Vital Records #3: Forgotten Gems
Turn off the noise, silence the critics, pump up the volume: some records never got the praise they were due
How do highly successful recording artists navigate career setbacks? What if one of their least popular records changed someone’s life forever?
Would you give it a second chance?
Never one to shy away from plot twists, today’s guest, Dan Pal, taught film in the Chicago area from 1997 until he retired from teaching earlier this year. He now writes film, television, and music reviews, in addition to various memoir pieces, here on Substack:
His Top Ten Memoir covers his favourite music from every year of his life. His Palangeau Park videos document, with dedication and humour, the progress of his various gardening projects.
Today, Dan will discuss three less-celebrated albums by major artists from the 70s and 80s.
In his own words:
Over the years, I've compiled a list of my (almost) 500 favorite albums. Scanning through the titles I decided that what I wanted to cover with Andres were three less-celebrated albums by major artists from the 1970s and 80s. This was my …





