Classic Albums of the 1970's
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SOME OTHER CLASSIC POP AND ROCK ALBUMS OF THE 1970's

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There's a certain cadre of great albums that have been made omnipresent by both the narrow scope of Classic Rock radio and the repetitive nature of contemporary music criticism. Thus, while I will provide links to sites that discuss such obvious masterpieces as DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, MARQUEE MOON, NEVER MIND THE BOLLACKS..., WHO'S NEXT, etc., I choose not to waste space on them here. No disrespect to the masters, but there is nothing I can add to the reams and reams and reams which have already been written about LED ZEPPELIN II, and would rather use my limited space to cast light on some less all-pervasive vinyl.

The albums listed below fall, roughly, into five catagories:

1) Albums which are typically ignored in favor of other albums by the same artist. Everybody knows DARK SIDE OF THE MOON by heart, but how many know MEDDLE on as intimate terms? Much has been written about Dylan's excellent BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, but few of his other albums of the seventies are given the same scrutiny. Similarly, the Stooges' RAW POWER is a regular fixture when classic punk albums are listed, but the far superior FUN HOUSE is often ignored.

2) Albums that have, inexplicably, failed to make their way onto Classic Rock radio. How Uriah Heep's DEMONS AND WIZARDS failed to make the cut, I have no idea.

I fudge a great deal on this category to include albums that are, in fact, played on the radio, but are only represented by the worst song on the record. For instance, Free's FIRE AND WATER is a wonderful blue-eyed soul album, but you would never know this from listening to Classic Rock radio, which has hammered "Alright Now" into the ground without delving any further into this record's more sublime delights.

3) Albums not usually discussed in the context of the era in which they were released. Wire's post-punk classic, CHAIRS MISSING, for example is practically never discussed alongside other seventies rock albums. Neither are iggy Pop's THE IDIOT, Talking Heads' FEAR OF MUSIC or a host of other albums that, at first glance, seem too futuristic to have been released alongside HORSE WITH NO NAME and RUMOURS. Still, if you are going to really understand what made the seventies so special, you have to approach the era as a unique time in music history - an era which could give the world the Eagles and the Doobie Brothers on one hand, Suicide and the Residents on the other.

4) Albums a lot of music fans still like, but which music critics and coolies typically hate. Boston's debut album, as well as great albums by bands like Bad Company, Kansas and Lynyrd Skynyrd, are still well-loved by fans, but have been written out of the formal history of rock by the intelligentsia. The inclusion of these albums is a direct violation of my stated intention of avoiding the established classics, but it is in the interests of re-evaluation that I step outside the box.

5) Good albums by artists who used to be brilliant, but who now suck, and whose ratio of shite to shineola obscures their initial value to folks too young to remember the good times. This is directed towards those of us who grew up with "Sad Songs Say So Much" rather than "Madman Across the Water." Again, I violate my own rule regarding the avoidance of shopworn grooves, but I'm doing it for the kids.

For some needed context, compare this list to superseventies.com's "Classic 300," an extensive list of seventies' rock and pop albums, including many obvious classics I've skipped over here. (click here)

...and click here for Pitchforkmedia.com's interesting "Top 100 Albums of the 1970's"

Albums of the Seventies: The Etched in Black List

ALL UNDERLINED TITLES ARE LINKS

ABBA: GOLD

AC/DC: POWERAGE

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Amon Duul II: YETI

Ash Ra Tempel: JOIN INN

Bad Company: RUN WITH THE PACK

Beach Boys: SURF'S UP

Bee Gees: MAIN COURSE

Chris Bell: I AM THE COSMOS

Big Star: THIRD / SISTER LOVERS

Black Sabbath: MASTER OF REALITY

Blue Oyster Cult: TYRANNY AND MUTATION

Boston: BOSTON

David Bowie: LOW

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Tim Buckley: LORCA

Budgie: SQUAWK

The Byrds: (UNTITLED)

J. J. Cale: 5

John Cale: GUTS

John Cale and Terry Riley: CHURCH OF ANTHRAX

Can: SOUNDTRACKS

Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band: CLEAR SPOT

The Carpenters: CARPENTERS

The Cars: THE CARS

Chic: RISQUE

The Commodores: COMMODORES

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Comus: FIRST UTTERANCE

The Cosmic Jokers: GALACTIC SUPERMARKET

The Damned: DAMNED DAMNED DAMNED

Miles Davis: AGHARTA

John Denver: ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

Devo: Q: ARE WE NOT MEN? A: WE ARE DEVO!

