Favorite 1974 albums (in alphabetical order) : Beach Boys - In Concert Chicago - VII Egg - The Civil Surface Ekseption - Bingo First Class - (self-titled album) Focus - Hamburger Concerto Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway Gentle Giant - The Power And The Glory Guess Who - Road Food Jethro Tull - War Child King Crimson - Red Nektar - Remember The Future Premiata Forneria Marconi - The World Became The World Renaissance - Turn Of The Cards Sparks - Kimono My House Strawbs - Hero And Heroine Stylistics - Let's Put It All Together 10cc - Sheet Music Triumvirat - Illusions On A Double Dimple Wakeman, Rick - Journey To the Centre Of The Earth
20. Jethro Tull - Warchild 19. Roxy Music - Country Life 18. Robin Trower - Bridge Of Sighs 17. King Crimson - Red 16. ELO - El Dorado 15. Lou Reed - Rock'n'Roll Animal 14. Camel - Mirage 13. Mike Oldfield - Hergest Ridge 12. Bad Company - Bad Company 11. Horslips - Dancehall Sweethearts 10. Be Bop Deluxe - Axe Victim 9. Deep Purple - Burn 8. Sparks - Propaganda 7. Sparks - Kimono My House 6. Wishbone Ash - There's The Rub 5. Rory Gallagher - Irish Tour '74 4. Barclay James Harvest - Everyone Is Everybody Else 3. Supertramp - Crime Of The Century 2. Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece 1. BLUE OYSTER CULT - SECRET TREATIES
Ahh yes, it’s 50th anniversary time. I must listen to some of these albums you mentioned, in which I’m not already familiar with. The Robert Wyatt album sounds particularly intriguing. Also Neil’s ‘ On The Beach ‘. But I couldn’t agree more with ‘ The Lamb.’ I’ll never forget my first time of hearing the title track on the radio. The Mozart like, piano intro by Tony Banks really put the hook in me. I had no clue yet who they were, but that legendary album would eventually become one of my all time favorites. I’m also big on Pretzel Logic and Supertramp’s Crime of the Century.
Great list - you have a lot of the same ones as me with a few notable exceptions I have The Heart of Saturday Night (17), Late For The Sky (15), Diamond Dogs (13), Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (12), Radio City (11), Court and Spark (10), Grievous Angel (9), Here Come the Warm Jets (7), Stevie Wonder (6), Richard & Linda Thompson (4), Pretzel Logic (3) I also have Robin Trower's Bridge of Sighs (20), Roxy Music's Country Life (19), Marshall Tucker Band's A New Life (18), The Raspberries' Starting Over (16), Sparks' Kimono My House (14), Mary Macaslin's Way Out West (8), 10cc's Sheet Music (5), Supertramp's Crime of The Century (2) AND Gene Clark's No Other (1)
We just finished watching your 1974 video. Fulfillingless First Finale is outstanding. Late for the sky, Pretzel Logic, Court and Spark😊😊. Back when there were tapes, before CD’s, I listened to Pretzel Logic a lot. Court and Spark is totally seamless. All of these four are absolutely the best!!
So many great choices, as always. Here’s a band that you missed though. They were called City Boy, and their self titled first album came out in 1974. This album was also the first album ever to be produced by Mutt Lang, who went on to produce the first five of their six albums. I think the fact that nobody, it seems, has ever even heard of them is probably the result of new wave and punk causing a sea change in tastes at that time. With the breadth of your knowledge, you must’ve heard the band. If not, I strongly recommend that you check them out. And while I’m on the subject of great bands who flew under everybody’s radar screen, two more are Wishbone Ash and Be Bop Deluxe. I won’t go on about these bands, although I could for days. Again, if you’re not too familiar with these two bands, you need to check them out. Especially with a name like Capo Fetish, because they’re both a guitar player’s dream. Thanks again so much for all that you do!
