The TEN Most Underated Bands in Music History | RANKED (sort of)

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[@Chadner]

Gentle Giant are so underrated that they don't even make the list of top 10 underrated artists

[@ulfingvar1]

Not anymore. Thanks to the internet a whole new generation of music fans have discovered the band, which has led to remixes, reissues etc etc.

[@NateTheGnat]

i was thinking of them...

[@zootallures6470]

@@user-qb1sm3rk9r 🤣 They are considered _the musicians of the musicians_ and are my favorite band.

[@pataleno]

GG are one of the kings of prog mate.

[@docdeens4030]

A greater group of musicians has never been assembled

[@guzzopinc1646]

I say The Kinks --at least here in the US. They aren't rated that high here and they have such a massive catalog of great songs and albums.

[@themetallian2112]

Village Green is absolutely sublime!

[@franciscocanas5686]

They wrote some iconic songs. Not sure why they aren’t more famous. I prefer them to the Who.

[@user-qb1sm3rk9r]

@@franciscocanas5686 I like The Kinks but Ray Davies has a terrible voice, nasal and off key. Maybe the world decided 3 British Invasion bands were adequate.

[@treff9226]

It's always been said about The Kinks that they are too British, and that doesn't translate well here in America. I cherish the the hell out of them, Ray's gift for keen detail and speaking for the common man in his lyrics are a thing of true genius! A shit ton of top shelf songs, spanning decades, The Kinks are about as good as it gets! Waterloo Sunset is commonly rated as the most beautiful song ever created - hard to argue!

[@treff9226]

@@user-qb1sm3rk9r Yeah, Ray's voice is an acquired taste, no doubt. Once you overcome that, the incredible lyrics and song craft more than make up for it! Dave's a tasty guitarist, the man invented heavy metal with distorted riff on You Really Got Me! The Kinks should constantly be in the discussion of all time greatest bands.

[@DarkSideOfTheMoule]

That's what I like about this channel - discovering new music. I am a lifelong Hawkwind fan and Henge sound right up my street. I can't believe I haven't heard of them. Thanks Andy

[@andyowen7636]

Really pleased UFO have been included Andy. I must have seen them at least 10 times in the time period you discussed. Great band and even greater live.

[@davorzmaj753]

Hawkwind. In the UK, I don't know -- maybe they're not underrated there, but here in Canada they're really obscure. Still, one of their songs got mentioned (Motorhead, which was a Hawkwind song before the band Motorhead existed). Hawkwind are a bit like Kraftwerk in a way (not musically!), in that their influence exceeds their own fame. “Punk rock started because in every small town [in England] there was somebody who liked Hawkwind.” [Stephen Morris of Joy Division and New Order]

[@AndrewjWilson]

Saga. Great underrated prog band. Fantastic musicianship

[@ericmckayrq]

Agree

[@LarsBjerregaard]

Hear hear, although they still have a devoted following they're not mentioned much anymore. Didn't they manage a couple of big radio hits back in the day though?

[@user-mu9cw8xe4r]

Saga had a huge MTV hit (prison break video). I did no homework and can't think of the name of the song! anyone?! care to answer!? 🤔🙃@@LarsBjerregaard

[@ramshackle7086]

@@user-mu9cw8xe4r On The Loose

[@AndrewjWilson]

On the loose ?

[@BBlooger]

Can are a massively underrated group in my opinion. Often praised as influences by bands, but most people have never heard any of their incredible music. Their first 5 albums are all classics to me.

[@docdeens4030]

As an actual band, you are probably right. They seem to be overrated by people claiming to be influenced by them, but I never hear Can in any of these bands. Overrated and underrated at the same time?

[@sbwlearning1372]

Love them all Faust Neu Can Tangerine Dream. Not a kraftwerk fan apart from about 3 tracks

[@jeffreybarton1297]

I love their album Tago Mago. At one point I listened to that album every day for a year. And, amazingly, I can still listen to it and love it. In my opinion, Damo Suzuki was their best singer, and this was their best album, but obviously all their albums are very good.

[@BBlooger]

@@jeffreybarton1297 Damo was a great singer, but Malcolm Mooney was no slouch either. Love his singing on Soul Desert, Yoo Doo Right, She Brings The Rain... Love the Ege Bamyasi album, Soundtracks, Future Days... Such an inspired, unique, scary, soulful and funky band. The best ever, in my opinion.

[@jeffreybarton1297]

​@@BBloogerThanks BBlooger, you've inspired me to relisten to the other albums! Can are amazing. I find it difficult to pick a favourite aspect....Maybe it's the drumming for me..... But they're all amazing together.

[@johnr3587]

Popol Vuh (Florian Fricke) were electronic pioneers.

[@mikeandre9052]

Outstanding pick! They are masters of time and space.

[@davestephens6421]

I just bought a box set of the first five albums by the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. They blew away so many of us at the time. Great musicianship with an amazingly charismatic frontman. I always preferred them to Queen...... Time to reasses the mighty SAAB......

