Your top 10 favorite "obscure or unknown" songs?

[Iago]

Can't come up with a top ten right now, but here are some of them:

-Marquee Moon
-Dream's Dream (both by Television) Amazing melodic playing by the whole band..the guys just FIT!
-Anything from Free's - Fire and Water Album, except for "Alright Now", of course Don't you think their rhythm section was better than Zeppelin's? Paul Rodgers is a much better singer to me than Robert Plant.
-Daydream (Robin Trower)

[Nelskie]

Trem - I'm still in the process of developing my list, but did want to respond to Iago's comment about Led Zeppelin.

While Free was a very capable band, they perhaps lacked the raw savoir fare, and thundering dynamics that were Zeppelin's primary calling card. I would also disagree with the assertion that Rogers was a better vocalist than Plant. While both sang primarily in a blues-based style, Plant worked the upper registers more effectively in Zeppelin's material than did Rogers in Free. Some of Zeppelin's material, I feel, was also more challenging vocally. As such, Robert's shortcomings were far more evident than Rogers', esp. in a live setting. Personally speaking, I have give the nod to Plant for his exemplary vocal efforts, as well as for the fact that his singing style allowed his fellow bandmates to really push the outer limits of a song's sound and arrangement. Whatever Robert may have lacked vocally (which wasn't very much), he certainly made up in the live performance dept. Few front men have commanded the spotlight as effortlessly as Plant did during Zeppelin's tenure as rock's most prolific band.

Rhythmically speaking, I don't know how you would compare any mortal rock drummer to Zeppelin's John Bonham, except in the fact that they both used sticks, and they banged on something called a drum set. Bonham was a superbly skillfull technician, and a master at outside-tempo drumming. His foot-pedal skills were so adept, that many modern drummers had to use syncopated pedals and double-bass toms to do what he did with one foot. As far as his sound was concerned, it is still the standard by which all hard rock drumming is measured - expansive, tremor-inducing, earth-shuddering walls of sound, and yet, a delicate touch if the mood required. Bassist John Paul Jones was also very talented in his own right. A seasoned studio musician, he had worked with dozens of high-profile 60's artists before joining Zeppelin's ranks. JPJ was also an accomplished keyboardist, and penned the mesmerizing sounds behind the one of the band's live staples - "No Quarter" (Led Zeppelin III - 1973).

As for guitar work, Mr. Page's body of work speaks for itself, and needs no further embellishment on my part. Bottom line: As a band unit, Zeppelin was about as rhythmically solid as any rock band before, or after their time. Rock solid, as a matter of fact.

Free were certainly very talented musicians, and had several memorable hits. Unfortunately, they, like the majority of rock bands in the late 60's and early-to-mid 70's, still loomed in the omnipresent shadow cast by the mighty Led Zeppelin.