Never heard of City Boy. Now I must check them out. Be Bop Deluxe are great. I just recently heard some Wishbone Ash tracks. Really cool. Thanks for the City Boy suggestion. 😉
@@tomrobinson5776 Hey Tom. In regard to City Boy, I would recommend starting with the albums Young Men Gone West, Book Early, and Dinner at the Ritz. But they are all a tour de force of musicianship, songwriting, and recording. I’m confident that you’re going to dig it and you will wonder how the heck did you miss this. But don’t feel bad because it seems like everybody on the planet did too. As far as Wishbone Ash goes, if you’re just discovering that, it’s a much bigger subject than City Boy. They are a very guitar oriented band who are also great rock ‘n’ roll songwriters. I think they started in about 1970 and are still playing today, but have gone through a lot of personnel changes and traumas over the years. The one constant is guitar player and founder, Andy Powell. They also had two other really great players named Ted Turner and Laurie Wisefield. My personal favorite eras of this band are the beginning, particularly the album Argus, and the mid period up to the early 80’s. Live dates is also really good early stuff. Then you get into the middle with Laurie Wisefield and you need to hear what I consider to be a masterpiece, which is New England. After that, Locked in, No Smoke Without Fire, Front Page News, and Just Testing. Then there is a slew of live recordings, which are all great. So if you find you like Wishbone Ash, it’s one hell of a big and fun rabbit hole to go down. I’ve been in it myself since about 1978. After I wrote my comment to you, I went back and checked some out on RU-vid and was graphically reminded how Laurie Wisefield still makes my blood boil when I hear him play. This powerful feeling came over me that, as a guitar player myself, I have to delve into his playing and learn a bunch of it. So my love for Wishbone Ash has stuck with me for much of my adult life. Lastly, all of the Be Bop Deluxe albums are just great, and each one is unique. After Be Bop Deluxe ended, Bill Nelson went on to create a wealth of pretty interesting, but somewhat less guitar oriented albums, which are hard for me to describe. But I believe he’s still recording today. So anyway, it pleases me greatly to be able to turn you on to some good music, because I am just so grateful for all that you have turned me onto in such a short period of time. Your knowledge is impressive to say the least, and I certainly appreciate it! Take care and have fun! Chris Centlivre
I screwed up one thing on my Wishbone Ash list for you. I meant There’s The Rub instead of Locked In. Persephone and FUBB matter too much not to mention. A mind is a terrible thing to lose! 🥴
Excellent choices…Good Ol Boys, Heart of Saturday Night and Late for the Sky are major landmarks in songwriting by SoCal artists, as is Feats don’t Fail me Now, also ‘74, I think. Pretzel Logic is an all time fave.
Shuggie otis - inspiration information / sparks - kimono my house / minnie ripperton - perfect angel / kraftwerk - autobhan / Supertramp - crime fof the century / king crimson - red / Queen - queen 2 / ABBA - waterloo / ozark mountain daredevils - it will shine when itshines / brett smiley - breathlessly brett / gerry rafferty - gerry / gil scot heron - winter in america / robert wyatt - rock bottom / bob dylan - planet waves / gwen mcrae - rockin char / jean jacques perrey moog mag mig / roger glover - butterfly ball and grasshopper / fleetwod mac - heroes are hard to find / placebo - placebo / robert calvert - captain lockhead / brian eno - taking mountain tiger by strategy / new york dolls - too much too young / popol vuh - aguire
Minor addendum of possible interest: The tracks on Bowie's 'Diamond Dogs' were split between two drummers - Aynsley Dunbar and Tony Newman. Both had come from the original Jeff Beck Group (Dunbar on single 'Tallyman' and the original version 'Rock My Plimsoul' (also found on the expanded re-release of Truth'), Newman on the 'Beck-Ola' album). Bowie was a serious Beck fan, covering 'Shapes of Things', a Beck-era Yardbirds tune on 'Pinups' and having Beck join the Spiders onstage for 'The Jean Genie' on their final gig. Indeed, when Bowie enlisted Mick Ronson for his band, he was quoted say 'I've got my Jeff Beck'. Too bad there was no Beck & Bowie project.
You've reminded me of something.....I never gave Randy Newman a proper listen and only know a couple of his songs. After this video is done I am going to remedy this problem
Brother again great….. Maybe the absolute classic No Other Gene Clark(the real reason the Reunion wasn’t great…… why give any track on it away, for me I play on the beach and no other back to back!