[@oupahens9219]

Yep. Alex had soul and feel. Freddy was too timid.

[@Randgalf]

Oh, I love SAAB! I've had at least 15 over the years, most of them V4s and the occasional 99... oh, wrong channel.

[@PhilBaird1]

Great band. Much preferred them to that other band you mentioned.

[@user-qb1sm3rk9r]

@@PhilBaird1 Lol what a bunch of elitist twats. What has Queen got to do with thinking Alex Harvey is underrated?. You're putting up this silly faux haughty disdain for this........"other band".....that you cannot bring yourself to mention to show everyone on the internet how cool you are.

[@_Peremalfait]

They were great! Midnight Moses is my favorite song of theirs. What a great guitar riff.

[@MattCarter67]

Cardiacs of course! Grateful too for highlighting Free, who really had soul.

[@matthew9488]

brilliant stuff - such fun to watch and so much new content to explore - thanks andy.

[@AndrewjWilson]

Devo another great underrated band. Performance Art 🎨

[@johnwilliamson3981]

I really liked Devo. A risk that's run by performers like Devo, and Zappa, and Eno, and some others, is that their penchant for satire and so forth leads many to overlook their musical prowess.

[@saintgeorge6706]

Andy thanks for the shout-out for FREE. A truly great English rock band. I sometimes feel they are a band destined to be lost to time.

[@johnpace5774]

What a band Free were! Andy Fraser might be one of the best, and definitely most underrated, songwriters ever. All Right Now is probably one of the best known rock songs, and Free should be one of the best known bands - but sadly, they’re not.

[@saintgeorge6706]

@@johnpace5774 Sadly FREE were overshadowed by bigger Dinosaurs. That said Paul Rodgers remains my favourite male vocalist of all.

[@user-mu9cw8xe4r]

I became a fan of John Mayall and the (many) Bluesbreakers. The revolving door of musicians included a brief stint from Andy Fraser who left to start his own band -- Free. All this talk of Free has me kicking myself for being aware of Free but not taking the time to really listen. I have been reminded of Colloseum another band I have not listened to. Jon Hiseman and Dick Heckstall-Smith started Colloseum after leaving Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Dick Heckstall-Smith also played sax for the underrated Graham Bond Organisation (with pre Cream Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce) before Colloseum and The Bluesbreakers. Point? I'm having fun (re)discovering bands. I sometimes like to try and return the unsuspected favor 👍

[@saintgeorge6706]

@@user-mu9cw8xe4r I like to discover bands from the past. I watched an interesting documentary about The Yardbirds. Sometimes I feel the fixation with The Beatles overshadowed a lot of great music.

[@johnpace5774]

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers should be on this list, if only for the alumni. The number of great musicians that came out of John's band is almost unbelievable!

[@themetallian2112]

MC5, Blue Cheer, Blue Öyster Cult, UFO, Budgie, Saxon, Thin Lizzy

[@stephenscicluna5216]

Listen to Budgie right now - very underrated indeed

[@simianmoonstudios]

Ha! I'm dyslexic so I thought you wrote Cher for a second. lol

[@NateTheGnat]

Most of those bands get lots of credit for inventing heavy metal.

[@drychaf]

Hooray for Budgie.

[@MisAnnThorpe]

Talking of Budgie; The Creatures are very underrated!

[@BBlooger]

Magazine are another underrated band. John McGeoch on guitar, Barry Adamson's bass, Howard Devoto's lyrics and vocal style influenced many bands. Brilliant band!

[@AmandaSamuels]

You shouldn’t leave out Dave Formula. His keyboards were incredibly important in creating the Magazine sound and knitting the other elements together.

[@BBlooger]

@@AmandaSamuels Absolutely, very true.

[@anthonypalese3153]

Rock Bottom on Strangers in the Night is incredible, the interplay of the keyboards with Michael is the sprinkles on top - just incredible

[@user-zt2wc3uh1l]

I LOVE that section where the keys and guitar are playing in unison to finish the solo.

[@vladdyvansavage8760]

All killer no filler.

[@johndrx165]

YES! Jan Hammer Group!! Love them. Discovered Oh Yeah and went back from there. The Jeff Beck Live is incredible!!!

[@atheistbushman]

Have a listen to Hammer play on John Abercrombie Timeless ECM

[@ward9306]

Saw jeff and yan at the paramount in seattle,best concert i ever saw

[@treff9226]

35 years clean and sober, after seeing and hearing that Cardiacs clip, i think i just relapsed.

[@madmaf6011]

Thanks Andy, that was great. Love hearing your opinions and your thoughts.

[@041Paulie]

another great video, I will try out a few of your recommendations. please continue to do your thing. Thanks

[@BBlooger]

The Groundhogs have got to be underrated too. Think of all those great albums, filled with amazing songs nobody knows about. Tony McPhee, definitely underrated guitarist.

