A Lifetime-Plus of Music

    I have learned through all of this, the true connectivity of the “Unholy Trinity” of punk/alternative music of the early 1970s, between David Bowie and his two proteges, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop.  Today’s album is “Raw Power” by The Stooges, which is the first album to surface from loudersound.com’s Top 10 Greatest Punk Rock albums of all time.  There is no doubt, this album, which was ultimately mixed and guided by Bowie, is a landmark in punk rock evolution.  The distorted guitars, the aggressive lyrics, the intense vocals, it all just builds on everything we have heard previously from Iggy Pop and the Stooges.

     With new guitarist James Williamson in tow, Iggy had a new writing partner, and not surprisingly, they created and recorded this whirlwind of distortion in a very short period of time.  I was amused to read that the label (once again, the commercial ears of Columbia Records) insisted on a “ballad” for each side of the album.  I would be hard-pressed to label anything by the Stooges as a “ballad”, but “Gimme Danger” and especially “I Need Somebody”, which almost has a bluesy feel to it and is my favorite song on the album, do bring some diversity of style to the record.

     Most of the rest of the album is more what you would expect, with “Search and Destroy” and of course, “Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell”, setting the tone early and often.  Taken with full sincerity or with an amused eye, the intense pace, the distorted guitars and powerful delivery from Iggy makes for a great combination.  Not unlike “Transformer” from Lou Reed, there are some impressive tunes on this album with great hooks, which is all I really need.  It is a more “in your face” style than anything we would get from the stylistic Bowie or Reed, but the uniqueness and fresh surge of energy makes it easy for me to see why this was embraced by an ever-growing audience looking for a new sound.

    One of the musical legends of the 20^th century makes his debut today, as we listen to “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.”, the debut album from the one and only Bruce Springsteen.  The album was moderately successful commercially, although it was positively received by most critics.  Without much cache as a performer or recording artist, Bruce was only able to use his collection of band members on some of the album.  For me, the album is clearly divided along these lines, and I tend to greatly prefer the up-tempo tracks with his backing band, including saxophone giant Clarence Clemons.

     I have always thought Bruce is at his best with what became the “E Street Band” behind him, and that is one of the key separating factors between his music and dozens of Bob Dylan wanna-be’s.  The album opens with “Blinded By the Light”, which as we all know, was subsequently turned into something weird and annoying, yet much more commercially viable by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.  I really like Bruce’s version, which he wrote at the end of the album recording to appease Clive Davis of Columbia Records, who was looking for more commercial appeal.  It leads right in to “Growin’ Up”, another great, fully backed song that is definitely my favorite on the album.  Next comes “Mary Queen of Arkansas”, the first stripped-down song on the album.  It isn’t my favorite, and I just don’t enjoy it like I do when he is playing with even an early version of his band.  This same rationale applies to much of the mid-section of the record.  The album ultimately ends on a strong note, and with“Spirit in the Night”, the second single that was also written to appease Davis, and “It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City”, we end with two more up-tempo songs with his band, that are among the best on the album.

     Like many artists, I think the best is yet to come with Bruce, and we will see another album later in 1973 that builds on the success of this debut.  Like some performers, the legend of Bruce Springsteen is carried mainly on the strength of his live performances, but the albums have to lay that foundation for him to build his live set.  A mostly entertaining debut, I look forward to hearing more of his catalog.

    As we head into 1973, we first encounter an album released in late 1972 that became the #1 selling album of 1973.  In an interesting fusion of soul, funk, jazz and even some psychedelic rock, the band War released an outstanding album, “The World Is a Ghetto”.

     Growing up where I did, and with who I did, my exposure to black music was pretty much limited to Little Richard, Chuck Berry and some 50’s and 60’s doo-wop in my early days.  That said, we had a K-Tel album that was some collection of 70’s songs, and I was first exposed to the title track of this album when I was around nine years old.  Just as I do now, I absolutely loved the crunchy funk of the chorus, and this was probably the earliest seeds planted in my affection for funk music.