My list would have Gong You at number one, and Taking Tiger Mountain was also released in 1974, and for me it's the better album. Crime of the Century was a surprising omission, but you do tend to like a lot of that West Coast singer songwriter stuff that doesn't do much for me. Cheers
Going through the list of albums for this year, I have to say there aren't all that many I'm really familiar with, so I guess I have to consider it a down year! I'm a little surprised On the Beach is so low, for me it's a no contest number one. A few that didn't make your list: The Hoople by Mott the Hoople, a great segue between the band and Ian Hunter's solo career; El Dorado by ELO; and while Sweet Exorcist and Got to Find a Way wouldn't make my top five Curtis albums, they still find the artist in the prime of his greatness. And that's about it. As I said, a pretty quiet year before the almost impossible greatness of the rest of the decade.
I agree that 1974-76 seemed very quiet years, as by then, we were well and truly into this Osmonds/Bay City Rollers governed era. It wasn't until 1977 when Punk Rock suddenly exploded, which changed the whole face of the music world again, out-fashioning all the Bubblegum Pop that preceded it that music suddenly livened up again, with groups like The Osmonds and Bay City Rollers getting replaced by The Sex Pistols and The Clash, plus all their contemporaries, which I think coincided with the expansion of the Disco scene, with already existing artists such as Donna Summer and Deniece Williams seemingly getting a larger slice of the cake, plus The Bee Gees suddenly re-exploding after re-inventing themselves as the kings of Disco. So these poppy type boy bands from earlier in the seventies like The Osmonds and Bay City Rollers just suddenly found they were no longer favorable among the young music fans who had by then taken either to Disco or Punk Rock.
@@paulgoldstein2569 I think you could make a case for 1976 actually, with bands like the Ramones and Blondie. Plus 75 had mega rock albums like Born to Run and Physical Graffiti. But you're right, 77 is when it all really exploded.
@@chrisboerger465 I am fully aware that there were other musical styles then. But anything like that just wasn't the fashion then. The novelty of Progressive Rock had worn off, but nothing definite took it's place then. The nearest you could get to it by the mid seventies was through the likes of Queen and David Bowie. But the onslaught of Punk Rock that exploded in 1977, out-fashioning all the Poppy stuff from before then, all seems interesting to look back upon.
I remember the review for "Here Come the Warm Jets" called it "elevator music for people on quaaludes". I couldn't agree more. Tom Waits was never a "singer", more a narrator, or an interpreter. Kudos on selecting Gram Parsons' Grievous Angel, Procol's Exotic Fruit, Jackson Browne's Late for the Sky, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, et al, all great records. Preservation Act 2 was also savaged by critics. It's a hard album to get into, maybe their most difficult-but-worth-it efforts. It was an odd year, the Arab Oil Embargo still resonating, the Watergate Hearings resulting in Nixon's resignation, finally. A relatively quiet year, after the largesse of 1973, or the outpouring of greatness, in 1975. In 1974, my partner and I took over a failing record store, built it into a powerhouse, drawing customers away from the record store across the street from the main entrance to the university (we were almost a mile away). Disc Records (owned by Columbia Records), and right across the street, closed up, mostly because they priced all albums at "List Price", while we slashed prices. It was a great time, the period from 1970-1979 probably the peak of Rock 'n' Roll. We sold it to a couple sandwich guys, a year later. Of course, now, "record stores" are mostly a thing of the past. We probably had 20 competitors, not counting departments stores, WalMart, K-Mart, and, yes, Sears. While not as productive as the years before or after, 1974 was an interesting year for Rock. Not as impressive as 1975 or '76, but still some great stuff. Joni Mitchell put it all together, with Tom Scott's help, on Court and Spark, Steely Dan put out an album that delivered on the promise of 1973's Countdown to Ecstasy. Electric Light Orchestra found their groove, too, with El Dorado, a classical rock opera that played endlessly on FM radio stations (probably because they could put it on, and go outside to smoke a doob! PE, doncha know?). Gram Parsons died of a drug misadventure the year before, leaving behind his unique brand of Country Rock (he hated the term), a style that would