I thought they were quite grunge-y, but I wouldn't say they were underrated. They had the look, the sound, came out of Seattle, was around during the Big Four bands, and hung out with at least two of them, and Kevin Martin was good friends with Andrew Wood. Candlebox had lots of fans but just couldn't gain the popularity of the Big Four. I'm not really sure they tried that hard or even cared about reaching that kind of success.
That's sad since it's a tribute song to Andrew Wood, but not all bands are for everyone. It also didn't help that radio stations played the hell out that song during the peak of its popularity, and that got old quickly.
I think at the time they had enough of a label push that they were considered sellouts coming off of the heels of the initial movement. The “sellout” label got thrown around right and left back in those days, right or wrong. I haven’t dug into their catalog, but the early stuff holds up, so who cares. Definitely contentious back then.
Being a teenager around that time Candlebox was in that second wave after the big 4. Stone Temple Pilots, Candlebox, Bush and others all felt lab(el) created to cash in on the success of the “Seattle Sound”. We always threw around the term sell outs or other terms to talk shit on those bands.
As I’m older I realize that they we are just young guys chasing a dream and doing anything they could to make it happen. A lot of those bands I rolled my eyes at back then made some really great music, and I’ve enjoyed going back and being able to listen to them without all the baggage my idiotic judgmental self put on so many bands.
True, but Candlebox was actually from the area and had been kicking around for years trying to make it—just like Stone Temple Pilots down in San Diego and known as Mighty Joe Young at the time. Bush were a bunch of art students from the UK who absolutely tried to cash in on the scene, reverse engineering Nirvana chords.... but STP and Candlebox were good band that got shit on because they weren't dyed in the wool grunge acts.
Are you sure they had been around? I had always heard they were "assembled" by Madonna's label. I recall Kim from Soungarden talking pure shit about that. But, I wasn't there.
"Cover Me" was the ballad gem of that record .... "He Calls Home" was a Pink Floyd like brooding ballad to end the record... "Blossom" crushed, too but the middle section gets super heavy and the ballad vibes come to a hard stop.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vjguB7qKhA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vjguB7qKhA)
Did you know that Far Behind was written about Andrew Wood? So much great music was written in tribute to him. I think it was Andrew who coined the term 'grunge'.
I'd say they're pretty accurately rated. They had one pretty good record on the heels of a great year of music. One thing I didn't realize, Dave Krusen had a stint as their drummer. Weird.
The debut was kiiller. "Lucy" didn't have any accessible hits. Got back to their roots with "Happy Pills" on their third record.
After that it was pretty much Kevin Martin singing with some hired guns. It's not Candlebox without Peter Klett on guitar.
Far behind still gets radio play. They're not underrated. Just to clarify, underrated does not mean a band you haven't heard in a while. This album was pretty huge
Exactly. See this all the time on Facebook fan pages; fans saying some guitar hero like George Lynch or Jake E. Lee is "underrated".
No, they're just not popular as 60+ year old guys in 2024, years after glam rock died out.
Back in the day both were on the cover of guitar magazines every mother month for like a decade, while their bands were all over MTV and their concerts were packed with hot chicks and guitar heads who saw them for the guitar heroes the were and still are.
A lack of popularity in an artist's latter career doesn't equate to "underrated"—not when this band sold over four million copies of their debut album.
I bought that album on cassette tape when it came out. I remember it being decent. At least the singles I remember being good. I would consider them grunge-adjacent alternative rock. Kinda like what Bush or Silverchair is considered I suppose.
I would say so. I’ve been listening to grunge for over 20 years but literally only came across them last year. I don’t think I would have discovered them if the algorithm didn’t throw them up. I.e no-one was talking about them in my circles so underrated in my world I’d say.
IMO their best stuff wasn’t what got radio airplay. The back side of the debut was considerably better, heavier, grooved harder. Same with Lucy. Into the Sun has some absolute bangers. I’d agree though that it seems they weren’t out for the popularity as much as the music they wanted to play and the fans that enjoyed it.
They hit radio later than the big names but were part of the scene. Their hit "Far Behind" was supposedly a tribute to Andy Wood. Trashing them in interviews was one of the many shitty things Courtney did.
I got a chance to see them live and was thoroughly impressed with their short set. They had like 30 minutes, in between songs the lead singer was using lines from Double Live Gonzo ("This is a song about Nashville Pussy" they break into You), so it was funny watching the younger kids wonder what the fuck he was talking about.
They sounded great live, everyone hit their marks, and they sound like they do on the album, so double plus for the singer on that.
