Underrated Musical Groups

[mlr73]

I was just listening to Wilco and thought that they don't get the attention they should in the music world. I think they are slowly climbing up the ladder, but they still deserve more. Okay, the members of Wilco aren't hot, saucy little numbers like Brittney Spears but they are just so musically talented and have some great songs.

So, this brought me to thinking --- what band or singer do you think is underrated? Someone you think is just highly talented, someone you enjoy immensely but they just aren't getting the Brittney Spears like attention they should be (not the "I just got married in Vegas as a joke" attention.:p ).

[leightx]

I love, love, love Wilco. Actually, I like Uncle Tupelo even better!

[colleency]

Moxy Fruvous!

[RebeccaT]

Love Wilco. Love Uncle Tupelo. Love Moxy Fruvous. :D

But I'll add one to the list: Bob Schneider.

[badunnin]

Originally posted by colleency
Moxy Fruvous!

Absolutely!

--Trudi (still praying for an end to the "hiatus", even though I know it isn't coming)

[Mary Ann]

Box Set

[leightx]

Hmmm...why do I sense an impending iTunes binge here??? :D

[RebeccaT]

Oooh, thought of two more:

- BoDeans (they did more than that annoying Party of Five theme!)
- Pernice Brothers (similar to BoDeans' sound, but a new discovery for me)

[Jessica]

BoDeans
Lyle Lovett
Lucinda Williams

[beckms]

Originally posted by RebeccaT

But I'll add one to the list: Bob Schneider.

<Swoooon>:o

I LOVE Bob Schneider. When we lived in Austin we went to see the Scabs at a club downtown, and he was just soooo yummy. :cool:

[gertdog]

Mmm, I agree about both Wilco and the BoDeans. I own 5 BoDeans CDS. :o

Another one I'll throw out there is Josh Ritter. He's kind of mellow folk-y stuff, but such a good lyricist and so pleasant to listen to.

[lorilei]

Ah, the BoDeans. I always forget about them (must be living in Milwaukee that does it).

I'd have to vote for someone like Ebba Forsberg... very pleasant, and someone I wouldn't say is exactly popular.

I also think the JayHawks, who get play in the Twin Cities but not here, are another band that is really worth a listen.

[aggie94]

Love the BoDeans.

I'll add Son Volt to the list.

[Celadon]

Over the Rhine

The 2 disc "OHIO" by Over the Rhine is packed with great music.

[leightx]

OMG - I'm cracking up over Bob Schneider's site: www.bobschneidermusic.com . Turn up the volume on your computer...

I love his stuff too.

On a somewhat unrelated note - I ran into Sandra Bulluck and her new boyfriend (the tatooed one) at Sullivan's this weekend! I pretty much made a complete idiot of myself since my friend saw her walking in, and as we were leaving I said "I wish I had seen her - I never see anyone famous!" As I turned around, she was standing 2 feet behind me. :rolleyes: :D

[RebeccaT]

Leigh, that was hilarious! Thanks for the link! :D In other happy news, I found out on the site that he'll be in Houston in September at my favorite pub. Yay!

[lorilei]

The Bob Schneider site reminded me of another great guy -- Steve Poltz. Funny guy with great, quirky songs. I think the first time I saw him he was touring with Jewel.

[aggie94]

Originally posted by leightx
On a somewhat unrelated note - I ran into Sandra Bulluck and her new boyfriend (the tatooed one) at Sullivan's this weekend!

That'd be Jesse James, of West Coast Choppers fame. :)

[MusicMom]

I have a couple of Wilco CDs.

Two more underrated musicians/groups:

Nils Lofgren (http://www.nilslofgren.com) An incredible guitarist to watch live. He's also a really nice guy- he stays after his gigs to talk to people and sign autographs.

Tingstad and Rumbel (http://tingstadandrumbel.com) Guitar-woodwind duo from Seattle. Beautiful instrumental music. DD and I just saw them perform at Musikfest in Bethlehem, but they stay mainly on the west coast. They're not entirely underrated- they won a Grammy a couple of years ago for Acoustic Garden.

[HDgirl]

Originally posted by aggie94


That'd be Jesse James, of West Coast Choppers fame. :)

Ya know, I had heard that. That's a train wreck in the making.

[ellielk]

Box Set - definitely. I've taken vocal workshops with these guys and they are fantastic.

