An Ear For An Era: 1974

I'm running out of things to say here. I think I'm missing something. There were a few great albums in here but it mostly seemed pretty insignificant in 1974. Maybe I'm still getting over the highs of 1973 and getting excited about the advent of punk that it's not advancing quickly enough for me. Anyway, this one will be short.

It started with some really great jazz. Billy Cobham's Shabazz, a live album from a 1974 performance (oops! the official release was from 1975! no wonder it seemed so ahead of its time!) in "Europe." This was full of great trombone solos and ridiculously complicated drumming. That's mostly what I remember. I think it'd go over well with some of my friends that don't particularly listen to jazz but would be open minded enough. That whole fusion thing or whatever.

Now I'm going to write about a bunch of artists I've already written about at some point. Because there was so little "new to me" stuff in my collection from 1974. (Looking through rateyourmusic's list, I mostly missed out on King Crimson, Genesis, Brian Eno solo (damnit!), and Leonard Cohen (I thought I had all his significant releases! oops!). Among much other stuff. Remind me not to look at that again, because it reminds me how incomplete this whole exercise is!).

Stevie Wonder will be discussed now. I know Fulfillingness' First Finale is yet another acclaimed release from the golden age of Stevie Wonder, but I wish I hadn't made this promise because I don't know what to say here! It's starting to seem less cheesy as I listen to him more and more. He created quite the grooves in this era; I quite enjoy the Jackson 5 featuring "You Haven't Done Nothin'" and the ballad "Too Shy To Say" is a real showcase of his vocal talents.

But what about that Neil Young? On The Beach is an album I've only listened to once or twice, but I need to spend a lot more time with it. He was at the height of his talent in these days, and I could hang out in the nine-minute "Ambulance Blues" all day long. Is this secretly his best album? I don't know if I'm ready to make any statements like that but it's certainly underappreciated by me. 

The first Tom Waits album I ever bought was The Heart of Saturday Night. This was kind of a random choice (I didn't know where to begin) but it was a pretty appropriate one. It's a great introduction if you need to ease into his more experimental, later work. The coolness that oozes all over this album is undeniable. I think it inspired me to try to come up with a list that have that undefinable "cool" quality and nobody else really had it quite like Tom Waits on The Heart of Saturday Night. It's cooler than a well digger's ass. He'd fit well with the beat poets and whatnot. And because he's Tom Waits, he sang the saddest songs you will hear. And I now present to you: the song to play at my funeral. If it comes down to it and anyone that may read this happens to also help plan my funeral one day, it is my request that this is played.

Tom Waits "Shiver Me Timbers"

Those outlaw country guys were doin' stuff too. Willie Nelson put out Phases and Stages which was pretty good. It's nice that he had the thought to tell the story from both sides of a doomed marriage, and it's just a sad ol' time like good country oughta be. I also have Johnny Cash's Ragged Old Flag on here, for what it's worth. The title track seems like blind patriotism but sounds fairly convincing. If I want to get the people riled up on Memorial Day or something I'd play this I guess. I do still like "What On Earth Will You Do (For Heaven's Sake)" at least as far as the vocals go.

Now we'll move on to the power pop or whatever you'd call it, Big Star's other album Radio City. In my opinion it started out a bit boring but as the album moved along it got more and more interesting, more and more catchy, with the climax being (what I assume was a single) "September Gurls." I think Big Star would have been a good band to listen to in high school. Then listening to it now would be even more nostalgic.

And finally, Roxy Music's famous Country Life. I don't think it quite ranks as high as For Your Pleasure for me, but it's still very very gorgeous. The arrangements are flawless, hitting all the right notes in slow ballads, heavy brooding beats, and catchy pop tunes. I might like Ferry's vocals the most here. Here he is channeling Elvis (?)...

Roxy Music "If It Takes All Night"

Newcomers:

Some of the emerging rock n roll of this era just flew by me in that I only have some singles and not full albums. But there was the first taste of Rush with the song "Working Man." A few Queen songs as well (I have Sheer Heart Attack on vinyl but not digitally if you can believe it). "Killer Queen" and "Stone Cold Crazy" are some quintessential jams.

I guess that's all? 1974 was not a highlight here.

Other stuff worth mentioning:

• Some more James Brown funk singles from the collection I spoke of last time. Still very repetitive, still don't mind it one bit.
• Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" came on. I wish all of his music hadn't been ruined by frat boys everywhere. Also Eric Clapton's cover of "I Shot the Sheriff."
• In less-ruined reggae, Toots & The Maytals' cover of "Country Roads" makes me happy.
• Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" came on. Apparently I don't have Diamond Dogs. I know I have it on vinyl.
• I had a Frank Zappa epic track "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" come on. I wish I had more of his stuff.
• Nico covered "The End" by The Doors, and that was my "the end" to Nico.
• Billy Joel may be Mr. Cheesy, but "The Entertainer" is a pretty good scathing critique of the music business.
• Jr. Walker kept up the funky goodness with "Dancin' Like They Do On Soul Train." So now you know the world I've been listening to. 1974.

