Well, after quite a bit of listening, I've finally pulled together my Top 5 for 1976. As always, I can't listen to everything and this is just my personal preferences, but this really interesting list to put together. When I did my Anniversary Article, I noted how good this year was, as bands were making the transition into more melodic rock styles for the sake of FM Radio.
I do have a few honorable mentions to bring up. While "Carry On Wayward Son" is an excellent song, the rest of Kansas's Leftoverture it just okay, and I feel the same about Rush's 2112. Starcastle's self-titled debut is a decent bit of Yes-styled prog, and even Triumph had an outside shot. However, I really do think these five albums are the best the year has to offer.
While the album can be a bit of a mixed bag, the title track is one of their classic hits, and "Put Me On" is a clever bit of meta-humor. As a massive Styx fan, it's hard to keep this band down, so even one of their weaker album still squeaks into this Top 5!
While they did have one album before this, I was a little unsure as to whether to include High Voltage for 1975 (Australian release) or 1976 (International release). Fortunately, their follow up simplifies things for me by being a much better album. Not only do the title track and "Problem Child" continue to get play on classic rock radio, but deeper cuts like "Rocker" and the slow burning "Ride On" easily put this at number 4.
While Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow started off well last year, he and Dio really knocked it out of the park with Rising. Kicking off with "Tarot Woman" and "Run with the Wolf," both strong songs, the album's real highlight is the eight minute epic "Stargazer," where the band's triumphant scope really shines.
I've always been a fan of this band, and while I admit this one is a little shaky compared to the rest of their discography, its theatrical tone helps set it apart from anything else in the year. From "Crazy" Arthur Brown's manic performance on "Tell Tale Heart" to the orchestral brooding in the suite "Fall of the House of Usher," this project really captures the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe into some high quality symphonic rock.
I am hard pressed to think of a debut album that soared higher than Boston's self-titled album. Half the songs on this album are still being played on classic rock radio and for good reason. Between the proggy pomp and hard rocking riffs, with extremely tight vocal harmonies, this is arena rock at its finest. It's such a shame that the band couldn't quite live up to this debut with their subsequent albums. Still, I doubt this is a controversial choice at number one, as I know it's been praised by nearly everyone who has taken the time to listen to it, and I know I have many times over.
No comments:
Post a Comment