https://exchange.prx.org/p/502958
This week (after an opening piece from Procol Harum) we work our way backwards through the years 1976 to 1969 before turning around and heading forward again, at least until we run out of time, ending up with a total of 14 tracks played, including two from the last Genesis album to feature vocalist Peter Gabriel.
Artist: Procol Harum
Title: Bringing Home The Bacon
Source: Stereo 45 RPM promo single
Writer: Brooker/Reid
Label: Chrysalis
Year: 1973
After the departure of original lead guitarist Robin Trower, the remaining members of Procol Harum continued to record quality albums such as Grand Hotel, although their airplay was limited to sporadic plays on progressive FM stations. One song that probably should have gotten more attention than it did was Bringing Home The Bacon, from the aforementioned Grand Hotel album. The group would experience a brief return to top 40 radio the following year with the release of their live version of Conquistador, a track that originally appeared on the band's 1967 debut LP.
Artist: Queen
Title: Tie Your Mother Down
Source: CDP: A Day At The Races
Writer(s): Brian May
Label: Hollywood (original label: Elektra)
Year: 1976
Following the commercial success of their fourth studio album, A Night At The Opera, with its hit single Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen got to work on a followup LP. Following the pattern set by the Marx Brothers, they decided to call the new album A Day At The Races. The LP, released in 1976, starts with a Brian May rocker calledTie Your Mother Down that became the album's second single. The song actually dates back to May's college days, when he was working on his Astronomy PhD. Vocalist Freddie Mercury said of the song: "Well this one in fact is a track written by Brian actually, I dunno why. Maybe he was in one of his vicious moods. I think he’s trying to out do me after Death On Two Legs actually." Death On Two Legs, of course, was Mercury's scathing indictment of Queen's former manager that had appeared on A Night At The Opera. Tie Your Mother Down was part of Queen's stage repertoire for several years, and got considerable airplay on FM rock radio in the US in the late 1970s. On the album the track is preceded by a slowly fading-in guitar intro that uses something called a Shepard tone. The same solo guitar piece appears at the end of the album as well, only this time fading out.
Artist: Tommy Bolin
Title: Homeward Strut
Source: Japanese import CD: Teaser
Writer(s): Bolin/Cook/Sheldon/Tesar
Label: Sony (original US label: Nemperor)
Year: 1975
Although Tommy Bolin, as a new member of Deep Purple in 1975, did not have the opportunity to properly promote his new album, Teaser, the album itself contains many fine tracks such as the instrumental Homeward Strut. Unfortunately, my copy of Teaser is a Japanese import, with liner notes entirely in Japanese, which of course I don't read or speak. So, even though I'm sure there's some interesting stuff in there, I can't share it with you.
Artist: Genesis
Title: Lilywhite Lilith/The Waiting Room
Source: CD: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Writer(s): Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford
Label: Rhino/Atlantic (original label: Atco)
Year: 1974
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is considered by many to be the pinnacle of artistic achievement for the band known as Genesis. It was the group's only double-LP studio album (their sixth studio effort overall) and, more importantly, it was Peter Gabriel's final album as a member of Genesis, the group he helped found. The double LP was based on a story by Gabriel that tells of the Spirit Journey of a young Puerto Rican man from New York City who encounters a series of almost unfathomable situations and people. One of the people is a middle-aged blind woman called Lilywhite Lily who leads him from a waiting room with 32 doors, only one of which is a way out. While the song Lilywhite Lily advances the storyline, The Waiting Room is a more avant-garde instrumental piece that, according to drummer Phil Collins, was a jam developed by the band while it was raining outside. When the band stopped, a rainbow had formed. Collins went on to say it started with guitarist Steve Hackett playing "these dark chords, then Peter blows into his oboe reeds, then there was a loud clap of thunder and we really thought we were entering another world or something. It was moments like that when we were still very much a unified five-piece."
Artist: Beach Boys
Title: Sail On, Sailor
Source: CD: Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys (originally released on LP: Holland)
Writer(s): Wilson/Kennedy/Almer/Rieley/Parks
Label: Capitol (original label: Brother/Reprise)
Year: 1973
By late 1972 the Beach Boys had all but abandoned their surf roots, with their name itself being the main link with the past. At the same time they were starting to regain favor with the rock press, which had been highly critical of the band's early 1970s material. For their 19th studio album they packed up an entire California recording studio and reconstructed it in the village of Baambrugge in the Netherlands. The album was submitted to Reprise Records in October of 1972, but was rejected by the label for lacking a potential hit single. Lyricist Van Dyke Parks, who had been working with Brian Wilson since the aborted Smile project of 1966-67, hastily conferred with executives at Warner Brothers Records (owners of Reprise), and came up with a plan. He and Wilson had recently completed a demo of a song called Sail On, Sailor, which he then played for the label. The shirts liked the tune, and convinced the band to record the song in the studio as a replacement for what the label saw as the weakest track on the original version of Holland, a song called We Got Love. By the time the track was completed, several other people, including the band's manager, had claimed co-writing credits on the song, and Sail On, Sailor was added to Holland. The album was released and Sail On, Sailor became the most successful Beach Boys single of the decade. Surprisingly, the song did even better on progressive rock radio, becoming a staple of the format.
