10 Underrated Albums By Huge Bands

There are two distinct schools of thought when it comes to determining if a record is underrated or not: Firstly, there are the records that receive critical acclaim, but are denied the mainstream success they deserve; secondly, there are the wildly popular records that end up being panned by critics.

After reaching mainstream success, or receiving critical acclaim, musicians are often crushed by the pressure of replicating what made them great, - Hell, Metallica made a whole documentary about this process... Bands will either get bogged down in trying to replicate a sound that made them famous in the first place, or they'll became so sidelined, trying to do something different, that the finished result feels far too alien.

Conversely, if a band has been toiling away beneath the surface of mainstream success, and finally breaks through, their past work becomes forgotten by the work that most appealed to the masses. These are the albums that have received such unfair treatment, either they slipped through the cracks, or were too harshly judged.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have one of the more interesting back catalogues in terms of style. Considering just how huge they are now, it took them a damn long time to produce an album that was both commercially and critically successful. That finally came in 1991 with the release of Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Blood Sugar has come to represent the pinnacle of their early sound, but it also served to eclipse the record that preceded it.

Although, Mother's Milk did not have the cultural impact of is successor, the album marked a huge step forward for the band. After a somewhat tumultuous start to their career - which saw an incessant stream of drummers; a slew of drug binges, and the death of a guitar player - the band finally got their act together to record Mother's Milk.

The aptly named opening number, Good Time Boys, introduced the new configuration with style. Flea kicked things off with some signature slap; Frusciante came in with some metal guitar and Smith pounded out the jams. Kiedis was still very much the rapper at this period but his delivery was starting to incorporate more typical singing techniques. As well as a funked out version of Stevie Wonder's, Higher Ground, the record also contained one of the bands more musically sensitive tracks, up until that point. Pretty Little Ditty, was a tender guitar melody that signposted a more reserved approach, that would eventually became the band's signature.