The most Criminally Underrated Bands In The History Of Music

[colb]

Just thought it would be nice to see which groups people on here think are the most criminally underrated bands in the history of music.

Off the top of my head I can think of quite a few but my number one would be :

XTC.  I absolutely love XTC, they were an amazing band that was active between 1978 to 2000.  It is hard to pick out outstanding songs because, to me, all their songs are amazing but if you do not know them and want a sample of  what delights you are missing:

If I had to recommend one album of their it would be "English Settlement" although they never recorded a bad album.

There were a couple of reasons that they never reached the heights their talent deserved.  The first one was that Andy Partridge, the singer, suffered from terrible stage fright and in 1982 he decided never to tour again and this certainly damaged their career.  I was lucky enough to see them live in Liverpool on 8th of December 1980, the day John Lennon was shot and killed   Not a good night but a great concert.

The other reason they never had the success their amazing music deserved was that they were sometimes too clever for their own good, their songs had a lot of strange rhythms and time changes which could alienate a lot of people, although I love quirkiness so it suits me to the ground.

They also released a couple of superb albums of prog rock as "The Dukes Of Stratosphere" which I can highly recommend.

I realize that everyone who reads this would say that The Kinks would be top of this list, that is taken as read, but this is more to introduce people to music you might have heard of but never got round to listening to, or might never have heard of.

I am always looking for new music and think this might be a good way to find some

[martin53]

Great pick!

I happen to have "Black Sea" which I appreciate very much. It is the only record I own so I will certainly explore deeply their remaining musical body of work.

[colb]

Any of their albums are worth exploring, this song you might have heard, it was their only big hit in the UK :

[martin53]

Great song!

[colb]

One of many great songs by a great group.

[martin53]

HORSLIPS

I absolutely love the amazing Irish progressive folk rock band Horslips. I did see them live at Palais De Beaulieu in Lausanne on February 23rd 1974. They played their second album „The Tain“ (their first of two concept records) in its entire length plus songs from their début album „Happy To Meet – Sorry To Part" (1972) which is widely considered to be the first Celtic rock album ever recorded. With this Horslips took the lead in Irish music of the time and created an original mixture from traditional Irish tunes and rock music. The album's name itself is that of an Irish jig.

I immediately took to their complex live sound. I appreciate the band and their music a great deal since then and do have all their records.

Here’s Charolais from „The Tain“ (1973) which is based on the Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid Of Cooley) one of the most infamous legends of Early Irish literature dealing with the war between Ulster and Connacht over a prize bull.

Horslips - Charolais

[colb]

Superb song from a group I have heard of but have never heard anything by, which is pretty bad considering I am half Irish

I hear shades of Jethro Tull in this song, of course they both feature the flute, but the rhythms also remind me of Tull, which cannot be a bad thing as I love Tull.

Thanks for posting this Martin, love that there is always great music to discover

[martin53]

My pleasure Colb!

Horslips are awesome!

[colb]

Martin can you recommend a Horslips album to start with please ?

[martin53]

Colb, an album to start off diving into Horslips‘ marvellous universe of Irish progressive folk rock music is certainly their first album „Happy To Meet – Sorry To Part“ (1972). It’s the first Celtic Rock album recorded EVER and provides the listener with beautifully arranged Irish music combined with fantastic lyrics. A perfect album coherent in itself.

Done that you might at a later stage give a listen to „The Tain“ (1973) the band’s second album/first concept record followed by „The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony“ (1976) the band’s sixth release/second concept record. It’s an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story named for the Lebor Gabála Érenn, a book of Irish mythology known as The Book of Invasions in English.

Horslips’ „The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony“ is considered their best work up do date - a real treat for historians, mythologists and an audience interested in culture.

[colb]

Thanks Martin, will order their first album today

[martin53]

Great Colb. I'm sure you'll love it!

[bamajohn1]

I recently wrote a parody of The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead that I posted on Facebook and got good reaction. XTC was very British in their sensibility so I think that limited their appeal in the US, as well as Partridge's stage fright. I'd post my re-write but it is political in nature.

[martin53]

RIDE

The English band Ride was formed in Oxford, England in 1988 and were an important element in the early Brit-pop shoegaze scene. Despite a great and appealing sound and an original style the group regretfully failed to catch on fire or receive the praise of some of their counterparts.

After their break-up in 1996 Andy Bell went on to play bass in Oasis. In 2003 Ride released the box set „Waves: Radio 1 Sessions 90-94“. They ultimately reformed in 2014 and keep on releasing impressive albums, the latest „This Is Not A Safe Place“ (2019).