A Century of Music

[Zeeba Neighba]

Starting 1973 albums:

Bruce Springsteen - Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ (1973
Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent & the E-Street Shuffle (1973)
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure (1973)
Roxy Music - Stranded (1973)

Well of course I'm going to start 1973 with Springsteen's first two albums. Solid but inconsistent, his debut album was the album that springboarded me into a live of spending all too much money on buying and rebuying music in various formats - so thanks a lot, Bruce. Despite this it holds a special place in my heart. His second album is just fantastic (despite one of the songs on it "Wild Billy's Circus Story" is perhaps my least favorite of his songs)...ah but the high points
Then moving on to the year's most esteemed album before getting into a Roxy/Ferry kick. For Your Pleasure was my first Roxy Music album bought as a fluke in a used LP shop - wound up buying all of Roxy Music's albums, many on LP. Just love their sound/style - Stranded is probably my favorite.
Finally in a year with an interesting amount of cover albums (Bowie's Pin Ups, The Band's Moondog Matinee), Ferry's cover album is quite infectious - some odd choices and, like most cover albums, some don't work ("Sympathy for the Devil") but "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" and the lesser known "River of Salt" and "I Love How You Love Me" are just so great.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
Al Green - Call Me (1973)
Paul McCartney/Wings - Band on the Run (1973)
The Wailers - Burnin' (1973)
The Wailers - Catch A Fire (1973)
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy (1973)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Time for one more today:
The Who - Quadrophenia (1973)

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Allman Brothers - At Fillmore East (1971)
Nick Drake - Bryter Layter (1971)
Alice Cooper - Love It To Death (1971)
The Flamin' Groovies - Teenage Head (1971)
War - All Day Music (1971)
Don McLean - American Pie (1971)
The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend (1971)

Decided to stretch my 1971 listening out one more day to include several albums that really SHOULD be heard in an overview of the year (Allman Brothers, Nick Drake) and several others that are interesting listens for the year. Alice Cooper had a strong streak of albums from 1971-75 including Love It To Death, a wonderful rocker. Flamin' Groovies is back to basics rock with an almost proto-punk aesthetic. Baby Huey's posthumously released "Living Legend" album is one I should break out more often - lesser known soul gem - quite a voice. As for Don McLean's album, not the most consistent album, but solid - it was #1 so deserves to be here as an indicator of the years music. Interestingly, when younger I always viewed the albums other hit "Vincent" as an example of the lite, cloying singer-songwriter era, and yet, as I get older, it seems the opposite - seems to speak to me more. Who knew?
Missed a few this year (Leonard Cohen, John Prine, Little Feat, Faces, Santana). Still, a good end to a great year!
Tomorrow 1972 begins!

I've really been enjoying our ramble through the early 70's. Thanks, Zeeb. Between being busy with work and having nothing original to say, I haven't posted lately. The big surprise here is Baby Huey. Obviously he underwent a major image change since the days I used to enjoy him on TV.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (1973)
New York Dolls - New York Dolls (1973)
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane (1973)
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies (1973)
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (1973)
Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy (1973)
Toots & The Maytals - Funky Kingston (1973)
Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) (1973)

A full day of listening today with a ton of great albums. Almost all of them get regular listens by me. I do forget sometimes how great Aladdin Sane is - don't play it as often as some other Bowie albums though I'd probably rank it pretty high in his discography (4th?). Funky Kingston is in my top three Jamaican music albums (along with Exodus and Jimmy Cliff's debut). Gotta give a shout out to Billion Dollar Babies, an album that makes me smile whenever I break it out - fun, weird, bombastic, full of killer rock riffs, and often with its tongue firmly in cheek (the title song, "I Love The Dead", etc.).

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Still a lot of good albums left as I start the day

The Rolling Stones - Goat's Head Soup (1973)
Iggy & The Stooges - Raw Power (1973)
The Isley Brothers - 3 + 3 (1973)
ZZ Top - Tres Hombres (1973)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Genesis - Selling England By The Pound (1973)
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)
Waylon Jennings - Honky Tonk Heroes (1973)
Tom Waits - Closing Time (1973)
T. Rex - Tanx (1973)

Afternoon spent listening to these four - unlike many of prior albums, I enjoy all of these but I'm not sure I've spun any of them in several years. Delighted to reacquaint myself with them Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is the last great Sabbath album (I do enjoy Sabotage and Heaven and Hell). I don't turn to country music often (though am tempted by Sirius XM's greatest country songs countdown on now - hey! its a countdown), but Waylon Jennings is my favorite C&W artist (I mean besides Johnny Cash but for I always think of him transcending the genre). Listening to Closing Time, Waits' debut is like listening to a different artist that he work would become. Tanx, while not in the rarefied air of Electric Warrior and The Slider is tremendously underrated.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Finishing up 1973 with a few more albums this weekend

