A maximum of 4 songs per year. Unless we have a shortage of songs in which case people can fill out the playlist on the last day (Monday).@Saddleworth2
Brilliant write up and I love this playlist.
I know every song and had the bulk of the albums that you have mentioned.
I haven’t really partaken in this thread up to now.
There are so many music threads, I think I just became overwhelmed and ignored most of them.
Am I getting this right? The idea is for us to nominate four songs each to add to the list?
Well.A maximum of 4 songs per year. Unless we have a shortage of songs in which case people can fill out the playlist on the last day (Monday).
Like the other playlist thread, the second week is exclusively for listening/commenting.
Spot on Mate. One of uswrites up the year and nominates up to 10 tracks then the others pile in with four more + a bit of context. All good fun and some amazing playlists which tell the history from 1960. You can access any year from the charts on page one. Hope you join in - the more the merrier.@Saddleworth2
Brilliant write up and I love this playlist.
I know every song and had the bulk of the albums that you have mentioned.
I haven’t really partaken in this thread up to now.
There are so many music threads, I think I just became overwhelmed and ignored most of them.
Am I getting this right? The idea is for us to nominate four songs each to add to the list?
However, 1971 wasn't just about great rock music. In all genres, similar things were happening - sounds were progressing. We start to hear very experimental music made by the 'Krautrock' bands such as Tangerine Dream - these will eventually lead to some of the first electronic ambient albums and the first fully electronic music. Whilst they don't get the credit they necessarily should have, the idea of the counter-culture from the 60s hasn't gone away - it's gone back 'underground' again and is busily making music that's crazy, mad, unlistenable but ultimately influential. Rock music was still progressing.
Anyway, aside from rock, there were great singles and albums in other genres too. Here's my nominations
Wow what a great thread and what a year 1971 was for album releases.There’s a good documentary series on Apple TV covering the music and events of 1971 ‘The Year Music Changed Everything ‘.
My four penneth
The debut release by one of my favourite artists the late great John Prine,
I was just twelve when this was released and it wasn’t until 1972 I started to buy my own albums.My older brother was into Led Zep, Prog Rock and Bowie, so very few American artists were rarely heard in our house.It wasn’t until many years later when Springsteen produced his album ‘The Missing Years’ that I really discovered JP and his wonderful lyrics sometimes sad sometimes humorous.so many great songs to choose from on this album but as I’ve already put a few on other threads I’ll go for one made famous by Bonnie Raitt but covered by many others. ‘Angel from Montgomery.’
James Taylor the title track from Mudslide Slim and The Blue Horizon, I’ve always loved
JT voice and i remember someone at school carrying a copy of this album around, I’d not heard it but of course knew the single ‘You’ve got a friend’ which was to be killed by many, years later on karaoke machines.When you see J T now as an older statesman it’s hard to believe he was strung out on heroin when he made this record.
Another of my favourite bands released their debut album this year containing one of my favourite songs ‘Willin’
To me Lowell George was a very underrated performer, great slide guitarist, song writer
and vocalist and the rest of the band weren’t too shabby either.Id just started work in 1976 when one of the older guys who just been to see the Warner Bros tour of Little Feat, The Doobie Brothers and Tower of Power, recommended them and I’ve been a fan ever since.
I can’t remember when I first heard Leonard Cohen but I’m pretty sure it was before the other artists on my list and it would’ve been the song’ Suzanne’. I’ve always been in to
melancholic singer song writers and laughing Len is probably the king.Oddly the current Mrs Mcd who hates most of my ‘depressing ‘ music is such a fan she chose one if his songs for our wedding!
It wasn’t this one ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ which LC would wear in later years in his live shows.
‘What’s going on’ very nearly was included in my original write up. The only reason I didn’t was that it had been well covered in the album thread.Looking at the playlist, we have a lot of representatives from the rock world - and rightfully so. These are the Golden Years of rock and there's many great tracks added on there. I see the 70s as the decade when all the ideas that were created in the 60s - concept albums, studio productions, expanding songwriting techniques and importing ideas from other genres just come together and explode rock music into something else. Progressive rock has a bit of a bad name, but at it's best it's very hard to beat in my view.
I think it's worth looking back as well at the years before whenever looking at a new year. If we class Pet Sounds/Sgt Pepper as the birth of rock, or modern music, then just listen to how far it's come in 5/6 years. The songs on the playlist sound alien to music of just a few years before. Can you imagine Roundabout by Yes, Blue by Joni Mitchell or When The Levee Breaks being released in 1964? I can't.
However, 1971 wasn't just about great rock music. In all genres, similar things were happening - sounds were progressing. We start to hear very experimental music made by the 'Krautrock' bands such as Tangerine Dream - these will eventually lead to some of the first electronic ambient albums and the first fully electronic music. Whilst they don't get the credit they necessarily should have, the idea of the counter-culture from the 60s hasn't gone away - it's gone back 'underground' again and is busily making music that's crazy, mad, unlistenable but ultimately influential. Rock music was still progressing.
