Most underappreciated album of the 90's?

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Johnny Swallow

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Adore - The Smashing Pumpkins

At the time (1998) it was a commercial and critcal disappointment. This album had only one real rock song, the rest was gentle, experimental, and emotional. This album was bound to be a letdown considering it followed their biggest album/tour for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (The best selling double-CD album of all-time). How do you top an album that punches you in the chest? By allowing the audiences' expectations do it for them. While the lack of powerful songs seems to be the album's downfall, that is the album's greatest strength. Anyone that soaks in the album a few times is struck by the gentle mood and open emotions of it. The instrumentation is sparse, allowing the music and lyrics to breath. This is the closest that Billy Corgan ever came to being a pure singer-songwriter. This is an album that I can listen to any number of times and never ever get tired of, a rarity for me. What really amazes me is I know that 20 years from know this album won't sound as if it aged a day. Timeless music. All in all, an amazing album. Over the public's head for sure and most of the critics as well.

NOTE: NEITHER POP NOR ZOOROPA ARE VALID ANSWERS.

[This message has been edited by Johnny Swallow (edited 01-25-2002).]
 
And Out Come The Wolves: Rancid

Often considered Rancid's "sell-out" album because of the fact that it was actually played on the mass media air waves. AOCTW is a poignent and evocative album, with driving bass lines and an almost poetic guitar line that hints at the deep sea of ennui and broken promises just behind the face of ever punk. From the very begining of the album "Maxwell Murder" the title track hits in bitingly, forcing you to yell along. Tracks like "Olympia WA" and "Old Friend" almost break your heart with their combination of desperate lyrics and scotch addled love stories gone wrong.
The so called sell out tracks "Time Bomb" and "Ruby Soho" are undeniably catchy as well and the song "Roots Randicals" would become a punk rock anthem that any kid in any scumy club can sing off the top of their head. All this from a bunch of high school drop outs in San Francisco. Way to go boys, punks not dead.

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Keepin it krunk...

http://www.iloveham.com/
 
I won't single out any particular album. Instead I will nominate pretty much everything REM have done since (and including) Monster. That one record did it for them, and ever since they seem to have been regarded as somewhat 'tainted', whether it's because of declining album sales, not touring much, losing a drummer or whatever.

IMO every album in question (Monster, New Adventures, Up, and Reveal) contains at least some songs that could rank among the band's best. Examples:

Monster: King of Comedy, Tongue, Let Me In
New Adventures: Ebow the Letter, Leave, Electrolite
Up: At My Most Beautiful, Sad Professor, Why Not Smile, Diminished
Reveal: jury's still out, but there are a few...

I am also not such a huge fan of their early/mid 80s work, generally held up as their untouchable period.
 
Pop.

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"we're free to fly the crimson sky...the sun won't melt our wings tonight..."
 
Hole--Live Through This, Liz Phair--Exile in Guyville...

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You will believe in me
And I can never be ignored
 
I'll agree with Kieran - especially on the matter of New Adventures.
 
$MDH$ , POP and ZOOropa are the most undrappreciated albums of the 90's . It's U2 at its best , great lyrics , great , very different tunes , much better then other catalog of irish rockers .
 
Originally posted by IvanClaytonJnr:
$MDH$ , POP and ZOOropa are the most undrappreciated albums of the 90's . It's U2 at its best , great lyrics , great , very different tunes , much better then other catalog of irish rockers .


I agree
smile.gif
 
The reasons why Zooropa and Pop don't count is that they both sold well worldwide. Zooropa won a Grammy and Pop went to #1 in 27-odd countries. Technically, yes they were both underappreciated but we all know that anyway, consider bands other than U2 for this.

And the reason MDH doesn't count is that it has Milla's ear-rape songs on it, and it's a soundtrack anyway.

I want to hear about albums that were both commercially and criticaly underappreciated.

[This message has been edited by Johnny Swallow (edited 01-26-2002).]
 
To Sheila and Tear(Adore) kicked major ass live!

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Look what you did, you little JERK!

Kevin! You're such a disease!
 
Originally posted by notiti:
And Out Come The Wolves: Rancid

A fan after my own heart! I couldn't have said it any better. I get distraught when I hear people ripping on them for selling out with AOCTW. I believe you only sellout if you play music you don't enjoy, or tell jokes you don't find funny. Yes, AOCTW was more studio than Rancid (s/t), and Let's Go! but, imo better than both combined.

ps: Great choice on Adore Johnny!
 
i would say medazzaland and pop trash by duran duran.
medazzaland...i don't remember how well it did but i know it was the final nail in their coffin where capitol records was concerned, but i don't think it went platinum.
pop trash didn't even go gold. both of these albums are masterpieces as far as i'm concerned. if anyone wants to pan them and say they're a washed up 80's band, save your breath please cuz i've heard enough of that already.

