First Runner Up: Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information
This was so close to the Top Ten. Right up until the last moment, this, Betty Davis and Funkadelic were all neck and neck for the 9th and 10th positions. I’m still not sure that I made the right decision. All three are funky, but Shuggie’s funk is far lower key than the others. It feels like a warm, humid night. Even on the odd occasions where the tempo picks up a little, it still resists the urge to build up too much steam. Tracks like Aht Uh Mi Head have an almost DIY quality to it. It feels a little like prime Timmy Thomas or Sly Stone at his most withdrawn.
At the time this album did not get the credit it deserved. It was mostly ignored. Thankfully, time has proven more generous. It’s idiosyncratic, sinewy funk has ended up being far more influential. It’s a timeless record. Please check it out.
Second Runner Up: Bee Gees - Mr. Natural
The Bee Gees are without doubt one of the most misunderstood of bands. The parodies, the cliches and that Clive Anderson interview seem to have coloured people's impression of them despite their having a series of hits more impressive than most other bands. If you haven't read it, I'd strongly recommend having a look at Bob Stanley's book Yeah Yeah Yeah, in particular the chapter on the Brothers Gibb. It considers both the heights that they reached and goes some way to account for why they were such odd and prickly characters, so easily misunderstood.
Alongside Shuggie, Mr. Natural fell very close to the top ten albums of the year, despite its having no hits that you'd recognise. It sat at a weird juncture for the band. After the heights of their late sixties recordings, they had begun to flounder in the early 70s. They decamped to the US and here joined forced with legendary producer Arif Mardin who has produced many many incredible records. With him the Bee Gees began to explore their love of R'n'B, which was more thoroughly explored on Main Course, Children of the World and Spirits Having Flown. Here we have 11 fully realised songs that are relentlessly gorgeous and always interesting. With Mardin at the helm you'd expect the production to be lush and spectacular, but the core songs never fail either. In the time since I bought it - only about two years ago thanks to a recommendation (from Nick) - this has been the Bee Gees album that I come back to the most and it never fails.
Hidden Treasure Award: Sparks - Kimono My House
I only started listening to Sparks albums earlier last year. I was listening to their massive This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us at about the same time that their squillionth album Hippopotamus was getting loads of critical acclaim. I found myself wondering what their 40+ career was all about, and decided to pick up some of their albums. Naturally, I started with this one (although it was followed almost instantaneously by others). What I found was a band of such wild invention and creativity that sometimes it was too much to take. Russell Mael (the one who doesn't look like Hitler) sings in a faux-operatic style that sometimes slips into fey music-hall manner-isms. Ron Mael (the one who does look like Hitler), the writer of most words and all music, is likely insane, or a genius (or both?). The melodies are bewildering, the lyrics more so. The result is a band that is never boring and always entertaining. Of the albums I have picked up so far, this one is essential. It's follow up, Propaganda (also from 1974), is almost as good, and so, just as essential. There are some later albums I think even better, so this will not be the last we hear of Sparks on this blog.
Misunderstood Award: Hot Chocolate - Cicero Park
Hot Chocolate are another of those bands that it is real easy to make assumptions about. They are so embedded with their massive hit You Sexy Thing that it quickly eclipses everything else about the band. In truth, there was a lot to them - from their very curious cover of Lennon's Give Peace a Chance (on Apple records, no less); their legendary and oft-covered suicide epic, Emma; and of course, the many disco hits. What is less well known are their folky origins and their social and political awareness. Tracks like Brother Louie, A Child's Prayer, and Rumours reveal a thoughtfulness not observed in So You Win Again.
Hot Chocolate were not a great albums band. Most of their best work were on singles, to be honest. But if you were to get an album, this would be the one to get*. It has a solid mix of their conscious songs like the title cut and Could Have Been Born in the Ghetto, which are both broad and cinematic in scope and as cool as anything happening stateside (yup, they were British...). It also has the aforementioned Emma, and a solid early dancefloor classic with Disco Queen, which is damned cool. In truth, this is never going to album of the year, but it's a great introduction to the band and offers a real defence as a band that deserves more credit.
* I've got to admit, I quite like their second, third and fifth albums too... I'm not ashamed.
