Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…
If you want a debut album on which the artist emerged fully formed right out of the gate, look no further than Boston’s self-titled first release.
Consider that the first track on the band’s first album is ‘More Than a Feeling,’ a bona fide classic. And right on its heels comes ‘Peace of Mind,’ another all-timer. And closing out Side One of the nine-track album is ‘Foreplay/Long Time,’ a stellar instrumental followed by another classic rock song.
Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…
1976 was a big year for debut albums, and I’ll feature five of them to kick off this look at that year in music.
Debuts are interesting because some reveal a great artist emerging fully formed out of the gate, while others are rougher but contain seeds of the greatness to come. This week will include a bit of both.
Concluding a countdown of my favorite albums of 1976…
#1 – Desire – Bob Dylan
Desire might be my eighth or ninth favorite Bob Dylan album, but that’s enough to make it my favorite release of 1976.
This album is a showcase of Dylan as a collaborator. He co-wrote most of the songs’ lyrics with psychologist Jacques Levy; Emmylou Harris’ backing vocals add grace and texture; and most important, Scarlet Rivera’s violin gives the record a rich air of mystery. Desire sounds like nothing else he ever recorded.
Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1976…
Oops.
I’ve made the mistake a few times in the Decades series of trusting an online source for the release dates of certain albums. Usually I catch it in time and adjust my posts accordingly before anybody knows any different.
Not this time. I failed to double-check the date of the album I had slated as my #2 of 1976 — Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years.
Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1976…
#3 – Station to Station – David Bowie
It turns out I’ve done deep dives on quite a few artists who released albums in 1976. And I’m going to cover most of those records in a single post in a week or so.
But one of those deep dive albums stood out enough to warrant placement in this top five, and that’s David Bowie’s Station to Station.
Meet Me In Montauk 