For me, this thread works best when concentrating on the ‘history’. The key events, the context, the personalities, the why, where, what. I like discovering stuff that I’d forgotten or missed. The playlists are secondary if I’m honest. Although I have saved them all as well as the pre 1960 stuff. I also have the tidal yearly playlists. I have found the playlists popular at parties and family gatherings. I enjoy the research as much as the listening.As everyone knows, I would have much longer playlists. There’s some shite on that list, which is from one of the sites I refer to when looking for tracks not on the albums I own, but some good stuff and things that were just of their time and IMO tell part of the story of the year.
I am making my own lists now from my cd collection, which is a work in progress, so I really don’t care much what goes on the lists from the thread but I do like hearing things I was not familiar with, especially if they make me go out and buy something old but Neu (ho, ho), or even tip me off to a track I have but had not fully appreciated (e.g. Roy Harper).
That’s you that is.I do like it when as thread members with an average probably north of 60, we go a bit in this direction...
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Fascinating fact. Randy Meisner was the founding bassist of Poco but left after a dispute with Richie Furay. He was replaced by Timothy B Schmit. Meisner went on to be the founding bassist of the Eagles (giving them a hit single with Take It to the Limit) but left after an argument with Glen Frey and was replaced by…Timothy B Schmit.The History of Rock & Roll - 1976
The sleep is still in my eyes, the dream is still in my head...
We're getting to the point (as CS&N once pinned) where I'm remembering most of these songs, and to really find something unique, it's going to have to be a UK-only hit charter or offering. There's good and bad to that, but overall, I am really enjoying revisiting the songs on these playlists.
The first 10 from @threespires with the Flight or Fight themes was very well done and ordered, and I knew of all but "Legalize It" from Peter Tosh. Standard reggae, and not especially my thing. The whole Boston 1st album is a fantastic debut, and hard to pick just one, but that opening track is a good choice to kick things off. From a familiarity point of view, "Lowdown" from Boz Scaggs and then "Disco Inferno" from The Trammps were the high marks, even though by 1981 I was enjoying AC/DC too once that album became available to the delicate ears of the US audience, only after the sad death of Bon Scott. "Pastime Paradise" from Stevie Wonder was probably the gem from his excellent album that is underappreciated from the hits, and I enjoyed revisiting that whole album over this time period to hear it all again.
"Let Your Love Flow" was another welcome blast from the past from The Bellamy Brothers that was a great choice for an ending track. Well done, threespires!
The Big Winner
"Year of the Cat" - Al Stewart, and this was close and tough to pick just one, but if there is anything I remember at the time from that year, is that 1976 was the Year of the Cat. I enjoyed this song then and have throughout the years with the initial music opening to those well matched vocals that really make the song. Musically and vocally, this song just cannot be topped for me. @homerdog got to Al for us this year as was needed.
Top New Songs
Top Songs I knew quite well
- "Moonchild" - Rory Gallagher, I've stopped being surprised when a Rory song I haven't heard makes it to the top of these lists. Great guitars again.
- "Shake Some Action" - Flamin' Groovies, sounded Beatlesish with the lead singer giving me a John Lennon vibe. Great first of 2 from OOB6 that were great new ones for me (but aren't they ALL?, and never lets me down. ;-).
- "Hey Lord, Don't Ask Me No Questions" - Graham Parker, maybe I've heard this on the radio, but not enough of a song I don't remember, to want to include it here.
- "I Want More" - CAN, perhaps the intro to 80's snyth and alternative music 4 years early with this piece where the reverb guitar gave me a Smiths vibe. Music origins in action on this track, with so much more to come found here. I Want More, indeed!
- "Ships in the Night" - Be Bop Deluxe, I didn't WANT to say this to MCD, but the first notes of this song reminded me a bit of Rush's "Time Stand Still". I'd have listed Southside Johnny, but being familiar with Philly radio, that song was well-known to me.
- "Pulstar" - Vangelis, great synths tune I'd not heard from this electronic music genius
- "Child From Nowhere" - Jimmie Spheeris, great mellow mood song from a singer/songwriter who was taken too soon in the 1980s.
