In what has now become an annual tradition here at Media Rants, I will spend two posts celebrating the 50th birthday of albums released during the 1970s. Prior posts in this series:
- Celebrating the Music of 1972, Part 1
- Celebrating the Music of 1972, Part 2
- Celebrating the Music of 1973, Part 1
- Celebrating the Music of 1973, Part 2
My motives for these posts are part personal, part professional, and part political. At the personal level, it's fun to go back and listen to music that was--in some cases--highly instrumental (pun intended) in my development as a human being. Even without social media feeds, musical artists of that time period somehow seemed to be communicating directly to their listeners, as if what they had to say might actually MATTER in someone's life. Imagine that.
At the professional level, I still teach "The Rhetoric of Rock Music" and preparing these posts helps me to do the research that I probably should be doing anyway. It's always fun to rediscover some gems that I had forgotten about--and that might be of interest to today's younger generations.
Politically, the music of the time period in question reflects that moment in history--especially in the United States--when issues of personal identity and self-expression start to provoke the "culture war" that we are still saddled with and not close to resolving. Later in the 1970s, when disco, hip-hop, punk, and British New Wave enter the scene, the culture wars will start to become nastier and more divisive.
Without any further ado, let's get to the music! This post will feature 25 albums of 1974, and later this year another post will feature 25 more.
#50. Queen: Sheer Heart Attack. The band's third album, and the one that firmly established the sound that would define their huge commercial success later in the decade. The song "Killer Queen" became an international hit and still gets featured on classic rock radio playlists. Other tunes on the album (especially "Brighton Rock," "In the Lap of the Gods," "Stone Cold Crazy" and "Now I'm Here") became fixtures in Queen's live shows and/or influenced generations of future bands with their clever lyrics, Freddy Mercury's theatricality, and Brian May's soaring guitars.
#49. Bad Company: Bad Company. The first album by what was essentially a "super group" featuring four artists who had success with previous bands. The album absolutely dominated FM rock radio in 1974, I think in large part because it reminded DJs of the kind of garage rock sound that the Rolling Stones brought to the States in the mid-1960s. If you're looking for deep meaning in music, you won't find it in this album. However, Mick Ralph's gritty guitar and Paul Rodgers' soulful vocals are still worth the price of admission all these years later. The intro guitar on "Rock Steady" has always been one of my favorite pieces of music.
#48. Minnie Riperton: Perfect Angel. If you ARE looking for deep meaning in music, the late Minnie Riperton's classic "Perfect Angel" is kind of like a celebration of love and life put to music. Cancer took Minnie Riperton from the world much too early in 1979 (she was only 31), but she left behind a body of work that puts her in the category of one of the all time great soul singers. The song "Lovin' You" became the mega-hit off the album, in part because of Riperton's unique whistle-register in her vocals and the chirping of birds. Every time I hear the song I immediately think of Minnie's daughter (the actress Maya Rudolph), whose name is chanted several times at the end.
#47. Rufus & Chaka Khan: Rags to Rufus. Let's stay on the soul/funk theme for a minute. Chaka Khan in the 1970s had an absolutely Aretha Franklinesque ability to give a spiritual vibe to every song she performed. The classic on "Rags to Rufus" was the Stevie Wonder penned "Tell Me Something Good."
Rufus & Chaka Khan: Tell Me Something Good
#46. Neil Young: On the Beach. One of Neil's most underrated albums and least commercially successful at that time, in part because of its overall bleak tone. I personally prefer Neil when he is at his bleakest, so this record struck a chord with me immediately. The title song "On The Beach" is for all of us melancholy types, with expressions of hopelessness ("The world is turnin,' I hope it don't turn away") and despair ("Though my problems are meaningless, that don't make them go away").
#45. Joni Mitchell: Court and Spark. Speaking of Neil Young, in 1974 one of his best friends was making a transition from folk-rock to a more jazz inspired sound. That friend was Joni Mitchell, and the transition album was "Court and Spark," which had a number of radio hits but also some introspective tunes that solidified her reputation as a "deep" artist. Taylor Swift claims to be heavily influenced by Joni Mitchell, and listening to "Court and Spark" makes it clear why.
#44. Bob Dylan and the Band: Before the Flood. This is a live album, featuring energetic versions of classic Dylan songs backed by Robbie Robertson and the Band, and a few tunes by the Band without Dylan. Ironically, my favorite song on the album is Dylan's solo performance of "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)." I recall that being one of the first songs I ever heard that seemed to be a full-on critique of everything the USA stood for, which was a very appealing message to me at the time.
Bob Dylan: It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
#43. The Electric Light Orchestra: Eldorado. Probably the breakthrough album for ELO, featuring the great Jeff Lynne. By 1974 lots of former Beatles' fans were in serious withdrawal, starving for the kind of progressive pop the Fab Four produced from 1966-1970. ELO filled that niche for a while in the 1970s.
#42. Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Animal. Lou Reed was the founder of the influential progressive band The Velvet Underground in the 1960s. Rock and Roll Animal features metal versions of some of the classic Velvet songs, performed with high intensity and energy. Guitar players Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter (who later formed the nucleus of Alice Cooper's band) have never really been recognized as some of the greatest of all time. For me, Rock and Roll Animal by itself should place them in that category.
#41. Rush: Rush. Speaking of metal, in 1974 Canada's greatest heavy metal band released their first album. The first album was the only one they released without drummer and song writer Neil Peart, so the song writing quality is not what it would become after Peart joined. Still, the first album features guitarist Alex Lifeson and bass player/vocalist Geddy Lee at their most raw, and at its best this album kind of out-Zeps Led Zeppelin.