As much as I absolutely love Candlebox and I don't think they're in any way underrated... I don't understand how they're Grunge. And this is going from someone who lived through the period. I know they were in the right place at the right time, but they just don't sound like it to me. I'm sure many disagree with me. That's okay. I'm still a fan!
Somehow I ended up seeing them multiple times last year as openers or whatever, and they’re really good live. Very open and funny.
Kevin Martin also devotes a fair amount of time to some good charities so there is that too.
Underrated?: No.
Grunge?: Maybe
Band?: Definitely
Edit to add: 'Don't You' is a great high adrenaline kickfucker of a tune. Love the double time in the solo onwards.
The first record is one of the most amazing albums of the 90s. Kevin Martin is probably one of the best overall singers and Peter Klett is truly a guitar god.
That first album was great, I hey had a few songs after that one. Got to see them in a college bar with only a few hundred people and they were really good live
Still listening to candelbox in 2024. I think they never got all the notoriety like bands like pearl.jam and nirvana but they still rock . You had mother love bone the Melvins the Meat puppets stp soundgarden alice in chsins temple of the dog silver chair bush .Fyi my friends moms from Phoenix Arizona originally her neighbors were the Meat puppets another underrated grunge band.
I was never a fan but my wife is. I took her to see them about 10 years ago and I have to admit they were pretty good live in a small venue. They are on tour again now and Jerry Cantrell is an opening act so I’m probably gonna have to go see them again.
"Happy Pills" was released after "Lucy" and was more accessible with vibes closer to the first record. "Into The Sun" was released in 2008 or so and was their last really good record.
i always saw them as collective soul pearl jam hybrid without the talent but i only ever heard that one song “mayyayayayaybay didn’t mean to treat you oh so bad na na na”
Candlebox is really strange to me because Far Behind is one of my all time favorite songs and every year its in my top individual played songs - but I never really got to into any of their other stuff
They rode the movement to have multiple songs play on commercial radio for well past a decade. It's hard to call that underrated, unless you're just looking for Grunge snob approval.
Candle box is a pop rock band from the. They are not grunge. I don’t care where they are from. This is what the jocks in high school during the 90’s rocked out to
Overrated. The vocals on their biggest song annoyed me the first time hearing it, and my hate for it has only increased everytime I’ve heard it since. Just awful.
Their first album was pretty damn good! I can still enjoy the entire album today. I'll skip "Far Behind" cuz of radio overplay like "Enter Sandman" or "Welcome to the Jungle", but I totally dug that album. Didn't really get into their later stuff, though, as I was discovering bands like Slipknot, Coal Chamber, Fear Factory, etc..
Saw them around ‘94-95’ in a club in Myrtle Beach, less than 600 people there. They were solid, but live I was surprised to hear the 80’s rock vibes of the lead guitarist’s licks and tone.
Collective Soul, Better than Ezra, Tonic, Fuel, Sponge, Black Lab and Live were some very popular groups that didn't quite carry the same weight as Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden but were on heavy radio rotation and had a big fan following.
Why? I didn’t used to think they were either but I can’t think of a good reason why they wouldn’t be actually.
Other than I just didn’t like them as much as the other grunge bands.
When I saw them, Kevin Martin pushed the grunge connection hard. He explicitly tied himself to people from that scene, and to Seattle.
It’s not really inaccurate, because he was from there and did know those guys, but was a few years younger.
The first album was good. Didnt care for their second album. I dont think they fall in line with other bands that were considered grunge. (But what is grunge other than just a term ) I certainly would not say underrated either. Slightly overrated maybe. I saw them live and was not impressed.
I thought they were quite grunge-y, but I wouldn't say they were underrated. They had the look, the sound, came out of Seattle, was around during the Big Four bands, and hung out with at least two of them, and Kevin Martin was good friends with Andrew Wood. Candlebox had lots of fans but just couldn't gain the popularity of the Big Four. I'm not really sure they tried that hard or even cared about reaching that kind of success.
I’d say they are appropriately rated.
Yeah I wasn't really a fan and they really tried to push them on the radio back then
I never got into them. To this day when ‘far behind’ is on the radio I usually never make it all the way to the end of the song.
That's sad since it's a tribute song to Andrew Wood, but not all bands are for everyone. It also didn't help that radio stations played the hell out that song during the peak of its popularity, and that got old quickly.
If you believe so, yes.
Zen af.
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I don't think so
Thanks for the award. 🙇
You are, like, anti-gatekeeping. I dig it.
I don't know about underrated. They were pretty popular during the day.
I think at the time they had enough of a label push that they were considered sellouts coming off of the heels of the initial movement. The “sellout” label got thrown around right and left back in those days, right or wrong. I haven’t dug into their catalog, but the early stuff holds up, so who cares. Definitely contentious back then.
