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Thread started 09/20/20 2:32pm

MotownSubdivis
ion

Hidden gems on underwhelming/underperforming albums

What are examples of great songs (whether singles or cuts) that came from mediocre albums?

I think a prominent example is "Under Pressure". I like Queen's Hot Space album but the general consensus is that it's far from their best; a disappointing trend chasing release. However, "Under Pressure" is widely considered a timeless classic.

Another, more personal example is this song from the S.O.S. Band's obscure second album, Too:
https://www.youtube.com/w...-O0mA&t=3s

Just a beautiful showcase of Mary Davis' powerful, heartfelt vocals with some strong, emotive production to match. A great song on its own and easily the best offering on what was a disappointing sophomore LP from an otherwise talented group.
[Edited 9/21/20 17:16pm]
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Reply #1 posted 09/20/20 3:50pm

TrivialPursuit

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I don't give a fuck what anyone says. Hot Space is a beast of a record. There isn't one bad song on it.

Susan Rogers remixed a track on the CD version later on, but I don't particularly care for it. Nothing on there needs to be touched up.

I don't know how much people know about Basia's first record, Time and Tide, but I love every bit of it. The woman has a voice that reminds me of Linda Eder. The CD went platinum, but barely cracked the Top 40. It's a bit of a contemporary jazz album. There's not a bad song on Time and Tide. PS The title track was a moderate single. So yeah, the whole record there.

Frankly, "The Lady in My Life" on Thriller is still overlooked.

Jermaine's Jackson's self-titled record (often referred to as Dynamite) had a few hidden gems. "Some Things are Private" is his "P.Y.T." Actually, that whole record is an exact blueprint of Thriller, down to the 3rd track duet, 4th track spooky song, last track ballad about a woman. "Sweetest Sweetest" is the "Baby Be Mine" track.




"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #2 posted 09/21/20 4:58am

Fiona01

TrivialPursuit said:

I don't give a fuck what anyone says. Hot Space is a beast of a record. There isn't one bad song on it.

Susan Rogers remixed a track on the CD version later on, but I don't particularly care for it. Nothing on there needs to be touched up.

I don't know how much people know about Basia's first record, Time and Tide, but I love every bit of it. The woman has a voice that reminds me of Linda Eder. The CD went platinum, but barely cracked the Top 40. It's a bit of a contemporary jazz album. There's not a bad song on Time and Tide. PS The title track was a moderate single. So yeah, the whole record there.

Frankly, "The Lady in My Life" on Thriller is still overlooked.

Jermaine's Jackson's self-titled record (often referred to as Dynamite) had a few hidden gems. "Some Things are Private" is his "P.Y.T." Actually, that whole record is an exact blueprint of Thriller, down to the 3rd track duet, 4th track spooky song, last track ballad about a woman. "Sweetest Sweetest" is the "Baby Be Mine" track.





But Thriller isn't an underwhelming/underperforming album?


If we're talking bout slept on hidden gems from underwhelming/underperforming MJ albums then I'd say Speechless and Unbreakable from Invincible.

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Reply #3 posted 09/21/20 5:57am

jaawwnn

Mamma Mia and SOS languished on an unsuccessful ABBA album for six months before SOS finally got some airplay and ABBA took off again. Imagine that hadn't happened and you came across a song as strong as Mamma Mia on a pile of cheap vinyl of followups by forgotten eurovision winners?

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Reply #4 posted 09/21/20 7:20am

RJOrion

"Sticky Like Glue" on 20Ten is the first song that comes to mind
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Reply #5 posted 09/21/20 9:18am

CoolMF

"Wobble Wobble" on the 504 Boyz Goodfellaz album smile

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Reply #6 posted 09/21/20 9:27am

MotownSubdivis
ion

TrivialPursuit said:

I don't give a fuck what anyone says. Hot Space is a beast of a record. There isn't one bad song on it.

Susan Rogers remixed a track on the CD version later on, but I don't particularly care for it. Nothing on there needs to be touched up.

