Forget the whales — save these poor, neglected albumsI like music. I listen to it frequently. (My current obsession is Anne Murray's Duets — Friends and Legends. It is soooo good!) I believe it's even fair to say I appreciate music — which is a good thing, apparently, because it seems that not all music is appreciated. I just read a seemingly random list of “10 Unappreciated Albums” on Musicouch.com. The author did not provide any context or standards, and I kind of agree with the only comment posted in response to the list: “I hav[e]n't even heard of most of those bands. This article is pointless.” Yet I feel like making my own similarly pointless list. So I'm considering my own CD collection and pondering which CDs are unappreciated — or at least underappreciated. And I mean which albums are unfairly maligned, or, more likely, unjustly ignored? Here are six, because that's how many came to mind. 1. A Cheap and Evil Girl (2000) — Bree Sharp
Bree Sharp had one fairly big single off this album: “David Duchovny,” a catchy gimmick song that got her some attention, and probably led to her second album, More B.S.. Her first album, however, should have been bigger than the one song. It is absolutely fantastic. I stumbled across it at at a record store (remember record stores?), listened to a few tracks, walked away and then went back the next day to buy the album. I still listen to it regularly. The tracks “America,” “Walk Away” and “Faster, Faster” floor me every time. 2. Really Rosie (1975) — Carole King (story and lyrics by Maurice Sendak)
I suspect that Really Rosie, the soundtrack to the Maurice Sendak television special, is often dismissed as a children's album. While it is a great children's album — and listening to it brings me right back to the television special — it is also a clever, interesting album in its own right. As a review put it,
I'm not going to argue that this is Carole King's best album. That's Tapestry. But it's great listening. 3. Suzanne Vega (1985) — Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega hit it big with her second album, Solitude Standing, in 1987, but her eponymous debut was an album worth recognizing. Three singles made it to the charts in the U.K., but I believe that only “Marlene on the Wall” was at all big in the U.S. I would argue, however, that “The Queen and the Soldier” is one of her all-time best songs. 4. Grease: A New '50s Rock 'n' Roll Musical — The Original Broadway Cast Album (1972)
The soundtrack from the movie Grease is one of the best selling soundtracks of all time. But I am among the few who prefer the original Broadway cast album to the movie soundtrack. The Broadway recording is consistent with the '50s theme of the show. There are no anachronistic, disco-era songs. The album provides a rare opportunity to hear Adrienne Barbeau sing. And, frankly, although “I'm All Shook Up” has never had its own mega-mix, I think it's a better song than “You're the One That I Want.” 5. Maria McKee (1986) — Maria McKee
Former Lone Justice lead singer Maria McKee is another underappreciated performer. (It probably wouldn't be fair to call her unappreciated.) Her debut solo album has some strong country influences and is bookended by two great songs, “I've Forgotten What It Was in You (That Put the Need in Me)” and “Drinkin' in My Sunday Dress.” This album is also the source of the single made famous by the Dixie Chicks, “Am I the Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way?)”. She followed up with the bluesy You Gotta Sin to Get Saved in 1993 and the alternative Life Is Sweet in 1996, but she's never gotten the appreciation I believe she deserves. 6. There Goes the Wondertruck (1989) — Mary's Danish Mary's Danish was one of the great bands of the late '80s/early '90s that never really went anywhere. I may be biased because I went to college with (but did not know) singers Julie Ritter and Gretchen Seager. In fact, I stumbled across a free concert on campus, bought the tape that afternoon and have been listening to their rock/funk sound ever since. There Goes the Wondertruck is a rare perfect album. Every song, beginning with “Don't Crash the Car Tonight” and ending with “Dodge City” is excellent, and I wish the album was generally recognized as the thing of beauty that it is. So those are my picks from my CD collection. What are your picks? What poor unappreciated albums deserve the recognition they've been denied? Submitted by on January 18, 2008 - 3:00pm. |
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Don't know if it counts but...
end:user counts!
That album is just fabulous! Give them a listen : http://www.myspace.com/vixtrola
Targeting A Dream...providing grants, scholarships, and community education for the LGBT community www.targetingadream.org
Great..