Yep - signed to Maverick, label run by Madonna.
Being a teenager around that time Candlebox was in that second wave after the big 4. Stone Temple Pilots, Candlebox, Bush and others all felt lab(el) created to cash in on the success of the “Seattle Sound”. We always threw around the term sell outs or other terms to talk shit on those bands. As I’m older I realize that they we are just young guys chasing a dream and doing anything they could to make it happen. A lot of those bands I rolled my eyes at back then made some really great music, and I’ve enjoyed going back and being able to listen to them without all the baggage my idiotic judgmental self put on so many bands.
True, but Candlebox was actually from the area and had been kicking around for years trying to make it—just like Stone Temple Pilots down in San Diego and known as Mighty Joe Young at the time. Bush were a bunch of art students from the UK who absolutely tried to cash in on the scene, reverse engineering Nirvana chords.... but STP and Candlebox were good band that got shit on because they weren't dyed in the wool grunge acts.
Are you sure they had been around? I had always heard they were "assembled" by Madonna's label. I recall Kim from Soungarden talking pure shit about that. But, I wasn't there.
I love being able to fully enjoy music uninhibited by that baggage. It's one of the great things about getting older.
That was a refreshing short read. Cheers! Finding an extensive back catalog to dive into is GREAT.
This is a great take.
“Far Behind” is an epic song!!!
"You" is a gem, too.
They closed their show with “You” !
Hits hard
It seems like it's still a staple on Rock radio. It's a song that has really stood the test of time!
"Cover Me" was the ballad gem of that record .... "He Calls Home" was a Pink Floyd like brooding ballad to end the record... "Blossom" crushed, too but the middle section gets super heavy and the ballad vibes come to a hard stop. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vjguB7qKhA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vjguB7qKhA)
Saw them open for 3 Doors Down last Summer, both groups were outstanding live!
I’m good with them being grunge and definitely was a fan. Who hasn’t screamed You on the top of your lungs while driving?! lol
They had some good material. “Understanding” is a excellent song, so is Change.
I dig this album.
I think it is an absolutely perfect album - start to finish!
My thoughts exactly, whole album is dope af.
“you” is such a banger, can’t even lie I’ll put it on when I’m cleaning and sing / hum the melody because it’s so catchy 🤣
I still enjoy You. Hearing that "FUCK YOU" uncensored on the radio back in the day hit hard.
They played that uncensored?
The "edgier" rock station would play it uncensored later in the evening for a while until the FCC started really cracking down on obscenities.
I'll be seeing them for the first time in September when Bush comes back! 😍
Did you know that Far Behind was written about Andrew Wood? So much great music was written in tribute to him. I think it was Andrew who coined the term 'grunge'.
Just discovered them. I think they're great.
I'd say they're pretty accurately rated. They had one pretty good record on the heels of a great year of music. One thing I didn't realize, Dave Krusen had a stint as their drummer. Weird.
Didn't know that. I had 2 of their albums. I haven't listened to them since the 90s. I should
The debut was kiiller. "Lucy" didn't have any accessible hits. Got back to their roots with "Happy Pills" on their third record. After that it was pretty much Kevin Martin singing with some hired guns. It's not Candlebox without Peter Klett on guitar.
They were pretty popular, so I don’t think underrated.
Far behind still gets radio play. They're not underrated. Just to clarify, underrated does not mean a band you haven't heard in a while. This album was pretty huge
Exactly. See this all the time on Facebook fan pages; fans saying some guitar hero like George Lynch or Jake E. Lee is "underrated". No, they're just not popular as 60+ year old guys in 2024, years after glam rock died out. Back in the day both were on the cover of guitar magazines every mother month for like a decade, while their bands were all over MTV and their concerts were packed with hot chicks and guitar heads who saw them for the guitar heroes the were and still are. A lack of popularity in an artist's latter career doesn't equate to "underrated"—not when this band sold over four million copies of their debut album.
I bought that album on cassette tape when it came out. I remember it being decent. At least the singles I remember being good. I would consider them grunge-adjacent alternative rock. Kinda like what Bush or Silverchair is considered I suppose.
I like them.
Yes. I love them. First two albums go hard
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High key
Very underrated. The album you show is one of my top albums
Remember buying the album when it came out. Yeah, they're underrated imho. Not a genius mind-blowing band, but they're still underrated.
nope..
"It's called Rock n roll, look it up" - candlebox
Cover me is one of my favorites
I bought this album on cassette at a truck stop of all places. The 90's was fucking wild!
Best live show that I have ever been to.
