Most underrated and overrated

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Reply #30 posted 10/27/11 2:34am

Gunsnhalen

LiLi1992 said:

It not my opinion, simply article.

Solo Artists: Most Underrated And Overrated

Andrew Payne
Starpulse Contributing Writer

Underrated

5. Rakim

Those in the know consider Rakim to be the most gifted MC ever to put his lips behind a mic. The vast majority of the mainstream, however, have never even heard of him. This is a real shame, because he is perhaps the most influential rapper of all time. His work with the Eric B. remains essential listening for any young artist, and became legendary mostly because of Rakim's skills on the mic. Rakim was the man who introduced many of the complex rhymes and lyrics that would come to dominate hip-hop in his wake, departing from the simple lyrics of his predecessors. It's easy to see how he became underrated as a solo artist: He's only released two albums on his own, and the last one dropped in 1999. Since that time, he's been blowing up the concert scene and adding memorable track after memorable track as a guest artist and soundtrack contributor. He may have started in a duo, but the success and acclaim of his earlier work was mainly due to him, and he certainly deserves to be more than a footnote in the minds of modern-day rap fans.

4. Peter Gabriel

How many classic songs does a guy have to record to get a little respect? Gabriel gave the world the movie trailer stander "Solsbury Hill" and the staple of any mix-tape "In Your Eyes". In addition to that, he scored some massive pop hits with "Sledgehammer" and "Steam" and was one of the first artists to use the music video as an art form. His album "So" remains a landmark for sophisticated pop, with its South African-influenced Motown sound mixed with the New Wave of the time. Gabries is often a bit too avant garde to appeal to the mainstream, but he certainly deserves to at least be considered the best former member of Genesis.

3. Warren Zevon

In the 70s four different piano-based rockers debuted. Billy Joel and Elton John went on to superstardom while Jackson Browne became the darling of the singer/songwriter movement before devolving into saccharine pop in the 1980s. Somewhere in all this confusion, the most talented member of the foursome got completely lost. Warren Zevon composed songs that sounded like they were written by a heartbroken bar singer, but had lyrics worthy of a poetry book. Nobody ever made cynicism sound so beautiful. He could be funny when he wanted to, he could tell a story, and he could make you feel his heartbreak. All this set against expertly constructed piano melodies that could rock out or feel delicate depending on the song. Zevon was a true classic who everybody forgot until his untimely death a few years ago.

2. Otis Redding

Dying young is usually the most surefire path to becoming overrated (see below) but in the case of Otis Redding, the 1967 plane crash that claimed his life at 26 caused the soul legend to be forgotten amid the swirl of excellent music created during his era. Otis Redding is still the undisputed King of Soul despite a catalog of only about a half-dozen albums and a career that didn't really take off until after his death. Talented beyond his years, his classics like "(Sittin on) the Dock of the Bay" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long" both sound like they were recorded by world-weary bluesman near the end of his life. Unfortunately, this turned out to be half-true. Of all the musicians who died under the age of 30, Redding was the most talented, and unfortunately the least remembered.

1. Michael Jackson

Well, everybody knows the reason Jackson became so underrated. The allegations of molestation, the bizarre plastic surgery, and the dangling of a child named Blanket from a balcony are all going to end up superseding his sterling musical career in the memories of most. It's really a shame, because from the late-70s through early-90s there was nobody better than Michael. The dance moves, the event videos, the endless stream of huge hits and the best-selling studio album of all time are all on his musical resume, a resume that would cement him as a true legend if it were not for his personal life. There haven't been many artists who can claim a catalog even a tenth as strong as Jackson's. This is a guy who wrote and recorded classics like "Thriller", "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", and those were all just off one album. Jackson will continue to become more and more underrated as the distance from his musical career grows and he adds more wrinkles to his bizarre personal life.

Overrated:

5. Aretha Franklin

There's no denying her voice. It's huge, it's pure, it's clean, she sounds like a soulful opera singer. Great singers, however, are a dime-a-dozen and great songwriters are priceless. Aretha's never touched a pen to paper, yet her recording's of other people's classics have long been held in a regard that make them seem like Aretha originals. Sure, she's absolutely killed a few songs, and turned Otis Redding's "Respect" from a misogynist footnote into an anthem of empowerment for women, but her career also disappeared into a black hole for the entire decade of the 70s only to re-emerge with a string of horrible 80s pop trash that made her seem like a poor woman's Whitney Houston. You can't doubt her vocal ability, but to call her a transcendent artist is vastly overrating her.

4. John Lennon

Lennon's overratedness applies only to his solo career. Anybody who would call his musical contributions as a member of the Beatles shouldn't be allowed to listen to music. His solo career was a bit more inconsistent. For every "Imagine" he wrote there was a Yoko Ono-influenced mess to nearly negate it. He produced a ton of great songs after he left the Beatles, but it's hard to say his catalog compares to the work of Paul McCartney and certainly not to George Harrison. Yet somehow, he's been raised to the nearly the status of a deity among music fans. This has a lot to do with his political activism and the belief of some that his "Give Peace a Chance" rallies actually made some sort of a difference in the shape of history. Also, his tragic death created a sort of mythical quality around him causing him to be heralded more than he deserved. For his solo career, Lennon should be remembered as a solid songwriter who never quite lived up to the promise of his previous work and not as the nearly Christ-like figure that's become so common in the memory of many.