[@DarkSideOfTheMoule]

Sly & The Family Stone and Graham Central Station are underrated. The attention is always on Parliament/Funkadelic when it comes to funk, but Larry Graham's bass playing was really influential and arguably Sly Stone's cynical-political world view influenced Chuck D and NAS as much as Gill Scott Heron or The Last Poets did.

[@peterhaeberle4091]

Betty Davis' first album with almost the complete Family Stone rythm section.

[@DarkSideOfTheMoule]

@@peterhaeberle4091 Absolutely - right on! And what a great album that was too. It even featured Neal Schon and Doug Rauch from Santana playing guitar and bass on some tracks.

[@wallac11]

Infectious Grooves was the Suicidal Tendencies side project with the drummer from Jane’s Addiction. You are spot on about UFO and Fishbone. The live version of Lights Out on Strangers in the Night is one of the most intense and epic rock tracks of all time. Fishbone’s Truth and Soul and The Reality of My Surroundings are incredible albums. The alternative metal scene from 1988-1991 was incredible. I gotta check out more Cardiacs.

[@michaelvandiver2475]

Saw Fishbone live several times. So killer live...saw them in college town of Athens, GA in front of 250 folks...they blew the doors off the 40 Watt!

[@Kaddywompous]

I saw them at my college in San Diego, 30 years ago, the night the LA riots started.

[@michaelvandiver2475]

100% agree with everything you said about UFO! Phenomenon is a killer record...they were heavy and melodic and could nail a solid shuffle groove/gallop...crazy more folks don't know much about them

[@chrisdher65]

Strangers in the night! They shine live. The studio stuff seems polite compared to live stuff

[@zsatsfm]

The Incredible String Band - their first four albums are up there with all the great music of the late 60's.

[@kzustang]

Completely agree!!!

[@johnwilliamson3981]

I like ISB very much...except for Robin Williamson's singing voice. Same deal with the Pentangle. Great songs and musicianship...but keep John Renbourne away from the microphone.

[@zsatsfm]

@@johnwilliamson3981 Yes, I understand what you're saying. His voice is very mannered and eccentric, very much an acquired taste, it took me a good few listens to get accustomed to it. I was the same with Geddy Lee from Rush.

[@johnwilliamson3981]

@@zsatsfm Sorry...very much an unacquired taste in my case! I mentioned the Pentangle's John Renbourne. Dave Cousins of the Strawbs, another outstanding musician, also had a somewhat objectionable voice, And Dylan...uggghhh! Male voices I liked include Greg Lake, Bryan Ferry, and Gentle Giant's Derek Shulman.

[@adriantiley6660]

Great stuff Andy, I've learned a lot watching this list! Just ordered the Free album! From a personal perspective The Tubes get my vote, but of course so many great bands to debate!

[@colef6855]

brilliantly said about Kraftwerk. couldn't possibly put it better

[@riffmason]

Came for the Cardiacs love fest and wasn't disappointed. A Top 10 most underrated guitarists would be cool!

[@marcsullivan7987]

Ween is criminally underrated. As a live band they are amazing, and a very different band from as a studio band (albums which range from alienatingly weird low-fi to pristine studio masterpieces) Often thought of as a “joke” band, they are NO JOKE Amazing drummer, incredibly eclectic, some very excellent songwriting along with bizarre absurdism and psychelia, genre chameleons … Go see them live if you can. 3 hours straight, no opening band, no break, no song repeats over three consecutive nights (35 songs a night)

[@mr.orange8205]

Ween are Great. The Mollusk is one of my all time favorites.

[@colinburroughs9871]

Ween would have been the biggest band in the world if everyone *got* LSD humor

[@marcsullivan7987]

@@colinburroughs9871 you mean mushrooms and Scotchguard ;) They also probably could have been huge if they chose to rein in their give zero fucks attitude

[@stevethornton8270]

Free were the sound track to my youth, I loved Zeppelin, Sabbath etc but Free were the ones that moved my soul, Kossoff was and still is the guitarist who moves me with his playing.

[@AntonXul]

Personally, I think Uriah Heep, Sweet, Rainbow, Dio, Nazareth, Blue Öyster Cult & UFO are definitely underrated. I wasn’t around when these bands were active. In my teens in the ‘90s I discovered the classic bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, etc. because their music is everywhere. The bands I listed as underrated I discovered as I entered my 40s. During the pandemic I started to look for “new” classic rock acts I never heard and these were the gems I found. They were hardly ever mentioned or heard in any media with the exception of one song of Sweet, Dio, Nazareth & BÖC each. It was through KZbin & Spotify that I discovered these bands. I even discovered other even more obscure bands such as Gift, Lucifer’s Friend, Starcastle, The Chocolate Watchband and others. There are even underrated periods of great bands such as ‘70s era Scorpions & ‘80s era Black Sabbath post Dio. It just sucks that so much good music has been forgotten.

