Rock Evolution – The History of Rock & Roll - 1984 - (page 198)

mancity2012_eamo said:
I echo all of that, even though T.Rex didn’t do it for me, I recognise their significance.
Your summary at the end mirrors where I am with the year.
I think there were some fabulous releases but chart-wise the trajectory, really not helped by glam rock, was heading downhill.

Edit: I even got three songs into your mentioned list. That’s a record for me I think.
Click to expand...
And will continue that trajectory in 74 with some notable exceptions.
 
RobMCFC said:
Notes on the 1973 playlist

  • DSOTM by Pink Floyd is the one of the clear and obvious highlight of this year. An album that dispenses with the idea of individual songs in favour of a glorified whole (although the selected "Time" and also "Money" are clear highlights for me).
  • The other highlight being all of the songs from Brucie's superb The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle album.
  • It's also the first time that I've listened to Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" and quite enjoyed it. However, it's probably not a track I'd listen to again due to its length and that bloke near the end who unhelpfully announces each instrument as it is played.
  • I know that @OB1 curates the playlist order carefully and I wonder did he purposefully sequence "Blockbuster" and "The Jean Genie" one after the other on purpose. It's the same basic song! I don't really mind who ripped off who because I liked neither :)
  • As has already been mentioned, I like rock music but there's something about a lot of the glam rock tracks here that just don't work for me - T-Rex excepted.
  • In some ways, listening to some of this music on this playlist (and the length of some of the tracks), I can understand the reasons why punk rock happened. It's just a pity that the music was worse than the type it aimed to displace, but there will be plenty of time to discuss that as the 70s wears on.
  • Billy Joel gets a bit of a slating in these parts but I like his 70s/80s songs and "Piano Man" is brilliantly constructed and performed.
  • Songs that I didn't previously know but enjoyed included:
    • the ELP tracks
    • "Frankenstein" by The Edgar Winter group
    • "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder
    • "Can't You See" by The Marshall Tucker Band
    • "Cradle Rock" by Rory Gallagher
    • "Pick Up The Pieces" by Hudson-Ford
    • "Dearg Doom" by Horslips (actually, I think I might have heard this in one of our playlist threads),
    • "Showdown" by ELO,
    • "May You Never" by John Martyn
    • "The Rocker" by Thin Lizzy
    • "We're An American Band" by Grand Funk Railroad
    • "My Old School" by Steely Dan
    • "Lady" by Styx
    • "Dream On" by Aerosmith.

My general feeling after wading through this playlist was that, despite a few notable exceptions, music was on a slight downslope after the 60s and the early years of the 70s.
Click to expand...
Of course playing Jean Genie and Blockbuster together was deliberate.

As was starting with ELP and Edgar Winter, but do you know why I paired them?
 
RobMCFC said:
Notes on the 1973 playlist

...
  • It's also the first time that I've listened to Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" and quite enjoyed it. However, it's probably not a track I'd listen to again due to its length and that bloke near the end who unhelpfully announces each instrument as it is played.
...
My general feeling after wading through this playlist was that, despite a few notable exceptions, music was on a slight downslope after the 60s and the early years of the 70s.
Click to expand...
Well, the good news is today with the addition of my last 2 nominations, the playlist now ends on some short and sweet high notes, if you can make it past the long ones prior! ;-)

I'm still listening...
 
RobMCFC said:
My general feeling after wading through this playlist was that, despite a few notable exceptions, music was on a slight downslope after the 60s and the early years of the 70s.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting take that Rob, one I'm not sure I agree with. I think there's a lot of songs on the playlist that - I think - are ok, but not great compared to others in recent years. If I'm honest, I think the number of songs on there waters down the truly great music made this year.

- DSTOM - a classic to this day. An incredible album which on it's own would make this a great year for music. I would probably have 5 tracks off this album in the top 10 of the year it's that good.

- Tubular Bells isn't rock, pop or whatever - it's prog maybe, but classical and seems to have a timeless quality to it. I don't think this would be made today and certainly wouldn't have charted a few years earlier. Side 1 alone it a 'cheat' for the top 10!

- Glam rock is coming into it's ascendancy with T Rex, Bowie and others.