Artist: Uriah Heep
Title: Crystal Ball
Source: British import CD: The Magician's Birthday (bonus track)
Writer(s): Gary Thain
Label: Sanctuary
Year: Recorded 1972, released 2003
One of the least talked about members of the infamous "27 club" is bassist Gary Thain, a New Zealand native who joined Uriah Heep midway through sessions for their 1972 album Demons And Wizards. His first songwriting credits with the band appeared on Uriah Heep's next LP, The Magician's Birthday, as co-writer of the album's two singles, Sweet Lorraine and Spider Woman. His only solo composition for the album, Crystal Ball, was never completed, although several different versions have since surfaced, including this bonus track from the 2003 British reissue of The Magician's Birthday. During the band's 1974 US tour, Thain suffered a serious electric shock, that, combined with his drug addiction, affected his ability to play. He was dismissed from the band in early 1975 and died of respiratory failure due to a heroin overdose at the age of 27 later that year.
Artist: Black Sabbath
Title: Sweet Leaf
Source: CD: Master Of Reality
Writer(s): Iommi/Osbourne/Butler/Ward
Label: Warner Brothers
Year: 1971
Composed pretty much entirely in the recording studio, Sweet Leaf is Black Sabbath's unapologetic ode to marijuana. The title was inspired by writing on the inside lid of a pack of Irish cigarettes that contained the words "it's the sweetest leaf that gives you the taste". The coughing at the beginning of the track was provided by Tony Iommi, who was caught by surprise at the potency of a joint handed to him by Ozzy Osbourne. And yes, the entire band was stoned when they recorded Sweet Leaf.
Artist: Firesign Theatre
Title: Back From The Shadows Again
Source: LP: I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus
Writer(s): Proctor/Bergman/Austin/Ossman
Label: Columbia
Year: 1971
I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus is the fourth Firesign Theatre album, released in 1971. Like it's predecessor, Don't Touch That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers, Bozos is one continuous narrative covering both sides of an LP. It tells the story of a visit to a Future Fair that somewhat resembles Disney's Tomorrowland, with various interractive educational exhibits such as the Wall Of Science. The piece was actually made up of shorter bits that the Firesign Theatre had used previously on their weekly radio show, but reworked and re-recorded for the new album. One of these was Back From The Shadows Again, sung to the tune of Gene Autry's signature song Back In The Saddle Again.
Artist: Fairport Convention
Title: Autopsy
Source: CD: Unhalfbricking
Writer(s): Sandy Denny
Label: Island (original US label: A&M)
Year: 1969
Although it was only her second album as a member of Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny had already become a main focus of the band by July of 1969, when Unhalfbricking was released. Denny would leave the band after their next album to form Fotheringay. Autopsy serves as a preview of the kind of songs that Denny would write for that band.
Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
Title: Lodi
Source: LP: Green River
Writer(s): John Fogerty
Label: Fantasy
Year: 1969
By 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival had gone from being a minor attraction appearing at county fairs to being one of the most popular bands in the US. One indicator of the band's popularity is the fact that a song like Lodi, originally relegated to the B side of a 45 RPM single, is still instantly recognizable to a sizable number of people nearly 50 years after its initial release. The song's lyrics, describing a down on his luck musician stuck in a small town without the means of moving on, strikes a chord with anyone who has ever played in a bar band, making Lodi a truly timeless classic.
Artist: Bloodrock
Title: Castle Of Thoughts
Source: CD: Bloodrock
Writer(s): Rutledge/Pickens
Label: One Way/Cema Special Markets (original label: Capitol)
Year: 1970
Formed in Fort Worth, Texas in 1963 as the Naturals, Bloodrock went through several personnel and at least one name change (to Crowd+1) before being discovered by Grand Funk Railroad producer Terry Knight in 1969. Knight (who came up with the name Bloodrock) signed the band to Capitol Records, releasing their first self-titled LP in 1970. Although seldom singled out by reviewers, Castle Of Thoughts, the second track on that album, found its way onto the B side of two different singles in 1972, including a reissue of Bloodrock's best-known song, D.O.A.
Artist: Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina
Title: Danny's Song
Source: 45 RPM promo single
Writer(s): Kenny Loggins
Label: Columbia
Year: 1971 (single edit released 1972)
In 1972 Columbia confused everyone in the radio business by releasing two promo singles by Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina. One was a Jim Messina song called Nobody But You, which was clearly marked as the single's A side, with a Kenny Loggins tune called Danny's Song as the B side. The other had Danny's Song on both sides. The result of this oddity was that Nobody But You rose no higher than #86 on the Billboard Hot 100, while Danny's Song didn't chart at all. Ironically, Danny's Song eventually became one of Loggins's most popular songs, thanks in part to Anne Murray's cover version of the song going into the top 10.
Artist: Wishbone Ash
Title: Blowin' Free
Source: CD: Argus
Writer(s): Upton/Turner/Turner/Powell
Label: MCA/Decca
Year: 1972
Known to the band's fans as the "Ash Anthem", Blowin' Free is probably the single most popular song Wishbone Ash ever recorded. The song, with lyrics written by bassist Martin Turner before Wishbone Ash even formed, is about Turner's Swedish ex-girlfriend.
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