Blue Moon Playlist Review Club - Season 2 - Episode 32 - threespires - Could have been a Contender (pg 472)

I know i'm not on here often but Rory Gallagher is not underrated. Anybody that knows just a little about Rock music knows and has listened to Rory. He is recognised as one of if not the greatest rock/blues guitarist to have drawn breath. Global sales of his album top 30million.

Will be a moot point if Coatigan convinces Eamo to join him in his abstinence pledge.

(I reckon some of the newer/younger peeps on the album thread might not be familiar you know. He's been dead 30 years now and he doesn't have the profile of the likes of a Hendrix etc)
 
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Back in the day, I thought the punk supergroup’The Rich Kids’
comprising of Glen Matlock, Midge Ure and Rusy Egan would have made it.
‘Rich Kids’
 
Surely literal death disqualifes them, if it is the reason that stopped them making it big. Be odd to for example bracket Jeff Buckley and the Delgados as never having made it big.
Ah Jeff. What a talent.
Agree though. It’s the reason I’ll leave Mic Christopher out of it.
 
I know i'm not on here often but Rory Gallagher is not underrated. Anybody that knows just a little about Rock music knows and has listened to Rory. He is recognised as one of if not the greatest rock/blues guitarist to have drawn breath. Global sales of his albums top 30million.
Agree Sadds. I’ll leave him out of it,….. reluctantly. Any excuse to play Rory.
Played the Irish Tour ‘74 album at the weekend. The new 4 album remaster.
Just knocks me out every time. Never tire of hearing it.
 
Will be a moot point if Coatigan convinces Eamo to join him in his abstinence pledge.

(I reckon some of the newer/younger peeps on the album thread might not be familiar you know. He's been dead 30 years now and he doesn't have the profile of the likes of a Hendrix etc)

Jimi Hendrix was quoted as saying "I don't know, ask Rory Gallagher" when asked how it felt to be the greatest guitarist in the world.

Maybe you are right but I have difficulty getting my head round he was underrated. Maybe he deserved to be more famous but thats a different thing.
 
Jimi Hendrix was quoted as saying "I don't know, ask Rory Gallagher" when asked how it felt to be the greatest guitarist in the world.

Maybe you are right but I have difficulty getting my head round he was underrated. Maybe he deserved to be more famous but thats a different thing.
He didn’t court the limelight.
A guitarist’s guitarist.
Probably a discussion for a different thread, but do you ever look at any of the first reaction videos on YouTube.
I love sitting back with a glass of Teelings or some such and seeing a new generation being introduced to Rory and being blown away
 
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For someone truly underrated, how about Joanna Newsom. My favourite album of hers is Ys. Favourite track, Emily.

She may well stay underrated as she is not on Spotify :-( It is however hers and her record labels choice. It would be fair to suggest that Newsom/Drag City are not fans of Spotify and fair play to them.
 
I'm at a bit of a handicap here because I mostly listen to obscure music so...
Digging through my files, one thing that did pop up is so obscure it's not even on YTM.

Artist: Mostly Autumn
Album: The last bright light.

I've never heard of these before or since I was given the CD 20 years ago by a work colleague.

I will admit to it being a guilty pleasure and I've listened to it more than once.

Here's the wiki link: ) because I can't find a stream lol).


I'm surprised they never went mainstream. It's a good album.
 
I'm at a bit of a handicap here because I mostly listen to obscure music so...
Digging through my files, one thing that did pop up is so obscure it's not even on YTM.

Artist: Mostly Autumn
Album: The last bright light.

I've never heard of these before or since I was given the CD 20 years ago by a work colleague.

I will admit to it being a guilty pleasure and I've listened to it more than once.

Here's the wiki link: ) because I can't find a stream lol).


I'm surprised they never went mainstream. It's a good album.

Found a live version of the title track on Spotify so have added that.
 
A life worth living - Aerogramme

An often overlooked band at the start of a bit of a mini-movement, with a notable contribution to the wider 'scene', but in themselves not a big name.

A prog-indie band whose sound has echoes of anything from Tool to Radiohead, they were around with early Idlewild, Biffy etc, and there is no doubt they had some influence on each others. But for some reason, they didn't make it as big as the others.

A couple of them did then go on to form The Undwinding Hours, later on Chvrches, and produce albums for The Twilight Sad, all of which are probably better know than the somewhat forgotten Aerogramme. Given the range to their sound, it was actually not easy picking a song. Indescretion no.243, for example being a song with a very different feel, had I gone for that.
 
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Agonising over my second pick.
I feel the likes of The Stunning were a far superior band to U2, but are probably not known outside Ireland.
Similarly, The Walls, which are a spinoff from The Stunning, with the two Wall brothers being the spine, wrote some great stuff and I have seen them live.
They are brilliant musicians.

But, I think I have put stuff by both in here before.

I think I’ll go with Aslan for my second pick.
They were being tipped for super stardom until their singer Christy Dignam, succumbed to drug addiction which held them back for years.
To their detriment but credit, the rest of the band stuck with Christy and didn’t ditch him. It meant that all we heard from them over the space of a decade practically, were the same two or three songs that were played to death over here.

Christy died in 2023, but he had rehabilitated and as a frontman, it has to be admitted, he was charismatic.

Here’s their best known song:
 
Always thought Graham Parker should’ve been more successful than he was ,though he did have a long career, Unfortunately for him Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson suited the new wave scene better.
‘Silly Thing’
 
I've no idea whether Temples' subsequent three albums sold more than the firs but if there's any justice, they shouldn't have. Sun Structures was a really promising debut and, to my ears at least, everything else I've listened to is wishy-washy. Hence this nomination, from Sun Structures, obviously.

The Guesser - Temples
 
I've no idea whether Temples' subsequent three albums sold more than the firs but if there's any justice, they shouldn't have. Sun Structures was a really promising debut and, to my ears at least, everything else I've listened to is wishy-washy. Hence this nomination, from Sun Structures, obviously.

The Guesser - Temples
I have the Temples albums. Good psych rock band in my opinion
 
Would someone like Boo Hewerdine qualify? His music is probably too 'lightweight' for some herein but The Bible had two well reviewed albums that didn't do much commercially and though he's had a good career mostly as a songwriter he's hardly a household name.
 
She may well stay underrated as she is not on Spotify :-( It is however hers and her record labels choice. It would be fair to suggest that Newsom/Drag City are not fans of Spotify and fair play to them.
I'll post this so anyone interested can have a listen. I used this song as my go to to unwind on the flight back from London to Edinburgh after a hard week in the city. It always worked (or maybe it was the double G&T).

 
Would someone like Boo Hewerdine qualify? His music is probably too 'lightweight' for some herein but The Bible had two well reviewed albums that didn't do much commercially and though he's had a good career mostly as a songwriter he's hardly a household name.
Funnily enough, I've played "Crystal Palace" a few times this year.
 
Funnily enough, I've played "Crystal Palace" a few times this year.

I would suggest that though it's of its time that should have made some sort of dent in the charts. I remember Graceland being played on the radio but i don't think it even managed the top 40?
 

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