I don't know how much people know about Basia's first record, Time and Tide, but I love every bit of it. The woman has a voice that reminds me of Linda Eder. The CD went platinum, but barely cracked the Top 40. It's a bit of a contemporary jazz album. There's not a bad song on Time and Tide. PS The title track was a moderate single. So yeah, the whole record there.

Frankly, "The Lady in My Life" on Thriller is still overlooked.

Jermaine's Jackson's self-titled record (often referred to as Dynamite) had a few hidden gems. "Some Things are Private" is his "P.Y.T." Actually, that whole record is an exact blueprint of Thriller, down to the 3rd track duet, 4th track spooky song, last track ballad about a woman. "Sweetest Sweetest" is the "Baby Be Mine" track.




Idk why you mentioned Thriller bro. We're talking about overlooked songs on mediocre/underachieving albums, not just simply overlooked songs.

By extension, I wouldn't consider Jermaine's '84 album as such. It's considered, at worst, a decent album and from what I've seen is generally favored. As far as commercial performance goes, it might have fallen short just a bit of expectations but not enough to the point where I'd say it truly underperformed. Considering the star stature of Jermaine in 1984 and the star power he was competing against, his album did pretty good (it peaked at #19 pop and #1 R&B) I will agree that it is an overlooked album though.
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Reply #7 posted 09/21/20 9:39am

SantanaMaitrey
a

Knocked Out Loaded by Bob Dylan from 1986. (You know, when everybody was raving about Prince and Madonna.) It features a bunch of covers, songs written with others like Tom Petty, all in all, nothing special. And then comes an 11 minute epic song called Brownsville Girl.
If you take any of this seriously, you're a bigger fool than I am.
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Reply #8 posted 09/21/20 9:39am

MickyDolenz

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Gap Band ~ Going In Circles (Gap Band VII)
Stevie Wonder ~ Race Babbling (Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants)
Color Me Badd ~ The Bells (Time And Chance)
El DeBarge ~ Cross My Heart (Gemini)
Paul McCartney ~ Biker Like An Icon (Off The Ground)
Wings ~ Arrow Through Me (Back To The Egg)
Shaggy ~ Hookie Jookie (Lucky Day)
Tears For Fears ~ Last Days On Earth (Everybody Loves A Happy Ending)
Beastie Boys ~ A Year And A Day (Paul's Boutique)
Genesis ~ Ripples... (A Trick Of The Tail)

Jermaine Jackson ~ Castles Of Sand (Frontiers)
Jermaine Jackson ~ You Need To Be Loved (Feel The Fire)

Daryl Hall ~ I'm In A Philly Mood (Soul Alone)

Hall & Oates ~ Who Said The World Was Fair (X-Static)

Marvin Gaye ~ Praise (In Our Lifetime)

Al B. Sure! ~ Thanks For A Great Time Last Night (Sexy Versus)

Ronald Isley & Burt Bacharach ~ In Between The Heartaches (Here I Am: Isley Meets Bacharach) (this album came out during the popularity of "Mr. Biggs" and was ignored)

You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
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Reply #9 posted 09/21/20 10:26am

TrivialPursuit

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Fiona01 said:


But Thriller isn't an underwhelming/underperforming album?




That's my take. "The Lady in My Life" is a hidden gem on Thriller. The album's monumental performance wasn't a factor in my statement.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #10 posted 09/21/20 10:27am

TrivialPursuit

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MotownSubdivision said:

Idk why you mentioned Thriller bro. We're talking about overlooked songs on mediocre/underachieving albums, not just simply overlooked songs.


Because I chose to. I talked about the song, not the album. That was my take on a song. shrug

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #11 posted 09/21/20 11:40am

alphastreet

X girlfriend and did I do that on Mariah’s rainbow album are hidden gems
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Reply #12 posted 09/21/20 1:26pm

MotownSubdivis
ion

TrivialPursuit said:



MotownSubdivision said:





Idk why you mentioned Thriller bro. We're talking about overlooked songs on mediocre/underachieving albums, not just simply overlooked songs.


