Remove ads, unlock a dark mode theme, and get other perks by upgrading your account. Experience the website the way it's meant to be.

1975 in music.

Discussion in 'Music Forum' started by phaynes12, Jul 26, 2021.

  1. phaynes12

    https://expertfrowner.bandcamp.com/ Prestigious

    Neil Young's On the Beach won 1974. Let's see who wins 1975. Definitely a bit of a bounce back year.

    Billboard chart-topping albums of 1975:
    Elton John - Greatest Hits (cont. from '74)
    Ohio Players - Fire
    Linda Rondstadt - Heart Like a Wheel
    Average White Band - AWB
    Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
    Olivia Newton-John - Have You Never Been Mellow
    Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffitti
    Chicago - VIII
    Earth, Wind and Fire - That's the Way of the World
    Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Dirt Cowboy
    Wings - Venus and Mars
    Eagles - One of These Nights
    Jefferson Starship - Red Octopus
    The Isley Brothers - The Heat is On
    Janis Ian - Between the Lines
    Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
    John Denver - Windsong
    Elton John - Rock of the Westies
    Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years
    Chicago - IX

    Billboard chart-topping singles of 1975:
    Elton John - Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
    Barry Manilow - Mandy
    The Carpenters - Please Mr. Postman
    Neil Sedaka - Laughter in the Rain
    Ohio Players - Fire
    Linda Rondstadt - You're No Good
    Average White Band - Pick Up the Pieces
    Eagles - Best of My Love
    Olivia Newton-John - Have You Never Been Mellow
    The Doobie Brothers - Black Water
    Frankie Valli - My Eyes Adored You
    Labelle - Lady Marmalade
    Minnie Riperton - Loving You
    Elton John - Philadelphia Freedom
    BJ Thomas - Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
    Tony Orlando - He Don't Love You
    Earth, Wind and Fire - Shining Star
    Freddy Fender - Before the Next Teardrop Falls
    John Denver - Thank God I'm a Country Boy
    America - Sister Golden Hair
    Captain and Tennille - Love Will Keep Us Together
    Wings - Listen to What the Man Says
    Van McCoy - The Hustle
    Eagles - One of These Nights
    Bee Gees - Jive Talking
    Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds - Falling in Love
    KC and the Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight
    Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy
    David Bowie - Fame
    John Denver - I'm Sorry
    Neil Sedaka - Bad Blood
    Elton John - Island Girl
    KC and the Sunshine Band - (That's the Way) I Like It
    Silver Convention - Fly, Robin, Fly
    The Staples Singers - Let's Do It Again

    What are your top three albums for 1975? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be:
    1. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
    2. Neil Young - Tonight's the Night
    3. Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger

    What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later?

    YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm
     
  2. phaynes12

    https://expertfrowner.bandcamp.com/ Prestigious

    Rest of the Top 10:
    4. Neil Young - Zuma
    5. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
    6. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
    7. Queen - A Night at the Opera
    8. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
    9. Patti Smith - Horses
    10. David Bowie - Young Americans

    other honorable mentions:
    Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic
    Alice Cooper - Welcome to My Nightmare
    The Band - Northern Lights-Southern Cross
    Black Sabbath - Sabotage
    Bob Seger - Beautiful Loser
    Brian Eno - Another Green World
    Eagles - One of These Nights
    Emmylou Harris - Pieces of the Sky
    Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy
    Grateful Dead - Blues for Allah
    Hawkwind - Warrior on the Edge of Time
    James Taylor - Gorilla
    Jethro Tull - Minstrel in the Gallery
    Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns
    Lynyrd Skynyrd - Nuthin’ Fancy
    Neu - 75
    Rush - Fly By Night
    Steely Dan - Katy Lied
    T. Rex - Bolan’s Zip Gun
    Thin Lizzy - Fighting
    Waylon Jennings - Dreaming My Dreams
    The Who - By Numbers
    ZZ Top - Fandango!

