ADVERTISEMENT

Five Bands/Acts that weren't hugely popular but should have been

Nitt1300

Nitt1300

Well-Known Member
Nov 2, 2008
61,188
18,689
1
The opposite of the other thread, obviously

My list:

Fleetwood Mac (the original Peter Green lineup) straightforward blues and great musicians
Rory Gallagher- if you don't know him, you should, Check out his Irish Tour 74 album
Savoy Brown- another solid band who flew under the radar- Looking In album is a good place to start
Ten Years After- Alvin Lee was a absolute guitar monster and a great singer, too
Wishbone Ash- yeah, you never heard of them, neither did most people
 
  • Like
Reactions: whart and BBrown
Nitt1300 said:
The opposite of the other thread, obviously

My list:

Fleetwood Mac (the original Peter Green lineup) straightforward blues and great musicians
Rory Gallagher- if you don't know him, you should, Check out his Irish Tour 74 album
Savoy Brown- another solid band who flew under the radar- Looking In album is a good place to start
Ten Years After- Alvin Lee was a absolute guitar monster and a great singer, too
Wishbone Ash- yeah, you never heard of them, neither did most people
Click to expand...

I would pick 2 from the 80’s. The Smith’s and Echo and the bunny men.
Cake is another that seemed to fly under the mainstream radar.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PSUMoose and anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
psuro said:
Ten Years After-agree
The Smithereens
Boston (because they simply disappeared after the second album)
Click to expand...

Agree about The Smithereens. Didn’t their lead singer pass away not to long ago?
Another couple I would pick is Concrete Blonde and The Cramps.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nitt1300
Nitt1300 said:
The opposite of the other thread, obviously

My list:

Fleetwood Mac (the original Peter Green lineup) straightforward blues and great musicians
Rory Gallagher- if you don't know him, you should, Check out his Irish Tour 74 album
Savoy Brown- another solid band who flew under the radar- Looking In album is a good place to start
Ten Years After- Alvin Lee was a absolute guitar monster and a great singer, too
Wishbone Ash- yeah, you never heard of them, neither did most people
Click to expand...

Fugazi
Bluesuedegroove (SC based in the late 90’s)
Blues Traveler (popular, but very underrated)
Jimmy Vaughn (Stevie’s brother, sounds just like him)
Live (also popular, but a 10+ show)
 
Nitt1300 said:
The opposite of the other thread, obviously

My list:

Fleetwood Mac (the original Peter Green lineup) straightforward blues and great musicians
Rory Gallagher- if you don't know him, you should, Check out his Irish Tour 74 album
Savoy Brown- another solid band who flew under the radar- Looking In album is a good place to start
Ten Years After- Alvin Lee was a absolute guitar monster and a great singer, too
Wishbone Ash- yeah, you never heard of them, neither did most people
Click to expand...
Agree on Wishbone Ash....saw them live on two occasions .....excellent in concert
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aloha T, Nitt1300 and Waltwam
Mike Scott and the Waterboys (British folk band) - did Fishermen’s Blues, the theme song from Waking Ned Devine

Clarence Clemons and the Red Bank Rockers (spin off from Springsteen)

Jem (British single girl singer)

The Hooters (Phila based rock band)

Lily Allen (British single girl singer) - recorded F$ck You, not to be missed if you haven’t heard it.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Aloha T and anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Nitt1300 said:
The opposite of the other thread, obviously

My list:

Fleetwood Mac (the original Peter Green lineup) straightforward blues and great musicians
Rory Gallagher- if you don't know him, you should, Check out his Irish Tour 74 album
Savoy Brown- another solid band who flew under the radar- Looking In album is a good place to start
Ten Years After- Alvin Lee was a absolute guitar monster and a great singer, too
Wishbone Ash- yeah, you never heard of them, neither did most people
Click to expand...

Little Feat
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aloha T, Cvilleguy12, Nitwit and 2 others
The Replacements- Great garage rock with an extremely witty lyricist named:

Paul Westerberg- Generally more toned down than his Replacements stuff but still an incredibly sharp lyricist.

Todd Snider- Not just a great folksy musician but a great storyteller as well.

Big Audio Dynamite- Mick Jones post-Clash outfit. Nothing like the Clash but fun stuff.