3. The Notorious B.I.G.

Like Lennon, Biggie was tragically gunned-down far before his time. Unlike Lennon, his murder is the sole reason he's been hailed as a great artist. The Notorious B.I.G. had a few nice songs that turned into club staples, but this is mostly due to the work of ace producer Puff Daddy whose innovative use of samples made old songs feel new again. As an MC, Biggie was very clumsy with a lazy flow and simplistic lyrics that could not match the work of his contemporaries on the West Coast. Had he not been murdered, he would have probably emerged as a poor man's Jay-Z (an overrated artist in his own right), a commercial gangsta with great producers to drown out his shortcomings as an MC. Instead, he's a legend in the world of Hip-Hop despite a sorely lacking skill set.

2. Bob Marley

Much like John Lennon, Bob Marley made some good music and somehow was hailed as a sort of deity after his death. A good indication was the recent performance of "I Shot the Sheriff" by Jason Castro on "American Idol" that led Simon to remark, "You just don't do Bob Marley." Why not? What was Bob Marley but a good time dude who made some fun, laid-back tunes to listen to at the beach? His deeper cuts did reveal a political fire burning within, but essentially he was a rich man's Jimmy Buffet with his most well-known songs being "One Love" and a cover of "Stir It Up". Somewhere, somehow, somebody got the idea that Marley was a sort of modern-day saint, that his political songs are anthems for the oppressed and that he did more for the underprivileged than any other man of the 20th century. Well, Bob Geldof and Bono have both done a tremendous amount more that is tangible for these suffering countries than Marley ever though of. Maybe it's because he was too busy fathering 11 children with nine different women, the exact type of behavior that would brand modern-day rock stars with the type of scorn reserved for Hester Prynne. Bob Marley should be remembered as a gifted musician who created some fun tunes that sound great on the beach, and not the prophet of the third world that many critics have dubbed him.

1. Janis Joplin

What exactly did Janis Joplin ever do? How exactly did she come to be hailed as the pinnacle of sixties music? It's incomprehensible. Joplin did her best work with Big Brother and the Holding Company and then went solo, covered a good Kris Kristofferson song, sang a poem a capella, drank more whiskey than a high school football team in Alabama and died. That's it. She never did anything more than that. Other than running around half-naked in San Francisco with a bottle of Jack Daniels in her hand and screaming about this that and the other thing, her whole career fits into one sentence. Yet somehow, she's held in similar regard to Jimi Hendrix, CSNY, and other legendary acts of the sixties. It's unreal. Her career was a blip at best. Joplin would be inconsequential if it weren't for her becoming so massively overrated over time. Most cases of overratedness can be explained, but aside from her dying young, this is a complete mystery. Making her the most overrated solo artist of all time.

http://www.starpulse.com/news/Andrew_Payne/2008/05/16/solo_artist_most_underrated_and_overrate

Raki is underrated as HELL, he got that portion very right. And on Peter to, Otis maybe...

But his underrated was full of bullshit... he needs Google badly lol

Aretha actually co-wrote some of her hits, Til You Come Back to Me, (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone, Ain't No Way, All the King's Horses, Baby Baby Baby, Back Together Again, Call Me, Check Yourself, Climbing Higher Mountains, Day Dreaming, Decatur, Dr. Feelgood, Don't Let Me Lose This Dream, Drink, Freeway of Love, God Will Take Care of You, Goin' Down Slow, Good to Me as I Am to You, I Wanna Make It Up To You, If You Don't Think, Integrity, Never Grow Old, One Way Ticket, Rock Steady... those are the ones i know of

Marley had some fun tunes, but 80 percent of his songs are political, how can he say Marley should be known for''fun' reggae tunes. The dude wrote mostly political songs, even a lot of his love songs have hint of social/political takings. He was an activist and did a good amount for his people back in the times.

B.I.G i will agree on, i like him. But never understood the way people put him in all these top spots neutral , he had some great tracks but nothing.... GROUNDBREAKING by any means to me. Life After Death= great album, production.. nothing groundbreaking at all to me though...

And hey i love Janis, some do here some hate her lol that is all i have to say on that.

Pistols sounded like "Fuck off," wheras The Clash sounded like "Fuck Off, but here's why.."- Thedigitialgardener

All music is shit music and no music is real- gunsnhalen

Datdonkeydick- Asherfierce

Gary Hunts Album Isn't That Good- Soulalive

SpookyElektrix	Biggie, Aretha and Bob overrated? Rakim underrated? Almost every mc puts him in their top 5. And in all lists paid in full is considered on of the best rapalbums ever. its that damn pipe again [Edited 10/27/11 4:37am]
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mancabdriver	MJ is not underrated in any shape or form - quite the opposite. Is the writer beign ironic? How much more praise can that man get?
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mancabdriver	It's also quite comical that a MJ stan posted this topic.
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Graycap23	Overrated: The Beatles Michael Jackson Frank Sinatra Bob Dylan Lady Gaga Madonna Babyface Nirvana Elvis Underrated: James Brown P-Funk Prince Peter Gabriel Annie Lennox George Duke Bootsy Lil Richard Chuck Berry Mint Condition
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Graycap23	xLiberiangirl said: Graycap23 said: Teddy Riley wrote 99% of Dangerous..................... http://en.wikipedia.org/w...son_album) All of that is great until u hear Teddy's demos.............
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neonlights	Javi said: Together with: Marvin Gaye. In my opinion, none of his albums deserve the credit they have. Even What's Going On, which is brilliant, but not the masterpiece it is frequently considered to be.
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Graycap23	seeingvoices12 said: Graycap23 said: Teddy Riley wrote 99% of Dangerous..................... This is NOt true, even the songs that teddy riley contributed in were already intial ideas written by MJ ............ Ok....back 2 the topic.
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