1977 in music. • Page 2

How can you possibly hate Rumours haha what

 

i'm not mad. i didn't say i hate it.

 

Didn’t say he hates it but that might only be because he doesn’t post a “not a fan” section each year like @cshadows2887 does lol

 

Pat’s made his feelings more explicit in other threads, to be fair.

And I like to have the list as a resource for anyone of stuff that came out that year if they want to explore. If people find it unpleasant I can just post a top 3.

 

1. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
2. Billy Joel - The Stranger
3. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True

The first two are both in my all-time top 50 and are, for my money, two of the 8-10 greatest pop albums of all time. Amazing hit machine albums that are somehow every bit as good as their legacies would suggest. The Stranger was, along with The Joshua Tree, the first album that I fell in love with that had come out before I was born. I remember playing "Vienna" on repeat when I was 13 or 14. Rumours is one of those albums that I would recommend to anyone. I shuffled through a playlist with the two of those albums on my run this morning and just loved every minute of it. Both albums are stacked with singles, but the album tracks are aces too. The sprawl of "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"; the ghostly caterwauling Stevie Nicks does on "Gold Dust Woman"; so many great songs.

My Aim Is True was my first Costello record, and the one I still love the most. Butch Walker has borrowed liberally from this album over the years, so listening to it the first time and noticing all the tricks my favorite songwriter learned from it was a trip back in the day. Cliche to single out "Alison," but fuck, that's a perfect song.

 

Embarrassed to admit I never picked up on the Costello influence on Butch until you mentioned it, but it's clear as day, huh? You learn something new every day.

 

Funny story about that: Butch has Elvis Costello’s face tattooed on one of his arms. In his memoir, he recounts a story of the time he was drunk and met Costello in an elevator and decided the best way to break the ice was to show the man his tattoo. Costello said something like “oh…that’s lovely,” and then started pressing buttons on the elevator to try to get out faster. Probably thought he was going to be murdered by a psycho fan.

The first time I ever heard “Alison” was on a covers EP Butch released in the mid-2000s. It was an immediate “What is this song and why have I never heard it before?”

 

Oh hey, at least I wasn't that weird when I met Chad Perrone. That makes me feel better. Haha

 

I'm completely with @Craig Manning here, top 2 are obvious and both all timers.

Will post my stuff tomorrow

 

The other story I always think of is the one Bono told when he inducted Bruce into the Rock Hall. Incidentally, I think that also took place in an elevator, and Bono slowly realized that Bruce was hammered.

 

No way, I like your categories !!!

What are Pat’s feelings on Fleetwood Mac, I am curious? I have a slightly different viewpoint of them as well because neither of my parents were into them, so I didn’t grow up hearing Rumours constantly.

 

the search function works, i’m not starting it up again lol

 

i agree, low and marquee moon are both obvious and all timers, for sure

 

Oh Whoops, I stayed out of the "definitive albums list" thread. Somehow these threads feel different because there seems to be a mutual respect for everyone's tastes rather than just a bunch of us shouting loudly MY FAVORITE BAND IS THE BEST EFF YOU!

 

i mean, i respect the fleetwood mac love. it would be weird if i didn’t haha. but they absolutely stink and have two good songs in the buckingham nicks era.

 

1. Steely Dan - Aja
2. The Clash - The Clash
3. Talking Heads - Talking Heads '77

Rest of Top 10 (alphabetical):
David Bowie - Low
David Bowie - "Heroes"
Electric Light Orchestra - Out Of The Blue
Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Billy Joel - The Stranger
Television - Marquee Moon

Others I Enjoy/at least know a few songs from:
Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bullocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
Wire - Pink Flag
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Exodus
Queen - News of the World
Ramones - Rocket To Russia
Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express
The Jam - In The City
Pink Floyd - Animals
Cheap Trick - In Color
Iggy Pop - Lust for Life
Rush - A Farewell To Kings
Jackson Browne - Running On Empty
Aerosmith - Draw The Line
Eric Clapton - Slowhand
Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel 1
Heart - Little Queen
Dan Fogelberg - Nether Lands


Also have at least a dozen I'd like to check out this week, let's see what I can get to. @cshadows2887 we need to talk about Dan Fogelberg - I've noticed his mid 70s records near or at the top of most of your lists lately, and have not met many other people that are even familiar with his work. My parents loved him, but he never quite fully caught on for me, likely because I was too into music that "rocked" to really delve deep. That being said, I like quite a few songs - which record would you say is the best overall if I'm trying to get more into him?

 

My not uncommon/"cold" take on Fleetwood Mac is that the Buckingham songs are far and away the best and most interesting Fleetwood Mac songs.

 

it’s 50/50 for me, since they have two songs worth discussing

 

You won’t get much rocking out of Nether Lands. It’s mostly very acoustic and orchestrated. I think it’s a perfect album and in my all time top 10, but it may be for the converted? The Innocent Age will be coming up in a few weeks and that’s one you legit can’t miss the genius of. Double album that covers a ton of different styles and moods, including a few where you really get to hear how great a lead guitarist he was.

You can’t go wrong with either, imo. Both all-timers for me.

I think his reputation suffers due to one of his greatest strengths: he knew how to pick singles. Listeners absolutely ate up his soft-rock ballads, so he provided them, and now it’s all people know him for when he was such a versatile talent

 

My one sleeper I want to stump for this year is that Pousette-Dart band album. I always thought they were more widely successful because they’re from MA so they still got some classic rock attention here when I was growing up. Beautiful harmonies, memorable songs, great arrangements. Folky country-ish stuff. “Yaicha” is one of the most beautiful little songs fragments that ever ended an album, and “Fall on Me” and “County Line” should have been big hits.

I feel a strong need to resuscitate it because the AllMusic review (and subsequently its whole wiki page) is fairly negative and was written by my uncle, with whom I disagree STRONGLY

 

Awesome thanks so much man! I actually should have clarified - at the TIME he didn't "rock" enough for me. That was during my formative years. I have since very much widened my tastes lol. So I think I will be able to appreciate Nether Lands as well.

 

1. Townes Van Zandt - Live at the Old Quarter (Live albums count?)
2. Television - Marquee Moon
3. Elvis Costello - My Aim is True

 

If you think a live album is so good that it’s better than all these albums that came out in ‘77? I’d sure as shit count it

 

Checked out Young, Loud and Snotty by Dead Boys, which is probably the most accurate album title I can think of. It's very no-frills 1977 punk, bratty, kind of obnoxious, and well... Young, Loud and Snotty. I found that I'd probably heard all I needed to after about 15 minutes, so the whole of the album was a bit of a slog. Some cool guitar solos I suppose, and a bit better musicianship than I perhaps imagined, but this really is exactly what's promised on the front of the record.

 

And straight after listening to that, my Apple Music chose to play (I'm) Stranded by The Saints, so I just rolled with that. They were an Aussie punk band, and presumably one of the first from there in general - but sound almost identical to the British and American sounds at the time.

Reading a little bit about them, they released a single in 1976, which nobody paid any attention to in Australia, but a British label loved it, and put it out. I probably preferred it to Dead Boys, I think The Saints are slightly better pop songwriters, but it's much in the same wheelhouse, albeit this is a bit less bratty. It still sounds rough and scuzzy, like a slightly out of tune live record, which is quite charming. Again, like Dead Boys, I probably heard all I needed after 15 - 20 minutes, but there's a little bit of variety with a couple of mid-tempo songs here. Title track was the best on offer here.

Might be back to this, probably won't be back to Dead Boys.