Paul over at Rock Revival asks a great question, but its hard for me to come up with an answer, it would take days of thinking. In the meantime why don't you have a go at it:
What do you think is the most creative seminal year in rock ?
Check out Rock Revival to see what you think of the year Paul chose...I think he picked a damn good one.
I'm not disputing 1967, because it was a great year, but I'm going to offer up 1971 and 1973 myself.
ReplyDelete1973
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
ELP - Brain Salad Surgery
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced Lehn-erd Skin-nerd
Steely Dan - Countdown To Ecstasy
Jethro Tull - A Passion Play
Budgie - Never Turn Your Back On A Friend
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
1971
The Who - Who's Next
Pink Floyd - Meddle
Led Zeppelin - ZOSO
The Doors - L.A. Woman
Deep Purple - Fireball
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality
As great as 1967 was(not just in rock, but in R & B, as well), the entire decade of the 70s produced some of the greatest rock music ever. It's kinda hard to single out just one year.
ReplyDeleteI am with Hatter on 1971. Each album listed is amazing in it's own right but when you look at the range of amazing albums in just one year I think it is right on up there.
ReplyDeleteMy head tells me that, rather than 1967, 1966 was probably a better year (Revolver, Pet Sounds, Blonde on Blonde) but my heart still goes with 1971. It was a year when great albums opened all sorts of doors for me.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to those already mentioned there was:
Beach Boys - Surfs Up
Focus - Moving Waves
Carole King - Tapestry
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Yes - Fragile
McCartney - Ram
Lennon - Imagine
and many, many more. Brilliant!
It's true that 1967 had a lot of foundational stuff. It's hard to deny the influence that the class of '67 albums had on just about every act that followed.
ReplyDelete1971 is also awesome (add Nursery Cryme by Genesis and The Yes Album from Yes). And MH makes a good case for 1973 (although he and MO left out Queen's debut; Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; the best album by Genesis, Selling England by the Pound; and The Who's Quadrophenia).
I'll argue for 1969. Consider just five albums, despite many other worthy ones:
Abbey Road
In the Court of the Crimson King
Let It Bleed
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II
Wow. That's a set of five only matched, IMO, by 1967.
67 was goo but 1969 HAS to be the seminal year in the history of Rock
ReplyDeleteAs I stated in his comments:
Came over from Layla...and in my mind, I had answered the question prior to clicking here...My answer was 1969..
*Woodstock
*Altamont
*Bowie's "A Space Oddity"
*The Stooges debut album
*Elvis returns to live performing (OK, it is Vegas, but still)
*Led Zeppelin's first album
*The last public performance by The Beatles (On the roof of Abbey Road studios)
*Sly & The Family Stone "Stand"
*Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band "Trout Mask Replica"
*King Crimson debuts "In The Court Of The Crimson King"
*Mott The Hoople debuts "Mott The Hoople"
Alice Coopers debut "Pretties For You"
Blood Sweat & Tears debuts "BS&T"
Beatles "Abbey Road"
Blind Faith debuts "Blind Faith"
Santana debuts "Santana"
Allman Brothers Band debuts "The Allman Brothers"
The debuts of so many artists that influenced the next 30+ years of music occurred in 1969. I could continue listing but I will stop here.
Vinny Bond, Vinny Bond....you left out the most important event of 1969.
ReplyDeleteThe Birth of Starrlight
*queue angel chorus*
Its hard for me to pick just one year and I agree with all of the albums mentioned. I think all of those albums were a branches from the roots of early blues and the rock and roll from the 50's. But for pure enjoyment the year 1969 would be my favorite and I would say the most creative.
ReplyDeleteStarr...
ReplyDeleteHOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THAT?!?!?!?
Now it is official...1969 folks...
If we're going by our birth years to add icing to our respective argumentative cakes, I'm going to withdraw from this one for fear of polluting the fondant.
ReplyDeleteWell now I am all shades of curious to know Hatter Bday :P
ReplyDeleteI've actually alluded to it on my site, but everyone thinks I'm as mad as a hatter and therefore pays me no mind; however, I will indulge you.
ReplyDeleteIn past fallen empires, there is a period of decadence that may span anywhere from a few years to decades prior to actual collapse. In my case, I came into the world in a kind of fin de siècle, except much too early, in the year of our Lord 1979, harbinger of the apocalypse. It provided a musical glimpse of the future wherein all that was beautiful from the concurrent, dying decade was to become one of the most mordious manifestations of aural torture ever to be cast upon Man. Even bands such as Floyd and the Clash, who both released The Wall and London Calling in December of 1979 went on to insufferable musical transformations (Momentary Lapse of Reason and Sandanista!). Michael McDonald was ruining the Doobies; the Bee Gees were in full swarm and Barbara Streisand was still relevant. The only positive thing I can say is that I was brought home from the hospital on the 4th of July to a barrage of fireworks.