On The Next Installment...

I will have a lot more to discuss. We'll be past the early 70s and music will move forward with purpose thanks to artists like Bruce Springsteen, Blondie, Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris (two albums!), and Queen, while the veterans will still be putting out landmark albums like Blood On The Tracks, Metal Machine Music (is it that time already??), Nighthawks At The Diner, Physical Graffiti, Red Headed Stranger, Wish You Were Here, Young Americans, and Zuma. Looks good to me.

An Ear For An Era: 1973

Happy 40th Anniversary, All Of The Music Discussed In This Post!

Remember when the Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary Edition came out? That was already several years ago! Now some of the stuff discussed here has gotten such 40th anniversary deluxe reissue treatment but it'd be interesting to wonder why others may have not this year. Of course, it's still only August. And maybe some of the bigger ones are waiting for the big 50th. Who knows.

The stuff that came up this round can be described mostly as refreshing. Something about most of what came up was just such a step up from the last couple years, be it from refreshing "new" artists, returns of those that I hadn't heard from in awhile, or just great improvements. And funk. Somehow there was so much more funk in 1973 than the last couple years. Maybe even more than any of the previous years where I talked about how awesomely funky stuff was. Maybe. So where to begin?

Maybe I'll start with the soul/funk. Because a very indicative song came up very early. Jr Walker & The All Stars' "I Ain't Going Nowhere." This is one of my favorite songs by them, despite it being from such a late point in their career. I love the early stuff, I kind of didn't like most of the early 70s cheesy stuff, but they turned a corner in '73 with this song as well as "Gimme That Beat." Not exactly funk as far as rhythms went, but a strong, hard, northern soul sound exemplified by hard vocals and a driving fast pace that begs to be danced to and whatnot. Most of what I associate with funk without being funk.

Jr Walker & The All-Stars "I Ain't Going Nowhere"

Al Green also stepped it up (quite a bit in my opinion) with Call Me. I appreciated his wispy vocals on the earlier albums mentioned here but found myself getting bored on those ones. Call Me is a different beast to me. More rhythmic without compromising his style, I think it's mostly the production and the arrangements that make it stand out, it's just more dynamic. Just a little bit more of a beat makes it feel like it's going somewhere which makes me feel more invested.

Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On is his "other" greatest achievement after What's Goin' On. The album as a whole might not be as grand of a statement but the vocal achievement alone is his best work in that regard. And yes, the title track has become a gigantic cliche for movies to make cheesy love scenes but damn it if it isn't one of the best vocal efforts in all of music ever. Marvin Gaye puts so much soul into every syllable, running the gamut of everything in his rather extensive vocal range, all to try to seduce that special lady. It doesn't matter how much I hear this song, it doesn't matter how much movie producers try to make me hate it by associating it with garbage cheesy films, I will always love this song. And the rest of the album, yup it's pretty amazing too. Nothing as over-the-top vocally but still full of great ballads.

But what about the funk? I'm not gonna tease you that much, am I? Just mention it and then talk about other stuff? OK now. Most of my funk comes from different soul/funk rarities compilations. Like Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label from Numero Group. This may be my most recommended such compilation. Who would have guessed: Ohio soul! On it I found an irresistible gem by a ridiculously short-lived group called OFS Unlimited, called "Mister Kidneys." At the time when I first heard it I called it the funkiest song I'd ever heard. Now, that's probably not true. But still one of my favorites ever.

OFS Unlimited "Mister Kidneys"

That Prix stuff also included great stuff by Marion Black and Mitch Mitchell. I cannot recommend that compilation enough. Absolute Funk 3 is another great one. Check out Wee Willie & The Winners' "I Don't Know What You Got But I Know What You Need." And The Funky 16 Corners is another great one. Soul Vibrations' "The Dump" is another highlight.

And I can't talk about funk of 1973 without talking about the main man, James Brown! The Payback is a beautiful record, 73 minutes of pure funk gold. Almost all the tracks are marathon sessions as he was known for (all but one track are over 7 minutes, two surpass 12). It's really just the perfect James Brown album, because none of the tracks are overplayed in movie trailers to the point of cliche, it takes its time to build all the tracks out to the way they deserve to be heard, and it never gets old because anything that is repeated (and yes, lots of his work is quite repetitive) continues to sound fresh and exciting. I also have the compilation The Singles Vol. 9 (1973-1975) and four of the eight 1973 tracks are kind of variations on "Stone to the Bone" from this album with the repeated chorus "I've got a good thing, I ain't gonna give it up." And that kind of says it all. He ain't gonna give up this amazing groove, let's just keep it going for 20 minutes because it's working so well.

