Day 0273 - Aladdin Sane

David Bowie "Aladdin Sane" (1973)

 
There are not a lot of ch-ch-changes here, with what seems like a rare case of Bowie (either due to record company pressure or his own urge) re-treading familiar territory.

He follows the success of the Ziggy Stardust album with an offering that is in a similar androgynous glam-rock-alien, semi-concept album vein.  Two points of difference present themselves: one is an increased theatricality to the music, with none of the songs matching the more low-key moments of something like 'Rock n roll suicide', parts of 'Starman' or others... I think that is partly due to the increased presence of the piano, it just makes the songs feel a bit more grand and elegant. The other point of difference is a bit more space provided in the arrangements for his musicians (especially Mick Ronson) to shine.

There are some interesting things going on here; 'Time' and 'Lady Grinning Soul' sound to me like Bowie's Scott Walker fandom coming to the fore. The book describes the Rolling Stones cover 'Let's spend the night together' as a musical misstep, but to me it seems in a similar musical vein to 'Sufragette city', particularly with a little Bowie 'sparkle' infused in the riffs and could almost act as a musical 'sequel' to that track.

All in all, I feel as though it's not up to the standard of the previous Bowie album, but still enjoyable with some truly top-shelf moments, such as the title track, 'Time' and "Lady Grinning Soul".

Day 0272 - Bongo Rock

Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band "Bongo Rock" (1973)

Another odd 'hit'.  Viner had assembled a crew of musicians to record chase-music for the film "The Thing With Two Heads".  The music was well received, so Viner reassembled the team for a full album of percussive mischief.

It's an interesting collection of instrumental tracks, including a bongo-heavy reading "In a gadda da vida".  There's a kind of a funk/rock/fusiony feel to proceedings.  Apparently this is one of the most sampled albums of all time, with sounds being used by artists including Sugarhill Gang, Nas, Jay Z, Fatboy Slim, Beastie Boys, Massive Attack, Grandmaster Flash and the Chemical Brothers!

Day 0271 - Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd

Lynyrd Skynyrd "Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd" (1973)

 
So we come to the fine year of 1973, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.  I don't really have a whole lot to say about this one.  The three-guitar attack is effective as the band moves from swampy southern rock, to blues jams, to the epic and soaring 'Freebird'.

The only song I was familiar with here was "Tuesday's Gone" which was covered on Metallica's "Garage Inc." album.  That version is pretty good, but the original is so much better; the drumming is something else.

Solid album, though another one where I didn't really like it enough to buy it or purposely revisit it; but if someone else put it on, I'd sit and listen to it.

Day 0270 - Exile on Main St

The Rolling Stones "Exile on Main St" (1972)

A labour of discord?

According to the book, the band were on the run from the taxman, and were camped out at Keith's place in Paris.  The album took a year to record and mix... which is a bloody long time in an age when many bands still threw albums together in a week or so.  Mick disappeared for a stretch of time with his wife Bianca, and by the end of the process the band were tired of each other and ended up with fairly mixed opinions of the album as a whole.

To my mind, it holds together pretty well for a double album (the usual problems of duration and track fatigue not withstanding), covering all the Stones' usual areas of brash rock, country rock, brassy soul and even a bit of sneaky balladry. 

This album aligns with the idea that when artists are on, it doesn't matter how many tracks they're cranking out, they'll still be pretty good.  An example of this that I always turn to is the Smashing Pumpkins, because in my opinion, Billy Corgan was on during Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.  I enjoy all 28 tracks, and the 20-30 b-sides; but nowadays, I'm afraid to say, he can't write an album to save himself.

Day 0269 - Let's Stay Together

Al Green "Let's stay together" (1972) - got it

 
As with Roxy Music, I got into Al Green through a slightly indirect route.  I saw/heard a slightly warped cover of his song "Simply Beautiful" by Mike Patton's band Fantômas.

Loved the song so I checked out a couple of Green's tracks on youtube ended up picking up a 4-pack of Green's classic albums for Hi records.

Green's voice is a thing of beauty.  It moves from a delicate, barely audible falsetto whisper to a raspy bold cry, giving each song exactly what it needs.  Whether it's the soul grooves of 'La la for you' and 'So you're leaving', the laid back RnB of 'What is this feeling?', or the epic, emotive 6 minute reading of "How can you mend a broken heart?" in which you could imagine that Green is actually searching for the broken shards.

