10 Underrated and Overlooked Albums

Honestly, I get so sick of hearing the same songs played on the radio by bands that have much better songs or albums in their discography. Some bands have songs, or albums that constantly get air time, while other albums by the same bands go virtually unnoticed. Often these overlooked albums contain gems that are better than their most popular works. Today I will celebrate ten electronic albums that seem to be dismissed when they ought to be revered.

1. Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward

Depeche Mode released an album every year from 1981 through 1987. I'm including the compilation album they released in 1985 titled Catching Up With Depeche Mode because it did have some original tracks on it. The mere idea that a band would need to release a compilation called Catching Up With shows that they were releasing a plethora of music in fast fashion.

Releasing so much content so quickly may be one of the reasons why their 1984 release titled Some Great Reward, gets overlooked when it contains some of their best work. The best track on this album that never gets played anywhere is a song called Lie To Me. The base line on Lie To Me is amazing. In fact the album title Some Great Reward draws its name from a line in this lyrics of this song. The lyrics of this song are well crafted and the song is completely danceable.

It's most likely that we don't hear DJs playing this track because, for some reason, it never received a single. It doesn't even appear as a remix or B-side on any of their singles. And DM is known for releasing tons of singles that include tracks that were unreleased on albums and remixes of other songs. The production quality on this album is high, and if you haven't heard it recently, I suggest checking it out again. Tracks like Something To Do and If You Want are equally masterful dance tracks that appear on this album and never get played.

You can purchase it by clicking on the image here:

2. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Dazzle Ships

OMD started releasing music in 1980. They actually released two albums that year. Both of them are good. Honestly, almost all of OMD's work is overlooked and overshadowed by the song If You Leave which was featured in the film Pretty In Pink.

I chose Dazzle Ships because it was recently featured in an art retrospective that paid homage to the band and their use of album cover design for this album. OMD was not afraid to express themselves musically using a mixture of electronics and natural instruments. As their name suggests, they are an extremely artsy band.

You can check out almost anything they produced and be entertained and delighted. There is more to OMD than the track If You Leave, which still gets played all the time. If you decide to pick up anything by them, but especially their works from the early eighties, you won't be disappointed.

You can purchase it by clicking on the image here:

3. Deee-Lite - Infinity Within

Deee-Lite is best known for their hit Groove Is In The Heart from their first album World Clique released in 1990. Make no mistake, World Clique is a great dance album, but Infinity Within is their second release and often gets overlooked. People seem to think of Deee-Lite as a one hit wonder band, but those people haven't heard Infinity Within.

Infinity harkens back to the 1960's MOD movement. The tracks on this album use samples from the sixties to further reinforce the motif they were going for on this album, and it works. The sound they created is a mix between techno, hip-hop, and sixties Go-Go music. Songs like Pussycat Meow and Rubber Lover fall right into this groove, and are fun to boot.

There are tons of good tracks on this album like the dance tracks Runaway and Electric Shock or the hip hop influenced Heart Be Still. Deee-Lite doesn't take themselves too seriously, especially on tracks like Fuddy Duddy Judge. However, they are serious about voting, as can be noted on the interlude track Vote Baby Vote which featured an MTV commercial during the 1992 elections encouraging young people to register to vote.

I would like to take this moment to note that Deee-Lite is NOT an eighties band. Their first album was released in 1990, but for some reason you will ALWAYS hear Groove Is In The Heart played at an eighties club night. It's a travesty. If you haven't heard Infinity Within, you should check it out, you won't be disappointed. The songs have a way of growing on you, because they are good.

You can purchase it by clicking on the image here:

4. Inner City - Paradise (Big Fun)

Inner City was a project by techno house DJ and music producer Kevin Saunderson. Released in 1989, it was meant to be a commercial release from an otherwise underground music producer. It had nominal success but never really charted the way it should have.

The album is titled Paradise in Europe but was later released in the United States as Big Fun. Big Fun is one of the best tracks from this album. It's a commercial dance track with underground production quality, and it really works. The name Big Fun was also featured as a fictional band in the movie Heathers which was released around the same time.

However, the best track on this album, and the reason this album made it onto this list, is the song titled Good Life. Good Life is an inspirational dance track with a great hook. Even thirty years later, Good Life can really start up a dance floor, bring someone out of their blues, and generally make people feel happy. It has been featured in a few movies, but never really garnered the commercial success that it deserves. If you haven't heard it, you should check it out. It will, invariably, become one of your favorite songs.

You can purchase it by clicking on the image here:

5. Fad Gadget - Fireside Favorites

Fad Gadget was a project by performance artist Frank Tovey. He was spotted performing by music producer and label owner Daniel Miller who also produced Depeche Mode. Miller took Tovey's performance art and produced an electronic punk album with him. This is how Fireside Favourites came into existence in 1980.

This album is unique in its ability to be a grating, artistic punk album that uses exclusively electronic sounds. Fad Gadget and Frank Tovey went through many different incarnations and musical styles, but Fireside is his coup d'etat. Whether you are into punk rock or dance music, you will find a friend in Fad Gadget.

Fireside delivers poetic lyrics with original sounds to form the basis of what can be described as art punk. Songs like Pedestrian and Coitus Interuptus present the listener with angst ridden lyrics and grating electronics. While tracks like The Box and State Of The Nation are more in tune with the dark wave, new wave movement of the early eighties. This album is extremely unique and still holds up. This can be noted by its rarity. If you can get your hands on a copy of this album, you should do it, before they are all gone.

