Thanks for the post @1GiantLeap. I would like to recommend 'Tingvall Trio’ and their Album Vägen.
To be honest I am not sure if this is underrated as such but it certainly isn’t mainstream.
I am not great at describing these things, so I borrowed some words. I think they are great and make beautiful music. All their Albums are great, but I particularly like Vägen.
Over the last 10 years Tingvall Trio has evolved into an unparalleled success story for ‘Jazz made in Germany’. There is a wonderful and lovely sounding interaction between the three musicians of tranquil calm and speed. They are all about expression and emotion. Omar Rodriguez Calvo (Bass), Jürgen Spiegel (Drums), Martin Tingvall (Piano).
Hi @Plumptonvinyl
Tingvall Trio are new to me.
Lovely relaxing album. Have just listened to the album via the streamer and enjoyed it very much.
I’ll listen to more of their stuff while enjoying a glass of red tonight.
Thanks for sharing.
I don’t know if it counts as underrated but I do recommend this album by the amazing Danish band Causa Sui. It’s a brilliant mixture of psych, Krautrock and early ‘70s Miles.
Cold Fact by Rodriguez just a huge album in Aust/NZ/SA yet totally overlooked by the northern hemisphere. Never understood when sooo many average albums got airplay. Well worth a listen.
Oceans Apart by The Go-Betweens is one of my favourite albums a perfect piece of pop imo and sadly their last album. Gets great reviews but really only found fame with hardcore fans.
Yes! I forgot about this one! Because I grew up in SA and saw this in every store and heard it on every radio my mind still thinks it was a worldwide hit
Same I’m surprised by how little it’s known in the north. Like you it was just part of our musical history and I took it for granted that it was “everywhere”.
There is an excellent and very interesting documentary on Rodriguez, Searching for Sugarman, which explains why he was so popular in South Africa, but also covers how badly he was treated by his record company. I think it is on Netflix.
His is a fascinating story all round and shows off his great music.
Drifting through Tidal as you do I came across Ahmad’s Blues - a live 1958 album by Ahmad Jamal, then 27, now aged 92 and still playing.
Beautifully understated album with Ahmad brilliantly light handed on piano leading a great band - superb bassman, drums, great clarity with live crowd sounds complementing - feels like you’re in the room. Jamal a master of space and a great influence on Miles Davis.
Rereleased in 1973 on vinyl it still sounds superb on Tidal. Some great tracks also on YouTube - fascinating percussion as well as the drummer, bass and Jamal lightly orchestrating.
This one is easy. My favorite desert Island album that no one has heard of, is without a doubt, Lost Herd by Canadian singer / songwriter / rancher, Ian Tyson. An amazing collection of songs about horses. Amazing musicianship and beautiful melodies abound.
I discovered Sophie Zelmani in 2015 with the album “Love affair”. I was taken by surprise by her brilliant musical sense and sound. This album is a standout!
Check out the tracks “Keep it to yourself” and “Hard to know” to get an idea.
I’m sure you’ve heard the acoustic version, but if not, get hold of it. It gives a whole new perspective on the original album and in many ways I prefer it. I never really got along with Jordan, no idea why.
Love’s ‘Forever Changes’ is one of my very favourite records ever. I first bought it as soon as (or maybe even before) it was released here, as a schoolboy in Edinburgh from Rose Street Records (long gone, sadly).
Rose Street Records used to import American-pressed Doors records, released on the Elektra label (well before The Doors became popular in the UK), and I thought that I’d have a listen to Love, as another Elektra group. What a revelation that was! The Doors were psychedelia with a hint of menace, but Arthur Lee and his band were in another stratosphere!
Years later, and not long before his sad death, I saw Arthur Lee perform at a tiny underground London venue as a warm-up for his appearance at Glastonbury. I agree with you that Love should have been far more popular. ‘Forever Changes’ is such an immense album, that has been part of my life now for over fifty years. I recently bought a new copy from Amazon, but pressed the wrong tit and ended up with four or five copies - they won’t go to waste!
(Incidentally, I think that ‘Forever Changes’ is one of those rather rare (these days) records that you can buy in stereo or mono mixes. I’ve only ever heard the stereo mix, but it would have been nice if one of my extra copies had been the mono mix, to see if there was much difference between the two.)
So I’ve shared the same air as one of my great music heroes (as I have also done with Jeff Buckley on a few occasions, Robbie Krieger (same club as AL), Carlos Kleiber, Emil Gilels, Rory Gallagher, Wishbone Ash, and quite a few more).
