10 'Best' Albums From 1974

So 1974. I finished this list a few weeks ago, but other stuff kept me from writing it. Here we are!

I feel like I ought to remind folk that I try not to talk about the same artists again and again, so I skip people if they've shown up too recently. So even though David Bowie (Diamond Dogs), John Cale (Fear) and Roxy Music (Country Life) all had massive albums this year, I've not included them in the list.



1974

One reader suggested that an overview of the time might be a nice add-on to these posts. I have given it a go. I ended up writing quite a lot and even after a good edit, it's still quite long*. Please let me know what you think. I still like the idea but I might do it once every couple of years.

In one sense 1974 is much like every year - if you look over the Singles Charts, it's not looking good. The charts are dominated by glam rock (not necessarily the good stuff) and middle of the road fluff. There's Gary Glitter, Alvin Stardust, Suzi Quatro, Mud, and Sweet (etc. etc.). All fine singles in their way, I suppose, but there's a reason why we have forgotten most of them. And then there's Lena Zavaroni, Lulu, Terry Jacks, Perry Como. Paul Weller recently described the mid-70s as 'a wasteland'. You can find evidence for that claim in the Charts, but I am not convinced.

After all, if you look closer to the charts, you can see the signs of better things. Bowie, Roxy Music, Sparks and 10cc all appear, as does Stevie Wonder and the Isley Brothers. It's clear that things are changing even if it is not necessarily obvious.

In rock music, heavy and progressive rock is still in the ascendancy. Zeppelin, Sabbath, Deep Purple along with Floyd, Genesis and King Crimson were shifting boatloads of records. But there were others who seem to be looking to a different future. Most obviously there were the art rockers like Bowie, Roxy, Eno and Sparks who all continued to draw from rich seams opened by the Velvets, Stooges and Doors. Of course, Reed, Cale and Pop were themselves revitalised and producing some of the best music of their careers. Another prominent influence was the second wave of the German avant-garde - Can, Cluster, Faust, Neu! and of course Kraftwerk. These would offer endless inspiration to those who would appear in the later 70s.

Another view of the future came from a group who were resolutely looking to the past - the pub rockers. Bands like Dr. Feelgood were drawing upon blues and RnB revivalism but their music was defined more by energy and enthusiasm than by double-necked guitars and technically perfect guitar solos. (It's no surprise then that much of the early punk scene had connections to the pub-rock scene - I'd argue that from a genre point of view, they're virtually siblings.)

Away from rock, new things were happening elsewhere too. Black American music was diversifying. Disco had not quite erupted, but it is plain that it was already making a serious impact, especially in the smooth soul powerhouse of Philadelphia. Southern Soul was on the decline in 1974 but it was still packing a punch - Ann Peebles, Al Green and Millie Jackson were all making killer records. And then there was funk, which was developing into something wholly new. The stripped back sound of James Brown was still present but it was increasingly overlaid with ... well, frankly, anything and everything; from Hendrix to Jazz to Disco.

And it was not all about the USA and Europe. Jamaica was onto its third internationally recognised genre: reggae (after rocksteady and ska). Even reggae was beginning to develop and diversify in 1974. There was the poppier end of reggae, represented by John Holt and Jimmy Cliff and then there was Roots. Beyond Jamaica, African music was beginning to draw a lot of attention. Over the next decade this would spread across the whole continent, most notably South Africa, Mali, Senegal and Nigeria.

In headline, like any year, if you look at the froth of what the music business produced in 1974 you might conclude that it was a wasteland. But this is a mistake, like most of the 70s, it was a rich time. It was rich in its own right, and not simply in what because of what it was pointing towards.

* Even then, I think I have barely scratched the surface...

Funkadelic - Standing on the Verge of Getting It On

Funkadelic's debut was a major player on my 1970 list. What marked that album out in my mind was the murky, smoky underworld it inhabited. Sure, it was funky, but it felt like something you'd find deep in the woods - something enticing but slightly dangerous. It had a similar sort of vibe, in my mind anyway, to Dr. John's debut Gris-Gris.

That Funkadelic is still here. Red Hot Mamma has a riff that wouldn't have been out of place back then. The twelve minute closer Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts is as spacey as anything on the first album or Maggot Brain, and the monologue is just as ridiculous.

But by this point, the Parliament-Funkadelic train has long since left the station and they are well on their way to the mothership. Everything is so much brighter, clearer - in sharper focus. It is more confident and sure of itself. The hooks are more forward. The groove on I'll Stay is beyond infectious and it find its way into my memory that I'll be humming it for days. The title track opens with the silly voices that begin to characterise P-Funk, but once it kicks in, it's as celebratory and exciting as anything that Sly Stone could muster. And that's plenty recommendation all by itself.

