the most underrated 33 1/3 in history?

the buzz created for klaatu's 'calling occupants...' was a hoax 'created' by a single dj, and then used by capitol records to hype a really good (but no beatles) canadian prog-rock band. people were so desparate for a beatles reunion, they were primed to believe anything. the carpenters did a great cover of 'calling occupants' as well.......'paul is dead' was another great hoax.....ps, the first klaatu lp is underrated for sure(better than most of the euro-prog of the day)...still no beatles.

I like Klaatu a lot and yes they had a very Beatlesque sound and approach. The production on their first two albums perhaps even set a new bar at the time in terms of musical ambition and even results for their genre of music.

They also had a knack for writing catchy lightweight pop-friendly tunes, which extended even to their later albums. The song "Hope" from that album, though a bit more substanntive lyrically than many of their pop tunes, is one example of Klaatu at their best.

I agree also that their stuff is highly underrated, largely as a result of the fact that their first album was rumored to be the Beatles.

People listened and heard enough to hang on to that "hope". Then when it became clear they were not, the band was doomed from there on despite the actual merits of their work which is certainly very capable of standing on its own.

Also, there was so much production applied to their first two albums and the soundscapes so ambitious that they sound crappy on all but very good systems, on which you discover that they were actually extremely good.

Audiphiles that are into that kind of pop/rock/prog music should definitely give Klaatu a listen.

I'd love to hear a properly done digital remaster of these albums some day.

what about california jam, true life hero, anus of uranus and sub rosa subway amongst the others. the album was not just calling occupants. the carpenters version was good but not as good as the original which is absolutely great. no need for a cd the vinyl versions are arguably some of the best sounding vinyl out there. in my opinion the band was and still is, even today, fantastic and way way under valued in pop music and to write them off as beatles copies or wantabee's or a hoax would be a great loss to music. so do your self a favor if you have it pull it out and give it another spin, if you don't find it and see what you have been missing. no they were not the beatles but who was/is? but they were great!

too many to seriously put down in print.

John Foxx - the Garden from 1981 is one of them thou.

"anus of uranus"

I think the actual name of the song was "Hanus of Uranus".

"Anus" is funnier though and seemed to stick!