Underrated Albums

[liberalpragmatist]

What's a generally-panned or disliked album by a prominent artist that you think is underrated?

I'm going to pick out two: Adore is my favorite Pumpkins' album and I also really like U2's Zooropa.

What about you?

[Lubernaut]

1. Islands by King Crimson

I likes it fine.

[sendero]

3. It's ok...

.... but in comparison to the rest of the records they did in the late 60s early 70s timeframe, it is pretty weak.

But even a weak KC recording is great :)

In the vein of old stuff that only us old people would ever have heard of - my vote goes to Passion Play by Jethro Tull. On the heels of the very successful Aqualung and Thick as a Brick, Passion Play was not only almost universally critically panned, but some band members were close to mutiny over it.

I think it might be their best recording :)

[skygazer]

4. I feel that way about Songs From the Wood

Great album - don't know what kind of reviews it got but most people I know have never heard of it.

Jethro Tull was great.

[sendero]

5. Songs From the Wood..

... is a classic also - it didn't get much attention either way critically - many had "given up" on Tull by then.

"Pass the cup of crimson wonder!" :)

[tarkus]

11. Most definitely

But "Heavy Horses" is still my favorite Jethro Tull album.

[benny05]

14. I like Tull's Aqualung the most

Locomotive Breath..is great...

but to me the one Tull album still underrated is "Thick as a Brick"

and ELP's "Tarkus"

I miss album oriented rock! Rock was judged by its merits and not by videos back then...

[johnnie]

2. I have two off the top of my head

Steve Jones - Mercy
Material Issue - Freak City Soundtrack

[bridgit]

6. moby grape

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby_Grape

[brentspeak]

8. Everyone knows that a great album

It's a classic. What's underrated is their second album, "Wow".

[Tom Kitten]

16. yes!

"Bitter Wind" (I think that's the title) is a beautiful song...

[6000eliot]

7. Plainsong

"In Search of Amelia Earhart" is an excellent album that most people haven't heard of. The group was led by Ian Matthews of Matthews Southern Comfort and Fairport Convention. It's a concept album about AE that includes an amazing version of the gospel standard "I'll Fly Away." Highly recommended.

[hobo_baggins]

9. Monster by REM

I saw it on a list of when bad albums happen to good bands...but i always thought it was very good, its no AFTP, but its still great.

[General Zod]

10. "The Who by Numbers"

This album kind of gets lost in the shuffle, considering it was released after the tremendous " Quadrophenia". But I think it's the Who's most underrated album. Some of Townsend's most intimate songs are here, such as " However Much I Booze","They Are All In Love",and "How Many Friends".

It also has the great rocker, "Dreaming From the Waist", and quirky little songs like "Slip Kid" and "Squeeze Box". Townsend revisited many of these same themes such as aging and self-pity on his great 1980 solo album, "Empty Glass".

[6000eliot]

12. I agree

I like "By Numbers" better than "Quadrophenia," in fact.

[tuvor]

13. Laika "Silver Apples on the Moon" and Fantastic Plastic Machine's "Luxury"

[AntiCoup2K4]

15. Rolling Stones - Goats Head Soup

This album ends up with a bad rep mostly because it was the follow-up to Exile on Main Street, and after that monster of a record, Anything would have looked like an underacheivement by comparison.

Yet anyone whose heard any 1973 live boots (Brussels Affair being the best) would have to agree that this was the Rolling Stones at their peak musically, even if the material was compared unfavorably to the likes of "Tumblin Dice", "Happy", "Brown Sugar", "Sway", "All Down The Line" and all the other hits from the previous two records.

But let's face it, "Angie" was a great single, as ballads go. "Dancin With Mr D." very underrated, but that's because they stripped the best guitar parts from the song. If they had released it with Mick Taylor's contributions intact, it might have been as big as anything on Exile. And "Starfucker" couldn't get radio airplay for obvious reasons.

"100 Years Ago" - great Billy Preston - driven funk song every bit as anything Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye was putting out at the time

Bottom line, there were no BAD Stones albums with Mick Taylor on guitar and Jimmy Miller producing. Simply impossible.

And if you don't have "A Bigger Bang" yet, GET IT. You will not be sorry!

[Tom Kitten]

17. The Jam albums

everybody remembers the Clash, the Sex Pistols, the Damned and so forth, but the Jam were pretty damn good too!

[yorgatron]

18. 801 Live

[Hudgie DeRobertis]

19. I agree.

My favorite Jam album.