Underrated

Is there a better band than “Gary Lewis and the Playboys”? Seriously. Whenever they come up on my Pandora I perk up. Even when singing about heartbreak, they make is sound sunny and fun. They are an extremely underrated band.

So, here’s my list of other underrated musical acts. This is a brief list and I may come back to this subject again, but here it begins.

1 – Stevie Ray Vaughn – Now, I understand that Stevie is a well respected guitarist. But, the fact is he belongs in the number two position behind Jimi Hendrix on any list of the greatest of all time. In many ways, he was better than Jimi because when he played the Blues, you felt it. The problem is that few people were exposed to him in his short career. I actually got the chance to see him a few months before he died when I attended the “Late Night with David Letterman” 10th Anniversary show he did in Los Angeles. He was just sitting in with the band, but he overwhelmed all the rest combined. Years later, I saw a video of him playing in a club. He didn’t look at his instrument one time during the set. I commented on this to a musician friend of mine and he replied, “Do you look at your feet when you walk?”

2 – Pink – Pink oftentimes gets lumped in with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilara. Funny thing is, back when they all started out she was considered the troubled one. Who knew? Anyway, the thing I love about Pink is that her music is personal; almost to the point of being voyeuristic. Her songs come from such a personal and vulnerable place that it feels like she’s truly pouring her heart out. It feels real and, unfortunately that is something that’s lacking in a lot of music today.

3 – Jethro Tull – OK, now, forget about the long haired ‘70s kid telling you “Disco Sucks”. All right, now that you have the image of a younger me that '70s kid out of your mind, think about it. First, they’re named after an English agricultural pioneer who developed the technology of planting seeds in neat rows. B – The lead singer is an anachronistic minstrel with a flute. That’s two self-imposed strikes against them. Still, they rock with tunes like “Aqualung” (Is there a better lyric than, “Snot is running down his nose”?) and “Thick as a Brick”. I once had the opportunity to listen to them on a really high end stereo system. It wasn’t until then that I really heard Ian Anderson’s voice. It's amazing! Behind all of the weirdness he could sing. But, it’s the combination of talent and strangeness that makes them really great. Plus, last I heard Ian owns a fish farm. Now that’s a Renaissance man.

4 – The Ramones – The reason “The Ramones” are on this list is that there is no way of overestimating their impact on music. The East Coast Beach Boys followed in the footsteps of “The New York Dolls” and crushed the fat heads of “Prog Rock” with the big stick of Punk. Stripping songs down to their bare essentials and playing them like they were beating a gutter rat. They were naturally rough without the prissy manufactured feel of the self-righteous, Johnny Rotten. Nor did they take things too seriously like Sid Vicious. And, they held it all together while their lead singer, Joey, and guitarist, Johnny, didn’t speak to each other for over fourteen years.

5 – Men at Work – That’s right, I said “Men at Work”. From their cockeyed singer, Colin Hay, to their flute playing (another underrated band with a flute!), Greg Ham, they were a pure, good time, devil may care band from a land down under. But, unlike the drama of INXS, the monotony of AC/DC, the undeniable sexiness of the Bee Gees or the unending boredom of Olivia Newton John, these guys felt like real Aussies. Like Russell Crowe, only nice. They were so good it almost made you want to eat Vegemite. I once saw these boys in concert at the old Salt Palace in Salt Lake. They had removed the front three sections of seats so everyone could just have a giant dance party. Somehow I ended up in front Greg Ham and about 10 feet from the speakers. When it was all over my cousin had his shirt hanging by one sleeve and we had to find his shoes. Sadly, my ears are still ringing.