[@user-mu9cw8xe4r]

Cool! another Blue Oyster Cult discovery (the only band I have listened to since I was 10 yrs old is BOC) Another UFO fan. hmm. I haven't heard UFO hardly at all, so, I'm gonna have to take a listen. 😎🤘 Oh! I didn't see Deep Purple on your solid discovery and classic rock-metal list. If you haven't you must checkout Deep Purple. I just remembered an early glam-hard rock band called Slade. They were/are from England (figures) and had three #1 hits in the early 70's in the UK (wikipedia). I remember 2 songs from MTV in the 80's Run Runaway; and My Oh My; and then hearing they wrote/performed the song Cum on Feel the Noize which became a hit for Quiet Riot. Anyways, I just talked myself into listening to more Slade who have not played to these ears since the late 80's.

[@jimmickg]

And Thin Lizzy & Humble Pie

[@M_Pross]

The Sweet definitely don't get the credit they deserve.

[@darkobozickovic]

Pere ubu, DEVO, The cramps, Stranglers, Bad brains

[@user-mu9cw8xe4r]

Pere Ubu? Nice! Are you from NE Ohio? Have you heard of The Numbers Band? So unheard-underrated they have never signed with a major label. Basically only play in Ohio. still playing. Led by the 2 Kidney brothers and brass player Terry Hynde (Chrissy's older brother).

[@wallac11]

Pere Ubu were groundbreaking

[@BrennanYoung]

All *great* bands, but The Stranglers and Devo both had more than 15 minutes of fame, top ten hits etc.

[@darkobozickovic]

​@@user-mu9cw8xe4rI'm from Serbia. I have not, will check them out

[@darkobozickovic]

​@@BrennanYoungYes, back in the day. Today, deserves more views

[@marktrickett5081]

I'd certainly have a cheeky 10 quid on the Cardiacs being in here.

[@grahamnunn8998]

My friend Paul Putner is a fan of The Cardiacs, after his recommendation I checked them out and it blew my mind. Just to rat on Paul, he was one of the crowd who took the piss out of me for liking prog but his two favourite bands were The Cardiacs and XTC!

[@Quinceps]

Are you guys trying to bully us fans by adding “the”?

[@JoyDivision88]

Don't forget Andy Fraser also wrote Robert Palmer's hit Every Kind Of People. Talented guy without a doubt.

[@PhilBaird1]

@@paulhwilliams Are you sure about that ? He wrote some great material with Paul Rodgers in Free before he was even out of his teens. A very talented guy and a lovely bass player who was key to Free's sound, timing and feel.

[@jimmycampbell78]

@@paulhwilliams It is written by the same Andy Fraser who was in Free.

[@jimmycampbell78]

@@PhilBaird1 That Robert Palmer song is indeed written by the same Andy Fraser who was in Free.

[@paulhwilliams]

@@PhilBaird1 Ignore me! You are right.😂

[@JoyDivision88]

@@paulhwilliams Think you will find it is.

[@MachineCake]

My go to for underrated bands is Spirit. 12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus, in particular, is a masterpiece album.

[@h.m.7218]

Agree. I'm not a fan of the band per se since I don't really care about their other albums ( despite some good tracks ) but 12 dreams is indeed very good.

[@wayneelliott7011]

An absolute Masterpiece.

[@martinjones6762]

U⚡️F⚡️0⚡️well known in 1970’s and early 80’s but definitely underrated especially the Tonka Chapman years The Wild The Willing and the innocent was criminally underated

[@Mooseman327]

Delaney & Bonnie & Friends is the most underrated band in rock history. Nobody else comes close. People have no idea how good they were or how influential. Leon Russell and Bobby Whitlock on keys, Bobby Keys and Jim Price on horns, Rita Coolidge on backup vocals. first Jim Keltner and then Jim Gordon on drums. Carl Radle on bass. The tightest American band of the late 60's/early 70's. Rhythm and blues to heaven.

[@_Peremalfait]

Absolutely spot on. And how good were Delaney and Bonnie that the best musicians, including Clapton and George Harrison wanted to be in the band?

[@user-mu9cw8xe4r]

Got my attention on Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge on backup (really?!), a horn section and especially (to me) Jim Keltner who played with Traveling Wilburys as well as with Little Village (Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, John Hiatt) who were a 'supergroup' inspired by The Traveling Wilburys success. Probably a shame Little Village did not sell and they only made one album

[@CasperLCat]

Amen, brother ! I love Andy’s content, but he’s missed the whole American country/Southern/rootsy side of rock, which has no origin in the UK, and bands like the Bramletts’, whose influence on subsequent US rock is as great as the whole British Invasion put together.

[@user-yo4gl1fb2k]

Great roster but this is the first I’ve even heard of it , I’ll thank you in advance

[@drewnelson3149]

@@user-mu9cw8xe4r The Little Village album was weak, and the show I saw was dire. The album, front to back, and that's it. what a waste of that line up.

