The 11 Best Albums That There Is A Decent Chance You Haven't Heard
You’re welcome.
These are kinda “my albums” - you know, the ones you know most people don’t know. The ones that mean so much to you and that you have pretty much to yourself - you rarely have what would be the startling intrusion of someone else randomly listening to them in your presence. But here’s the thing - yes this is indeed a snobbery. I am a music snob. But I’m also a GREAT guy underneath, and out of pure generosity and the goodness of my heart I am……..okay yeah I’m…….sharing these with you. Enriching your life. Making it better.
Here’s the format: These albums are not presented in ranked order - it’s a loose collection that doesn’t really lend itself to or require a “ranking”. I’ve presented each one with the album cover, title, the year of release, the “under the radar cred” that explains how they got on this list and why they are not well known, and a summary explaining their greatness. Why 11? That’s just the way the list took shape and where it ended up. The number 11 wasn’t planned. Let’s get to it.
The Verve - A Storm In Heaven (1993) Under the radar cred - lowest charting Verve album. Didn’t chart anywhere outside of the UK. This is the first full-length album by The Verve and it came two albums before their breakthrough in the states Urban Hymns which had way more commercial appeal. This one doesn’t.
But it’s incredible. It’s dense and gorgeous and ethereal… you may catch yourself floating as you drift through it with Richard Ashcroft’s vocals buried and often unintelligible in the waves of guitars and reverb - feels like a shoegaze album but it doesn’t feel noisy. I love the subsequent albums by this band that are more conventional and accessible, but this was a unique moment that stands alone that I always return to at some point.
Dio - Magica (2000) Under the radar cred - 7th straight album in a declining chart position trend for Dio in the U.S. and 2nd in a row not to chart at all here for them. Not only that but it followed Angry Machines which was the first deliberate attempt by Dio to not do witches, sailing away, hell, evil, rainbows and the rest - unfortunately that didn’t go well and people had largely checked out.
So when Ronnie James Dio dug deep, returned to his strengths and came up with an amazing conceptual tale of good vs. evil complete with a spoken word rendering of the story by Ronnie at the end of the album and an insert that included the written story in a medieval font not a lot of people noticed. But I did. And it’s my most listened to Dio album to this day. It’s incredible - inspired and timeless and Dio returned to it 9 years later to complete two more parts of a planned trilogy but tragically passed away from stomach cancer before he could complete the project. It’s a crime that this masterpiece isn’t well known.
Red Red Meat - Jimmywine Majestic (1994) Under the radar cred - how’s this for under the radar cred: If you take away the top and the bottom (Jimmywine Majestic being the bottom) and average the number of Amazon user reviews on each album on this list the average number of reviews is 151. Jimmywine Majestic has EIGHT. Red Red Meat in general is not exactly a household name like other one time Sub Pop acts like say, Nirvana… I’d venture to guess there’s a good chance that you’ve at least heard of most of these bands on this list before or at least the members in the bands but not these guys.
But I once read an interview with Billy Corgan back in 1994 where they asked him what he was listening to and he said Red Red Meat - a fellow Chicago band that Billy actually recorded a song with for the compilation album Sweet Relief 2 in 1996. And as for Jimmywine Majestic Billy didn’t steer me wrong. One of my absolute favorite roadtrip albums to this day, it’s a kind of bluesy, Americana, grungy, hushed yet noisy, weird, improvisational thing like no other album I know of. Tim Rutili sings in this gravelly voice and there are stretched out moments with what sounds like an intentionally sensitive mic picking up every sound of each finger on each string of the guitars while they are picked and twanged with force and dry in the mix. There are moments that rock sure, but much of this album has a lazy stoned feel that for some reason just feels like perfection and it’s hard to put my finger on it. One of those albums where it’s kind of comforting that it’s “mine” and no one else knows it, but it’s too good not to share with the world…
Swervedriver - Mezcal Head (1993) Under the radar cred - Hardcore shoegaze fans know Swervedriver but most people still don’t despite having opened for Smashing Pumpkins in 1993 when I saw them in Columbus, OH, not to mention my best efforts to talk them up everywhere - I wear my two Swervedriver t-shirts all the time and share their stuff on social constantly. And yet I saw them the last time they came to Detroit……at PJ’s Lager House. You know how many people that venue holds? TWO HUNDRED. Nothing they have ever released has ever appeared on a U.S. chart.