     The album opens with the most well-known song of the album, “The Cisco Kid”, a funk jam with a western outlaw theme.  The groove carries over to “Where Was You At”, which I also loved, and side one closes out with a long jam, “City, Country, City”.

     Another extended jam opens the second side, also with a hint of psychedelia, “Four Cornered Room”.  The title track follows, and it still is probably my favorite song on the album, even as I enjoyed these many other songs as well.  On the album, it is a ten-minute extended play, much different than the compressed single I remember from my K-Tel days.  The album closes out with the succinct “Beetles in the Bog”, just six songs in total, but definitely a warm groove and funky listen from beginning to end.  It also received the stamp of approval from my son, who had cynically associated the band more with their shared roots with Animal vocalist Eric Burdon, and got to hear the band at their best, on their own merits.

    Of all the albums that are relatively “new” to me in this experience, I don’t think there are many I have enjoyed more from beginning to end than “Transformer” by Lou Reed.  This isn’t a complete surprise to me, as I also loved the Velvet Underground album from 1967.  This album is rated #109 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and I’m honestly surprised it wasn’t rated higher.

     As with music that might be considered new-reaching or experimental, for me at least, there still has to be a hook, a musical appeal that makes me want to listen to it again.  All different than the others, but I truly enjoy every song on this album, and I don’t say that often. Still fully immersed in the glam-rock scene of New York, surrounded by strong influences like Andy Warhol and David Bowie, who produced this album with his guitarist Mick Ronson, Lou Reed really created a great and eclectic collection of songs.  Of course, anyone who remotely knows of Lou Reed recognizes “Walk On the Wild Side”, and like most, I do love that song, but it is the rest of this album that really stands out to me.

     Opening with the guitar rocker “Vicious”, the album then tends to vary from up-tempo to slower, as we then get “Andy’s Chest” and the beautiful song “Perfect Day”.  Next comes another rocker with a great melody, so very infectious, “Hangin’ ‘Round”, with “Walk on the Wild Side” closing out Side One.

     Sexual exploration and experimentation are common themes with Lou Reed, and you get a sense of that with “Make Up”.  “Satellite of Love” and “Wagon Wheel” are both great tunes, so easy to enjoy, and the eclectic ending that comes with “New York Telephone Conversation”, “I’m So Free”, and the perfect closing track, “Goodnight Ladies” conclude one of my favorite new albums during this journey.

      This album likely represents the peak of Lou Reed’s influential career, and credit to Bowie & Ronson for helping him to make this masterpiece.

    One of the more unique sounds of the 1970s is the band Steely Dan.  I will be forever grateful to a friend of mine who indoctrinated me to Steely Dan late in my college years, which was perfect as Steely Dan is basically perfect late-night college music, made by two guys who went to college together.  Their debut album, “Can’t Buy A Thrill” presents some interesting looks as a first release, and is rated #168 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

     I have noticed with many artists, one of two directions we see with a debut album.  For some artists, it proves to be their peak, and while they may do other good things, nothing ever hits the mark quite like that first album.  I can think of many artists on that list.  For others, the first album is a starting point, and while it may have highlights and moments of greatness, it is surpassed by other works as the artist develops and grows with time.  That is the category I will put this album in for Steely Dan.  Led by Donald Fagen on vocals and keyboards, and Walter Becker on guitar, there is some really impressive work on this record.  The opening track, “Do It Again”, is a remarkable first song, with a lot going on with unique percussion and rhythm, an excellent vocal track, and lyrics I absolutely love.  What comes next is interesting, another notable Steely Dan song, “Dirty Work”, but this is one of a very few songs that Donald Fagen does not sing lead on.  David Palmer sings lead on “Dirty Work” and “Brooklyn”, as Donald Fagen was still finding his confidence, both in studio and on the road.  By the next album, Fagen fully assumes the mantle, so these songs are a rarity, even though “Dirty Work” is a great song.  It also features the lush and distinguished backing vocals that become a signature of many Steely Dan songs.

