Ignored bands on here

Why do some bands which were huge in the 70s seem to be almost never mentioned on here?

Barclay James Harvest were described recently in a review by one of the more knowledgeable reviewers as " a pop act" which they never were - they were considered one of the archetypal prog bands. Ineed, in a poll by radio Caroline listeners (who were very discerning!) of the best 100 albums up to 1977, they had much higher placings than Yes; indeed their best album, Everyone is Everybody Else, was placed at 13, above Close to the Edge and Selling England.

http://www.timepieces.nl/Top100%27s/1977RadioCaroline.html

Yet I've never ever seen a single thread on them or seen them included in any poll, nor is a single album in the top 100.

Mannfred Mann's Earthband, Strawbs and Uriah Heep (amongst others) also seem to get very little attention considering their former importance and none feature in the top 100. Yet Van der Graaf Generator, who were almost insignificant in the 70s, seem to feature strongly on this site. Is it just tastes changing or are many reviewers unaware of these major bands?

Check the search engine. I just joined this year and I'm sure I've seen the bands you mentioned cited in polls and lists on the forum,especially BJH. And I know they're all listed on the site.

Edited by caretaker - September 14 2010 at 00:01

Ignored bands, no.  Maybe not getting the attention you think they deserve is a different matter.  Here's how you fix it: do some reviews and make your case.  

Strawbs I do not know (I'll check them out), Uriah Heep is not my cup of tea, but for BJH and MMEB I would not say that they are ignored here. My favourites, BJH live 1974, Solar Fire, Nightingales and Bombers have PA ratings over 4, only the good The Good Earth has a fairly low rating ( maybe, if I have time, I write a review, but I do not have time...). In the second half of the 70ies both bands develop in a more 'poppy' direction, became commercially successful, winning the masses of pop listeners, at the same time disappoint the prog/art rock listener (and me, too), which is reflected in the lower PA ratings of their later albums.

I'm going to hazard a guess on this.  Groups like Strawbs, BJH, and Manfred Mann have audiences, to this day, that extend far beyond prog circles into pop, rock, and folk.  So you might hear more about Strawbs than VDGG or Gentle Giant in a general rock discussion group than in a rarefied progressive discussion group.

Anyway.

I've started a few threads on Manfred Manns Earth Band, in the past. They may last one page, if that..

People don't seem to like them as much as me.

^^^ Blimey, they really count for nothing around here..

Ive mentioned BJH a few times who were fantstic up until Woolly left- their music did become much more mainstream and a bit MOR after '79. John Lees' BJH with Woolly are playing again and are really great!! i think they are a bit of an aquired taste (and none the worst for that)

Comus and Strawbs among others mentioned above do get a fairly decent amount of attention.
However numerous Prog Folk bands are criminally overlooked, like Loudest Whisper, Sindelfingen or Tir Na nOg. But then again there's a whole subgenre that is almost totally ignored around these parts, which is quite a shame. Besides Shakti & John McLaughlin there's not much interest in Indo/Raga artists.

Edit - and speaking of Oregon, I have Out of the Woods planned for tomorrow. Looking foreward to it.


Edited by Lizzy - September 14 2010 at 16:56