Let's switch gears. There's not much left to talk about before I get into what I'll call the "Hellos and Goodbyes" section that seems pretty essential to this entry.

Paul McCartney & Wings' album Band On The Run is probably the best thing he did outside The Beatles. Is that a universal sentiment? Probably? I never thought about it too much. I thought maybe his s/t was considered as such. But Band On The Run shows a maturity that most of his solo stuff doesn't seem to have based on what I've heard. These songs have different movements within them, many aspects are explored where I feel like that was missing in lots of his other solo work (as well as mini-reprises within songs of other songs that make the album at itself even more cohesive than it already is otherwise). Apparently he was still a genius in the 70s! He was holding out on us! And the stuff since this, I feel like he's holding out on us some more. Anyway, I'll be speaking later about songs I want played at my funeral...here's a song I want played at my wake. I assume I will have a wake, what with being 1/4 Irish.

Paul McCartney & Wings "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)"

Johnny Cash is back! Kind of! I counted some stuff on Personal File, a (relatively) recent release of some stuff he worked on that was more personal, not recorded for any commercial reason, during the time he was less "active" in the commercial scene because commercial country music got less good and more bad in the 70s, as 70s because it was recorded then. This Personal File stuff was excellent, mostly completely naked arrangements of just Johnny and his guitar. Lots of covers of old songs (I was excited to hear his take on "Galway Bay" because I'm going to be visiting Ireland in a couple months and will certainly watch the sun set over Galway Bay with this song in mind) as well as some original material (one was written when he was driving from Denver to Cheyenne, which is awesome because I've been on that stretch of highway countless times in my own lifetime and I'm glad it could be inspirational). Lots of gold here.

OK now let's say some "hello"s to the freshman class of 1973, the finest we've had in quite some time. Yes, I understand that some of these artists had stuff going back even back to the 60s but my music collection isn't as all encompassing as it should be. So this is, again, based only on what I have.

There was one major voice in country music (that I can speak to somewhat extensively) emerging in 1973 and that was Willie Nelson. His album Shotgun Willie is quite wonderful, kind of a first step in the direction of "outlaw" country, "anti-mainstream" sounds of traditional country music in the face of emerging pop crap. The album title makes me laugh a bit because in Denver we have a very prominent strip club of the same name, but beyond that it's a wonderful album of country ballads and drinkin' songs. The most indicative song I can think of for what I was talking about above is "Sad Songs and Waltzes," a sad waltz that will break your heart with a chorus stating that "sad songs and waltzes aren't sellin' this year." I don't want to hear the songs that were sellin' this year because this is probably about 1000x better than that stuff.

Let's move on to...jazz? I've never known how to label Tom Waits. This early stuff could probably fit better into the jazz category (or singer-songwriter whatever that means) than other stuff. I always called him the blues even though it's so far different from blues music. But yes, his debut album! Closing Time! It just makes me so happy that from here on out there will be Tom Waits to guide me through the 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. I can keep looking forward to a Tom Waits album. This is before he got crazy experimental, it's traditional music in one sense or another of jazzy, bluesy ballads in his unmistakable voice. Here is a song that was on my shortlist to be played at my wedding. I don't know why I didn't end up putting it on the list I gave the DJ (other than deciding to surrender some creative control in the interest of having my friend that is an actual DJ make some actual DJ decisions and not just play a playlist I created), but here's a great song for other people to dance to at their weddings.

Tom Waits "Little Trip To Heaven (On The Wings Of Your Love)"

I watched a (relatively) recent New York Dolls live set where they verbalized their genre, stating "we're not punk, we're glam." Fine. But seriously, this self titled album of theirs sounds to me a lot closer to The Ramones and maybe Rancid than T Rex, Bowie, or whatever other band you'd call glam. I can see the glam in the way they present themselves, their attitude, etc. But the sound has a lot to do with punk rock. The looseness, the unrestrained energy, it's just so crass and punk rock to me. And they've been covered by pop-punk heroes The Groovie Ghoulies ("Lonely Planet Boy")! I think lots of punk groups were influenced by them (and they probably had some Stooges influence in them) so whether they like it or not they will be associated with this genre that will be fully established in 3-4 years time. It's the energy, man! Is this an actual music video?

The New York Dolls "Trash"

Roxy Music had two albums this year! One with Eno, one without. So that's exciting. It means the Eno influence/hand is entering the picture. First was For Your Pleasure. Art and rock and roll, together at last. I love this album. It's probably my favorite of their releases. There's a good amount of potential energy that builds up as the tracks go on, building and building until the payoff which is great. That sounds like it could be describing stuff from any type of music but I'm using it to describe this. Then their next album Stranded came up. It's been well publicized that this was Brian Eno's favorite Roxy Music album despite not including Brian Eno contributions. It was great but might have been missing something. I don't want to say it was a Brian Eno factor, it was something else I think. But still great. Whatever.

