30 Years ago, was the beginning of the 1990s. What started out hair metal mania, got wiped away by Nirvana and the Seattle Rock Scene, lovingly named grunge. It really wasn't grunge but hard rock and Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Nirvana took this music and ran with it. Later on, Stone Temple Pilots and Candlebox joined, but they were more in tune with the classic rock rather than the grunge noise of Seattle. And then, a couple things happen, One was the Telecom Act of 1996 which killed the independent radio stations by Clear Channel (now I FART radio) and Cumulus and secondly, Universal buying out Polygram to form the behemoth Universal Music, which in 2008 had a fire that destroyed a good collection of Universal acts from the past. Universal also gave us Limp Bizkit.
I have seen lists from the likes of Pitchfork, SPIN, Rolling Stone and other Corporate owned that gave us their lesser known. But in reality, they are not as deep as you would think. The mid 90s was the last chance to hear lesser known bands on major labels on college radio before Clear Channel and Cumulus took everything into cookie cutter sound a like stations. At least Polygram cared enough to promote the forgotten bands.
Having grown up and reading the trade magazines, and underground college papers I did managed to seek out the off the beaten path bands. None of these bands sold enough to stay around the label after the first album, some were lucky to make two or even three albums. These are the albums that made me take notice and still find a spot on my cd shelf and close enough to play. These are in no particular order. Most can still be found in the cheap bins if you look hard enough.
1) Big Back Forty-Bested (Polydor 1998)
Out of all of the bands from this era, Big Back Forty remains my fave unknown band. They did pop up to play Gabe's with the Honeydogs, to which I still have the poster hanging up in my basement. Sean Beal, originally from Train Hits Truck (who made a hard to find album Still Feel Gone that actually combines the Seattle sound with a bit of Americana thrown in) and company managed to have a minor hit with Blood (which played outside of a Phoenix bar that caught my attention a few years later after the fact). One of the Best Buy bands to seek out, Bested shows BB40 moving away from the grungy Still Feel Gone in favor of a more radio ready sound and perhaps a bit too polished by Joe Hardy and mixed by Jack Joseph Puig that Puig really smoothed out the rough edges. Still Eight Miles Down and Monte Carlo Girl shows a bit of John Mellencamp and the Jayhawks as influences but Beal's down home baritone shows an eccentric and original sound, that wasn't bound for the radio. Just What I Need is damn near perfect. Alas, Bested would be the only album BB40 would release. No Depression missed the boat on the review, limping them along with the likes of the Haynes Boys (who?) and Hootie And The Blowfish (WTF?), Beal's vocals compared with the dude from Crash Test Dummies but with a more dry sense of humor. Probably one of the reasons why I still love this album.
2) Handsome (Epic 1997)
Peter Mengade, played in Helmet, left after Betty to form this hard rock band that played like Helmet but with a bit more melody. Jeremy Chatelain had a more popish vocal than Page Hamilton's drill Sargent bellow, and former Quicksand guitar player Tom Capone complimented Mengade's guitars. Producer Terry Date (Soundgarden, Pantera) added more attention to the guitars and burying the drums deep in the mix. Needles got some airplay, but my faves remain Left Of Heaven and Swimming. At the same time, Helmet issued the lackluster Aftertaste, which proved that the loss of Mengade was Handsome's gain but not in record sales. The record bombed and the band called it a day in 1998. But those who have heard it swear it was one of the best hard rock albums of 1997. At least I know it still kicks can.
3) Swinging Steaks-Southside Of The Sky (Capricorn 1993)
The revival of Capricorn Records in the early 1990s, showed that Phil Walden was willing to try out new music and styles. His roster included at that time Col Bruce Hampton And The Aquarian Rescue Unit, Widespread Panic, The reunited Dixie Dregs, Vigilantes Of Love, Sonia Dada, 311 and The Steaks, who came out of Boston. Southside Of The Sky is credited for starting up the so called Alt roots rock music. They got Gary Katz (Steely Dan, Root Boy Slim) to produce part of the album and it's goodtime rock and country had some great songs and minor hits on the AAA format. (Beg, Steal Borrow, Train Wreck, South Side Of The Sky). In some ways, Swinging Steaks should have been as well known as say Uncle Tupelo or the Jayhawks, but Warner music decided that Capricorn wasn't cost effective and whatever momentum they had, they lost. This Cd was found at the Kingman pawn shop on my Arizona summer get away and I played it a lot driving down AZ 66. A few years ago, I wrote about the Swinging Steaks and this album, and they took notice. Even to this day, Southside Of The Sky is just as good as, Hollywood Town Hall or No Depression. Maybe even better.
4) Rhino Bucket (Reprise 1990)
There are no shortage of hard rock albums inspired by AC DC, The Cult's Electric, Krokus's One Vice At A Time and The Angels-Face To Face in the 70s and 80s. Rhino Bucket shocked everybody by managed to really take the AC DC vibe to a whole new level, even succeeding over AC DC themselves. Future producer to AC DC, Brendan O Brien really took the time to make Rhino Bucket sound like the real things. Circus Of Power's Daniel Rey produced this. Perhaps OBrien might have polished up the sound better than it should but you gotta admit, it is one of the best AC DC album not made by AC DC. Alas, Warner Music had chosen to take it out of print, Wounded Bird was slated to reissue it but the album got withdrawn. Metal import Rock Candy did issue it for a short time.