define the genre for decades to come. Renaissance completed the conversion begun two years earlier, with Prologue, from a medieval music plaything for a pop star (Keith Relf, of the Yardbirds), to full-fledged, mature artists in their own right, releasing the stunning Turn of the Cards. Fleetwood Mac followed their best album to date, Mystery to Me, with a second disc of high-quality rock 'n' roll, Heroes Are Hard to Find, including the timeless Bermuda Triangle. Sadly, that line-up of the band would not see the end of the year, but the style of music the band was becoming known for would be greatly enhanced on the band's next disc, the eponymous Fleetwood Mac, cinching the Mac's place in the Rock pantheon. The Eagles, too, emerged from the folk-country vibe of 1973's Desperado, with On the Border, featuring a harder, more polished sound, with the addition of lead guitarist Don Felder. Lynyrd Skynyrd released their second LP, proving the magic heard on the first disc wasn't a fluke, and Paul Rogers brought Bad Company from the ashes of Free, issuing an album that stands the test of time, while the Thin White Duke waltzed in with Diamond Dogs, crooning Rebel, Rebel. It was an interesting year, ... Deserving, but commonly overlooked albums from 1974. The Hollies' best, Fleetwood Mac Mark IV's best, the first of Renaissance, Bad Company, and Dan Fogelberg. Grateful Dead's majestic From the Mars Hotel would be their last great studio album (I can already hear the outrage from Deadheads), and Lynyrd Skynyrd delivered a very good album to follow Pronounced ... Queen released their third LP in less than 16 months, proving early fans had been right, this would be a "killer" band! 01 E L D O R A D O Electric Light Orchestra 02 T U R N O F T H E C A R D S Renaissance 03 N O O T H E R Gene Clark 04 H E R O E S A R E H A R D T O F I N D Fleetwood Mac 05 B A D C O M P A N Y Bad Company 06 H O L L I E S The Hollies 07 F R O M T H E M A R S H O T E L Grateful Dead 08 F E A T S D O N’ T F A I L M E N O W Little Feat 09 S O U V E N I R S Dan Fogelberg 10 A P O S T R O P H E Frank Zappa
Great on Trower and Ronstadt, but WHAT!! No Sparks?? Each to his own, but that Sparks is just brilliant. Better than any others of theirs in the 80s. Saw them then in the Santa Monica Civic.
Stevie Wonder's "Fulfillingness' First Finale" won all the Grammys (which means nothing, but it got a lot of attention). The track list is stellar, but the popular response to it was also a celebration of joy and relief after his recovery from that near-death auto accident in August of 1973. I think the record is somewhat handicapped not only by an awkward title (that apostrophe!) but by sounding like it was recorded under six inches of vaseline. The original pressing was goopy like that, too, and it still has a layer of ooze over it, even after several remasterings. I love it anyway, but I think its three predecessors are more potent and ambitious: "Music of My Mind," "Talking Book," "Innervisions." As an anti-Nixonian, though, I did appreciate "You Haven't Done Nothin'," released almost simultaneously with the unnamed "law and order" crook's resignation in disgrace in early August of 1974. "Good Ol' Boys" satirized and empathized with white American grievance before it was a media sensation -- the first insight I had as a West Coast student that maybe the Civil War had never actually ended. It was my introduction to the demagoguery of Huey Long, decades before his corpse was unearthed in 2016. And the self-pitying, delusional drinking/love songs are as heartbreaking as they are humorous: "Marie," "Guilty," "Rollin'"...
Hi Tom. What no Hall & Oates War Babies?! Kidding. Are you familiar with Gene Clark No Other? I picked it up maybe 10 years ago. Its wonderful. Wow, I didn't know the reason why Robert Wyatt was confined to a wheel chair. Of course my morbid mind went to the song Shipbuilding - not sure if Wyatt or Costello wrote it. But Chet Baker who played on Costello's version, fell out of a window.
Really? Interesting fact. Regarding No Other I’ve tried many times to get into that record, but I just don’t understand the hype. I like Gene Clark’s self titled album aka: White Light, but I just don’t hear a hook or a melody that stands out to my ears on No Other. Great production though and instrumentation. Different strokes for different folks I guess. I’m sure there’s plenty of titles I’ve mentioned that have raised eyebrows. 😉
Lennon's #9 Dream, a minor hit? It went #9 on the Billboard charts. A Top Ten song is not a minor hit. Also, the album was recorded in NYC after he's had enough and left the madness of L.A. behind him. Walls and Bridges is an excellent album.
