Hit Parader 1983 "10 Most Neglected Heavy Metal LPs"...

Quote :

Here's a Look At Some Albums No Self-Respecting Headbanger Should Be Without.
We're all aware of great albums recorded by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Kiss and Motley Crue. But for every great LP that became an instant classic, there were probably ten albums almost as good which got lost in the labyrinths of heavy metal history. What follows is a list of the ten most neglected metal albums of all time – great records that somehow never achieved the status they deserved. Some are by major bands, other by groups who have been totally forgotten, but all are worthy of being sought out in neighborhood record stores even in the cut-out bins. The groups are listed in alphabetical order.

1. Angel - Helluva Band
2. Montrose - Montrose
3. More - More
4. Queen - Queen
5. The Runaways - Queens of Noise
6. Starz - Violation
7. Sweet - Give Us a Wink
8. Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
9. UFO - Lights Out
10. Uriah Heep - Magician's Birthday

I was paging through this old magazine and found this article. I found it amusing that they call some of these "underrated" and "neglected". I suppose in 1987 that these albums weren't held in as high esteem as they are now. Many people would put "Lights Out, "Magician's Birthday", and "Jailbreak" at the top of their lists and many look back at them as classics.

I thought it was cool to see Angel on the list. I agree that they are one of the most underrated bands of the 70's.

They also asked readers to send in their choices for a reader's choice "Most Overlook" heavy metal records.

What would your list be if you were reading this magazine in 1983. All choices would have to be 1982 or earlier.

Quote :

1. Angel - Helluva Band
2. Montrose - Montrose
3. More - More
4. Queen - Queen
5. The Runaways - Queens of Noise
6. Starz - Violation
7. Sweet - Give Us a Wink
8. Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
9. UFO - Lights Out
10. Uriah Heep - Magician's Birthday

I have not now nor have I ever owned any of those albums. I've had greatest hits comps from 7 of them though. Does that count?

Sadly, the only one i can say i owned was the Starz album. Great album though.

I have owned, or now own, all ten of those. The only one I don't still own is More and The Runaways.

Angel and Thin Lizzy are two of my all-time favorites!

Of that list, I have Queen...

ultmetal wrote:

I have owned, or now own, all ten of those. The only one I don't still own is More.

They were a NWOBHM band weren't they? I think I got outbid on ebay trying to win one of their albums awhile back.

Giuffria never could catch a break, could he?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

I have owned, or now own, all ten of those. The only one I don't still own is More.

They were a NWOBHM band weren't they? I think I got outbid on ebay trying to win one of their albums awhile back.

I don't remember. It's been 20+ years since I heard that record.

I have Lights Out

i still have the Montrose & Queen records on vinyl.

Magician's Birthday is an okay album, but the really great Uriah Heep stuff is the debut, Demons & Wizards and Look At Yourself.

I have a hard time believing "Jailbreak" was ever underrated, now if you want to go for really underrated Thin Lizzy then "Johnny The Fox" would be my choice, every bit as good as Jailbreak (and only recorded 5 months after with the same producer) but sadly forgotten by the general public.

Never heard "More".

Kiss- Unmasked would top my list. Huge band, obviously, but I still feel that record gets clowned too much. It's one of my favorites.

Alice Cooper- Flush the Fashion. Like Rodney Dangerfield, this record gets no respect. The early 80s Coop certainly has its fanbase, but the average Cooper fan only owns a hits comp, and the next step up fan only cares about the early to mid 70s. So many of his albums should be considered essentials/classics, in my book. And this one most of all.

Roky Erickson- The Evil One (or Five Symbols). One of the best records ever. Should be considered essential listening, in my opinion.

But yeah, it is pretty weird to look at a list of what we now call classics, and think that they were once overlooked or forgotten. But then again, John Carpenter has said that The Thing almost ruined his career, because it was so universally despised upon release...and well, we all know it is one of the best movies ever made, and highly revered.

ultmetal wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

I have owned, or now own, all ten of those. The only one I don't still own is More.

They were a NWOBHM band weren't they? I think I got outbid on ebay trying to win one of their albums awhile back.

I don't remember. It's been 20+ years since I heard that record.

Sounds like a pretty decent, if unremarkable, NWOBHM band to me...



I could listen to more of this.

S.D. wrote:

Magician's Birthday is an okay album, but the really great Uriah Heep stuff is the debut, Demons & Wizards and Look At Yourself.

I have a hard time believing "Jailbreak" was ever underrated, now if you want to go for really underrated Thin Lizzy then "Johnny The Fox" would be my choice, every bit as good as Jailbreak (and only recorded 5 months after with the same producer) but sadly forgotten by the general public.

Never heard "More".

According to the article Thin Lizzy never broke out big in the U.S. like they should have. The author thought the band should have been as big as Zeppelin and Kiss.

More is awesome. As I pointed out to Scott on Facebook, there is no self-titled More album that was released in 1980. In fact, More didn't release any album in 1980. They released Warhead in 1981 and Blood & Thunder in 1982. Blood & Thunder is by far their best work. If you want to pick up both albums they were reissued by Wounded Bird and by Rock Candy.

The two that I would add are:

The Kinks - Give The People What They Want
Status Quo - PileDriver

I am surprised that no one has mentioned any of the early Y&T albums. Although I am not that familiar with them, they get quite a bit of love on here.

Actually, I'm having this same discussion on Facebook and I did mention these:
Yesterday and Today (London) 1976
Yesterday & Today - Struck Down (London) 1978

Also, Wishbone Ash - Argus. One of the early bands to use the dual guitar lead. Inspired bands like Iron Maiden.

Praying Mantis - Time Tells No Lies (1981), which is a duh purchase for fans of TL or NWOBHM, and also, was Riot that overlooked even then? No "Fire Down Under" or anything previous on the list.

I have Angel, Montrose, Starz, Thin Lizzy, and UFO. I've tried to get into Uriah Heep, but for some reason or another, they never clicked. I don't have the s/t from More, but i do have Blood and Thunder (1982) which is an absolute metal masterpiece IMO.

trock67 wrote:

I have Angel, Montrose, Starz, Thin Lizzy, and UFO. I've tried to get into Uriah Heep, but for some reason or another, they never clicked. I don't have the s/t from More, but i do have Blood and Thunder (1982) which is an absolute metal masterpiece IMO.

These is no self-titled album from More. That list is wrong. Blood and Thunder is superb.

No wonder I don't have it. I don't have Warhead.

The only two out of that list I do not own is More and The Sweet, I am a Sweet fan but never heard of More, til recently, and only heard the name til MG posted the video clip.

The average Hit Parader reader at the time was into all the pop metal bands with a few classic rockers thrown in.

Starz is still a somewhat obscure band, but back in 1983 if you mentioned Thin Lizzy, if you did not get blank stares, then either they were a musician, a musical archeologist, or had moved to the States from overseas.

I would love to see what that exact same author would say in 1993 on the exact same topic. But, for 1983, the dude [assuming...] was pretty right on. Personally, I would have thrown Sad Wings of Destiny on there. Still, to this day, fairly underrated.

And most of the Nazareth albums could be on there too [at least, in the U.S. - Naz was huge globally, except for here].

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

And most of the Nazareth albums could be on there too [at least, in the U.S. - Naz was huge globally, except for here].

I don't about where you lived, but in my neighborhood (just about) everyone had a copy pf "Hair Of The Dog" in 1975