is there any genuinely bad forgotton early 70s hard rock

[willbo]

someone was talking about Uriah Heep on another thread. And I was thinking. I've never heard any early 70s hard rock which I would say was crap. Like if Sabbath, Purple and Zeppelin were top, and bands like Heep, Wishbone Ash and Nazareth are the next level down in fame. I can't think of a band that was trying to sound like Led Zep but really badly. Maybe early Judas Priest but even that's just a bit boring. I feel like a "bad" Led Zep wannabe would be hilarious as they're so cheesy anyway.

[the science eel]

So you're asking us for examples of music that's forgotten AND bad AND from around 50 years ago? Bit of a tough call!

Maybe if you look at the proggier end of the spectrum for examples of the worst stuff.

[Famous Mortimer]

There's a classic rock station in this neck of the woods called KSHE-95, and every Sunday morning, 8-12, they do a show called "KSHE Classics", where the host (who's been there since the 70s) gets to break from the rigid playlist and just play whatever he likes. Occasionally, you'll get an absolute gem, something you've never heard before which you immediately love, but there's also dozens and dozens of "who would have ever liked this?" choices.

I'm struggling to find a recent playlist, but here's a list someone made a while ago of the entirety of the pool of songs classed as "KSHE Classics", and even among this, which I assume the DJ must have enjoyed at one point, there's some that are just awful. Now imagine the songs that they played in that era that didn't make it to this list.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

[xxxx xxx x xxx]

Geordie and Nazareth spring to mind - both had fairly small-scale chart success but I bet they couldn't believe their luck.

[willbo]

Nazareth are one of Axl Rose's favourite childhood bands - he's friends with the members now I think. And yeah I know Attila has Billy Joel. I heard them on youtube and thought they were cool. There's also a new metalcore band of the same name.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Love that attilla record

[gilbertharding]

I can't think of a band that was trying to sound like Led Zep but really badly.

The Sweet - Burning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0hG3Gib-Is

It doesn't qualify as 'really bad', but it's so much like a daytime Radio 1 version of The Immigrant Song it might as well be a cover version.

[Pauline Walnuts]

Love that attilla record

It's his best one!


You could try the The Baker Gurvitz Army. v. meh 70s hard rock, but it does have Ginger Baker playing a drum solo over everything.

[Pauline Walnuts]

I can't think of a band that was trying to sound like Led Zep but really badly.

Led Zeppelin about half of the time?

Oh, hang on, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m-lJb69wrs

[Butchers Blind]

Love that attilla record

Had to look that up as I wasn't aware of this record in Joel's output. I like this reason for the break up.

Their creative partnership ended in 1970 when Joel ran off with Small's wife, Elizabeth, although this did not end their collaborations, as Small produced Joel's Концерт video as well as the Live at Shea Stadium performance.

[cosmic-hearse]

Juicy Lucy - former members of the incredible psych band The Misunderstood morph into a really dull sub-Free boogie hard rock band. They also have a dreadful name.

[Egyptian Feast]

The Sweet - Burning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0hG3Gib-Is

It doesn't qualify as 'really bad', but it's so much like a daytime Radio 1 version of The Immigrant Song it might as well be a cover version.

This live version, sung to an audience mainly comprised of pop kids, is 'interesting'. If I could go back in time and see any gig, this would be one of the first, but even so this track is well Yewtree.

[Egyptian Feast]

An old colleague of mine was in a very early Scottish metal band, Iron Claw, formed in late 1969 after the members saw a Led Zeppelin gig. I worked with the guitarist for 15 years, yet only found out about this when I friended him on Facebook last year. They're good from the little I've heard, so I'm not counting them as 'genuinely bad' but they are certainly forgotten.

[Pauline Walnuts]

If you're talking about forgotten early 70s Heavy Metal pioneers, which is apparently what's now happening, check out Lucifer's Friend.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD_mytxCdeg



🤘

[willbo]

I remember going down a rabbit hole of obscure bands like LF a few years ago. I really like that Sweet song despite the Led Zep rip off. Bruce Springsteen's youthful heavy rock band Steel Mill could be filed with Attila I guess. He even put a track from them on his most recent compilation album (along with a couple of his other teen bands)

[Rizla]

That was me that brought up Uriah Heep - I should reiterate I don't think they're crap, (how can anyone not love "Salisbury" with that outrageously awesome cover art?) just "not good" - as in they weren't virtuosos. I'd sooner listen to them than ELP or whatever.

I used to consume a lot of this stuff in my teens and early 20's, stuff like Titus Groan, May Blitz, it's alright I suppose - certainly better than Jethro Tull - my god, I put on "Thick As A Brick" the other day, what a pile of dogshit - some of their other stuff's ok, Aqualung or whatever, but they could disappear off the face of the earth and no-one would be any the worse off, imo. However, I think when you hear something like Patto* you have to conclude that a lot of these "heavy" 'tashed jokers with their fuzz pedals and big Sound City stacks really didn't know what the fuck they were doing - I love the story about Alvin "widdly widdly" Lee, when Ten Years After took Patto on tour as support, insisting on travelling in their little commer van with them, just wanting to be near Ollie Halsall and soak up his talent - he'd only been playing guitar a couple of years when they made their first album, ffs.

Anyway I digress - the answer you're looking for is White Witch, they were rubbish (according to Lester Bangs at least).

*Warning - contains lyrical content that would make DLT blush

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Sir Lord Baltimore's debut is very very silly but I do enjoy it.

Edit: that Patto's not bad. Sounds a bit like the very early Magic Band, before Cooder sorted them out and they weren't much cop. But still, sounding a bit like the Magic Band!

[Pauline Walnuts]

If you want the European/Irish Magic Band can I recommend Skid Row?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hEEGuj7CZ0