Pitchfork -- Best Albums of the '70s

Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
Is that 'cause they're from Ohio too?

from http://www.sponiczine.com/

Around this time the first strands of punk and prog-rock were infiltrating Americaâ??s heartland. Dayton was by no means the cultural center of Ohio, but like any town its size, it had its share of forward-looking music aficionados.

Mitch Mitchell introduced Bob to Devoâ??s first album Are We Not Men?, much to Bobâ??s chagrin. â??I couldnâ??t believe anyone would put out an album that sucked so bad,â? he said in a 1995 interview with Puncture. â??But I was into that theatrical prog-rock stuff, so I kept listening to it and reading the lyrics, and finally I decided, â??this shitâ??s amazing!â??â? Genesis, Wire, King Crimson and Bowie soon followed.

At this point, Bob and Mitch were asked to leave Anacrusis due to their unconventional views on music, (and the fact that they had shaved their heads).

Wasn't Mitch Mitchell in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, or something?
<img src="http://www.ilovebacon.com/061604/lunch.jpg" alt=" - " />
He must be rather old, by now.

I predict that stuff like "Horses" by Patti Smith, "GI" by the Germs, "Unknown Pleasures" by Joy Division, the first New York Dolls record, "the Modern Dance" by Pere Ubu and "Singles Going Steady" by the Buzzcocks will all be in the top 20. And probably "Loaded" by the Velvet Underground.

There better be some:
Rolling Stones ~ Sticky Fingers
Gram Parsons ~ GP/Grievous Angel
Black Sabbath ~ …Reality or Paranoid
in the top 1/3

******************

Relatedly…I've always thought that Exile on Mainstreet was more than a bit over-rated. As much as I like the Stones (Sticky Fingers would make my top 5 ALL-TIME list), I've never been fully able to appreciate EoM as the masterpeice it's proclaimed to be.

There's a great article in the most recent HARP magazine called Desert Island Dud The case against the Rolling Stones' Exile on Mainstreet as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

It talks a lot about most of the players on the record not even being the official Rolling Stones members, but actually session players. And that most of the songs are still really just dressed up demos.

The article ends with this summary:

"Sorry, but Exile on Mainstreet doesn't come close to being the Stones' grandest achievement. In fact, its debauchery all but guaranteed that they would eventually flame out for good, or be forced to reinvent themsleves as a sleek corporate machine to survive…But the true legacy of Exile on Mainstreet is far more sinister than this. Besides the toll it took on so many directly involved with it, the album endures today as bullshit inspiration to countless musicians who romanticize excess, glorify self-destruction, and lie to themselves that their latest murky-sounding, half-finished work is the best thing they've ever done. Unless you're a sheltered multi-millionaire, like Keith Richards, that kind of lie usually leads to the nut house or death. How cool is that?"

"…so I went to your room and read your diaryyyyy-yyyyyy!"

was surprised to see Low at #1, typical that they would pick an artist's least accessible album

Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
Wasn't Mitch Mitchell in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, or something?

uh, yes, but not this one

Interesting list…most of my predictions came true, but I am really stunned at the fact that Patti Smith wasn't represented. "Horses", whether or not you agree" was a really important record for women in rock'n'roll…given how the industry was dominated by men and it was weird to see a band like the Runaways come along. But that record was an incredible accomplishtment, but a HUGE omission. I'm a little surprised by Pere Ubu's "The Modern Dance" not being there as well. I've never listened to Can, and as much as I love Bowie, I'm not sure that so many of his records belonged in the top 100. Not like this list means anything anyway. And neglecting to add "GI" by the Germs is just insane too. That is one record that holds up to the test of time.

Some of my favorites are in their discard heap. I realize now why I disagree with them so often.