Anyway, aside from rock, there were great singles and albums in other genres too. Here's my nominations
I know we have had "What's Going on" on the album thread, but it's such a magnificent album that it needs representing on the playlist. When Berry Gordy of Motown heard the album he hated it and didn't want it releasing. In some ways, I can understand his view point - I don't think Gaye did anything like this before, or even after. I'm glad it was released as it's one of my absolute favourite albums and I'll never tire of hearing it. For it's anger and depressing view of the world, it's beautiful and uplifting.
The album is a 'concept' album in that it's dealing with the views of a Vietnam soldier returning home and finding there's a lot of problems - money, racism, drugs. In 'Mercy Mercy Me' we have, similar to Big Yellow Taxi, another of the first songs about environmental issues.
I could nominate most of the album, but the title track is just utterly beautiful.
Marvin Gaye - What's Going on
Whilst we're a few years away from the arrival of Disco, we are seeing some of the Philadelphia Soul artists around now. With the big productions with plenty of strings and brass, touches of funk, great grooves and soul and very a slick produced sound Philly Soul is definitely a pre-cursor of Disco. It certainly influences the disco sound. I love Philly records, they are catchy, uplifting and so smooth. Perfect for when the suns out and rest assured, I'll be putting some classic Philly on whilst enjoying a beer in the garden!
The song I'll nominate has much of the above although it's a slower ballad but you can recognise a lot of the Philly Soul elements and the high pitched singing almost sounds like the Bee Gees in a few years.
You Are Everything - The Stylistics
Funk is starting to grow as the 70s move on and the sound is becoming 'harder' now with the emphasis moving firmly onto the groove. The beat, the groove is literally what it's about - and that will massively influence Disco. A lot of the James Brown funk tracks have been sampled to death, but there's something about them that still sounds fresh today... and of course, it's impossible not to tap your feet or move. And as I said the other day, there's jazz all over this record in terms of the drums, bass and horns etc but this isn't jazz either! :)
This is funk at it's purest.
James Brown - Soul Power
To finish, as I said in the introduction this is ultimately the era of classic rock music and there are few better bands than Yes. Fragile is a classic album and again I could nominate several tracks from it. I find it incredible to listen to this album and you can hear a huge amount of technically impressive musicianship, jazz all over the place and yet it's unmistakingly a rock song with pop melodies. It's a song that everyone loves despite it being practically impossible to play - what timing is the beat? I have no idea and it seems to change almost like it's freeform (to my untrained ears).
Anyway, if you want a song with a classic riff, incredible vocals, huge rises to the top and then drops and a couple of bridges in then name a better song that South Side Of The Sky! Some songs just need playing LOUD and this is one.
Yes - South Side Of The Sky
Was just listening to that coming back from fishing. He lived above a laundromat with a couple of pals when he moved to London after Taste broke up. Great pick.Laundromat- Rory Gallagher
I did wonder when that would appear. In putting together 1971 I have a playlist of around 80 tracks. Lots more classics still to appear.As my lack of knowledge of the time leaves me out of ideas, I'll use my 4th choice to get a classic in:-
"Brown Sugar" - Rolling Stones
Love the jazz influence.Was just listening to that coming back from fishing. He lived above a laundromat with a couple of pals when he moved to London after Taste broke up. Great pick.
John McLaughlin was an absolute genius guitar player. So pleased that he gets a nomination.Again I'm going to be lazy and pick a track from one of the legion of albums Sadds mentioned. Jazz fusion is fully at it by this point in proceedings.
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Meeting of The Spirits
(I assume Bill will be along with some Weather Report shortly, but I'll save a pick in case it turns out he's otherwise engaged)
I have a feeling Rory will be featuring quite a lot on this thread.Love the jazz influence.
Gerry changes bass line tempo at least three times but it just swings along so smoothly.
Great live track also.
Yeah, I getting an itchy trigger figure. Far too many classics not yet suggested.I did wonder when that would appear. In putting together 1971 I have a playlist of around 80 tracks. Lots more classics still to appear.
Played this album yesterday; glad someone picked something from it. Some amazing musicianship on it.Again I'm going to be lazy and pick a track from one of the legion of albums Sadds mentioned. Jazz fusion is fully at it by this point in proceedings.
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Meeting of The Spirits
(I assume Bill will be along with some Weather Report shortly, but I'll save a pick in case it turns out he's otherwise engaged)
Your pick for the playlist was inspired.I have a feeling Rory will be featuring quite a lot on this thread.
Certainly got my interest.Your pick for the playlist was inspired.