I'm going to forgo the usual staples I could still hear on "classic rock" radio or channels today, so apologies to the Eagles, BOC, Kansas, Lizzy, Seger, TP, Aerosmith and the like.
Honorable mention to Southside Johnny and Manfred Mann also who had well enjoyable hits. The younger me heard Mann's version of "Blinded..." before Springsteen's original.
- "2112" - Rush, nearly was the big winner, and the song/album that saved the band for future greatness, thank goodness
- "Tonight" - Elton John, not considered one of his FM classics, this song vocally is hard to top, and musically is so moving with the orchestra arrangement. "The man who'd love to see you smile", gives me chills every time.
- "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" - Gordon Lightfood, I hadn't heard this one in ages, and what a classic this is. Singer/songwriter gold with Gordon. Canada representin' on this list.
- "Achilles Last Stand" - Led Zeppelin, one of my favourite rockers off one of their most underrated albums, you'd need to own this LP to hear this track as it never made FM radio. Vocal brilliance by Plant as I already noted into the 7:30 minute mark.
- "Rose Of Cimarron" - Poco, a great band from the 1970s that hardly gets its proper due, but they will here. I've loved this song, and no wonder Timothy B was soon with the Eagles by the end of the decade.
- "Fooled Again" - Tom Petty, nice deep cut track from his debut album, never to be heard on FM radio over proper hits "Breakdown" and "American Girl", but well enjoyed by album owners.
Great write-up and some that I don't know there so will look forward to this year.1977 – Did punk really kill Prog Rock?
Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Silver Jubilee, the King of Rock ‘n Roll Elvis Presley passed away and Red Rum did a city by winning a hat trick of Grand Nationals. More important than those events in 1977 was the fact I first took notice of the wide world of rock music. Indeed, it was a year of the Juxtaposition between Punk and Mainstream rock.
Did Punk really Kill Prog Rock?
So, what was Punk all about? In brief it was an anti-establishment, promotion of individual freedom movement that was sick to death of the stuffy, old-school mentality and social conditions of the 1970’s. The sub-culture was also anti-establishment in its music. Lyrics often echoed the ideals of the culture and the music itself “typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles with stripped-down instrumentation.”
Did punk kill prog rock? Hindsight is a wonderful, glorious friend in this case but hang on a minute. Punk reared its head in 1977, and what it did over time, either directly or indirectly was align Prog with a more streamlined, slimmed down approach which removed a lot of the excess in the latter. What it did not do was immediately impact on what was a glorious year for the world of prog/pomp/stadium rock.
State of Play.
In America, things were very much “as you were.” Although the “Land of the Free” was the mother of invention with punk, the New York Dolls and The Ramones being prevalent, it was “Stadium Rock” that held sway. Bands such as Foreigner, Kiss, Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith, Styx, and Heart were at the forefront.
Back home in Blighty, music was about to undergo a significant sea change. While most of the UK was spending their hard-earned money on delights such as David Soul, Baccara and the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, the more erudite listener was gorging on what became the first year of the Golden Years of the Hit single. At the other end of the scale, any self-respecting rocker would not be seen dead buying a seven-inch single.
My Soundtrack to 1977.
I could have used a multitude of criteria in which to choose ten tracks that would define the year. Top Five albums, Top Five singles, tracks from different genres etc. In the end I decided to plump for Ten Songs/Artists which, whilst attempting to be diverse. still highlight what had a profound effect on my musical taste or on my memory for decades to come.
The Stranglers – Dagenham Dave.
In my opinion, The Stranglers were placed into the wrong cohort. Due to the fact they needed to secure much needed exposure as support act for the likes Patti Smith and The Ramones, the band were way too proficient especially in the bass and keyboard departments.
Although it took me until 1979 to appreciate their worth, tracks like Down in the Sewer, No More Hero’s, Tank, and my chosen cut put them in the then rarified atmosphere of my favourites alongside Yes, Genesis and Kate Bush. An unlikely alliance.
Yes – Turn of the Century
My Introduction to music was my dad. He was a Music Teacher, and I dined out on Classical Music until one of his pupils gave him a cassette recording of Rick Wakeman’s “Journey to the Centre of the Earth.” This was it, rock and classical combined, was I now “Cool?”
