lost and forgotten

Hot, Sexy, and Dead: Gene Clark’s No Other

Posted by funoka

Jan 282014

I was a little surprised to read that Gene Clark seems to be a touchstone for indie bands — and this Beach House-led tour and No Other revival is getting pretty good reviews. I had never listened to No Other, so I gave it a good spin over the weekend. For me, it was an ideal album to listen to on a cold, grey winter day when a sick kid means you are canceling all plans and staying home.

It is like listening to an album I’ve heard before, but never heard, if that makes any sense. The backstory is interesting — and I guess No Other is among the pantheon of great “lost” rock albums.

What do you think? Have you heard No Other…and is it a great lost rock album?

“Lost” Albums

Posted by funoka

Oct 222013

Patty Griffin’s 2000 album Silver Bell finally got a proper release this year — many of the songs had been kicking around on other albums and covered by other artists — most notably the Dixie Chicks. Natalie Maines put the title track on her solo album this year. I’ve kind of been wearing it out the last couple of weeks. I don’t why A&M finally put it out now…evidently it had reached “lost” album status in Americana circles. Being Robert Plant’s girlfriend can’t hurt either.

“Silver Bell” and the fact that I finally finished Pete Townshend’s autobiography, where he spends a lot of time writing about the Lifehouse sessions, got me thinking about “lost” albums. As a kid, and Who obsessive for a while, I was happy to find remnants on Who Came First in the cutouts. I always really liked “Pure and Easy” and “(Nothing is Everything) Let’s See Action.” I had not listened to “Pure and Easy” for 20 years — to my ears, it’s pretty good and far superior to the Who version on “Odds & Sods.” I think it would be cool if Pete could stitch together a Lifehouse release like Brian Wilson did for Smile.

What “lost albums” are worth the time to dig up in your book?

Coulda Been a Contendah

Posted by tonyola

Dec 122011

I confess to being rather pleased that I managed to stump the Hall on my recent Mystery Date suggestion. Even sweeter was the fact that the song in question was a somewhat fluffy pop confection rather than some obscure and arcane bit of prog, which I could have so easily submitted. Mr. Moderator revealed it to be “A Night on the Town (With Snow White)” by Crack the Sky on last week’s Saturday Night Shut-in program. Mr. Mod helpfully went into the history of an all-but-forgotten band that in a kinder universe would have been one of the major acts of the late 1970s. I want to emphasize here that the Mystery Date song is not really representative of CTS’s ability. I present my evidence to the Hall jury…after the jump!