https://exchange.prx.org/p/525956
Most of early 1970s FM rock stations had a free-form format, which meant the individual disc jockey had a lot of leeway when it came to sequencing the songs played. Sometimes that meant delving into musical genres that weren't strictly considered rock, but that appealed to the kind of listener that chose to tune in an FM rock station in the first place. This week, in addition to several decidedly rock artists such as Santana, Traffic and Led Zeppelin, we have an eighteen and a half minute long piece from a group made up of British folk and jazz musicians, the Pentangle. It's worth a listen.
Artist: Santana
Title: Everybody's Everything
Source: LP: Santana (III)
Writer(s): Santana/Moss/Brown
Label: Columbia
Year: 1971
Santana's third album, released in 1971, was called simply Santana. The problem is, their first album was also called Santana. The guitar solo on Everybody's Everything, by the way, is not by Carlos Santana. Rather it was performed by the then 17-year-old Neal Schon, who, along with keyboardist Greg Rolie would leave the band the following year to form Journey.
Artist: Uriah Heep
Title: Happy Birthday
Source: European import CD: The Magician's Birthday (bonus track)
Writer: Hensley/Box/Kerslake
Label: Sanctuary
Year: 1972
The title track of Uriah Heep's 1972 LP The Magician's Birthday was a ten-minute long hodgepodge of seemingly unrelated segments. The band also created, but did not release, an edited version of the piece that keeps the main verses and chorus without interruption, and actually flows much more smoothly than the released track. This edited version, retitled Happy Birthday, appeared as a bonus track on the European Expanded Deluxe Edition of The Magician's Birthday in 2003.
Artist: Grand Funk
Title: The Railroad
Source: CD: We're An American Band
Writer(s): Mark Farner
Label: Capitol/EMI
Year: 1973
After six albums working with producer Terry Knight, Grand Funk Railroad switched tracks in 1973, turning to Todd Rundgren, who had received critical acclaim for Something/Anything, a self-produced double LP solo effort from the previous year. The result was We're An American Band, which revitalized the band's career and spawned two hit singles, the title track and Walk Like A Man, both of which were sung by drummer Don Brewer. This was a major departure for the band, as guitarist Mark Farner had previously written and sung all of the band's singles. Farner still wrote and sang much of the material on the LP, however, including The Railroad (ironically the only use of the word "railroad" anywhere on the album, as the band had officially, albeit temporarily, shortened its name to Grand Funk prior to the album's release).
Artist: Frijid Pink
Title: Cryin' Shame
Source: British import CD: Frijid Pink (originally released as 45 RPM single B side)
Writer(s): Mike Valvano
Label: Repertoire (original label: Parrot)
Year: 1968
With the possible exception of the Pacific Northwest, no region of the US has produced grittier rock 'n' roll than the Detroit area of Michigan. From 1966 to 1970 the region was home to such bands as Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels, The Heard (later known as the Bob Seger System), the Amboy Dukes (featuring guitarist Ted Nugent) and (from nearby Flint) Terry Knight and the Pack, which would evolve into Grand Funk Railroad. One often overlooked group from the area (and the era) is Frijid Pink, whose loud version of House Of The Rising Sun was a huge hit in 1970. Originally formed in 1967 when two members of popular cover band the Detroit Vibrations, drummer Richard Stevers and bassist Tom Harris, were joined by lead singer Tom Beaudry (aka Kelly Green) and guitarist Gary Ray Thompson, Frijid Pink released their first single in late 1968. The stereo version of the B side of that single, Cryin' Shame, was included on the band's debut LP in 1970.
Artist: Eagles
Title: Outlaw Man
Source: LP: Heavy Metal (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer(s): David Blue
Label: Warner Special Products (original label: Asylum)
Year: 1973
Although all the members of the Eagles are known for the songwriting abilities, some of the earliest singles were actually cover songs, including Peaceful Easy Feeling (by Jack Tempchin) and Outlaw Man (by David Blue). Blue was a recent addition to the Asylum roster, making him labelmates with the Eagles, and Outlaw Man was an obvious choice for inclusion on an album meant to have a modernized wild west theme. The song itself is a first person account of the life of an outlaw, with ambiguous enough lyrics to make it applicable to current times as well as the obvious 19th century.
Artist: Traffic
Title: Every Mother's Son
Source: LP: John Barleycorn Must Die
Writer(s): Winwood/Capaldi
Label: Island (original label: United Artists)
Year: 1970
Following the breakup of Blind Faith, Steve Winwood returned to the studio to work on his first solo LP, to be titled Mad Shadows. Winwood completed two tracks before deciding to invite Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi to reform his old band, Traffic. The group recorded four more tracks for the LP, which was retitled John Barleycorn Must Die and released in 1970 as the fourth Traffic album. Winwood's already completed recording of Every Mother's Son was included as the final track on the LP.
Artist: Derek And The Dominos
Title: Thorn Tree In The Garden
Source: CD: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Writer(s): Bobby Whitlock
Label: Polydor (original label: Atco)
Year: 1970
Nearly half the songs on the landmark Derek And The Dominos album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs are collaborations between guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton and multi-instrumentalist Bobby Whitlock, written over a two-week period following the breakup of Delaney & Bonnie & Friends in 1970. Additionally, Whitlock wrote and played acoustic guitar on the album's final track, Thorn Tree In The Garden. In a technique reminiscent of early 50s orchestral recordings, Thorn Tree in the Garden was recorded with Whitlock, Clapton, Duane Allman, Carl Radle and Jim Gordon sitting in a circle around a single microphone.
Artist: Pentangle
Title: Jack Orion
Source: European import CD: Cruel Sister
Writer(s): Trad., arr. Pentangle
Label: Castle (original label: Reprise)
Year: 1970
The showpiece of the 1970 Pentangle album Cruel Sister was this 18 1/2 minute version of the old English folk song Jack Orion. Done in a theme and variations type of format favored by classical composers and incorporating elements of jazz and rock, as well as folk music, Jack Orion was first recorded by Pentangle member Bert Jansch on his solo album of the same name in 1966.
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Title: Gallows Pole
Source: CD: Led Zeppelin III
Writer(s): Traditional, arr. Page/Plant
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1970
Following a year of intensive touring to promote their first two albums, Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant and Jimmy Page decided to take some time off, cloistering themselves in a small Welsh cottage known as Bron-Yr-Aur for several weeks. The place had no electricity, and the pair used the time to write and/or adapt acoustic material for the band to record for their third LP. One of the best of these "new" songs was Gallows Pole, which Page adapted from a 1962 recording by Fred Gerlach, although the song's roots go back several centuries.
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