[@ChrisUK5150]

Great video Andy! So chuffed you gave Fishbone some love, I've been die hard fan since Truth and Soul too and are the greatest live band I've ever seen! Here's a suggestion for a future video, maybe you can do something on the late 80s early 90s Funk Metal movement? Its pretty much been written out of music history but to me its the pre-cursor to Grunge and the Alt rock of the 90s. So many great bands have been forgotten like Urban Dance Squad, Dan Reed Network, Senser, 24/7 Spyz, Stevie Salas Colorcode and Infectious Grooves (the Suicidal Tendencies side project you couldn't remember). Some other underrated bands I might have included - Jellyfish, Max Webster (the missing link between Zappa and Rush?), Kings X and Gillan who to me rocked hardest of all the post Purple projects particularly when Bernie Torme was with them but have been largely forgotten nowadays.

[@CraigHollabaugh]

Joe Jackson

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

Monday Papers

[@CraigHollabaugh]

@@MikkelGrumBovin Is He Really Going Out With Him?

[@edwardyazinski3858]

Big World!

[@DavidYorkshire]

Very underrated, but not a band.

[@TheMDJ2000]

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, Daddy Cool, Skyhooks, Pavlov's Dog

[@b1daly1]

Fun video😀 My personal most-underrated-band would be Stranglers-especially in the US. They drew from pub rock-punk-prog but had a unique sound led by JJ Burnells bass.

[@h.m.7218]

Stranglers fan here. I would never say their sound was based on Burnel's bass. I believe they were kind of like Queen... Queen ? WTF ? Let me explain ! The sum of them was much greater than each one of them individually : good drummer ( Jet Black, not a virtuoso by any strech, but perfect for what they did + a definitely great add to the image of the band ), good guitar player ( Hugh Cornwell, like Brian May, knew how and when his playing was needed both rythmically and musically : each and every solo of his is what the song needed, not showing off any kind of virtuosity ), good bass player obviously. But for me the virtuoso was no doubt Greenfield. He was the one who lifted the whole sound of a very good and very competent weird pop band to that of a great band. Great competency for what they did + Great chemistry + Greenfield's genius = the Sranglers. Great band ! Underrated in the US, as you say.

[@justlookingaround9834]

@@h.m.7218 A fan here too, and I agree with all you say but at the time having a bass so up front in the mix and being quite complex was different and influential. Seeing them soon, although not really the Stranglers anymore

[@MisAnnThorpe]

@@justlookingaround9834 I'm a big admirer of The Stranglers but not of Burnel's default "bass" sound, which I find too trebly and upfront. Not really any surprise that his first instrument was/is guitar. Classically trained, apparently. Obviously not satisfied with merely being felt, Burnel's ego demanded that he be very much heard as well; more than anyone else in fact!

[@justlookingaround9834]

@@MisAnnThorpe I’m not sure the bass should be just felt? Paul Mc would be the first to want his bass heard. Agreed he probably has an ego, most musicians do, how much they show it differs. The stranglers have a sound, they also have experimented beyond that on many albums, ironically JJB has written tracks where the bass takes a back seat.

[@b1daly1]

Well, I agree that all the players in the Stranglers brought essential parts to the greater whole. I just feel the bass is the driving force, not more important. JJ Burnel plays a Fender Precision with a pick, and creates a very tough sound. I saw them around 1981 in a tiny club and it was the most powerful show I ever saw. Made a huge impression on my young mind😀

[@BabosanTV]

Hey Andy, The side project from Suicidal Tendencies members is called Infectious Grooves. Cheers

[@ricwilliams9922]

Love your work!

[@davidowens7735]

Yes, Andy! Cardiacs! That was the first band I thought of when I saw the title of your video!

[@TheeRobertPhoenix]

Be Bop Deluxe, Japan, The Dictators, Montrose (first two records), Ian Brown (solo), Magazine, Automatic Man (first record), Utopia, MuteMath (Andy you need to dive into this band), The Sunkings, Nortec Collective, Pete Namlook, Momus, Sparks and Mott The Hoople.

[@TheBritomart]

Be Bop Deluxe & Japan ♥️. Will check out your suggestions.

[@MisAnnThorpe]

@@TheBritomart Also check out The Durutti Column and It's Immaterial while you're at it!

[@treff9226]

MuteMath=Awesome band in every way!

[@keithhannigan8507]

Such a wonderful video, just love Englands Garden Shed (Three Piece Suite) and smiles all over my face when Cardiacs very there as well, just such a special band!!! Will check out the other bands especially Henge!!! Thank you!!!

[@0oDaan12o0]

I always come back to this quote about Steven Wilson: the most afmous artist you never heard of. Among the fans of prog rock/metal he's a massive influence and he has worked with all the greats in that area over the years. The man even does the mixing on stuff like Opeth. But he's virtually unknown to the masses.

