Top 10 Bands/Artists Of The 70s.
We've done 90s, 80s, and 60s and well I feel like someone must do the 70s and I guess it'll have to be me.
The 70s means different things to different people. Disco, Punk Rock, Prog Rock, and Singer Songwriters are among the very different things that the 70s are associated with musically. I'm not too interested in most of that myself.
Again like my previous lists this will be in no particular order.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd also made my '60s list. I feel like the Pink Floyd of Syd Barrett and the Pink Floyd of David Gilmour are such different bands that they can listed almost as if they were separate bands. Sure they are both "psychedelic" but in entirely different ways. I'm not going to argue one vs. the other because I think both have their merits. You know too many people I think feel that music is like sports where one is the winner and one is the loser. It's just not really like that. It seems to me if you are listening in that way you are missing out on a lot of what's going. Anyway it fashionable among certain groups to downplay Pink Floyd. They're too popular and have sold too many albums for some people to appreciate them anymore. I really don't think you can listen to their music from the 70s and tell me they were trying to be popular or trying to "sell out" in anyway. This is pretty weird music really. And it certainly sounds like music that was made for their own appreciation. Really that's what it's all about you know. If you make music you yourself enjoy then you are doing it for all the right reasons, the rest of it is pure fashion and meaningless in the end. So how about the music? I don't care what anyone says Dark Side Of The Moon is a perfect album. There's a reason why it connects with so many people, generation after generation. It's just that good. I can see the perspective that it's overrated because some of their other albums like Meddle and Animals may not get as much play as Dark Side and Wish You Were Here. The Wall came out in '79 and for me this is where Pink Floyd lost me a bit. I'm not a huge fan of the Wall. Not saying it's awful or anything. It's got some good songs. But the overall production and feeling of the album puts me off. The rest of their 70s work was massive though in my view and I think in many ways they were the band of the 70s.
Led Zeppelin
Another band too successful for their own good amongst certain "indier than thou" types. Zeppelin just has to be included. Depending on your perspective Zep may be the band of the 70s. I'm more of a Pink Floyd kind of guy myself.
Brian Eno
Eno is extremely influential and he pretty much created the Ambient genre in the 70s but beyond all of that he also made some extremely good and sonically interesting albums that stand up well today.
Kraftwerk
In some ways Kraftwerk were the most influential group of the 70s. When you consider their influence on electronic music it's astounding. I actually have a preference for their earlier work but all of their albums have a certain beautiful and at times creepy timeless feel to them.
The Rolling Stones
I also included the Stones on my '60s list of course and while I'm not that into their later 70s output I have to include the Stones for the '70s as well because of their early '70s stuff. They were on the top of their game during this time.
David Bowie
Certainly Bowie's best decade with albums like Heroes, Low, Ziggy Stardust, Space Oddity, Hunky Dory, and Aladdin Sane.
Neil Young
Young was at his peak in the 70s as well. He released many classic albums during this period. Some even blame him for the whole grunge thing of the 90s with his penchant for the heavily distorted guitar sound.
Stevie Wonder
Ah when I was a boy I thought of ol' Stevie as the guy who wrote songs like "I Just Called To Say I Love You" but Wonder was of course a much more creative force in the '70s. My personal favorite Stevie Wonder album is Innervisions.
Joni Mitchell
I'm really not trying to fill any quotas here. No, I actually really dig Joni Mitchell. Court and Spark in particular.
John Lennon/Paul McCartney/George Harrison
Being the Beatles freak that I am I have to include these three fellas (sorry Ringo) and not just because I'm a Beatles freak but because I think their 70s stuff is often underrated. I don't think any of their 70s stuff really stands up against the Beatles albums but I'm often not sure if *anything* stands up against the Beatles albums so the comparison is all out of whack. For Lennon in particular I would recommend Plastic Ono Band and Imagine. For McCartney his first album McCartney has a lot of charm as does Ram. Band On The Run is probably his most fully realized and consistent solo album though. For Harrison it's all about All Things Must Pass. He really shot his load on that one but it really is a great album.
Well I am betting this will cause plenty of people to be angry. One would hope. I mean where's The Clash? Where's The Sex Pistols? ... eh. Just don't think they're that great to be honest. Flame away!
The 70s means different things to different people. Disco, Punk Rock, Prog Rock, and Singer Songwriters are among the very different things that the 70s are associated with musically. I'm not too interested in most of that myself.
