1971 in music. • Page 2

1. Led Zeppelin IV
2. Ram - Paul & Linda McCartney
3. Hunky Dory - David Bowie

(cont.)
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
Imagine - John Lennon
Surf's Up - The Beach Boys
L.A. Woman - The Doors
Journey In Satchidananda - Alice Coltrane
Who's Next - The Who
Meddle - Pink Floyd
Bryter Layter - Nick Drake

Great songs from other albums:
Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones
Tiny Dancer - Elton John
American Pie - Don McLean
People Make The World Go Round - The Stylistics
Hot 'Lanta (Live) - Allman Brothers Band
It's Too Late - Carole King
Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones
Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
Get It On - T. Rex

 

1. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
2. Led Zeppelin - IV
3. Carole King - Tapestry

Sticky Fingers and IV are both unbelievably great albums top to bottom, but the Side As on those records especially are just all-timers. I've been spending a lot of time with both albums lately, in part because they're marking 50 years this year and in part because they both have some god tier running playlist songs on them ("Rock and Roll," in particular, is a massive adrenaline booster for the final sprint of a tempo run). I think it's easy to forget how great both of those albums are, just because they're so stacked with (arguably) overplayed classic rock staples. But those songs are overplayed for a reason. "Stairway to Heaven" is a gorgeous epic, not just a cliche. And "Wild Horses" is a perfect summer night song, not just a track that's been limply covered a ton of times. And then the deep cuts--especially those last two tracks on Sticky Fingers--are just as good as the hits.

As for Tapestry, I think I feel about that album the way a lot of people feel about Blue, which is that, just in terms of sheer songwriting, there might not be more of a masterclass album, ever. The first time I watched Casablanca, I was shocked at how many of the lines I knew already, just from references in pop culture. Listening to Tapestry for the first time is kind of like that, because you probably already know two-thirds of the songs. A collection of songbook classics, stacked one after the other in an extremely impressive and affecting way.

 

Here's a variety of musicians (James Taylor, Carole King, David Crosby etc) talking about their favourite songs on Joni Mitchell's Blue;

https://www.theguardian.com/culture...ng-graham-nash-david-crosby-kt-tunstall-birdy

 

1. Judee Sill - Judee Sill
2. The Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies
3. The Rollings Stones - Sticky Fingers

 

1 The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
2 Bill Withers - Just As I Am
3 Led Zeppelin - IV


Sticky Fingers is my favorite album of all time, just an unmatched display of skill, swagger, darkness, humor, and beauty (like, "Moonlight Mile," come on). The all-time solo closing out "Sway", the riff and jam in "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", the deep blues of the "You Gotta Move" cover, the wild, driving horn section in "Bitch", the soul of "I Got the Blues", that haunting slide on "Sister Morphine"... nothing like it. (gtfoh with those "Brown Sugar" lyrics though)

Just As I Am is an album that I have loved and will love forever, there's something about the simple, warm, sturdy soulfulness of the music and especially Withers' voice that gets to me like almost nothing else. Obviously "Ain't No Sunshine" is the classic standard, deservedly so, but the tracklist is full of gems. "Grandma's Hands" is one of my favorite pieces of writing in general and brings me to tears just thinking about it, and the "Let It Be" cover improves on the (already nearly perfect) original, using a looser gospel style that cuts straight to the song's heart of joyous hope and acceptance and makes the original feel almost stilted in comparison.

As for Zep 4, what a top-to-bottom monster of an album. Craig mentioned it above, doesn't matter how oVeRpLaYeD "Stairway to Heaven" is, that's one of the most sweeping epics in modern music history and I will never get tired of it. Same goes for "Levee," sample those drums in every song for all I care.

 

So….. I JUST learned that Nilsson does the song “Coconut”. And now my brain hates me for the rest of the day. Lol

Anyone wanna recommend another ear worm to replace this one????

 

without you done by nilsson originally by badfinger

 

early prediction but i don't think this one will be particularly close and I'm kinda surprised

 

Did you have a frontrunner in mind coming into this week?

 

Did anyone find it helpful when I gave a little blurb for some underrated/overlooked ones in the last thread? If so, I can do another post like that.

 

i thought it would probably be Blue. i also did not anticipate myself being the only vote for master of reality with paranoid winning and MoR being the better album. but I don't think either will finish top 3

 

yes

 

Sales Pitches for Sleepers

Delaney and Bonnie - Motel Shot
This album is a straight-up miracle. It's meant to imitate a "motel shot" when all the artists on tour would go back to the motel and have an impromptu jam. It's loose and passionate and perfect and has a Hall-of-Fame guestlist (Duane Allman, Jim Keltner, Bobby Keyes, Dave Mason, Gram Parsons, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Clarence White)

Bill Cosby - Badfoot Brown and the Bradford Bunions Funeral and Marching Band
Understandable if people want to stay away, but it's unknown whether he even plays on it and he certainly doesn't do any vocals. It's incredible Mile-esque jazz-funk and the whole first side is a composition in memory of Martin Luther King. Just hauntingly beautiful stuff. It's also a complete mystery who plays on it. It's been rumored that a lot of the band is the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, but nothing is confirmed.