Wilco- Great, great, experimental yet folky rock band.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WestSideLion, anon_xdc8rmuek44eq, Chickenman Testa and 1 other person
Connorpozlee said:
The Replacements- Great garage rock with an extremely witty lyricist named:

Paul Westerberg- Generally more toned down than his Replacements stuff but still an incredibly sharp lyricist.

Todd Snider- Not just a great folksy musician but a great storyteller as well.

Big Audio Dynamite- Mick Jones post-Clash outfit. Nothing like the Clash but fun stuff.

Wilco- Great, great, experimental yet folky rock band.
Click to expand...

Was a big fan BAD maybe even more so than The Clash.
I think it’s time for a PIL mention.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Thorndike2012
Smithereens
Dinosaur Jr
Dandy Warhols
The Fleshtones
The Pixies
The Church
Replacements
Urge Overkill
Nick Cave
Innocence Mission
the Insomniacs
Bang Tango
BoDeans
Material Issue
Fastway
Sonic Youth
Ghost (though they are getting “big” as I type this)

Popularity would likely have tarnished the glow of many of these acts
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tri-Power65 and anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Connorpozlee said:
The Replacements- Great garage rock with an extremely witty lyricist named:

Paul Westerberg- Generally more toned down than his Replacements stuff but still an incredibly sharp lyricist.

Todd Snider- Not just a great folksy musician but a great storyteller as well.

Big Audio Dynamite- Mick Jones post-Clash outfit. Nothing like the Clash but fun stuff.

Wilco- Great, great, experimental yet folky rock band.
Click to expand...
The Mats and Westerberg - Genius

Great song from BAD

 
  • Like
Reactions: Connorpozlee
massimoManca II said:
Smithereens
Dinosaur Jr
Dandy Warhols
The Fleshtones
The Pixies
The Church
Replacements
Urge Overkill
Nick Cave
Innocence Mission
the Insomniacs
Bang Tango
BoDeans
Material Issue
Fastway
Sonic Youth
Ghost (though they are getting “big” as I type this)

Popularity would likely have tarnished the glow of many of these acts
Click to expand...

Seriously,? why would Dinosaur Jr. have been any more popular than they were?

I liked them too, but that stuff did not have potential for mass appeal
 
fairfaxlion2 said:
Seriously,? why would Dinosaur Jr. have been any more popular than they were?

I liked them too, but that stuff did not have potential for mass appeal
Click to expand...

Ha, you’re right.... i guess my barometer (at leadt for a few of my selections) was influence on other bands... Dinosaur Jr, like the Pixies, is among the most-important bands ever
 
massimoManca II said:
Ha, you’re right.... i guess my barometer (at leadt for a few of my selections) was influence on other bands... Dinosaur Jr, like the Pixies, is among the most-important bands ever
Click to expand...

Well, I don't know about that last part, but they were pretty cool.

The Pixies were indeed hugely influential, and there songs were also very catchy and awesome. I am always surprised they were not much, much bigger than they were

I cannot say that about Dinosaur Jr. with a straight face. Some of that stuff was like alt rock Phish. Jam sessions.
 
I was always surprised Live was not bigger

The fact that no one knew how to say the band's name probably didn't help

Once saw a cute girl driving a car with the tag IALONE, wanted to marry her on the spot
 
Keyser Soze 16801 said:
I was always surprised Live was not bigger

The fact that no one knew how to say the band's name probably didn't help

Once saw a cute girl driving a car with the tag IALONE, wanted to marry her on the spot
Click to expand...

They were pretty big when their second album came out (Throwing Copper).

Then it kind of fizzled.

They also tended to limit the popularity of their songs with weird lyrics that nobody wanted to hear. And Ed Kowalczyk kind of seemed like a weirdo who was trying to hard to be a rock star.
 
fairfaxlion2 said:
They were pretty big when their second album came out (Throwing Copper).

Then it kind of fizzled.

They also tended to limit the popularity of their songs with weird lyrics that nobody wanted to hear. And Ed Kowalczyk kind of seemed like a weirdo who was trying to hard to be a rock star.
Click to expand...

I agree with all of that
 
interrobang said:
Sheryl Crow, REM, Coldplay, Nickelback
Click to expand...
I don't know--I think these acts are all pretty well recognized. Although I couldn't name a single nickelback song.

Back to the original theme-- one of the best bands I heard live was The Sharks. Had a chance to go national in the mid 1980s but didn't quite make it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT
Top Bottom
Back