Anniversary Series - 1979!

Wow, this has been a rough month!  I wanted to get some articles out before now, but I guess life had other plans.  Still, I am determined to do these Anniversary Articles, as they provide a fun summary to write up.  As it turns out, 1979 is a pretty solid year.  Melodic rock was really starting to take off, and we have the early signs of NWOBHM movement.  Let's get into it!

The year starts off strong with a lot of big names.  Scorpions was "Loving You Sunday Morning," Journey gave us some "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'," Van Halen wanted to "Dance the Night Away," and Supertramp was having Breakfast in America.  That album was a big one for them, as the title track, "The Logical Song," "Goodbye Stranger," and "Take the Long Way Home" would be big hits for them.

Heavy metal gets some interesting releases this year, featuring the debut albums of both Accept and Saxon, as well as Motorhead's iconic double-bass kicking on Overkill.  Judas Priest released a classic live album with Unleashed in the East, Iron Maiden was working on their Soundhouse Tapes, and Motorhead would return later in the year with Bomber.  While I do think the next year would be where metal really takes off, this year was certainly a sign of things to come.

Meanwhile, the summer really heated up with a lot of massive hits.  The Electric Light Orchestra released "Don't Bring Me Down," Foreigner sang about "Head Games," Rainbow switched out Dio for Graham Bonnet to get Down to Earth, the Eagles went for The Long Run, and AC/DC drove down the Highway to Hell, which is easily the best album they did with Bon Scott.

As the year winded down, some of the high points included Styx's ballad "Babe," Molly Hatchet's "Flirtin' with Disaster," ZZ Top's "Cheap Sunglasses," and .38 Special's "Rockin' Into the Night."  However, the big album that would cap the year off is Pink Floyd's The Wall.  Powered by iconic hits like "Another Brick in the Wall Part Two," "Run Like Hell," and "Comfortably Numb," this psychological rock opera would put Pink Floyd back on top of the world, despite the band falling apart inside.  

That wraps up another year.  Check out the playlist below for more tracks, and let me know in the comments below if you think I've missed something.  I'll certainly do better next month for articles, as I've slowly been pulling some things together.  Until then, rock on!  \m/

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/