Not had a chance to really give this much thought until now, getting home at gone 7.30 and having dinner at around 9 and what have you, I’ve only just started to think about what albums I’d consider underrated without seeming to be wilfully obscure, but there are three that spring to mind.
‘Hearts And Bones’, by Paul Simon. It started off as a new Simon and Garfunkel album, but Art was also involved with some solo stuff, and their fractious relationship took a turn for the worse, and Paul just scrapped Art’s bits and carried on on his own and presented it to the record company as his new solo album. It wasn’t given a great reception by the critics, but I read a great retrospective review in Hi-Fi News and Record Reviews later on by Ken Kessler, which supported my view that it was one of Simon’s greatest albums. It’s a lovely mixture of upbeat, humorous and melancholic, and it’s stunningly well produced.
‘Cowgirl’s Prayer’ – Emmylou Harris. She made this album at a point where she was becoming disillusioned with the Nashville country scene, and was returning to her folk roots in New York; it’s what would later be referred to as more alt-Country, and is a sign of what she would produce later with Daniel Lanois on her ‘Wrecking Ball’ album.
There’s a bunch of great songs, but ‘Prayer In Open ‘D’’is the standout for me, a heartbreaking song about loss, regret and redemption.
‘Black Rose’ – John David Souther. I bought this on the strength of a surprisingly decent review in NME, in the early 70’s, and fell in love with it immediately. JD worked with a number of other musicians who would later form The Eagles, who he wrote and co-wrote major hits for, as well as for other artists like Linda Ronstadt. Obviously there’s a strong country-rock feel, but again a bit more melancholy in tone.
A great singer, as well as writer, and a really lovely, unassuming man to talk to as well.
I can’t miss an opportunity to mention all the albums by Kris Delmhorst as well; I saw her supporting her friend Erin McKeown in Bristol, when she’d just released her third album, ‘Songs For A Hurricane’, and I was smitten! She’s got a really warm quality to her voice, and a great way with words, and, twelve albums in, her talent has been criminally ignored by the music media; it’s way past time she had some exposure and recognition of her talent as a musician and songwriter.