Betty Davis - They Say I'm Different

This won't take long. While it's a killer album, it's pretty simple. Betty Davis, ex-wife to Miles (who turned him on to Hendrix, Sly Stone etc.) (who was a little much for him to handle!) (who wrote He Was A Big Freak about him), rides some of the dirtiest funk ever written. In contrast to Funkadelic, it is closer to the Family Stone, lacking the murky psychedelics.

This is tighter and rougher. Check out the bass-drum-keyboards of He Was a Big Freak. It's a beat that picks you up and beats you right back down again. Betty is not intimidated by it, but instead towers over it; purring, growling, shrieking, disclosing secrets that I'll bet made Miles blush.

Betty's vocal performance is aggressive and relentless; the music is funky and fierce. It is stripped down with no unnecessary embellishments - it gives you what you need and no more. This album is short, hard and unapologetic - perhaps the hardest of the whole list. It will not let you sit still.

Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties

Everyone knows (Don't Fear) The Reaper but this was my real introduction to the band. I'd heard two things about them; they were a little occultic (they were the first to lay claim to the umlaut, after all); and/or, they came with some serious song-writing credibility - Patti Smith and Richard Meltzer - often regarded as the first serious rock critic. I'm not at all sure about the first point, but the second is true.

In truth, I really like 75% of this album, but I only love the last two tracks. But I LOOOVE those two tracks. The album is hard rock and stands in contrast to riffage of Sabbath and Purple; I'd argue that it stands more as a precursor to the NWOBHM. All of the first six tracks kick ass as solid rock tunes; they're quirky and inventive in their decision-making. They're all sort of funny lyrics-wise, which is why I take their alleged occultic leanings as more of come-on than anything else - just check the titles; Career of Evil, Dominance and Submission, Harvester of Eyes. 

And then there are the final two tracks. Flaming Telepaths opens with a great riff hovering over a great beat. Lyrically, it sends you off in one direction before doubling back in another. Is it about drugs, is it about deception? Is it about altered realities or is it all a double bluff, and it is all about the confusion of the listener trying to make sense of it all - 'the joke's on you!' they sing. The rhythm is propulsive, before a massive, almost psychedelic climax, which tumbles into the relative calm of the album's closer Astronomy. I'm not even going to start making sense of it - having the lyrics booklet is no help at all. It's a damned catchy song even if it is incomprehensible.

Barry White - Can't Get Enough

If you're spotting this and groaning, muttering about my having a problem, or being cheesy; even if you're chuckling and thinking of the ol' Walrus of Love, then stop it! Go and listen to this album with fresh ears. It is what you think it is, but it is SO much more. Barry White is a bona fide genius along with his long time arranger, Gene Page.

His M.O. is simple: pick up from where Isaac Hayes left off, up the lush string arrangements, and throw as many damned hooks at it as you can. Every song is catchy and you can sing along. If the song is made for the dance floor, damned straight you can dance to it; if it's for the bedroom, well, you know what to do... Every monologue is just the right kind of cheesy, and you know, I think he means every word. The joke is that he is responsible for his own baby boom - definitely possible. If you're in love, Barry's got your back.

The main thing is that the quality is there. Barry White had a great run in the early 70s and the dude was busy. Aside from his own LPs, he was writing and producing for Love Unlimited and the Love Unlimited Orchestra. In 1974 he produced albums for Jay Dee and Gloria Scott, and both are good, worth a listen. Of his own albums, every one from '73-'79 are worth a listen. But this is the one, if a gun was forced to my head and I had to pick just one. It has two of Barry's monster hits You're My First, My Last, My Everything and Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe as well as a clutch of other great tracks. I Can't Believe You Love Me is 10 minutes and he makes each one count.

I love Barry White, and Barry White loves you.

Neil Young - On The Beach

I debated whether I should include this record. After all, Young's Harvest figured big in 1972 and I don't want to write about the same artists every year (Hello, David Bowie!). But this is such a different record to Harvest. To say that they are opposites would be to overstate matters, but they are separate beasts.

It's incredible to think that this album waited SO long for a CD release as well - it was finally issued in 2003 after falling out of print on vinyl in the early 80s. The story goes, as I understand it, that coming off the back of the mega-success of Harvest, his guitarist, Danny Whitten died of an overdose. This event plus Young's own erratic nature led to his producing three of the rawest albums of his career. The first, which is still not available on CD and that I haven't heard still, Time Fades Away was recorded live. Tonight's the Night was recorded next but released last (in 1975) and On the Beach was recorded last, but released in 1974. What binds these albums together is raw, unflinchingly honest personal song-writing, recorded sparsely with very light production. While I love Tonight's the Night, this is my favourite work by Young by far.