A year or two later and a new best friend in school told me that Rick Wakeman was in a band called Yes and they had just released the “Going for the One” album.
This album is Yes at their zenith. A beautiful, melodic track which to me emits thoughts of Arwen and Aragorn in Lord of the Rings.
Andrew Gold – Lonely Boy.
I was 14 years of age in 1977, and it was the year of my musical awakening. In retrospect I was searching for a musical identity. We used to have a private bus home from school every day and this track was always on the radio.
Although I love my rock music, I do sometimes enjoy simplistic yet catchy melodies such as Andrew Gold, Crowded House, Alannis Morrissette and The Stereophonics. This was Gold’s breakthrough hit followed by the equally pleasing “Thank you for being a Friend” and “Never let her slip away.”
Electric Light Orchestra – Telephone Line
Did you know I very nearly ended up being an ELO fan? I was developing the buds that would resonate with its complexities and skill.
That is where ELO failed to win my ultimate support. Classical leanings of course and occasional cuts like Telephone Line still put them above the ordinary people that occupied the Top Forty of the day.
ELP – Fanfare for the Common Man
I was still studying how to play the piano at fourteen years of age. Top of the Pops was the only place to go on a Thursday evening an on one occasion I was impressed by these three guys in the Montreal Olympic stadium looking seriously cool whilst rocking out on a classical number.
I could never really get into ELP though. I found a lot of their compositions either bloated or boring. Having said that, “Karnevil 9” is a work of the highest order.
Foreigner – Feels Like the First Time
Harking back to the mid- seventies and Top of the Pops, it felt that if you wanted to rock out a bit it was Slade, Sweet or T-rex. I wanted something a bit more ballsy and yet again it was that radio on the way home from School that worked it out for me.
Foreigner have endured a lot of bad press since their album “4”. Slushy and overplayed ballads have tended to define them. If you delve into their first three albums there is a wealth of blues-based rock from what was a British/American (and not solely the latter) band.
The Carpenters – Calling Occupants
My parents were big fans of The Carpenters. They seemed to alternate with Elvis Presley on a weekly basis. Listen to something or someone long enough and you become so accustomed to that sound. Karen Carpenter was also a beautifully toned vocalist.
“Calling Occupants” was a radical departure from the trademark sound. A Futuristic Conspiracy theory instead of the trusted love song it certainly made a profound impact on my senses at that time.
10cc – The Things we do for Love.
Did you know that Godley and Crème were once lined up to be the British version of Simon and Garfunkel? In any case they had disappeared by the time this song appeared in the charts.
Manchester’s own continued with Stewart and Gouldman and whilst musically it has more in common with Andrew Gold, on a personal level they almost became a band for me to follow. Almost.
Sex Pistols – Pretty Vacant
Please do not get me wrong. I hated everything about the Sex Pistols. I was setting myself up to be a parochial rock fan. I idolised Rick Wakeman and Chris Squire of Yes. Let us not pretend, The Sex Pistols were musically, extremely limited and did not hang about for long.
Why choose this as one of my Ten tracks of 1977? The simple answer is that this song was the epitome of Punk to me. It is indelibly stamped on my brain and no review of this year would be complete without the Sex Pistols.
Heart - Barracuda
Just to share something with you all. There have been two distinctly different versions of Heart. Most will know of the glam/arena rock power ballads of the MTV age. Prior to this, the Seattle based band were a mix of folky acoustic numbers mixed with a penchant for Led Zeppelin type numbers.
For my final track I want to revert to their initial soundscapes. This is the standard bearer for everything Heart and it is a beacon for surely the most powerfully voiced woman in rock. Step forward Ann Wilson.
And there it is. Not the best, not my favourite but two tracks each from pop, soft rock, punk, progressive and classic blues based rock to hopefully, accurately reflect the year that was.
.