[@davidmullins3936]

Cardiacs, underrated and utter genius

[@attichatchsound-bobkowal5328]

Cardiacs are genius but their relentlessness wears me out after a bit. For me Mountain is underrated.

[@moonsafariofficial]

Thank you so much Andy! ❤️❤️❤️

[@JesseBatesDrums]

Awesome ! love your channel.

[@daledavidson8242]

Los Lobos. Great job developing their Mexican roots, but they could play anything. Real well. I once saw them in a little side bar in a giant Atlantic City casino to a sparse crowd. They were very chill about the awkward situation and offered to play anything from their catalogue, or just anything, and put on a fantastic show for a lucky handful of fans. Deserve better.

[@PhilBaird1]

Superb band, great musicians. How Will the Wolf Survive ? was a wonderful album.

[@nkkado]

And really nice guys . My friend and I were nobodies, put Caesar invited us backstage, had a beer, got to hang

[@jeffreybarton1297]

I was secretly hoping you were going to have Cardiacs on this list! I downloaded three of their albums yesterday, after realizing I missed them (used to have them on vinyl, till I gave all my vinyl away in a fit of madness). I was listening to Cardiacs at work today, and it transformed my dull work into a joyously insane process, with intermittent moments of beauty. Guaranteed to put a smile on my face.

[@stothsam]

I fucking knew the band you put at number one would be number one, even without ever having heard you talk about them. I was shouting their name during the buildup you did. Perhaps the most important question to ask anyone about the development of their music appreciation is "when did you first get into , and how old were you?" In my case it was in my second year at university, just after the release of Sing to God. Managed to catch one of their very last live gigs in Croydon. The fact you put them at number one finally convinced me to subscribe to your channel.

[@janvrolijk9126]

Thank you for putting Cardiacs on the top of the list. One of my favouritte bands of all time

[@thekeywitness]

Grizzly Bear, Gentle Giant, TV on the Radio, Spoon…

[@jaytravtulsa1]

3 really good albums from Grizzly Bear. They toured with Radiohead who loved them.

[@NateTheGnat]

Gong!

[@jimfusco6026]

Thank you so much for bringing up UFO, they are so underrated!!

[@user-uz8yd3sh8s]

Saw Cardiacs a few times, after being introduced to them by a friend (who later did some bass playing for them). They were amazing live! RIP Tim😢 A genius songwriter.

[@stevemalek2970]

Don't care what Andy thinks of them but VdGG is an underrated band for me.

[@fredrikekelund5341]

SPARKS!!!

[@MisAnnThorpe]

My nomination would be a band who were obviously very influenced by Sparks; (The) Associates.

[@h.m.7218]

Sparks were/are underrated in the States but definitely not in the UK.

[@vizzini589]

Saw Fishbone many times, and couldn't agree with you more. Their energy and musicianship were truly on another level. Hope your career takes a turn for the better soon. Keep up the interesting dialog and good luck.

[@motleyfan7558]

Great list. Right on with everything you said about Free.

[@paulcollins5586]

The Church Ozric tentacles Bevis Frond

[@Audiojunkabus]

Ozric Tentacles is not underrated -- they are just mostly unknown like many

[@mewienke]

Starfish is such a solid effort

[@petertaylorson5783]

Nick Saloman and The Frond. An English institution round these parts.👍

[@colinpumpernickel2605]

I love Bevis Frond. Johnny Kwango is a hit song. Well, should be.

[@timwestcott361]

Jan Hammer Group with Beck was amazing live. A whole new world of hard-arse grooves, riffs and inspired virtuousity with a funky attitude. Top 10 live shows I've seen. And that includes Free !

[@cameronpatrickscott]

Back again, great list Andy, brought me back to the Cardiacs, stumbled upon them greenpeace tent glasto fest, sometime in the 90's i think, am still blown away by that gig, it was like leaning into a mighty wind on Haye bluff. Criminal underating proof: kraftwerk have less than a million followers on spotify, and cardiacs less than 10,000 though i think they only recently (last year or two) joined.

[@mji29]

I ran off to listen to Sing to God by Cardiacs. I was into Blur, Supergrass, Boo Radleys etc. back in the mid-'90s. Happy to report Cardiacs definitely not too hard to handle. Thanks for their championing.

[@staffordshirelass6711]

Thank you Andy for highlighting Free one of the greatest😢 love you Paul

[@progperljungman8218]

You are worthy of laudation Good Sir!

[@MrDingDong2]

Henge! I got the musical tip of the century, by you Andy. They are simply amazing. Thank you!

[@simonhodgetts6530]

Little Feat (they’re back!) XTC Squeeze Gentle Giant It Bites Get my (proper) vote…..