Worst Album of the Year Award: Fatback Band - Feel My Soul
This party band were partying TOO damned hard to notice what was wrong with this record. Firstly the name which sounds like a parody. Secondly, the vocals. It sounds like they grabbed some coke-addled teenager from the street and forced him at gunpoint to sing. Exhibit A is Baby Doll, which is beyond words bad and has the audacity to be over seven minutes long. It's a real shame because they were a pretty awesome party band and even here there are some killer cuts - Njia Walk (Street Walk) is a party all unto itself. But nothing can erase those vocals from my mind.
Poor Ranking But Still Essential Award: Kraftwerk - Autobahn
I should probably explain the tracklisting here. The album has five tracks. The first, Autobahn, is 23 minutes long. The remaining four make up side 2 and total just under 20. They were also only just beginning to perfect the sound that they would be known for, and even then, only really on the title cut. Autobahn is awesome but I consider open for debate whether it is 23 minutes awesome. Unless you are in the Kraftwerk sweet spot exactly, it might begin to outstay its welcome. The second side - well, they're interesting tracks and key building blocks to what they were going to do next, but again, not really the most fun in themselves. I will admit to having a soft-spot for Morganspaziergang, in particular the flute bit, but even then... In all, it is an interesting and important record - I wouldn't want to be without it - but it's primary strength is for giving a sense of the progression of the band, but not necessarily for being a fun one to listen to.
Ahead of it's Time Award: Dadawah - Peace and Love
In short, Rastafarian meditation music. It sits alongside some of the music that Lee Perry was to produce (with The Congos, for example) and stands as a place marker for music that would arrive a little later via the productions of Adrian Sherwood (African Head Charge in particular). It's reggae, of course, but not as we're typically used to it. It is drum music, chant music - music where the structure has been slowly dismantled and only the underlying rhythm and melody remains, which, amidst the chant-singing is added to, taken away from. It is genuinely spiritual music and very warm to let wash over you. If you think that music and religion shouldn't mix - this is the record to put you straight on that!
Phase Two Award: Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom
The story of Robert Wyatt bears repeating. He was the drummer in one of the cooler, jazzier, prog rock bands, Soft Machine. He was working on some songs for his second solo album when he fell from a fourth storey window, a fall that left him paralysed from the waist down. In short, Wyatt retooled and reframed to accommodate this new reality. Rock Bottom was the first album to emerge and it signalled that Wyatt was not going to conform to anyone’s expectations. It’s six tracks exist in a barely structured cloud, where Wyatt and his collaborators form delicate shapes and patterns. It feels extemporised, but I suspect that it’s all more deliberate than that. The net result is a beautiful if sometimes disconcerting series of pieces that are distinctly minor key and yet ultimately liberating. I definitely recommend it.
Never-ending Genius Award: Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta
Rita Wright, a.k.a. Syreeta, ex-wife of Stevie releases another monster collaboration. The two had released a killer in 1972, entitled simply Syreeta. Two years later, the marriage is on the rocks, but they remain friends and still pull out a great record. It is more of a pop confection this time. The earlier record had a jazzier, more deconstructed feel, whereas the structures of this album are more built up. But it is relentlessly catchy - exactly what you'd expect from Stevie Wonder. Syreeta's sweet soprano is up front and more strident on this record - it's funkier and it stands out more. Listening to Come and Get It, it stands up today and not simply as a period piece. Even ballads like Heavy Day avoid being over-sentimental and mawkish. It's the sound of summer and good times - it's impossible not to love.
Neglected Classic Award: John Lennon - Walls and Bridges
I can never decide which of the Beatles' post-Beatles careers I value the most. I've pretty much settled on the view that the best album is George's All Things Must Pass. I've been spending a lot of time lately with Paul's albums and my estimation all-in-all is increasing. But I think I am still tilting towards John. Imagine and Plastic-Ono Band are obviously the high-points, but this album comes in a close third. It bewilders me that it still suffers from some mixed reviews. Sure, there are one or two missed opportunities, but there are enough crackers here to defend it.
It has the shiny irrepressible Whatever Gets You Thru The Night with Elton John, which is just a whisper away from disco, the gorgeous #9 Dream with its incomprehensible lyrics, and the angry John of old with Steel and Glass. The primary feeling one comes away with, however, is a quieter, thoughtful, reflective Lennon. It came at the end of his 'Lost Weekend', just as he was about to reunite with Yoko, and the record catches this mood. Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out and Scared reflect John's uncertainties, while Bless You is a beautiful piece of Yacht Rock expressing his abiding love for his estranged wife. It's a pretty complete album and deserves more recognition.