    stuff to check out:
    Earth, Wind and Fire - That’s the Way of the World
    Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
    Elton John - Rock of the Westies
    Emmylou Harris - Elite Hotel
    Guy Clark - Old No. 1
    The Isley Brothers - The Heat is On
    John Cale - Slow Dazzle
    John Denver - Windsong
    Parliament - Chocolate City
    Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years
    Rainbow - Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
    Tangerine Dream - Rubycon
     
  3. phaynes12

    https://expertfrowner.bandcamp.com/ Prestigious

    bruce will be inevitable on this dumb site and it will make me mad
     
  4. Maverick

    Trusted

    1. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
    2. Queen - A Night At The Opera
    3. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

    (con’t)
    4. David Bowie - Young Americans
    5. ABBA

    Great songs from other albums:
    10cc - I’m Not In Love
    Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby
    Captain & Tennille - Love Will Keep Us Together
    Heart - Crazy On You
    John Lennon - Stand By Me
    KC & The Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight
    Brian Eno - St. Elmo’s Fire
    Don Cherry - Brown Rice
    Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion
     
  5. cshadows2887

    Hailey, It Happens @haileyithappens Supporter

    Life's tough. Get a helmet. And then properly appreciate Born to Run. Haha
     
  6. phaynes12

    https://expertfrowner.bandcamp.com/ Prestigious

    it’s a great album. it just isn’t top 5 this year, let alone top 1 ever like some people around here go red in the face yelling about
     
  7. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    Man, Chris with the Boy Meets World reference AND the necessary defense of Born to Run. My dude.
     
    cshadows2887 likes this.
  8. George Jul 26, 2021
    (Last edited: Jul 26, 2021)
    George

    Trusted Prestigious

    1. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
    2. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
    3. Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns

    Others will say things more eloquently about Bruce, but this was the easy choice at #1, and a basically perfect 39 minutes of rock n roll.

    Dylan's Blood on the Tracks would win most other years, a beautiful and poignant album about the end of a marriage. There's a real simplicity to these songs, a casual genius that is often imitated, but rarely done better than this. I also think "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" is my favourite of Dylan's narrative / storytelling songs.

    Joni Mitchell's The Hissing of Summer Lawns is a difficult, challenging album, that eschews the accessible folksy brilliance of her earlier albums, and the first few times I heard it, it really didn't work for me. It really grew on me though, a bold and innovative album, and you can hear it's influence on the likes of Kate Bush and Bjork. Also apparently, "The Jungle Line", is the first piece of released music to contain sampling, which I did not know.

    Honourable mentions;

    Patti Smith - Horses: A brilliant, proto-punk / garage rock record, with songwriting ability that few could match. Worth making sure you check out a bonus track live cover of My Generation, that's as hardcore and punk rock as anything.

    Bob Dylan and the Band - The Basement Tapes: I have to be honest, I don't often make it all the way through this in one sitting, but there are some incredible pieces of Americana and rootsy country in here - favourite of which is probably "Going to Acupulco", which is one of my favourite Dylan songs in general.

    Paul Simon - Still Crazy after All These Years: Nothing groundbreaking, but another example of how brilliant a pop musician and songwriter Simon was.

    Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey: Only heard this recently for the February New Music challenge thing, but I've been back to it often. An explicitly political soulful reggae album.

    Again, a slightly smaller year for me, in comparison with some of the previous ones, but still plenty to love, and I'm sure plenty to discover.
     
    cshadows2887 likes this.
  9. stars143

    Trusted

    1. Pink Floyd - Wish you Were Here
    2. Queen - A Night At The Opera
    3. David Bowie - Young Americans

    ...a very British year for my top 3.
     
    Gianni28 likes this.
  10. George Jul 26, 2021
    (Last edited: Jul 26, 2021)
    George

    Trusted Prestigious

    Making a start to first listens, I went for Smokey Robinson’s A Quiet Storm. It actually spawned a little radio sub genre of sorts, named Quiet Storm, which was popular for the next decade or so. I didn’t know about that, so that was interesting reading.

    It’s light and smooth, very soulful easy listening sort of thing. Smokey Robinson is a fantastic talent, even if the arrangements sometimes feel a little light and underwhelming to me - his voice is so good that it doesn’t really matter. There are some more lively tracks, like the synthy bassy Love Letters, which was where I found the album at its best.

