Bands that shoulda done better

[twowings]

Pretty Things

Huge in the UK....never caught on here.

[alanp]

The Frames are my top pick for this.  Their album, Fitzcarraldo is one of the best albums ever made IMO.  Absolutely stunning, very musical, powerful and moving. 

https://youtu.be/vMt3ubSVZ1U

[Red07]

A couple great bands from the 80's come to mind.

1. The Del Fuegos:  A bluesy rock band from the Boston area.  Great sound.  "Don't Run Wild" great song.

2. The Unforgiven:  kind of a guitars up front and in your face rock band.  The members were all dressed like they came straight out of an old Western movie.  Back in high school, we thought these guys were the greatest.  They played at Farm Aid back in the mid 80's, and kind of dwindled out from there.  I have their old CD "The Unforgiven" in my truck right now. 



Randy

[kingoffleece]

Pretty Things "Singapore Silk Torpedo".  Released on Zeppelin's Swan Song record label.  Great record.

[flower_king001]

Bingo!  What ever happened with them?

As far as I know they are still together...

http://www.davidlaflamme.com/index.htm

[dam]

Atlantis Philharmonic

[vstevens]

The Cate Brothers from Arkansas . Long career , several albums , absolutely one of the greatest live bands ever , almost unknown outside of our area . In about 1984 the Stones wanted the Cate Bros to tour Europe with them . The Cates said "no , we're on vacation"

 About Leo Kotke , he grew up here in Muskogee , so yeah , he sounds like an Okie 

 Oh , one more , Steve Pryor and the Mighty Kingsnakes .

 Dusty

Leo Kotke - maybe the best finger style guitarist I ever heard. 

XTC - british band very popular in the UK, had a couple chart listers in the US but no great popularity.  THE most interesting band since the Beatles... XTC influenced early punk, new wave/alternative, alt-rock, etc.

[kidsmoke]

now here's a thread that can derail me all day...

Kotke...in my mind he's like Hendrix for fingerstylists...he opened up the genre, but there are many many unbelievable fingerstylists out there now. Willy Porter from Milwaukee is one, and very accessible. Don Ross - anyone on Candy Rat records out of Canada

Zebra - holy crap. "who's behind the door" I remember trying to get that to catch on. I don't think it's aged well, honestly.

Marriot...a good singer? THE singer IMHO. No Marriot. no Led Zeppelin. Discuss.

There are so many household names on this thread, which in my mind defies the notion of not being big. I mean, if you wanted to say that relative to the Giants, someone should have gotten more respect, no one could go above Lowell George on that list.

There's a cat out of Nashville, Pat McGlaughlin. GREAT songwriter. Does a roadhouse act with an All Star band that go against the very best live music I've ever seen.

I thought Sonia Dada was a great band, never went National, although they OWNED Chicago for a while. Poi Dog Pondering from the Pomegranate era...fantastic.

Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys - Cajun- a band and a genre that don't get what they deserve.

Storyville - Double Trouble and Dave Grissom teamed up after SRV passed. Great outfit. I guess egos clashed.

Rose Hill Drive - hard rock band from Boulder.

Shoulda been bigger - David Bromberg

dang, I got work to do.

[twowings]

Ethyl and the Shameless Hussies from K.C. 

"I thought he was Mr. Right...but he left!"

[LowRyter]

mentioned earlier.  Only done in by record company management and contracts (and the grim reaper).  At least Jimi was able to keep Billy Cox.  Keeping Buddy for the funk and harmony would've been fantastic. 

I only wish the Hendrix standards were on the album.  I think there are euro versions of the record that do.

[drums4money]

Leo Kotke - maybe the best finger style guitarist I ever heard. 

XTC - british band very popular in the UK, had a couple chart listers in the US but no great popularity.  THE most interesting band since the Beatles... XTC influenced early punk, new wave/alternative, alt-rock, etc.

Love XTC to this very day.  They were probably their own worst enemies.  I understand agorophobia and having produced "Skylarking" with Todd Rundgren convinced Andy Partridge to never want to record or tour again.  "Upsy Daisy Assortment" is such a great collection.  I always thought there was was something special happening in the rhythm section, then learned they recorded drums with both Prairie Prince and Pat Mastelotto.

