When it comes to popular music, if there is such a thing as a "classic rock era," I would date it from 1966-1979. In 1966 the Beach Boys released the album "Pet Sounds," Brian Wilson's seminal masterpiece that revolutionized rock recording techniques and established the principle that great bands should be able to produce an album's worth of material that was more than "filler." Pet Sounds made rockers into "artists."
In 1979 a Los Angeles based band called The Knack released the wildly successful single "My Sharona," a guitar song with a memorable riff that (at a time when Disco, Punk, early hip-hop and New Wave were all the rage) was supposed to be the savior of the classic rock sound. But alas, by 1981 we would have MTV and a flourishing of musical styles. Some classic rock bands survived and thrived, but most never quite adapted to the video era. And so "My Sharona" did not rescue classic rock as much as represent its last gasp.
If 1966-1979 was in fact the classic rock era, then the year 1972 would have to be its high point. My earliest memories of listening to music were in that year (I was in the 6th grade), and I've actually spent most of THIS year consumed in the music of 1972 in anticipation of writing a few 50th anniversary celebration rants. This rant is celebration #1. Celebration #2 will come sometime before the end of the year. I'll celebrate 50 albums in all.
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| In 1972 Motown's Stevie Wonder toured with the Rolling Stones. His music was regularly played on FM rock radio. |
As I re-lived this music, a few things stood out. First, almost all of it still holds up today; the best has a timeless quality that does not immediately identify it as part of any particular era. Second, the diversity in styles was remarkable; in 1972 there was an explosion of rock "fusions" including jazz-rock, country-rock, soul-rock, and classical-rock while the traditional blues-rock remained vital and popular. Third, most of this music probably would not have been produced or found an audience were it not for the excellence of FM radio in 1972. I remember the excitement in the voices of the DJs on WNEW-FM in New York as they introduced new music to their listeners. Listening to those DJs, you always got the feeling that this music MATTERED.
So we will appreciate 50 albums released in 1972, 26 in this rant and 24 more later in the year. Drum roll please:
#50: Stevie Wonder, "Talking Book." Stevie was only 22 years old in 1972, yet Talking Book was his 15th album. Unlike the music he recorded as a child star for Motown in the 1960s, Talking Book features Wonder on the synthesizer, singing mature ballads ("You Are The Sunshine of My Life") and a healthy dose of socially conscious material. Wonder toured with the Rolling Stones in 1972, and throughout the 1970s his music was played on FM rock radio. Though the song "Superstition" is now 50 years old, its warning about the suffering that follows belief in what we don't understand seemed to anticipate the social media conspiracy theory nightmare we live in now.
#49: David Bowie, "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars." A foundational album in the "glam rock" movement, Ziggy Stardust in 2017 was actually deemed "culturally, historically, or artistically significant" by the Library of Congress. A prominent theme in the album is that the world is headed for apocalyptic doom; not surprising then the modern Extinction Rebellion movement often plays the song "Five Years" at rallies. (the song posits that humanity may only have five years left.). "Suffragette City" (which popularized the phrase "wham, bam, thank you ma'am") received steady airplay on FM radio for decades.
#48: Mott the Hoople, "All the Young Dudes". Speaking of David Bowie, he wrote the title track of Mott the Hoople's breakthrough "All the Young Dudes" album. The song is one of the great anthems for personal liberation. The entire album rocks, with some solid lead guitar by Mick Ralphs (later went on to play for the successful British band Bad Company), and the Bob Dylanesque vocals of the great Ian Hunter.
#47: Neil Young, "Harvest". Neil Young's recorded output from the 1960s until today has been consistently excellent, but his 1970's albums have an inspired quality to them that made him a staple of FM radio for many years. "Harvest" includes many of his classic tunes that remain in his concert set list, including "Southern Man," "Alabama," "Old Man," "The Needle and the Damage Done," and "Heart of Gold."
#46: Chicago, "Chicago V." The breakup of the Beatles in 1970 created an opening for bands that could produce hummable harmonies. In 1972, before AM radio became a haven for right wing ranting and assorted other nuttiness, you could put on a music station and be treated to something uplifting like "Saturday in the Park." But Chicago V has much more than catchy sing-a-longs. It's got some jazz-rock jams that defined the genre, while "Dialogue Part 1 and 2" powerfully connects with the social activism of the time.
#45: War, "The World is a Ghetto." The band War were giants of soul and funk known for lively concerts that attracted people of all races and cultures. "The World is a Ghetto" is most known for the hit single "The Cisco Kid," but the album in its entirety is quite an achievement. It's a nice mix of danceable tunes, lengthy jams, and socially conscious messages.
#44: Helen Reddy, "I Am Woman." The title track was an international hit, a feminist anthem that empowers to this very day. Most of the other songs on the album are not as well know, but there are some super moments. My favorite is probably her jazzy cover of Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack."