Funnily enough, I only heard this album for the first time about 3 years ago when I was researching for one of my nominations in the Album Thread. It's a terrific album and I did have another track on my list of possibles for this year. As I have 5 on the list, I'll wait awhile and see if anybody picks off some of my others.Nice write up. I'll nominate Marquee Moon by Television. I'm possibly way out in terms of my genres and history but with this album and the title track not only did they invent New Wave but also Prog New Wave. I only heard this album for the first time earlier this year but I hear so many echos of it in more recent stuff like The Smile
I think I saw it mentioned a couple of times on here (i thought it might have been nominated on the album review thread but it wasn't). Took me a while to get around to listening to itGreat write-up and some that I don't know there so will look forward to this year.
Forgot the check:-
1. Do you have Spotify?
2. If so, will you be providing/maintaining a playlist with all of the nominations this week?
Funnily enough, I only heard this album for the first time about 3 years ago when I was researching for one of my nominations in the Album Thread. It's a terrific album and I did have another track on my list of possibles for this year. As I have 5 on the list, I'll wait awhile and see if anybody picks off some of my others.
Nice write up mate. Just a small thing, I think Telephone line was on 76 playlist. Nice to see Andrew Gold. Always liked his stuff. As you say, catchy but well made 'pop' music.1977 – Did punk really kill Prog Rock?
Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Silver Jubilee, the King of Rock ‘n Roll Elvis Presley passed away and Red Rum did a city by winning a hat trick of Grand Nationals. More important than those events in 1977 was the fact I first took notice of the wide world of rock music. Indeed, it was a year of the Juxtaposition between Punk and Mainstream rock.
Did Punk really Kill Prog Rock?
So, what was Punk all about? In brief it was an anti-establishment, promotion of individual freedom movement that was sick to death of the stuffy, old-school mentality and social conditions of the 1970’s. The sub-culture was also anti-establishment in its music. Lyrics often echoed the ideals of the culture and the music itself “typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles with stripped-down instrumentation.”
Did punk kill prog rock? Hindsight is a wonderful, glorious friend in this case but hang on a minute. Punk reared its head in 1977, and what it did over time, either directly or indirectly was align Prog with a more streamlined, slimmed down approach which removed a lot of the excess in the latter. What it did not do was immediately impact on what was a glorious year for the world of prog/pomp/stadium rock.
State of Play.
In America, things were very much “as you were.” Although the “Land of the Free” was the mother of invention with punk, the New York Dolls and The Ramones being prevalent, it was “Stadium Rock” that held sway. Bands such as Foreigner, Kiss, Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith, Styx, and Heart were at the forefront.
Back home in Blighty, music was about to undergo a significant sea change. While most of the UK was spending their hard-earned money on delights such as David Soul, Baccara and the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, the more erudite listener was gorging on what became the first year of the Golden Years of the Hit single. At the other end of the scale, any self-respecting rocker would not be seen dead buying a seven-inch single.
My Soundtrack to 1977.
I could have used a multitude of criteria in which to choose ten tracks that would define the year. Top Five albums, Top Five singles, tracks from different genres etc. In the end I decided to plump for Ten Songs/Artists which, whilst attempting to be diverse. still highlight what had a profound effect on my musical taste or on my memory for decades to come.
The Stranglers – Dagenham Dave.
In my opinion, The Stranglers were placed into the wrong cohort. Due to the fact they needed to secure much needed exposure as support act for the likes Patti Smith and The Ramones, the band were way too proficient especially in the bass and keyboard departments.
Although it took me until 1979 to appreciate their worth, tracks like Down in the Sewer, No More Hero’s, Tank, and my chosen cut put them in the then rarified atmosphere of my favourites alongside Yes, Genesis and Kate Bush. An unlikely alliance.
Yes – Turn of the Century
My Introduction to music was my dad. He was a Music Teacher, and I dined out on Classical Music until one of his pupils gave him a cassette recording of Rick Wakeman’s “Journey to the Centre of the Earth.” This was it, rock and classical combined, was I now “Cool?”
A year or two later and a new best friend in school told me that Rick Wakeman was in a band called Yes and they had just released the “Going for the One” album.
This album is Yes at their zenith. A beautiful, melodic track which to me emits thoughts of Arwen and Aragorn in Lord of the Rings.
Andrew Gold – Lonely Boy.
I was 14 years of age in 1977, and it was the year of my musical awakening. In retrospect I was searching for a musical identity. We used to have a private bus home from school every day and this track was always on the radio.
