Your favorite LP nobody has ever heard of


I prefer threads that talk about music than gear...and here is one. I assume everybody has a "go to"LP in their collection. A record that has formed a deep connection. A record you are protective of. A record you want to keep to yourself. A record so personal it hurts to reveal. For me it is... the Church...the Blurred Crusade.
128x128phasecorrect
You want obscure?
Aliotta, Haynes and Jeremiah: Very nice wooden music group (Hit "Lake Shore Drive")
Silver Metre: Short lived Hard Rock/Psyc San Francisco band from 1970s. Members from Blue Cheer, Jeff Beck group et al.
lots of great picks, though i'd agree that many aren't especially obscure (who needs rules, right?). a few more:
love nut, bastards of melody--a power pop masterpiece with really big hooks and tight playing. great cover of "green tambourine". (the principal's subsequent band, myracle brah, is also excellent, if overly beatle-esque). available on spotify.
the neats, crash at crush--intense, loud folk rock not too far removed from rem. the singer has a really deep, cool voice. i've never seen this stuff on cd, but well worth tracking down.
Wow the Neats!...brings back memories...one of Boston's great enigmas..."another broken dream" from their debut LP has a killer bass line...also like label mates the Lyres...another forgotten band from this era...the Broadcasters
the lyres were fantastic-- the frontman was genuinely demented. i dug all the boston bands of that era--the real kids, the neighborhoods (whose "high hard one" would fit nicely on this forum), mission of burma (who are still around), volcvano suns...
Anyone ever hear of Colin Scot?.

Or how about Pinafore Days by Stackridge which I believe was a George Martin produced record and probably the groups best known release, at least in the US.
For me it's Steven Wilson, Grace for Drowning (wonderfully recorded progressive rock, some portions mellow and beautiful, other parts are heavier) and also any number of albums by his former band Porcupine Tree, such as Fear of a Blank Planet, In Absentia, or Stupid Dream.

I've turned a few friends on to him but outside of that, I feel like I'm the only one who's ever heard of him.
Many selections are way to mainstream... Doobie Brothers/Joe Walsh(lol)! Also does the OP want only vinyl releases?
Everybody is welcome! Cmon on in...the eayrt is warm!...seriously, I put this in the analogue section in order to improve my used LP shopping knowledge/skills...but all suggestions are valid...also...what is mainstream to one person may not be to another...let's not judge...Love people!
Trip Shakespeare... Applehead Man...one of Minneapolis's best kept secrets from the 80s...strange psych lyrics, funky bass, Matt Wilson criminally underrated guitarist...
True, its not called the mini-apple for nothing !
Even though its really like the mini-Toronto.
the Flaming Lips are a bit mainstream but I am with you Yoshimi is one hell of a song
Anyone ever hear of "Book of invasions: a Celtic symphony" by Horslips?

🐎👄
Loomisjohnson,

If you're going to include 80's Boston bands, then any album by O Positive, Scruffy the Cat, or Tribe has to qualify. I'm especially fond of O Positive's debut Only Breathing.
Schubert u nailed it...mini Toronto... With plenty of Norwegians... Minnasoooda...u betcha there Olga! But hard to beat in the 80s...Prince, the Time,Mats,jayhawks,husker due, souls asylum,suburbs, run westy run,cows, blue hippos, zuzus petals, babes in toyland,27 various, magnolias,urban guerrillas, the phones, mile one, the wallets, gear daddies,rank strangers, the bastards,12 rods, balloon guy, polera....
Speaking of Toronto...the Kings...the Kings are here... Cool quasi-new wave from the Great North...April Wine another guilty pleasure... Canadians know how to rock!
armstrod, i saw o positive in boston (the ratskeller maybe?) and they were great-i still remember 'em from 30 years ago. the throbbing lobster label was the place to be back then. any memory of the primotons or cowboy mouth (different from the louisiana band of the same name; this was insanely hooky devo-ish pop with weird synth parts).
Phasecorrect, don't know about all that, but more importantly still has the Minnesota and St.Paul Chamber bands , the U and Macalester.
Plus many Hmong beauties which even Toronto doesn't have !
Hahaaaa...nice...boggles my mine when someone says they have never had pho...its breakfast food in Nam...cheap, flavorful, with variety options... Good stuff...too bad the weather in MSP is dreadful....
It's an LP of 1959 field recordings of obscure Mississippi bluesmen. The performances are raw and electrifying. Even better, its a superb recording. On the right gear you can hear birds chattering in the trees way off to the side, seemingly from outside your room, on one track. On another you can hear the floorboards creaking under the musician. There's a duet between a fiddle player and guitar player that has such precise images that you can perceive them moving about slightly during the song. The last song on the second side is an astounding recording of a music therapy session in a mental hospital.
Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel " A Closer Look " Love this LP,but not many others seem to have heard it ,,or like it once they have heard it. There are a few on this thread I will have to check out.
Audiogon seems to have trimmed off the subject line where I gave the title and label. The album is "Country Negro Jam Session" on Arhoolie.
Stepstone, Walt Michael & Co., Flying Fish Records. Hudson River Country Music.
Phasecorrect, bad winters are a blessing. you get 3 times the joy in spring and summer as someone who lives in CA,AZ or FL etc.
NO joke.
Roshamon on Carlton Records. Possibly recorded by Robert Fine but definitely cut by George Piros. Laurence Rosenthal and Leonard Bernstein combine efforts to produce an amazing soundtrack and the LP is mind bogglingly good sounding.
Myles, can you give more information? I'm a fan of Kurosawa films, including the soundtracks from many. But I'm unaware of anything done by Bernstein, et. al.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LtXTWGU9G0
The music in the movie Yojimbo was rather nice, too. Course, you could just get the DVD.
http://www.discogs.com/Laurence-Rosenthal-Rashomon/master/646297

