5 Albums I Love That No One Has Heard Of

Well I can’t say no one has heard of them, but these albums are pretty obscure even to the fans of the artist. These are not the best albums by these artist, not by a long shot, but for whatever reason they are among my most beloved recordings. So here we go:

5. Troublizing – Ric Ocasek

I’m a big fan of The Cars, but their lead singer, Ric Ocasek, hasn’t had much success as a solo artist. But I couldn’t stop listening to his 1997 effort “Troublizing”. Produced by Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame, the album just rocks from start to finish. The signature overlaying guitars sound of the Pumpkins is defiantly present on the album, but Corgan himself is a big Cars fan, and doesn’t overwhelm the album. It still sounds like an Ocasek/Cars album, just a little different than what has come before it. The album also features Melissa Auf der Maur (hot!!) on bass and backing vocals.

4. Practice What You Preach – Testament

Released in 1989 right before I got out of the military, “Practice What You Preach” is not Testament’s best album, far from it. Who cares, I still love it. From the pounding opening title track, the punishing “Sins of Omission”, to the irrespective “The Ballad”, this is one album that came at the right time for me and I still enjoy it to this day.

3. Photograph Smile – Julian Lennon

I can’t even remember why I bought 1998′s “Photograph Smile” by Julian Lennon. While I love The Beatles, I never really warmed up to John’s son. However on this album Julian finally stopped trying to “not” sound like his father, and just sing the way he was born to do. The results are fantastic, a very enjoyable record that was in heavy rotation for me for a long time.

2.The Broadsword and The Beast – Jethro Tull

There is a die-hard Jethro Tull fan that just threw up a little bit in his mouth at this selection. This 1982 album hardly qualifies as Jethro Tull’s best work, but in my defense, I was living in Germany when this album came out, and it’s Jethro Tull’s best selling album of all time in Germany. So I guess I just got swept up in the moment, however I still love this album to this day. There isn’t a single track that I skip on it. I’m just praying for a remastered version!

1. Thunder – Andy Taylor

Once again I have no idea why I bought this album in the first place. I was nowhere near as big a Duran Duran fan in 1987, when this album came out, as I am today. Duran Duran’s original guitarist Andy Taylor teamed up with The Sex Pistol’s guitarist Steve Jones and made one hell of a record. The songs are not lyrically very strong, but the guitar playing is exceptional and each song just flows. Taylor is not the most gifted vocalist, but he knows it, and doesn’t try to go beyond the limitations of his voice. It’s one of my most favorite albums, even though I often get “Dude what the hell are you listening too?” when I put it on.