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100 Greatest Forgotten Albums

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Levee

Levee

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100 Greatest Forgotten Albums

1. Frisco Mabel Joy - Mickey Newbury

2. Gilded Palace of Sin - The Flying Burrito Brothers

3. Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks

4. White Light/White Heat - Velvet Underground

5. Something/Anything - Todd Rundgren

6. Killer - Alice Cooper

7. We're Only In It For The Money - Mothers of Invention

8. Dixie Chicken - Little Feat

9. Spirit - Spirit

10. Chicken Skin Music - Ry Cooder

11. Odyssey & Oracle - The Zombies

12. A New Flame - Simply Red

13. Electric Warrior - T-Rex

14. Moby Grape - Moby Grape

15. A Wizard, A True Star - Todd Rundgren

16. Lost In The Ozone - Commander Cody

17. Tea For The Tillerman - Cat Stevens

18. Message From The Country - The Move

19. Argus - Wishbone Ash

20. The Captain and Me - The Doobie Brothers

21. Sunburst Finish - Be Bop Deluxe

22. Grooves in Orbit - NRBQ

23. Musta Notta Gotta Lotta - Joe Ely

24. Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw

25. Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon

26. John Barleycorn Must Die - Traffic

27. All The Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople

28. El Rayo-X - David Lindley

29. John Prine - John Prine

30. Emitt Rhoads - Emitt Rhoads

31. Buffalo Springfield Again - Buffalo Springfield

32. The Notorious Byrd Brothers - Byrds

33. Bring The Family - John Hiatt

34. I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die - Country Joe & The Fish

35. Living With The Animals - by Mother Earth

36. Seconds of Pleasure - Rockpile

37. Liege & Lief - Fairport Convention

38. Mad Dogs & Englishmen - Joe Cocker

39. Fear of Music - Talking Heads

40. Third Down, 110 To Go - Jesse Winchester

41. Cricklewood Green - Ten Years After

42. Nightingales & Bombers - Manfred Mann's Earth Band

43. SF Sorrow - The Pretty Things

44. Balaklava - Pearls Before Swine

45. The United States of America - The United States of America

46. Marquee Moon - Television

47. Teaser - Tommy Bolin

48. 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus - Spirit

49. Ghosts Upon The Road - Eric Andersen

50. The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter - Incredible String Band

51. Pirates - Rickie Lee Jones

52. Gaucho - Steely Dan

53. Crazy Horse - Crazy Horse

54. Dancing in The Dragon's Jaws - Bruce Cockburn

55. #1 Record - Big Star

56. The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys - Traffic

57. By The Light of The Moon - Los Lobos

58. Who Came First - Pete Townshend

59. Winning - Russ Ballard

60. Rides Again - The James Gang

61. Pure Pop For Now People - Nick Lowe

62. Outlaws - Outlaws

63. Steven Stills - Steven Stills

64. Once Upon a Time - Simple Minds

65. Songs of Love & Hate - Leonard Cohen

66. Rock and Roll Animal - Lou Reed

67. Good Old Boys - Randy Newman

68. Kimono My House - Sparks

69. Rickie Lee Jones - Rickie Lee Jones

70. Argybargy - Squeeze

71. New Riders of The Purple Sage - New Riders of The Purple Sage

72. Gorilla - Bonzo Dog Band

73. Do You Believe In Magic - Lovin' Spoonful

74. Tres Hombres - ZZ Top

75. Nighthawks at The Diner - Tom Waits

76. McCartney - Paul McCartney

77. Montrose - Montrose

78. Ogden's Nut Gone Flake - The Small Faces

79. Pickin' Up The Pieces - Poco

80. Body & Soul - Joe Jackson

81. Everywhere At Once - The Plimsouls

82. Howlin' Wind - Graham Parker

83. Song Cycle - Van Dyke Parks

84. Elephant Mountain - Youngbloods

85. Accept No Substitute - Delaney, Bonnie & Friends

86. Los Angeles - X

87. O'Keefe - Danny O'Keefe

88. Suite For Susan Moore - Tim Hardin

89. Desolation Boulevard - Sweet

90. Moss Elixir - Robyn Hitchcock

91. Radio City - Big Star

92. The Slider - T-Rex

93. Unhalfbricking - Fairport Convention

94. Music in a Doll's House - Family

95. Blue River - Eric Andersen

96. Alone Together - Dave Mason

97. This Was - Jethro Tull

98. Fool For The City - Foghat

99. A Nod Is As Good As a Wink - Faces

100. Real Life - Magazine

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TypeO

TypeO

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Montrose & Sweet - EXCELLENT!