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another lonely night ahead for me now buried in the darkening day, that lingers on and drags me down...
ME!
 
I REALLY like Adore. It's the only Pumpkins album I own, actually! I'm not sure what the most underrated album of the 90's is. I greatly enjoyed Simple Minds' Good News from the Next World and Neapolis. Neil Finn's Try Whistling This is awesome. Jeff Buckley's Grace is amazing but a lot of people seem to admire it, though I don't think it's ever sold tons. Oh, and Midnight Oil's Earth and Sun and Moon is in way too many store's bargain bins. Great album.



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Love was never a single emotion

-ACROB@T
 
Originally posted by IvanClaytonJnr:
Queen - Innuendo ( 1991 ) , thier last masterpiece .

I'll second that one...
also, I may get flamed for this, but Blue, from Third Eye Blind. Most of that CD, unlike their first one, was not radio-friendly. I used to listen to this every day when it came out(of course, at that time, there was a lack of new U2 matierial) and the guitars are amazing...I also might be choosing this album because I bought it at a very trying time in my life, and well, you know...

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N A T E


Does love light up your Christmas tree?
The next minute you're blowing a fuse
and the cartoon network turns into the news...
 
Originally posted by Johnny Swallow:
The reasons why Zooropa and Pop don't count is that they both sold well worldwide. Zooropa won a Grammy and Pop went to #1 in 27-odd countries. Technically, yes they were both underappreciated but we all know that anyway, consider bands other than U2 for this.

And the reason MDH doesn't count is that it has Milla's ear-rape songs on it, and it's a soundtrack anyway.

I want to hear about albums that were both commercially and criticaly underappreciated.

[This message has been edited by Johnny Swallow (edited 01-26-2002).]
Underappreciated just means that an album is not thought as highly as you personally think it is. Joshua Tree may be thought of as the 2nd or 3rd greatest album of all time, but I think that it is underappreciated because it deserves to be 1st!!!

Therefore any album qualifies!!!! (Except for the Beatles White Album, since it is widely considered the greatest album of all time)
 
Originally posted by notiti:
And Out Come The Wolves: Rancid

Often considered Rancid's "sell-out" album because of the fact that it was actually played on the mass media air waves. AOCTW is a poignent and evocative album, with driving bass lines and an almost poetic guitar line that hints at the deep sea of ennui and broken promises just behind the face of ever punk. From the very begining of the album "Maxwell Murder" the title track hits in bitingly, forcing you to yell along. Tracks like "Olympia WA" and "Old Friend" almost break your heart with their combination of desperate lyrics and scotch addled love stories gone wrong.
The so called sell out tracks "Time Bomb" and "Ruby Soho" are undeniably catchy as well and the song "Roots Randicals" would become a punk rock anthem that any kid in any scumy club can sing off the top of their head. All this from a bunch of high school drop outs in San Francisco. Way to go boys, punks not dead.



I'll 2nd that one, I think this is a great album.
 
most Beach Boys albums released after Pet Sounds
especially their early 70's albums "Sunflower", "Surf's Up" and "Holland"

they might not be as magnificent as Pet Sounds, but they got pretty close

and the fact that Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's "Orange" and "Now I got worry" aren't considered among the best rock albums ever also means they are underrated

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Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it

[This message has been edited by Salome (edited 02-06-2002).]
 
I know it didn't come out in the 90's exactly but billy idol's greatest hits never sounded better and if you're thinkin' that's not really a new album well he sung "don't you (forget about me)" on it!

Hooverphonic is an terribly underappreciated band...and their album "blue wonder powder milk" is underappreciated in every way.
 
1) Flaming Lips: The Soft Bulletin
A masterpiece, and criminally unknown, in my very humble (and often not-so-humble) opinion. Amazon.com sums it up quite nicely:

The crazed genius of the Lips comes to full flower on the sonically massive and majestic The Soft Bulletin. Head Lip Wayne Coyne compounds the band's penchant for psychedelic freak-outs with a symphonic extravaganza. The result is nothing short of magnificent, not only the best rock album of the year, but among the best recordings of the decade

(OK, so perhaps not critically underappreciated, but I hear less talk about it then I should.)

4) Grandaddy- Sophtware Slump
Often disregarded as an OK Computer clone (which is admittedly a large influence), Slump has several moments of intense beauty, which focus for an entire 9 minutes during the incredible lead song He's Simple, He's dumb, He's the Pilot. Even if you don't buy the record, FIND THIS SONG. It is nothing less than arresting.

3) Billy Bragg and Wilco- Mermaid Avenue
A gem.

4) JJ72- JJ72
The lead singer's falsetto is simply disarming. Insofar as it's a raw and very good debut album, it reminds me of Boy.

Nice thread Johnny.



[This message has been edited by mug222 (edited 02-06-2002).]
 
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