While the album kicks up with the chipper Walk On, it quickly turns dark. See The Sky About To Rain is a lovely, if melancholy, country rock tune but as the title suggests it points to something ominous. What that might be is given more detail in Revolution Blues, which is alleged to be a song from the point of view of Charles Manson. I don't know if that is true or not, but there are some dark lyrics here; especially about the movie stars in Lauren Canyon. The title track finds Young ruminating about fame and how much he needs people or wants them around. The album closes reflecting on the past and whether it offers any solace. The lyrics are dark and questioning but that wouldn't matter one jot if it wasn't such a awesome record musically. As I've noted it's light on production and pretty rough sounding, but it's so perfectly written. The songs are what they need to be, even when they stretch out to six or eight minutes - not one note outstays its welcome.


Millie Jackson - Caught Up

This is some powerful southern soul. It was recorded in Muscle Shoals and follows the Isaac Hayes model - hard-bitten soul with opulent sophisticated orchestration. It borrows another approach perfected by Hayes in having long spoken word stretches. It also functions as the perfect example of well-worn soul trope - the story of illicit love - and Caught Up tells the story of a woman in love with a married man. It amounts to a soul concept album,  telling the story over 10 tracks - with ongoing narration from Jackson.

All of this would be cute if it wasn't for two things; the music and Jackson's delivery. The music is tight and funky and grooves relentlessly. Every song is a knock-out. The arrangements solid and dynamic, propelling me forward through the narrative, tapping my toes and fingers. Jackson gives everything to these songs, while she'd had a few hits, she was determined that this album would be the smash she felt she deserved. She was right and it was. The spoken word interludes don't interfere with the tunes but tie them together as they should, and Jackson sounds utterly authentic throughout, using humour where appropriate. For a southern soul record, this is essential.


Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

I'd already become familiar with Richard Thompson via his work with Fairport Convention. So I already knew that spotting that a song was written by him was something to pay attention to. Fairport were perhaps best known for their arrangements of traditional folk material, but both Thompson and Sandy Denny were incredible songwriters. When these three classic albums of Richard and Linda Thompson were reissued in 2004, I was all over them. This, along with Pour Down Like Silver (1975), quickly embedded themselves as dear favourites in my collection.

It would be fair to say that Richard Thompson does not specialise in songs that focus on joy. In truth, one common feature of his songwriting is a sort of latent despair. It was there back in '68 with his legendary Meet on the Ledge. And here there are several songs that are close to, if not downright, heartbreaking. Perhaps the apotheosis of this is The End of the Rainbow - a song sung to an infant spelling out all of life's disappointments.

"Your mother works so hard to make you happy,
But take a look outside the nursery door
There's nothing at the end of the rainbow
There's nothing to grow up for anymore"

Of course, you might prefer Withered and Died or even the title track, which might seem lighthearted if it wasn't for the shadow of everyday life that lingers in the background.

I don't want to sell this album as a massive mope-fest, though, as it is breath-takingly beautiful. Thompson is commonly regarded as one of Britain's best ever guitar players. You'll see no pyrotechnics here, just a quiet defined style - slightly stark, but every note is correct. Consider The Calvary Cross, it's so gorgeous - it's so economical.


Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

The world of music has had its fair share of visionaries; people who seem to see beyond the confines of the present and bring back from the future artefacts of a world yet unseen. Off the top of my head, I'd include the Velvets, the Beatles (including George Martin), Prince, Lee Scratch Perry, Bowie, Kanye West, Adrian Sherwood... Anyway, of all of them, no-one seems as consistently of the future as Eno. From those early Roxy Music albums, through these 70s recordings, his ambient work, his collaborations with David Byrne, John Cale, Harmonium, and then his production work, most notably with U2 - throughout them all, he has brought perpetual invention. All of the above have continued to offer inspiration to generations that have followed in his wake.

1974 was an incredible year for Eno. He'd just been kicked out of Roxy Music and then he produces two amazing albums. A case could be made for my selecting his debut, Here Come The Warm Jets, as it sets up the template for the series of experiments that Eno would embark on for the next few years. However, while I highly recommend it, I find it a little more abrasive, and thus a little less enjoyable.

Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) is difficult to describe. Eno referred to himself as a non-musician, and in one sense that is true. He operates in textures and feelings rather than chord structures and key changes. But in another sense it is false, because of course all of those things are there. Perhaps because he is a non-musician, they are unexpected and refreshing. Nothing is cliched; nothing is predictable; and yet everything sounds right - to me anyway. Check out Third Uncle, perhaps the most familiar thanks to the Bauhaus cover version. It sounds like a collection of Bo Diddeleys competing with each other, who can dismantle the rhythm first... But the more it seems like it might fall apart, the more Eno piles on. More drums! A new guitar riff! Another bassline! It's demented, it's careering, and yet, it never shows signs of leaving the road. I'll swear that Wire had this album on repeat when they were recording 154, especially listening to The True Wheel. My favourite track is The Fat Lady of Limbourg. It's slow. It's the most sedate song of the album - pondering perhaps - but it's absurdist lyrics, it's construction of atmosphere is second to none.