[@user-mu9cw8xe4r]

Little Feat. Waiting for Columbus Live album helped define the style of rock-blues-american-roots music i would continue to buy the rest of my life. I basically grew up in the 80's as a teen watching MTV; and other than Petty (and 2 Prince albums) I don't own anything from the 80's (see the second British invasion music). I have considered INXS (Australia). I also have reintroduced myself to Deep Purple (b4 screamer Ian Gillan) before they became a full fledged heavy metal band. Again, just my style of listening ... and a clarification-appreciation for some British bands for sure. Anyway Not sure if Little Feat could be considered underrated ... but, then again, Allman Bros and Lynard Skynard and Doobie Bros are much more popular. I had a Squueze album (LOVED Black Coffee in Bed) but, again, my taste in music changed when I finally heard Little Feat (for example)and finally began listening to more blues rock bands like Robert Cray (say, is Robert Cray underrated?) and the Allman Bros. et cetera. Because of you and others (on this sight), I have to checkout Gentle Giant. I also just listened to Delaney and Bonnie & Friends for the first time in 40 yrs and they are real good southern rock-blues-gospel band with hints of good mellowness like Bread. Bonnie is a great singer sometimes channeling Janis Joplin but not as hard. Think Susan Tedeschi (with Derek Trucks and their eponymous named band) channeling Bonnie Raitt but not as scratchy(?). Anyways, great video again by Andy giving us stuff to talk about and appreciate a variety of rocknroll music .

[@h.m.7218]

Also was thinking about Squeeze.

[@keithparker1346]

Yes, Squeeze...some very good tunes​@@h.m.7218

[@WubWIFF]

Wish I could have been a student of Andy's. Whoa, wait a minute, I think I am!

[@paulmartinson875]

Saw the Jan hammer group at a popular bar in Santa Cruz CA. Incredible talent

[@TazW73]

Hey! Andy! due to this brilliant video by you I now have tickets to see henge in London next week - taking my prog / cardiacs obsessed mate .. she’s gonna bloody love em - so am I .. cheers Andy - you’re a proper dude.. 😎🛸👽🎸🌟

[@HatfulofHallow]

Henge's most recent album is labelled as Brutal-Prog on RYM. This made me wonder if you'd talked about Black Midi on here?

[@danalawrence4473]

Magma, Andy, Magma!!!

[@Captain_Rhodes]

Soft Cell, The Spin Doctors, Television, Catherine Wheel.... are a few I think are under appreciated. Theres so many great bands that have faded into the past

[@DarkSideOfTheMoule]

Definitely Soft Cell - Memorabilia is proto-house and the way they combine that sound on other songs with very English lyrics dealing with mundanity but also seediness!

[@MisAnnThorpe]

@@DarkSideOfTheMoule Good call on "Memorabilia". "The Art of falling apart" and "This last night in Sodom" are highly underrated albums.

[@Captain_Rhodes]

@@DarkSideOfTheMoule yes i love how seedy the first album was and how that out of tune clarinet was all over it. Even the vocals were out of tune but it all had a unique vibe. Nothing sums up seedy soho like that record. People think they were tainted love and a few hits but they were much cooler than that

[@markperry9427]

Great video, really enjoyed that, great to see you championing Free and UFO. Fishbone I will definitely check out. I recently discovered England through a prog group I'm in on Facebook, just bought the Esoteric remastered album, excellent. Another obscure prog band from that era seriously underrated is the Irish band Fruupp. As a suggestion, and as you were talking about Koss, how about 10 underrated guitarists? Koss would undoubtedly be there, along with Steve Hillage, Robbie Robertson, Clem Clemson, Jan Akkerman and Bill Nelson.

[@Jesse615]

I totally hear you on Kraftwerk, Andy! I do not love their sound personally, but wholly agree on their huge impact. Even on bands one wouldn't think of, such as (I've read in a few places) the Ramones. And being a huge Bowie fan myself, there is no getting around how much Kraftwerk, and other "Krautrock" bands influenced his Berlin period. But, you have to stop saying things like, "Americans didn't know about them". The US is just too large and diverse to make such blanket statements. They were, in fact, quite popular where I grew up in the US Northeast Corridor (big surprise -- the part of the US that was a British colony!). Trans-Europe Expresss and Autobahn even got regular airplay on some mainstream radio stations here, and a number of my college chums were way into them. In other parts of the country, it's true, Lynyrd Skynyrd was probably the favorite of most of the country then.

[@franknada8235]

Iron Butterfly and The Stranglers

[@revan.3994]

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida has one of my personal favourite drum solos... surely also because my dad still play's it so well (when he was 18, in 1968, he was the drummer in a rock cover band and Iron Butterfly was one of their specialties) 🤘💪

[@mikewest1542]

The Stranglers , 3 brilliant albums to start off went off a little , what an underrated fantastic band , better than punk !

[@wallac11]

Both those bands are stellar

[@BrennanYoung]

@@mikewest1542 I think they were consistently strong until "the Gospel according to the Men in Black", which is possibly too weird for most ears (although it has its adherents). A few great moments afterwards, including the Norfolk Coast album, but the early phase is unequaled. "Black and White" is my fave.

