My #2 album of 1971 is one of The Rolling Stones’ best albums ever, Sticky Fingers. This was the third album in a run of four classics that stand up as one of the best all-time musical streaks. Between 1968 and 1972, The Stones reeled off Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street.
Ranking those four would be tough, but I can definitely make a case for Sticky Fingers as the best of them.
Imagine, John Lennon’s second solo album, is my third favorite album of 1971, which is a good indication of just how strong that year was for music.
This is the album that gave us ‘Imagine’ and ‘Jealous Guy,’ two of the best songs Lennon ever wrote, with or without The Beatles. It contains many other pleasures, including the country rock of ‘Crippled Inside,’ the hard rocking ‘Gimme Some Truth’ and one of the best pure pop songs of the era, ‘Oh Yoko.’ It also features one of the earliest, nastiest dis tracks in ‘How Do You Sleep?,’ aimed at former pal Paul McCartney.
Before I get to my #4 album of 1971, let me say a quick Happy Birthday to my sister Amy.
This year Amy selflessly asked, in lieu of gifts, for donations to a non-profit she founded called Birthright America. The program’s mission is to give underprivileged kids the chance to experience the majesty of America’s National Parks. Amy brought the first group of lucky children on the inaugural trip earlier this month.
If the idea sounds interesting to you, please consider visiting the website and donating to the cause. Happy Birthday, Amy!
Continuing my countdown of favorite 1971 albums we arrive at my #5, Led Zeppelin’s IV (also known as Runes and Zoso).
This album boasts such iconic tracks as ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ ‘Black Dog,’ ‘Rock and Roll,’ ‘Going to California’ and ‘When the Levee Breaks.’ Plus today’s track, ‘Misty Mountain Hop,’ which is less well known but just as awesome.
The Random iTunes Fairy must be in a Hispanic mood this weekend. Today’s track is from the Mexican rap group Control Machete, and it’s in my music collection because it appeared in Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu’s 2001 film Amores Perros.
Amores Perros was Iñarritu’s first film, and though he would go on to win back-to-back Best Director Oscars 14 years later (for Birdman and The Revenant), it remains the best thing he’s ever done.
It was also the first film of one of my favorite actors, Gael Garcia Bernal, and one of the best films of that decade.
Meet Me In Montauk 