And yet this album is likely a desert island album for me. Not kidding. If I chose to rank the albums on this list this would be #1. And hey, I know I use the occasional superlative - I may even overuse the occasional superlative. When I love a band or a song or an album I love hard. But this one is different. The quintessential grower - to the point that at the time I taped the CD to cassette and sold it back to CD Connection while I was living in Shaker Heights in 1994. I didn’t get it. But something happened. I returned to it a couple times on the cassette on the strength of the song Duel to see if maybe it would grow on me and at some point it started to click. It’s worth doing the work I promise you. It still reveals layers to me all these years later - it’s just brilliant. Adam Franklin to me is a genius and I recently heard someone nail it on the podcast That Record Got Me High where they said the “choruses” on this album are actually instrumental. That blew my mind - they’re right. But don’t even bother with that right away - just listen and digest. I can’t say enough about how rewarding it will be down the line. Lots of roaring guitars, but plenty of room to stretch out like on the outro of the over 6 1/2 minute Last Train to Satansville or the intro of the over 8 minute Duress. Surprises and sublime moments of bliss abound with Franklin’s slightly detached vocal delivery that just fits. I’ll never get sick of this album. Never.
Love Spit Love - Trysome Eatone (1997) Under the radar cred - did not reach the charts in the U.S. Two albums as basically a renamed Psychedelic Furs project that only lasted 4 years on the back end of the grunge takeover and they only played 52 total concerts in 4 years under the Love Spit Love name.
When the Psychedelic Furs went on hiatus they reemerged with another album just three years later under the name Love Spit Love - okay well not all of them - no John Ashton. And I do NOT mean to minimize the importance of Ashton’s guitar work to the Furs, but Richard and Tim Butler have revived the Furs name again without him now anyway and with a great new album too. And both Love Spit Love albums are fantastic with future Guns & Roses members Richard Fortus and Frank Ferrer on guitar and drums and still could easily have been Furs albums - maybe the Butlers felt more freedom to start fresh with a new name, but it probably would have had more exposure with the well established Furs name no? Anyway, something happened with the second album. Tim Butler stepped away (not sure why) and Richard Butler and this lineup kick a ton of ass. Plenty of post PUNK attitude - definitely the most since the first two Furs albums and even surpasses them in spots in my opinion. The album ROCKS, but not just for the sake of being loud. They crafted some amazing songs here, inventive, infectious and Richard Butler shows his range here from a pretty sugary pop song like Fall On Tears to the sardonic snarl of Sweet Thing or the updated cynical take on the Furs classic The Ghost In You’s “Love love love” line in More Than Money. This is probably the Furs album that wasn’t that I still listen to the most.
The New Power Generation - New Power Soul (1998) Under the radar cred - This is actually a Prince album with Prince himself on the cover, but it’s not credited to Prince. I think that gives it a kinda under the radar element by definition.
This album didn’t sell all that well and it got below average reviews which on one hand who cares, but on the other hand that’s complete bullshit. This album is fantastic and one of my favorite Prince albums. I feel like most casual Prince fans don’t know this one. Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s not exactly Purple Rain, 1999, Sign O’ The Times in popularity and you won’t find any of these songs on any Prince compilations. These songs weren’t played live often and it just feels like a lost masterpiece to me. I love every single song here, and even tracks like Shoo-Bed-Ooh and Freaks On This Side which come across as more ideas and grooves than fully developed songs are still amazing to my ears. Push It Up, Mad Sex and (👁️ Like) Funky Music are absolute BANGERS - three of my favorite Prince tunes. If you’re a Prince fan at all and don’t know this album fix that immediately. Report back to me that you did.
Deep Purple - Bananas (2003) Under the radar cred - Well it’s out of print and not available on streaming services for starters. It charted well in several countries none of which were the United States and their label didn’t extend them as a result. The first album after founding member and legend Jon Lord’s retirement who was largely responsible for the Deep Purple sound on keys. Also a bit of a confusing title and album cover that may not have helped.
Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and Ian Paice are 77, 77 and 75 respectively as of this writing. Their albums don’t get much fanfare by the general public and I feel that many don’t even know they are still an active band with 3 members from the most classic of their various lineups - the “Mark II” from 1969-1973 that was responsible for Smoke On The Water, Highway Star, & Woman From Tokyo and plenty others not to mention ‘80s classics like Perfect Strangers and Knockin’ At Your Back Door. And they aren’t just active - they’re REALLY active! 5 LPs of originals and 1 of covers in the last 20 years and yes, they are all great! A true working rock band deep into their 70’s. Amazing really, and Bananas could be my favorite of these 6. So I mentioned before that Jon Lord would have seemed to be irreplaceable on keys….unless you get Don Airey who is still with the band and one of the best ever - his career goes back to 1971 and he’s played in a ton of bands as a member and session musician (that’s him on Ozzy’s Blizzard Of Ozz for example and he’s played with Rainbow, Black Sabbath, UFO, Jethro Tull, Brian May, Judas Priest - the list is long). I’ve maintained that any Deep Purple with Roger Glover, Ian Paice and Ian Gillan is still legit Deep Purple for me. Never A Word is worth the price of admission alone - a simply gorgeous piece. The epic slow burn of Walk On, the funky and lively jams Silver Tongue, Picture of Innocence, and I Got Your Number - the band sounds tight, the songs are strong and the performances are awesome all the way around with plenty of room for each member to shine including Steve Morse who ended up being the longest serving guitarist in the band at 28 years and 8 studio albums and Ian Gillan is in fine voice. A shame that this album isn’t better known or even available commercially at this time.
Electrafixion - Burned (1995) Under the radar cred - much like Love Spit Love this is really an Echo & The Bunnymen project recording under not the name Echo & The Bunnymen. The LP didn’t sell very well in the states and I’m guessing once again most people don’t know it existed beyond hardcore Bunnymen fans.
This was a reunion of singer Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant but without bassist Les Pattinson who hasn’t been in the band for the last 24 years anyway or the late great drummer Pete de Freitas. Now, I will say this doesn’t exactly sound like an Echo & The Bunnymen album per se. It does and it doesn’t. It’s heavier than what they had been doing lately much like Love Spit Love’s Trysome Eatone was heavier than what put the Furs on the popular map, but much like the the origins of the Furs, the Bunnymen came by a darker and relatively aggressive attitude honestly because the first two Bunnymen albums did indeed have plenty of it. This is just a more grizzled sounding mature effort as a return after more whimsical (but no less amazing) fare such as Lips Like Sugar, Bring On The Dancing Horses and McCulloch’s solo work, and it’s a killer result. It wastes no time either with the crunching stomp of Feel My Pulse right off the bat. Timebomb is a prime example of a song that does sound like Bunnymen but when the guitars come roaring in you feel the difference and it’s exciting as hell. Zephyr, Hit By Something and Bed Of Nails are a few of my other favorites. If Burned and Trysome Eatone were the (conscious or not) responses by the members of the Furs and the Bunnymen to grunge in ‘95 and ‘97 I wouldn’t be surprised and I couldn’t be happier that they happened. I was even lucky enough to see both of them touring under these monikers.
Free - Fire and Water (1970) Under the radar cred - Not a ton per se (the album did reach #17 in the U.S. and contains a massive hit) which could make it an odd choice for this list, but I’ll just ask - do you really know this album beyond All Right Now from hearing that one hit on the radio and in commercials a thousand times? I don’t have a way to measure how many of you are answering “no” right now, but I just know it’s many of you and that’s the under the radar cred.
See, stupid tired boring old classic rock radio formats like WCSX here in Detroit for example have literally remained unchanged for at least 36 years, and I know this because I drove a U-Haul to East Lansing and back recently and was left with only terrestrial radio for the ride. These idiots would rather play that stupid Manfred Mann Blinded By The Light cover for decades on end that no one - like NO ONE - would actually put on intentionally instead of any of the classics on Fire and Water beyond All Right Now like the title track (covered by Ace Frehley with Paul Stanley handling the vocals) or Mr. Big (covered by Gov’t Mule) and it’s a damn shame. Paul Kossoff is not a name most casual music fans know and the guy was a beast of a guitarist - one of the greats who tragically died at the age of 25 - he was only EIGHTEEN when Free recorded their first album and was not yet 20 on Fire and Water which was the 3rd Free album. We all know what a powerhouse vocalist Paul Rogers is from all the Bad Company hits in the ‘70s, and while I do like Bad Company quite a bit, Free was a better band despite having only ONE hit single. It’s just ridiculous. So do yourself a favor and familiarize yourself with the other 6 songs on this album and continue on from there. I’m guessing most of you reading this don’t really know them. You’ll be glad you did.