Is that how it works, that if you get a song in the top ten, it’s official by billboard or whoever or however their standards or rules or whatever they say, that anything that makes it within 10, it’s a hit song?
We've got similarities in the top ten with Young, Marley and Big Star. I'm currently working my way through those 70s Kinks albums, and I need to re-listen to that Procol Harum. I'm surprised you didn't have Gene Clark! Do you think the critical revival of No Other is unwarranted? I just did a countdown in January with blurbs for over 30 albums. There is some truth to the perception that 1974 was a slightly off year. Both Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin took the year off as both gathered energy amidst exhausting world tours to work on their sixth albums. The Rolling Stones, New York Dolls, David Bowie, Yes and Stevie Wonder didn’t quite match the heights of their previous albums. Neither did Wishbone Ash, Curtis Mayfield, Deep Purple, T. Rex, and Mike Oldfield. In hindsight, musicians’ poor choices in overindulging in drugs after getting a little or a lot of success and money can be blamed. But even those examples are not too far off their peak, while others on this list were at their peak. 1. Big Star - Radio City 2. Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets 3. Bob Marley & the Wailers - Natty Dread 4. Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy 5. King Crimson - Red 6. Toots & the Maytals - In The Dark 7. Can - Soon Over Babaluma 8. Robin Trower - Bridge Of Sighs 9. Gene Clark - No Other 10. Neil Young - On The Beach 11. Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom 12. Queen - Queen II 13. Sparks - Kimono My House 14. Funkadelic - Standing On the Verge Of Getting It On 15. Epitaph - Outside The Law 16. Hawkwind - Hall Of the Mountain Grill 17. Queen - Sheer Heart Attack 18. Sweet - Sweet Fanny Adams 19. Harmonia - Music Von Harmonia 20. Cluster - Zuckerzeit 21. UFO - Phenomenon 22. Sparks - Propaganda 23. Good Rats - Tasty 24. Peter Hammill - The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage 25. Roxy Music - Country Life 26. Budgie - In For The Kill! 27. Be-Bop Deluxe - Axe Victim 28. Cockney Rebel - Psychomodo 29. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping 30. New York Dolls - Too Much Too Soon Bubbling under: Thin Lizzy, ELO, Bowie, Rush, 10cc, Supertramp, Steely Dan, Jade Warrior, Yes, Genesis, Popol Vuh, Joni Mitchell, Michael Nesmith, Ian Matthews. The latter two were new discoveries for me. Michael Nesmith - The Prison (Pacific Arts) On his eighth album in six years, including a “book” (more like a short story than novella), The Prison seems like a culmination of Michael “Papa Nez” Nesmith’s creative arc. While it hasn’t gotten a critical revival as slaveringly positive as that for Gene Clark, this album deserves props for Nesmith stretching beyond his country rock comfort zone and achieving a unique kind of cosmic Americana that achieves ethereal beauty through the type of ambient production associated with new age that would become known decades later as ambient country. It’s fitting, since the allegorical story is the kind of quasi-spiritual stuff that was on trend in the 70s. Ian Matthews - Some Days You Eat the Bear and Some Days the Bear Eats You (Elektra) Formerly of Fairport Convention, Ian Matthews established an influential template of folk rock and country rock with Mathews Southern Comfort, releasing three albums in one year. His most highly regarded solo album is Valley Hi (1973), produced by Michael Nesmith, But Some Days You Eat the Bear and Some Days the Bear Eats You maintains the high quality.
Regarding the Gene Clark record, I don’t understand the hype. I tried many times to get into it, but it did not register. I don’t hear any hooks, memorable melodies. Different strokes I guess. I like his self titled album from ‘71. A lot of gems on that record. Rock Bottom by Wyatt is one of the most unique records I’ve ever heard. Such a weird fascinating vibe.
@@tomrobinson5776 To be fair, the Wyatt album isn't about hooks or melodies either. It's definitely one of a kind, and up there in my list. I dug the ambitious production by Thomas Jefferson Kaye, and the interesting, jazzy nuances in Clark's singing that sets it apart from his earlier work. It sounded to me like he had been listening to some Tim Buckley.