     The other recognizable song on this album is “Reelin’ In The Years”, another interesting and well-told tale by Fagen, prominently featuring Becker’s guitar work.  This has never been a big favorite of mine among their greatest hits, but I do still rate it a solid song.  Songs like “Kings” and “Midnite Cruiser” are more central to the Steely Dan sound, although “Midnite Cruiser” is the other non-Fagen track, with drummer Jim Hodder on lead vocals.

     Steely Dan has always felt like an interesting hybrid of jazz, funk, R&B, and a uniquely white twist on hipster funk, if there is such a thing.  The musical expertise is high on this and all Steely Dan music, it is easy to see why the principles were previously in high demand as session musicians and songwriters.  Again, I’m fairly confident there is even better Steely Dan ahead, but “Can’t Buy A Thrill” is simply, a very accomplished, evolved, and sophisticated debut performance for a couple of guys and their crew not too far removed from their own college experience.

   You may recall that earlier in 1972, we discussed “Music of My Mind” by Stevie Wonder.  Later in the same year, he released “Talking Book”, which I would assume most people, myself included, consider this album to be a significant step forward in the caliber of his rapidly expanding solo, “adult” music journey.  Once again fully under his complete artistic control, both in songwriting and musical performance, this highly successful record is rated #59 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and is #10 on the digitaldreamdoor.com Top 10 Greatest Soul albums of All Time.  For those of you paying attention, that is our 3^rd consecutive Top 10 album within a genre, over three different genres, from funk to folk to soul!

     The album opens with the mellow Stevie classic, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”, and like much of the album, most of the instrumentation is Stevie’s keyboards.  The clavinet is particularly prominent on this record, more so later in the track listing.  We then begin to blur the lines of soul, funk and R&B on “Maybe Your Baby”, and not surprisingly, here comes the clavinet.  This is a great song, one of the best on the album.  “Tuesday Heartbreak” is another funkier song on side one I really like, and “You’ve Got It Bad Girl” is more of what we have come to expect with the classic Stevie sound.

     Side two is another clavinet classic, and perhaps the most iconic Stevie Wonder song of them all, “Superstition”.  From the opening drums, this song is instant magic.  Covered by many, imitated by many more, including even my beloved Led Zeppelin on “Trampled Underfoot”, but nobody comes close to matching the groove Stevie lays down on this song.   The rest of side is more on the slow side, with an interesting revisit to the opening chords of “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” at the beginning of “Lookin’ For Another Pure Love”.

     I wasn’t a big fan of “Music of My Mind”, but “Talking Book” is one of the peak moments for Stevie Wonder in his incredibly accomplished career, and if you have never given it a listen, you probably should.

    How often do I get to listen to the #1 rated funk album of all time, at least as proclaimed by digitaldreamdoors.com?  I guess for the purposes of this exercise, today is that day.  “Superfly”, the soundtrack album from the 1972 album by Curtis Mayfield, is so designated, and also is the #76 album on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

     For me, my taste in funk runs a bit rougher, with a deeper mix of bass and percussion than what I typically hear from Curtis Mayfield.  This feels more like a hybrid of R&B, soul, and funk, but with all of that said, it is a pretty solid album.  Opening with “Little Child Runnin’ Wild”, Curtis and his smooth falsetto takes us out on the dangerous, drug-filled streets for this album.  Next comes “Pusherman” and “Freddie’s Dead”, which is definitely one of the funkier tracks on the album.  This song is definitely more in my core genre of true funk.

     As a soundtrack album, there are multiple instrumental songs, showcasing the ability of Mayfield as a musician and songwriter.  My absolute favorite song on this album is “No Thing on Me (Cocaine Song)”, it has a pretty infectious melody as the song celebrates freedom from the controlling oppression of drugs.  The album closes with the title track, and this record definitely tells a story even if you have never seen the film, which I have not.  Mainstream funk music peaked in the early 1970s before disco and then hip-hop consumed the majority of popular black music, and this timepiece is a perfect representation of the sound of this era.  Superfly… indeed.

    For most of my relatively long classic rock fandom, I have never been a big fan of The Doobie Brothers.  In recent years, I have given them more of a listen as I continue to try to span further in my search for music.  This interest has also been augmented by my son’s unusual but entertaining fascination with Michael McDonald, who was not with the band when today’s album, “Toulouse Street” was recorded.

