https://exchange.prx.org/p/544509
One of the emerging musical genres of the early 1970s was something called "progressive rock" or sometimes "art-rock". It was created by combining the intricacies of classical music with the raw energy of rock 'n' roll. As a general rule playing prog-rock, as it came to be known, was far beyond the abilities of the average garage band rocker, and many of the most successful prog-rock players had years of formal music training. It also took a trained ear to fully appreciate what was going on in a progressive rock piece, which in part was responsible for the reactionary rise of the relatively mindless genres of the late 1970s and beyond such as disco and punk rock. Progressive rock works tended to be much longer that the average pop song as well, which is why the three featured on this week's show take up well over half of the total hour. Add to that a rather lengthy comedy bit and there is only time left for three standard length tunes to frame the entire show.
Artist: Eagles
Title: Certain Kind Of Fool
Source: LP: Desperado
Writer(s): Meisner/Henley/Frey
Label: Asylum
Year: 1973
The original Eagles lineup of Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals), and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals) only recorded two albums before adding guitarist Don Felder to the band. The second of those was Desperado. Released in 1973, Desperado was a concept album drawing parallels between Wild West gunfighters and 70s rock musicians. The idea came out of a jam session featuring Frey, Henley, Jackson Browne and JD Souther that resulted in the creation of Doolin-Dalton, a piece that keeps popping up in parts throughout the album. The original concept is clearly presented on Certain Kind Of Fool, the opening track on the LP's second side. The song, detailing a young misfit's path to becoming a rock star, is presented in such a way that it can also be interpreted as the story of a young gunslinger out to make his mark. On the LP itself, Certain Kind Of Fool overlaps the beginning of Doolin-Dalton, but was also released as a standalone track on the B side of Outlaw Man, the second single from the Desperado album.
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Title: Sentimental Lady
Source: CD: Bare Trees
Writer(s): Bob Welch
Label: Reprise
Year: 1972
One of the great rock love songs of the 1970s, Bob Welch's Sentimental Lady spent several weeks in the top 20 in late 1977. Welch's solo version of the song, from his French Kiss album, was not the original recorded version of the song, however. That title goes to the 1972 Fleetwood Mac version of the song from the Bare Trees album, featuring Welch on lead vocals backed by Christine McVie. Unlike the Welch version, Fleetwood Mac's Sentimental Lady has a second verse and runs about four and a half minutes in length (Welch's solo version is about three minutes long).
Artist: Genesis
Title: The Cinema Show/Aisle Of Plenty
Source: CD: Selling England By The Pound
Writer(s): Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford
Label: Rhino/Atlantic (original label: Charisma)
Year: 1973
As early as 1973 there were concerns in the UK about the Americanization of British culture, and Genesis took inspiration from a recent Labour Party slogan, Selling England By The Pound, for their next album title. The album itself is considered one of the group's best, thanks to songs like The Cinema Show (about Juliet and Romeo each preparing for their movie date) and Aisle Of Plenty, which takes place in an American-style supermarket. Selling England By The Pound was the fifth Genesis album, and the second to feature the group's "classic" lineup of Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford.
Artist: Pink Floyd
Title: Careful With That Axe, Eugene
Source: CD: Ummagumma
Writer(s): Waters/Wright/Mason/Gilmour
Label: EMI/Capitol (original label: Harvest)
Year: 1969
Pink Floyd's first double LP, Ummagumma, consisted of a live album with four tracks and a studio LP showcasing each individual member of the group. In later years the album would find itself disparaged by band members and critics alike, although one critic did point out that the live version of Careful With That Axe, Eugene, was actually a pretty decent rendition of one the band's most popular early tunes.
Artist: Cheech & Chong
Title: The Continuing Adventures Of Pedro de Paca and Man
Source: LP: Big Bambu
Writer(s): Marin/Chong
Label: Ode
Year: 1972
All the Cheech & Chong albums from the 1970s included skits featuring Pedro de Paca (Cheech Marin) and Man (Thomas Chong) whose full name would eventually be revealed to be Anthony Stoner. The longest of these vignettes was The Continuing Adventures Of Pedro de Paca and Man, which appeared on the duo's second LP, Big Bambu, released in 1972. In the piece, the two of them meet a variety of street people while trying to start Pedro's car, which has run out of gas (although Pedro insists that the problem is a dead battery). Pedro and Man would be the featured characters in the movie Up In Smoke later in the decade
Artist: Alan Parsons Project
Title: The Fall Of The House Of Usher
Source: LP: Tales Of Mystery And Imagination
Writer(s): Debussy/Woolfson/Parsons/Powell
Label: 20th Century
Year: 1976
By 1976 progressive rock had become every bit as complex as modern classical music, as can be heard on The Fall Of The House Of Usher on the album Tales Of Mystery And Imagination by the Alan Parsons Project. The entire instrumental piece runs 15 minutes and is divided into five sections: Prelude, Arrival, Intermezzo, Payanne and Fall. Although not credited at the time, the longest section, Prelude, is actually the opening section of an unfinished opera written between 1908 and 1917 by classical composer Claude Debussy entitled "La chute de la maison Usher" and reworked by band member and composer Andrew Powell.
Artist: Paul And Linda McCartney
Title: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
Source: CD: Wings Greatest (originally released on LP: Ram)
Writer(s): Paul And Linda McCartney
Label: Capitol (original label: Apple)
Year: 1971
Paul McCartney pretty much established who would ultimately be the most commercially successful ex-Beatle with Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, his first #1 single as a solo artist. The song appeared on the album Ram, and was credited officially to Paul And Linda McCartney. Indeed, Linda's vocals are heard quite prominently on the "Hands across the water" segment of the song and elsewhere. The track is not without its share of controversy, however, as it has been criticized for being cute, self-indulgent and annoying by some critics.
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