Great list. I have deduced that you may reside in Southern California, as you mentioned KROQ and a couple of the cities diwn there. Do you have any record store recommendations? My family lives down there so I always take a holiday trip. Have beem to CD Trader in Tarzana and Ameoba. Gratitude.
Both those record stores are great. Another one is Freakbeat Records in Studio City off Ventura Blvd. A smaller store with periodic sales and knowledgeable people that run the store. Highly recommended 😉
Living in the 70's by Skyhooks, Australian glam rock. Universal Radio by Dragon, New Zealand prog. Its a Man's Man's World by Renee Geyer (Australia), one of the greatest white RnB/soul singers to walk the planet.
@@tomrobinson5776 Renee had albums released in America, and was a highly sought after session singer in LA - Sting, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Raitt etc. The Funk brothers and others played on a few of her albums, including James Jamerson. Cheers.
@@tomrobinson5776 Skyhooks were also released in America. They had a international hit with their single Women in Uniform which has been covered by a famous band which I can't remember. Ego is Not a Dirty Word was released in America in the mid 70's and was a hybrid of their first two Australian albums. Living in the 70's was a totally Melbourne centric album and would have made little sense to Americans. Most of the songs were banned from radio due to the drug and sex references. Drsgon's 1975 album is even better, Scented Gardens for the Blind- both are rare and expensive. They morphed into a highly successful pop rock band with hits like April Sun in Cuba. They were the tallest rock band in history, all around six foot five inches.
Steal and Glass from John Lennons "Walls and Bridges" is great. Late For the Sky title track is immortalized in the scene from Taxi Driver when Travis Bickle is just about to lose it...
Greetings from Norway here. I enjoy your videos, but I have to ask: Didn't you even consider "Sheet Music" (10CC), "Crime of the Century" (Supertramp) or "Country Life" (Roxy Music) ??? All three clearly superior to "It's Only Rock'n'Roll" for a start! Your biggest crime of the century, though, was omitting SPARKS! How could you??
I like 10CC. I have The Original Soundtrack, but not a huge fan. There was a period back in my teens where I liked Supertramp, but not anymore. I like some Roxy Music. Siren is cool. I need to check out more of the Sparks catalog.
@@tomrobinson5776 Well, I hope I didn't sound too harsh. We're quite often in agreement, I've found so far. (Of your nominees, Eno's debut is arguably my favourite.)'It'll be interesting to see what you make of the punk-era!
Well... it takes all kinds. Most of these albums I either never heard about or never gave a flying fig about. "Walls and Bridges" is a very good album... especially with my favorite Lennon song "#9 Dream". I still think it was a prescient dream about his own future death. I have a lot of Bowie albums, and I used to have "Diamond Dogs" on vinyl, but that is one of the few 1970s Bowie albums that weren't up to par and I never upgraded to digital. "Rebel Rebel" is the one worthwhile song. The Stones were at an alltime low after "Exile" and before "Tattoo You." Jackson Browne was still putting out good albums, and Bob Marley was coming into his own with "Natty Dread" and continued getting better through Exodus and Kaya. I have all his original studio releases plus "Babylon by Bus". All wonderful. "Pretzel Logic" is a good album. I have all their studio albums up through "Two Against Nature." I think Steely Dan's best albums are 1. "The Royal Scam", 2. "Gaucho" 3. "Aja" and 4. "Two Against Nature." But I won't knock any of their albums. I also agree that "Court and Spark" is a great album. I bought it in Quadrophonic Vinyl at the time and since have gotten the CD. I have all of her albums up through "Hejira." I would have a hard time picking one album over another of my favorites, but they would be unordered as "Ladies of the Canyon," "Court & Spark," "Hissing of Summer Lawns," and "Hejira." Oh, and I better add "Blue" since that's required. I wouldn't buy anything Tom Waite put out; he cant sing and his songs suck. Neil Young had his last great album with "Harvest"... the 50th anniversary deluxe set is currently available. I seem to remember him saying that "Beach" album was one of his "in the ditch" albums he put out while in a creative downside. Most of your 20 albums demonstrate how bad 1974 was for music, although I have a much broader taste and could easily find great albums for any year in some genre around the world.