Favorite obscure album (1 Viewer)

[Dennis Nicholls]

 

[Henry Gale]

The Incredible String Band's 1968 work, Wee Tam.
What a great time, thanks for the memory Dennis.

 

[Rachael B]

I take it you never lived in the south Jeff. They were fairly popular for their year or two. Most of the hippies I knew liked 'em. Maybe they had more regional appeal than I ever realized? Their first album with the reflective dude with sword was a groovy pipe dream. Do you stille have a website for 'em? I mean, I know nothing about them other than I saw their concert and bought their two albums.

Maybe I should get their albums again.....CD Univese and Amazon have 'em c-h-e-a-p. I looked last night. I remember liking numero dos better....

In the south back then we had a slew of groups follow the Allman's...Skynyrd, Wet Willie, Cowboy, Goose Creek Symphony, Marshal Tucker, Grinderswitch, Barefoot Jerry, Don Nix and the Alabama State Troopers, Henry Gross, Sea Level, McKendree Springs, Atlanta Rhythm Section....it's hard to remember 'em all. Some of the ones I've mentioned may seem more obscure to some folks. I saw every one of those groups play except Barefoot Jerry. When we were swimin' in Little River near the national park, Townsend, we'd frequently go by Barefoot Jerry's Grocery in hope the group would be down from their cabin, there jammin' with the old man, their name's sake. He was a fiddler. We never got lucky though. Ole Jerry would always play for us though. He liked hippies that bought Moonpies and RC Colas.

Perception comes in a billion packages I suppose.

Henry, you keep deferring rulz to me....why? There must be some kind of obscure CD...what about something like Eddie Hazel's Games, Dames & Guitar Thangs? It's hard to find on vinyl and the Rhino Handmade CD only ran off 5000 copies and people are now cravin' 'em for high prices. His wife is selling on CD Baby for high prices last time I looked. Rhino makes some instantly obscure stuff if ya ask me.

Holla el goto....I didn't start the fire....I threw gasoline on it but....

 

[Rachael B]

Oh jeff, I forgot they had a third album....I proably heard it but I don't think I ever had a copy. I should look them up....

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Henry,
But is Wee Tam more obscure than Captain Beefheart?

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Way, way, way more obscure than Captain Beefheart.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

OK, this is weird. If I post twice quickly, it combines 'em into a single post. This has been going on in various threads lately. Anyone else notice this?

 

[Henry Gale]

Dennis,
I agree with Aaron, I hear about Don much more often than I hear about Robin.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Speaking of Robins, would anyone consider Robin Trower - Twice Removed from Yesterday obscure? Bridge of Sighs is probably his best known, but the debut is my favorite.

My Captain Beyond site was retired years ago, it was simply too hard to get any news, and my brief contact with Rhino and Lee Dorman never amounted to anything. I transcribed the lyrics to two of the albums (which were lifted for another CB site). Bobby and Rhino reformed the band (with a new singer, new bass player) a couple of years ago, did a few shows, but disbanded after failing to find a label deal. The remastered first and second CDs sound great, although Dawn Explosion is a bit iffy.

How about Eloy or Satin Whale? The first Anne Murray album? The soundtrack from The Swimmer?

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I would call Eloy and Satin Whale obscure. (I'm not sure I've actually heard of Satin Whale before.) Not sure about something by an artist as well-known as Anne Murray, unless it's really hard to find. Soundtracks are tough to measure in the same category -- a lot of them are very hard to track down, but The Swimmer isn't such a rare movie.

 

[Rachael B]

I think Robin Trower is not at all obscure. He was in Procol Harum which achieved mucho notariety. Then he toured the U.S. extensively in the 70's to back up his solo albums. Everybody was on about how he soundd a bit Hendrix-escue. The last time I looked most of his catalog was OOP, like so many others. Have all his albums ever made CD?

I worked at the Hyatt Regency Knoxville as a food server in 1974. It was located next to the main concert venue then, the Civic Colosseum. All the rockers stayed at the Hyatt. Robin had played in one of those 3-pack concert tours the night before and was having lunch. Outside of the regular restaraunt bounds, we had set up a lunch for the Optomist Club amongst the attendees, my neighbor, a John Birch Society member.

Somehow, Robin and my ultra right-wing neighbor got into a discussion of communism. Robin was taking the pro stance, of course. It was so-ooo bloody funny. I took every opportunity I could to go warm up the Optomist's coffee so I could walk past the two of 'em, standin there debating communism. When all the other Optomists had gone home, the two of them were stille standing there going at it. My shift ended and when I left, they were stille on about it all.

Robin isn't obscure but maybe the portion of his work that's not on his Greatest Hits is becoming obscured and harder to hear. I bet alot of 60's and 70's acts fit that pattern...?

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Trower's catalogue has been released on CD, at least all the early works. As for that Anne Murray album, I'd agree that she is nowhere near obscure, but for some reason that first album was only released on CD for a short while - but what got released was a bastardized version that some flunky engineers felt needed "modernizing" by adding new drums and keyboards, amateurly using noise reduction (inducing lots of chirpies and other anomalies no competent engineer would get anywhere near) and also editing the intro off one song. The packaging reflected the basement "mastering" job, plastered with maple leafs and a god awful design. I complained to EMI about it loudly - fortunately the rest of her catalogue was released very well mastered, but the album which is most important to me still is MIA in a respectable release.

As I am no way a follower of musical fashion, how does Catherine Wheel or Rob Dickinson's work fit the obscure category? How about Naked Sun or October Project? I would bet my own projects rank as obscure...

The soundtrack for The Swimmer (Marvin Hamlisch's first score) should rank as pretty obscure - I NEVER thought I'd see that on CD, but FSM did a fantastic job with the rerelease.