Because I chose to. I talked about the song, not the album. That was my take on a song. shrug

Topic title: Hidden gems on underwhelming/underperforming albums

Is Thriller an underwhelming or a commercially underperforming album?

No, it's not.

Thus your take on a song from said album is a moot point.
[Edited 9/21/20 13:27pm]
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Reply #13 posted 09/21/20 2:17pm

MickyDolenz

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MotownSubdivision said:

Topic title: Hidden gems on underwhelming/underperforming albums Is Thriller an underwhelming or a commercially underperforming album? No, it's not. Thus your take on a song from said album is a moot point. [Edited 9/21/20 13:27pm]

The Lady In My Life got lots of airplay on R&B radio anyway. It still does to this day on Adult R&B stations and the Quiet Storm show. Baby Be Mine was played on the radio too.

You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
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Reply #14 posted 09/21/20 3:04pm

RJOrion

"Still Water(Love)" -The Four Tops - Still Waters Run Deep (lp)
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Reply #15 posted 09/21/20 3:10pm

Cinny

avatar

MickyDolenz said:

Gap Band ~ Going In Circles (Gap Band VII)
Stevie Wonder ~ Race Babbling (Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants)
Color Me Badd ~ The Bells (Time And Chance)
El DeBarge ~ Cross My Heart (Gemini)
Paul McCartney ~ Biker Like An Icon (Off The Ground)
Wings ~ Arrow Through Me (Back To The Egg)
Shaggy ~ Hookie Jookie (Lucky Day)
Tears For Fears ~ Last Days On Earth (Everybody Loves A Happy Ending)
Beastie Boys ~ A Year And A Day (Paul's Boutique)
Genesis ~ Ripples... (A Trick Of The Tail)

Jermaine Jackson ~ Castles Of Sand (Frontiers)
Jermaine Jackson ~ You Need To Be Loved (Feel The Fire)

Daryl Hall ~ I'm In A Philly Mood (Soul Alone)

Hall & Oates ~ Who Said The World Was Fair (X-Static)

Marvin Gaye ~ Praise (In Our Lifetime)

Al B. Sure! ~ Thanks For A Great Time Last Night (Sexy Versus)

Ronald Isley & Burt Bacharach ~ In Between The Heartaches (Here I Am: Isley Meets Bacharach) (this album came out during the popularity of "Mr. Biggs" and was ignored)


I love this. Anyone who owned some of those albums be like "why am I holding on to this?" but this thread could be the key to that.

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Reply #16 posted 09/21/20 3:19pm

Cinny

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MickyDolenz said:

Hall & Oates ~ Who Said The World Was Fair (X-Static)


This album has "Wait For Me". I think that might have been the single, not sure.

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Reply #17 posted 09/21/20 3:31pm

MickyDolenz

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Cinny said:

I love this. Anyone who owned some of those albums be like "why am I holding on to this?" but this thread could be the key to that.

I didn't mention these because I thought the albums were bad, just that they weren't commercially successful. The "underperforming" the OP mentioned. I like them. The Secret Life Of Plants is my favorite Stevie Wonder album. I guess the general public did not want to listen to an album entirely about plants. I think the movie was only shown briefly in NYC, so that probably did not help either in that its a soundtrack to the film. My copy of the record still has the perfumed scent on it. smile

You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
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Reply #18 posted 09/21/20 11:47pm

Harps

"What Should I Do?" from Wildcard by Sananda Maitreya

Although I enjoyed the album, it went largely under the radar but this song is a beast!

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Reply #19 posted 09/22/20 7:47am

RJOrion

The Jacksons - "2300 Jackson St" from the lp of the same name

The Jackson 5 - "All I Do Is Think Of You' - Moving Violation lp

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Reply #20 posted 09/22/20 7:53am

Cinny

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MickyDolenz said:

My copy of the record still has the perfumed scent on it. smile


I didn't know that album made any scents. biggrin

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Reply #21 posted 09/22/20 4:56pm

slyjackson

alphastreet said:

X girlfriend and did I do that on Mariah’s rainbow album are hidden gems

And Crybaby the very best song in that album.

