What unknown musical artist would you like to share with your fellow audiophiles?


When it comes to music, about half of my friends are "collectors" and the other half are true audiophiles. It seems the collectors are so obsessed with the size of their collections, that they leave no room in their budget for quality audio equipment. I think the audiophiles, with their focus on quality over quantity, are the ones with their priorities straight. So, unless you are on an unlimited budget, I'm guessing that audiophiles are more selective in their musical purchases. That being the case, I'm curious about what "buried treasures" have you been able to find? Thanks for responding and I look forward to discovering some good music, based on your suggestions.

I'll lead off with the band Crack The Sky, most notably their first two albums: "Crack The Sky" (1975) and "Animal Notes" (1976). I would describe them as a cross between Be Bop Deluxe and Frank Zappa. Their music is unique and totally unmistakable with anyone else. Choice cuts from the debut album are: "Ice;" She's a Dancer;" "Mind Baby" & "Sleep." Choice cuts from Animal Notes are: "Animal Skins;" "Wet Teenager;" Virgin....No" & "Maybe I Can Fool Everybody."
mitchagain
+ 1 for Don Dixon & Marti Jones. They are both still making records together as "solo" artists, with Don always playing and producing. Although those releases are sporadic these days.

In a way, Marti remains me of a modern day Linda Ronstadt because both of them have amazing voices, as well as impeccable taste when it comes to the songs they cover. Those artists range from:

David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw, John Hiatt and Graham Parker, as well as lesser known artists like Richard Barone (The Bongos), Clive Gregson, Peter Holsapple (The DB's), Dwight Twilley and Loudon Wainwright. Of the latter five, I'd highly recommend checking out the Bongo's, DB's & Dwight Twilley if you are a fan of the "power pop" genre."
Jazz fans should check out Oded Tzur!  Some very interesting music with an Indian component - take a listen on youtube.

https://www.odedtzur.com/
Lots of interesting suggestions here. Particularly pleased to see some fellow Hip fans. I will throw out a few:
James- U.K. band that has been releasing solid albums for 20 years.
The Horrors- U.K. band that sounds like early Simple Minds or even the Psychedelic Furs. Their last 4 albums are fantastic. The name of the band doesn't do justice to their sound.
Big Big Train- British prog band that sounds like early Genesis to me. Their last album "Grimspound" is terrific. Large band with a horn section and violin player that will make your system sing.

Since people have mentioned the DB's, Bongos, etc, three of my favorites from that era are Guadalcanal Diary, The Connells, and the Dream Syndicate. I got Steve Wynn's "Steve plays Bob" yesterday. It is a collection of Dylan tunes covered by the Dream Syndicate and Steve Wynn playing with people like Alejandro Escovedo. Guadalcanal Diary just rereleased a live album that captures their spirit from a show in 1999. And the Connells released a best of compilation last year that is a good start if you are not familiar with them.


Finally, for really new bands, The Eyelids out of Portland are a great jangle band reminiscent of REM. Their last album "Or" was produced by Peter Buck and they have a new one on the way. 

Cheers.


I'm a big Marti/Don fan too!
Although they are not unknown, Ojos de Brujo deserve much wider attention in this country.  Great musicians, song writers and amazing performers.  Here's a link to a video of a concert from 2007.
That old Marti Jones album, "Used Guitars" is great, but the recording, at least on the vinyl issued at the time of release, is a tad bright.
Good to see the less mainstream stuff all of you are into--once I learned that old heavy rock had been recategorized into 'metal' I found a lot of stuff that wasn't just cookie monster vocals and shredding. Some good bands out there. Orne- "Tree of Life" --'doom prog' an offshoot of the doom metal band Reverend Bizarre. The Scandinavians (well, Finns are not Scandinavian, but) seem to revel in this stuff. All sludgy, heavy, like Sabbath's first album, the slow grind with the flatted 5th.