In my opinion, it's not a question of popularity or being "known" rather than a question of how they are remembered or ranked in influence. In today's world, where younger folks musical foundation is hip hop or top 40, a strong case could be made that the Beatles are now under rated. I've seen it in threads here where posters actually ranked Michael Jackson higher than the Beatles...
The Beach Boys, hands down. Maybe not purely rock n roll - but rock, pop, and psychedelia rolled into one when Brian Wilson was in his peak creative form. The surf stuff they are most famous for is the worst of their catalogue, and you can thank Mike Love for taking the Beach Boys' name and touring the casino circuit as a nostalgia act for that. Pet Sounds, Smile, Sunflower, and Friends albums *chef kiss* It's some of the best music ever made.
Because most listeners are not aware of their real catalog - the deep, dark cuts and intricate layered chords and progressions Brian Wilson wrote and arranged. If I was only familiar with the surf stuff, I would think they are overrated as hell. But the lack of awareness of their better, non-surf stuff is why I think they are underrated.
good point, but I just don't think the listening audience undervalues 'the deep, dark cuts' anymore. The Beach Boys may have at one time been dismissed as a surf band, but I don't think that's been a widely-held view of the band for a long, long time.
I don't know. Pet Sounds is universally in the conversation for best album of all time. Though, it probably was underrated at the time because it was so different/new. I agree that their post-Pet Sounds (and post-Smile) output is somewhat underrated From wikipedia
massively popular band that should be even more massively popular - the kinks. they should be in the conversation with the stones and beatles. i think the singer had a drug bust which prevented them from touring the united states. they never really broke in america the same way the other two did. also, maybe they were too "british" for american ears and sensibilities. as big as they were, they should have been bigger. hugely influential band that should be getting more recognition for the path they blazed - janes addiction. i think a lot of young people dont even know who they are, but they were at the forefront of the whole "alternative"/generation x music and were massively influential. you dont really hear them come up in conversations of greatest bands from that era like you do with nirvana, soundgarden, pearl jam, ect. but they should be. sinead o'connor - for same reasons as janes...ground zero for all those 90's female artists from alanis morrissette to tori amos to jewel and all those other lilith fair acts. women who wanted to take control of their careers, images and music. sinead did it first. likes janes, she kind of fell of the map in terms of the recognition she should be getting. xtc - often called the beatles of the 80's. some of the best guitar-pop songs you wiil ever hear. a vast catalogue of great stuff and most people have never heard them. one of my personal favorite bands ever. like the beatles, they stopped touring early in their career so that held them back from more success. and like the kinks, i think their music might be too british for american tastes.
She released her first album the same year as Sarah McLachlan, who actually founded the Lilith Fair. Given that, I would say calling O'Conner ground zero for those acts is not fair. Sarah Mac was ground zero.
