https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/478980-dc-2325
This week we start off with a set of hits bookended by album tracks, then settle down for a couple of long prog-rock pieces, with a bonus track provided by Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Artist: Doors
Title: Strange Days
Source: CD: The Best Of The Doors (originally released on LP: Strange Days)
Writer(s): The Doors
Label: Elektra
Year: 1967
One of the first rock albums to not picture the band members on the front cover was the Doors' second LP, Strange Days. Instead, the cover featured several circus performers doing various tricks on a city street, with the band's logo appearing on a poster on the wall of a building. The album itself contains some of the Doors' most memorable tracks, including the title song, which also appears on their greatest hits album (which has Jim Morrison's picture on the cover) despite never being released as a single.
Artist: Guess Who
Title: No Time
Source: CD: American Woman
Writer(s): Bachman/Cummings
Label: Buddha/BMG (original label: RCA Victor)
Year: 1970
The Guess Who hit their creative and commercial peak with their 1970 album American Woman. The first of three hit singles from the album was No Time, which was already climbing the charts when the LP was released. After American Woman the band's two main songwriters, guitarist Randy Bachman and vocalist Burton Cummings, would move in increasingly divergent directions, with Bachman eventually leaving the band to form the hard-rocking Bachman-Turner Overdrive, while Cummings continued to helm an increasingly light pop flavored Guess Who.
Artist: Eric Clapton
Title: Let It Rain
Source: 45 RPM single (originally released on LP: Eric Clapton)
Writer(s): Bramlett/Clapton
Label: Polydor (original label: Atco)
Year: 1970
Following the breakup of Blind Faith in 1969, Eric Clapton attempted to lower his profile by touring as a member of Delaney And Bonnie (Bramlett) And Friends. Still, he was Eric Clapton, and there was no way his fans or his record company were going to treat him like an anonymous sideman. As a result, the live album released by Delaney And Bonnie And Friends in early 1970 was titled On Tour With Eric Clapton. Nonetheless, the influence the Bramletts had on Clapton was evident on his self-titled solo LP, released later the same year. Many of the same musicians participated in the making of the album and in fact would continue to work with Clapton in his next band, Derek And The Dominos. More than half of the songs on the album were co-written by one or both of the Bramletts, including Let It Rain, which originally was called She Rides and had entirely different lyrics by Bonnie Bramlett. Let It Rain, released in 1972 as a five-minute long single, features a guest appearance on guitar by Stephen Stills, as well as an extended solo by Clapton himself.
Artist: Blue Suede
Title: Hooked On A Feeling
Source: Stereo 45 RPM single
Writer(s): Mark James
Label: EMI
Year: 1973
By 1974, the novelty record was almost dead. Then again, the Blue Suede version of the 1969 B.J. Thomas hit, Hooked On A Feeling, is almost a novelty record. The single, release in May of 1973 in the band's native Sweden, went all the way to the top of the charts when it was released in the US in early 1974. Not bad for a band that recorded nothing but cover songs (even the famous "ooka-chaka" intro was swiped from a 1971 Jonathan King version of the song). If you are one of the many who hoped never to hear this song again, you can blame Quentin Tarantino, who revived interest in the song when he included it in the soundtrack of his film Reservoir Dogs.
Artist: Deep Purple
Title: Our Lady
Source: LP: Who Do We Think We Are
Writer(s): Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice
Label: Warner Brothers
Year: 1973
Deep Purple was the top selling artist of 1973, thanks in large part to the release of their seventh studio album, Who Do We Think We Are. It was also the final year for the band's classic Mk2 lineup, with both vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover leaving the band that summer. According to Gillan, the band had just finished 18 months of touring and every member had had some sort of major illness over that same period, yet their managers insisted that they immediately get to work on the new album, even though the band members desperately needed a break. Nonetheless the album itself is one of their strongest, in spite of the fact that, for the most part the band members weren't even on speaking terms and much of the album was recorded piecemeal, with each member adding his part at a different time. The final track on the album, Our Lady, was a return to the band's psychedelic roots, with a strong Hendrix vibe throughout the piece.
Artist: Carpe Diem
Title: Coleurs
Source: French import LP: Cueille Le Jour
Writer(s): Bertho/David/Trucchi/Abbenanti/Faraut/Yew/Berge
Label: Crypto
Year: 1977
The mid-1970s saw the rise of several bands that combined elements of rock, jazz and classical music with the latest electronic technology to create something entirely new. In Germany it came to be called Kraut-rock, while in other countries it went by names like art-rock, prog-rock or space-rock. The French Riviera was home to Carpe Diem (originally called Deis Corpus), who released two LPs. The second of these, Cueille Le Jour, was released in 1977, and features a mix of vocal and instrumental tracks. In fact, the entire second side of the album is a continuous piece called Coleurs that, although mostly instrumental, does contain some vocal passages. Despite going largely unnoticed when originally released in 1977, Cueille Le Jour has since come to be regarded as one of the lost classics of progressive rock.
Artist: Yes
Title: Perpetual Change
Source: The Yes Album
Writer(s): Anderson/Squire
Label: Elektra/Rhino (original label: Atlantic)
Year: 1971
Although Yes had already recorded two albums by 1971, The Yes Album marks the beginning of the band's most successful period. Probably the biggest reason for this newfound success was the addition of Steve Howe on guitar to a lineup that already included vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire and drummer Bill Bruford, as well as keyboardist Tony Kaye (who would soon be replaced by Rick Wakeman). Another factor in the album's success was the fact that all the tracks were written by members of the band, including Perpetual Change, which closes out side two of the LP.
Artist: Blood, Sweat & Tears
Title: God Bless The Child
Source: CD: Blood, Sweat & Tears
Writer(s): Holiday/Herzog
Label: Columbia/Legacy
Year: 1968
Although it was never released as a single, Blood, Sweat And Tears' version of the Billy Holiday classic God Bless The Child has become one of their most popular recordings over time, even to the point of being included on the group's Greatest Hits collection. The track was also chosen as the band's contribution to Columbia's Heavy Sounds collection that was released around 1969.
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