I'd seriously recommend to anyone thinking about sounds, that they sit and deconstruct any track from this album. There's more invention in one bar here than there are in many whole albums.


Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic

I am the only person I know that loves Steely Dan and I find this very strange. They have a gargantuan reputation and a modest discography, so they don't seem so overwhelming to investigate. But no-one likes them bar me. Or so it seems. I do have half a suspicion that once I have written this, two or three people will pop up and say me too...

Anyway, I bought this on a whim in about 2002. I had heard nothing of them since my childhood and even then nothing had lodged itself in my memory. I can't remember why, I was just curious. My Mum's second husband had Pretzel Logic on vinyl in the late 70s and I liked the cover. And I had read that they were cool. And why not buy it.... If nothing else, I'll learn something!

So how to describe it? On the face of things, it's pretty unremarkable. It's soft rock with jazzy undertones, I guess. Everyone says that they are terribly sophisticated and I suppose they are. I don't understand musical theory sufficiently to try to explain it, but the songs are thoughtful and rarely obvious, even if they could hardly be described as surprising. I guess - can you tell I'm struggling a little? - it's just really satisfying to listen to. There are lots of interesting things afoot, despite being such that if you weren't paying attention, it could pass you by very easily. I'm a big fan of this. If being sophisticated means that you make lots of interesting choices without feeling the need to shout about them, then this is that kind of record.

But while I am told that lyrically it is cold, I find it warm to listen to. The melodies are immediate and immediately lured me in. When I bought it, it was almost instantly on the rotation and it has never left it. It has hooks galore and to me is a sing-along record (as long as I am on my own in the car or something). I now have all bar one of Steely Dan's records - I love them very much. Some are a little jazzier, some a little rockier, but not one has failed me. I love them - why don't you?


Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - Winter in America

I remember buying this album. It was from HMV in about '92 and knew next to nothing about it. It was a pretty big gamble - not least because it was £15. I was pretty broke back then so that was a good bit of change. I had no idea what I was buying. I didn't know Gil Scott-Heron, not really. The one thing I knew was his song 'The Bottle'. I'd come across that track a few times and naturally, I loved it. It was upbeat and cool, jazzy and knowing, and it was socially conscious. It had this fantastic beat, that seemed informed as much by Latin music as by jazz - not that I knew very much about either of these things. Quite rightly, it remains one of his most well known songs. But the other eight songs, who knows....

Remember - this was before the internet, so I couldn't sample a track to check it out. If you didn't know someone who had it, and I didn't, there wasn't too much you can do (especially not in HMV). (I later befriended the folk who worked in the separate classical department and they would, from time to time, play me things if they weren't too busy). Anyway, I took the plunge and it remains one of the very best decisions I ever made.

Gil Scott-Heron is one of the artists of the margins - difficult to fix down; sort of jazz, sort of not, sort of funk, sort of not, and so on. Since he was initially a poet, there was always a strong use of language and purpose in the lyrics. Musically he is joined with Brian Jackson on keyboards and together this forms one of the coolest, most relaxing albums I own. Even when they up the tempo, it's still time to kick back.

The music is calm and ruminative. Scott-Heron is at his most reflective here. The first two songs, Peace Go With You Brother and Rivers of my Fathers, consider community and tradition and togetherness and untogetherness. I am in no way an expert in the Black American experience, especially not of the early mid-70s, but I am under the impression that this was a time of uncertainty. This feeling seems to come out in these songs. Elsewhere, he looks back to his childhood and sings about parenthood. In many ways, The Bottle is the most typical song here - it feels like it is only sort of autobiographical. Aside from a brief reprise of the opener, the album closes with a long spoken word piece, H20 Gate Blues. Musically, it stands out but it also stands out lyrically, it's the only track that feel strident - as though he is sure about his position.

In all, this album opened my eyes, changed my word. It was one of the first real views on jazz that I had (despite being more jazzy than jazz) and introduced me to Gil Scott-Heron, of course. I think it was also one of the first pieces from the early 70s that I loved with all my heart. I'll be playing this record until I die and if there's an afterlife, it had better be playing there too!

Just missed out...

So close! Shuggie Otis's Inspiration Information. This was jostling for includion right up until the last minute. The Bee Gee's Mr. Natural was creeping close behind, as was Dadawah's Rastafarian meditation Peace and Love. Nina Simone's live It is Finished was a close runner as was Ann Peeble's I Can't Stand the Rain.

Some of these might show up next week in 1974 - The Others....

If you really want to see everything I listened to for this, click here. But why would you want to?