Also:
Hot Tuna
Patrick Sweany
Pete Hutlinger
Subdudes
Jeb Loy Nichols
The Walkabouts
Paul Kelly

I could go on for days.

[RebeccaT]

The Flaming Lips

[ellery]

Okay. I'll admit. I don't know what the rules of this game are, as far as the definition of "underrated." It being Friday and all, I'll take it to mean ones that I love that other people should love as much as me. :D

Jack Johnson
Sonia Dada
Keb Mo


:D

Leah

[RebeccaT]

I love Jack Johnson, Leah!

Here's another... Crowded House. And in later years, The Finn Brothers.

See, I subscribe to LAUNCH on Yahoo. It's this streaming radio-type thing, except you train it to play the music you like. It also introduces you to music you *might* like based on your preferences. So, whenever a song or artist comes up that I like, I am adding it to this thread. :)

[ellielk]

OH, YES!! Sonia Dada - should be way more well-known than they are.

[leebee]

LOVE Crowded House & the Finn Bros. We listen to the Jayhawks a lot--my 3-yr-old loves them (thinks they're the Beatles!). I also adore Blue Nile & DH is way into Prefab Sprout.

[SandyM]

Great Big Sea. :D

[ellielk]

The really neat thing about this thread is that it's giving me a list of new music to give a listen to.

Thanks.

[Terrytx]

Here is a Houston group that is on the rise. www.pilot-radio.com/ (http://www.pilot-radio.com/ ) . I got interested in them because Drew used to live down the street from us and he and his brother used to play with DS3 and 4.

[mlr73]

Leah -

You got it right. That's the point of this thread -- a group or singer that you think is great and the rest of the world just hasn't caught on yet.;)

I love Uncle Tupelo, too. The guys from Uncle Tupelo are originally from southern Illinois where I grew up. Gotta love Son Volt, too. I don't know what the circumstances were for Uncle Tupelo breaking up, but we got 2 great bands out of it with Wilco and Son Volt.

[cab321]

I like Great Big Sea, but have never listened to any of their CDs - only stuff on the radio. Their radio stuff is so peppy!

[aggie94]

FWIW, especially for you folks in and around Austin, the Austin City Limits Festival this year will feature a whole slew of "underrated" musical groups, including some that have been mentioned on this thread (Jack Johnson, Wilco, Bob Schneider) and some better known big names (Modest Mouse, Los Lonely Boys, Ben Harper, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Cake, Big Head Todd and the Monsters).

Looks like a fantastic line-up this year. You can check out a list of all the bands playing at their website:

http://www.aclfestival.com/schedule.html

I think I'm buying DH a plane ticket back to Austin and a 3-day pass for his graduation gift, so he can go with his buddy. I'll be sad to miss it.

[RebeccaT]

Eva, thanks for that link! Oh, I really would love to go this year, and see:

- Elvis Costello
- Ben Harper
- Bob Schneider
- Patty Griffin
- and so many others!

[silverrr]

oh there are so many...here are some of my favorites...

the screaming trees
mogwai
starflyer 59
over the rhine
the innocence mission
low
ida
slowdive
my bloody valentine

[MISSINDI]

OK, unfortunately I can't contribute to this thread ... because so far, the only names I recognize are Crowded House, Neil Finn and Sandra Bullock! Sad, I know, but with a 2-year-old, our heavy rotation is Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann," Ashlee Simpson's "Pieces" and Britney Spears. I'm not complaining though ... the Beach Boys were by themselves for a good six months; at least we've added a little variety!

[krhm]

Missindi, I know what you mean. When DD's were little I used to sing Barney songs at work. Not intentionally, of course! I still don't listen to much in the car, but now that I have a private office again instead of a cubicle, I can listen to Launch! again too.

My addition is a band that came out in the early 90's...The Ocean Blue. They have been steadily releasing great albums and just released a new album a few months ago.

Kari

[KristiB]

Many of the above plus They Might Be Giants

[VictoriaL]

Sonia Dada
The Subdudes
Keb Mo'
Los Lonelyboys
Taj Mahal
The Neville Brothers

I'm sure there are more that I'm just not remembering now...

:o

[Aesha]

I was going to add Jack Johnson, but I see he's already made the list!