Gram Parsons - GP (1973)
Little Feat - Dixie Chicken (1973)
Elvis Presley - Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite (1973)
The Three Degrees - The Three Degrees (1973)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Today I've been going through a playlist of 1974 singles/songs which includes:

"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" by Steely Dan
"Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
"No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley & The Wailers
"Killer Queen" by Queen
"Lady Marmalade" by LaBelle
"Waterloo" by ABBA
"Black Water" by The Doobie Brothers
"Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie
"Pick Up the Pieces" by Average White Band
"I Shot the Sheriff" by Eric Clapton
"Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot
"Can't Get Enough" by Bad Company
"Fox on the Run" by Sweet
"I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton
"It's Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)" by The Rolling Stones
"Best of My Love", "Already Gone" by Eagles
"Annie's Song" by John Denver
"The Loco-Motion", "Some Kind of Wonderful" by Grand Funk Railroad
"Before the Next Teardrop Falls" by Freddie Fender
"Never Can Say Goodbye" by Gloria Gaynor
"Can't Get It Out of My Head" by Electric Light Orchestra
"I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight" by Richard and Linda Thompson
"Love Hurts" by Nazareth
"You're No Good", "When Will I Be Loved" by Linda Ronstadt
"Can't Get Enough of Your Love Baby" by Barry White
"You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker
"Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas
"Help Me" by Joni Mitchell
"Lovin' You" by Minnie Ripperton
"You Haven't Done Nothin'" by Stevie Wonder
"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John
"The Air That I Breathe" by The Hollies
"Fire" by The Ohio Players
"Then Came You" by The Spinners with Dionne Warwick
"Take Me To the River" by Al Green
"Forever Young" by Bob Dylan
"This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" by Sparks
"How Long" by Ace
"Nothing From Nothing" by Billy Preston
"September Gurls" by Big Star
"(I've Been) Searchin' So Long", "Wishing You Were Here" by Chicago
"Laughter in the Rain" by Neil Sedaka
"Magic" by Pilot
"#9 Dream" by John Lennon
"Bungle in the Jungle" by Jethro Tull
"Dance with Me" by Orleans
"I Honestly Love You" by Olivia Newton John
"Beach Baby" by First Class
"My Eyes Adored You" by Frankie Valli
"The Night Chicago Died" by Paper Lace
"Up for the Down Stroke" by Parliament
"You Make Me Feel Brand New" by The Stylistics
and more - up to 94 songs

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Richard and Linda Thompson - I Want to See The Bright Lights Tonight (1974)
Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel (1974)
Linda Ronstadt - Heart Like A Wheel (1974)
Funkadelic - Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (1974)

Starting 1974 with my four favorite albums of the year. Interesting that in a classic rock era, that my favorites of the year fall in the folk rock, country rock and funk categories. It's an interesting year, 1974, certainly with good albums but not as many of the iconic "classics" that the surround years produced.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic (1974)
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Natty Dread (1974)
Electric Light Orchestra - Eldorado (1974)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Queen - Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
David Bowie - Diamond Dogs (1974)
The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974)
Robert Palmer - Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley (1974)

Diamond Dogs and It's Only Rock 'n Roll often get tagged as quite inconsistent, and admittedly they are. Still, I think a lot of the criticism is based on comparisons to earlier albums. I enjoy both, and really almost forget how good the Stones' album is - Mick Taylor's guitar solo for example on "Time Waits for No One" is killer.
Love Robert Palmer's debut - it's an album I should break out more often.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Roxy Music - Country Life (1974)
Neil Young - On the Beach (1974)
Van Morrison - It's To Late to Stop Now (1974)

Not that it matters that much, but I was delighted when Roxy Music got into the Rock and Roll HofF last year. I enjoy their music so much - five fantastic albums in a row in the early 70s.
Best Ever Albums site rates Neil's On the Beach as the second best album of 1974, and I can't argue. Though I certainly enjoy playing other albums more from the year (and though it doesn't grab you as quickly as Neil's earlier albums), it's an album where my appreciation grows with each listen. Of course, it wasn't available for release from the early 80s to 2003 when it was finally re-released so I don't have that younger exposure and fervor that I have with his other albums.
Not many live rock albums played in my series up to now - of course, we are entering the mid-late 70s live album heyday (for better of for worse), but couldn't forgo listening to Van. Fantastic live set.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping (1974)
Parliament - Up For the Down Stroke (1974)
Big Star - Radio City (1974)
Average White Band - AWB (1974)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Ry Cooder - Paradise and Lunch (1974)
Jackson Browne - Late for the Sky (1974)
Randy Newman - Good Old Boys (1974)
Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties (1974)

With most of the 1974 stone-cold classics done, here were some interesting albums come out. Haven't broken many of these albums out in awhile, but that doesn't mean they're not great. Cooder's Paradise is a wonderful rootsy album of old traditional numbers and covers of mostly lesser-known songs with a bluesy-rock take. Newman's Good Old Boys gives Sail Away a run of the money as Newman's best album.