Colin Blunstone - One Year
Singer for the Zombies singing over sweeping orchestration. If that sentence makes you think you'll like this, then you will.

Melanie - Gather Me
Fair warning: she has a very odd voice, which puts some people off. But if you can get into her voice, she's a very unique artist. "Brand New Key" is on here and is the quirkiest (and filthiest) single to sneak its way into being a huge hit. But the writing is excellent throughout. "Ring the Living Bell" is a favorite.

Pharaoh Sanders - Thembi
One of my favorite jazz records. Sanders could be pretty abrasive and avant garde at times (he started in Coltrane's late band), but this one keeps that contained mostly and has him trying all kinds of different styles. He also was very interested in African music, so he has not just Roy Haynes on drums, but a bunch of people credited as "African percussion", and he himself plays the balaphone (in addition to tenor sax, soprano sax, alto flute, koto, fife, cow horn, and various percussion). The opener "Astral Travelling" is so cool it almost makes you believe in astral planes.

Bob Seger - Brand New Morning
A very odd entry in his catalog. Not where I'd start for the uninitiated, but if you're already a Seger fan, it's a deep-cut gem. It's a completely solo record, with just Seger on solo guitar or piano playing very introspective singer-songwriter stuff. He used it to get out of his record deal with Capitol after the Seger System fell apart and has since disowned it, saying his only copy is "buried in his backyard". Not sure why he dislikes it so much, but it's a beautiful little dark night of the soul from a legend.

 

Yeah the jam on "You Can Make Me Free" is fun and really rips (you can find bootlegs of the extended stuff pretty easily) but it doesn't really suit the mood of the record. Stripping things down was a good call.

I legit got ragingly, screamingly mad at somebody once who said Casablanca sucks because there are a million movies just like it and it all felt very been there, done that. Like...all those other movies are ripping this one off because it's so good!!!!

Literally every other song on Nilsson Schmilsson. Haha

 

Underrated jam of 1971 - and certainly different from the ballads that Bread are known for.

The middle section/bridge of this song is just freaking awesome.

 

Solid track. Their band name always makes me laugh. Just so straightfoward.

 

Fania All-Stars - Live at the Cheetah, Vol. 1
Honestly haven't heard anything from Fania yet that isn't outstanding, and this is no exception. Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colon, Ray Baretto, Hector Lavoe and Cheo Feliciano (among others) all in one place. The percussion is amazing across all 3 extended songs, but the horns are where it's at. Just incredible horn charts, especially toward the end of "Descarga Fania"

Bill Withers - Just As I Am
I mean, shit. Was Bill Withers born, or just carved out of bedrock, always there? "Ain't No Sunshine" is jaw-dropping no matter how many thousands of times you hear it. But every song on this is well written, well-arranged, and unpretentiously produced.

Rare Earth - One World
You could call them a gimmick band (white rock band plays soul music), but it's a hell of a gimmick. Having a conga player in-house and a lead singer who's a drummer sure doesn't hurt the energy. "I Just Want to Celebrate" deserved to be a huge hit, but their extended re-working of Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" is the real highlight of the record. There are a couple more filler tracks, but even those have some great playing on them. Great guitar work from Ray Monette, who joined the band for this album, apparently.

Jonathan Edwards - Jonathan Edwards
Singer-songwriter with some country-folk influences that gets by on a lot of charm and a handful of awesome songs. "Sunshine" was deservedly a big hit nationwide, but I'm from Boston (as he was), so "Shanty" and "Everybody Knows Her” were also familiar from classic rock radio. There are a couple other really lovely songs and two that don't really land. Surprised to find out this was on Capricorn Records, which were mostly known for Southern Rock.

 

I had never heard Grandma's Hands til just recently and it completely changed No Diggity for me, had NOT idea it was a sample

 

Such a great song, too. I feel like soul fans consider that one canon.

 

Yes - The Yes Album
I loved this. It’s their first album with Steve Howe on guitar and it’s basically a great picture you post on Instagram with your new significant other so your ex will see it. He puts on a clinic all over the record, different styles and genres, a whole solo acoustic showcase, and the solo on “Starship Trooper” is nasty. The whole album is a little more raw and has a little more soul than their more perfected stuff once Wakemen joined, which is cool. And of course “Your Move/Seen All Good People” is a masterpiece, arguably the greatest song by any prog band, period. Really glad I listened

 

Listen to The Stylistics

 

Yes re: The Yes Album by Yes

 

Let’s Put It All Together is one of my main targets for ‘74. I’ve already heard Rock and Roll Baby and I really like it.

We’re closing in on years where we get to really evangelize for The Spinners, too

 

Fela Kuti and Africa 70 with Ginger Baker - Live
Well fuck. That’s easily one of the best drumming records I’ve ever heard. Incredible grooves, incredible playing over it. Just completely joyous

 

fantastic album