    Sounds like the sort of album Luther Vandross would have loved, which is A-OK with me.
     
    cshadows2887 likes this.
  11. Blainer93

    Prestigious Supporter

    Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here
    Aerosmith- Toys in the Attic
    Black Sabbath- Sabotage
     
    cshadows2887 likes this.
  12. cshadows2887 Jul 26, 2021
    (Last edited: Jul 29, 2021)
    cshadows2887

    Hailey, It Happens @haileyithappens Supporter

    1. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
    2. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
    3. Jefferson Starship - Red Octopus

    Excruciating cuts:
    Spinners - Pick of the Litter
    Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby
    Earth, Wind, and Fire - That's the Way of the World

    Others I love:
    Bob Dylan and The Band - The Basement Tapes
    The Outlaws - The Outlaws
    Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic
    Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
    Electric Light Orchestra - Face the Music
    Bob Seger - Beautiful Loser
    Tony Bennett and Bill Evans - The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album
    America - Hearts
    Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Zuma
    Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
    Keith Jarrett - The Koln Concert
    Willie Nelson - Read-Headed Stranger
    Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns
    Art Garfunkel - Breakaway
    The Allman Brothers - Win, Lose or Draw
    Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes - Wake Up Everybody
    Justin Hayward and John Lodge - Blue Jays

    Good ones:
    Parliament - Mothership Connection
    Dan Fogelberg - Captured Angel
    Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
    Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
    Kiss - Alive!
    Gary Wright - The Dream Weaver
    Eagles - One of These Nights
    The Meters - Fire on the Bayou
    Queen - A Night at the Opera
    Al Jarreau - We Got By
    Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years
    James Taylor - Gorilla
    The Isley Brothers - The Heat Is On
    Guy Clark - Old No. 1
    Jorge Ben - Solta O Pavao
    Labi Siffre - Remember My Song
    John Fogerty - John Fogerty
    Fela Kuti - Confusion
    Ohio Players - Honey
    Wings - Venus and Mars
    Smokey Robinson - A Quiet Storm
    Orleans - Let There Be Music
    Neil Young - Tonight's the Night
    Steely Dan - Katy Lied
    Rush - Fly by Night
    Al Stewart - Modern Times
    John Denver - Windsong
    Sweet - Desolation Boulevard
    Fairport Convention - Rising for the Moon
    Gordon Lightfoot - Cold on the Shoulder
    Emmylou Harris - Elite Hotel
    Rufus featuring Chaka Khan - Rufus (feat. Chaka Khan)
    Linda Ronstadt - Prisoner in Disguise
    Thin Lizzy - Fighting
    Joan Baez - Diamonds and Rust
    Toots and the Maytals - Funky Kingston
    Leon Redbone - On the Track
    Patti Smith - Horses
    Elton John - Rock of the Westies
    John Lennon - Rock n Roll
    Rush - Caress of Steel
    Spinnerw - Live!
    ABBA - ABBA
    Thin Lizzy - Johnny the Fox
    Yvonne Elliman - Rising Sun
    Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben - Gil e Jorge
    ZZ Top - Fandango
    Eric Carmen - Eric Carmen
    The Deadly Nightshade - The Deadly Nightshade
    Carpenters - Horizon

