pool of overlooked to pull from. I could probably make several top 10 overlooked lists just for last year alone. But if I am asked to to list my 10 Most Overlooked (non-surround) Albums, no matter how ridiculously impossible that may be, I'm going to take into consideration my entire 44 years. Now if you want to do it by decade or by year that's another thread or 10 - either way, it's fun and a cool way to either rediscover some of your own overlooked titles or those of members on this thread whose taste you respect.

And by the by, @Dopplebock - I've had the opportunity to see Richard Hawley twice - once in France at the annual MIDEM convention and at SXSW in Austin a few years ago - both times he rocked - great atmospheric rock and a bit different from his days with Pulp.
 
I don't know about obscure, but I've bought Jimmy Reeds' I Ain't From Chicago, and it has been on my platter at least 20 times in the last month. "Take Out Some Insurance" gets me going on early mornings. I now prefer this version to the Beatles Polydor recording. A feat in my books! I only wonder about it's obscurity since I've not seen a digital transfer yet, nor any reference in this forum.
 
While it isn't the same album, you should check this out: www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/2093 Although it may not have been discussed here, the song, and Jimmy Reed are listed on QQ through a link to my SACD collection: www.sa-cd.net/library/7517/1 Leave it to a girl from Chicago to be the blues connnection.

The title Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall is pretty fast and loose with the facts. It was recorded in the studio, nor live at Carnegie. Phil Ochs', mentioned in the non-Quad obscure thread, Carnegie Hall album is exactly the same story. Instant live album, just add canned applause. Still, they're both great albums.

Bright lights, big city, goin' to my baby's head.

I don't know about obscure, but I've bought Jimmy Reeds' I Ain't From Chicago, and it has been on my platter at least 20 times in the last month. "Take Out Some Insurance" gets me going on early mornings. I now prefer this version to the Beatles Polydor recording. A feat in my books! I only wonder about it's obscurity since I've not seen a digital transfer yet, nor any reference in this forum.
 
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Cop Shoot Cop - Release
The Dirtbombs - Ultraglide In Black
Q and Not U - Power
Kills - Black Rooster EP
Bicycle Thief - You Come and Go Like a Pop Song
Brian Jonestown Massacre - And This Is Our Music
At the Drive-In - Relationship Of Command
Nation of Ulysses - 13 Point Program to Destroy America
Shellac - 1000 Hurts
Fugazi - Repeater
 
Cop Shoot Cop - Release
The Dirtbombs - Ultraglide In Black
Q and Not U - Power
Kills - Black Rooster EP
Bicycle Thief - You Come and Go Like a Pop Song
Brian Jonestown Massacre - And This Is Our Music
At the Drive-In - Relationship Of Command
Nation of Ulysses - 13 Point Program to Destroy America
Shellac - 1000 Hurts
Fugazi - Repeater

I love "Relationship of Command." Has a permanent spot on my IPhone.

I hope folks are getting some good recommendations from this thread.

I forgot to also include Manic Street Preachers - "This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours" on mine. Stops me dead in my track anytime. A lot of MSP albums will do that.
 
While it isn't the same album, you should check this out: www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/2093 Although it may not have been discussed here, the song, and Jimmy Reed are listed on QQ through a link to my SACD collection: www.sa-cd.net/library/7517/1 Leave it to a girl from Chicago to be the blues connnection.

The title Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall is pretty fast and loose with the facts. It was recorded in the studio, nor live at Carnegie. Phil Ochs', mentioned in the non-Quad obscure thread, Carnegie Hall album is exactly the same story. Instant live album, just add canned applause. Still, they're both great albums.

Bright lights, big city, goin' to my baby's head.

Thanks, Linda!
I am gonna check out that album. Have you tried it on vinyl? I don't have SACD capability, yet. I've seen VeeJay reissues and wondered if they would be any good.
 
Circular Vibes, I've not heard it in vinyl. Like most SACD's, this one is a hybrid, so it will play on any CD player. As with many SACD's, it is out of print, and is priced at $75 today. If you're strictly interested in vinyl, it is in print on an Analogue Productions LP. tower.com also lists the Mobile Fidelity Gold CD as being in print. Either if these would be my choice, as they're likely to sound the best. There are also available CD's on Shout Factory and Collectibles, which would be the lowest cost new CD's. Clearly, this is a classic album.

Happy Listening!
 
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