I am not sure it’s at all possible to follow All Things Must Pass, and for whatever extensive level of great songs he had in the bank that turned that into a masterpiece, this one is more or less alright. Bangladesh is a wonderful finale, and maybe the best thing here, though I did enjoy Living in the Material World, Sue Me Sue You Blues, and Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long. For the guy who was a revelation of underutilized talent in the former album, Harrison does seem to come back to earth here.
Paul McCartney and Wings third album under the monicker is one of Paul’s great efforts in pop rock mastery. The title track is more than a little known, and Jet is a fireball of a single, but as the first half of this album unfolds, the genius doesn’t end there. They bounce around sonically but never lose that sense of pop hooks. Bluebird, Mrs. Vanderbilt, and Let Me Roll It are as essential as those hits. In the second half, Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me) stitches the hooks of the other songs together into an ode to Paul, and Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five establishes itself as maybe the best song on the album while Helen Wheels rocks out. Paul’s still got it here, and for whatever mixed results he got out of Wings, on this one at least everything clicks.
The Essential Track: Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
This is a nice cross section of early rock n’ roll hits - a few by Chuck Berry, a few by Buddy Holly, and a host of names I didn’t know but songs I did. Nearly all of them. It’s a nice look back and I think in 1973 a quaint representation of the past, perhaps in the way 1985’s Back to the Future soundtracked the 50s. This one goes up to the early 60s but it feel retro even by 70s standards.
The Essential Track: Johnny B. Goode
Up Next: Carlos Santana & Mahavishnu John McLaughlin - Love Devotion Surrender
Carlos Santana & Mahavishnu John McLaughlin - Love Devotion Surrender
Carlos Santana and McLaughlin merged their bands here to deliver a solid jazz fusion album. Of the biggest note here, though it is all pretty solid, is their rendition of A Love Supreme with big guitars. I don’t know how well known this particular album is, but I remember this as one of the first fusion albums I heard as a 19 or 20 year old having recently discovered The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and also at least a passing fan of Santana’s early albums. So this album at least serves as one of many that opened my ears to jazz music way back then even.
So on this album we are seeing Roxy Music without Brian Eno providing the textures that were central to the two prior albums. While this does lead to a bit more straightforward rock music, it’s still got its quirks and plenty going on in these songs. Street Life, Amazona, Psalm, A Song for Europe, and another of Pearl are all highlights, but none of them can be considered rock music by the numbers as they contain the nooks and crannies that you might expect, but maybe delivered differently than the first two albums.
This one seems a bit more hypnotic than the last albums we’ve covered, with layers of sounds providing a backdrop for this very good album. It might sit in the background for a bit before building to the foreground - at one moment chill and then the build to cacophony barely noticeable, but it’s all there, very much can without some of the more sudden shifts in temperature I recall from the other albums. The quick Moonshake is a good sample, but the 18 minute plus Bel Air is where you really see the genius in motion.
This has to be the most sonically varied of these krautrock albums so far. I wouldn’t consider it my favorite of them, but it has its charms for sure, exploring electronic sounds, jazz, reggae, and rock music. And even with sudden dynamic shifts that can be a bit jarring, and weird shit like blasting a synthesizer on top of acoustic strumming on It’s a Bit of a Pain, it mostly translates well. The circular atmospheric song Giggy Smile was my favorite here despite ending quite abruptly.
I am not sure it’s at all possible to follow All Things Must Pass, and for whatever extensive level of great songs he had in the bank that turned that into a masterpiece, this one is more or less alright. Bangladesh is a wonderful finale, and maybe the best thing here, though I did enjoy Living in the Material World, Sue Me Sue You Blues, and Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long. For the guy who was a revelation of underutilized talent in the former album, Harrison does seem to come back to earth here.
The Essential Track: Bangla Desh
"Bangla Desh" isn't on that album.
I'm assuming it's a bonus track on whatever version you're listening to.
In the existential battle between hard rock Chicago and soft rock Chicago, it seems that the latter is starting to dominate things, and while I knew this was coming, it is no less a tragedy. Darlin’ Dear asserts itself as one of the few tracks willing to let loose, while most of the rest is mired in some semblance of soft rock land. The most fascinating example of this struggle is the hit single Feelin’ Stronger Every Day, which melds soft rock sentiments with a killer jam to finish the track, redeeming a track that would have otherwise sat on this pile with the others.
The Essential Track: Darlin’ Dear
Up Next: Bob Marley and the Wailers - Catch a Fire
This is the first Bob Marley album we’re covering here, I believe his fourth with The Wailers. It’s also the start of a pretty magical and impactful run, this one finding Marley trying to play both the revolutionary and the lover. Concrete Jungle (which is exceptional), Slave Driver, and 400 Years are juxtaposed with Baby We Got a Date and Stir It Up. Kinky Reggae, Stop That Train, and No More Trouble round out the classics here in what is one of the great reggae albums.
Bob largely ditches the love songs here and focuses on social issues and religion on this one. This album is really very frontloaded, with Get Up Stand Up, I Shot the Sheriff, Burnin’ and Lootin’ all in the front third of this one. Duppy Conqueror and Rastaman Chant are good in the second half, but it’s not quite the songs that are definitive in Bob’s career.
Okay, time see what I am missing from 1974 (we got a fair bit left of ‘73 and a few catch up’s still):
Lou Reed - Rock n Roll Animal
Bob Dylan - Planet Waves
Neil Young - On the Beach
Tom Waits - The Heart of Saturday Night
Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece
Grateful Dead - From the Mars Hotel
Jerry Garcia - Garcia (Compliments)
Little Feat - Feats Don’t Fail Me Now
Big Star - Radio City
Bad Company
Bad Company - Straight Shooter
Deep Purple - Burn
KISS
Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
Roxy Music - Country Life
Electric Light Orchestra - Eldorado
King Crimson - Red
Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties
Jackson Browne - Late for the Sky
Aerosmith - Get Your Wings
Rolling Stones - It’s Only Rock and Roll
The Who - Odds N’ Sods
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping
Marshall Tucker Band - A New Life
Marshall Tucker Band - Where We All Belong
Toots and the Maytals - In the Dark
Bob Marley and the Wailers - Natty Dread
Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets
Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Cluster - Zuckerzeit
Harmonica - Musik von Harmonia
Willie Nelson - Phases and Stages
Dolly Parton - Jolene
If you’re doing KISS, you may as well do their second and best album, Hotter Than Hell, also in ‘74. It sounds like shit but their best song containing one of my favorite guitar solos ever, Got To Choose, is on it.
Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing!
- C. Montgomery Burns
