Anniversary Series - 1972!

A new year means a new batch of Anniversary articles!  Starting with 1972, we've got some pretty big albums reaching 50.  Rock was definitely expanding at this time, with progressive rock really starting to peak.  However, we also see some early evolutions of metal and hard rock as well.  Let's get into it.

Starting the year is actually a handful debut albums.  Blue Oyster Cult, Scorpions, and Styx would start their storied careers in the first quarter of 1972, with very little fanfare.  Scorpions and BOC were deep in the psychedelic rock style, and Styx was also very proggy, much like an American ELP, even featuring their own version of "Fanfare of the Common Man," which was used as part of a longer track.  However, all three had some of the hard rock crunch these bands would be known for later on.

That being said, the big album for the early part of the year was Deep Purple's Machine Head, which I reviewed nearly three years ago (where does the time go?).  Featuring their future hit "Smoke on the Water," the jam friendly "Space Truckin'," and proto-metal stomper "Highway Star," this album would celebrated years later as very influential for rockers around the world.

As the year goes on, we see many of the major prog rock releases.  Jethro Tull decided to pull a bit of a prank with their satirical concept album Thick as a Brick, which ended up becoming a celebrated masterpiece, despite (or, perhaps because of) the joke.  Pink Floyd would release Obscured by Clouds, a selection of songs the composed for a film that has pretty much since been forgotten if not for the Floyd connection.  I think it's a bit of an overlooked gem, with some neat little songs and spacy hammond organs.

However, the big prog releases came later, with ELP giving us Trilogy, Genesis dancing a Foxtrot, and Yes's titanic Close to the Edge.  Here, we see bands really pushing their song-writing limits, often writing epics that go over the 18 minute range.  I'm sure prog heads have their favorites, but for me, it's all about Close to the Edge and its masterful melodies and arrangements.  An incredible album from start to finish.

From here, the year gives us a few more highlights.  Eagles would also debut this year with their self-titled album providing several big hits with "Take It Easy," "Witchy Woman," and "Peaceful Easy Feeling."  In harder rock, Alice Cooper would let us know that "School's Out," and Black Sabbath would carry on with drug-addled Vol. 4.  Uriah Heep would release two albums this year, with Demons & Wizards and The Magician's Birthday, streamlining their own sound into a hard rocking outfit (and those Roger Dean covers are nice, too!).

Finally, the year would end with Deep Purple coming back with Made In Japan, a live album that wasn't even supposed to be released outside of it's titular country, but found itself in record players all over the world, with the band's improvisations extending their classic songs far beyond their original track lengths.  I enjoyed this one quite a bit myself when I reviewed it two years ago.

As you can see, this was quite the year for longer rock songs.  Fortunately, they're worth their runtime.  As always, I've got a playlist that has even more, and if you think I've missed something, let me know!  Until then, rock on! \m/