Yes!!!
Great songs! They are quite
Carol King
Fairly New
These are still somewhat new, so I guess maybe they still have time to be appreciated...but I still think it should happen immediately.
A Fine Frenzy - One Cell in the Sea
Rachael Yamagata - Happenstance
Xavier Rudd - White Moth
Happenstance
I agree that it's yet to be appreciated as it should be.
And I too have a lot of hope clinging on to that yet.
Fairly unknown...
I really like Amy Cook's indie album "From the fifty-second story". She released the album long before Leisha Hailey signed her up on Marfa Records :)
http://www.felicitytunes.com/featuredartists/amycook_lg.jpg
I like that Suzanne Vega album. She actually had a couple of hits on this side of the Atlantic. A friend of mine even called one of her kids "Luka".
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"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." (Dr. Seuss)
mainstream envy
I am from a relatively small town (less than 100,000 people) in a relatively backwards state (North Dakota). There are maybe three bars that play decent music. The problem is everything is mainstream. Even the radio stations here suck. You can listen to the radio all day and hear maybe 30 different songs. There is one place you can go to dance. They play the same stuff every night. Every once in a while they play the newest "shake your ass to it" song but unless it is mainstream by a big name, it doesn't get played here.
Don't get me wrong, I like mainstream music to a certain point, but I also like a change. I am a huge One Tree Hill fan. I have been introduced to some of the greatest songs and artists due to that show. They play the lesser known stuff. I love National, Travis, Constantines, Si Se, Band of Horses, Citizen Cope, Shout Out Louds, the list is endless. I realize that a lot of these groups are pretty new, but they aren't like the groups that everyone else is listening to so they just don't get played here. More than likely they will go somewhat unnoticed.
I have also noticed that a lot of times when a single is released, the rest of the album is ignored. If the artist is lucky, someone will actually listen to the rest of the album and play it on the radio but that is assuming the song has made the Billboard charts. There are so many new artists that the ones from a few months ago are already forgotten. Some artists just don't get the full exposure they deserve.
BREE SHARP
I love her. She's brilliant. My favorite song of hers is probably "The Ballad of Grim and Lily." It's so gorgeous. I think that's her second album, though. She also covered The Eagles "Boys of Summer" and wrote the David Duchovny song. So she, by definition rocks.
I'd say, Leona Naess. I forget how lovely she is sometimes. Comatised is her first album, and it's ..well, I love it. And the soundtracks to Sister Act I & II, and the soundtrack to Stepping Out with Liza Minelli.
i've got one :D
Ooh!
I thought I was the only Bree Sharp fan in the, um, universe.
I love her CD; I bought it for David Duchovney but fell in love with the CD. "Faster, Faster" is probably one of my all-time favorite songs.
Damn, now I can't wait to get home so I can listen to it again!
me too!!!
i bought the album because of david duchovny too and then fell in love with the whole album. its one of those that i love to pull out every now and then, crank it.
here are mine:)
angela mccluskey - curio
antigone rising - don't look back
bird york - wicked little high
boomkat - the wreckoning
stefy - the orange album
marion raven - here i am
And remember that, in a world of ordinary mortals, you are a Wonder Woman!
Feline
I picked up a second hand CD from a bootsale called "Feline" (band same name) just for fun and it turned out to be great - but noone has a clue who they are...
"Hatred is blind, as well as love." - Oscar Wilde
maria mckee...
Bree Sharp!
We saw her at our college where she performed, already fans of her first album, and we sat right in the front with like the 40 other people that were there. We went up to her afterwards and got her autograph. She saw us both and asked if we were together, we said "yes," and she goes "AW! You're so cute." Basically she thought we were adorable. And we love her so big, and so does one of our dads.
It's new!
Some albums are really new to me. Well, I'll listen.
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I am also on http://www.femmate.com (Community for relationship-minded lesbian singles and provides a new way to fin
Carina Round!
Everything by Carina Round, but especially The Disconnection (2004).
She's like Patti Smith for the new millennium. I've had that album on consistent rotation since I first heard it the year it came out. And I just found out that she was dropped from her label (Interscope) mostly because she wasn't writing pop songs. Labels almost universally suck.