- Elton John's classic album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road sees that singer songwriter picking up a bit of prog and pumping out a magnificent album. It's incredible to think that he was superb in his early years in particular but really hasn't registered much in these years because his peers were creating era-defining music! Again, you could pick 5 great tracks off this album!

- Classic rock has more anthems in Freebird, Smoke on the Water, Wishing Well, La Grange, My Old School. Hmm, I'm struggling with just a top 10 now!

- Bob Marley appears, one of the great songwriters who pretty much introduces reggae to the West

- Band on the Run by Wings is a great album but because it's written by McCartney it's compared to The Beatles, but it's a great album in it's own right

- Prog is still a behemoth with Yes and Genesis creating classic albums

- Everyone loves a bit of Doobie Brothers!

That's all in one year - I think it's a lot compared to other years. I think what we also forget, and will see in the next couple of years, is just how quickly music is moving on. Creatively, music is moving quickly and if you don't keep up, you're yesterdays news.

I love this era of classic rock, but we also have to remember that back then a lot changes in a year. Soon we will start to move on from the class rock era towards the great era of funk, soul and disco. We are also - almost in the background - getting ready for hugely influential musicians like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre and Brian Eno to introduce ambient and electronic music. Soon we will start to hear punk and hip-hop within a few years. It's truly 'hold on to your hats' so to speak!

I wish I'd lived through this musical evolution, you simply wouldn't hear it today. Music in 2025 sounds very much like music from 2005.
 
OB1 said:
Of course playing Jean Genie and Blockbuster together was deliberate.

As was starting with ELP and Edgar Winter, but do you know why I paired them?
Click to expand...
No, I'm afraid I'm missing the link between ELP and EW.

GoatersLeftShin said:
That's an interesting take that Rob, one I'm not sure I agree with. I think there's a lot of songs on the playlist that - I think - are ok, but not great compared to others in recent years. If I'm honest, I think the number of songs on there waters down the truly great music made this year.

- DSTOM - a classic to this day. An incredible album which on it's own would make this a great year for music. I would probably have 5 tracks off this album in the top 10 of the year it's that good.

- Tubular Bells isn't rock, pop or whatever - it's prog maybe, but classical and seems to have a timeless quality to it. I don't think this would be made today and certainly wouldn't have charted a few years earlier. Side 1 alone it a 'cheat' for the top 10!

- Glam rock is coming into it's ascendancy with T Rex, Bowie and others.

- Elton John's classic album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road sees that singer songwriter picking up a bit of prog and pumping out a magnificent album. It's incredible to think that he was superb in his early years in particular but really hasn't registered much in these years because his peers were creating era-defining music! Again, you could pick 5 great tracks off this album!

- Classic rock has more anthems in Freebird, Smoke on the Water, Wishing Well, La Grange, My Old School. Hmm, I'm struggling with just a top 10 now!

- Bob Marley appears, one of the great songwriters who pretty much introduces reggae to the West

- Band on the Run by Wings is a great album but because it's written by McCartney it's compared to The Beatles, but it's a great album in it's own right

- Prog is still a behemoth with Yes and Genesis creating classic albums

- Everyone loves a bit of Doobie Brothers!

That's all in one year - I think it's a lot compared to other years. I think what we also forget, and will see in the next couple of years, is just how quickly music is moving on. Creatively, music is moving quickly and if you don't keep up, you're yesterdays news.

I love this era of classic rock, but we also have to remember that back then a lot changes in a year. Soon we will start to move on from the class rock era towards the great era of funk, soul and disco. We are also - almost in the background - getting ready for hugely influential musicians like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre and Brian Eno to introduce ambient and electronic music. Soon we will start to hear punk and hip-hop within a few years. It's truly 'hold on to your hats' so to speak!

