Exploring unheralded rock songs from many genres including classic rock, hard rock, psych, garage, metal, proto-punk, punk, post-punk, and the occasional blues tune...
Mendoza was a short-lived prog/jazz fusion band out of Sweden. Their self-titled album has a mix of styles that weave together very well. I could have selected a longer more-fusion type track for today's post, but I just couldn't resist playing this short scorcher.
If there was such a thing as "proto-doom metal", Chicago's Trouble would qualify as one of those bands. At least that is the sound that developed over time. Here they are from their second album, 1984's Psalm 9. Here the sound is still distinctly metal, not quite yet doom. Enjoy.
Egor was a London-based hard rock band that was only around for a short while in the early 70's. While most of the band were in their twenties, the lead guitarist, Eric Taylor, was only sixteen when this track was recorded. It was never released, though, until it showed up on a 2000 compilation called Downer-Rock Genocide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8sqLc0Q5DQ&feature=youtu.be
You know you have to be a pretty good musician/artist if you've inspired David Bowie. And what a good artist/musician Brian Eno is. Over his career, he's played with Roxy Music, Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame, the aforementioned David Bowie, and David Byrne of Talking Heads, among many others. The funny thing is, according to Brian himself, none of this would have happened had he not randomly met Roxy Music saxophonist Andy Mackay on a subway platform one day in the early 70's. Brian reckons that he would have become an art teacher had that not happened(although he probably would have been a very good one). As it happens, he did meet Andy Mackay and the rest is history. Here he is off of his second solo LP, Taking Tiger Mountain. The first twenty seconds or so of today's track seem to have been inspired by Pink Floyd, no? You decide.
At the age of 90, Chicago-born jazz guitarist George Freeman is still a working musician. His life in music can be celebrated with recent release, 90 Going on Amazing. However, today I'm reaching back to his fusion fueled release, Franticdiagnosis, for a song named after himself.
It's been a while since some doom metal was featured here in this space. So, I'll rectify that by playing a new band from Poland, Spaceslug. Here is the closing title track to their first full length release, Lemanis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSwodVGEy8E&feature=youtu.be
Today's song of the day was the first single from the Mo-Dettes, a short-lived UK new wave band making interesting music between 1979 and 1982. By the time that their one and only album would be released, the band changed the name of this song to White Mouse Disco. In any case, it's got great bass line that had that distinctive early 80's sound. In addition to the song, enjoy the "poor quality" VHS video that was also typical of the time.
The members of the Kansas City 80's band certainly had the hair to qualify as a "hair band", their music was a bit heavier than most popular hair bands of the time. As a result, the music is more appealing to me. It's too bad that they only made one full length album, Prepared to Strike, before splitting up. In any case, check out this track.
Rhesus was a short-lived proto-metal/hard rock French band that were active when most metal bands were developing in the NWOBHM style. I guess it's not surprising that they didn't catch on given the environment, but at least we have one single to remember the band. Here is the B side of Hard Times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQoHwDY43Ko&feature=youtu.be
Peacepipe was a short-lived L.A. heavy psych band that managed to release just one 45 during the time of their actual existence. They then broke up in 1969, only to have their unreleased album released in the 1990's. There is some interesting material here.
White Summer was a Michigan power trio born a few years too late. They released one album in 1976 on limited release that sounds like it should have been released in 1970. See if you agree.
A couple of days ago, the 1,000th consecutive daily musical post hit this blog space. Since three of those 1,000 posts were for David Bowie after his untimely death, today's entry marks the 1,000th different band/artist featured here.
Le Tigre was the musical endeavor for Kathleen Hanna after Bikini Kill and her solo album, Julie Ruin. This is quite a catchy number.
Back in my mid-twenties I, along with half of my generation, loved Nirvana. After Kurt Cobain died, I sought out Nirvana tracks that weren't on the CDs that I already owned. One such case was the appearance of a live Radio Friendly Unit Shifter on some compilation called Home Alive - The Art of Self Defense. While I liked this Nirvana track, I was unexpectedly blown away by the rest of the CD. To back up for a second, the Home Alive CD was created to raise money for a Seattle-based anti-violence and self-defense organization formed in the wake of The Gits' Mia Zapata's 1993 rape and murder. Listening to this disc over and over again, I was awoken to the pervasive culture of misogyny in this country(world). In addition to the many musical tracks on the album(which were also very good), there were some spoken word pieces that were equally as powerful. One was Lydia Lunch's Why We Murder. It is uncomfortable in the most appealing of ways. I highly recommend seeking it out.
But, this is a music blog, and it turns out that Lydia Lunch has quite a career before the 90's. Here she is off of her first album, Queen of Siam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkqUPS6UHHs
"Hey wait, this isn't a song, why am I even here?" you might be thinking. Well, after 1,000 music posts, I figured that I'd do some very minor statistical analysis about the years in rock that have the greatest amount of underappreciated tunes. Of course, this is all based on my humble opinion. Not surprisingly, 1969 and 1970 were tops in this list, followed by '71 and '72. I kind of expected this. I was not expecting that 1978 would be next on the list, though. This is likely the combination of punk and post-punk coming to the fore.
