Anniversary Series - 1974!

Happy Leap Day!  It's kind of peculiar to think this year will be the last round of Anniversary Articles, as I will have done one for every year since 1970.  Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, as we have a solid year of rock music to discuss here.  1974 is a bit of a curious year, as we see the end of prog rock and the beginnings of arena rock.  Let's check out what was going on for 1974!

Right off, we get a handful of great hits, with "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers and Grand Funk Railroad's cover of "Loco-motion."  The Eagles give "The Best of My Love" and "Already Gone," while Rush's debut makes waves in Cleveland with "Working Man."  We also see the debut of Kiss, though still a few years off of their success, but their first record provides live staples like "Strutter" and "Deuce."

Things heat up as the year goes on, with Aerosmith's "Same Old Song and Dance," Bad Company's debut album with "Can't Get Enough," and Lynyrd Skynyrd giving us a Second Helping down in their "Sweet Home Alabama."  This is followed by Bachman-Turner Overdrive's Not Fragile, including hits like "Roll On Down the Highway" and "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet."

While progressive rock was looking a little long in the tooth by now, it was still a standout year with some big, experimental albums.  King Crimson started things off with Starless and Bible Black, along with Camel's Mirage.  Rick Wakeman took listeners on a Journey to the Center of the Earth, Emerson Lake & Palmer said Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends with an epic live album, Supertramp committed The Crime of the Century, Genesis ended their Gabriel era with The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, and Yes would get quite technical with Relayer.  King Crimson then came back with the much celebrated Red.  However, after this year, prog rock would really drop off, as tastes and trends were shifting away from extended songwriting and musical experimentation.

Still, the year ends strong with some solid rock.  Kiss comes back Hotter Than Hell, Sweet has the "Fox on the Run," Grand Funk Railraod returns with "Some Kind of Wonderful," and Queen teases their upcoming stadium rock prowess with "Stone Cold Crazy" and "Killer Queen" on Sheer Heart Attack.  It was certainly a busy year for some of these bands.  Even Deep Purple put out Burn and Stormbringer this year, before Ritchie Blackmore had had enough and left to start his Rainbow.

As you can see, this was another great year for rock music, even as styles and line-ups were changing.  Be sure to check out my playlist below for more classics, and if you think I've missed something, let me know in the comments below.  Until then, rock on!  \m/

Anniversary Series - 1973!

Sorry that it's been a bit slow around here, but things will pick up soon.  In the meantime, I have another Anniversary Article for you.  1973 is an interesting year, as prog rock was reaching its pretentious heights, hard rock was shifting into more arena-friendly sounds, and bands were exploring all kinds of lyrical topics and ideas.  Certainly an exciting year, featuring great work from artists new and old.

Right at the beginning of the year, we have Aerosmith's debut album, featuring the massive single "Dream On," soon followed by "No More Mr. Nice Guy" by Alice Cooper.  Led Zeppelin would carry on with Houses of the Holy, dipping into some pretty diverse sounds.  However, the first quarter was soon dominated by the massive Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd.  I doubt I need to explain why this was a big deal, especially since I already gushed about it in my retrospective article for the band.

The year carries on with a bunch more massive singles.  The Eagles sang about their "Desperado" and Chicago was "Feelin' Stronger Every Day."  Paul McCartney and the Wings were willing to "Live and Let Die," while Queen were telling us to "Keep Yourself Alive."  The hard rock continued on, with "We're An American Band" by Grand Funk Railroad, "La Grange" by ZZ Top, and Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album providing "Gimme Three Steps" and the iconic epic "Freebird."

At the end of the year, progressive rock picks up again, with releases from many big bands.  Genesis was checking out our wardrobes in Selling England by the Pound, Emerson Lake and Palmer were inviting us back to the show that never ends with Brain Salad Surgery, Jethro Tull performed A Passion Play, and Yes told us the Tales of Topographic Oceans.  However, at this point, prog rock was looking quite long in the tooth (in a number of ways), as the genre would struggle beyond this year.