Day 0268 - The World is a Ghetto

War "The World is a Ghetto" (1972)

I am loving how funky the 70s are: Isaac Hayes, Funkadelic, the Temptations and now War.
Despite the vaguely political title of the album, this a relatively carefree collection of drawn out jams in a range of funky styles from hard funking riffery, latin rhythms, laidback instrumentals, and even some vaguely Native American sounding vibes.

I like the mix between long drawn out jams and short concise songs too.  You can bounce for a bit, then sit back for 10+ minutes and just groove, then back on the bounce again.

Day 0267 - The Rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

David Bowie "The Rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" (1972) - got it

As with a few of the albums on the list, I didn't really need to listen to this one specifically for the 1001 albums thing, because it's indelibly printed on my synapses.  Having said that... I'll take any excuse to listen to some Bowie.

It's a lush, interesting, and immaculately crafted pop album.  All the more impressive that (aside from some sax and trumpet) it is pretty much just the standard "drums, bass, guitar, piano/keyboard and vocals".  Speaking of the vocals, they do really feel like they help to flesh out the arrangements.  Much of the shift from 'intimate' to 'grandiose' that comes when the choruses of "Starman" kick in comes from Bowie swinging between octaves in best "Somewhere over the rainbow" fashion.

Bowie's voice is sometimes gentle and confessional, sometimes brash and glammy, occasionally desperate and howling.  'Five years' has an almost Marlene Dietrich feel to it.  There's the gospel feel of 'It ain't easy', and 'Rock n roll suicide' might be the most perfect album closer ever conceived, going from a burnt out acoustic jam and building to a cathartic crescendo.

With the quality of music, it's no wonder that this album was a success in the US and UK, and lednew fans back to "Hunky Dory" and other previous releases.

Bowie reinvented himself and, with his androgynous alien persona, reinvented the idea of what a rock star could be. The black and white photo tinted after the fact just adds to the sci-fi/alien vibe that Bowie is putting out.

0266 - All Directions

The Temptations "All Directions" (1972)

 
The Temps continue to prove themselves to be "more just that band who sung 'My Girl'".  The group continue to explore sounds outside of the standard Motown sound, as already heard in slinky funky wah-wah infused albums like 'Cloud Nine' and 'Psychedelic Shack'.

This album is full of funky grooves, including the nearly 12 minute jam of 'Papa was a Rollin' Stone' and gets in your face with the N-bomb laden "Run Charlie, Run" that definitely draw a line in the sand between this album and the clean, short-n-sweet pop of their earlier material.

It comes with a deceptively run of the mill album cover, featuring a clean-cut band photo that doesn't immediately hint at the interesting directions explored within.

Day 0265 - School's Out

Alice Cooper "School's Out" (1972)

Back when Alice Cooper was a band rather a solo artist; they were signed to Frank Zappa's record label where they recorded a couple of (apparently) weird albums, then befriended Iggy Pop's band the Stooges and soaked up a bit of that rocking. 

Warner Records purchased Zappa's label and got AC back in the studio with producer Bob Ezrin for this bold, theatrical, yet hard-rocking album. Vaguely a 'concept album' based around West Side Story with street gangs and schools of hard knocks.

It's a pretty decent album.  I'm not a massive Alice Cooper fan, but I'd happily listen to this again if someone else put it on.  My brother went through a massive AC phase when he was in university, he didn't manage to convert me, but I'll admit that Alice has/have a few decent tunes up his/their sleeve/s.

Day 0264 - Roxy Music

Roxy Music "Roxy Music" (1972) - got it

 
Roxy Music are almost textbook case of the "strong personalities making interesting music until some of those personalities departs and the other/s take over" thing.

The clash of 50s-style rock n roll mixed with glam, a little punk, a smattering of horns, and Brian Eno's space-aged synth noises is an exciting musical smack in the face!  Eno left early on (I think after the first or second album) and by the time they released "Avalon" half the band had left and Bryan Ferry ruled the roost.  Avalon didn't really match the early material (though having said that 'More than this' is a brilliant tune).

Back to the debut though: it is a bold, brash musical statement which is the opposite of that "Oh I don't want to stand out, I just want to 'serve the song'" idea that mediocres so much music.  The first track even makes space for each member to show off with a bar or two of solo.  The music twists and turns, with Ferry still learning his craft as a singer and lyricist, seeming to have a unique, more defined vocal delivery than in later albums (the reverse of what normally happens).

