The narrative about American prog in the ’70s that I grew up on is that American musicians heard British prog and got really excited about it but, without the classical education, they really didn’t know how to do it, save to include some jazz. And then some of them figured out that if they just …
Tag: 1975
Mothership Connection (1975) by Parliament
This is far and away my favourite Parliament album and I’m inclined to say their best, but I’m biased. (I.e. I greatly prefer Funkadelic.)
Expensive Shit (1975) by Fela Kuti
I know nothing about Kuti, just his reputation. So this is a new experience of me. And it means that I have no idea if this record is as big a deal as I’ve read. “The place to start” is what I’ve heard a lot. And if that’s true, I guess I’m listening to it …
Marcus Garvey (1975) by Burning Spear
Though I’m a little familiar with ’70s Reggae most of the stuff I’m familiar with pre ’75 centres around the Wailers – I’ve heard very little that wasn’t by someone associated with them. And so I can’t say I know much about the history of the genre outside of what they were doing. (I have …
Still Crazy After All These Years (1975) by Paul Simon
I have no time or patience for the Smooth Sounds of the Seventies and Paul Simon is not a favourite songwriter, so you can imagine that this is not a record I’m going to enjoy.
Godbluff (1975) by Van Der Graaf Generator
Van Der Graaf Generator’s firs reunion album feels like the first step in the band’s evolution from its dense prog sound of its early days to the almost new wave sound they would have on The Quiet Zone. It’s a notably sparer record, which may seem like an odd thing to say if this is …
Rock of Westies (1975) by Elton John
Based upon the title, the cover, and the presence of “Island Girl”, I thought this was going to be John’s Caribbean record. (I thought “westies” meant “West Indies”; I didn’t know it was a spoonerism.) So colour me surprised by (most of) the actual content.
Dreamboat Annie (1975) by Heart
There was so much blues-based rock and hard rock in the 1970s, it’s hard to know what to care about in the 21st century. So much stuff that was raved about at the time now seems entirely inconsequential given the (relative) death of rock music in the 2010s.
Alive! (1975) by KISS
For a long time I refused to even considered this record, due to the admission of overdubbing significant parts of this record after the fact. But, the thing is, everybody did this back then, or nearly everybody. Over time, we’ve learned that many of the great “live” albums featured extensive overdubs. (And some of them …
Pick of the Litter (1975) by The Spinners
This is a smooth Philly soul album with pretty damn strong material and at least the odd concession to the things going on outside of Philly Soul.
Honey (1975) by Ohio Players
Ostensibly this is the Ohio Players best album. I wasn’t aware I knew the band, beyond their name, but it urns out that I know at least one of these songs here (and you likely do too). But, given that it is my first experience of this band, I don’t know that I can comment …
Atlantic Crossing (1975) by Rod Stewart
When going through Stewart’s solo early solo records I’m always wary that maybe this one will be the one in which he abandons his early sound for the money-chasing of his later career. But the truth is never so straight-forward and so I find myself listening to a record that manages to both sound close …
In the City (1975) by Tavares
This is a pretty damn catchy smooth soul record. I don’t like this style of soul and I find myself almost overcome by the sheer catchiness of the material.
Metal Machine Music (1975) by Lou Reed
As many people have noted, the most notorious album in rock music history is far less insane now that we have drone [insert subgenre here] music and noise [insert other subgenre here] music. If you listened to much drone or noise music, this will not seem all that shocking. But barely any of it existed …
Rhinestone Cowboy (1975) by Glen Campbell
I am not a genre purist when it comes to music for the most part. Mostly, I am all for people combining genres together and evolving the sound of genres. Where I get lost in purity arguments is (sometimes) when genres are combined with slick pop music and this is seen as “evolution”. (It’s really …
Sabotage (1975) by Black Sabbath
For the most part, I must say I find the attempts at musical evolution on this record more successful than those on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Though I’m still wondering about what kind of band they want to be, it’s a little clearer to me here.
KC and The Sunshine Band (1975)
This is one of those groups where I know the name and, if pressed in a trivia contest, I might be able to name their biggest hits out of a list, maybe. But, otherwise, I really don’t know much about them. (I didn’t know the leaders were white, for example.) So I was familiar with …
Main Course (1975) by Bee Gees
This album is considered a bit of a landmark in the Bee Gees catalogue because it marks the transition (or the beginning of the transition?) from their earlier baroque pop sound to their disco sound, as well as the introduction of Barry’s falsetto. This is as far as I know one of their albums.Personally, I’m …
Why Can’t We Be Friends? (1975) by War
This is my second ever War album but I didn’t remember The World is a Ghetto until I looked up my review. I was going to say they reminded me a little of Earth, Wind and Fire on this one, but not that much. (In the sense of combining ballads and funk on the same …
One of These Nights (1975) by Eagles
I have an irrational hatred for the Eagles that was developed long before I could articulate why I hated them. Now the reasons are that I dislike the whole aesthetic of the Mellow Mafia (and their sheer dominance of American popular music in the 1970s) and I don’t like what they did to country rock. …
The Heat Is On (1975) by The Isley Brothers
When a band attempts more than one style, I usually prefer when they mix things up in the sequence. I find the “one side this, other side that” a bit annoying. I’m not sure why I don’t like it, but it bothers me enough that I often find myself docking a point for sequencing like …
Steppin’ (1975) by The Pointer Sisters
This is the extent of my knowledge of The Pointer Sisters: I’ve heard “Jump” a million times. Sure, it’s possible I know some other hits of theirs. If I played all their Top 20 hits maybe I’d recognize a few of them, but the only one I could identify by name (and would know as …
There’s No Place Like America Today (1975) by Curtis Mayfield
My general, um, impression of Curtis Mayfield is that his version of soul is just way too slick for me. I’ve felt this about the limited albums of his I’ve heard, be it solo or the Impressions. I don’t feel that way as much about this record and I’m not sure if that’s me getting …
Venus and Mars (1975) by Wings
Every Wings album is a reminder why the Beatles were great. Every Wings album is a reminder that, though they may have hated each other at the end, Lennon and McCartney needed each other artistically.
Captain Fantastic and the Dirt Brown Cowboy (1975) by Elton John
I keep having the same experience over and over again with artists I’m relatively unfamiliar with, like Elton John: I listen to 2 or 3 or 4 albums and I’m unimpressed and then I get to like the 5th album (or sometimes even the 6th) and I have some kind of epiphany and suddenly worry …
Hokey Pokey (1975) by Richard & Linda Thompson
I fell in love with I Want to see the Bright Lights Tonight years ago and then, for some reason – too much music in the world – I never found my way to other albums. in the last few I finally have and I find myself unsuccessfully chasing the folk rock dragon. Sometimes you …
Hair of the Dog (1975)
I wasn’t going to talk about this album until I realized the American version contained the band’s two biggest hits – well their biggest hit and the title track, which became a classic rock radio staple, though it wasn’t a hit initially – and so I figured I should deal with it. So where we …
Let’s Take It to the Stage (1975) by Funkadelic
This is one of those Funkadelic albums where the line between them and Parliament is blurred and that’s not something I can I say I love. Because of its title, I thought it was a live record and almost skipped over it.
ABBA (1975)
When I was an older teen and a young adult, I got extremely skeptical and wary of artists and bands that elevated melody above everything else. I don’t exactly know why I felt this way but some of it had to do with trying to stand out among other people at that kind of time …
Katy Lied (1975) by Steely Dan
Here we go again: I do not like Steely Dan. This album does not change that feeling in any way. The problems I have with Steely Dan records are as present on this record as any of their ’70s records I’ve heard. The more albums I listen to, the more I become convinced that, once …