Montrose was intensely hard rock for the era.

Most people remember Ram Jam with Black Betty.

But not many probably remember their follow-up album, Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Ram.

There were some incredible songs on there - 2 that immediately come to mind are:

Wanna Find Love

Just Like Me

Highly recommended if you've never heard it.

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GetTheLedOut

GetTheLedOut

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I have that album! How nice of them to remember it...it's pretty good, really. I don't see how White Light/White Heat is so forgotten, though. Underappreciated, yes, but forgotten? Hell no!

That was my problem with a good part of that list. Many under appreciated albums but few that are actually forgotten.

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Jahfin

Jahfin

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Not much of that list has been forgotten by me, I listen to a bunch of that stuff regularly. Is it just me or did they forget Canned Heat and New Riders Of The Purple Sage?

Not sure about Canned Heat unless they're in the second 100 but New Riders of the Purple Sage came in at #71.

I definitely see some albums on there that deserve some love from the masses, especially The Flying Burrito Brothers, Commander Cody and David Lindley to name but a few. David Lindley is one of my favorite artists of all time, not to mention one of the most versatile multi-instrumentalists on the planet. Millions of people have heard him on Jackson Browne albums as well as on hundreds of other records he's done sessions for over the years but very few actually seem to know the name "David Lindley". He's definitely one of several unsung heroes of rock n' roll.

Lindley.GIF

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DoubleNecker

DoubleNecker

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100 Greatest Forgotten Albums

2. Gilded Palace of Sin - The Flying Burrito Brothers

5. Something/Anything - Todd Rundgren

6. Killer - Alice Cooper

7. We're Only In It For The Money - Mothers of Invention

13. Electric Warrior - T-Rex

15. A Wizard, A True Star - Todd Rundgren

17. Tea For The Tillerman - Cat Stevens

20. The Captain and Me - The Doobie Brothers

26. John Barleycorn Must Die - Traffic

27. All The Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople

31. Buffalo Springfield Again - Buffalo Springfield

34. I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die - Country Joe & The Fish

41. Cricklewood Green - Ten Years After

56. The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys - Traffic

58. Who Came First - Pete Townshend

60. Rides Again - The James Gang

63. Steven Stills - Steven Stills

66. Rock and Roll Animal - Lou Reed

74. Tres Hombres - ZZ Top

76. McCartney - Paul McCartney

77. Montrose - Montrose

89. Desolation Boulevard - Sweet

92. The Slider - T-Rex

99. A Nod Is As Good As a Wink - Faces

:D

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Kiwi_Lemon

Kiwi_Lemon

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100 Greatest Forgotten Albums

3. Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks

YES! I love the Kinks and VGPS is a fantastic album. The Kinks are pretty underrated and underappreciated but they have some awesome albums: VGPS, Arthur, Something Else, Face to Face, Lola vs. Powerman and the Moneygoround......... :D:D .

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the fool

the fool

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100 Greatest Forgotten Albums

2. Gilded Palace of Sin - The Flying Burrito Brothers

3. Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks

4. White Light/White Heat - Velvet Underground

7. We're Only In It For The Money - Mothers of Invention

9. Spirit - Spirit

13. Electric Warrior - T-Rex

14. Moby Grape - Moby Grape

26. John Barleycorn Must Die - Traffic

31. Buffalo Springfield Again - Buffalo Springfield

32. The Notorious Byrd Brothers - Byrds

41. Cricklewood Green - Ten Years After

43. SF Sorrow - The Pretty Things

48. 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus - Spirit

58. Who Came First - Pete Townshend

60. Rides Again - The James Gang

76. McCartney - Paul McCartney

92. The Slider - T-Rex

94. Music in a Doll's House - Family

These are actually all some of my favorite albums... Definitely not forgotten B)

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MadScreamingGallery

MadScreamingGallery

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Interesting piece about Moby Grape on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=17498799

Moby Grape Just Can't Catch a Break

Moby Grape made its debut in 1967 with a self-titled album, featuring "Omaha" and "Hey Grandma."