Oddly my relationship with this band/album started somewhat indirectly when I read about them as an influence on one of my favourite NZ bands Split Enz (who, like RM started in an art rock sort of vein and moved to a slightly poppier sound later on), and when I saw a cover of the song 'Virginia Plain' on the British sketch show "Big Train" (an early break for Simon Pegg, Catherine Tate and Mark Heap) I was hooked in.

Day 0263 - Paul Simon

Paul Simon "Paul Simon" (1972)

While the last Simon and Garfunkel release had to all intents and purposes been a Paul Simon solo album, with Garfunkel away shooting 'Catch 22' while the majority of the writing and pre-production took place.  That album, however, still sounded like Simon and Garfunkel.  With his self titled album, Paul really stretches his wings and samples music from across the spectrum, with some familiar folky sounds being juxtaposed against a reggae track, and a track with Django Reinhardt collaborator Stephane Grappelli providing some fantastic violin playing.

This is the sort of solo album that I like to hear.  An artist stretching outside of the confines of their previous band instead of just retracing the same territory, and this diverse approach to music would continue onto Simons' magnum opus (that everyone's mum or dad owns ) "Graceland".

Day 0262 - Pink Moon

Nick Drake "Pink Moon" (1972)

 
A nice, low-key release from Nick.  After his previous album had been panned by critics he resorted to this stripped back approach.  In the 1001 albums book, it recounts how Peter Buck from R.E.M asked Nick Drake's producer how he created the haunting and intimate atmosphere, the answer was that ND just sat in front of a microphone with his guitar and played and sang the songs.  Only one song (the title track) features overdubs, the mood is created entirely by the songs and Nick's mastery of the guitar.

Not to state the obvious, but Nick was not the happiest camper, this was reflected in the songs on this album. A great album cover too; apparently it was originally planned for the cover to feature a photo of Nick (as with his previous albums) but his physical appearance had degraded to the point that the record company decided to go with the painting used.

Day 0261 - Greetings From LA

Tim Buckley "Greetings From LA" (1972)

Quite a different side of Tim Buckley, with a funky, bluesy sound reminiscent of "LA Women"-era Doors.  It's a bit hit and miss, with a lot of the funk not hitting hard enough and sitting in the middle of the road.  But, when it works it is easily as good as the last of his albums that I listened to, and kudos to Tim for having taken chances musically.

Day 0260 - The Eagles

The Eagles "The Eagles" (1972)

This was a pleasant surprise. The Eagles were one of those bands who I mostly know through their hits, but even the songs here that I knew ("Take it easy" "Witchy woman") sit quite nicely within the context of the album.

With four of the band members contributing vocals and most/all of them writing songs, this is actually quite an interesting and at least moderately diverse musical offering.

Did not know this, but apparently the Eagles got their start as Linda Ronstadt's backing band!

Day 0259 - American Gothic

David Ackles "American Gothic" (1972)

 
Wow!

...To elaborate, this is like the meeting place of Frank Sinatra, Scott Walker, Tom Waits and maybe a little Elton John (Ackles collaborates with Bernie Taupin throughout).  Highly melodic, lushly orchestrated, daringly eclectic, shamelessly theatrical with interesting lyrics.

The 1001 albums book described this as largely unrecognised and - sample size of one - I certainly wasn't familiar with it.

Day 0258 - The Slider

T-Rex "The Slider" (1972)

 
Much prefer this to 'Electric Warrior'.  I heard title track when I was a kid, on a compilation of 70s music my parents had.  Slider stood out head and shoulders above everything else (which is saying sommat because there was some pretty great stuff on there).
I quite enjoy that the songs here have a bit of variety, but still manage to retain a cohesive 'album' sound.

According to the book, Bolan would lose interest in a song if it took more than 2 or 3 takes, leading to a certain spontaneity to the energy of the songs.
 

Day 0257 - Manassas

Stephen Stills "Manassas" (1972)

 
Another double album.  Artists seemed to be straining against the limitations of the single album format in the 70s, and definitely against the idea of the 3-minute pop song.

Nobody could accuse Stills of being a limited songwriter, as he straddles rock, country, blues, and some fusiony moments.  Could have been an amazing single album, but then there isn't really any deadwood here.  Any of the songs in isolation is fine, it's just not a body of work that held my attention for the entire duration.

