For me it's Stephen Stills' "Manassas". I have to admit that I only came around to this record maybe 7 or 8 years ago when a friend turned me on to it. If I'm not mistaken it was released in 1972 and I think it fell victim of that early 70's time period which to me was easily the most fruitful, productive time period in the history of rock and roll music. I mean, "Layla" was nearly completely overlooked when it was released in 1970 and really didn't start to get massive airplay for several years later. I think a LOT of great records were lost in the shuffle. Manassas NEVER got "massive airplay". You could not even begin to name all the bands which were in their prime in the early 70's. Manassas is a sprawling work of 21 songs and was originally released as a two record vinyl package.
I was just listening to Manassas the other day and after 50 years it still sounds so fresh and so incredibly eclectic. A masterful blend of rock, country, folk, even bluegrass. Stills' writing is nothing short of amazing. And the musicians he assembled for this project is every bit as amazing, among them Chris Hillman, Dallas Taylor and on two cuts, Bill Wyman. Yet ask the average listener (by "average" I do NOT mean those who frequent this website) if they have ever heard the record Manassas and about 90% of the time you are going to get a "No".
My second most overlooked record of all-time came out that same year, 1972: "Captain Beyond". Just the same, completely lost in the early 70's log jam of incredible music.
What is YOUR most overlooked record of all-time?
Good topic!
Black Crowes "Southern Harmony and Musical Companion" is a top 10 rock album in my opinion. Yes up there with 'Eat a Peach" and 'Layla'
Mine is also Captain Beyond. I didn't get it until 1988 when I discovered Larry Reinhart was on it and was with Dickey and Berry Oakley in The Second Coming. I was familiar with Larry's name and had some friends who pushed him to me but never got around to seeking the album until I finally realized he was with Dickey and Berry.
Another one is Still Got The Blues by Gary Moore. Didn't buy that until about 2010 just before he died. Heard it at a friend's house. I saw Gary in the late 1980's when he was hard rock or heavy metal or whatever. I'm not a big hard rock fan but did buy the first Van Halen album and DLR's solo album with Steve Vai. After seeing Gary Moore live about 1988, all I left with was ringing ears and realizing Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai couldn't blow Gary off the stage with that type of music anymore than the could kick the Washington Monument over with their right foot.
Here is Gary the way he played in the 1980's when I saw him. For this kind of playing ( I can't take it everyday) THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE EDDIE VAN HALEN OR STEVE VAI COULD BLOW GARY OFF THE STAGE!!! Gary was IN their league big time!
Paul Pena's New Train comes to mind. Great album that got needlessly buried by Albert Grossman for decades. dTb and Susan's band covered "Gonna Move" and Steve Miller's cover of "Jet Airliner" kept Pena out of poverty.
Great choice Rob! I also did not discover Manassas until about 5 years ago and what a fantastic album. IMHO it is as strong as anything Stills did with CSNY.
For me, it is not just one album it is a band's early output that I overlooked in my youth.
I was and am a big Foghat fan, starting with their debut album, but I had little knowledge or appreciation of the band most of the members came from, Savoy Brown.
Back in the early 70's all I knew of Savoy Brown was the song Hellbound Train when a buddy in college played that album in his dorm room during a daily smoke session he and his roommate used to host every afternoon.
I did not really get into the band until I went to see the latest incarnation at a local tavern about 6-7 years ago.
I became obsessed with collecting their early albums and bought the first 11 albums from their debut through Boogie Brothers in a short period of time.
I have a few of the albums after that but it seemed founder Kim Simmons was chasing hits so not a big fan of the later albums from the late '70s through the 1980s.
I think the band never got the love they deserved possibly due to Simmons constantly changing lineups.
Hard for me to pick a favorite from those 11 albums but I keep coming back to their second LP, "Getting to the Point" with its slow smokey blues with Chris Youlden on vocals. The other album that gets a lot of play is "Street Corner Talking" but I love all three of the earlier 1970's albums with Dave Walker on vocals. And of course, the albums with Lonesome Dave on vocals are excellent as well.
Kim Simmons still tours Savoy Brown and has been putting out very good blues albums since the turn off the century.