Rosenthal and Bernstein collaborated on the score.
Gabriel Dorman - Give That Dog Some Peace. Bought this at his bands performance at the Metropole in Pittsburgh, PA back in the early 90's. My small group were pretty much the only ones in the place for a going away party. I was the only one paying attention. It is still one of my favorites in my collection. I've never heard anything about them before or ever since.
Howlin Wind is a great album. But, I like "Squeezing Out Sparks" even more.
Here's one I'll bet few of you have ever heard of:
'Water Bearer' by Sally Oldfield, Mike Oldfield's sister.
Her music is folk pop with lots of bouncing tinkly guitar, piano, light percussion and synthesizer. The lyrics are typical early '70s earnest mystic spirituality and joy of life, hope for the future and love of humanity. Her voice is okay-- a bit husky and warm and sexless-- which suits her tunes nicely. (There is also an intrusive 'classical' tenor who almost ruins two of the songs.)
But the songs, if you can stand them, are sometimes so beautiful and moving that for about the whole of the first side and most of the second it is easy to give in to them. (She will undoubtedly strike most of you as sentimental, comically self-satirizing, and ridiculous. This record-- the only one of hers that is any good-- is a very personal taste.)
tom ze brazil classics4, im not sure how obscure but id never heard of him until my wife whose brazilian turned me onto him wierd fun head boppin listen.
"Shadowfax", A Windham-Hill half-speed master.
Also Michael Hedges "Aerial Boundaries", half-speed master from the same stable.

"Shadowfax" was purchased new at the time of release but "Aerial Boundaries" was only available to me as a tape copy until I found a pristine 2nd hand Windham-Hill example several years ago.
Music/score from the picture Under Fire, the Nick Nolte flick. Pat Methany on guitar....great stuff. The vinyl is still available (about 6 dollars or so)
What I find interesting about this thread is how few classic jazz, both vocals and instrumentals, and how few classical albums are listed. There is a whole different world of music to discover out there guys. Not raggin' on ya ... just want to expand the musical taste a bit.

A great jazz recordings:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Little-Band-Big-Jazz-LP-Conte-Candoli-All-Stars-Crown-VG-Play-Tested-/221639967334?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item339ac58266

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HOWARD-RUMSEY-Music-For-Lighthousekeeping-1957-STEREO-LP-VG-VG-/251310560281?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3a8346d419

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CANNONBALL-ADDERLEY-KNOW-WHAT-I-MEAN-DUTCH-RIVERSIDE-LABEL-REALLY-NICE-/371191158375?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item566cb79667

http://www.ebay.com/itm/June-Christy-STILL-IN-PLASTIC-Something-Cool-SM-516-Capitol-12-LP-NEAR-MINT-/161665493324?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25a403a94c

Here's some classical albums:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JOHN-WILLIAMS-GUITAR-ALAN-LOVEDAY-VIOLIN-PAGANINI-GUITAR-TRIO-RARE-STEREO-LP-/400899201373?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d5774595d

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Julian-Bream-John-Williams-Live-2xLP-1979-EXCELLENT-RCA-Gatefold-/361053417074?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item541075ee72

These are just great sounding records and performances to tickle your ear drums.

Happy listening ...
In addition, I listened to a lot of the recommendations made in this thread on "Spotify." Of course this doesn't apply to everyone who made the recommendations, but for those who it does apply to ... how in hell can you stand all of that artificial digital reverb? Good grief ... we spend tons of money to recreate music in its natural state ... and what I'm hearing in so many cases is electronic processed gorp. If I wanted to hear this kind of mish-mash, I'd attend more audio shows like CES.
Oregonpapa, all great choices, but please read the title again for the actual reason for the thread.

As usual, I do feel like the pot calling the kettle black, but my guess is you may know some gems not commonly known.
Acman 3 ...

Okay, try this one: Dean Martin: "Dream with Dean."

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DEAN-MARTIN-DREAM-WITH-DEAN-REPRISE-RECORDS-R-6123-/201317140974?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2edf6fc9ee

Or Sammy Davis Jr & Larindo Almeida Plays."

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SAMMY-DAVIS-JR-Sings-LAURINDO-ALMEIDA-Plays-REPRISE-Mood-Soft-Jazz-Vocals-LP-/361267259244?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item541d34e76c

Buy these two albums and I swear you will NEVER go back to electronically processed music drenched in artificial digital reverb again. These two albums will show you exactly why we spend the mega bucks on our audio equipment. Trust me on this ... you won't be sorry.

Happy listening ...
Donnie Iris "Back on the Streets"? Sorry I have a relatively small vinyl collection and that's the best I could do. For CD it would be "Give Em All a Big Fat Lip" by the Whigs.
Tommy Bolin "Private Eyes". this is the best of Tommy's limited solo out put and is just fantastic both composition wise and sound.

This is guitar driven, jam, straight a head rock and roll. Too soon gone. If this was the direction he was headed more people would be in awe of him today. Check it out and enjoy.