Whats the most overrated/underated album of the 70's?

Mystery Bonus Question:

Most Underrated/Overrated Prog Rock Most Underrated/Overrated Disco

U Rock: The Who: Quadrophenia O Rock: Led Zeppelin: IV

U Pop: Rod Stewart: Every Picture Tells A Story O Pop: Carole King: Tapestry

U R&B: Stevie Wonder: Signed, Sealed, Delivered O R&B: Marvin Gaye: Let's Get It On

U Prog: King Crimson: In The Court Of The Crimson King O Prog: Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon

U Disco: The O'Jays: Back Stabbers O Disco: I Will Survive (a single, yeah, but c'mon... it blows)

overrated: bitches brew

overrated: 'Berlin' - Lou Reed, 'Zuma' - Neil Young, 'Marquee Moon' - Television

underrated: 'Radio Ethiopia' - Patti Smith, 'Machine Head' - Deep Purple, 2nd Suicide album.

Underrated: Robert Wyatt- "Rock Bottom", Eno- "Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy)", Keith Hudson- "Torch of Freedom", Joni Mitchell- "Hejira", Pere Ubu- "Dub Housing". Overrated: John Lennon- "Plastic Ono Band", Marvin Gaye- "What's Going On", Bob Dylan- "Desire"

"overrated" prog" Where?¿ Who by?¿

In case you're confused I wasn't listing these albums in any order or by genre category. These are just records I like or dislike.

Underrated - Neil Young - "Time Fades Away", Neil Young - "On The Beach", Neil Young - "Zuma"

Overrated - The Who - all post 1970 (Live at Leeds) output, Suicide - all recorded output

Underrated; Candi Staton - Young hearts run free. ELO - Out of the blue. Thin Lizzy - Live and dangerous. Sparks - Kimono my house/Propaganda. Giorgio Moroder - From here to eternity. Flying Lizards - Flying Lizards. Undertones - Undertones.

Overrated; Dylan - Desire. Stones - Exile on main street. Gram Parsons - GP/Grievous angel.

Thumbs up to whoever said that the O'Jays' "Backstabbers" was underrated. Gamble and Huff is generally underrated, matter of fact.

It's also cool that Omar likes Deep Purple's Machine Head. You will be converted yet!

What you mean to Zappa? ;) Of course I like Deep Purple, the rock band that swings. Ahem, but is there some correlation between liking Deep Purple and Zappa other than "Smoke on the Water"?

btw. I'll second 'What's going on' in the overrated dep. and 'Out of the Blue' in the underrated dep.

And let me add: 'Songs in the Key of life' - Stevie Wonder = overrated; 'Sticky Fingers' - Stones, 'Tonight's the Night' - Neil Young and 'Radio-Activity' - Kraftwerk = underrated

NEIL YOUNG, Omar!!! And he calls me rockist ;)

Underrated? Well this one:

http://www.click2music.fi/finland/viikkarit/vk46/9.jpg

by now surely MMM = overrated?

Dr.C I don't remember calling you a rockist? But yeah, even whining bastard Young once made a good album, strange innit? ;) But come on I bet you have some nice surprises up yr sleeve in re. 70s.

Overrated - the LP
Underrated - the EP, and OSTs (eg Marvin Gaye's Troubleman)

Overrated - 'Too Much Too Soon' ("Stranded in the Jungle" - zzzzz aarrrgh), 'Marquee Moon' (I'm now old enough to not have to pretend to like Tom Verlaine's singing anymore)

Underrated - 'American Gigolo' soundtrack, 'Love it to Death', 'Killer', 'School's Out' (Alice Cooper)

In terms of albums, this is difficult (I know this is supposed to be just a bit of fun, but I'm taking it seriously, since it's the best decade evah for pop). Singles, genres and different decades would all be much easier!

"What's Going On", "Exile On Main Street" and "Led Zep IV" are all no-brainers in the overrated category, to which I will add the first two Roxy Music albums. But beyond that I'm struggling. Perhaps because this may well be the most analysed decade in history by cultural commentators, most albums seem to have found their proper place.

