Your Lost "Shoulda Been Classic" Records Go In Here

[HandBanana]

Hopefully there isnt an existing thread of these, the Search function doesnt really have a way to check for "Concept"

Anyhoo, I was checking out Basehead's Play With Toys from 1992 (and I havent heard it since 1993) and I was sort of taken aback that it sounds better and fresher now than I think it did then.

Sadly, no one has heard the damn thing.

So what are some of your lost "how was this not huge?!" records?
Not merely underrated albums, but ones that seem like they ARE classics in the alternate universe of your life.

NOTE: they must be at least 10 years old due to some records getting discovered later on.

[cradlerobber]

i'm a big fan of urge overkill and think they should have been more widely recognized as a great 90s rock band. most people just know them for 'girl, you'll be a woman soon' in pulp fiction. but their original work is much better, especially the 'exit the dragon' album, but 'saturation' as well. i love nash kato's voice and eddie is aiight too.

[cradlerobber]

another that comes to mind is Crustation [sic]. great trip hop record that was completely overlooked. love the girl's voice, apparently now she's just a spanish teacher somewhere. the one record was all they did



heard a great mashup of this and "tomorrow comes today" once.

[cradlerobber]

wow, that basehead track was fantastic! definitely checking out the record now.

[daxton]

another that comes to mind is Crustation [sic]. great trip hop record that was completely overlooked. love the girl's voice, apparently now she's just a spanish teacher somewhere. the one record was all they did



heard a great mashup of this and "tomorrow comes today" once.

this is pretty awesome

[bmack86]

The Chills-Submarine Bells is one of my favorite indie pop records of all time, and yet it rarely gets recognition outside of a very small group of intensely dedicated fans.

[sonofhal]

Drop Nineteens - Delaware.

It'll always be a classic to me. One of the finest albums ever made. Better than so much else released that year (92) - and it was a strong year for music.



My favourite Madonna cover ever

[HandBanana]

Drop Nineteens - Delaware.

It'll always be a classic to me. One of the finest albums ever made. Better than so much else released that year (92) - and it was a strong year for music.



My favourite Madonna cover ever

Oh shit.
Need to get acquainted with them immediately

[roberto73]

Amen to both The Chills and Drop Nineteens. For me it's always been Kitchens of Distinction's Strange Free World.





Hardly anyone's heard of him, but I think Julian Swales' guitar on their four albums is unquestionably the best to come out of that early 90's British shoegaze scene (Ride, Lush, Slowdive, etc.).

[HandBanana]

For me it's always been Kitchens of Distinction's Strange Free World.

BFFZ 4 ever!

That record is hugely important to me.
Ive listened to it pretty consistently every year since its release.
Every track is quality.

[Mr.Nipples]

[daxton]

hilarious

[chiapet]

I have trouble with these kinds of threads because I don't have a really good perception of what is popular (being that I grew up in the middle of nowhere and didn't know what was being played on college/city radio, and then for the last ~15 years have had NO sense of what goes on in popular culture).

These are some obvious ones, but:

Big Country - The Crossing
This was a great album that only went gold, and they are regarded mostly as a one hit wonder. The lead singer was an alcoholic and committed suicide about 10 years back.



I can't find the official video on Youtube for this one, here's the song.

but here's the video which I'd suggest instead:
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/Bi...untry--2170157


Felt - so many bands we listen to cite Felt as an inspiration or influence, and yet they were not at all popular in the US. They've gained a little bit more respect in retrospect, but still most people have never heard of them at all. I think almost any of their albums could be picked as a 'classic', but I'll go with:

Forever Breathes the Lonely Word

(No actual videos):

[chiapet]

PS I'd love to nominate Momus's Folktronic album, but there is not a single song from the album on YT and I can't find anything with more than a 30 second sample string. Fucking control freak.

At any rate, it was released 10 years ago in January, practically no one noticed, yet everyone I've made listen to the album has at least liked it. Most became fanatical about Momus.

[cradlerobber]

adrian belew - young lions

belew is an amazing player associated with names like frank zappa, the talking heads, nine inch nails, and king crimson. none of his solo work was successful, despite kind of reinventing how to play electric guitar and being an amazing vocalist / songwriter.

david bowie sings on two songs... "gunman", and this one, which is clearly about a vagina.



it's not for everybody, and is dated in a way that a lot of the records above aren't. but i love it.

[bballarl]

Props for the Chills, Drop Nineteens, Kitchens of Distinction, Big Country and Felt. <3 those bands. Need to check out the rest.

