OK, OK, you might know a few of these if you’re a superfan of the artist. But when bands reach a certain point of success, and you’ve heard their bigger hits over and over (and over), it’s easy to overlook (consciously or unconsciously) lesser-known tracks you should still very much know. Here are five hidden treasures from well-known bands.
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1. “Weeping Willow” by The Verve
The Verve are sometimes, unfairly, lumped into one-hit wonder conversations. Most people know the epic “Bittersweet Symphony.” But Richard Ashcroft and company created a deep catalog during their on-again, off-again history. “This Is Music,” “History,” and “Sail Away” are important entries of ’90s British indie rock.
Returning to Urban Hymns (1997), the band’s best-known album, “Weeping Willow” is nestled between “Space and Time” and “Lucy Man.” It’s space-out Motown soul run through the kaleidoscope lens of Spiritualized. Guitarist Nick McCabe fills the space using otherworldly textures. Bassist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury make up one of the best rhythm sections of the ’90s. “Mad” Richard Ashcroft, as he was known at the time, was the perfect fusion of Mick Jagger and The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson. Using the swagger of Muhammad Ali, Ashcroft was on a mission like some kind of an indie-rock prophet. “Urban Hymns” is exactly right.
And the world don’t stop
There is no time for cracking up
Believe me, friend
‘Cause when freedom comes
I’ll be long gone
You know it has to end
2. “Venice Queen” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
By the Way was a difficult album for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. John Frusciante, the guitar genius the band can’t quit, was back for another album—he returned for the massive Californication (1999) after quitting the Chilis at the height of their success.
Frusciante’s struggle with heroin is well documented. He survived near death and returned seemingly with musical super powers. On By the Way, he moved the band outside their typical funk-rock fusion. “Can’t Stop” and “The Zephyr Song” were massive hits from By the Way.
“Venice Queen” closes the album. It’s a six-minute tribute Anthony Kiedis wrote for Gloria Scott, a drug counselor and friend who died of cancer. The lyric is tender and heartbreaking. Frusciante is a kind of modern Hendrix, but on “Venice Queen” he also uses his voice as an instrument. A true California band, the Chili Peppers echo The Beach Boys and even name check The Mamas & the Papas here.
Do it all then it all again, y’all
Make it up and you make a friend, y’all
Paddle on just around the bend and
Find a place where you can see
All the mamas and the papas
Take a chance on a recommend, y’all
Hard as hell just to comprehend, y’all
Disbelief that I do suspend and
Easy now to find a breeze
Where you come from, where you going?
[RELATED: 4 Songs You Didn’t Know Chad Smith Wrote for Red Hot Chili Peppers]
3. “Side with the Seeds” by Wilco
Sky Blue Sky is Wilco’s first album with its lineup that has lasted into the 2020s. The addition of guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone had a profound impact on the band. “Impossible Germany” from this album is now a concert highlight for the band.
But “Side with the Seeds” may feature Jeff Tweedy’s best lyric: When the mysteries we believe in / Aren’t dreamed enough to be true. By the time the song crescendos during Cline’s guitar solo, Wilco show their true power. Cline’s solo is beauty and chaos. The Chicago band hadn’t left their experimental phase at this point. “Side with the Seeds” is a gorgeously written song, interpreted and performed by a brilliant band. Tweedy’s songwriting is quaint, but he’s brave enough to give the band freedom to hurl his charming songs into outer space.
The tires tar black
Where the blacktop cracks
Weeds popped through
Dark green enough to be blue
When the mysteries we believe in
Aren’t dreamed enough to be true
Some side with the leaves
Some side with the seeds
4. “I Know a Little” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
“Free Bird” is the song people shout at a band even when that band isn’t called Lynyrd Skynyrd. Three days before tragedy struck the group, they released Street Survivors (1977). It was the only Skynyrd album to feature guitarist Steve Gaines, who died in the plane crash that also killed singer Ronnie Van Zant and Gaines’ sister, backup vocalist Cassie, among others.
“Free Bird” is known for its epic, triple-guitar solo. “I Know a Little” showcases how great Steve Gaines was. During his sadly short year in Skynyrd, Gaines left the world with some of the finest Southern rock guitar playing we have. He wrote the song about a girl cheating in a relationship. The lyric is playful, and Van Zant delivers it over swinging country blues.
Well the bigger the city well the brighter the lights
The bigger the dog well the harder the bite
I don’t know where you been last night
But I think mama you ain’t doin’ right
Say, I know a little
I know a little about it
5. “Turn Up the Sun” by Oasis
Noel Gallagher is one of the greatest songwriters of his generation. “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” live comfortably alongside Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday” and John Lennon’s “Imagine” in most British music historians’ books.
Outside Oasis diehards, though, there’s a little-known song called “Turn Up the Sun” that was written by bassist Andy Bell. It opens the band’s sixth album, Don’t Believe the Truth (2005). “Turn Up the Sun” was the band’s set opener for the album’s supporting world tour, as well. It begins with a long intro of rolling Johnny Marr-like guitars before exploding into a wall of sound reminiscent of the band’s debut LP, Definitely Maybe. Liam Gallagher sneers his way through a mantra of love. Oasis are at their best when they mix global sing-a-longs with attitude—a rare Oasis classic that wasn’t written by Noel Gallagher.
The boys in the bubble
They wanna be free
And they got so blind
That they cannot see
But I’m not your keeper
I don’t have the key
I got a piano
I can’t find the C
Photo by Stephen Lovekin/FilmMagic
