Suggest one obsure album we all should hear

A few Artists I rate highly previously mentioned ,but different albums.My fav Dave Edmonds is Tracks on Wax 4.My favourite Kevin Ayers is The Confessions of Dr Dream -Ollie Halsall really howling on this album.Dont believe The All Music critics who may not have listened to it .My fav Jade Warrior is Last Autumns Dream ,a little different to Kite et al .Phil Manzanera’s Diamond Head is my favorite Manzanera album. Micky Jupp’s Juppanese.And my obscure choice would be (maybe not so obscure for antipodean members)Darcy Clay- Jesus I was Evil -he only put out one ep before his untimely death.About Darcy-https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nat-music/audio/2018663590/jesus-he-was-exceptional-rememb...

David Lindley - El Rayo X
Elvis Costello - Live at Hollywood High (EP)

these may or may not be obscure to you but....

Mark Hollis (self titled)
Go Betweens - Sixteen Lovers Lane
Paul Kelly - Songs from the South

The last 2 are Australian and I have no idea if they are known elsewhere. I rate PK above Dylan (oooh)

Check out Jamestown Revival and album Utah; Duke Ellington The Great Paris Concert;  Frank Zappa The Big Swifts.  So much out there.....this is a fun and informative thread.

Super Session; Bloomfield, Kopper and Stills 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnIFxKTxP5s&ab_channel=MrRsgibson

Denezy52

Some of my obscure and loved albums; 
Captain Beyond/ Captain Beyond
Guitar Noir/ The Aqua Velvets
Hot Rats / Frank Zappa
Soulive /No place like Soul
Panzerballett/ Stuka
808 State /ex:el

Thank you @cd318 for your recommendation of Tallulah Gosh. Been listening to them and Heavenly. They were before my time but appreciate you helping me explore them.

Great record. FWIW, I was very much around in 1971 and nothing released by Crosby and his various affiliated cohorts was considered obscure...much closer to mainstream.

   Not exactly "obscure" but definitely stand alone. 
   Roxy Music / Roxy Music
   Al Green / The Belle Album
   Chicago / Chicago Transit Authority
   

Im sure a genre not yet represented in the myriad of posts, but one that has definitely impacted my 35 year “closed for new material” playlist. 
Genre - Symphonic Metal
Band - Nightwish (lead by the incredible lead singer Floor Jansen)
Album - Storytime (live at Waccen music festival 2013)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JYjIlHWBAVo

@bdp24 

Thank you. I just listened to some NRBQ & Notorious Cherry Bombs on YouTube. What a hoot & good playing. I really enjoyed the NCB's song "Its Hard To Kiss The Lips (at Night That Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long)" I absolutely Love bands that don't take themselves overly serious. This is a characteristic I believe I see in both bands. And its generally good musicians  who have that quality. After playing in local bands for a long portion of my life, I know its very hard for most local musicians to entertain a crowd

Fat Mattress

CAN - Tago Mago. Not obscure to Krautrock aficionados, but I had no idea they existed until 6 months ago. Truly amazing

Dust - Hard Attack
Aorta - Aorta
Don Harris - Elevations
Rolling Stones - Liver than You'll Ever Be (bootleg circa 1969 San Fran)
Shadowfax - The Dreams of Children 

Great thread....
James Talley Trying Like the Devil
Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia Tiger Rose
Another for Blodwyn Pig Ahead Rings Out

A band (solo artist?) called Whitley put out a great alternative pop album in 2007 called The Submarine. You can check it out on the streaming services. It's reflective, introspective, and packed with cool sounds.

@audioguy85-nice to see Lydia Lunch's name come up.  But to really appreciate her work, get the next release (if you don't already have it) "13.13".  Not for the casual listener by a long shot.  She collaborated with many artists over the years, some well known.  Many of those are well worth a listen.  Her compilation "Widowspeak" assembles many early recordings and long out of print singles.  

 ( Donald Fagen- "The Nightfly." )  I can't imagine the album  was ever      " obscure"   . I recently came across  two sealed copies   MFSL  Onestep  in the bins at  The Turntable Store - Stereo, Turntable, Vinyl Records, Stereo . $500 big ones:)  They restored my Luxman and did a fantastic job.

