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Get The Word Out - Classic Edition


CanAm

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Are there any bands from the 50's, 60's and 70's that were not "mainstream" but whose music you could highly recommend? I am eager to discover some rare gems in rock/folk/pop music in order to broaden my musical horizons and increase my CD collection.

Here are some somewhat obscure artists that I can recommend:

City Boy - an English group of the 1970's known for its melodic, hook-laden rock tunes. The band had several hits in the U.K., but to the best of my knowledge they were virtual unknowns in North America.

Smokie - an English pop/rock quartet that combined great musicianship with catchy tunes. I don't believe the band was very well known outside (and perhaps even inside) Britain, although its lead singer, Chris Norman, had a minor hit in North America with the song Stumblin' In, a duet with Suzi Quatro.

Walter Egan - this Californian had one hit called Magnet & Steel in the 1970's. The song is off the album Not Shy. I highly recommend this album if you like catchy tunes. Very reminiscent of the mid 1970's material of Fleetwood Mac. In fact, Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks both performed on this album. Egan did release at least one other album, but it was not nearly as good as Not Shy.

Piper - I don't know if this album is still available (I bought it from a delete bin), but if it is, I highly recommend it. Billy Squier is the band's lead guitarist and vocalist. Hard rocking and eminently enjoyable.

:guitar:

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If you can find any of their albums, you'll want to listen to The Move. It was Roy Wood, Bev Bevans, and Jeff Lynne's band before forming ELO. It was before the advent of their orchestral sound. They flat-out rocked! They dabbled in several different styles of music - hard rock, psychedelic, country rock, even some that might be considered punk today. And their concert antics would have put the Sex Pistols to shame.

:afro: :afro: :afro: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

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I have not read mention of Tommy Bolin here in the Songfacts boards, if there was I'm sorry I missed it. This man is one of the most under appreciated gutarists of the 70's. He only released two solo albums (Teaser, Private Eyes) but can be heard on Deep Purple and James Gang recordings. I suggest listening to "Teaser" first and my two favorite tracks "Wild Dogs" and the title track. "Private Eyes" is a more shallow effort but has two supreme guitar tracks, "Post Tostee" and "Shake The Devil."

From allmusic.com :

"It's hard to listen to the music of Tommy Bolin and not wonder what could've been if the exceptionally talented (and versatile) guitarist hadn't succumbed to a senseless drug overdose at the age of 25 — just as his career appeared to be taking off. In a recording career that lasted only several years, Bolin not only touched upon several styles (blues-rock, ballads, fusion, funk, reggae, and heavy metal), but showed that he could master each one — as evidenced by his two solo albums and various recordings with the likes of Zephyr, Billy Cobham, Alphonse Mouzon, the James Gang, Deep Purple, and Moxy."

:rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

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I am not sure if you will consider Gilbert O'Sullivan non mainstream. Though he had at least 3 hits that I can think of I would recommend picking up some of his albums. He had quite a few cute ditties and though very poppish they make you want to sing along.

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Piper - I don't know if this album is still available (I bought it from a delete bin), but if it is, I highly recommend it. Billy Squier is the band's lead guitarist and vocalist. Hard rocking and eminently enjoyable.

:guitar:

Wow!!! I saw these guys in concert!!! No lie!!

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loosen.jpg

The Sons Of Champlin are little-known outside of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Singer/songwriter/keyboard player/guitarist Bill Champlin founded this horn-powered group in 1966. Loosen Up Naturally was their tour de force debut album (a 2 LP set back in the vinyl days).

They are often compared to Chicago (Transit Authority), but I'd say The Sons are like Chicago kicked up a couple notches.

Interesting, Bill Champlin become a full-fledged member of Chicago in 1981. He is "a multi-instrumentalist with a gruff voice that allowed him to sing the parts previously taken by Terry Kath" (Kath, a founding member of Chicago, died from a bizarre accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head in 1978).

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Blue Cheer was known as the loudest band ever. The first ten rows of seats were blocked out at their shows to protect hearing (a nice PR stunt). They had two albums in the psychedelic era...Invincibus Eruptus and Louder Than God. The first has their one and only commercial success, the cover of Summertime Blues.

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Most people have heard "Mississippi Queen" by Mountain, but they've got a lot of other good stuff too. I think they only came out with 2 or 3 albums though, so I'd reccomend just getting their greatest hits CD. It's the heaviest southern rock I've ever heard.

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Most people have heard "Mississippi Queen" by Mountain, but they've got a lot of other good stuff too. I think they only came out with 2 or 3 albums though, so I'd reccomend just getting their greatest hits CD. It's the heaviest southern rock I've ever heard.

