Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…
I’ve had a gut feeling for awhile that I’m going to find a Carpenters album that really knocks my socks off.
I have a soft spot for easy listening cheese when it’s done well, and especially when I really connect with the vocals. And Karen Carpenter, whatever else you think of her and her brother Richard, has an amazing voice.
Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…
I was looking forward to hearing Aerosmith’s Rocks, the band’s fourth album and their follow-up to the previous year’s Toys in the Attic. I featured that album in the 1975 Decades installment and enjoyed it quite a bit.
This one was less of a hit but still went 4X Platinum, is a fan favorite, and is often cited as an inspiration by other artists.
Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…
One of the best albums I listened to for this dip into 1976 was Night Moves, Bob Seger’s 12th album (counting three he released with The Bob Seger System at the beginning of his career). This was his first release where the Silver Bullet Band was also credited, even though they don’t appear on nearly half of the songs.
This is a quintessential rock and roll album, with heartfelt lyrics sung over muscular guitars and plaintive pianos. It owes a lot to Bruce Springsteen and a little to Bob Dylan and Neil Young.
Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…
Before I get to nine albums I gave my first real listen for this series, I want to run through a handful of 1976 albums I have written about already as part of artist deep dives.
My favorite of the bunch is Jackson Browne’s The Pretender, which ended up as my fifth favorite of his 14 albums. Recorded in the backdrop of his wife’s death by suicide, the album is a lot more upbeat than you’d expect.
Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…
The most influential debut of 1976 was the self-titled first release of punk rock band Ramones. This is one of those albums to which Brian Eno’s famous quote about The Velvet Underground’s debut applies: very few people heard it, but everyone who did started a band.
Running 14 tracks and under 30 minutes, Ramones is a collection of fast, furious, funny songs — head-bangy but deceptively melodic.