#43: Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Catch Bull At Four." In 1971 Cat Stevens released one of the greatest albums of all time, "Teaser and the Firecat." That record included a number of timeless classics, including "Moonshadow," "Peace Train," and "Morning Has Broken." The follow-up "Catch Bull At Four" does not reach that level of excellence, but it is still a great record. Most of the songs continue Cat's spiritual quest that eventually led to him converting to Islam in 1977 and leaving the music business for many years to pursue charity work. What an incredible voice.
#42: The Grateful Dead, "Europe '72." Back in the day the Grateful Dead toured extensively, and it's probably no exaggeration to say that in their heyday they were the most popular band in the world. Most of the live shows became available as bootlegs to the Dead aficionados who had the tenacity to find them. "Europe '72," which included selected performances from the band's tour of Western Europe, was somewhat of an "official" bootleg that introduced the energy of the live performances to audiences who might have only known them from studio recordings or FM radio. "Europe '72" was for its time the most commercially successful three-album set in history, and also critically acclaimed.
#41: Rod Stewart, "Never A Dull Moment." One of Rod Stewart's best albums from his most creative period. Rod's unique voice--rightfully so--always got the most notice from fans and critics, but what also stands out on this album is Ron Wood's guitar playing and Micky Waller's drumming. The majority of the record features original songs, but Stewart's covers of Jimi Hendrix's "Angel" and Sam Cooke's "Twistin' the Night Away" almost surpass the originals.
#40: The Jeff Beck Group, "Jeff Beck Group." Jeff Beck may be the greatest guitar player ever, but the 1972 "Jeff Beck Group" album is certainly NOT his best. It was recorded and released in that transition period for Beck (between the groundbreaking Yardbirds period and his later success playing jazz) in which he could not decide if he was a rocker, a soul disciple, a jazz player, or something else. If the album is not one of his best works, then why include it on this list? Because Beck's version of the Don Nix classic "Going Down" is such a spectacular recording that by itself it brings up the entire record. Every member of the band achieves greatness on "Going Down": Bobby Tench's gritty vocals, Max Middleton's boogie woogie keyboards, Clive Chaman's thumping bass, Cozy Powell's bombastic but appropriately subdued drums, and of course Beck wails on lead guitar. "Going Down" seems to have disappeared from classic rock radio, which kind of sucks.
#39: The Carpenters, "A Song For You." Siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter had a string of hits in the 1970s. I didn't really care for their music at the time, in part because they were not an FM radio act. Listening to the Carpenters today, it becomes clear what a unique talent Karen was: a soulful singer who was also a very competent drummer. Karen's tragic death, brought on by complications from an eating disorder, makes listening to these old records somewhat bittersweet.
#38: The Allman Brothers Band, "Eat A Peach." A groundbreaking record, "Eat A Peach" solidified The Allman Brothers Band as the kings of the "Southern Rock" sound. The title of the album comes from part of guitarist Duane Allman's response to the question, "What are you doing to help the revolution?" He said, " . . . every time I'm in Georgia, I eat a peach for peace." Duane tragically died in a motorcycle crash at age 24 in October of 1971, but his guitar playing appears on most of "Eat A Peach." A double album, Eat A Peach included studio and live recordings. Gregg Allman's vocals were amazing, especially on tracks like "One Way Out" and "Melissa." Meanwhile, guitar player/vocalist Dickie Betts' "Blue Sky" is probably the epitome of the southern rock sound.
#37: ZZ Top, "Rio Grande Mud." This was ZZ Top's second album, recorded at a time when they were still deeply embedded in the idea of being musical soldiers in the movement to keep old-school blues and R&B alive. There's a stylistic purity about Top in this period that they kind of lost when they attained their greatest success in the MTV era.
#36: The Doobie Brothers, "Toulouse Street." The Doobies second album, "Toulouse Street" included songs that became mainstays on FM rock radio for generations such as "Listen to the Music" and "Rockin' Down the Highway." The Doobies had their biggest commercial successes after Michael McDonald joined the band in 1975, but the 1972 band IMHO is the definitive Doobies. Their version of the Art Reynolds Singers' gospel classic "Jesus is Just Alright" is a crazy good version of that song.
#35: Lou Reed, "Transformer." Another foundational recording in the "glam-rock" genre, "Transformer" is typical Lou Reed: an overall sullen mood created by poetic, provocative lyrics and Bob Dylanesque vocals. "Perfect Day" is one of my personal favorite songs of all time, while "Walk on the Wild Side" with its themes of sexual orientation and gender identity was way ahead of its time. The New York Times in 2013 called the song "a ballad of misfits and oddballs that became an unlikely cultural anthem." To this very day I am shocked that the line "But she never lost her head/even when she was giving head" was minimally censored on the radio. Perhaps the Big Brothers at the FCC in 1972 did not know what "giving head" meant.
#34: Howlin' Wolf, "Live and Cookin' at Alice's Revisited." By 1972 the old school Chicago blues legends (Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley)--the true great grandfathers of rock-and-roll--were treated by the rock business establishment as if they were museum pieces. Each of them continued to record new music, but even the progressive FM radio of the time did not give it major air time. For that reason, Howlin' Wolf's "Live and Cookin' at Alice's Revisited" went virtually unnoticed even though it's a remarkable representation of the energy Wolf brought to his performances at the latter stage of his career (he died in 1976).