You can purchase it by clicking on the image here:

6. Front 242 - Geography

If you are familiar with Front 242, you probably know the track Headhunter or the B-Side of the same track Welcome To Paradise. Headhunter is Front 242's most popular track. However, their first release Geography from 1982 is an electronic gem.

Geography used electronic keyboards and drums to create a new sound. Front 242 would be one of the most influential bands in the Industrial Music genre. Geography inspired many of the electronic albums that came afterward, even until today.

Tracks from this album like Operating Tracks and U-Men are both danceable, and artistic musical expressions that have yet to be duplicated. This album holds up even almost 40 years later as one of the most original albums that influenced the sounds of many other bands. It was re-released in 2004, so you can now find it for purchase.

You can purchase it by clicking on the image here:

7. The Human League - Travelogue

The Human League is most well know for their song Don't You Want Me. You can hear this song played at every eighties night you will ever go to. What you won't ever hear is Travelogue, which is a shame because it is an excellent album far removed from the dreck that is Don't You Want Me.

Travelogue is a dark, brooding electronic production that falls into the realm of art more than pop. This is probably why it never achieved any type of commercial success. This album fuses electronic synth pop sounds with new wave vocals and has experimental overtones.

The track Being Boiled is excellent, and has been sampled into tons of other songs especially in the underground techno scene. Tracks like The Black Hit Of Space and Dreams Of Leaving further cement this albums dark electronic sound. If you are only familiar with Don't You Want Me, you will be pleasantly surprised that The Human League is a band of substance. However, if you are a fan of Don't You Want Me, you will probably hate this album.

You can purchase it by clicking on the image here:

8. Kraftwerk - Electric Cafe

Most people have heard of Kraftwerk because they are considered one of the most influential electronic bands of all time. Even if you are not directly aware of Kraftwerk, you have heard their samples in other songs. They began releasing music in the 1970s and continued sporadically through the next few decades.

They are most well known for their albums Autobahn from 1974 and Computerworld from 1981, which are both excellent albums. However, after a hiatus of 5 years, following the completion of Computerworld, Kraftwerk went back to the studio to record Electric Cafe released in 1986. The album was released after their mild success with Computerworld, but wasn't well received.

Electric Cafe is a more mellow electronic album. It uses gentle tones and minimal lyrics to convey their sound. There wasn't much fan fare surrounding the release of this album, and you still don't hear much about it today. I have never encountered a Kraftwerk fan you pointed to Electric Cafe as their favorite Kraftwerk album. That makes it the most overlooked Kraftwerk release.

The title track of this album Electric Cafe was used as the opening song for the Sprockets skit on Saturday Night Live. This was probably the most success that the album Electric Cafe ever enjoyed. Songs like Techno Pop and Musique Non Stop were probably produced to be commercial successes, but never reached any familiarity with audiences. That doesn't mean that this album is a flop. It's not. You can hear Kraftwerk's signature style on the track Boing Boom Tschak. The songs Sex Object, Telephone Call, and the title track Electric Cafe are haunting and memorable. This album is excellent, and if it had been released by another band, I think it would have risen to the occasion. It just wasn't what Kraftwerk fans were expecting.

You can purchase it by clicking on the image here:

9. Yazoo (Yaz) - You And Me Both

Yaz or Yazoo in Europe was the band formed by Vince Clarke with vocalist Alison Moyet after he left Depeche Mode, but before he formed Erasure. There was already a band in Europe, at the time, with the name Yazz so they had to call themselves Yazoo on their European releases.

The combination of Clarke's electronic music stylings with Moyet's soulful vocals is a unique combination that really worked. Their most popular tracks were Don't Go and Situation, both of which appear on their first release Upstairs At Eric's from 1982. You And Me Both was their second and final release in 1983 because Moyet left the band to start a solo career. You And Me Both is an excellent album that is often overlooked.

None of the tracks on You and Me Both charted in the United States, and the album was considered a commercial flop. However, it was well received in Europe and was later featured in the film The Chocolate War in 1988. That doesn't mean that this album is bad. It's not. It's a really, really good album. Songs like Nobody's Diary and Walk Away From Love are haunting and beautiful. This album may not be a dance album, but it's an excellent example of an electronic soul album. There should have been more albums like this.

You can purchase it by clicking on the image here:

10. Ministry - Twitch

Ministry is best known for their loud, industrial, guitar rock infused electronic dance music. Tracks like Stigmata and So What are their best known songs. The album A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste from 1989 was the first real hit for Ministry. It was accepted almost universally by skaters as the album to listen to while they were skateboarding in the late eighties and early nineties.

Before Mind was released, Ministry released a couple of more strictly electronic influenced albums, a bunch of electronic singles on Wax Trax!, and one commercial flop titled With Sympathy. The best of these early albums is Twitch released in 1986.

Twitch featured hard, electronic industrial songs like We Believe and Just Like You. It also featured more mellow electronic dance tracks like The Angel and Over the Shoulder. The end of the album is loud and noisy and is a preview of the direction that Ministry would eventually move into on later albums. The whole album is good. Once in a while I will run into someone who will mention that they really like this album, but it doesn't happen often enough. If you haven't heard Twitch, you're missing out.

You can purchase it by clicking on the image here:

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