Manassas was the name of the album, and Stills' band, which almost featured Bill Wyman from the Rolling Stones. Wyman played bass on one track and said that at that point he would have left the Stones if someone had invited him to join Manassas... but nobody did.

Day 0256 - Talking Book

Stevie Wonder "Talking Book" (1972)

This one is on my 'to-get' list - Stevie was on FIRE at this point.  His 70s stuff seems unstoppable.  Even the meandering, experimental "Journey through the life of plants" soundtrack pulses with creativity.

This album features some of the nastiest funk grooves known to man ("Superstition", "Maybe your baby") interspersed with beautiful heartfelt ballads ("I believe that when I fall in love", "You and I (together we can conquer the world)") and a range of more mid-tempo songs, including folky, almost world-music rhythm of "big brother".

According to the book, Stevie was going through a breakup at the time... breakups do seem to make for great albums, but then it's not like Stevie needed help with his creativity back then.

Day 0255 - Will the Circle be Unbroken

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band "Will the Circle be Unbroken" (1972)

This is a phenomenal album for any fan of country, country-rock and bluegrass... but a 38 song double album with a running time of near enough to two hours is a bit much.  Even if this was a live concert setlist, it would be getting into Bruce Springsteen or Pearl Jam territory!

The band put their spin on a number of country standards. The album has a relaxed atmosphere with a range of guest stars and a lot of studio dialogue in between tracks.

For me the rambling lengthiness of the album lets it down somewhat, especially with some tracks being fairly similar sounding little banjo jams.  It's one of those cases where a decent double album could have been whittled down to a stellar single album.  However, if you want a one-stop country album that you're able to listen to in increments, this is pretty damned good (and I imagine that true country aficionados would happily listen through the whole thing in one sitting, as I would for my few favoured double albums.)

Day 0254 - Something/Anything

Todd Rundgren "Something/Anything" (1972)

 
Ha ha whoops!  For some reason, I got Ted Nugent and Todd Rundgren mixed up (by name at least)... which should pretty much tell you that I know nothing about Rundgren's music!

Ted and Todd confusion aside, this is a laid-back, almost MoR pop album, that sounds very '70s' to me.  Or at least, it sounds the way that I feel a 70s album should sound.

The music sounds kind of like early Elton John in places, occasionally hints of funk.  It was an enjoyable listen all up, though at near enough to an hour and a half, it's a bit long for a pop album.  I lost interest by the end of the album both times that I listened to it.

Day 0253 - Clube Da Esquina

Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges "Clube Da Esquina" (1972)

Another album that I had checked out when I first read the "1001 albums" book around 2009 or so.  The description of it as a "Brazilian Sgt Pepper" was just too good to pass up.

Milton, Lo, and their compatriots were members of the Tropicalia movement, and had come together to write, and to bond over their love of the Beatles.  That mutual creativity and collaboration leading to this collection of great melodies, unexpected changes, and lush arrangements.

The 60s may have been dead, but thankfully Brazil was still keeping it alive at this point.

Day 0252 - Home is Where the Music is

Hugh Masekela "Home is Where the Music is" (1972)

According to the book, Hugh had had some pop crossover hits, but the (popular) tide was turning against jazz.  Masekela didn't want to go back to the apartheid regime of his homeland in South Africa, but he had seen his ex-wife Miriam Makeba (who features earlier in this list) set herself up in Guinea successfully.  He decided home doesn't have to be where you're from; "Home is where the music is".

All of this serves as a background story to a luscious jazz album.  It's underpinned by African rhythms but would slot in nicely with later Miles Davis when he was moving from his last acoustic quintet into his fusion era. The album closes with "Ingoo Pow-Pow (children's song)" that dials back the jazz (though it's still there) and gives a uplifting dose of native music from Masekela's homeland.

Day 0251 - Transformer

Lou Reed "Transformer" (1972) - got it

 
Lou had left the Velvets and (I didn't previously know this) released an unsuccessful self-titled solo album.   For 'Transformer' he hooked up with David Bowie and Mick Ronson who managed to funnel the irascible poet and 'rock n roll animal's' material into a cleaner, more accessible mode.  The rock n roll still pops up in tracks like 'Vicious' and 'I'm so free', but Reed's tales of hookers, transvestites and junkies find more laidback, genteel and melodic homes in tracks like 'Make up' and of course 'Walk on the wild side' (I watched a doco about Reed recently where David Byrne recalled hearing the song at gas stations and malls and wondering "do they even know what this song is about?!").