    Not a fan:
    Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey

    Targets for listening:
    David Bowie - Young Americans
    Joe Cocker - Jamaica Say You Will
    Commodores - Caught in the Act
    Commodores - Movin' On
    Herbie Hancock - Man-Child
    Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes - To Be True
    Bonnie Raitt - Home Plate
    Roxy Music - Siren
    War - Why Can't We Be Friends?
    Eno - Another Green World
    Fela Kuti and Africa 70 - Expensive Shit
    Bad Company - Straight Shooter
    Elvin Bishop - Struttin' My Stuff
    The Doobie Brothers - Stampede
    Foghat - Fool for the City
    Head East - Flat As a Pancake
    Lynyrd Skynyrd - Nuthin' Fancy
    Nazareth - Hair of the Dog
    Ted Nugent - Ted Nugent
    The Who - The Who by Numbers
    Peggy Lee - Mirrors
    Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco - Tremendo Cache
    Black Sabbath - Sabotage
    Alice Cooper - Welcome to My Nightmare
    Renaissance - Schehrezade and Other Stories
    The Band - Northern Lights - Southern Cross
    Grateful Dead - Blues for Allah
    Curtis Mayfield - There's No Place Like America Today
    The Tubes - The Tubes
    Dion - Born to Be With You
    Andy Fairweather Low - La Booga Rooga
    Allen Toussaint - Southern Nights
    Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Four-Wheel Drive
    C.W. McCall - Black Bear Road

    K.C. and the Sunshine Band - K.C. and the Sunshine Band
    Major Harris - My Way
    Jessi Colter - I'm Jessi Colter
     
  13. tomdelonge

    Trusted

    Hissing Of Summer Lawns demos are so good

     
  14. tomdelonge

    Trusted

    Nice to see some Jefferson Starship love. They seem to be a bit of an overlooked band

    And Koln Concert! Incredible record
     
    cshadows2887 likes this.
  15. tomdelonge

    Trusted

    Also nice to see some Orleans appreesh. I work for their manager, which means like 50% of my wardrobe is Orleans merch
    B510CED5-BBE1-45B2-B86F-6A342E49EF65.jpeg
     
    cshadows2887 likes this.
  16. cshadows2887

    Hailey, It Happens @haileyithappens Supporter

    Sales pitches for sleepers:

    Jefferson Starship - Red Octopus
    Honestly, them becoming a career band rather than artists in the zeitgeist was the best thing that could have happened to them. Maintains the core three of Balin, Slick and Kantner, but augments them with legitimate guitar hero Craig Chaquico and the real special sauce, Papa John Creach on fiddle. "Miracles" is absolutely gorgeous and deserved to be the big hit it was, but "There Will Be Love" is one of my favorites of the era.

    The Outlaws - The Outlaws
    Better than Skynyrd. There, I said it. "Green Grass and High Tides" is "Free Bird" for grown-ups. At the outset, they had three guitarists and songwriters working at the same time, and it led to just a slew of excellent songs. All three are good, but Hughie Thomasson in particular is an absolute god on the Strat.

    Bob Seger - Beautiful Loser
    The Silver Bullet Band hadn't made his sound into the amazing juggernaut it would be, but these songs feel very intimate and personal. He rocks the fuck out on "Nutbush City Limits" and the live staples of "Beautiful Loser" and "Travelin' Man" stand out, but the quiet introspective stuff like "Jody Girl" is just as wonderful. The minor masterpiece he had to make to level up to being one of the greats.

    Art Garfunkel - Breakaway
    If you enjoy smooth, this album is that, plus some. Art has an absolutely angelic tenor voice and the light, accomplished arrangements really suit him. A song like "Disney Girls", which sounds overworked by the Beach Boys, sounds perfectly wistful in his hands.

    Orleans - Let There Be Music
    Just a polished-til-it-shines soft rock record. Great playing, great harmonies, pristine production. "Let There Be Music" is catchy as hell and "Dance with Me" is just outright lovely.
     
    tomdelonge, phaynes12 and George like this.
  17. thenewmatthewperry

    performative angry black man Prestigious

    idk, this band kinda sucks.
     
    tomdelonge likes this.
  18. cshadows2887

    Hailey, It Happens @haileyithappens Supporter

    Huh no shit. See above ^. Haha

    That's really cool.
     
    tomdelonge likes this.
  19. tomdelonge

    Trusted

    More Jefferson Starship shiz, there are these early 90’s solo Paul Kantner shows I kinda dig that have a massive vibe.

    def not for everybody, but it’s Kantner ranting and singing angry hippy songs about killing republicans backed by immaculately cheesy synths like tinny pianos, cheap string sounds, woodwinds drenched in reverb etc. I think his acoustic guitar might have chorus on it too. It’s amazing.