He lives not far from here in New York state and regularly plays a small tavern, Bull Run in Shirley, MA, at least once a year. The man can still play so check the band out if they come your way.
@robertdee Captain Beyond's debut album is a favorite of mine and I bought my copy when it first came out after reading about the band in Circus magazine while in High School. They used to do half page articles on new bands in Circus and that is how I discovered many new bands back in the day. There is also an excellent pro recorded album and video of CB that you posted. I highly recommend the live album if you like live stuff. Another ABB connection is Captain Beyond and Johnny WInter And drummer Bobby Joe Caldwell sat in on percussion for several Fillmore concerts and Duane wanted to make him a band member.
check out Captain beyond's second album "Sufficiently Breathless" which is a completely different musical style from the debut. I was shocked when I first bought their second album but it grew on me over time and I learned to appreciate it for what it is.
@porkchopbob How did I miss this? Never heard of him. I know Jet Airliner. That was on the radio often. Yeah writing that song was a big paycheck. The Steve Miller album sold a million copies. You only need one song like that providing you don't have some promoter or producer who talked you into a ripoff contract like even Gregg Allman fell into with Steve Aliamo giving Gregg $500.00 for half of Melissa and after Eat A Peach really cashed in and wouldn't even accept $10,000.00 from Gregg to get him off Melissa as co-writer. Gregg said that Son didn't write one note or lyric.
So hopefully Paul Pena is comfortable from Jet Airliner. The track you linked is fine music.
@bill_graham Yeah MAN!! Captain Beyond should have been much bigger than they were. I've ever heard their original lead singer was the original singer or close to it in Deep Purple.
In recent years I've read Dickey saying nice things about Larry Reinhart. Dickey obviously liked him. Dickey wondered in the back of his mind were making a mistake leaving The Second Coming to join Duane but Berry was so certain Duane was the future and was way cool and spiritual and special that Berry had to go. Even though Butch and Gregg turned on Dickey in 2000, Dickey made the right decision. He is in a mansion with a boat, dock, swimming pool and a private island across the lake, comfortably retired. He made the right decision. Duane Allman was the way to go.
And even though Dickey was booted in 2000, Dickey Betts ended up being worth more money than Gregg and Butch combined. Dickey's 2021 net worth was pegged at $40 million. Gregg's was $18 million and Butch was zero at the time of their deaths. If anything, it just bruised Dickey's ego. Which can make you feel very low.
Dickey is the only guitar player other than Duane, that was so crucial to the ABB's sound. If Dan Toler, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Jack Pearson were never in the band, it wouldn't have mattered at all with all due respect to them, all great musicians. But not Dickey. No Dickey and a very different Allman Brothers Band would have existed.
Larry Reinhart was still powerful in 1996. Back playing bars and small clubs but still singing and playing like he was opening for the Rolling Stones:)
HEY BILL!! OL' RHINO COULD STILL KICK BUTT IN 1996. That is some powerful singing and playing at a small bar! And at 7:30 in the morning. Good night that is wild. Especially for that time of day.
Would really need to think about it,but off the top of my head,I would say
Kansas-their self-titled debut album
Also:
McGuinn,Clark and Hillman-self-titled
Hey Robslob,
What an incredibly thought provoking topic of discussion. After looking through my collection multiple times and pulling some out to listen to on the stereo I think I agree with you on Manassas. I recall when this came out. Only a couple of friends, including me, in the band I did sound for really enjoyed the album. Nobody else particularly cared for it as they wanted more rock and roll. Stills has amassed an outstanding legacy of fine music. Thanks for this thread!
Well done on all the Manassas posts!! Me too! I didn't find out about the band until 2020 during a Netflix documentary about CSNY. I bought the cd the next day and have practically worn it out. IMO, it's right up there Exile On Main Street based on its content and its production. It's made me a Stephen Stills fan too. Thanks!
P.S. The linear notes pay respects to Duane.
@buckeye: I LOVE that record!
@bill_graham: Sufficiently Breathless is not on the level of "Captain Beyond" yet I agree with you, it's a very strong record and another one that has been severely overlooked. By the way Reese Wynans plays keyboards on the entire Sufficiently Breathless record. Most ABB fans would know who Reese Wynans is. Yet another connection to ABB..........Johnny Sandlin did the mixing on "Captain Beyond". Not surprising, they were a Capricorn band.