Lou wore Bowie's glam rock like a comfy jacket, while remaining absolutely Lou Reed underneath.

This is probably the most accessible that Reed ever got.  In some ways I find it odd that 'Wild side' ended up being the biggest hit here as there some great pop tracks like 'Satellite of love' and the beautiful yet quietly bleakly cynical "Perfect day".

Day 0250 - Close to the Edge

Yes "Close to the Edge" (1972)

"Close to the Edge" continues the sterling work of previous album 'Fragile' and takes it further and BIGGER.  
There's jazzy fusion rock seguing into giant Gothic organs, contrasted with quieter acoustic moments.  Somehow it all holds together and makes musical sense. 

Day 0249 - Made in Japan

Deep Purple "Made in Japan" (1972)

I'm not a huge fan of live albums and apparently Ian Gillan is not a fan of this one as he was having throat troubles.  Mind you, you'd be hard-pushed to tell.  Other than a few raspy notes here and there, he still has a formidable wail so was probably being a bit hard on himself.

Their tight taught rock songs are stretched out into flashy, showy extended jam sessions (that 1970s excess showing its face again) with the 77 minute long run time spread out over only 7 tracks!   I would say though, I actually don't mind the excess.  The drumming on this album is off the charts!
 

Day 0248 - Slayed?

Slade "Slayed?" (1972)

Big, loud, dumb rock with a glammy kind of flavour but with a more straight ahead rock core to it.  Kind of like Twisted Sister or some of Alice Cooper's stuff, or the rockier moments from Meatloaf. They really take the stupidity a bit far though; their terrible spelling of track titles like "mama weer all crazee heer now" drove me crazy!

The album finishes well enough.  "Let the good times roll/Feel so fine"  is pumping, grinding slice of party rock.

Day 0247 - Superfly

Curtis Mayfield "Superfly" (1972)

 
That is some silky smooth, solid funk magic right there! Laced with soul, backed with lush strings and nicely punctuated in places by horn sections.  In some places though, Mayfield strips the grooves right back to just some funky bass and percussion when it suits the song. 

One of the few soundtracks to feature in this list so far. haven't seen the film, but love the music.

It's kind of sad though.  Read that Mayfield was paralysed from the neck down when a lighting rig fell on him. He died in his late 50s. 😢

Day 0246 - Harvest

Neil Young "Harvest" (1972)

This is seen by some as Young's creative pinnacle.  It certainly does a comprehensive job of fading out the optimistic 60s, while starting to tune into a cold, cynical new reality. 

The album ushers in the soft country rock of the 70s, and features one of Young's biggest hits in 'Heart of Gold'.  That he himself went on to despise the song, despite/because of all the fame it brought him is beside the point.

It turns out I quite like Neil Young, this album has some great tracks on it.  According to the book, Young went on to act out against the sound of his hit song and this album; delving into blues, punk and rock.

Day 0245 - Can't Buy a Thrill

Steely Dan "Can't Buy a Thrill" (1972)

Another stonking debut... and by 'stonking' I mean really laid back, melodic, catchy west coast rock. There are some great little jazzy instrumental breaks and some thick vocal harmonies.

This album is such well constructed, clean pop; it almost feels like it should seem soulless.  Like I should be getting sick of it, but on the third listen, it's still good.

Day 0244 - Black Sabbath Vol 4

Black Sabbath "Black Sabbath Vol 4" (1972)

 
Apparently recorded during one of their most hedonistic and drug fuelled periods. 

There are no big 'hits' on the album but it just lays down track after track of solid sludgey stoner rock with occasional detours into weird noise and... a string laden ballad?!  Who ARE you, and what have you done with the REAL Sabbath?!

Great record. I've heard the band's output starts to get a bit patchy after this album.

Day 0243 - #1 Record

Big Star "#1 Record" (1972)

Not necessarily an appropriate title, as this album did not fare well commercially.  The band became more of a 'cult' hit.

At first listening to this I was feeling like "just a hangover of the 60s pop-rock sound.  Okay but nothing special" but it grew on me as I listened, so I ran it through a couple more times and I love it.

It does sound fairly 1960s but the songwriting elevates the music above 'just some slightly behind the times pop band'.  This has interesting vocal arrangements and a great meshing of loud guitars and pop melody, including the song that would later become the theme tune to 'That 70s Show'