I'll chime in with my other "desert island band" - The Tragically Hip.  They owned Canada.  Final concert broadcast live in country and it pre-empted EVERYTHING.  Talk about national heros.  Sad about the singers terminal cancer.  Great great great band and a huge library of equally good songs. . . . never really broke huge in the states.  One of the few bands I'd really like to see.

[AJ Huff]

Love Tragically Hip!  I had a roommate in college from Vancouver who turned me onto them.

-AJ

Love XTC to this very day.  They were probably their own worst enemies.  I understand agorophobia and having produced "Skylarking" with Todd Rundgren convinced Andy Partridge to never want to record or tour again.  "Upsy Daisy Assortment" is such a great collection.  I always thought there was was something special happening in the rhythm section, then learned they recorded drums with both Prairie Prince and Pat Mastelotto.

I'll chime in with my other "desert island band" - The Tragically Hip.  They owned Canada.  Final concert broadcast live in country and it pre-empted EVERYTHING.  Talk about national heros.  Sad about the singers terminal cancer.  Great great great band and a huge library of equally good songs. . . . never really broke huge in the states.  One of the few bands I'd really like to see.

[LowRyter]

Blind Faith

[oldbike54]

Blind Faith

 Well , they only did one album , and let's face it , no way were Clapton and Winwood gonna share the spotlight at that time 

 Dusty

[pikipiki]

Gentle Giant - Prog
Renaissance - Prog (Annie Haslam vocals..no one is better. Jon Camp..perhaps one of the most under-rated bass players)
Camel - Prog (Andy Latimer...if you enjoy David Gilmour's guitar Camel is a must)
The Flower Kings - Swedish Prog
Genesis - Prog with Peter Gabriel
King Crimson - Prog
Happy the Man- Prog USA
Fairport Convention- British Folk w/ Sandy Denney on vocals
Tangerine Dream - German Electronic
Nektar - Prog (Remember the Future...a classic)
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Jazz/Fusion
Return to Forever - Jazz/Fusion
National Health - Prog
Soft Machine - Prog/Canterbury
Umphrey's McGee - US jam band
PFM -Prog from Italy
Egg- rog/jazz/fusion


Just to name a few....other personals faves:
Johnny Winter
Miles Davis
Larry Coreyell
John Coltrane
THE GRATEFUL DEAD
Phish

So if you wish to talk about any other obscure Progressive Rock bands please...let's do!
The BeatlesX

Tangerine Dream wrote the sound track to "Grand Theft auto 5" so surprisingly teenagers today  may be spending longer listening to Tangerine Dream than Beyonce!
Not bad for a KroutRock band from half a century ago.

[drburt]

Unplanned back surgery has spoiled my plans to go see the latest incarnation of King Crimson in Oakland, California this upcoming Friday and Saturday - 6/16/17 and 6/17/17.
So..
I have 2 good tickets for 6/16/17 in Oakland, California
and
I have 2 good tickets for 6/17/17 in Oakland, California
Nicely discounted.

PM me if interested.
I thought about putting this on the Wildguzzi swap meet instead, but the swap meet is somewhat elusive (can't find a link to it).

I hope I don't get banned for life for posting this.

This is a great version of Crimson. I saw them in Chicago in '14 and even my wife enjoyed the concert.
I also had to miss GREAT tickets to Roger Waters in Sacramento last Monday. Got them sold though.

My employer's disability people told me I can't go on vacation even though the surgeon told me I could. Can't ride my EV for another week or so either (it's been 4.5 weeks so far...Guzzi Content).

[John A]

TwoWings mentioned Lee Micheals- I agree, his concerts were usually small which was nice and they really put on a good show. Leon Russel was another good one I would have liked to see more of. The Band of course and David Bromberg

[fatbob]

Lee Michaels
Todd Rundgren
SkyKing
The GAP Band
Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers
The Tommy Castro Band
Coco Montoya
Karla Bonoff

and my personal favorite band that should have been promoted properly:  Lydia Pense and Cold Blood

Jimmy Thackery had success with the Nighthawks, a band that also shoulda done better.

[beetle]

I don't understand the title of this thread. It's a misnomer. 'Bands that shoulda done better?' Genesis has been mentioned. They did alright. I believe they even carried on after Gabriel left. Weather Report. Huge. It's almost like asking 'who here likes a Moto Guzzi?'. Nobody I personally know outside of the internet has even heard of my favourite bands. My wife calls prog 'devil music'. 

