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underrated or unheard of musician/band

Hopefully this thread will lead us all to new non-commercialized things to listen to. There is a ton of talent hiding out there so here we go, lets uncover some!

Hacienda Brothers. Twang all the way with a touch of south of the boarder, some blues and some rockabilly sometimes all in the same song (it works trust me). They have , among others, Dave Gonzolas, the guitarist for the Palidans (rockabilly hardcores) a great pedal player and Chris Gafney doing vocals. First album just came out. Definately a live show band.

Dave Alvin great songwriting IMO. every song tells a story and most of them aint happy. Covers roots rock, country, blues. Museam of hearts is a good start as is king of california.

Curtis Salgodo. Another live show guy. The songs are good but the recordings don't carry his passion. not to say the recordings aren't good. Soul, R&B and Blues. has done stints with roomfull of blues and santana.

Tinsley Ellis. king of blues and Blues rock. great playing, great voice and usually great songs. Would smoke Clapton on a bad night IMO. Killer live shows and the recordings carry the ball as well.

Afro Celt Sound System Celtic music blended with electronic under tutalidge, if not leadership, of Peter Gabriel.

Sonia Dada. white chicago rock band meets black street singer group and the rest is history. Great live, great late at night loud. Kida funky, kida soulfull. Vocals as you might expect are very good.

Ray Condo and the Ricochets. Unfortunately Ray passed last year so live shows are out. Too bad because the consistantly rate as some of the most fun i've ever seen. Country Swing and honky tonk.

Danny Gatton and (i'm in a big brain fade here on the first name. Robert i think. age sucks) Gordon "The humbler." OK among guitar players he ain't unknown and being rated as a god by guitarists and winning guitar players best player selection ain't exactly underrated he fits based on being called the workds greatist unknown guitarist. Jaw dropping rockabilly here and it was only their 4th gig together. The soundman at a one night gig knew he was on to something so he grabbed a take of the night. Unfortunately Danny couldn't overcome the blues and did himself in a number of years ago.

Shoogie Otis. Just gotta check it out.

I'll think some more and add some more later.
piezo
boa2's avatar
boa2
1,551 posts
 
Beatlebum, thanks for the recommendations. And to everyone else, as well. I use these threads as a resource for music shopping.

Others for the list:
Guided by Voices--powerhouse rock band, echoes of The Who
Matthew Sweet--pop master
XTC--who haven't they influenced?
Richard Buckner--folk with tension
Throwing Muses--"Limbo" is a masterpiece, IMO.
papertrail
186 posts
 
I heard "The Waifs" open for Bob Dylan and even though we all went to see him, they were a hard act to follow. I will also second the Duhks.
bdgregory
1,715 posts
 
Here's a few of my favorites I don't see mentioned often here:

Philip Catherine - Jazz Guitar I originally purchased "Nairam" while in college in the 70's. Recently picked up 3 other cd's off of Amazon.com. Nairam is a unique piece, and I can't find it on cd

I second Strawbs, and PFM as mentioned above by Blkadr. I'm a big fan of both.

One more 70's prog band I see hardly ever mentioned is "Illusion" Jane Relf's voice is angelic and sultry at the same time. The songs are great too.

And how about Gene Clark. Aside from his work with the Birds and (I think) Flying Burrito Brothers, he did some fantastic solo stuff. Alas he died before we got much solo. His solo album "No Other" is one of my most played albums. It was finally released on CD in 2003 - and includes 2 versions of each song.
I have one album
wildoats
339 posts
 
Garland Jeffries, rock/reggae/soul. Excellent music, "GhosT Writers" is probably his best.

Butts Band - Only had two albums, you can get both on one cd from Amazon. Robby Kreiger and John Densmore from the Doors were in this band after Jim died.

Captain Beyond - rock band from the early 70's. Really good psychedelic rock.

Tom Rush - folky from the hippy days. Great storytelling folk. Get the Best of LP if you can find it, it is really well recorded. Much better than the cd of his best hits.
the_kid's avatar
the_kid
465 posts
 
I am a huge Westerberg fan as well and am actually getting to see him the 29th at the 930 Club here in DC which is a small venue. I grew up listening to the Replacements and he is an incredible artist.

Also, check out Colin Hay's solo work. He was the front man from Men at Work. His solo efforts are sensational IMO.

I would also recommend checking out Ryan Adams, The Stereophonics, and Bill Janovitz(from Buffalo Tom). All stellar acts which IMO are putting out some incredible music.

If you have heard of them also check out The Damnwells, Mike Doughty, Pitty Sing, and Elliot Smith.

Cheers,

Chris
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