Author Archives

by

Song of the Day #1,413: ‘Time’ – Pink Floyd

Best Albums of the 70s – #16
Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd (1973)

Pink Floyd is the quintessential 70s band but for me they will always represent the late 80s. That’s when I, along with my group of high school friends, obsessed over all of their albums the way teenage boys have for 40 years now.

Dark Side of the Moon is the band’s signature album, one that remained on the Billboard charts for a record 741 weeks. Its iconic cover art is familiar even to those who’ve never heard a note. And those who’ve heard it have likely fallen under its spell.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #1,412: ‘(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes’ – Elvis Costello

Best Albums of the 70s – #17
My Aim is True – Elvis Costello (1977)

Elvis Costello landed three albums on my 80s list, two in the top six. That was definitely his defining decade. But He made a pretty strong impression in the last few years of the 70s as well.

While his second and third albums, This Year’s Model and Armed Forces, won’t appear on this list, they contain some excellent work. But I’m most drawn to Costello’s debut album, My Aim is True, which announced his singular talent through a megaphone.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #1,411: ‘Zanzibar’ – Billy Joel

Best Albums of the 70s – #18
52nd Street – Billy Joel (1978)

I’ve never understood why Billy Joel gets such a bad rap. Just the other day I happened upon a Slate article titled ‘The Worst Pop Singer Ever: Why, Exactly is Bill Joel So Bad?’

That’s the sort of garbage that only gets written about artists who are beloved by “the masses” and therefore un-hip.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #1,410: ‘Moonshadow’ – Cat Stevens

Best Albums of the 70s – #19
Teaser and the Firecat – Cat Stevens (1971)

Most of the artists on this 70s list have successfully released music in the decades since. Cat Stevens is an exception. Nine of the 11 albums he released under this name (setting aside his work as Yusuf in the 90s and 00s) came out in the 70s. He couldn’t really belong to any other decade.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #1,409: ‘Going to California’ – Led Zeppelin

Best Albums of the 70s – #20
IV – Led Zeppelin (1971)

I’ve been on a roll with these decade lists, so I’m marching on (and back). Pull out your leisure suits and bell-bottoms, it’s time for the best albums of the 70s!

At first I wondered if I’d have enough material to compile a strong list of 20 — after all, I was born in 1972 and certainly wasn’t sampling the decade’s music in any meaningful way during my first eight years. Any familiarity I have with 70s music came after the fact — sometimes well after the fact.

Continue reading →