Although I love my rock music, I do sometimes enjoy simplistic yet catchy melodies such as Andrew Gold, Crowded House, Alannis Morrissette and The Stereophonics. This was Gold’s breakthrough hit followed by the equally pleasing “Thank you for being a Friend” and “Never let her slip away.”
Electric Light Orchestra – Telephone Line
Did you know I very nearly ended up being an ELO fan? I was developing the buds that would resonate with its complexities and skill.
That is where ELO failed to win my ultimate support. Classical leanings of course and occasional cuts like Telephone Line still put them above the ordinary people that occupied the Top Forty of the day.
ELP – Fanfare for the Common Man
I was still studying how to play the piano at fourteen years of age. Top of the Pops was the only place to go on a Thursday evening an on one occasion I was impressed by these three guys in the Montreal Olympic stadium looking seriously cool whilst rocking out on a classical number.
I could never really get into ELP though. I found a lot of their compositions either bloated or boring. Having said that, “Karnevil 9” is a work of the highest order.
Foreigner – Feels Like the First Time
Harking back to the mid- seventies and Top of the Pops, it felt that if you wanted to rock out a bit it was Slade, Sweet or T-rex. I wanted something a bit more ballsy and yet again it was that radio on the way home from School that worked it out for me.
Foreigner have endured a lot of bad press since their album “4”. Slushy and overplayed ballads have tended to define them. If you delve into their first three albums there is a wealth of blues-based rock from what was a British/American (and not solely the latter) band.
The Carpenters – Calling Occupants
My parents were big fans of The Carpenters. They seemed to alternate with Elvis Presley on a weekly basis. Listen to something or someone long enough and you become so accustomed to that sound. Karen Carpenter was also a beautifully toned vocalist.
“Calling Occupants” was a radical departure from the trademark sound. A Futuristic Conspiracy theory instead of the trusted love song it certainly made a profound impact on my senses at that time.
10cc – The Things we do for Love.
Did you know that Godley and Crème were once lined up to be the British version of Simon and Garfunkel? In any case they had disappeared by the time this song appeared in the charts.
Manchester’s own continued with Stewart and Gouldman and whilst musically it has more in common with Andrew Gold, on a personal level they almost became a band for me to follow. Almost.
Sex Pistols – Pretty Vacant
Please do not get me wrong. I hated everything about the Sex Pistols. I was setting myself up to be a parochial rock fan. I idolised Rick Wakeman and Chris Squire of Yes. Let us not pretend, The Sex Pistols were musically, extremely limited and did not hang about for long.
Why choose this as one of my Ten tracks of 1977? The simple answer is that this song was the epitome of Punk to me. It is indelibly stamped on my brain and no review of this year would be complete without the Sex Pistols.
Heart - Barracuda
Just to share something with you all. There have been two distinctly different versions of Heart. Most will know of the glam/arena rock power ballads of the MTV age. Prior to this, the Seattle based band were a mix of folky acoustic numbers mixed with a penchant for Led Zeppelin type numbers.
For my final track I want to revert to their initial soundscapes. This is the standard bearer for everything Heart and it is a beacon for surely the most powerfully voiced woman in rock. Step forward Ann Wilson.
And there it is. Not the best, not my favourite but two tracks each from pop, soft rock, punk, progressive and classic blues based rock to hopefully, accurately reflect the year that was.
.
It was as it was on the album A New World Record which was released in 76.Nice write up mate. Just a small thing, I think Telephone line was on 76 playlist. Nice to see Andrew Gold. Always liked his stuff. As you say, catchy but well made 'pop' music.
Amen brotherMy first nomination for this year is testament to the experts and terrific community we have here on the various Blue Moon music threads. And funny how the person I'm going to thank (again) has just appeared with a comment!
On the playlist thread back at the start of last year, @Out on blue 6 nominated one of the best songs I've never previously heard, and I've been playing it fairly regularly since. The album it's from, Pacific Ocean Blue, isn't perfect but shows that ex-Beach Boy Dennis Wilson was capable of putting some superb music together outside of his old band.
"River Song" - Dennis Wilson