Mountain recorded songs that reminded you of southern rock, but Leslie West was born in New York, Felix Pappalardi in the Bronx, NY and Corky Laing was Canadian. Pappalardi produced Disraeli Gears for Cream.

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Thanks for all the great suggestions, guys. I've already ordered The Move's album Shazam from an online vendor. As for Mountain, I agree with the Batman. I have The Best of Mountain and it sure sounds like Southern rock to me. Mississippi Queen, while a commercial hit, is IMO, nowhere near their best song.

:guitar:

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Blue Cheer was known as the loudest band ever. The first ten rows of seats were blocked out at their shows to protect hearing (a nice PR stunt). They had two albums in the psychedelic era...Invincibus Eruptus and Louder Than God. The first has their one and only commercial success, the cover of Summertime Blues.

There's an urban legend that says that one of their concerts were so loud that a dog standing on a speaker exploded. I don't know if it's true or even possible though.

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Firstly, I should say hello.

I'm brand new here. This is my very first post.

Walter Egan - this Californian had one hit called Magnet & Steel in the 1970's. The song is off the album Not Shy. I highly recommend this album if you like catchy tunes. Very reminiscent of the mid 1970's material of Fleetwood Mac. In fact, Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks both performed on this album. Egan did release at least one other album, but it was not nearly as good as Not Shy.

I came across this thread when I googled "Walter Egan" and was thrilled to see someone reccomend his music. :coolio: I am a huge Egan fan and actually run a site dedicated to his music @ Walternative.com.

He has actually had a total of eight official solo studio albums and one official live album. He's also released five albums with his surf band The Malibooz and three with his country band the Brooklyn Cowboys.

I'm not a fan of the country stuff, but the rest of it is really great. "Not Shy" is a wonderful album, but I personally think his 1999 album "Walternative" is by far his best.

Incidentally, Egan isn't a Californian. He was born and raised in New York and currently resides in Tennessee.

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Welcome to Songfacts, Miss Vicky!!! I'm relatively new here but I heartily recommend this site. People here are extremely friendly and knowledgeable. It's sort of like having a very large and spread out extended family.

Thanks for the information about Walter Egan. I mistakenly assumed Egan was a Californian because he records there and his music has the same effect on me as the music of the Beach Boys. It makes me want to sing along and it makes me feel like it's summer (even when there is 2 feet of snow on the ground).

I was not aware that he has such a large body of work. I'll be sure to check out his other releases.

Thanks again for the info. I hope you decide to become a regular contributor.

:)

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Thanks for the welcome. ::

I'm glad to hear that the people here are very friendly. I'm a member of a few other music related message boards and sometimes the people there just get nasty. ::

It's totally understandable that you assumed Egan was from California. His music certainly has that sound and is heavily influenced by the Beach Boys. He also lived in L.A. for awhile back in the 70s and early 80s. If you really like the Beach Boys, you should check out Egan's surf band The Malibooz. Their 2002 album "Beach Access" is superb. You can download mp3 clips (ranging from 1-1 1/2 minutes in length) from that album and from all of Egan's albums at my website if anyone's interested.

He recently rereleased his first four albums on CD, the first two, Fundamental Roll and Not Shy, on one disc together and the other two, Hi Fi and The Last Stroll on one disc together. They can be purchased directly from him and he'll even autograph them for you. The info is available on my website and on the official site, WalterEgan.net. Walter is also in negotiations to release a "Best of" compilation. He does a lot of live performances in his hometown of Franklin Tennessee and quite a few in Nashville as well. I've never had the opportunity to see him, though.

Anyway, I'll try to participate here as much as possible, but I'm only knowledgeable about a few artists so I can't promise too much.

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Anyway, I'll try to participate here as much as possible, but I'm only knowledgeable about a few artists so I can't promise too much.

Actually, most of my musical knowledge has come from hanging around at songfacts. When I got here, I had just found out about classic rock, and I only really listened to my greatest hits CDs of Hendrix, Zeppelin, and AC/DC. After only about a year and a half, I know more about music then I ever thought I'd know, and own more CD's then I would have ever thought reasonable.

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I started really getting into classic rock back in 1997, when the Rumour's era lineup of Fleetwood Mac reunited (I am totally obsessed with their guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham). Though I've been listening to Tom Petty for as long as I can remember (first album I ever owned was Full Moon Fever. I was eight years old when that was released.) Before 97 I was totally obsessed with bands like Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Live, Bush, etc. Now I can't stand most recent music. I can't even tell most groups apart anymore.

BTW, is there a reasonable amount of cds to own? I have approx 400, a lot of which is classic rock and some folk.

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