Underrated Records

[Good Old Neon]

I don

[PopTodd]

 

 

The critics (and hipsters) cream all over themselves over these albums.

How are these underrated?

[hardwood floor]

I don

[Sir Stewart]

The critics (and hipsters) cream all over themselves over these albums.

How are these underrated?

I've never heard anyone cream over either of those.

[PopTodd]

I've never heard anyone cream over either of those.

 

5 Stars

Compare Spirit of Eden with any other previous release in the Talk Talk catalog' date=' and it's almost impossible to believe it's the work of the same band -- exchanging electronics for live, organic sounds and rejecting structure in favor of mood and atmosphere, the album is an unprecedented breakthrough, a musical and emotional catharsis of immense power. Mark Hollis' songs exist far outside of the pop idiom, drawing instead on ambient textures, jazz-like arrangements, and avant-garde accents; for all of their intricacy and delicate beauty, compositions like "Inheritance" and "I Believe in You" also possess an elemental strength -- Hollis' oblique lyrics speak to themes of loss and redemption with understated grace, and his hauntingly poignant vocals evoke wrenching spiritual turmoil tempered with unflagging hope. A singular musical experience.[/quote']

 

5 Stars

Virtually ignored upon its initial release' date=' Laughing Stock continues to grow in stature and influence by leaps and bounds. Picking up where Spirit of Eden left off, the album operates outside of the accepted sphere of rock to create music which is both delicate and intense; recorded with a large classical ensemble, it defies easy categorization, conforming to very few structural precedents -- while the gently hypnotic "Myrrhman" flirts with ambient textures, the percussive "Ascension Day" drifts toward jazz before the two sensibilities converge to create something entirely new and different on "New Grass." The epic "After the Flood," on the other hand, is an atmospheric whirlpool laced with jackhammer guitar feedback and Mark Hollis' remarkably plaintive vocals; it flows into "Taphead," perhaps the most evocative, spacious, and understated piece on the record. A work of staggering complexity and immense beauty, Laughing Stock remains an under-recognized masterpiece, and its echoes can be heard throughout much of the finest experimental music issued in its wake.[/quote']

[Sir Stewart]

That's cream, I'll give you that.

[wheelco]

Stereolab - Transient Random Noisebursts With Announcements

[Prose]

Every album by The Church

ABSOLUTELY!!!!

[Prose]

13th Floor Elevators-Bull Of The Woods

[Synthesizer Patel]

 

was that what the album was called in america, or are you just talking about the song? in the uk the album was called hq. that is a great song, though - brilliant lyrics which are actually kind of sad, but certainly remind me of what it's like playing cricket on the village green with the farmer labourers, old-timers, landed gentry and us youngsters too. those old boys who came out to bat at number 7 would always be the hardest to get out too - poking the ball around the corner for a single and scoring 40 in 2 hours. anyway, great lyrics (by the way - geoff = geoff boycott, english batsman & john = john snow, bowler)

 

When the day is done

and the ball has spun

In the umpires pocket away

And all that remains in the groundsman's pains

For the rest of time and a day

There'll be one mad dog and his master

Pushing for four with the spin

On a dusty pitch with two pounds six

Of willow wood in the sun

 

When an old cricketer leaves the crease

Well you never know whether he's gone

If sometimes your catching a fleeting glimpse

Of a twelfth man at silly Mid-on

And it could be Geoff and it could be John

With a new ball sting in his tail

And it could be me and it could be thee

And it could be the sting in the ale

 

When the moment comes

And the gathering stands

And the clock turns back to reflect

On the years of grace

As those footsteps trace

For the last time out of the act

Well this way of lifes recollection

The hallowed strip in the haze

The fabled men and the noonday sun

Are much more than just yarns of their days

 

When an old cricketer leaves the crease

Well you never know whether he's gone

If sometomes your catching a fleeting glimpse

Of a twelfth man at silly Mid-on

And it could be Geoff and it could be John

With a new ball sting in his tail

And it could be me and it could be thee

And it could be the sting in the ale - sting in the ale

[jff]

was that what the album was called in america, or are you just talking about the song?

 

That's what my copy is called, and that is what the cover looks like. I was referring to the whole album as being underrated.

[Central Scrutinizer]

Most awesome!

 

That's cream, I'll give you that.

Don't step in it.

[jff]

13th Floor Elevators-Bull Of The Woods

 

Totally. I always liked that one and Easter Everywhere more than Psychedelic Sounds.

[sureshot]

The critics (and hipsters) cream all over themselves over these albums.

How are these underrated?

 

 

I guess its more under-appreciated. Its a niche population that even knows they exist (and can we also ditch the tired "hipster" cliche?).

 

The same could be said for Mark Hollis' solo album, which is on par with the later-era Talk Talk.

[Doug]

God's Favorite Band- In Through the Outhouse (saw these guys open for Alice Donut in '92)

Bob Evans- Adult World

Unrest- Imperial f.f.r.r. and Perfect Teeth

U2- October

Flaming Lips- Hit to Death in the Future Head (it's sandwiched in-between two classics, but c'mon, it's got "Felt Good to Burn, "Frogs," "Gingerale Afternoon," "Hit Me Like You Did the First Time," and "Halloween on the Barbary Coast" for god's sake!)

[John Smith]

U2- October

 

Underrated? October? I just listened to it for the first time in 20+ years the other day and still found it to be a steamy pile. Most U2 sounds dated to me, very little of iit transcends the era it was made in, but for my ears October was bad then and was not ahead of it's time. It was just plain stinky.

[Sir Stewart]

I like October - definitely underrated in U2's canon.

[Panther]

Lenord Cohen - New Skin For The Old Ceremony, this is by far my favrite Cohen album and it is under rated even though it contains chealse hotel #2

[sureshot]

Underrated? October? I just listened to it for the first time in 20+ years the other day and still found it to be a steamy pile. Most U2 sounds dated to me, very little of iit transcends the era it was made in, but for my ears October was bad then and was not ahead of it's time. It was just plain stinky.

 

 

If we're going to go with underrated U2, I would pick Zooropa (the title track is one of their best songs, period. Not to mention Numb, The Wanderer, Dirty Day, and Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car).

 

Even Pop was really unfairly maligned.

[stooka]

Don't forget Baybyface & Lemon.

[stickman]

Hit to Death for sure.

 

But also:

 

Paul Simon's self titled one.

There's Nothing Wrong With Love by Built to Spill

Anything by Quasi -> not that their albums are underrated, just underexposed

Big Red Letter Day by Buffalo Tom

[Analogman]

I like October - definitely underrated in U2's canon.

 

I use to have that on my answering machine - many years ago.