[@franknada8235]

From The Aural Sculpture Manifesto: "When those of us who are committed to the creation of aural sculpture, can no longer sit and tolerate the prostitution of sound that is proliferating around us, it is time to speak out. the musicians of our times are harlots and charlatans, who use science without being scientists and abuse art without being artists. We are witnessing the demise of music, so be it. The world must prepare itself to herald the advent of aural sculpture, whose presence can now be shared with the fortunate few who have the ears to hear, the vision to see and the intelligence to comprehend."

[@theobviousidentity]

Thanks for advocating for Cardiacs ❤

[@TractorCountdown]

Great choices, Andy, and well argued. Motorhead were the one band that united all the musical factions at Uni, but that was a small group of people so I see what you mean. On from Kraftwerk, production-wise Scritti Politi had a huge influence in the States.

[@Jamjam1256]

As weird and obscure a list as I’d fully expected! Not that anyone cares, but I’m 43 years old and before finding Andy’s channel, I’d never even heard of Mahavishnu Orchestra. Being a Canadian and big fan of Rush lead me to the channel and I’ve learned so much from Andy!

[@Dutch2go]

Totally agree with UFO, but even more so with the Michael Schenker Group (MSG)that came after. Michael is a brilliant iconic guitar player and is not getting the wide recognition he deserves. So many great guitarists list him as their influence. Michael still tours and the only positive of his being underrated is that you can see him in small venues and have an almost personal relationship with him when you’re in the front row.

[@colinburroughs9871]

I got a free ticket to see him a few years ago, left work to catch the last half of the gig. He's a legend, even if it is a bit low key in terms of fame comparison.

[@AndrewjWilson]

Ultravox. Kings X. Icicle Works. 3 underrated bands I think

[@TheBritomart]

King’s X♥️

[@grahamkey8496]

Ian McNabb still going strong I think.

[@thecrazybassguy]

Great video. You are completely on the money on the ones I know and there are a few that I don't know and am looking forward to discovering. Regarding Free - it's fair to call them underrated. For many they would be perceived as one-hit-wonders. Kossoff is one of the most underrated guitarists. To this day I have never heard another player with that unique sinuous tone. And Fraser is one of the most underrated bass players - and one of the reasons I started playing bass. He had a unique almost tuba-like bass voice.

[@glerp10000000000]

Cool - I saw Henge at Beautiful Days fest when they let us out after the coof. The dancing shroom caught my attention and I stayed for the music. Great stuff.

[@Audiojunkabus]

Wishbone Ash ... one of the pioneers of the twin lead guitar ... such a large catalog of great music and still putting out very good stuff IMO. Maybe they would be highly rated if people knew about them in the 1st place?

[@docpangasinan]

"Argus" is one of the greatest albums of all times.

[@robertcooper411]

@@docpangasinan 👍

[@markflower8885]

I doubt any of these will be on the list but i'll give a shout out to Faith No More, Fishbone, Electric Six (don't laugh, listen to some of their albums), Russian Circles, Killing Joke, Ozric Tentacles and a newer band in The Viagra Boys.

[@PainInTheS]

Very much agree on Fishbone, Killing joke and Ozric tentacles. If you like the Ozrics you should give the Belgian band 'Quantum fantay' a listen....they could be on the list too.

[@DavidYorkshire]

Generation X, Iron Maiden, Ultravox, Soft Machine, UFO, Electric Light Orchestra, Slade, Terrorvision, Madness, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. That's my ten, for what it's worth.

[@scottrap]

Andy thanks for turning me on to Cardiacs, what an incredible band! It’s like Primus and early Devo combined

[@jackr.1609]

Got your back on Fishbone. Good call!

[@satorified1612]

Built to Spill. Don’t know how many bands I’ve heard over the years where, when I first heard them, I thought, “They remind me of Built to Spill.” Not to mention they were incredibly consistent from the mid-90s through the mid-00’s.

[@treff9226]

Nice pick! Guitar lovers, check out Built To Spill! Great band name too!

[@futureidol83]

Some of my favorite underrated bands: Ultravox (especially the John Foxx years), Let's Active, Love and Rockets, The Boomtown Rats, James (big in the UK, but not as well known in the US), King's X, Imperial Teen (the keyboardist (Roddy Bottum) from Faith No More's side-band), The Dandy Warhols, Spacehog, Placebo, and Chainsaw Kittens (it's criminal that they never made it big).

[@treff9226]

Let's Active rule! James are killer as well! Great picks!

[@dhoyp14]

As usual, thanks for the Listening tips!

[@SuperAnatolli]

DEVO, The Cramps, Sisters of Mercy, Gary Numan, Shpongle, Popa Chubby, Swing Out Sisters, Fluke...

[@rickpaul4216]

Three Words: Mott the Hoople.

[@herbwhite7384]

Four words. Mott the hoople sux.

[@ZoltanVancso]

Thank you, Andy!

[@AZ-vg6li]

Great video❤