Again like my previous lists this will be in no particular order.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd also made my '60s list. I feel like the Pink Floyd of Syd Barrett and the Pink Floyd of David Gilmour are such different bands that they can listed almost as if they were separate bands. Sure they are both "psychedelic" but in entirely different ways. I'm not going to argue one vs. the other because I think both have their merits. You know too many people I think feel that music is like sports where one is the winner and one is the loser. It's just not really like that. It seems to me if you are listening in that way you are missing out on a lot of what's going. Anyway it fashionable among certain groups to downplay Pink Floyd. They're too popular and have sold too many albums for some people to appreciate them anymore. I really don't think you can listen to their music from the 70s and tell me they were trying to be popular or trying to "sell out" in anyway. This is pretty weird music really. And it certainly sounds like music that was made for their own appreciation. Really that's what it's all about you know. If you make music you yourself enjoy then you are doing it for all the right reasons, the rest of it is pure fashion and meaningless in the end. So how about the music? I don't care what anyone says Dark Side Of The Moon is a perfect album. There's a reason why it connects with so many people, generation after generation. It's just that good. I can see the perspective that it's overrated because some of their other albums like Meddle and Animals may not get as much play as Dark Side and Wish You Were Here. The Wall came out in '79 and for me this is where Pink Floyd lost me a bit. I'm not a huge fan of the Wall. Not saying it's awful or anything. It's got some good songs. But the overall production and feeling of the album puts me off. The rest of their 70s work was massive though in my view and I think in many ways they were the band of the 70s.
Led Zeppelin
Another band too successful for their own good amongst certain "indier than thou" types. Zeppelin just has to be included. Depending on your perspective Zep may be the band of the 70s. I'm more of a Pink Floyd kind of guy myself.
Brian Eno
Eno is extremely influential and he pretty much created the Ambient genre in the 70s but beyond all of that he also made some extremely good and sonically interesting albums that stand up well today.
Kraftwerk
In some ways Kraftwerk were the most influential group of the 70s. When you consider their influence on electronic music it's astounding. I actually have a preference for their earlier work but all of their albums have a certain beautiful and at times creepy timeless feel to them.
The Rolling Stones
I also included the Stones on my '60s list of course and while I'm not that into their later 70s output I have to include the Stones for the '70s as well because of their early '70s stuff. They were on the top of their game during this time.
David Bowie
Certainly Bowie's best decade with albums like Heroes, Low, Ziggy Stardust, Space Oddity, Hunky Dory, and Aladdin Sane.
Neil Young
Young was at his peak in the 70s as well. He released many classic albums during this period. Some even blame him for the whole grunge thing of the 90s with his penchant for the heavily distorted guitar sound.
Stevie Wonder
Ah when I was a boy I thought of ol' Stevie as the guy who wrote songs like "I Just Called To Say I Love You" but Wonder was of course a much more creative force in the '70s. My personal favorite Stevie Wonder album is Innervisions.
Joni Mitchell
I'm really not trying to fill any quotas here. No, I actually really dig Joni Mitchell. Court and Spark in particular.
John Lennon/Paul McCartney/George Harrison
Being the Beatles freak that I am I have to include these three fellas (sorry Ringo) and not just because I'm a Beatles freak but because I think their 70s stuff is often underrated. I don't think any of their 70s stuff really stands up against the Beatles albums but I'm often not sure if *anything* stands up against the Beatles albums so the comparison is all out of whack. For Lennon in particular I would recommend Plastic Ono Band and Imagine. For McCartney his first album McCartney has a lot of charm as does Ram. Band On The Run is probably his most fully realized and consistent solo album though. For Harrison it's all about All Things Must Pass. He really shot his load on that one but it really is a great album.
Well I am betting this will cause plenty of people to be angry. One would hope. I mean where's The Clash? Where's The Sex Pistols? ... eh. Just don't think they're that great to be honest. Flame away!
3 Comments:
T-Rex, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Cat Stevens. Great decade for music, so it is quite difficult and then some.
Curtis Mayfield, The Ohio Players, Germany's Popol Vuh. A list like this could go on forever...
Ah.. I actually quite dig the Cat Stevens myself. Curtis Mayfield is also the man. Nice selections MB. And yeah I agree that it was a great decade for music... it's funny that so many people look back at the 70s and remember the worst aspects of the decade in my opinion.
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