10 Great Rock Music Acts Who Were Too Far Ahead Of Their Time
Although originality sells, being ahead of the crowd doesn't always work in your favour.
“...I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it." These, the famed words of Marty McFly when he inadvertently introduced the world to rock music in Back to the Future, carry more truth for music than most people realise. Musicians love to be different, alternative, authentic, and original, to the point where we find ourselves surrounded by a catalogue of eternally splintering subgenres. But, what if the world isn’t ready to take the path you’ve carved for it?
Rock is a genre built on passion and creativity, yet some creative exploits haven’t paid off for the musicians behind them. Bands that would be viewed as revolutionaries in today’s scene received a lukewarm or even dismissive reception from audiences in their prime. Why? The sad truth is the safe, predictable certainty of commercialism is likely to get record labels more profit than the uncertainty of originality.
While some of these overlooked acts have managed to gain retrospective acclaim from modern music fans, others remain embroiled in unfortunate obscurity. With that in mind, this article looks to unearth and celebrate a few of these names today. From British punk to gospel blues, here are ten rock acts who never got the credit they deserved because the world simply wasn’t ready for them.
10. Mudhoney
When grunge went global in early '90s, the acts who propelled the gritty subgenre to stardom found themselves immortalised in music history. Surely then, a band who innovated this world-shattering genre years ahead of Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains are to be celebrated as international megastars as well. Sadly for Mudhoney, that isn’t how it worked out.
Although Mudhoney didn’t officially form until 1988, founding members Mark Arm and Steve Turner had been intermittently working together since 1978. Joined by former Bundle of Hiss drummer Dan Peters upon their formation, Mudhoney hit the ground running with a debut EP in October 1988. Released via the synonymous grunge label, Sub Pop, ‘Superfuzz Bigmuff’ was a commercial catastrophe upon release. Even by the standards of then-underground Sub Pop, the EP sold poorly, and it didn’t chart in the UK until as late as 2008. In retrospect though, this EP has been acknowledged as an essential release in American rock history alongside Mudhoney’s second album, ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge’ (1991).
It’s difficult to see why Mudhoney never hit the same levels of fame as their Sub Pop label partners. Evidently, they paved a way for other acts to walk, only to be overtaken by them while they were trying to navigate it. Mudhoney are hardly failures though, having sold 500,000 albums to date. But, compared to Nirvana who sold 30 million for ‘Nevermind’ alone, Mudhoney’s legacy is obviously and tragically overlooked to this day.