Other Notes: The late 80's were a pretty dark time with a small upsurge in the mid 90's. 2014 was also a strong year, but that is likely to "recent period bias". In other words, if I were coming up with this list ten years from now, would 2014 stand out so much? Probably not.
Okay, enough borax out of me. Back to the music tomorrow.
For my 1,000th consecutive daily post, I figured I'd feature a track of one of rock's heavy hitters. And why not? Despite their popularity in the rock world, there is still a ton of music they created that is largely unknown by the general listening audience. Like most rock fans growing up in the 80's, I was exposed to Pink Floyd through classic rock radio. This often meant that I became overly familiar with songs from The Wall, Dark Side of the Moon, and Wish You Were Here. These are all great albums, albeit overplayed. Today, let's reach back to their first album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn, for a 9-minute plus track showed how this band was firing on all cylinders even early in their career.
I thought to myself that I really shouldn't play another version of the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby, so soon on the heels of the instrumental version that Jerry Garcia intertwined into After Midnight, only a few short weeks ago in this space. Then I figured, what's the point in having this blog if I can't do just that! So here is a really trippy version of Sir Paul McCartney's song from German psych rockers, The Rattles.
Lou Miami was a Boston punk rocker that had a nice run locally in the late 70's/early 80's. Lou and his band, the Kozmetix were staples at the Ratt, a legendary Boston rock club. The band fizzled out by the mid-80s and Lou would die of a heart attack in 1995. Here is the band's first single.
One of the gems off of the recent psych compiliation Brown Acid The Second Trip, is today's track that was never released until 2016 after it was recorded in 1978. Here is the Houston psych rockers with a track sounding a bit like a heavy Jethro Tull. The video is Super 8 of the band back in the day.
Today, here on Deep Rock Mining, the blues rock/fusion stylings of England's Gravy Train will be featured. This track is off of their first self-titled LP release.
This recent Dangerous Minds article turned me onto this late 70's/early 80's Dutch garage glam band, not to be confused with the proto-metal band of the same name that was previously featured in this space. Apparently, that is not a hard mistake to make as I myself pulled the photo of the today's Wicked Lady when I created the video for that post back in early 2016. Oy, egg on my face. In any case, as compelling as today's song is, the grainy black and white video is equally interesting. You or I were never this cool....
Ken Hyder was/is a Scottish jazz fusion drummer who recorded a series of well-made smokin' albums in the late 70's. Here he is with a funky track off of his 1978 release, The Last Battle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DqMHjE6Z-U&feature=youtu.be
Sacred Miracle Cave came out of the LA scene in the late 80's making some really interesting, spacey, alt/hard rock music. Unfortunately, they only made one full length album. At least it was a good one. Here is the opening track off of that album.
Thundermother is(was?) a Swedish hard rock band with a couple of albums under their belt before four members of this five-piece left the band earlier this year. I believe the lead guitarist is soldiering on with a new cast of musicians, including a new singer. Here, however, is a short track off of their second album, 2015's Road Fever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqZqVzWnaWg&feature=youtu.be
When it comes to bluesy garage rock from Albuquerque, New Mexico, it doesn't get much better than Lincoln Street Exit. Here they are with a track from their awesome 1970 LP, Drive It. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCq9epgrbe4&feature=youtu.be
If I had a blog that celebrated underappreciated albums, instead of just songs, Portishead's Dummy would be one of the first to be featured. While it is not underappreciated among Portishead fans, this album is generally overlooked by the general listening audience. And that is a shame as it is a masterful piece of mood. Here is the closing track off of this great album.
What can you say about Steely Dan? As far as studio production quality is concerned, Steely Dan was the Beatles of the 1970's. I planned on doing a Steely Dan post when I got close to the end of the blog as they are near the tops in my book. Unfortunately, Walter Becker died unexpectedly and I feel the need to post something today. So, I'll go with a track for which I know the lyrics backward and forward, having listened to, and enjoyed, so many times. RIP Walter!!
Before the members of the German power trio Tiger B. Smith performed under that moniker, they released an album with a similar sound under the name Second Life. I've commented before that Tiger B. Smith was kind of a dumb name. But I guess it was better than the boring name, Second Life. In any case, the music is better.
Monster Magnet was one of those underrated bands with a terrible name(IMHO). I always wondered if the name held them back in any way. Who knows? They certainly made some good music. Here they are with a cover of this psychedelic hit from one hit wonder's The Third Bardo.
I know next to nothing about the band Crank, except that some of their music ended up on a comp in the 90's. In any case, this particular track is pretty heavy and enjoyable. See if you agree.