5) Jellyfish-Split Milk (Charisma 1993)
Andy Strumer and Roger Manning will disagree but Split Milk is the best Queen tribute sounding album, or is that the Beach Boys? I had issues for their overhyped Belly Button album, which I doubt it's one of the best Power Pop albums of the 90s, unless you call it overrated. But then again Queen was never in my top 30 fave bands due to Killer Queen or Under Pressure to which Vanilla Ice lifted for his shitty Ice Ice Baby and tried to get total credit. Jason Faulkner couldn't get any of his songs recorded by Jellyfish and opted out. Split Milk is Jellyfish's best record, even tho it was their second and they would break up afterwards. The Ghost At Number One is one of their shining moments. And the rest of the album would get better with age, unlike Belly Button.
6) Mach Five (Island 1998)
The Universal taking over Polygram Records killed off a few potential bands getting better known. One of them was Mach Five, who made a very good power pop rock album that recalls Del Amitri and Steven Hagler, fresh from making Local H sound better than they should have, came on board to polish up their sound. Can't Stop It is that forgotten 90s song that should have been played more (see Big Back Forty's Blood) and I'm Alive would have sounded at home on the shit stained KDAT during 90's at 9. With Universal on board, Mach Five was destined back to the heap pile and the band basically disappeared. In 1999 Mach Five stayed around long enough to open for the Honeydogs when the Honeydogs made their spring appearance at Gabe's in Iowa City.
7) The Greenberry Woods-Rapple Dapple (Sire/Reprise 1994)
If Jellyfish influences were the Beach Boys/Queen, Rhino Bucket was AC DC and the Woods loved The Hollies. Unlike Mach Five, The Woods were well known enough to have a song appeared on the Rhino Poptopia compilation, with Trampoline, but That's What She Said is the perfect Hollies song that the Hollies never recorded. You can hear traces of Squeeze and Revolver era Beatles on Sentimental Rule, and Adieu. Hold On does owe itself to Squeeze. Critics raved more on Big Money Item but with Sire moving distribution to Elektra (still part of Warner Music but with less priority) neither album sold. Brant and Matt Huseman would return as Splitsville and made a couple of noteworthy albums. In fact, our very own Erin Tapken was their biggest fan, to the point that they made her president of the Splitsville fan club. The Splitsville albums are fun but pale in comparison to the Greenberry Woods.
8) The Dylans (Beggars Banquet 1991)
While people enjoyed grunge, I preferred Shoegazer, a more dreamy type of pop rock that the UK made famous around the early 1990s. Ride or Slowdive would be the prime examples of shoegazer music but 2nd tier bands such as the Charlatans UK or The Dylans made trippy rock. The Charlatans UK won out due to Rob Collins' organ and keyboard work, The Dylans were more guitar driven, tho Some Friendly was more radio friendlier but The Dylans had this sweet backing vocals sound that made Godlike and Sad Rush Of Sunday. If you compare both Some Friendly and the first Dylans album, the main influence was the Stone Roses. While the Charlatans UK would involve their sounds toward a more Rolling Stones sound, The Dylans never expanded theirs and album number two, drifted toward a more wacked out Chocolate Watch Band on Spirit Finger, their second album and then disappeared. But their first album remains one of the best Shoegazer albums of the 1990s
9) Kings Of The Sun-Full Frontal Attack (RCA 1990)
The best rock album of the 1990s was the most sloppiest and loose sounding record this side of The Who Sing My Generation. Even for the full 55 minutes, the Kings Of The Sun commanded the spirit of rock and roll and why I loved it. Jeffrey Hoad had a voice somewhere between Bon Scott and Doc Neeson but Clifford Hoad was the second coming of Keith Moon. All William Whittman had to do was push play and let the Kings do their thing. The endings were as long as anything on Ragged Glory by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. In fact, I have never heard such all over the place drumming from Clifford, not since the days of Moon had we had anybody attack the drums with such craziness. Even for an hour CD, I played it three times over after buying it. And I really thought that this would break the band. Full Frontal Attack makes Guns n Roses sound like bubblegum. That's saying something.
10) Denzil-Pub (Play/Giant 1994)
Denzil Thomas did the best soundalike of Nick Lowe and this may have been a tip of the hat to Nick and the Stiff years or perhaps a play on the term pub rock. Pub rock being best described as hard and fast rock n roll, very early Motorhead comes to mind or Ducks Deluxe, and Eddie And The Hot Rods. I remember finding this cd and taking it over to Relics for Jerry Scott to listen to and dammed if Jerry had this Cd on regular rotation. Problem was Pub was too British sounding, Thomas could channel his inner Nick Lowe but he also had an eye on Brinsley Schwartz and Squeeze at the same time. Richard Thompson might have something to deal with dry wit as well. This CD was a critics fave and this will get mentioned from time to time. Thomas has never gone away, Pub can now be found on Spotify. For real British pub rock, it's worth hearing again and again.
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