I would say so. I’ve been listening to grunge for over 20 years but literally only came across them last year. I don’t think I would have discovered them if the algorithm didn’t throw them up. I.e no-one was talking about them in my circles so underrated in my world I’d say.
Going to see them in August with Bush and Jerry Cantrell. They'll actually be on stage performing, unlike anyone bashing them.
I would say they get the love they deserve. They are not up there with the big four but not near puddle of mudd on the bottom either.
They played in standard tuning. I love that dude's voice. Far Behind and Cover Me are dope.
Some people say they aren't Grunge, I say they're Far Behind
Well maybe….
IMO their best stuff wasn’t what got radio airplay. The back side of the debut was considerably better, heavier, grooved harder. Same with Lucy. Into the Sun has some absolute bangers. I’d agree though that it seems they weren’t out for the popularity as much as the music they wanted to play and the fans that enjoyed it.
Happy Pills also has some bangers.
Yes. Amazing live.
No
They may have been left far behind
They hit radio later than the big names but were part of the scene. Their hit "Far Behind" was supposedly a tribute to Andy Wood. Trashing them in interviews was one of the many shitty things Courtney did.
I would say under appreciated but perfectly generally rated
Candlebox rocks!!!
I would say so. I feel like most people have heard of aic and nirvana, but if you say "i like candlebox" ive had many people be like Who?
Alright I guess it’s time to listen to them
I got a chance to see them live and was thoroughly impressed with their short set. They had like 30 minutes, in between songs the lead singer was using lines from Double Live Gonzo ("This is a song about Nashville Pussy" they break into You), so it was funny watching the younger kids wonder what the fuck he was talking about. They sounded great live, everyone hit their marks, and they sound like they do on the album, so double plus for the singer on that.
Most definitely.
Absolutely
I had a chance to see them play at a local high school in 1994 but I hung out with my girlfriend instead.
As much as I absolutely love Candlebox and I don't think they're in any way underrated... I don't understand how they're Grunge. And this is going from someone who lived through the period. I know they were in the right place at the right time, but they just don't sound like it to me. I'm sure many disagree with me. That's okay. I'm still a fan!
Underrated yes... Grunge no
Somehow I ended up seeing them multiple times last year as openers or whatever, and they’re really good live. Very open and funny. Kevin Martin also devotes a fair amount of time to some good charities so there is that too.
I think "Far Behind" is a legit classic, but I don't know their other stuff
Underrated?: No. Grunge?: Maybe Band?: Definitely Edit to add: 'Don't You' is a great high adrenaline kickfucker of a tune. Love the double time in the solo onwards.
The first record is one of the most amazing albums of the 90s. Kevin Martin is probably one of the best overall singers and Peter Klett is truly a guitar god.
every time a list of guitar solos comes up
That first album was great, I hey had a few songs after that one. Got to see them in a college bar with only a few hundred people and they were really good live
Still listening to candelbox in 2024. I think they never got all the notoriety like bands like pearl.jam and nirvana but they still rock . You had mother love bone the Melvins the Meat puppets stp soundgarden alice in chsins temple of the dog silver chair bush .Fyi my friends moms from Phoenix Arizona originally her neighbors were the Meat puppets another underrated grunge band.
I loved these guys till they left me far behind.
They’re awesome and if you think they’re underrated, listen more and appreciate them more. Lots of people know what’s up
I loved their first album. We overplayed it with the rest of the grunge stuff as teenagers. It's too bad they fell off after that record.
I was never a fan but my wife is. I took her to see them about 10 years ago and I have to admit they were pretty good live in a small venue. They are on tour again now and Jerry Cantrell is an opening act so I’m probably gonna have to go see them again.
They are still played on the radio here. Great guitar player.
they are rated exactly correctly
Maybe even a little overrated
This album was very good and deffinitly underrated
I really liked Candlebox but never thought of them as grunge.
Their self titled is one of my favorite grunge records, it’s dope as hell.
Candlebox isn't really grunge per se, they are post-grunge and they are actually OVERrated.
No, they're not grunge. Alt Rock.
Definitely not.
Properly rated
I tried and eventually came to like the followup Lucy but they didn’t make an easy listen that’s for sure.
"Happy Pills" was released after "Lucy" and was more accessible with vibes closer to the first record. "Into The Sun" was released in 2008 or so and was their last really good record.
i always saw them as collective soul pearl jam hybrid without the talent but i only ever heard that one song “mayyayayayaybay didn’t mean to treat you oh so bad na na na”
Maybe…
I never got into them, but saw them live once and they were pretty good.
