Full disclosure part 1: I listened to this on a streaming service so a few tracks were missing, the videos were included in the track list, and I really have no idea how it would compare to the actual boxed set. (No booklets, etc.) Full disclosure part 2: the time for me to have listened …
Tag: 1971
Shaft Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1971) by Isaac Hayes
People just love this album. And I guess I get it, sort of. The title track is iconic and certainly one of the most famous movie themes of the ’70s. But the rest of the album – and it’s a long one – is not up to that standard.
The Silver Tongued Devil and I (1971) by Kris Kristofferson
There are people who will tell you that Kris Kristofferson is the Greatest Songwriter of All Time. (Don’t believe me? Watch Country Music.) This is a preposterous claim on its face for at least two reasons. The first is that there may not be a GOAT songwriter in English or in any language. And second, …
Just as I Am (1971) by Bill Withers
I am perhaps softening in my old age, because this is a slicker soul record than the kind I like, though only a little bit slicker. Basically I used to not really tolerate soul with strings but apparently I can now. So that’s a weird way to start this.
What’s Going On (1971) by Marvin Gaye
Is it wrong that all I want to do is compare this to There’s a Riot Goin’ On? Gaye beat Stone to the punch and the title of Stone’s album was apparently changed to answer Gaye’s question. So it doesn’t feel that far off. Still, I’ll try to avoid it as much as I can.
This Is Madness (1971) by The Last Poets
I don’t have the context for this record: I’ve never heard their debut album and the only other contemporary spoken word I’ve heard is Gil-Scott Heron, and I’ve only heard records that came out a little bit later. So I really, really don’t know how to judge this.
Al Green Gets Next to You (1971)
It took me a little big to “get” Al Green. Years ago, I knew “Let’s Stay Together” and maybe nothing else. And the first album of his I heard struck me as “slick” (though, admittedly, only in relation to like Otis or someone like that). Since that time I’ve basically flipped on him, and now …
Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971) by Serge Gainsbourg
I first encountered Serge Gainsbourg through the Great Jewish Music series. (I was probably more aware of his daughter, who I was barely aware of, than I was him.) I liked the Gainsbourg album the least of those records – and I still wish they had made way more – but it did give me …
Earth Wind and Fire (1971)
Before I get to the music, I just want to say I love the album cover. It’s one of the iconic covers of its era. Is it the best part of the album? It’s possible. Just love the cover.
Little Feat (1970)
I love Sailin’ Shoes. And I generally enjoy the albums that came after it (though not as much as Sailin’ Shoes, which is definitely a favourite of the ’70s). So this first record, the one everyone gets to after they become fans, came as a bit of a shock. (As it always does. Yes, I’m …
Every Picture Tells a Story (1971) by Rod Stewart
Though it’s hard for us to imagine now, at one point Rod Stewart was a vital, dare I say ‘cool,’ performer. He was involved in two of the great bands of the late ’60s and early ’70s and I have always heard good things about his early solo records. This one – his first big …
4 Way Street (1971) by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
When I was young, I was told by various reviews that this was one of the great classic rock live albums of the early ’70s and I was enticed by the talk of guitar duels.
The Yes Album (1971)
For most of my prog-rock listening life, I have not fully gotten Yes. I don’t know what it is about them, but of the Big 6 they were long my least favourite. This has changed as I got older, as I have come to find ELP extremely inconsistent and Tull to be more than a …
Mennin: The Cycle, Ginastera: Milena (Release date unknown) by Various Artists
It’s really hard to like compilations like this, even though I like the music. This compilation contains no information about its release date or the dates of the performances. The composers and artists are listed, but the reason for such an arbitrary combination of two pieces is never given. (The one commonality: both are orchestral …
Stillwell and the American Experience in China (1971) by Barbara Tuchman
Tuchman appears to be attempting two disparate things with this book: to tell the story of Joseph Stillwell’s career in the military and to tell the story of US intervention in China from the (first) Chinese revolution to the expulsion of the Kuomintang. She succeeds at the former a lot more than the latter, in …
Complete Organ Works (2003) by Maurice Durufle, performed by Friedhelm Flamme
The pipe organ must be one of the seriously neglected instruments of 20th century “classical” music, at least from the perspective of us musical naifs. I mean, even though there are plenty of notable organ and organ-centric compositions, very few of those have actually made it into mass awareness. The little bit of organ music …
The Mirror Man Sessions (1971, 1999) by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band (1999 Buddha)
Aka It Comes to You in a Plain Brown Wrapper, which is one of the titles this music has been known by. Note: I have not heard the “original,” 1971 release of this album.