In that case, I have to add one singer: Jane Monheit. For anyone who likes jazz music, you must become familiar with this artist. Even if you don't like jazz, you should! She is a real jazz singer... more 'old school', for lack of a better term. Same style as Diana Krall, I think, only I'm not much of a fan of Diana and Jane blows me away. She makes me think of Sarah Vaughn, Rosemary Clooney and the like... she doesn't have the pop/country jazz sound of Norah Jones, but is more pure jazz.

Gavin DeGraw is getting more attention lately, as is Joss Stone.. she's nice to listen to, sometimes. Also, I really love Mary Beth Mariaz, aka Mary Beth... she is a great artist though not very well known much outside Utah, I don't think. She has one CD that is all kind of mellow music titled A More Perfect World... it's so nice to listen to when you're trying to unwind. :)

Aesha

[kkapow]

okay, i must be living under a rock! the only group i've heard of on this thread is Crowded House. of course, i listen mostly to country and 70s soul music(Temptations, The Spinners, etc.). hmmm.... maybe i need to broaden my horizons?!? :rolleyes:

i do like Uncle Cracker and Moby, though.

karen

[camNcurtsmom]

~out of lurking mode here~

I would like to add Cowboy Junkies and Love and Rockets to the list. Love them both and never hear anything on them.

Tammi

[imloulou]

Originally posted by leightx
I love, love, love Wilco. Actually, I like Uncle Tupelo even better!

Oh my goodness...I have not thought about Uncle Tupelo in a long, long while! I grew up in St. Louis and saw them many times in Cicero's basement. What fun..I just ordered this from Amazon:

89/93 An Anthology (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000063CN9/qid=1093915642/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-2695499-1865500?v=glance&s=music&n=507846)

Thanks for bringing them up...

[Beth H]

I don't know what the circumstances were for Uncle Tupelo breaking up, but we got 2 great bands out of it with Wilco and Son Volt.

The problem with Uncle Tupelo was that they had two guys who both wanted to write/perform their own songs (Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy). Their breakup was not amicable. DH has a bootleg of the last Uncle Tupelo show, and there literally is no conversation from the band at all - they just played and got off stage.

I actually prefer Son Volt to Wilco - although I don't think Son Volt is going anymore, either. Jay Farrar performs on his own now.

Another great alt-country band (not sure if they've been mentioned here) is Whiskeytown. That was Ryan Adams' band before he went solo. He is another great singer/songwriter. His "Heartbreaker" album is absolutely awesome.

Michelle Shocked is another under-rated performer. Several of her songs are among my all-time favorites.

Cowboy Junkies are great - I'd love to see them peform but it seems like they don't get down my way very often.

[aggie94]

Originally posted by Beth H
The problem with Uncle Tupelo was that they had two guys who both wanted to write/perform their own songs (Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy). Their breakup was not amicable. DH has a bootleg of the last Uncle Tupelo show, and there literally is no conversation from the band at all - they just played and got off stage.

I actually prefer Son Volt to Wilco - although I don't think Son Volt is going anymore, either. Jay Farrar performs on his own now.

Son Volt released their third and last (to date) album back in 1998. Jay Farrar is out on his own now, but I haven't heard any of his solo stuff - have you checked it out?

I did find this bit on his website, for those Uncle Tupelo fans:

UNCLE TUPELO CATALOG RESTORATION PROJECT
Rhino Records has re-released Uncle Tupelo's final release, Anodyne, which includes five bonus tracks, including two live performances and the previously unreleased “Stay True” and “Wherever.” In addition, Columbia/Legacy has re-released the first three Uncle Tupelo albums, all of which were originally released on Rockville Records and have long been out of print. Uncle Tupelo’s debut album No Depression includes six bonus tracks. Some of these are unreleased demos of known Tupelo songs while others are hard to find B-Sides and obscure soundtrack releases. Their second release, Still Feel Gone, includes five additional tracks (mainly unreleased demos). March 16-20, 1992 includes a cover of The Stooges’ "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and a version of "The Waltons" television show theme to name a few. These re-releases have been remastered and include liner notes and unseen photos!

[Beth H]

Jay Farrar is out on his own now, but I haven't heard any of his solo stuff - have you checked it out?

Yes - DH has one of his solo albums and bootlegs of a couple of his solo concerts. I don't think his solo stuff is nearly as good as Son Volt, though. "Trace" is just a fantastic album.

We did get the Uncle Tupelo re-released "Anodyne," and "No Depression." They were just a great band - it's a shame that they aren't making music any longer.