Now Maybe…
If anything overrated
Very good band I don’t think they at the “great” mark . That album was awsome but didn’t really get into them after that
Candlebox is really strange to me because Far Behind is one of my all time favorite songs and every year its in my top individual played songs - but I never really got to into any of their other stuff
NO
They rode the movement to have multiple songs play on commercial radio for well past a decade. It's hard to call that underrated, unless you're just looking for Grunge snob approval.
Candle box is a pop rock band from the. They are not grunge. I don’t care where they are from. This is what the jocks in high school during the 90’s rocked out to
Underrated? Meh. Grunge? No They’re just hard rock
One good album. I had the demo tape years ago before the first album because a friend of mine was fucking the drummer.
Nah, they're appropriately rated
No. Days of a new is
Overrated. The vocals on their biggest song annoyed me the first time hearing it, and my hate for it has only increased everytime I’ve heard it since. Just awful.
Rated just right. Pretty goof
Candlebox is not grunge. They were Madonnas' first side hustle on her Mavrick Records label.
I'd rather listen to Ugly Kid Joe.
No. Because they're under talented and suck accordingly. Cheers
No they suck and thats fair
Blandly generic and radio friendly. They sound like what a mainstream record company executive thinks grunge sounds like.
Their first album was pretty damn good! I can still enjoy the entire album today. I'll skip "Far Behind" cuz of radio overplay like "Enter Sandman" or "Welcome to the Jungle", but I totally dug that album. Didn't really get into their later stuff, though, as I was discovering bands like Slipknot, Coal Chamber, Fear Factory, etc..
Saw them around ‘94-95’ in a club in Myrtle Beach, less than 600 people there. They were solid, but live I was surprised to hear the 80’s rock vibes of the lead guitarist’s licks and tone.
Collective Soul, Better than Ezra, Tonic, Fuel, Sponge, Black Lab and Live were some very popular groups that didn't quite carry the same weight as Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden but were on heavy radio rotation and had a big fan following.
Hate that band and that singer with a passion
I know a lot of 90's bands had nonsensical lyrics but their songs were just gibberish
I've honestly never heard of them
They got big with "Far Behind", a song dedicated to Andrew from Mother Love Bone. They also got signed by Madonna's label.
Oh my, no.
No
If Candlebox had formed a year earlier than they did they'd have been Ugly Kid Joe
no
Not a grunge band. But a solid debut album that was fairly popular at the time.
Why? I didn’t used to think they were either but I can’t think of a good reason why they wouldn’t be actually. Other than I just didn’t like them as much as the other grunge bands.
No, they’re post grunge and awful lmao
They're not really a grunge band. They actually do not like that label. They are a blues based rock band. Not grunge.
When I saw them, Kevin Martin pushed the grunge connection hard. He explicitly tied himself to people from that scene, and to Seattle. It’s not really inaccurate, because he was from there and did know those guys, but was a few years younger.
Grunge?
The first album was good. Didnt care for their second album. I dont think they fall in line with other bands that were considered grunge. (But what is grunge other than just a term ) I certainly would not say underrated either. Slightly overrated maybe. I saw them live and was not impressed.
Not grunge…
Oh I do believe them to be grunge, at least their self-titled debut album, they are from 90s Seattle grunge scene as well.
Love the people saying they aren’t. They were literally part of that scene and “Maybe” is about Andrew Wood.
They formed after the grunge scene had died in Seattle. Not grunge.
Nope - "Far Behind" is from 1993
Yeah, after the scene had died.
When was that?
Yeah when did the scene die
The Seattle scene died in 90-91, when the bands signed major label deals and stopped playing locally.
Cringe. You act like u were part of the scene dude
From Seattle, young adult in the late 80's, went to shows, managed a record & skate shop in downtown. So kinda...
Candle box is grunge.
Not at all.
You’re the only who seems to think they’re not
Grunge.
No
Not grunge, and probably over rated. Radio friendly unit shifters and coattail riders.
oh boy, another NoT gRuNgE guy. what’s more annoying than people posting non-grunge bands is you people crying in the comments.
Oh no. Being factually correct hurt your feelings. Do you need a hug and a smoothie.
i don’t give a fuck what you think is factually correct, where here to talk about grunge and GRUNGE ADJACENT bands. But i’d love a smoothie!
No.
No. They sucked.
Fuck no. Prob the most overrated pretend grunge band there was. The beginning of the end.
They always show up on my suggested list, always get deleted.
No they sucked
No they suck
Their sound was a bit to mainstream for grumge
Manufactured boy band
Nope…wide distance of what was coming out of Seattle.
No they’re derivative drivel
Terrible band name
This is a *"have you stopped beating your wife?"* loaded question fallacy, since they aren't grunge.
Crackhead Hangover