I just want to point out a handful of others before I wrap up.  First of all is Styx's second and third albums.  While they didn't get much attention at the time, "Lady" would eventually become an AOR station staple in just a few years, and there are a handful of hidden gems like "Earl of Roseland," "Witch Wolf," and "Jonas Psalter."  Black Sabbath would salvage themselves with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, coming back with a bigger metallic sound.  And Mike Oldfield would suddenly find himself with more attention than he could have expected with Tubular Bells, a unique arrangement of instruments that would eventually become the soundtrack to horror films and space documentaries alike.

Well, I think that wraps up the year quite nicely.  It's definitely an eclectic year with all kinds of sounds and styles, but there's certainly plenty to recommend.  As always, check out the playlist below for more, and if I've missed anything, let me know in the comments.

Anniversary Series - 1975!

Hey, it's time for another one of these!  My goal is to do an anniversary article once a month for the rest of the year. That should provide some decent variety, especially as I get closer to the present!  This month, 1975!  To be honest, this year is very much a time of transition.  Prog was wearing out its welcome, arena rock was really picking up, and punk was still a few years off.  Still, a lot of great stuff came out this year, so let's get into it!

Early in the year, Rush introduces the world to Neil Peart with Fly by Night.  While they still retain much of their Zeppelin-like debut, the song-writing definitely went up a notch or two when they got their new drummer.  Of course, Zeppelin themselves would show their chops that same month with Physical Graffiti, a titanic double-album with epics like "Kashmir" and "Ten Years Gone."  

Also expanding the arena rock style is Alice Cooper and Kiss, with their style and flashy flair.  Alice introduced us all to his nightmares, while Kiss were Dressed to Kill, though their success wouldn't come around until they release Alive! later on this year.  Inspired by UK's glam rockers, these bands gave shows few attendees would forget, letting us rock 'n' roll all night!

As winter turns to spring, we get Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic.  With massive tracks like "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion," its no wonder they still get airplay on classic rock radio.  At the same time, fellow blues-rockers Bad Company released Straight Shooter, giving us "Feel Like Makin' Love" and "Shooting Star."  The Eagles followed with One of These Nights, a massive album featuring not only the title track, but "Lyin' Eyes" and "Take It To The Limit" as well!

Despite this trend of more streamlined rock, the prog-masters were still putting out material.  Rick Wakeman would continue his solo career by dabbling with King Arthur and his Knights, Camel released The Snow Goose, Hawkwind had Warrior on the Edge of Time, and Uriah Heep was making a Return to Fantasy.  Rush would be highly productive and release Caress of Steel, expanding their prog rock style with "Bastille Day" and the side-long epic "The Fountain of Lamneth."

Of course, the big prog rock record would be Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.  Featuring incredible and innovate moods and melodies, the band really came together and made a masterpiece (in my opinion, anyway).  Unfortunately, it would also be the last time they would be so well-balanced and in-sync with each other.

Heavy metal also saw a few excellent releases, with Black Sabbath releasing Sabotage, a rather underrated album with classics like "Hole in the Sky" and "Symptom of the Universe."  Meanwhile, Rickie Blackmore would finally break from Deep Purple and introduce the world to Ronnie James Dio with his Rainbow Debut.  "Man on the Silver Mountain" remains one of the most epic tracks ever recorded!

Wrapping things up, Fleetwood Mac would introduce the world to Stevie Nicks on their second self-titled album, providing singles in the second-half of '75 and deep into '76.  Styx finally gets their major record label debut with Equinox, full of great songs like "Lorelei," "Lonely Child," and "Suite Madame Blue."

And finally, a discussion of rock from 1975 would not be complete without Queen's A Night At The Opera, released at the end of November.  Between the poppy "You're My Best Friend," the epic "The Prophet's Song," and of course the headbang-worthy "Bohemian Rhapsody," it was a release few rockers could afford to miss.

Hard to beat a conclusion like that!  Hopefully, you're all enjoying this style of article.  I know I'm having fun digging through all this stuff, and I know I've missed some great tracks, so I've got another playlist below.  If I'm missing anything, let me know.  Until then, rock on! \m/