Article - Most Underrated Classic Rock Bands

Beat me to my own defense there

 

i just read about him ... he refused page to join zeppelin, and also turned down the chance to join deep purple ... two bad decisions for him i guess

 

Pretty credible list. My first thought was, well, BOC better be on there, and they're at #3, so I'm impressed.

 

He's great, I have several albums...he's still not a band. His version of "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is a fave of mine.

 

i had never heard of him before to be honest.

not bad at all

 

Yeah, I have only heard of him in passing here and there. Not a bad version of the song, although I have a version of it in my collection that I like better, but for the life of me I can't recall who did it. Old-timers disease, what can I say.

 

Humble Pie. At least the version that included both Marriott and Frampton. Huge at their peak but pretty forgotten today except by those who lived through their era.

I would add Faces to that list of 20.

 

Somebody mentioned the Guess Who, so Three Dog Night as well. Maybe the greatest cover band ever. Admit it. You hear one of their hits today, you turn it up. I've heard "Out in the Country" in at least three contemporary TV shows. "Liar" also gets regular play, as does "Easy To Be Hard."

 

Because they were too lazy to do some research and search for a picture of the DP MK II line up.

 

Three Dog Night doesn't get a lot of critical respect, probably because they didn't write their own material. But they had so many huge hits that they still have a big presence on the radio.

 

No room for XTC huh

Love, Pavement, and the NY Dolls are worthy mentions too imo. Truly great bands with very little recognition outside of a few music publications & die hard fans.

Also, I love the Stones, but I'd definitely add Creedence or the Band on the list before them, definitely.

 

SPIRIT

 

While Roxy Music are generally thought of as being a new wave act,

Um. No, I've never heard anyone say they were a band in a genre that didn't really exist for 6 years after their debut.

There's some very odd names in there under the heading of "classic rock" - Warren Zevon? And no, I wouldn't think Roxy were classic rock either.

Family?

Now there's a band who are underrated in my opinion.

 

I don't have too many problems with this list (other than the Stones inclusion), but how about:
Mott the Hoople/Ian Hunter

 

Warren Zevon is totes classic rock. He's part of that whole 70's Southern California scene that included Jackson Browne, Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Poco, etc.

In America "Classic Rock" is a radio format and thus the term is pretty much defined by their playlists. Basically it's an ossified version of what used to be freeform FM album rock. While most stations have veered away from the 60's tunes, I still date the format from 1964, with the release of House of the Rising Son and For Your Love all the way until Grunge, which never seemed to be co-opted.

As for Roxy Music, you aren't likely to hear the early ENO stuff anywhere outside of a college or public station. But Love Is the Drug is definitely a classic rock staple.

 

The list seemed somewhat weighted toward English acts. Several West Coast bands could/should have been on that list, from Quicksilver Messenger Service, Spirit, Electric Flag and I'd even say Jefferson Airplane is underrated.

As for some that are on it that I agree on, The Animals is a great choice. It's very hard to find their material now, with such great albums as Animalism and Animalization hard to find/out of production. But I disagree about The Kinks. I know them, but they simply are not all that appealing past their early garage rock stuff. I do live Tired of Waiting, though.

 

I really like the list. Especially Mountain. Leslie West and co had such a cool sound. Completely forgotten.

 

Paul Revere and the Raiders, Steppenwolf , Poco , Grand Funk , Marshall Tucker, Mott the Hoople. Dont think Big Star is under rated , they are HIGHLY RATED in most circles.

 

so you write a list and you want to get some clicks, throw in a pick that makes zero sense: call a band that practically owned rock for a decade, even casual fans can name 20 of their songs, can still sell out stadiums even though theyre mostly in their 70's, hell their nickname is "the greatest rock and roll band..." and then call them underrated (rest of this list is ok, kind of feels like it was culled from a similar thread here 'forgotten rock bands' or something like that )

 

I agree that Traffic and The Kinks are under-rated classic rock bands and I'd add The Cars and Supertramp to that list

 

You want "Lazy"?

 

I think Little Feat might be the most underrated band on that list that doesn't get much attention and isn't even mentioned as a HOF band

 

Hello? What about XTC? Or even Jellyfish?

 

Possibly a better way to describe the turn-down to Jimmy Page's offer would be Terry had a prior commitment opening for The Rolling Stones Tour if I'm recalling this correctly?And Deep Purple I believe was the music he felt didn't fit his singing style?As a songwriter too not sure he wanted to be pushed into a limiting creative corner by (possibly?) just singing to music if that makes sense? I get the feeling from what I've read about Terry that he preferred to keep his creative freedom and musical whims under his control ?I whole-heartedly agree with you cost him BIG-TIME opportunities that leave many scratching their heads over to this day. I think Terry still plays up in L.A. (in small clubs) coulda,woulda,shouldas,what ifs and the like...who knows even if Terry would have worked well within either band(or lasted long in )is pure ??????? Terry chose the more difficult musical road to preserve his musical integrity/vision? Sadly ,seems not to have paid off in the financial success/fame arenas? Maybe he didn't want that? Or maybe Terry made some of the poorest musician choices of all time in all of Rock history too? Anyone know more or if I'm off on this please correct my understanding by all means...

 

Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush?
By 1978 this guy was a monster guitarist as heard on the FM&MR LIVE (1978) very underrated but, hugely influential for many,many guitarists & future Guitar Heroes like Zakk Wylde & George Lynch to name a few.