Oh by the way: I saw Captain Beyond, 1972, Hollywood Bowl, they opened for Black Sabbath. They knocked the crowd BACKWARDS. First record start to finish, maybe a 40 minute set.
@bill_graham: Sufficiently Breathless is not on the level of "Captain Beyond" yet I agree with you, it's a very strong record and another one that has been severely overlooked. By the way Reese Wynans plays keyboards on the entire Sufficiently Breathless record. Most ABB fans would know who Reese Wynans is. Yet another connection to ABB..........Johnny Sandlin did the mixing on "Captain Beyond". Not surprising, they were a Capricorn band.
Oh by the way: I saw Captain Beyond, 1972, Hollywood Bowl, they opened for Black Sabbath. They knocked the crowd BACKWARDS. First record start to finish, maybe a 40 minute set.
I personally prefer the debut album but Sufficiently Breathless is so different stylistically it depends on what someone likes. Some may actually like Sufficiently Breathless more than the debut album.
I remember being excited when I heard the Captain's second was being released and was shocked at how different it was from the heavier debut.
The more I played the album the more I started to enjoy the difference from the first album once I got over the disappointment that it was not a continuation of the style of the debut album.
I do wish the band had stayed together longer and released more albums with the original lineup.
After leaving Captain Beyond Bobby Joe Caldwell joined the short lived band Armageddon with Keith Relf ( Yardbirds/ Renaissance), guitarist Martin Pugh(from Steamhammer), and bassist Louis Cennamo (also formerly of Renaissance and Steamhammer). They only put out one album and only played two live shows before breaking up due to health issues (Relf), drug issues ( Caldwell and Pugh) and lack of label support.
The music was prog and has similar unique time changes and heaviness at times similar to the first Captain Beyond album and has always been a favorite of mine. Check out the song "Last Stand Before" with the odd and shifting time signatures
@buckeye: I LOVE that record!
Me too, obviously!
I've never listened to Captain Beyond before so gave it a spin while working out. I like it! It's one of those records that that must sound really good on vinyl. To me, they sound like a love child of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Cream.
Great topic!
Of the albums mentioned, I got a copy of Paul Pena as a gift several years ago, really enjoy it. I only got Southern Harmony about 2 years ago - why did I wait?
I will search out Manassas. Funny, it came up on another board I go to over the weekend. Must be a sign (or maybe someone else is on Death before Digital).
For me, the overlooked album in my collection was Billy Cobham Spectrum. I got it in high school (about 75 I think), listened a few times, and put it down. About 10 years ago, I picked it up and it blew me away. It's in my regular listening now.
Grand Funk Railroad’s “Closer to Home”!
I wore that cassette out in my late teens and early 20’s. Everything about it is perfect - the songwriting, guitar & bass playing, drumming and Mark Farner’s vocals are incredible. Hadn’t heard it in a while and when I recently did, it took me back in time.
@meandean: For me Closer To Home is Grand Funk's best record and I'm Your Captain is Mark Farner's Magnum Opus. GF was HUGE in the early 70's and it's a crying shame that they are not in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They will always have a special place in my heart: Grand Funk was my very first concert at age 16, The Forum, L.A. It was nothing short of MAGICAL...........
Maybe it’s not right to call it overlooked, but my first thought was the Layla album. I know it was under the radar because of the band name, but it’s one of the best rock albums ever, in my mind. And always had relatively lackluster sales considering the great work from beginning to end on that album.
@cmgst34 I just checked an to my surprise Layla never went Platinum (1,000,000) in the US. And it didn't go Gold (500,000) until several years after it's 1970 released. Worldwide the album has sold over a million copies.
Yet it is regarded by most critics it said as one of the greatest album of the 1970's.
The record label said in the early 1970's one problem was it was the very first album ( and the ONLY studio album by this group) by a band people had never heard of. They claimed it Clapton had used Eric Clapton and the Dominos it should have sold like a Cream album.
Don't miss the second song below!! Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins sit in with Derek and the Dominos AND IT ROCKS MAN...IT ROCKS!!!!!