Perhaps Walter Beckers produced China Crisis is a bit more obscure  https://www.bing.com/videos/search?view=detail&mid=2E0A6E2A723F34F0312F2E0A6E2A723F34F0312F&...

So "obscure" and wonderful  - Jazz Funk , early 80's The Markley Band . https://youtu.be/Z1GtyaQYLgQ

Rock and Roll - so  Gritty  check out     Pickins - https://youtu.be/KEnhvLUAvP0
The guitarist would dance on the tables ..stepping on whatever got in his way . 

Prog Rock - PFM - Far from  obscure in Italy or Europe however I rarely hear about them in the US .  PFM* - The Award-Winning Marconi Bakery (1976, Red labels, Vinyl) | Discogs

"Windows"  - so obscure cant find them on You tube  but you can buy  albums :)  Windows - Windows | Releases, Reviews, Credits | Discogs
Once hailed as the next Steely Dan -  well that didn't happen 

@cd318 
Obscure can be interpreted in different ways. Obscure(IMO) means the amount produced not whether an individual is familiar with an artist. Since this an audiophile site our recording knowledge far exceeds the general public.                       

I am happy to have the recent addition of a streamer to make checking out this music so simple!  

Lars Erstrand and Four Brothers

https://www.discogs.com/Lars-Erstrand-And-Four-Brothers-Lars-Erstrand-And-Four-Brothers/release/3568...

H U E R C O  S.

For Those Of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have)

Lydia Lunch, Queen of Siam. A bit of an oddity, but some very "interesting" music, to say the least. Actually featured in Stereophile. Noted for its fantastic sonics. This is of course on an LP. Just grabbed a "SEALED" copy off Ebay upon listening to a bit of it via YouTube.
https://www.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/lydia_lunch_queen_of_siam/index.html
Another is SIL AUSTIN - AGAIN PLAYS PRETTY. Great record!! Fantastic sound.
Lastly, JOHNNY CASH “STORY OF A BROKEN HEART”. You will not help but tap your feet, great songs that will stick in your head. Yeah I know, you said one....well I could not help myself😁

One last recommendation for the jazz genre.....Charles Lloyd/Jumping the Creek. Try it, you'll like it!

@dayglow,

"IMO any recording that sold over 100k copies is not obscure regardless of when it was recorded."


That’s the great thing about music - worthy albums eventually tend to become less obscure over time.

By the time I got into music the Velvet Underground were a well known band and yet there were many stories that this near legendary band had broken up mainly from lack of commercial success.

Wasn’t it largely through the promotional efforts of David Bowie that the Velvet Underground gradually attained their deserved current status?

I’d also agree that it’s difficult to call the Nightly an obscure album nowadays, but for me it certainly was about 20 years ago. Same for Nick Drake, who’s lack of commercial success definitely contributed towards his suicide.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that genuinely great obscure albums are a threatened species especially nowadays with such easy access to them.

Anyway here’s one that might still be obscure for now and might not qualify for being great either, but it might be of interest to fans of high energy Pop.

Especially those who aren’t too bothered about foreign language lyrics.

Cola Jet Set - Guitarras Y Tamborres

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lmx-AnQLZ9MFcMyNyDZi2pzw0865Hbby8

''Sons of Somerled'' by Steve McDonald

@bdp247                                                                                                             yeah, a long list to read through.  I thought I scoured it well before adding that gem.

Some danger of repeating a name when the thread is 8 pp. long, but I did not see this so far.

Lee Moses, Time and Place.

+1 on Spirit's Dr. Sardonicus. Early concept type of album, with very catchy tunes.

Try Jane Siberry   'No borders here'  Quirky, layered, kind of brilliant writing, once you've gotten used to her style.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1T4NxHk1L4

Haven't seen any shoegaze yet. 

Boards of Canada  "The Campfire Headphase"  (vinyl preferable to CD)

My Bloody Valentine  "m b v"  (12" came with the CD)

Flying Saucer Attack "Distance" (2017 remastered vinyl is superb)

And something not related,

Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man  "out of season"   (definitely not Portishead)

@buckhorn_cortez.