Legal Woes in Rock 'n' Roll

All Things Considered, December 21, 2007 - Mention the name Moby Grape to a roomful of rock critics, and you'll hear nothing but praise for the 1960s San Francisco rock band. But aside from fans and critics, few people today have ever heard of Moby Grape. Why? Bad advice, bad breaks and bad behavior are three short reasons. Now that a label is trying to right these wrongs by reissuing the group's first five records, old problems still stand in the way.

The name Moby Grape comes from an absurdist punch line: What's big, purple and swims in the ocean? But the band that influenced groups ranging from Led Zeppelin to The Pretenders was no joke. Neither was its 1967 debut, according to Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke.

"It's one of the few rock 'n' roll albums of any era that you can say, 'That is a perfect debut album.' The songwriting on it is memorable — you take those songs with you wherever you go. The triple-guitar orchestration... it's not just power chords. Everyone is playing melodies and counter-melodies and rhythms. Very funky, also very country, very punk, very surf. And they were all singers."

When other San Francisco bands were stretching out with long, psychedelic jams, Moby Grape was producing catchy three-minute songs that were composed, played and sung by each member. Moby Grape's drummer, Don Stevenson, calls the songwriting process a "collective consciousness."

That "collective consciousness" was a little surprising, since these five guys had little history and a lot of differences. Guitarist Peter Lewis and bassist Bob Mosley came from Southern California surf bands. Stevenson and guitarist Jerry Miller played in organ trios around Seattle. Canadian-born Skip Spence had just left another San Francisco band, Jefferson Airplane. Yet all five members produced remarkably cohesive vocal harmonies.

On the Rise

The members of Moby Grape worked hard to achieve their tight sound, and they first caught the attention of fellow musicians like Buffalo Springfield and Janis Joplin during marathon rehearsals that ran from night until morning.

Record-company executives eventually started showing up, and Moby Grape found itself in the middle of a bidding war. It signed with Columbia, which pronounced the band San Francisco's Beatles and spared no expense on its first album. But the label's decision to release five singles at the same time alienated and confused disc jockeys. As a result, none of the songs made the Top 40.

Rolling Stone's Fricke explains: "Columbia really went to town. And yet they went to town at precisely the wrong time. That was an era when hype was suspect."

The musicians didn't handle the hype well, either. At their record release party, some members were busted for pot possession and for contributing to the delinquency of minors. Guitarist Miller says the diversity that made their musical blend so rich was also pulling them apart.

"What we had was five guys just going completely nuts just looking for the leader," Miller says. "We couldn't even lead ourselves."

Moby Grape's members grew increasingly frustrated with their manager, whom they believed had botched their chance to be included in the now-famous Monterey Pop Festival film. By the time they reached New York to work on their second album, the band was cracking up — and so was guitarist Spence.

Coming Unraveled

"Skippy bumped into some people that turned him on to some hard drugs, tell you the truth," Miller says. "And that's when things started to unravel, 'cause Skippy started to unravel."

In a drug-fueled psychotic episode, Spence attacked Stevenson's hotel-room door with an ax and ended up in the criminal ward of Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital. Sadly, Spence lived much of the rest of his life in California mental institutions. He did manage to record the under-heard Oar in Nashville, reissued by Sundazed after he died in 1999.

Bassist Mosley also had emotional troubles. He quit the band and joined the Marines, but was discharged for medical reasons. Later diagnosed with schizophrenia, Mosley wound up homeless. Lewis remembers trying to persuade him to join other band members for a Moby Grape reunion.