[chiapet]

Ok, this one is a bit of a stretch, because Mark Kozelek is not exactly obscure amongst the indie community, but it has always seemed to me that he's gotten a lot more attention for Sun Kil Moon than for Red House Painters. His albums with Red House Painters tended to get good-to-excellent critical reviews, and there was certainly a loyal following for the band, but no real commercial success. They had almost no coverage in mainstream media (though they were covered and reviewed well by magazines like CMJ) and only released one commercial single during the ~10 years they were together. They had 6 full length albums and an EP. Of the 6 LPs, 4 score a 4+ out of 5 by allmusic ratings.

This describes a lot of indie groups, but it blows my mind that they never achieved wider spread popularity. The album Ocean Beach is incredibly accessible, and perhaps if the mid-90s had been more accepting of quietly emotional music, it could have been a more mainstream album. I mean, my mother listens to this band. My grandparents enjoyed it when I played it for them. I can only guess that Kozelek has purposefully avoided anything resembling success and fame. (How else can you explain how someone so talented makes great albums for 20 years without having any real mention in the mainstream?)

Anyway. Ocean Beach by Red House Painters. There is not a bad song on the entire album.

(Obviously there are not many official videos).



This is the only single, and the video was pretty much never played.




(this one starts out slow... stick with it or skip 40 seconds in)

[Pixiessp]

This is the only single, and the video was pretty much never played.

I love this song. I included it in one of the mixed CDs I sent out during the mix exchange. Top notch post, Chia.

[MarkO]

The House of Love - Babe Rainbow

[juloxx]

[juloxx]

another timeless classic

[chiapet]

I suspect you missed the point of the thread.

[sonnyboy11]

Tindersticks second record is a classic that I wish more people would listen to and acknowledge as such. It got plenty of accolades from British press upon release but not so here in North America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tindersticks_(1995_album)

Travelling Light a beautiful song and although there is an official video for it (which I love) it doesn't need the distraction of visuals to impact



The true classic song from this record is a song called Tiny Tears



You've been lying in bed for a week now
Wondering how long it'll take
You haven't spoken or looked at her in all that time
It's the easiest line you could break
She's been going (about) around her business as usual
Always with that melancholy smile
But you were too busy looking into your (affairs) head
To see those tiny tears in her eyes

Tiny tears make up an ocean
Tiny tears make up a sea
Let them pour out, pour out all over
Don't let them pour all over me

How can you hurt someone so much your supposed to care for
Someone you said you'd always be there for
But when that water breaks you know you're gonna cry, cry
When those tears start rolling you'll be back

Tiny tears...

You've been thinking about the time, you've been dreading it
But now it seems that moment has arrived
She's at the edge of the bed, she gets in
But it's hard to turn the opposite way tonight

Tiny tears...


Stuart Staples baritone lilts and twists each song into a story and experience that's impossible to shake. Next time the weather is gray and your thinking about old friends and relationships, put this record on and you'll feel yourself change inside.

As a bonus they are INCREDIBLE live! One of the best small stage performances I have seen from any band.

[TomAz]

The Chills is the correct answer here.

now, this.

[MarkO]

Tindersticks ........

I defer to your excellent choice, good Sir.

[TomAz]

oh, hey! I'm pretty sure I was at this show.

[jeffp1717]

I'm kind of in the boat of "not sure if this is considered classic" but, Blind Melon's Soup is an absolute classic to me. They were considered a one-hit wonder with "No Rain", and Soup wasn't very successful at all, but it's amazing from start to finish. They should have been huge.

[sacleonard]

This is a fantastic thread. I'm really enjoying all of the recommendations.

[sacleonard]

My first contribution would have to be "World Without End" (1988) by The Mighty Lemon Drops.

Videos seem hard to find, and I couldn't find one for "Closer To You," which is a favorite track of mine.

"Inside Out"


"Crystal Clear"

[chiapet]

Okay, another one for the Americans. The The had a string of poorly charting singles through the 80's and 90's in the UK, and maybe two legitimate hits. They're virtually unheard of, though, in the US. Several of their 90's singles, from their less-good albums, charted on college radio charts, but nothing in the mainstream.

Infected is another of those albums that just does not have a bad song (and has 4-5 excellent ones) and did not have even one hit in the US. HOW the hell was Sweet Bird of Truth, at least, not a hit here?

I've posted this video several times, I'm sure, because it's a freaking rad video and a song I love. Also amazingly relevant today even though it's from ~25 years ago!






Allegedly they were really good live too (never saw them personally)