Post Lowell George but all the other original members plus Craig Fuller (Pure Prairie League) and Fred Tackett, "Representing The Mambo" by Little Feat. Really solid release throughout with some dynamite cuts like "Texas Twister" and "Rad Gumbo." Released 1990.
"Is that a real poncho or is that a Sears poncho?"
For me it's Stephen Stills' "Manassas". I have to admit that I only came around to this record maybe 7 or 8 years ago when a friend turned me on to it. If I'm not mistaken it was released in 1972 and I think it fell victim of that early 70's time period which to me was easily the most fruitful, productive time period in the history of rock and roll music. I mean, "Layla" was nearly completely overlooked when it was released in 1970 and really didn't start to get massive airplay for several years later. I think a LOT of great records were lost in the shuffle. Manassas NEVER got "massive airplay". You could not even begin to name all the bands which were in their prime in the early 70's. Manassas is a sprawling work of 21 songs and was originally released as a two record vinyl package.
I was just listening to Manassas the other day and after 50 years it still sounds so fresh and so incredibly eclectic. A masterful blend of rock, country, folk, even bluegrass. Stills' writing is nothing short of amazing. And the musicians he assembled for this project is every bit as amazing, among them Chris Hillman, Dallas Taylor and on two cuts, Bill Wyman. Yet ask the average listener (by "average" I do NOT mean those who frequent this website) if they have ever heard the record Manassas and about 90% of the time you are going to get a "No".
My second most overlooked record of all-time came out that same year, 1972: "Captain Beyond". Just the same, completely lost in the early 70's log jam of incredible music.
What is YOUR most overlooked record of all-time?
I love this album Rob...there's a few songs on side 2 and side 3 that just take me to another place but the entire album is so good. I just recently downloaded it again from youtube. Johnny's Garden, So begins the task, Colorado...so many great songs and great musicians on that album
Another couple both Alex Taylor, "Friends & Neighbors" and "Dinnertime." Both Capricorn releases with familiar players.
First time I saw the ABB, Alex Taylor Friends & Neighbors opened. Memorable night.
"Is that a real poncho or is that a Sears poncho?"
The greatest band that never was. It had been years since I'd spun this but I heard one of their songs at a bar and got home and cranked it. Good for the soul!
@oldcoot I bought that Alex Taylor album back then too. Johnny Sandlin produced it. On this track Tommy Talton plays guitar and Scott Boyer sings backing. James Taylor acoustic guitar.
The first copy of At Fillmore East, the greatest live rock album ever, had the same pink Capricorn label this Alex Taylor has.
The label and logo we are most use to debuted with Eat A Peach, the greatest ABB album with studio tracks, in 1972 when Phil Walden moved his label from Atlantic-Atco to Warner Brothers.
Bought this album while in college in the early 1970's based on hearing it in a friends dorm room while under the influence. I was more into heavy metal/rock back them, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep Black Sabbath, etc. So this album got lost in my vinyl collection until about 5 years ago when I dusted off my old turntable and i started listening to vinyl again. Great mellow album and it spurred me to buy the other old Cowboy albums.
great album!
btw do you go to the Bull Run often? I've seen a few shows there but haven't been since Covid. Love that venue.
Yeah I love the Bull Run, we usually attend 3-4 shows a year there. I am about an hours drive to Shirley.
Love being able to sit at a table order dinner while watching the concert.
Sadly a lot of the bands and artist we would go see there every years are passing on like Johnny Winter, Leslie West and Mountain, J Geils etc. Also used to go see John Mayall there at least once a year but he is semiretired and will only do an occasional concert on the West Coast near his home.
We have not been there since COVID either but we do have tickets for Savoy Brown in August. Some really good shows coming there like Sonny Landreth, Johnny A, William Trout, Ronnie Earl, Los Lobos etc. but have other family obligations so can't make those concerts.
cool.
I've been there 4-5 times, from what I remember I've seen acoustic Tuna, Jorma solo, Steve Kimock, and Jonathan Edwards there. I live about 45 min from Bull Run and 30 min from Tupelo. They both get the same "type" of artist and crowd. The food is way better at Bull Run but I really enjoy both venues. Friendly, intimate places with good sound. The artists seem to enjoy it too.
Boarding House Park in Lowell is a fun place in the summer.