"We went to find Bob, and there he was, living in this cardboard box," Lewis says. "He had these friends, the squirrels and the lizards that he had. And I brought this guitar, cost me a hundred bucks, you know, and I left that with him and a tape of Moby Grape songs and a tape recorder with batteries in it and some extra batteries. So the next weekend, I came back, and there was no guitar, but the cassette case... He had tried to tear all the tape out of it and had left it, you know, down there in the bushes. And that's all that was left. Bob was gone, you know."

Legal Woes

Mosley declined to be interviewed for this story. He's distraught over the latest action allegedly taken by the band's ex-manager, Matthew Katz, who was fired in late 1967. Over the past four decades, Katz claimed he owned the Moby Grape name. The claim stems from an agreement drawn up by Katz and presented to the rest of the band by Skip Spence.

According to court documents, Katz, who also declined to be interviewed for this story, sought temporary restraining orders between the late '60s and early '90s to stop the members of Moby Grape from publicly performing under that name. The band was forced to use pseudonyms like Maby Grope and The Melvilles.

Moby Grape's long legal battle included eight lawsuits, five appeals, complaints, cross-complaints and stipulated settlements. Finally, in 2005, its members won back the rights to their name and started performing again as Moby Grape. Today, Mosley's health is improving, Omar Spence had replaced his late father, and the band was poised to reach new audiences through a five-CD set of reissues on the Sundazed record label. But just as those titles were released, Sundazed pulled the first three albums from stores last month. Allegedly, Katz has issued a cease-and-desist letter claiming he owns the album's artwork.

Considering Moby Grape's hard-luck history over the past 40 years, Lewis and Stevenson seem neither surprised nor deterred by this latest twist of fate.

"I mean, that's the sad story of what happened to us," Lewis says. "We trusted the wrong people. But who hasn't? You see. So let's not be a bunch of crybabies."

Stevenson says it's time to move on.

"You know you hold on real tight and you let go," he says, laughing.

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manderlyh

manderlyh

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100 Greatest Forgotten Albums

20. The Captain and Me - The Doobie Brothers

27. All The Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople

38. Mad Dogs & Englishmen - Joe Cocker

52. Gaucho - Steely Dan

72. Gorilla - Bonzo Dog Band

76. McCartney - Paul McCartney

77. Montrose - Montrose

89. Desolation Boulevard - Sweet

97. This Was-Jethro Tull

98. Fool For The City - Foghat

I have all of these in my dad's LP collection. :hysterical:

In fact, I asked Magic Sam...what? A week ago? Who the hell Montrose was. I asked him because I was a bit worried that my dad had two copies of a LP with naked guys on the front with huge 70's gold necklaces on...and he also had a SECOND album of theirs! :hysterical:

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TypeO

TypeO

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I have all of these in my dad's LP collection. :hysterical:

In fact, I asked Magic Sam...what? A week ago? Who the hell Montrose was. I asked him because I was a bit worried that my dad had two copies of a LP with naked guys on the front with huge 70's gold necklaces on...and he also had a SECOND album of theirs! :hysterical:

LISTEN to this album.

You WILL NOT be disappointed.

Sammy Hagar on vocals, WAY before VH.

montrose.jpg

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manderlyh

manderlyh

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LISTEN to this album.

You WILL NOT be disappointed.

Sammy Hagar on vocals, WAY before VH.

montrose.jpg

That's the one I have sitting about five feet away from me.

My dad's turntable's motor is burned out. I am in the process of figuring out where I can take it to get it fixed. Boise doesn't have many decent stereo-equipment stores anymore..not since the big boxes moved in. <_<

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TypeO

TypeO

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That's the one I have sitting about five feet away from me.

My dad's turntable's motor is burned out. I am in the process of figuring out where I can take it to get it fixed. Boise doesn't have many decent stereo-equipment stores anymore..not since the big boxes moved in. <_<

be sure to post your opinion when you finally hear it!

Space Station #5 • Rock Candy • Bad Motor Scooter

this album is the epitome of hard-driving rock, ripping guitar, screaching vocals.

It has all the elements of later-70's Nugent, Van Halen, etc. but it's from (I believe) ~'74.

CLASSIC

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