Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1977…
#3 – My Aim is True – Elvis Costello
Earlier this week I selected the Talking Heads’ debut album for this list, and today I’m featuring a debut album by an artist I love even more: Elvis Costello. Imagine getting your first taste of both of those acts in the same year!
I wrote about My Aim is True almost 16 years ago as part of my Costello Weekends series, and I think it’s been long enough that I can repurpose a few of those paragraphs here.
Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1977…
#4 – Running on Empty – Jackson Browne
I did a Jackson Browne deep dive five years ago that gave me a strong appreciation for the man’s work. But even after digging into 14 studio albums, it was hard to find anything that compares to the one I already loved: Running on Empty.
This is a concept album about life on the road that was recorded on the road — in front of live audiences, on a tour bus, in hotel rooms and backstage rehearsal spaces. It captures the lazy haze of that vagabond existence and drips with the sweat of hard-working musicians and their supporting crews.
Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1977…
#5 – Talking Heads: 77 – Talking Heads
This is the first of two debut albums in my top five, making 1977 not just a great year for music overall but a great year for the introduction of important new artists.
I can only imagine what it was like to hear Talking Heads for the first time in 1977. Here was a band of former art school students blending punk, new wave, and world music in songs with provocative lyrics and a lead singer whose clipped, chirping vocals were simultaneously funny and unnerving (but sometimes surprisingly sweet).
Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1977…
#6 – Saturday Night Fever soundtrack
It goes against my long-held principles to include a soundtrack album on a list of favorites, but I do allow some exceptions. And if ever an album is worthy of an exception, it’s the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever.
In fact, it’s probably a bigger outrage that this seminal recording didn’t crack my top five. But that’s just a testament to how incredible 1977 was for new music.
Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1977…
#7 – Animals – Pink Floyd
I was four years old for most of 1977, so I didn’t listen to any of these albums at the time. But it’s funny how many have a nostalgic pull for me nonetheless, based on the time in my life I first discovered them.
Pink Floyd’s Animals is the most prominent example. My Pink Floyd era, like that of most men who had one, came in high school. That’s when I gobbled up the progressive rock band’s catalog and memorized every spacey note.
Meet Me In Montauk 