     This original version of the band featured Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons doing the heavy lifting on vocals, and I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it.  The record opens with the instantly recognizable “Listen to the Music”, which I of course did, followed by another well-known hit, “Rockin’ Down the Highway”.  Next comes a cool ode to Jamaica, “Mamaloi”, followed by the acoustic soft song title track, which I really liked a lot.  “Toulouse Street” also happens to be one of the two cross streets for my favorite music club in the world, Tipitina’s, in uptown New Orleans, so the vibe and affection for this album is natural.  Side one wraps with the funkier track “Cotton Mouth”, which I enjoyed and seems to align with the name of the band.

     Overall, side two didn’t grab me quite as much, and it contained the only song “Disciple” that I really didn’t care for, but the rest of it was still a good listen and did include their rendition of “Jesus Is Just Alright”, another Doobie Brothers classic.  I’m happy that I found some more new songs for the playlist and enjoyed this one a lot.

    At the house I am staying at this weekend, there is a picture of David Bowie on the refrigerator.  Seems appropriate that today’s album is “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”.  I also recall my son having a poster of this album cover in his dorm room at college.  This classic release from Bowie, which is a concept album framed around the fictional music superstar Ziggy Stardust, is the #40 rated album on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

     This is a great record, with several familiar tunes and many others I didn’t know before but also love.  I really love the opening track, “Five Years”, and it flows perfectly into the second song “Soul Love” which is equally great.  Later on side one, we have “Starman”, one of the most infectious Bowie melodies I have ever heard.

    As the album rolls on, songs like “Lady Stardust” and “Star” continue the theme before we hit the two-song powerhouse of “Ziggy Stardust” and “Suffragette City”.  The title track truly captures Bowie’s eclectic sound and his unique ability to make something alternative and different sound so perfectly rock and roll.  And with “Suffragette City”, we have my unequaled favorite David Bowie song of all time.  The guitar riff in this song is outstanding, and the up-tempo pace of this song always gets me going.

     I don’t know if I will hear a Bowie album I like better than this one, although I’m guessing this countdown will give me that chance.  This is definitely one record that fully lives up to the hype and the high rating.

 One of the more intriguing elements of this exercise for me will be including the primary releases of the Eagles, perhaps the most successful country-rock-pop act of the 20^th century.  Their ability to sustain success in album sales and concert ticket sales has few comparisons, and I will be eager to see how their music evolves by listening to their full albums.  Today is their debut release from 1972, simply titled “Eagles”, and was rated as album #207 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

     Not unlike the Beatles, the Eagles were ultimately dominated by two primary personalities and voices in the act, singer and guitarist Glenn Frey and drummer and vocalist Don Henley.  Their lineup evolves significantly through the course of this album, but their original lineup also included Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner.  Like the Beatles, typically whoever wrote the song usually served as lead vocalist.

      My overall take on their debut album?  It was ok, but clearly not the peak of their capabilities as an act.  There were three successful singles from the album, but the rest of the content did not contain what I would consider any “hidden gems”.  I have always liked two of the three successful singles, and the third, “Witchy Woman”, by Don Henley, has never done much for me, even though oddly enough it charted higher than either of the others.

     Perhaps their earliest signature song opens the album, “Take It Easy”.  Telling the tale of “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona”, Glenn Frey took an unfinished Jackson Browne song and turned it into an Eagles classic.  Frey also sung the other landmark song from this album, “Peaceful Easy Feeling” which also captures their early blend of country rock, even though both Frey and Henley allegedly battled with producer Glyn Johns for an edgier rock sound.

     The rest of the album is not that memorable to me.  The Meisner and Leadon songs don’t do anything for me, and for all of his leadership in the band, Henley only had one other song, “Nightingale”, which was a late and uninspired addition to the album.

      The Eagles have proven to be enduring and popular on a level matched by few acts, although I don’t think anyone could have fully predicted that from this album.  I look forward to watching this story unfold.