You should change the name of the thread to: Bands that don't play music for the mindless zombie muppets that listen to Taylor Swift/Beyonce/Katy Perry <insert horrid bubble-gum tripe here>.


 

[Dean Rose]

Cowboy (Boyer & Talton)

Cowboy & Duane Allman -Please be with me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw763JTPHsc

Marshal Tucker

Amazing Grace  Duane Allman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9OGNMJ0-Kw

Ozark Mountain Daredevils
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYvOsnhV6ZY



Dean

[ITSec]

I don't understand the title of this thread. It's a misnomer. 'Bands that shoulda done better?' Genesis has been mentioned. They did alright. I believe they even carried on after Gabriel left. Weather Report. Huge. It's almost like asking 'who here likes a Moto Guzzi?'. Nobody I personally know outside of the internet has even heard of my favourite bands. My wife calls prog 'devil music'. 

You should change the name of the thread to: Bands that don't play music for the mindless zombie muppets that listen to Taylor Swift/Beyonce/Katy Perry <insert horrid bubble-gum tripe here>.


 

Well, if you look at my original posts when I started the thread, they didn't include the well-known bands you mention - I take no responsibility for how others chose to interpret the title!

As an example of what I intended, I might mention Canada's Ian Thomas - a superb performer, but who is known outside the country more as the writer of hit covers by mainstream acts like Santana, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, America, and Chicago. One of the best end-to-end albums of the 80s is Thomas' The Runner.

[harry h]

Any fan of Progressive Rock or more fondly known as PROG might enjoy the works of THE FLOWER KINGS who hail from Sweden. Anyone who enjoys YES, King Crimson and early Genesis is sure to find this band of interest. I for one might be a tad bias as I have been part of their road crew since the late 90's and have traveled all across the US and Europe with them. If you have the time please do check them out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPSQDbW9QjY

Peace

Wow, this is really good!  I was, am a big Crimson/Fripp fan and this fits right in.

[beetle]

Flower Kings, eh? I'm listening to 'Rising The Imperial' right now. Some Magic Pie next.

[Sheepdog]

Richard Thompson, Leo Kottke, and Renaissance are all really superb.

John Prine is the fellow I think of who never met with the success he deserved. He's one of those guys who many folks aren't hip to, but has written stuff that everybody knows: "Angel From Montgomery" (which he wrote for Bonnie Raitt), "Hello in There," "Sam Stone," just to name a few. Truly a great country/folk artist.

[Shorty]

Lucinda Williams 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsr-j6DH3xE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-XJ1ROQLHk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ-VgByTctI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDq80rYhO_w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xMhDC_RcQ4

[redrider90]

The Siegel Schwall Band ( Rock-Blues) Chicago circa the 1970's
You tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtyKywFFb0k

Corky Siegel could blow the harmonica with the best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KbR-ynZLlI

[Waltr]

I was a big fan of "Go" 
Stomu Yamashta   had the likes of Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola, Klaus Schulze Michael Shrieve.
so much Talent .
not to be confused with the current punk band called "go"

I still play GO occasionally, when I am alone and can crank it up.  I grew up in Warren Ohio and used to go see Joe Walsh play pre James Gang in a band called The Measels.  Became a James Gang Fan.

I second King Crimson:       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsW--Sh7YE

[normzone]

I've got no additions, just some footprints in the stream -

Over the course of the years I saw these bands from this thread:

Renaissance
Gentle Giant
King Crimson
Fairport Convention
And Stanley Clarke when he was with Return to Forever

And I have tickets to see King Crimson next week in Los Angeles.

[Guido Valvole]

Three pages and nobody's mentioned the Welsh band Man?!? The best San Francisco psychedelic rock & roll band to ever come out of Wales. So good that John Cipollina joined them for a while. Think Allman Bros + Quicksilver Messenger Service, even without Cipollina. QMS was another that should have been better-known but internal problems did them in.
This is off the album with Cipollina, Maximum Darkness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqMT9sb5GAw
cr

[twowings]

Hupmobile....oh, wait..."Bands" not "Brands"...sorry!