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Reply #22 posted 09/22/20 4:57pm

slyjackson

The Grass Is Green, Childhood Dreams and Picture Perfect from Folklore by Nelly Furtado.

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Reply #23 posted 09/22/20 5:08pm

MickyDolenz

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Cinny said:

MickyDolenz said:

X-Static


This album has "Wait For Me". I think that might have been the single, not sure.

It had 2 or 3 singles. Wait For Me is one of them and the only one that became a hit, it reached the Top 20 on the pop chart. Portable Radio has a music video and was remade by an all female band called Clout.

You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
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Reply #24 posted 09/23/20 5:51am

CoolMF

MickyDolenz said:

Cinny said:

I love this. Anyone who owned some of those albums be like "why am I holding on to this?" but this thread could be the key to that.

I didn't mention these because I thought the albums were bad, just that they weren't commercially successful. The "underperforming" the OP mentioned. I like them. The Secret Life Of Plants is my favorite Stevie Wonder album. I guess the general public did not want to listen to an album entirely about plants. I think the movie was only shown briefly in NYC, so that probably did not help either in that its a soundtrack to the film. My copy of the record still has the perfumed scent on it. smile

Not to derail the thread but the bolded is an interesting statement that I've never heard from hardcore Stevie fans. Too "experimental" for me to get with other than the "Send One Your Love" joints but I'm curious as to why that's your favorite over Songs, Fulfillingness, or Innervisions.

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Reply #25 posted 09/23/20 9:20am

MotownSubdivis
ion

RJOrion said:

The Jacksons - "2300 Jackson St" from the lp of the same name


The Jackson 5 - "All I Do Is Think Of You' - Moving Violation lp

Agreed. I dare to say 2300 Jackson Street is a better album than Victory.

As for "All I Do...", that song is definitely a pleasure to the ears. Michael's emotional vocal acrobatics are especially soul touching on this track.
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Reply #26 posted 09/23/20 9:26am

MotownSubdivis
ion

Speaking of Victory, "One More Chance" is definitely a gem.

One of the few members of my Unskippable Song Club:

https://youtu.be/F_G6pOQgwUs
[Edited 9/23/20 9:26am]
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Reply #27 posted 09/23/20 9:30am

RJOrion

2300 Jackson St. is WAY better than Victory.

co-sign "One More Chance", too

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Reply #28 posted 09/23/20 10:08am

TrivialPursuit

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"One More Chance" and "One More Night" by Phil Collins needs a mashup. It's the same damn song.

Janet threw Randy some money when she covered "One More Chance" on the IF maxi.

"Be Not Always" is a gem, too. It's really a precusor to stuff like "Man in the Mirror" and "Gone Too Soon."

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #29 posted 09/23/20 2:00pm

MickyDolenz

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CoolMF said:

Not to derail the thread but the bolded is an interesting statement that I've never heard from hardcore Stevie fans. Too "experimental" for me to get with other than the "Send One Your Love" joints but I'm curious as to why that's your favorite over Songs, Fulfillingness, or Innervisions.

It's a soundtrack to a plant life documentary. I'm not sure what kind of songs you would expect for that. lol I've seen the movie. It also has Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles in it. There's a previous plant album by Mort Garson called Mother Earth's Plantasia. The Garson album is designed to be played to plants. Playing music for flowers or talking to them and how the plants respond is brought up in the documentary, which was based on a book by the same name. It's interesting that Here Comes The Sun is in the movie because George Harrison was into gardening as a hobby at Friar Park. Maybe that's how it got approved.

I have some Sun Ra records, now that's more out there. In a way Stevie's soundtrack is kinda like a Sun Ra record by a mainstream singer. Maybe not music wise, but Sun Ra is an influence on Funkadelic & Earth Wind & Fire, esepcially the outfits and the Mothership. He was doing all that in the 1950s & 1960s. Stevie has a song called Saturn which is also something Sun Ra always talks about. Race Babbling is sort of like an early version of techno music. Herbie Hancock has a song from 1974 called Nobu that's electronic too.

You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
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