I absolutely LOVE Bree
I absolutely LOVE Bree Sharp's album! I bought it for the David Duchovny song, but I also enjoy her other songs... I really need to look into songs of hers on different albums.
I don't know that I have anything to add really... I have a lot of random CDs that could probably go on this list, but I can't think of anything off the top of my head lol I would like to suggest Rachael McCartney as an artist to check out. She's brilliant and I'm hoping to one day see her perform live (her normal venues of Mass. is a little too far away for me lol
Interviewer: "Why do you write these strong female characters?"
Joss Whedon: "Because you're still asking me that question." - Equality Now speech
If I'm borrowing your icon, I'd be happy to give you credit, just let me know :)
Mary's Danish
My friends and I went to every Mary's Danish show there was back in the day. We even traveled to Tempe, AZ to see them play at a frat party! "Wondertruck" was a great album, along with their others "Circa" and "American Standard". There was also an unknown band that opened for them a few times with a then brunette female lead singer. What was the band ... oh yeah, No Doubt. Wonder what ever happened to her???
Ozark Henry
Virtually unknown on the North American continent, Belgian singer/composer known as Ozark Henry counts David Bowie and David Lynch amongst his fans. His songs aren't exactly top 40 friendly, but they're like little gems breathing certain atmospheres - he writes as if they're meant to be in movies, painting pictures for you as you listen. (He has written songs for movies.) I got the chance to see him live, twice, and I can say the music fit small venues best rather than music festivals. (And who knew the guy is still shy after being in the music biz for at least 10 years!)
Get an idea of some of his stuff here: http://www.myspace.com/ozarkhenry (and on YouTube)
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"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." (Dr. Seuss)
I think Alanis Morissette's
I think Alanis Morissette's follow-up to Jagged little pill, Supposed former infatuation junkie, is deeply underrated. It was different than JLP, but it was fabulous. Genius even.
And I still don't get why Tegan and Sara aren't international superstars yet. Well, maybe I do, but that's beside the point (hint: gay, independant women with clothes on).
"Even in death Gabrielle, I will never leave you"- Xena
great songs in that album...
sapito´s girl maybe be cause the critics were hopeing something more hard or acid like jlp, but that album has really good songs, and what about the unplugged?...that king of pain cover its still one of the best made of that song
Yeah i completely agree,
Yeah i completely agree, unplugged is fantastic and really shows how talented she is - talent non-depending on acid-like sound hehe.
"Even in death Gabrielle, I will never leave you"- Xena
BoomKat
I gotta agree with thesupernova - the album that Taryn Manning and her brother released under the bandname BoomKat was absolutely amazing....I still love it so much. It's a little bouncy and poppy for everyone's taste but can cheer you up in a second and have you singing along.
My favourite tracks on the album which are always burning up my Ipod are Look At All The People and What U Do 2 Me. Seriously, if any of you have a few quid spare go get the album it's so infectious! Just a shame that it didn't really get through to mainstream after the first single.
Bree Sharp
Thanks!
Music and Whales ... I'll save both.
My 5 under-appreciated albums:
1) Cranberries - To The Faithful Departed - this was the beginning of the end of the Cranberries and their career, and I really don't know why! It's quirky, it's funky, it's a little freaky ... what else would you want from an Irish grunge band?
2) Rufus Wainwright - Poses - this album made Rufus Wainwright popular on college campuses, but didn't seem to get much farther ... it wasn't until Want One that he boomed, but *I* think Poses is better than Want One, or anything else since.
3) Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Soundtrack - I don't think many people know about this because they don't know the movie (outside LOGO and AE), but it's a GREAT effin' soundtrack.
4) Baz Luhrmann - Something for Everybody - OK, BESIDES the sunscreen song - it's a great. album. with. great. mixes.
5) The Beatles - Revolver - doesn't get near as much noteriety as Sgt Pepper, the White Album, Abbey Road, or even Rubber Soul ... but it's my favorite, and one of the most complete albums the Beatles ever made.
Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates. [Mark Twain]
Love all the Bree-love!