Jerry Cantrell - Degradation Trip Vol. 1 & 2 (2002) Under the radar cred - Recorded as a double album but the record company made Jerry condense it as a single album (so also not the order Jerry wanted the tracks presented - a tactic the biz uses on many artists in general) with a promise that the other half would still see the light of day. It did, but as a double album limited edition of “Vol.1 & 2” 5 months later that would have forced people to buy part of it twice (?) springing for a double LP. Besides, the average Alice In Chains fan might not know Jerry as such a creative force and significant lead vocalist in Layne Staley-era AIC and that his solo work is as amazing as it is.
As for the album, it’s a deep dark masterpiece. Themes of addiction aren’t new to Alice In Chains but this collection of songs is an even deeper darker vibe. Heck just in some of the titles you get the idea like the chilling opener Psychotic Break, Hellbound, Feel The Void, Gone, Dying Inside… The personnel for this album includes Robert Trujillo on bass - yes that Robert Trujillo from Metallica (and Suicidal Tendencies, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society, & Infectious Grooves) and Mike Bordin - yes that Mike Bordin from Faith No More (and Ozzy) on drums. Basically a supergroup supporting Jerry’s vision. Sludgy and heavy as hell in many places with some incredible riffs and playing, but it’s not noisy and despite its almost 2 1/2 hour length I don’t get worn out by it. It’s not a happy listen, but it’s real and raw emotion - an artist coming to grips with hardship, his own addiction, the demise of Alice In Chains, the in-process descent of his friend Layne Staley into the deep illness of heroin addiction that would ultimately claim his life 4 years later - all of it. Jerry has said he locked himself in a room for 4 months to write this and was on the edge of insanity at the time. There are also softer moments of beauty in the sadness here on songs like Solitude, Gone, and 31/32. Highly recommended - the material is really strong throughout.
KRS-One - Between Da Protests (2020) Under the radar cred - nothing he has been involved with has charted since 2010 and this was the 5th LP in a row that didn’t. 5th straight LP that doesn’t even have its own wiki. Hip Hop Golden Age devotes the first two paragraphs of its review to how underhyped and unnoticed the album is.
And here’s the thing, this may not be a “classic”, but for those who haven’t been aware that KRS-One hasn’t gone away at all and is still pumping out albums I think this is an important one. And for those who have no idea whom I’m talking about it might be even more important. KRS-One considers himself a teacher - his legacy that he takes very seriously is dropping knowledge via extremely skilled rhymes and flow. And this album is informed by the events of 2020 and the protests that were triggered by the George Floyd murder. KRS-One is older than me and he’s been in the rap game for almost 40 years starting out with Boogie Down Productions back in the day. I may not agree with every single word he’s ever rapped, but I value what he has to say and it’s always thrilling to hear how he says it. He sounds like he’s at the top of his game here. Did you think “maybe today I’ll go back and spend 47 minutes immersed in the events of 2020”? Maybe you didn’t. But this album isn’t only relevant to 2020. Unfortunately it’s still very relevant and may be for quite some time….
So there they are - 11 albums that should provide you endless hours of enjoyment! Let me know if you check them out and what you think. If you’ve got one of your own put it in the comments - but you better make it good, and it better meet the criteria! Hehe… bring it!
M10 Social is owned by Doug Cohen in West Bloomfield, MI and provides social media training and digital marketing services from the Frameable Faces Photography studio Doug owns with his wife Ally. He can be reached there at tel:248-790-7317, by mobile at tel:248-346-4121 or via email at mailto:doug@frameablefaces.com. You can follow Doug’s band Vintage Playboy at their Facebook page here.
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