#33: Paul Simon, "Paul Simon." This was Paul Simon's second solo album, but the first released after the breakup of Simon & Garfunkel. The album produced three huge hits ("Mother and Child Reunion," "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," and "Duncan") along with a number of lesser known songs that feature some of Simon's best lyrics and guitar playing (e.g. "Peace Like a River" and "Paranoia Blues). A standout album in a year filled with standout albums.
#32: Emerson, Lake & Palmer, "Trilogy." A foundational recording in the "progressive rock" genre. British progressive rock super trio ELP were most known for Keith Emerson's keyboard and synthesizer theatrics, but I think an argument could be made that Carl Palmer's drumming--which had a kind of "focused chaos" style, was the glue that kept the band together. Meanwhile, Greg Lake's guitar playing and vocals on "From the Beginning" were of the caliber of the best of the Beatles in their artistic (1967-1970) period. "Hoedown," a reworking of a 1942 classical piece by composer Aaron Copland, was an FM radio staple and ELP concert favorite for many years.
#31: Focus, "Focus 3." Another groundbreaking album in the progressive rock genre. Yes kids, there was a time when bands dared to release double albums that included a 20-minute jam on one side. The musicianship displayed by the Dutch band Focus on this record is nothing short of extraordinary. It's certainly not for everyone: a primarily instrumental album with complex song arrangements won't work for people conditioned to the 2-4 minute pop song with innocuous lyrics. But if you give it the time, Focus 3 grows on you. Thijs Van Leer's flute and Hammond organ playing is the stuff of legend, while guitarist Jan Akkerman deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Hendrix, Clapton, Beck, Page and other classic rock era guitar gods.
#30: Elton John, "Honky Chateau." In the 1970s Elton John released a string of seven consecutive chart topping albums. Honky Chateau was the first of the bunch. It's the album that gave us Elton's signature song "Rocket Man" along with other tunes that stayed in his concert set list for decades.
#29: Funkadelic, "America Eats Its Young." What a perfect title for an album, eh? This is a highly experimental album much more musically complex than anything composed up to that point by Funkadelic front man George Clinton. The complexity sometimes makes it difficult to grasp the social messaging in the album. My favorite tune on it is probably "Biological Speculation:"
Some of you, you might not be aware
That some of us don't eat
Some of you don't even care
Oh, if and when the system
Creates hunger and hate
Then the laws of nature will come and do her thing
#28: Carly Simon, "No Secrets." Largely due to the strength of the standout singles "You're So Vain" and "The Right Thing To Do," "No Secrets" was Carly Simon's breakthrough record. Along with Carole King and others, she was one of the great "confessional" singer/songwriters of the 1970s; artists who openly shared their relationship and other struggles on their albums. The best modern equivalent is probably Taylor Swift (who loves Carly Simon). P.S. I don't think Jimmy Ryan has ever gotten enough credit for his spectacular guitar solo on "You're So Vain."
#27: Gordon Lightfoot, "Don Quixote." Though "Don Quixote" was Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot's 8th album--and all of them were popular in Canada--it would still be another two years before he'd make a breakthrough in the states (with the great album "Sundown"). "Don Quixote" is vintage Lightfoot: a modern troubadour with pleasing melodies (e.g. no pun intended, but "Beautiful" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written). What sets "Don Quixote" apart is the most un-Lightfoot song on the album: "The Patriot's Dream" may be the only time he ever ventured into the protest genre. The song has been ignored for decades, but I would rank it with the best protest music of people like Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, and Bob Dylan.
The patriot's dream still lives on today
It makes mothers weep and it makes lovers pray
Let's drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills
#26: The Edgar Winter Group, "They Only Come Out At Night." This is just a good time, let's have a party rock-and-roll record. Lots of energy throughout. What makes it stand out, however, is the epic instrumental "Frankenstein," featuring one of the great riffs in rock history. On that song, Edgar's synthesizer and Ronnie Montrose's guitar are enough to knock your teeth out, and Chuck Ruff's drumming is in Keith Moon territory. The strangest part of the song comes at about the 3:15 mark, when Edgar's synthesizer gives us what sounds like about 80 million crickets copulating. This song was on heavy FM radio rotation for years, justifiably so.
#25: James Brown, "There It Is." Classic James Brown from his "Godfather of Soul" period. Some of the songs are extended funk-jams that Brown became known for (e.g. "There It Is Parts 1 &2," "I'm a Greedy Man," and "Talkin' Loud and Saying Nothin'"). But what really sets this album apart are its powerful anti-drug messages, especially in "King Heroin" and "Public Enemy #1 Parts 1 and 2." In the "Public Enemy" tunes, Brown is at his preacher best. Sadly, the messages of these songs are even more relevant 50 years later.
Hopefully that gives you a good taste of the tremendous music of 1972. In a few months we will feature 25 more albums from that year!
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