"Ry Cooder - Bop Till You Drop (the first digitally recorded album which came out on CD and not on vinyl)"

Half right...it was the first digitally recorded album. However it was released on vinyl on 1979 (When I bought it), a year before the CD version was released. Per Discogs.

@dayglow I agree.
Someone mentioned The Nightly, which went platinum in the US & UK.

I love Jamie Johnson.....CD's are better than vinyl

TV Priest.


https://youtu.be/QypJHi-89HQ

Spirit, Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus

N

Howard Roberts Is A Dirty Guitar Player (1963) - The Howard Roberts Quartet

I hate to be negative but to many of these suggestions are not obscure. IMO any recording that sold over 100k copies is not obscure regardless of when it was recorded. We as audiophiles can do better!!!

pehere & lpretiring -- I actually bought the Lord Such and Heavy Friends new in the '70's.  I quickly relocated it to the nearby Moby Disc(?) used record bin.  Maybe one of you guys actually has my copy!

edcyn, I can narrow the field dramatically. I never heard of it. I just got a kick out of the bands name and an old time reference for Woolworth's.
pehere has it.

@richopp: Yes! Direct-2-discs LP’s are the highest-fidelity music source I’ve heard. And not just Sheffields; I have a few on Crystal Clear and Vandersteen that are equally great.

@mattz: If you read all the entries on this thread, you’ll find a previous mention of The Shaggs LP. It was brought back into print in the 1970’s by Rounder Records at the insistence of NRBQ drummer Tom Ardolino, a big fan.

Speaking of NRBQ, any album by this generally-overlooked band is worthy of inclusion here. Fans of this combo include Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and myself (I have 17 LP’s and 11 CD’s of theirs in my library). Start with the Tiddly Winks album, which includes a scorching Rock ’n’ Roll classic entitled "Want You To Feel Good Too" (real gentlemen ;-). Keith Richards offered bassist Joey Spampinato the job of replacing the departing Bill Wyman in "The Greatest Rock ’n’ Roll Band In The World", but he declined, electing to remain in the greatest Rock ’n’ Roll band in the world. ;-)

Another overlooked gem is the sole album (CD only) by The Notorious Cherry Bombs, a super-group whose members included Rodney Crowell, Vince Gill, Tony Brown, Richard Bennett, Hank Devito, and Eddie Bayers. What a band! Great writing, singing, playing, and production. Once you’ve heard "Wait A Minute", you won’t be able to get it out of your head! I've been known to play the song a dozen times in a row.

Anything by Rory Gallagher....quite the rocker!

pehere & lpretiring -- I actually bought the Lord Such and Heavy Friends new in the '70's.  I quickly relocated it to the nearby Moby Disc(?) used record bin.  Maybe one of you guys actually has my copy!

Obscure,,, = Tipsy, Trip Tease.
You wanted obscure so go ahead and listen to the whole thing in one go (with or without enhancement) pretty out there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-C9YGtsuw0

Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends.  (Bought in a cut out bin at Woolworth's early 70's).

Now we're talkin!

There's a couple mentioned so far that I'm going to check out. 

Small Faces' Ogden's Nut Gone Flake is  an album that I've often seen mentioned but the lack of a single probably resulted in it not getting much radio play.

The other is the Moody Blues In Search of the Lost Chord by the Moody Blues. It's a little wordy and metaphysical but sometimes that's not a bad thing.

I gave Van Dyne Park's Song Cycles a quick listen earlier, it's got great sonics but that voice was a bit of a struggle.


Anyway, Richard Hawley's Truelove's Gutter is my favourite album of his. Very playable with nothing there that makes me want to skip tracks.

Here's the relaxingly hypnotic Remorse Code off the album with an odd video.

https://youtu.be/xF3lD_0OTKQ

This Mortal Coil --Filigree& Shadow--Never knew I had this Gem was using when I just grabbed anything out of my 2k LP collection to check out a new Cartridge This Album is Killer for Sonics.

Donald Fagen- "The Nightfly."
Lyle Lovett- "Joshua Judges Ruth."

looks like no one mentioned The Shaggs

Any Sheffield DIRECT-TO-DISC album will open up your eyes and reveal the positives and negatives of your system IN YOUR ROOM.

Try it and see--it is remotely possible you might learn something!

Cheers!