https://exchange.prx.org/p/611103
This week we do a trip back in time, starting in 1975 and working our way back to 1967. Then, because we can, we add a bonus instrumental from the Allman Brothers Band.
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Title: Born To Run
Source: 45 RPM single
Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen
Label: Columbia
Year: 1975
Bruce Springsteen's first two albums were immediate favorites with members of the rock press, but, outside of college campuses, Springsteen remained largely unknown until 1975, when Born To Run was released as a single. The song, an anthem to the restlessness of youth, became a worldwide hit and made Springsteen a superstar.
Artist: Mahogany Rush
Title: Strange Universe
Source: Canadian import CD: Strange Universe
Writer(s): Frank Marino
Label: Just A Minute (original label: 20th Century)
Year: 1975
Although there are countless guitarists that have been influenced by Jimi Hendrix in various ways, only one has been able to capture his entire sound from a production as well as performance standpoint. That one is Frank Marino, whose band, Mahogany Rush, has been recording since 1972. A listen to the title track of the 1975 album Strange Universe pretty much proves my point.
Artist: Robin Trower
Title: Lady Love
Source: LP: Bridge Of Sighs
Writer(s): Trower/Dewar
Label: Chrysalis
Year: 1974
It says a lot about the quality of an album like Robin Trower's Bridge Of Sighs that even one of the weaker tracks like Lady Love, is worth listening to. Like many hot guitarists, Trower did not do his own singing on the album. Vocals were provided by bassist James Dewar, who also co-wrote Lady Love.
Artist: Grand Funk
Title: The Railroad
Source: LP: We're An American Band
Writer(s): Mark Farner
Label: Capitol
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: Rod Stewart
Title: You Wear It Well
Source: 45 RPM single (promo) (from LP: Never A Dull Moment)
Writer(s): Stewart/Wood
Label: Mercury
Year: 1972
Rod Stewart and Ron Wood started performing together in 1967, when they were both members of the Jeff Beck Group. When that group disbanded, the two of them joined up with the remnants of the Small Faces to form Faces. Even as Faces was growing in popularity, Stewart was pursuing a parallel solo career. This has led to some confusion over which songs were Faces tunes and which ones were Stewart's. Complicating things further is the fact than most of the members of Faces (including Wood) played on many of Stewart's records, including the hit single You Wear It Well, which appeared on Stewart's 1972 LP Never A Dull Moment. Things got considerably less confusing in 1975, however, when Wood accepted an invitation to replace Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones, a position he has held ever since.
Artist: Jethro Tull
Title: My God
Source: CD: Aqualung
Writer: Ian Anderson
Label: Chrysalis
Year: 1971
The fortunes of Jethro Tull improved drastically with the release of the Aqualung album in 1971. The group had done well in their native UK but were still considered a second-tier band in the US. Aqualung, however, propelled the group to star status, with several tracks getting heavy airplay on FM rock radio. Although Ian Anderson has always maintained that Aqualung was a concept album, that doesn't account for the fact that the two sides of the album were subtitled Aqualung and My God. Maybe that means Aqualung was actually two HALF concept albums, I don't know. Speaking of My God, in addition to being the obvious theme of the entire second side of the LP, it was also the title of the first (and longest) track on that side, and lyrically lays down all the basic ideas presented on the second half of the Aqualung album.
Artist: Black Sabbath
Title: Electric Funeral
Source: CD: Paranoid
Writer(s): Iommi/Osborne/Butler/Ward
Label: Warner Brothers
Year: 1970
When Black Sabbath first appeared on vinyl they were perceived as the next step in the evolution of rock, building on the acid rock of the late sixties and laying the groundwork for what would become heavy metal. Electric Funeral, from the band's second album, Paranoid, shows that evolution in progress.
Artist: Guess Who
Title: Proper Stranger
Source: CD: American Woman
Writer(s): Bachman/Cummings
Label: Buddha/BMG (original label: RCA Victor)
Year: 1969
If any one song typifies the sound of the Guess Who around 1970, it's Proper Stranger, from the American Woman album. The song was also chosen as the B side of No Time, the single released before the album itself.
Artist: Al Kooper/Michael Bloomfield/Harvey Brooks/Eddie Hoh
Title: Fat Grey Cloud
Source: CD: Super Session (bonus track)
Writer(s): Bloomfield/Kooper
Label: Columbia/Legacy
Year: 1968
The same lineup that had recorded side one of the historic and influential Super Session album in 1968 made an appearance at the Fillmore, recording live versions of several songs from the album, as well as tracks such as Fat Grey Cloud, essentially a jam session in front of an audience. The recording remained unreleased until the recent remastering of Super Session, when it was included as a bonus track.
Artist: Cream
Title: Outside Woman Blues
Source: LP: Disraeli Gears
Writer(s): Arthur Reynolds
Label: RSO (original label: Atco)
Year: 1967
Although Cream's second album, Disraeli Gears, is best known for its psychedelic cover art and original songs such as Strange Brew, Sunshine Of Your Love and Tales of Brave Ulysses, the LP did have one notable blues cover on it. Outside Woman Blues was originally recorded by Blind Joe Reynolds in 1929 and has since been covered by a variety of artists including Van Halen, Johnny Winters, Jimi Hendrix and even the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
Artist: Allman Brothers Band
Title: In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed
Source: CD: Beginnings (originally released on LP: Idlewild South)
Writer: Dicky Betts
Label: Polydor (original label: Capricorn)
Year: 1970
The second Allman Brothers Band LP, Idlewild South, was notable for the emergence of guitarist Dicky Betts as the band's second songwriter (joining Gregg Allman, who wrote all of the band's original material on their debut album). One of Betts's most enduring compositions is the instrumental In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed, which soon became a concert staple for the group, and is one of two tracks on their Live At The Fillmore East album to get extensive airplay (the other being Whipping Post).
No comments:
Post a Comment