Create an album of lesser-known gems by any artist

  • Really? I knew the song as it was played on Australian radio all the time.

    Well, I've never been to Australia, so I'd no idea. I guess it might be because the Moodies had 6 of the first 7 gold discs issued there, I guess the nation has good taste! :)

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • Zip file of the above, Melancholy Man is the original version, not the "This Is" version, as I don't have it to hand. Only difference is it's a remix.


    https://www.mediafire.com/file…ajd1/Moody+Blues.zip/file

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • Zip file of the above, I've put "The Long Last Second at the end", as there's a roughly 3 minute gap of silence in it which will drive you mad if it's in the middle. (It's the closing track on the album it is from!)


    https://www.mediafire.com/file…+Peter+Kingsbery.zip/file

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • Ooo, I was also thinking about Van Morrison, but you beat me to it. And you've covered his last 2 decades, which I don't know that well. This list is a great starting point for more exploration.

  • Another artist I was thinking of. Some great picks here, including some early ones. Here is another album's worth:


    Thunder

    New Position

    Le Grind

    Endorphinmachine

    It's Going to Be Lonely

    Irresistible Bitch

    Tamborine

    Housequake

    Release It (I know The Time is the main performer, but Prince wrote it, it's on a Prince album, and he sings back-up)

    Erotic City

    DMSR

  • Being a fan of "classic 7"-era Moody Blues, I guess I should come up with my own list. I'm not including anything that (1) was a single; (2) was included on THIS IS THE MOODY BLUES; or (3) came after SEVENTH SOJOURN.


    In no particular order:


    Twilight Time

    Dr. Livingston I Presume

    To Share Our Love

    Eternity Road

    Sun is Still Shining

    Don't You Feel Small (BTW, I'm glad to see someone else likes this one.)

    It's Up to You

    Nice to Be Here

    You and Me

    I Really Haven't Got the Time

    King & Queen


    BTW, I'm surprised to see "Lost in a Lost World" on someone's list, as I've always considered that to be the worst track from a "classic 7" Moodies album that's not a spoken word piece!

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

    Edited once, last by DecomposingMan ().

  • I will attempt a Van Morrison list which isn't from more recent times, as I'm afraid for me he has become repetitious in the extreme (without taking into account his anti-lockdown stance). I will try & make this flow like an album.


    Star of the County Down (with the Chieftains)

    Real Real Gone

    Higher Than The World

    Come Running

    Thanks For The Information

    Alan Watts Blues

    Too Long In Exile (while this is a title track, I don't think it's that well known)

    Redwood Tree

    Dweller On The Threshold

    These Are The Days

    Irish Heartbeat (with Mark Knopfler)

  • Um... (mumbles something about different people having different tastes)

    :)


    'Tis funny though, you included To Share Our Love, the middle of their weakest run of songs, IMO. OTTOAD starts well, and side 2 is brilliant, but Send Me No Wine/To Share Our Love/So Deep Within You as a bit of a sagging moment on the album, though it is the last one in the core 7, the next 4 albums are flawless really. Rest of your list is a winner though.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • 'Tis funny though, you included To Share Our Love, the middle of their weakest run of songs, IMO. OTTOAD starts well, and side 2 is brilliant, but Send Me No Wine/To Share Our Love/So Deep Within You as a bit of a sagging moment on the album

    Well, the first album I ever owned was THIS IS THE MOODY BLUES, on which OTTOAD is (in my opinion) a bit too heavily represented in comparison to other albums. When I heard all of OTTOAD much later, I think I got to be particularly fond of "To Share Our Love" and "So Deep Within You" (along with "Are You Sitting Comfortably") partly because I hadn't already heard them a million times on THIS IS!

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

  • I know that some people perceive The B-52s as novelty band, with quirky hits like Rock Lobster and Love Shack. I actually really like them a lot and think there is more to discover with them:


    Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland

    Dry County

    52 Girls

    Housework

    Juliet of the Spirits

    Legal Tender

    Give Me Back My Man

    Revolution Earth

    Private Idaho

    Deadbeat Club

  • Elton John:


    Bitter Fingers

    Grimsby

    Ball & Chain

    Town Of Plenty

    Elderberry Wine

    Indian Sunset

    American Triangle

    I've Seen That Movie Too

    Blues For Baby And Me

    Oscar Wilde Gets Out

    Postcards From Richard Nixon


    As with Knopfler you could do that many times and you'd have different songs every time, still leaving out the famous songs.

  • I might have to investigate your list as this is a band I've never liked. But I should say that most of my problem lies with the (to my ears) monotonous nasal voices of the two women and the strangulated utterances of that Fred bloke, rather than the "look, aren't we kooky and fun?" nature of their hits. So hearing more obscure stuff might not save them, but I'll give it a go.


    EDIT - I'd never have liked Love Shack anyway but after hearing it played at countless student parties I went to, I loathed it.

    Abandon all reason

  • I'm hoping to add a 3rd album. I wanted to include the brilliant Endorphinmachine so on the basis I inadvertently duplicated She Said from your Beatles list, I'll still include it under a rule I've just invented which is that you can have one duplicate track. It'll be like a tag relay type of thing, sort of.

    Abandon all reason

  • I might have to investigate your list as this is a band I've never liked. But I should say that most of my problem lies with the (to my ears) monotonous nasal voices of the two women and the strangulated utterances of that Fred bloke, rather than the "look, aren't we kooky and fun?" nature of their hits. So hearing more obscure stuff might not save them, but I'll give it a go.


    EDIT - I'd never have liked Love Shack anyway but after hearing it played at countless student parties I went to, I loathed it.

    Fred Schneider's non-singing is an acquired taste. It is very mannered and you either like it or hate it.


    Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson are fantastic singers in my opinion. They can be kooky and avant-garde, making all kinds of weird and abrasive noises. They can also be joyous or poignant, with a fantastic sense of harmonies. How monotonous they sound can depend more on the song. Legal Tender is more on the monotonous side. But Deadbeat Club has a wonderful melody and their signing captures the nostalgia and tenderness of the lyrics.

  • Another artist I was hoping to get to. Will try my own list soon.

  • The line between a Gem and a Weak Song is very thin. :/

    Can you give examples from the lists so far of songs you regard as weak rather than gems? This is all personal preference which also happens to be about highlighting lesser known songs.