Artists/bands that were once quite popular, yet nowadays are mostly ignored in canonical history books

Lindisfarne were, very briefly, the biggest-selling band in Britain, but I only know of them from Paul Gascoigne's cover of "Fog on the Tyne", which got to number two back in October 1990.

The entire folk-rock movement that followed, with bands like Steeleye Span and Renaissance etc, died a death, and I don't think I've ever read a long-form article on the subject. It didn't seem to be restricted to rock music - Jon Pertwee's Doctor Who adventure "The Daemons" was broadcast in 1971 and has people dancing around a maypole, and of course The Wicker Man came out in 1973. Why did British people in the early 1970s suddenly develop an interest in folk music? Future shock, economic malaise, nostalgia, or what?

Also, and this is more vague, there's a certain kind of boogie-woogie blues sound that was prevalent in British rock music in the 1970s but largely killed off by punk and synthpop. You know how Thin Lizzy sounds bluesy, but Depeche Mode doesn't? I don't know enough about music theory to write about the difference, but there's a lot of 1970s rock music that just sounds millions of years old to my ears.

blues as a genre has had a tough go of it over the past couple decades. there was a period where there'd be some new post-SRV guitar heroes, or young acoustic blues guys, or a crop of old-school west side blues-style players who'd make a comeback, but it seems pretty dead these days at least beyond the local scenes. I know some blues guys in Chicago who make a very good living playing around town but anything bluesy seems to be DOA.

i still hear elements of blues in some music...i mean obviously it's not gone. it's just so diminished. wouldn't be surprised if 25 yrs later From the Cradle is still one of the top selling current blues albums out there.

lol my first exposure to Tom Jones was his cover of Prince's "Kiss" with Art of Noise

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, October 29, 2019 4:51 PM

same

"rap music that reminds me of the blues" is very popular still, and talking about it in the abstract critically approved although I also suspect a lot of the bluesier rap (yfn lucci, durk, roddy ricch, lil baby) is more tolerated by critics than listened to

Wait war on drugs sound like dire straits??? Do they have sweet solos? The stuff I heard sounded like Born In The USA or maybe Brothers In Arms if, like, it was made by non-virtuosos

i guess you could say post malone is pretty eric clapton-ish in this way xp

The entire folk-rock movement that followed, with bands like Steeleye Span and Renaissance etc, died a death, and I don't think I've ever read a long-form article on the subject. It didn't seem to be restricted to rock music - Jon Pertwee's Doctor Who adventure "The Daemons" was broadcast in 1971 and has people dancing around a maypole, and of course The Wicker Man came out in 1973. Why did British people in the early 1970s suddenly develop an interest in folk music? Future shock, economic malaise, nostalgia, or what?

Former Wire editor Rob Young wrote an excellent book on this subject, Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music, in 2011.

War On Drugs sound like Dire Straits because the hivemind has decided they do, it's an easy reference. They don't actually sound like Dire Straits.

War on Drugs sound marvelous at the Argentine churrascaria I frequent.

no one thinks Dire Straits when they hear WOD outside of internet forums and critics' reviews. plus WOD is missing the key adult contemporary factor and their sound is way too gauzy and more balearic in spots to work as a modern equivalent.

what was the last blues album to make any kind of waves, critically speaking? i'm talking even on a minor level, like when Keb' Mo' and Corey Harris were a thing back in the early '90s, or Luther Allison released his comeback on Alligator records. I'm not sure the Rolling Stones blues album counts here, but even if it does it doesn't strike me as an album that really did anything commercially over the long (or even short) haul, despite it being the type of Stones record a lot of ppl had been pining for.

You can hear Dire Straits daily on rock radio in the US or Canada. I heard "Sultans of Swing" today in fact. Not sure about history books but I doubt they are written out. Also a big influence on a bunch of West African desert blues bands!

I was so disappointed when I heard a War on Drugs album.

Black Keys appear to be a blues act, iirc

what was the last blues album to make any kind of waves, critically speaking?

Does stuff like Tinariwen count?

Gary Clark Jr. has a following, although he isn't <just> a Blues Guy.

As for big critically applauded Blues albums, Buddy Guy's Sweet Tea was a big deal at the time, and his follow-ups have gotten love too.

Kingfish Ingram is a new, young Blues player making waves--I saw him open for VAMPIRE WEEKEND!

Me, literally moments after his set ended, posting in the Blues Rock thread:

Kingfish (new blues trio) is opening for Vampire Weekend, so...is Hendrix-SRV-Buddy Guy Blues/Blues Rock to next Hipster Musical Crush?

― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, August 17, 2019 8:08 PM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink

I was going to recommend Electric Eden too -- excellent book about the folk revival!

And Gary Clark Jr is really good!! I don't really like electric blues that much but his performances are riveting imo.

Crystal Gayle feels like a good one.

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.

^how big were these guys at the time? i've only recently become aware of them which seems weird.

The Guess Who. They they might have sold more records than anybody except the Beatles and CCR in 1970. They weren't much of a critic's band then--Christgau and Bangs liked them--zilch now, I think (i.e., they don't show up in Pitchfork or whatever decade-lists). They still get radio play here because of Cancon regulations, but I'm guessing airplay in the States has narrowed to one or two songs, if that.