    I dunno what it is, but it catches a very specific flavor in amazing detail. Like that early 90’s intersection of aging hippy culture and the (brief) utopian promise of the internet. It reminds me of early 90’s computer games and Magic Eye and Mondo 2000 and Commodify Your Dissent and ROX and hippy sellouts and gen X discontent.

    There’s a sadness to it, a bitter sense of loss from a guy at the center of the 60’s moment who’s seen the counterculture co-opted and emptied out. He’s abrasive and uncharismatic, but very humanly so. It’s a trip

     
    cshadows2887 likes this.
  20. George Jul 27, 2021
    (Last edited: Jul 27, 2021)
    George

    Trusted Prestigious

    I checked out Tom Waits live record, Nighthawks at the Diner.

    Rambling, with what feels much more like spoken word than singing. It’s an incredibly intimate record, loose and laid back, with Waits almost rapping through this - it’s certainly very Gil Scott Heron, though with that distinct Waits vibe. It sounded like it was recorded at 3am, with everyone half drunk and melancholy - basically exactly the vibe of The Heart of Saturday Night.

    Waits is in great form throughout, very relaxed and confident, ad-libbing his way through the tracks and making the audience laugh constantly in his distinctive style. He opens the record by letting the audience know that “I’m so goddamn horny, the crack of dawn better be careful around me.”, and from there the audience are eating out of the palm of his hand. The imagery in his lyrics and off the cuff remarks is really wonderful and evocative.

    Really great stuff, should have listened to it years ago - it’s much more than a live album, basically feels like a comedy album at some points.
     
    cshadows2887 likes this.
  21. OhTheWater

    Let it run Supporter

    1. Spinners - Pick of the Litter
    2. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
    3. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
     
    George and cshadows2887 like this.
  22. OhTheWater

    Let it run Supporter

    cshadows2887 likes this.
  23. mattfreaksmeout

    Trusted Supporter

    1. Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac
    2. Joan Baez: Diamonds & Rust
    3. Wings: Venus + Mars

    Maybe it's kind of basic to pick Fleetwood Mac here, but that album has not one but two songs that would make my list of favorite songs of all time (Rihannon and Landslide). It's not quite Rumours, but Monday Morning, Say You Love Me, and World Turning are definitely not hurting it's case, and the whole thing is a solid offering from a new lineup of the band finding their footing.

    Diamonds & Rust is the first album from Joan I ever heard. At the time I did not realize that it came 15 years into her career, so I only appreciate it more now with the additional context. Some really beautiful originals here, especially the title track, and covers as strong as ever make this one of her most well rounded offerings.

    I really don't know why of all the non-Band On the Run Wings albums, Venus + Mars is the one I love so much, but it just really works for me, despite the fact that I would argue this is when he really starts getting kind of corny (and never stops again). And like Magneto and Titanium Man? It goes off. Plus Listen To What the Man Says stands among the best of his post-Beatles output. I will most likely not have another album from him in the top 3, so let me just say one last time that I adore this man.


    Cuts:
    Patti Smith: Horses
    Burce Springsteen: Born to Run
    David Bowie: Young Americans
    Paul Simon: Still Crazy After All These Years
    ABBA: ABBA


    Really excited to re-listen to:
    Bob Dylan: Blood on the Tracks
    Joni Mitchell: The Hissing of Summer Lawns

    I listened to Blood On the Tracks several years ago but only once or twice and I was not nearly as into him at the time, so it just kind of went over my head, but I'm very excited to hear this one again given how everyone talks about it.

    It hasn't been as long since I've listened to Hissing of Summer Lawns, but I've only heard it once or twice and, again, I'm much more fond of her now than I was when I listened.

    Also excited to check out:
    The Basement Tapes
    Elton John: Captain Fantastic
    Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti
    Black Sabbath: Sabotage
    Willie Nelson: Red Headed Stranger
     
    Gianni28, George and cshadows2887 like this.
  24. cshadows2887

    Hailey, It Happens @haileyithappens Supporter

  25. phaynes12

    https://expertfrowner.bandcamp.com/ Prestigious

    what is spinners