To be truly underrated, I suppose most people would have had to have forgotten, or never heard of the record in question. Only one contribution posted so far falls into that category for me. In terms of well-regarded artists with criminally overlooked records, I'll mention Aretha's "Young, Gifted & Black" and The Buzzcocks' "Love Bites", but I suspect even they are highly rated by lots of people.

Underrated - Led Zep IV. Yeah, I know. But it's the only album I can think of with a %100 hit rate. Led Zep II is ridiculously overrated though.

Overrated - 'Songs in the Key of Life' (S Wonder)

Underrated - 'Q:Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!', 'News of the World' (Queen)

Underrated - Led Zep IV. Yeah, I know. But it's the only album I can think of with a %100 hit rate. Led Zep II is ridiculously overrated though.

Y'know what. I actually agree with that. The sound on Led Zeppelin II is atrociously murky. I imagine by their fourth album they could afford a better studio.

But anyhow, back on track: I see nobody has jumped at the chance to take a stab at the Prog/Disco Mystery Bonus Question.

Overrated prog: Ummagumma. Underrated prog: Mirage, by Camel.

I answered all questions.

I absolutely concur on the Alice Cooper choices, as well as "Young, Gifted, and Black". However, I still pledge my undying allegance to "Too Much Too Soon".

Overrated Prog: 'Close to the Edge', VDGG
Underrated Prog: 'Works Vol. 1', 'Fragile', "Hocus Pocus"
Overrated Disco: "D.I.S.C.O.", "Ring My Bell", Florida
Underrated Disco: "Here Comes the Night" (Beach Boys), "Born to be Alive" (Patrick Hernandez), Spain

Most underrated - 'Candy-O'

More overrated prog - 'Lark's Tongues in Aspic'
More underrated prog - Goblin

Underrated:
Love You - Beach Boys
Muscle of Love - Alice Cooper

under prog: Wurdah Itah, Magma/Christian Vander; Starless & Bible Black, KC; Klossa Knapitatet, Samla Mammas Manna; Albert Marcoeur, self-titled

over prog: Relayer, Yes; MDK, Magma; Three Friends, Gentle Giant; Legend, Henry Cow; Heresie, Univers Zero

under pop: Starting Over, Raspberries; Holland, Beach Boys; Queen II, Queen; Randy Newman Live, RN; America Eats Its Young, Funkadelic

over pop: Dark Side of the Moon, PF; Ram, Paul McCartney; Imagine, John Lennon; A Night at the Opera, Queen; One Nation Under a Groove, Funkadelic; Still Crazy After All These Years, Paul Simon

Underrated: Lynyrd Skynyrd -- Pronounced..., Second Helping, and Street Survivors, Plastic Bertrand -- Ca Plane Por Moi, Montrose -- s/t, Yes -- Yessongs, Blondie -- s/t, Paul Simon - s/t, Vibrators -- Pure Mania, Dead Boys -- Young, Loud, and Snotty, Rush -- Permanent Waves, Boston -- s/t, Eddie Money -- s/t

Overrated: Pharoah Sanders -- The Creator Has A Master Plan, Bob Dylan -- Blood On the Tracks, Rocket From The Tombs, Dead Kennedys -- everything, Blondie -- Parallel Lines, Wire -- 154, Chairs Missing, Rush -- 2112, AC/DC -- High Voltage, Electric Eels -- Agitated/Cyclotron

I answered all questions. -- JM

Ah, I stand corrected. Sorry, JM...I didn't see that the first time through.

I answered all questions. -- JM

Wow, he sounds like an angry Greek Oracle.

underrated - the two Harmonia albums, any chance for a proper reissue?

another underrated 70s gem i just thought of - Joey Stec - The Joey Stec album, recently reissued on poptones, but easy to find the original vinyl edition on Playboy records

Underrated: "Adolescent Sex" and "Obscure Alternatives" by Japan.

One of the most underrated rock albums of the '70s has to be Big Star--by the band Big Star. Alex Chilton rocks, and the songs (while a touch brit-rock imitative) are generally excellent and surprisingly influential to current rock bands trying to bring back that big arena rock sound (i.e. Sloan)

Big Star are so not underrated. Their first album is compared to their second, though. And much as I love third/sister lovers, absolutely overrated.