Re: blooze, White Stripes, Black Keys, even Red Fang heavy influence. But “the blues” v much fading outside cult circles, and its general influence on pop/rock music - even R&B! - very muted these days.

Re:diamond, let’s take that fucker to another thread.

Neil Diamond: The Works

I’d be interested to hear (over there) from those of you who are just hearing Neil Diamond for the first time.

They still get radio play here because of Cancon regulations, but I'm guessing airplay in the States has narrowed to one or two songs, if that.

The Guess Who is extensively discussed in the Starr/Waterman/Hodgson Rock: A Canadian Perspective and I think any Canadian pop/rock history book. "American Woman" def still known in the US but idk what their place is in US rock history books, although they played the White House in 1970.

Any Canadian pop/rock history book, definitely. But they were commercially huge beyond Canada in '69 and '70, and I don't think there's much cognizance of that today anywhere else.

they played the White House in 1970

So did Vikki Carr, speaking of the unheralded

Best-selling band in the world in 1970 iirc? xp

"These Eyes" is very popular. Lots of people know "Undun" and "No Time" and "No Sugar Tonight" but most probably couldn't identify the artist.

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.

^how big were these guys at the time? i've only recently become aware of them which seems weird.

Did I mention them? 14 Top 40 singles between 1965 and 1970 - quite a long span by 60s standards - 8 Top 10 singles, one No. 1.

Does Faithless count as a more recent example?

There's a few late 70s / early 80s hard rock bands like this, often formed by members of more famous bands. I'm thinking particularly of Gillan and the Michael Schenker Group - Gillan had two top 3 albums in the UK and a string of hit singles, and when was the last time you heard anyone reference them? I don't even think Classic Rock magazine talks about them much. MSG had a top 5 UK album iirc too, not to mention that widely-used abbreviated version of their name. More importantly, both bands' patches would regularly turn up on battle jackets, although not often the centrepiece tbh which might tell its own tale.

Also, and this is more vague, there's a certain kind of boogie-woogie blues sound that was prevalent in British rock music in the 1970s but largely killed off by punk and synthpop. You know how Thin Lizzy sounds bluesy, but Depeche Mode doesn't?

Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson weren't!

Ah, ok. Since the main guy seems to be an icon in Ireland I assumed the whole band was from there.

The Guess Who.

I've come across this name before, but I've always assumed it was some early iteration of The Who, I had no idea they were a separate band!

One of them left to form Bachman-Turner Overdrive of "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" fame.

The entire folk-rock movement that followed, with bands like Steeleye Span and Renaissance etc, died a death, and I don't think I've ever read a long-form article on the subject.

There was a masssive* revival of interest in this sort of thing about 10-15 years ago - articles in Mojo, compliations by Bob Stanley, club nights by Peter Paphides, reissues of Vashti Bunyan, Fairport, Shirley Collins, Nick Drake; Rob Young's book as mentioned, even threads on ILM!

*ymmv, obv.

Does Faithless count as a more recent example?

― octobeard

They're still huge on the festival circuit but yeah they're not really in the pop canon.

Can't take credit for "sad boner", delightfully coined over here http://www.alexandraerin.com/2016/06/why-ianmacks-boner-is-the-saddest-boner/ and discussed at the time on Metafilter. The boi who was the inspo used this line in his Huffington Post confessional: "I grow closer to a particular woman, Mya. We speak in poetry and myth" , which is quite Dimondesque.

Not forgotten exactly, but compared to airplay at the time, Lenny Kravitz’ has basically fallen off a cliff.

Also Living Colour. Literally no idea of the last time I heard them incidentally.

funny enough I just pulled that LP off the shelf this week. probably wound up staring at the front & back covers for like 5 minutes

Whatever happened to Trouble Funk? (They got small, y'all, got small...)

Vernon Reid still seems like a revered figure though

The "Cult of Personality" riff is included in this popular instructional book: https://www.amazon.ca/-/fr/Jeff-Schroedl/dp/1458436780/ref=sr_1_10?adgrpid=70613046670&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6eTtBRDdARIsANZWjYa16-pOqF1qPdaLt7dpkQzIa62zob-_4KmfjBTMKP76hBWLVgr9ILUaAqIaEALw_wcB&hvadid=338538813096&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9000676&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=11054436455274185026&hvtargid=kwd-492179087952&hydadcr=29054_11768646&keywords=hal+leonard+guitar+method+book+1&qid=1572445237&sr=8-10 .

Maybe Chicago? You seldom hear about them any more.

Ha, "25 or 6 to 4" is in the same book. It was in I, Tonya as well and I think The Good Place? Surely Chicago still gets frequent airplay? I think they are generally discussed in American rock history books, at least for their jazz-rock period?

Going down the list of best selling bands/artists of all time posted somewhere upthread, Chicago was the first band that I didn't really know what they sound like.

Mike Skinner probably couldn't get arrested these days. I still like those first two Streets album quite a bit.