I wish I'd lived through this musical evolution, you simply wouldn't hear it today. Music in 2025 sounds very much like music from 2005.
Click to expand...
Well, depending on what type of music is your favourite, we are bound to disagree on the strengths and weaknesses of various years. I just didn't think that 1973 had the same overall quality of the previous 4 or 5 years.
  • I did note that DSOTM was an exception to my comment, as was Springsteen's wonderful TWTI&TESS.
  • Despite loving rock in general, Glam rock is not a genre that I like. I wasn't going to say this again as I know it flies against popular opinion, but as it's part of my reasoning I'll say it once last time on this thread: I don't know why Bowie is held in the same high esteem as other big artists of the era.
  • "Smoke on the Water" is a classic but it was from 1972 and appeared on that playlist.
  • Prog is a genre I can listen to, but Genesis of this era just sounds like Peter Gabriel telling whimsical stories Jackanory style over oddball backing music.
  • Reggae is one of my least favourite genres - that um-chick, um-chick sound for hours on end - no thanks, so I won't thank Bob Marley for introducing it to the West :) Although I will admit to liking some of his songs and will give credit where credit is due when and if they appear.
  • The Doobie Brothers' track must have been a last-minute addition that I missed and I do enjoy that classic.
I'm not despondent though because 75/76/77 will soon be along to save the day, but none of it will be punk (in my case).
 
RobMCFC said:
No, I'm afraid I'm missing the link between ELP and EW.


Well, depending on what type of music is your favourite, we are bound to disagree on the strengths and weaknesses of various years. I just didn't think that 1973 had the same overall quality of the previous 4 or 5 years.
  • I did note that DSOTM was an exception to my comment, as was Springsteen's wonderful TWTI&TESS.
  • Despite loving rock in general, Glam rock is not a genre that I like. I wasn't going to say this again as I know it flies against popular opinion, but as it's part of my reasoning I'll say it once last time on this thread: I don't know why Bowie is held in the same high esteem as other big artists of the era.
  • "Smoke on the Water" is a classic but it was from 1972 and appeared on that playlist.
  • Prog is a genre I can listen to, but Genesis of this era just sounds like Peter Gabriel telling whimsical stories Jackanory style over oddball backing music.
  • Reggae is one of my least favourite genres - that um-chick, um-chick sound for hours on end - no thanks, so I won't thank Bob Marley for introducing it to the West :) Although I will admit to liking some of his songs and will give credit where credit is due when and if they appear.
  • The Doobie Brothers' track must have been a last-minute addition that I missed and I do enjoy that classic.
I'm not despondent though because 75/76/77 will soon be along to save the day, but none of it will be punk (in my case).
Click to expand...
Your blind spot to Bowie is troubling. But at least you are consistent in it.

I thought 1973 was a pretty good year but it is different for me because of the age I was and it significantly influenced my future tastes.

From a personal viewpoint, music wasn’t on a downward trajectory if you take a longer view. There’s always bumps in the road so it’s not as strong as 1971 or, for my money, 1975, which I am also covering.

I think there’s some great music we don’t have on the playlist.

On the rock front, Montrose’s superb debut, a huge influence on Van Halen’s debut thanks to sharing the same producer - Ted Templeman - has some great hard rock songs. I think I put three on my 1973 companion playlist, which anyone who is interested can view or listen to, it’s cunningly titled BM 1973 pt2 and is available publicly now.

It does open with a fair bit of glam and has slightly more tracks than pt1.

The link between the opening tracks by the way is that the late great British DJ, Alan “Fluff” Freeman used extracts from both on his radio shows for many years.
 
OB1 said:
Your blind spot to Bowie is troubling. But at least you are consistent in it.

I thought 1973 was a pretty good year but it is different for me because of the age I was and it significantly influenced my future tastes.

From a personal viewpoint, music wasn’t on a downward trajectory if you take a longer view. There’s always bumps in the road so it’s not as strong as 1971 or, for my money, 1975, which I am also covering.

I think there’s some great music we don’t have on the playlist.

On the rock front, Montrose’s superb debut, a huge influence on Van Halen’s debut thanks to sharing the same producer - Ted Templeman - has some great hard rock songs. I think I put three on my 1973 companion playlist, which anyone who is interested can view or listen to, it’s cunningly titled BM 1973 pt2 and is available publicly now.

It does open with a fair bit of glam and has slightly more tracks than pt1.

The link between the opening tracks by the way is that the late great British DJ, Alan “Fluff” Freeman used extracts from both on his radio shows for many years.
Click to expand...
As @Saddleworth2 said in an earlier post, it's hard to get past the fact that the music you hear/buy when you are a teenager is always going to be your favourite. In my case, as I was a late starter to music-listening, it's probably the 17-26 age range that is most special to me.