Though my last.fm records tells me I've played Late for the Sky back in 2015, I certainly don't remember every playing it. Though I really enjoy Running on Empty (especially the title track), I've never particularly been drawn to Browne's sound though I fully acknowledge his songwriting chops. Last week I saw Taxi Driver with Scorsese's excellent use of the title track as Travis Bickle stares at American Bandstand on TV holding his magnum against his head. So, hey, its 1974 week - perfect time to break this album (which Allmusic gives 5 stars) out. The lyrics are great, but, sorry Jackson, still leaving me cold, but, who knows, maybe this will gain poignancy for me with age.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

10cc - Sheet Music (1974)
Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark (1974)
Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974)
Ohio Players - Fire (1974)
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down of Broadway (1974)
King Crimson - Red (1974)

Another interesting, diverse Friday. I don't listen to much Joni, but this is just as good as Blue.
Didn't want to leave out the wonderful 70s funk of Ohio Players
Don't listen to much prog at all but didn't feel 1974 would have been given a fair shake if I didn't spin Genesis and King Crimson as they're so esteemed. Haven't broken either album out in years. I do really enjoy Gabriel solo and how he went from Lamb which is ambitious but bloated (with many individual songs outshining the whole) to his debut astounds me, as the latter seems much tighter, focused.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Yesterday I listened to a playlist of singles and key album tracks from the year 1975, a wonderful playlist that included songs like:
"Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin
"Bohemian Rhapsody", "You're My Best Friend" by Queen
"Tangled Up In Blue" by Bob Dylan
"Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd
"One of these Nights", "Lyin' Eyes", "Take It to The Limit" by Eagles
"Low Rider", "Why Can't We Be Friends" by War
"Rhiannon", "Say You Love Me" by Fleetwood Mac
"Born to Run", "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen
"Love Is The Drug" by Roxy Music
"Philadelphia Freedom", "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" by Elton John
"Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)" by Parliament
"I'm Not In Love" by 10cc
"Sweet Emotion", "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith
"Fame", "Young Americans" by David Bowie
"That's The Way I Like It", "Get Down Tonight" by KC and the Sunshine Band
"December 1963 (Oh What A Night)" by Frankie Valli and the Four Season
"Crazy on You" by Heart
"Evil Woman", "Strange Magic" by ELO
"Hurricane" by Bob Dylan
"Mamma Mia", "SOS" by ABBA
"You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate
"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon
"I Love Music" by The OJays
"Jive Talkin'" by Bee Gees
"Shining Star", "Sing A Song" by Earth Wind & Fire
"Love Machine" by The Miracles
"Roadrunner" by The Modern Lovers
"At Seventeen" by Janet Ian
"Send In the Clowns" by Judy Collins
"My Little Town" by Simon & Garfunkel
"It's A Miracle", "I Write the Songs" by Barry Manilow
"Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain" by Willie Nelson
"I Want You" by Marvin Gaye
"Gloria" by Patti Smith
"Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille
"Feel Like Makin' Love" by Bad Company
"Sailing" by Rod Stewart
"Sara Smile" by Hall & Oates
"All By Myself" by Eric Carmen
"TNT" by AC/DC
"Tush" by ZZ Top
"The Hustle" by Van McCoy
"Slow Ride" by Foghat
"Theme from Mahogany" by Diana Ross
"Hair of the Dog" by Nazareth
"It Only Takes A Minute Girl" by Tavares
"Miracles" by Jefferson Starship
"Listen to What The Man Says" by Paul McCartney
"Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell
"Love Rollercoaster" by Oho Players
"Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" by Freddie Fender
"The Theme from the Rockford Files" by Mike Post
"Please Mr. Please" by Olivia Newton John
"Thank God I'm A Country Boy" by John Denver
"(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" by B.J. Thomas
"Saturday Night Special" by Lynyrd Skynyrd

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

And today starting the albums of 1975:

Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run (1975)
Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac (1975)
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (1975)
Queen - A Night At The Opera (1975)
Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic (1975)
Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks (1975)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Electric Light Orchestra - Face the Music (1975)
Neil Young - Tonight's the Night (1975)
Funkadelic - Let's Take It to the Stage (1975)
Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live! (1975)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Two more today:
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975)
Patti Smith - Horses (1975)

What a year - besides the obvious killer albums like Born to Run, Wish You Were Here, Physical Graffiti, several personal loves dating back from college. Remember specifically tracking down albums like Horses and my first Funkadelic album Let's Take It to the Stage in NYC stores - not exactly the albums one would find at the local Sam Goodys even 10 years after release. Stage (which for those not into Funkadelic is not a live album) is not the greatest Funkadelic album but for me it's the most fun. And Horses from initial listen was one of those aha-albums - love it still. And hey, welcome, 1970s, to the punk era
Plus the furious Live! by Marley. Man, great music day for me. Have always though the longer Live at the Roxy recorded the next year was an even better testament to Marley live, but hey that was released in 2003 so for decades Live! was the best snapshot of the energy of Marley in the mid-70s