"Among the casualties this time out were: Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Patti Smith, Sticky Fingers, Ornette Coleman, Pere Ubu, Van Morrison, Black Sabbath, "Heroes", Chic, Queen, Nina Simone, New York Dolls, The Jam, Frank Zappa, Transformer, Curtis Mayfield, The Police, The Damned, Aretha Franklin, Tonight's the Night, The Kinks, Tom Waits, Elton John, Yes, Janis Joplin, Station to Station, Willie Nelson, Cheap Trick, AC/DC, Grateful Dead, Alice Coltrane, Paris 1919, The Upsetters, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Cecil Taylor, Amon Düül II, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Augustus Pablo, Human League, Chi-Lites, Captain Beefheart, No New York, Magazine, The Slits, The B-52's, Durutti Column, Burning Spear, Tangerine Dream, Gene Clark, Françoise Hardy, Magma, Kimono My House, The Adverts, Manuel Göttsching and/or Ash Ra Tempel, Lee Hazlewood, and all of Brazil, including Caetano Veloso."

On the other hand - I'm SO fucking glad to see that Captain Beefheart didn't make it. Does anyone really like them - Dupek excluded?

Let's face it…the 70's started off a little uncertain musically, but it was a hell of a decade for music. A musical renaissance for sure. They could have easily done a top 200 records and still have left great records out.

Originally posted by bunnyman:
Let's face it…the 70's started off a little uncertain musically, but it was a hell of a decade for music. A musical renaissance for sure. They could have easily done a top 200 records and still have left great records out.

Agree totally - it's probably one of the reasons that I became so entralled with music - both recorded & live. The 70's were my young & impressionable age. I'll never forget buying & listening to my first piece of music - an 8-track of Kiss Rock and Roll Over.

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd800/d885/d88523bej8m.jpg" alt=" - " />

I had no idea what I was hearing, but I loved it. Played it so much on a family vacation just sitting in a car listening to it that I killed the battery.

Originally posted by grotty:
I'll never forget buying &amp; listening to my first piece of music - an 8-track of Kiss Rock and Roll Over.

KISS is probably my biggest guilty pleasure. I'm really surprised Alive didn't make the list. Or at least Destroyer.

Originally posted by mark e smith:

I suspect the Pistols, television, joy division and hopefully Richard Hell to make a visit to the top 10.

Well I got 2 out of my 4 in the top 10.

Then again Richard Hell didnt make the top 100, what were they thinking. FOOLS.

As for a whole load of those albums being better than never mind the bollocks, well what a load of bollocks. For instance it is much better than the buzzcocks singles going steady.

Originally posted by mark e smith:
Then again Richard Hell didnt make the top 100, what were they thinking. FOOLS.

I don't know. I realize how important Richard Hell is to the development of punk, but I don't really think Blank Generation really holds up as one of the best records of the decade. RH is more important as an icon than anything else. Does he even have any other records?

Originally posted by grotty:
I'm SO fucking glad to see that Captain Beefheart didn't make it. Does anyone really like them - Dupek excluded?

I never listened to him, except for the one song on the hot rats album…which is the only vocal track on an otherwise great record.


WAY TOO MUCH MILES DAVIS!!!

Originally posted by Skeeter:
but I don't really think Blank Generation really holds up as one of the best records of the decade.

Well that is were we disagree. I think it is better than the buzzcocks album, for sure. I wouldnt rate it much differently from Marquee Moon. have you listened to it recently?

His other real album, Destiny Street isnt bad either.

I think I listened to it once in the last 6-months or so. I'll have to pull it out again.

I have issues with Singles Going Steady being on the list too, simply because it's a compilation. I love that record though.

considering the fact that only three of the sixteen songs on "singles going steady" appear on the first two records, i would have it's fair game to include it. none of the early buzzcocks records had the impact that one did. plus, it's a inclusion of the early songs that never made any record that makes it brillant.

[QUO none of the early buzzcocks records had the impact that one did. [/QB]

I dunno, spiral scratch EP was a pretty decent effort, dontcha think?

i was referring to "Another Music in a Different Kitchen" & " Love Bites" who other than the "die-hard" Buzzcocks fan ownes these. Singles going steady is thier definitive album whether is a comp or not…