I LOVE YOU PEOPLE - YOUR COMMENTS KILL ME.
ReplyDeleteHatter are you really that YOUNG? I won't even tell you what I was doing in '79.
1979? Christ, I'd graduated from college, had three jobs(only one related to my degree),lost my father, and had been unemployed twice by '79. Did I mention I was born in 1952?
ReplyDeleteBruce - you've made my day! And there was me thinking I was the oldest person here - you've got 4 years on me!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, where were we, oh yes 1969. Hmmm...still reckon it should be 1971...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteOh good, now I know that at least two people here are older than me - Obsessive and Bruce. I think our love for rock and roll keeps us youthful. If I ever start listening to anything else just shoot me...
ReplyDeleteI've been told I look like I'm in my 30's :) But I don't know how long that will last since I'm approaching the end of my 40's :(
See I liked Sandanistas. But Momentary Lapse of Reason was aptly named. No Waters, No Floyd. Sorry David.
ReplyDelete1952...not quite the oldest....
ReplyDelete1979...out of college...living in Manhattan...on my third job....
living la vida loca....
See? I mention 1979 and everyone gets all bummed. How about I let everyone know that I'm a fanatical Yankees fan instead -- this way, instead of lamenting your ages, you can get your hate on and undergo a relieving kind of catharsis. I'm young; I can take it. ;)
ReplyDeleteSandinista! was a triple album with maybe an album's worth of somewhat decent music. At least it wasn't as bad as Cut The Crap.
True enough it could have used a pruning. But then again I have been listening to it for 25 years so it has grown on me. One of my highschool friends was a fanatical Clash fan, bless him and between him and his best friend I was saved from Top 40 hell.
ReplyDeleteYou really struck a cord with this topic Barbara. By the way BD-1957. I am quite sure I look my age but was told last night I looked 45:-) I am still listening everyday to good old classic rock and it never gets old for me. I was always a closet drummer but never found the time to learn. I always wished I could have done something like Cameron Crowe did. Touring with the band and diggin every minute of it.
ReplyDeleteStarr, my older cousins saved me from Top 40 Hell - thank God for those people in our lives!!!
ReplyDeleteBond - you are OLD dude! But so youthful in every way.
Dan - how come you don't have a blog? I agree, wouldn't it have been great to do the Cameron Crowe thing? Then he ends up marrying one of my fave rock chicks. He's very cool.
FYI - THIS WAS NOT MY TOPIC - ROCK REVIVAL GETS THE CREDIT!!!
I know I'm off-topic, but I'm still waiting for the Yankee hate. Any takers? Damn. At least they're are no BoSox fans here that I know of.
ReplyDeleteBack to topic: so we've agreed at least that the most seminal year occurred between 1967 and 1973? Any takers on 2008? That Coldplay album is great. ;)
Randy and Don were seniors, I was a freshman. We had first period French together. They used to show up hungover (they DJ'd and were on college radio) and I would have 3 coffees waiting, one for each of us. They used to bring in mix tapes and walkmans and just stick them on me and say "Buy this."
ReplyDeleteI owe them The Clash, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, The Cure, The Cult, Echo and the Bunnymen, Siouxsie and the Banshees and more.
Hatter...I know what you mean about Viva La Crap...it gives me chillblains!
It's hard to argue with many of the choices made. My vote goes to 1967. In addition to the classic albums listed, there were some outstanding singles that came out as well:
ReplyDeletePiece of My Heart by Big Brother and the Holding Company
Paper Sun by Traffic
Heroes and Villains by The Beach Boys
3 by The Who alone (Pictures of Lily, I Can See For Miles, and Happy Jack)
Also, 1967 was the year of the Monterey Pop Festival.
To go back even further, I think a case can be made for the year 1958. Because the album/LP didn't become the standard form of artistic expression until people like Dylan and The Beatles came on the scene, any year pre-1965 will be at a bit of a disadvantage. Having said that, I feel that 1958 saw the release of some of the greatest singles in rock and roll history:
Johnny B. Goode and Sweet Little Sixteen by Chuck Berry
High School Confidential by Jerry Lee Lewis
Hard Headed Woman by Elvis
Good Golly, Miss Molly by Little Richard
Yakety Yak by The Coasters
Slow Down by Larry Williams
Rave On and Think It Over by Buddy Holly
I Wonder Why by Dion and the Belmonts
Whole Lotta Loving by Fats Domino
C'mon Everybody by Eddie Cochran
Get A Job by The Silhouettes