Nick Drake: TIME OF NO REPLY

Bob Dylan: DESIRE

The Eagles: THE LONG RUN

Earth Wind and Fire: GRATITUDE

Electric Light Orchestra: ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA aka NO ANSWER

Brian Eno - HERE COME THE WARM JETS

Faces: A NOD IS AS GOOD AS A WINK...TO A BLIND HORSE

Faust: IV

Flamin' Groovies: TEENAGE HEAD

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Fleetwood Mac: TUSK

Flying Burrito Brothers: THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS

Free: FIRE AND WATER

Fripp and Eno: EVENING STAR

Funkadelic: FREE YOUR MIND AND YOUR ASS WILL FOLLOW

Genesis: TRESPASS

Al Green: CALL ME

Guru Guru: UFO

Francoise Hardy: ALONE

Hawkwind: ROADHAWKS

The Headhunters: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

Jimi Hendrix: BAND OF GYPSIES

Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks: STRIKING IT RICH

Jean-Michel Jarre: OXYGENE

Jethro Tull: THICK AS A BRICK

Elton John: MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER

Linton Kwesi Johnson: DREAD BEAT AN' BLOOD

Tom Jones: LIVE AT CAESAR'S PALACE

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Julian's Treatment: A TIME BEFORE THIS

Kansas: POINT OF KNOW RETURN

King Crimson: RED

King Tubby / Augustus Pablo: KING TUBBYS MEETS ROCKERS UPTOWN

Kiss: LOVE GUN

Kraftwerk: MAN MACHINE

John Lennon: PLASTIC ONO BAND

Ramsey Lewis: SUN GODDESS

Lightnin' Rod: HUSTLERS' CONVENTION

Little Feat - LITTLE FEAT

Lynyrd Skynyrd: SECOND HELPING

Bob Marley and the Wailers: NATTY DREAD

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Curtis Mayfield: CURTIS/LIVE!

MC5: BACK IN THE USA

Paul McCartney: McCARTNEY

Joni Mitchell: THE HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS

Montrose: MONTROSE

The Mothers: FILLMORE EAST: JUNE 1971

Motorhead: MOTORHEAD

Mott the Hoople: ALL THE YOUNG DUDES

Mountain: FLOWERS OF EVIL

Neu!: NEU! '75

New York Dolls: TOO MUCH TOO SOON

Yoko Ono: PLASTIC ONO BAND

Pearls Before Swine: CITY OF GOLD

Pere Ubu: THE MODERN DANCE

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Pink Floyd: MEDDLE

Iggy Pop: THE IDIOT

Pure Prairie League: BUSTIN' OUT

Raspberries: RASPBERRIES

Lou Reed: LIVE: TAKE NO PRISONERS

Terry Reid: RIVER

The Residents: THE THIRD REICH 'N' ROLL

Johnathan Richman and the Modern Lovers: JOHNATHAN RICHMAN AND THE MODERN LOVERS

Rocket From the Tombs: THE DAY THE EARTH MET THE ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS

Roxy Music: FOR YOUR PLEASURE

The Runaways: THE RUNAWAYS

Todd Rundgren: SOMETHING ANYTHING?

Rush: A FAREWELL TO KINGS

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Santana: CARAVANSERAI

Gil Scott-Heron: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED

The Sex Pistols: THE GREAT ROCK AND ROLL SWINDLE

Paul Simon: GREATEST HITS, ETC.

Simply Saucer: CYBORGS REVISITED

Patti Smith: WAVE

Steely Dan: AJA

Rod Stewart: SING IT AGAIN ROD

Sly and the Family Stone: THERE'S A RIOT GOING ON

The Stooges: FUN HOUSE

Donna Summer: ON THE RADIO: DONNA SUMMERS' GREATEST HITS VOL. 1-2

Talking Heads: FEAR OF MUSIC

Tangerine Dream - ALPHA CENTAURI

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Taste of Honey: TASTE OF HONEY

James Taylor: SWEET BABY JAMES

Richard Thompson: HENRY THE HUMAN FLY

Throbbing Gristle: 20 Jazz Funk Greats

UFO: PHENOMENON

Uriah Heep: DEMONS AND WIZARDS

Van Halen: VAN HALEN

Wire: CHAIRS MISSING

Yes: THE YES ALBUM

Neil Young: ZUMA

Frank Zappa: APOSTROPHE (*)

Zolar-X: TIMELESS

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ZZ Top: TEJAS

Various Artists: THE HARDER THEY COME

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