#40. Sweet: Desolation Boulevard. Sweet were a kind of pop-metal band who laid down the foundation for later, more popular bands like Motley Crue and Poison. I find albums like "Desolation Boulevard" fascinating because bands like Sweet were kind of like the real life version of the loveable burnouts that Rob Reiner parodied so well in "This is Spinal Tap."
#39. Kiss: Kiss. The first album by the masked wonders, and in my opinion it still ranks as maybe their best. Just about all the songs remain in their live concert set list TO THIS DAY, which is an amazing achievement. Say what you want about Kiss, but they have always been one of the hardest working bands in show business, and their ability not only to maintain the loyalty of their original audience, but attract new audiences over the decades is almost unprecedented in the history of popular music.
#38. The Doobie Brothers: What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits. Even if this album sucked, I would love it just for the title. Thankfully it does not suck, and I will always insist that Tom Johnston is one of the greatest singer/songwriters in the history of popular music. This particular album has blues, soul, jazz, folk, and rock elements thrown together in a kind of musical gumbo that few bands pulled off as effectively as the Doobies.
The Doobie Brothers: Black Water
#37. Supertramp: Crime of the Century. The breakthrough album for the British progressive rock band Supertramp. Another example of a band and album that only got heard because of the quality of FM radio at the time. Not sure how a band like Supertramp could make it in the streaming era without seriously compromising the artistic integrity of their work.
#36. John Lennon: Walls and Bridges. "Walls and Bridges" was somewhat of a comeback album for John, as he had been through much personal turmoil, and the previously released "Mind Games" album was widely perceived as his poorest post-Beatles effort. "Walls and Bridges" is not my personal favorite Lennon album, but it does have a number of moments that rank with his best work,
#35. Todd Rundgren's Utopia: Utopia. One of the classics of the progressive rock era, and another example of a record only possible because of FM radio at the time. All the songs on this album require patience to get through, which is not exactly the dominant value for the majority of listeners in 2024.
Todd Rundgren's Utopia: Utopia Theme
#34: Labelle: Nightbirds. An important album in the history of popular music, Nightbirds featured a mix of soul, funk, and rock elements that inspired the disco movement that was still a year or so away. Rolling Stone Magazine has several times placed this album in its list of the 500 greatest of all time. And of course the hit song "Lady Marmalade" is by itself worth the price of admission.
#33. Stanley Clarke: Stanley Clarke. An amazing, jazz fusion instrumental album by one of the greatest bass players in history. Jan Hammer's keyboards and Tony Williams' drums complement Clarke's bass playing in a way that is almost intoxicating.
Stanley Clarke: Vulcan Princess
#32. Weather Report: Mysterious Traveler. More jazz fusion! I actually did not become aware of this album until around 1990 when one of my favorite albums of THAT year ("Hell With the Lid Off" by MC 900 Foot Jesus) had a song called "Truth is Out of Style" that samples "Cucumber Slumber" from Mysterious Traveler. Turns out the entire album is high quality, and I speak as someone who is not the biggest fan of jazz fusion.
Weather Report: Cucumber Slumber
#31. Parliament: Up For the Down Stroke. Maybe the best funk band of all time, Parliament had a breakthrough with "Up For The Down Stroke." This album features vocalist George Clinton, bassist Bootsy Collins, and guitarist Eddie Hazel. Those three together were generally not capable of producing anything less than iconic.
Parliament: Up For The Down Stroke
#30. Ohio Players: Fire. Let's go with another funk classic. Like LaBelle, the Ohio Players set the stage for the burgeoning disco movement. The song "Fire" remains as an early funk/disco classic
#29. Joe Walsh: So What. Any list of the greatest rock guitar players of all time that does not include Joe Walsh in the top ten is probably not worth a low E string. "So What" was one of Walsh's solo albums released in between his stints with the James Gang and the Eagles (where he had his greatest success). The album rocks from beginning to end. Songs like "Turn to Stone" and "County Fair" were in heavy rotation on FM rock radio for years.
#28. The Eagles: On the Border. Speaking of the Eagles, in 1974 they started to move toward a more rock oriented sound with "On the Border," a sound that would become more refined when Walsh joined the band a few years later. "On the Border" had a number of radio hits, including the rockers "Already Gone" and "James Dean" and the ballad "The Best of My Love."
#27. Lynyrd Skynyrd: Second Helping. I'm not a big fan of Skynyrd's signature song from this album, "Sweet Home Alabama," but it is a foundational record in the "Southern Rock" genre and should be appreciated as such. Thankfully, that song is not representative of the entire album. That is, the rest of the album is not some kind of half-baked "defense" of "southern pride" that sweeps the racism under the rug. The album in its entirety has a great mix of fast and slow rock songs, with Ronnie Van Zant's vocals at their high point and Gary Rossington establishing himself as one of the best rock guitar players of the era.
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama
#26. Stevie Wonder: Fulfillingess' First Finale. Released during Stevie's classic period in the 1970s, this album features a mix of many different genres. "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" is Stevie in his best preacher persona, while "Boogie on Reggae Woman" is a kind of Motown, funk, soul, rock hybrid that was actually popular on rock radio stations.
Stevie Wonder: Boogie on Reggae Woman
Later this year I will post about 25 more album from 1974!
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