The Musicheads gave a listen to Aimee Mann's new effort, "@#%&*! Smilers" this week (and wondered just how that title might be pronounced). Also reviewed: The latest from the dark, drone-heavy band The Black Angels called "Directions To See A Ghost," and the beautifully classic-sounding "Lay It Down" from the legendary Al Green.
Finally, this week's discussion topic: Name an artist you've really enjoyed, past or present, whom you feel just never got the credit they deserved. Barb Abney and Mac Wilson were my guests.
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Comments: 35
The Billygoats from the mid 90's out of Nashville, disbanded, but, they had that smooth country (not Nashvegas) rock and roll sound.
Cashmere Jungle Lords. Gee, I think I could go on and on ...
very much agree with King's X..awesome band, and consistently have put out good albums and written many good songs. They played to how many 100 thousand people at Woodstock'94 and figured that may finally be what they needed to breakthrough, but they sold like 300 cds the next 2 weeks or something. However, they are still an active band, and their new album "XV" is really terrific. I wrote an article here about it.
But even moreso in my mind, the artist who has yet to receive the acclaim he deserves would be Kevin Gilbert. The man was a musical genius. He made 2 absolute gems in "The Shaming of the True" and "Toy Matinee" to go along with a lot of other work that is brilliant including (although in my mind it came out worse than it would have been had he been steering the ship) Sheryl Crow's grammy winning album "Tuesday Night Music Club."
Kevin's girlfriend for a time was Sheryl, and he asked HER to join his band that would jam on Tuesday Nights at the studio he was working at. The band was called "The Tuesday Music Club."
He did receive some mention when she won the grammy, but not what he should have. She had left him not that long before it was released, then later claimed "Leaving Las Vegas" was about her life and she wrote it on David Letterman's show.
Kevin died in 1996 at the age of 29. His music still needs to be heard by tons of people. We have seen Jeff Buckley's name become recognized in the last decade after quite eerily similar circumstances, there is no good reason why the same thing shouldn't happen for Kevin Gilbert.
I'm with you on the Suburbs!
Credit in Heaven still rules.
Also Rifle Sport's first album, when will that ever come out on CD?
It was a great album, but they were never able to recapture the momentum they had in the late 90's.
Too bad too - at the time Dallas was the place to be for rock.
If it weren't for the Burbs, Mats, Du, Soul Asylum etc. the Seattle sound would have never taken off. Think about it. We made everything fair game. Prince opened for the Stones. The Replacements did Jackson Bros. covers. The Wallets redid nursery rhymes.
Alice in Chains, Sound Garden, Pearl Jam all nodded to the 70's but the roots were Minneapolis in the 80's.
Oh, and Kate Bush, P.J. Harvey and Siouxsie Sioux can really sing yet we give posers like Mariah Carey, Britney and Christina millions. No justice.
Lotsa votes for the Suburbs. They were a GREAT live band too! You always knew when you were at a really good 'Burbs show was when Beej was hangin from the rafters during, "Drinking With An Angel."
Alway's thought the Flamin Oh's never got the credit they deserved, nor did the Twin Cities band, the Blue Hippos. I thought they were gonna be as big as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Guess I was wrong there!
but, if i had to narrow the list down to just a few that labored long in obscurity & with a sense of their own artistic integrity (eccentric as it may be), i'd have to say the following:
felt
orange juice
blue aeroplanes
they're all difficult to find nowadays - the re-issues are all out-of-print as are the obligatory best-ofs. in fact, in each case alot of the stuff has never been made available on disc - if you don't got the record, then you're out of luck. that's shame - each band was literate almost to a fault and superlative musically. best first line of a song anywhere ever i think was the Aeroplanes "Jacket Hangs": "pick a card/ any card - WRONG!" HA! just brilliant!
I appreciate the edification of Kevin Gilbert above - I had forgotten that story. I think the version I heard suggested he wrote most of her hits or the hooks for them.
It reminds me of another great album partner: Brad Wood. This is the guy, in my book, that made Exile In Guyville 'by' Liz Phair. It is a great study in partnership; the right coupling at the right room at the right time under the right circumstances - mostly that she was unknown, had nothing to loose and no plan or target audience or label. None of her subsequent records can begin to measure up - and I think few records do. Brad Wood, where are you now? Let's all Google him and hope we can find him on myspace.
2 other going concerns, more to the stream above. THE SILOS. 22 years and still making amazing records, dispite some devasting catasrophes. The trio form of the band which has been the longest running line-up ended in January when the bass player and side-man extradinaire Drew Glakin died suddenly from an undiagnosed condition. Their record from 1986, CUBA, remains an all time favorite.
A condition of what I define as 'makin' it, is that there is little or no label or professional support for the band. They move their own gear, book their own gigs, and sweat over van repairs or rentals and making enough money to hire an entertainment attorney to review a contract if or when they get offered one.
(Any of you figure out yet that much of this comes from first-hand experience for me?)
Lastly, Tom Fruend. I regard Tom as probably the best singer/song-writer-player I know. I also find his songs stunning. His show at The Kendall Cafe in Cambridge in 1998 is on my list of all time best club shows I have ever seen.
I listen to his records and hear a guy ripe for major label exploitation and envision that well-heeled NPR audience gobling up his discs through Amazon after one of those features on a warm-fuzzy NPR show or a smarmy review by Ken, the NPR music critic.
I close with the suggestion that Tom, like many of the bands mentioned above, is exactly where he wants to be; being his own boss.
I haven't heard nearly enough of Colin Haye (Men at Work) as I'd like, either.
Boy, lot's of artists in this list I'll have to check out!
Tish Hinojosa, who is well known in the folk world but not so much outside it
Terri Allard, who's been called too folk for country and too country for folk
Cathie Ryan, who is well known in the Celtic world but not so much outside it
Among newer artists, I saw a duo called Drunken Prayer at Tractor Tavern in Seattle this March who blew me away. I hope they come to Minneapolis. They were like the second coming of Steve Earle, but with a sense of humor. Recommended song - "Pearls and Swine"
Oh, and Tom Waits does not spell his name with an "e".
How about The Producers? They had such incredible hooks, great vocals, could really play, and NEVER got on the radio. Their first album is a classic.
And a two-for-one: David Werner. His self-titled album was the best New Wave/Bowie album Bowie never recorded. I googled him to see if he has released anything else, and he hasn't, but he produced a great album for Marc Copely, which is also is going unheard. You can find him at www.marccopely.com