TOP FIVE ALBULB THAT ARE DENIED
GRAMMY
Some albums just never leave
you and listening to them today can be like hearing the tracks for the first
time. The irony is that sometimes those classics went completely without notice
from The Recording Academy, whose honor -- the Grammy -- is largely seen as an
indicator of talent and musical contribution. As we wait to see which album the
Grammys will name the best from 2013, let's take a look back at 20 of our
favorite classic albums that were overlooked, like the Godfather of Soul's
"Live at the Apollo 1962." James Brown fans insist it was one of his
best performances.
The Band's first album,
"Music from Big Pink" (1968), was the talk of the music world. The
second, simply titled "The Band," put them on the cover of staid Time
magazine with the headline, "The New Sound of Country Rock." That did
a disservice to this 1969 album, which, if anything, is the sound of a lost
America, including "Up on Cripple Creek," "Whispering
Pines," "Look Out Cleveland" and "King Harvest (Has Surely
Come)." Grammy shine? Nada.
Love's "Forever
Changes" didn't make a great deal of noise when it was released in 1967,
but it was still inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.
"The Kinks Are the
Village Green Preservation Society" was released in 1968 and the last
project of the original band members. Hailed by critics despite its lack of
commercial success, the album ranks at No. 258 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Sly and the Family Stone was
a unique mix of funk and rock, horns and guitars, white and black, male and
female. "Stand!" (1969) was the group's breakthrough album, with both
a No. 1 single ("Everyday People") and extended jams ("Sex
Machine"). Sadly, the band started falling apart not long after, and Sly
Stone has been more in the news for his troubles than his talent. His 2006
appearance at a Grammy tribute was marked by him walking off the stage mid-performance.
