Bands that should get more respect than they do.....

wonderturtle

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
proof that I have way too much time to think during my long commute, I was thinking of bands that some people might unfairly dismiss or not give enough credit.

the one that stuck in my head: Fleetwood Mac. I think that some people unfairly lump them with 70's soft rock bands like Bread, Ambrosia, Little River Band (or even Air Supply...gasp), which is completely unfair and inaccurate. Fleetwood Mac is a ridiculously great band comprised of 3 great songwriters, 3 distinct voices and top-notch musicianship. lumping them with such soft bands is just ridiculous. but I think many do.

Can you think of any bands that you like that some people unfairly categorize or dismiss? Bands that don't get adequate "due" by some people.

note: this is NOT about bands that "should be more famous". I think we can all name dozens of bands that make us think "if only people had taste, this band would be huge!!!" - such bands stay respected but not widely popular. this isn't about them, this is about bands that get unfairly dismissed or disrespected.

or maybe my mind just wanders too much ;)
 
clarkenstein

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
most of the stuff i listen to gets zero radio time on the commercial circuit.

that said.. anything zappa. sure some of it would get complaints with the FCC, but there's plenty that could get played.
 
Reggie

Reggie

Formerly ReggieHammond
Team MTBNJ Halter's
wonderturtle said:
proof that I have way too much time to think during my long commute, I was thinking of bands that some people might unfairly dismiss or not give enough credit.

the one that stuck in my head: Fleetwood Mac. I think that some people unfairly lump them with 70's soft rock bands like Bread, Ambrosia, Little River Band (or even Air Supply...gasp), which is completely unfair and inaccurate. Fleetwood Mac is a ridiculously great band comprised of 3 great songwriters, 3 distinct voices and top-notch musicianship. lumping them with such soft bands is just ridiculous. but I think many do.
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This is one of my favorite clips of Fleetwood Mac....raw and real. Awesome stuff!!

 
Santapez

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I always complain that Stevie Nicks ruined that band. I prefer their earlier blues Peter Green stuff.

I was just thinking the other day that the loss of radio DJs was a big one. Just to get those non-super-popular songs that the DJ would toss out from known bands.
 
1speed

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
I don't think Dire Straits gets enough credit. Great music, great songwriting, great to see live. If you bring them up with actual musicians, you almost never hear anything but respect for them. and yet they're remembered by most people more for using "innovative" (for their time) computer animation in their "Money for Nothing" video. Listen to their music - even if you aren't into bluesy rock, there is no denying those guys were a tight band.
 
wonderturtle

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
rottin' said:
I love the Smiths...brings me back to highs chool.I think they and morrisey are treated like gods in the UK, little bit less so here.
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The Smiths are one of my favorites (easily top 5 for me). but, I don't know, I think they get the "cred" they deserve even in the US. perhaps not the God-like status like the UK but I think they are a very highly respected band (for those that know about them). granted, they should have been more popular.

I'd say the same with respect to The Pixies and Joy Division. I think those bands stand out in people's minds compared to other "college rock". The Pixies are absolutely revered. I am not a huge fan but have friends that consider them gods. I think they get their "proper due"

and I think Joy Division has somewhat of a mythical thing about them (one could argue they are "over-esteemed" due to the whole Ian Curtis thing....and this is coming from a big Joy Division/New Order fan).
 
wonderturtle

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
Santapez said:
I always complain that Stevie Nicks ruined that band. I prefer their earlier blues Peter Green stuff.
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the amazing thing about Fleetwood Mac is the changes/ iterations of the band. in between the Peter Green stuff (bluesy stuff from late 60s), there was another "version" of Fleetwood mac with Danny Kirwan, Bob Welch and Bob Weston in the early 70s (pre replacement by Buckingham/Nicks) that involved a number of very solid albums (Bare Trees, Penguin, Future Games, Mystery to Me) that was very different from the Peter Green stuff AND very different from the stuff that would follow with the addition of Buckingham/Nicks. amazing history to the band.
 
ChrisG

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Similarly to @wonderturtle 's selection, I offer Steely Dan to the conversation.

People who either should know better, or are too lazy to figure out it out, often dismiss them as "yacht rock", "soft rock", "weak-ass jazz rock" or whatever.

However, closer inspection reveals:

*The band's name is a reference to a particular marital aid featured in Naked Lunch.

*The lyrical themes often skew toward dirty old men, crime, a study of various alcohol/narcotic habits, degenerate gamblers, skid-row denizens, wry insults of bands they had no respect for, and situations not likely to be found in the kind of sappy, hackneyed stuff that the true yacht rock set tends to employ.

*The players on the records (and in the touring bands) could play like motherfuckers. Larry Carlton, Steve Gadd, Jeff Baxter, Rick Marotta, Wayne Shorter, Victor Feldman, Jeff Porcaro, to name only a few. These guys were no joke.

While I've been aware of this band my entire life for the radio hits they produced (off of every album they released), diving into the entire catalog shows something with a great deal more depth.
 
wonderturtle

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
ChrisG said:
Similarly to @wonderturtle 's selection, I offer Steely Dan to the conversation.

People who either should know better, or are too lazy to figure out it out, often dismiss them as "yacht rock", "soft rock", "weak-ass jazz rock" or whatever.
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Anyone who dismisses steely dan just needs to stop listening to music and stfu. ;)

I hold them in the same category as Fleetwood Mac as bands that came about in the 70s but have no place being grouped in with "all those 70s bands". They are set apart and levels above.
 
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