The most out of place entry here is Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. They were definitely around since the 60s but I don't have any of that older stuff. Is it good? Should I check it out? There's not much to say about this because it's been studied more extensively and written about in ways that I could never imagine. It's a pretty perfect LP, front to back. I haven't listened to it as much as I should, but it fit together so logically that I could tell when it hit the final track "Eclipse" that this would be it, that it was the logical conclusion and then it happened. Well played sirs.

And finally, let's say goodbye to the graduating class of 1973. Again, some of these artists released stuff after 1973 (and it's possible I'll pick some of it up in time to hear from them again here!) but it looks like they'll mostly be spent.

The Who has been a presence damn near since I started counting year-by-year. I don't really have any personal history with Quadrophenia, it's an album that I never checked out until relatively recently but it's probably the one that would have spoken to me most directly of all of theirs had I listened to it in high school when I first started getting into them. I still haven't seen the movie but the music itself sounds like a more raw exploration of pure rock & roll, a bit looser and heavier. Maybe I should look into The Who By Numbers as a worthy successor? Maybe I should. But yes, I do quite love that song "Love Reign O'er Me." Who doesn't?

But speaking of loose, heavy, raw rock & roll...Iggy & The Stooges! Their last album (until very recently) was Raw Power. There's something very interesting about the sound of this album. It's so dirty, so full of piss & piss, that it's hard to believe it's the David Bowie mix (and Iggy's sounded even "worse"). Bowie, who was the king of glam, mixed this album, a super raw and opposite-of-glam dirty angry rock & roll. Their first album was kind of a precursor to punk. The second was kind of a precursor to other hard rock styles. And this one doubles down on the punk, sounding as mean as almost any other punk rock album you'll hear. The Stooges go down in flames and they are rocking the soundtrack while it happens. After this we'll find ourselves in Iggy Solo land where he won't sound nearly as dirty or angry as he does here. But just as a finale, my copy of Raw Power came with a bonus disc called Georgia Peaches, a live performance from 1973. It's an odd recording where you can hear a quite loud woman commenting on wanting another drink among other things, Iggy trying to start a fight with someone in the crowd, and oh yeah! Music! Some songs that don't show up on any of their studio recordings, some from Raw Power, and that's it. No older songs. This is a band that didn't look back (until I saw them this century playing old hits). Nope, they knew they were the future of rock & roll and this album shows it. They just didn't care.

Where I Stand: 4833 of 37675 (currently I'm in the middle of a big mistake of ripping lots of my old CDs from high school...I'm sure I'll regret having to listen to all of this when I hit the late 90s...)

Other highlighty stuff worth noting:

• Harry Nilsson put out a standards collection called A Touch of Schmilsson In The Night. It's mostly a showcase of his great vocal work. And he picked songs that match his style well, as far as levels of wit and whatnot.
• Vince Guaraldi's "Little Birdie" was a great pop jazz tune. Yup.
• "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & The Gang. I'm tellin ya, it was a funky year!
• Stevie Wonder's cheesy-but-good streak continued with Innervisions. It probably deserves a full paragraph but I don't know what to say about it right now. I'll probably give his next one a full paragraph though.
• Waylon Jennings snuck in there with "Ain't No God in Mexico"
• David Bowie followed up the great Ziggy Stardust... with the still pretty great Aladdin Sane. I just have to make this post not too ridiculously long and keep room for the newcomers! I don't have the album Pin Ups.
• I had a bunch of stuff by Jane Birkin pop up and let me tell you one thing. Her daughter (Charlotte Gainsbourg) sounds a lot like her. Like, a lot a lot.
• Barry White's Stone Gon' is a sexy good time.
• I got my first Queen single, "Keep Yourself Alive." Yeah!
• There was a live Rolling Stones album called Brussels Affair. I've decided that for live albums I'm trying to associate them with the year of the performance, so this was a 1973 performance (that I think was recently released). I want to visit Brussels someday. In 1973 the Stones had quite a library of great material and they were near their peak, so it's a pretty great performance with lots of great songs. 
• More funk is Aaron Neville's "Hercules" produced by Allen Toussaint. Talk about a groove! It's more laid back than most of the stuff I talked about here but it's still quite great.

On The Next Installment...

Another Roxy Music album that is quite the big deal. More Stevie Wonder. Some more great Tom Waits. Keeping it coming with Big Star, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. Not much else though. This may be the shortest one of all at 176 tracks. So...I'll be back with you soon with a short entry?