Underrated and Underappreciated

No folks this post is not some emo rant about how no one understands me. Taking a cue from MadDogBV's post entitled "Wheel of Music" I've decided to compile a list of some songs that are not as well known by well-known artists, or obscure artists with obscure songs. There is no criteria other than what I have said above. Mind you, I've chosen songs that occur to me therefore this is a great probability that I have missed some great songs that deserve to be on this list. Now without further ado, here's the list.

10) Eternal by Evanescence- This is an instrumental song complete with piano, guitar, and the sounds of a storm. It's off their first (and very limited) album entitled 'Origin'. Many of the songs that were on their 'Fallen' album can be heard here in an earlier state. As a side note, I think Evanescence has a lot of great songs that are not as well known and show a different side of her personality and musical prowess. Most of those songs are on 'Origin' and the 'Evanescence EP'.

9) Everytime by Britney Spears- Before you guys whip out the torches and pitchforks to hunt me down for this one, let me just say this is a very pretty and heartfelt song. I do remember it got a lot of airplay several months after her 'In the Zone' album was released but she's not as well known for this song as she is for her more upbeat, catchy, and raunchier songs. I've noticed that she has about 1 ballad type song in her albums that conveys a more vunerable Britney. Yes, Britney is one of my guilty pleasure artists. That's my 10 year old side coming out.

8) I Will by The Beatles- My favorite band of all time. This song is on their self entitled album more commonly referred to as "The White Album". If I remember correctly it comes at the end of the second album. It's a short, sweet, and simple acoustic song sung by Paul McCartney (he and I are going to get married, he just doesn't know it yet). I have a soft spot in my heart for acoustic songs and this one made the list because it's not as well-known as some other songs. Honestly, the White Album is more of a development of the individuals as opposed to their earlier albums which were a development of the band, so the songs on this album tend to be more "John" or more "Paul" or even more "George" and the songs don't have the other members to kind of balance them out. I Will is kind of a throwback to their earlier materials with the advantage of maturity.

7) Cancao Do Mar by Dulce Pontes- This is a Portuguese song so the only way I know what it's talking about is because I've looked up the translation of the song's lyrics. How did I find out about this song? Sarah Brightman has a song called "Harem" that uses the same tune as Cancao and someone pointed this out in the comment section of Youtube. So I decided to look up this song. Needless to say, I fell in love with the wistful tone and powerful, emotionally charged voice of Dulce Pontes. Again in the comments section someone pointed out that this song captures the Portugueses' relationship with the sea; full of sorrow at the loss of lives to its force, awe at its turbulence and calm and majesty, and the dependence on it for trade.

6) Thank You by The Redwalls- At this point, I have probably lost many of you. Who the heck is the band? I heard about this band from a professor (he's a grad student who taught one of my literature classes. You can check out his blog "Weaponized Culture"). Anyways, he told me about this band because they sound exactly like the Beatles, but they are from Illinois! In the video, Logan Baren has an early Beatles look both in mannerism and dress. It's an inspired look as opposed to an impersonation. I don't think they are signed anywhere anymore, and I have no idea where you can find their album(s), but they are on youtube. They have an authentic sound; no synthesizers, no auto-tuning, nada.

5) St. James Infirmary by Louis Armstrong- We all know the song "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong. But in the course of bluesing I have come to know this haunting song. I think I heard once that this was originally an English folk song, but I don't know. If it was, Louis has given it his signature trumpet and a bluesy sound. It's a great blues dancing song. It's got a sexy rythm, but don't listen to the lyrics or else you'll realize how depressing and morbid it is.

4) Baby I'm Yours by Barbara Lewis, Cher, Arctic Monkeys, Debby Boone- The only two versions of this song I've heard are the ones by Barbara Lewis and The Arctic Monkeys. It's a really sweet little song, probably not too hard to learn on guitar, although on piano the left hand's a bitch but thankfully it's the right hand that carries the melody. So it's one of those songs you can sing to your girlfriend, or boyfriend, and they will swoon. Unless they are hard-hearted and don't have a single romantic bone in their body. The Arctic Monkeys version is a tad faster and easier to sing than Barbara Lewis'. She uses a little more range and embellishments to her voice. But both have their charms and add different dimesions to the song.

3) Candle on the Water by Helen Reddy from Pete's Dragon- This is an old Disney movie that I saw many years ago. I don't remember the main plot, but I remembered the sub-plot that this song is related to. I had dedicated this song to my ex when he was going through some rough times. It's amazing what comes back to you across time; the subplot of this movie is the same type as my relationship was. That I'm-in-love-with-you-and-I'm-willing-to-wait-for-you-even-though-I-don't-know-if-you're-ever-coming-back type of relationship. This song captured that undying love and devotion that I felt.

2) Whaddya Want by Casey MacGill- This is another song I've been exposed to through swing dancing. It's a fun song to dance too that won't tire you out, but isn't so slow that you'll get bored. The lyrics are a bit raunchy but subversively so and it offers some dip/pose opportunities during the song. I must mention this has NO relation to the Adam Lambert song of the same name. You cannot find this song on youtube in its entirety; the closest you get is a little boy sitting in the car singing along.

1) Travelin' Soldier by Dixie Chicks- This song is a huge tear-jerker for me and is the epitome of what I think of when I said 'underrated and underappreciate songs by well-known artists'. This song came out and was being promoted at the time of the (in)famous comment by Natalie Maines. Obviously, it quickly fell out of favor even though it's a cover. I love the extended concert version with the drums playing a very military style drum. It tells an all-too-common war love story that extends beyond the Vietnam War era the song is set in. Even if you don't agree with the Dixie Chicks and their opinions you have to appreciate their talent and their ability to deliver a song.

I hope you take the time to listen to at least some of these songs. I listen to these songs fairly frequently and really enjoy the fresh sound that goes with a song that doesn't get a lot of radio play. I've tried to pick songs across genres to really give you a sense of what I listen to.