Naturally I'm not old enough to remember Alan Freeman's jingles but thanks for the explanation.
 
RobMCFC said:
No, I'm afraid I'm missing the link between ELP and EW.
Click to expand...
Same here, other than both heavy on the synths. Same ARP 2600 synthesizer?

RobMCFC said:
Well, depending on what type of music is your favourite, we are bound to disagree on the strengths and weaknesses of various years. I just didn't think that 1973 had the same overall quality of the previous 4 or 5 years.
  • I did note that DSOTM was an exception to my comment, as was Springsteen's wonderful TWTI&TESS.
Click to expand...
Yes, you did note that and absolutely agree! ;-)

RobMCFC said:
  • Despite loving rock in general, Glam rock is not a genre that I like. I wasn't going to say this again as I know it flies against popular opinion, but as it's part of my reasoning I'll say it once last time on this thread: I don't know why Bowie is held in the same high esteem as other big artists of the era.
Click to expand...
You have been consistent, but I'll only note that I disagree on this and I hold Bowie much higher than others of the glam rock era as his impact on music well exceeded this period, but more on that later.

As I noted in my 1972 initial write-up, Bowie of this era was mostly before my time and other than the Changesonebowie and Changestwobowie from this era, I didn't originally get him like other friends of mine who were really into his music. However, once I explored his back catalog and heard the non-popular songs he did, I eventually "got it" with him. I was a big fan of the music he made up until his passing and consider Blackstar one of the best "saying goodbye" albums I've ever heard anyone make, but I promise I won't jump ahead. It took me time and I'll admit it wasn't until the mid-80s and later mid-90s when I explored more that his genius really affected me. Reading the 1986 book Stardust on his career up to that point was as enlightening as the No One Here Gets Out Alive book I had read on Morrison on these two artists.

I've enjoyed the albums he made that we've covered thus far, and there are some gems soon to come that I'll say aren't "glam rock" either. Bowie was a chameleon, and as an artist, few went through the "Changes" he did over his fantastic career.

So, for now, and maybe not always, we'll just agree to disagree on his music.
RobMCFC said:
  • Prog is a genre I can listen to, but Genesis of this era just sounds like Peter Gabriel telling whimsical stories Jackanory style over oddball backing music.
Click to expand...
I am with you on this. I have tried numerous times over the years to enjoy Gabriel in Genesis, but it simply has not clicked for me. I enjoy late 70s solo Gabriel much more later on, but as a fan of prog, I don't hold Gabriel Genesis near that same time period Yes. But that's just me...
RobMCFC said:
  • The Doobie Brothers' track must have been a last-minute addition that I missed and I do enjoy that classic.
Click to expand...
I nominated it this past Saturday back on p.211, and with all the shuffling of songs, it got a late add to the playlist itself after your initial commentary yesterday.

RobMCFC said:
I'm not despondent though because 75/76/77 will soon be along to save the day, but none of it will be punk (in my case).
Click to expand...
Same. ;-)
 
Last edited:
RobMCFC said:
As @Saddleworth2 said in an earlier post, it's hard to get past the fact that the music you hear/buy when you are a teenager is always going to be your favourite. In my case, as I was a late starter to music-listening, it's probably the 17-26 age range that is most special to me.

Naturally I'm not old enough to remember Alan Freeman's jingles but thanks for the explanation.
Click to expand...
Not 'Arf...1749819844540.png
 
Amazon has becoming Led Zeppelin to rent for a couple of quid. Amazing film/documentary if you haven’t seen it. Highlight for me was John Bonhams posthumous commentary. The music reminds me of Zeppelins visceral brilliance all over again.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Amazon has becoming Led Zeppelin to rent for a couple of quid. Amazing film/documentary if you haven’t seen it. Highlight for me was John Bonhams posthumous commentary. The music reminds me of Zeppelins visceral brilliance all over again.
Click to expand...
Free on Netflix if you have it. Watching now...

Early shout out from Jimmy Page to Lonnie Donegan, featured earlier in this thread here.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top