On to 1974. This wasn't a particularly strong year, for some reason. There are albums in the top 10 here that would be hard pressed to make the lists for most other years. Anyway, here's my current personal choices.

1. "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" - GENESIS
2. "Valentine" - ROY HARPER
3. "El Dorado" - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA
4. "It's Only Rock and Roll" - THE ROLLING STONES
5. "Relayer" - YES
6. "Wonderworld" - URIAH HEEP
7. "On the Border" - THE EAGLES
8. "Stormbringer" - DEEP PURPLE
9. "Late for the Sky" - JACKSON BROWNE
10. "Not Fragile" - BACHMAN TURNER OVERDRIVE
11. "Rush" - RUSH
12. "Bridge of Sighs" - ROBIN TROWER
13. "Holiday" - AMERICA
14. "Burn" - DEEP PURPLE
15. "Bad Company" - BAD COMPANY

JMTC
"Pretzel Logic" - STEELY DAN
"Secret Treaties" - BLUE OYSTER CULT
"A Turn of the Cards" - RENNAISSANCE

I almost felt obligated to include Eric Clapton's "461 Ocean Boulevard" since that almost universally turns up on lists like these. But I'm just not a huge Clapton fan, and listening to that album again did nothing to make me think it belonged here. Sorry.

3. Eldorado, A Symphony By the Electric Light Orchestra - Electric Light Orchestra

ELO's first true classic album. Overall, a pretty mellow album, the two or three songs that rock - "Laredo Tornado" and "Illusions In G Major" - do so at a leisurely pace. "Mr. Kingdom" was the song that hooked me unto the Electric Light Orchestra. But that was when it was the b-side to "Turn to Stone". (Or was that "Sweet Talking Woman"?

JMTC -

Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan

Not a bad album. Not a favorite of mine. But I jes' loooove the song "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". That is one of my all time favorite songs.

Secret Treaties - Blue Öyster Cult

Sorry Todd, I think we've discussed this before, but I prefer Treaties to Tyranny and Mutations. To me, there are far more better songs on Treaties than on the previous l.p. But that's just me. YMMV.

Some I think you've left out:

Walls and Bridges - John Lennon

My favorite John Lennon solo album. Of course, that is probably no doubt due in no small way to the presence of "#9 Dream", my favorite solo Lennon song. I have no idea why I like it so much, but I do.

Feats Don't Fail Me Now - Little Feat

A nice Southern Rock album by a Southern Californian band. Lowell George at his best.

Good Old Boys - Randy Newman

"We're Rednecks/We're Rednecks/We don't know our ass from a hole in the ground/We're doing our best to keep the n199ers down." Only Newman could so slyly, subtly and sarcastically point out the stupidity of racism with so few words. The man'll make you laugh and think at the same time. Newman is a criminally underrated and underappreciated artist.

Caribou - Elton John

Okay, it's not a classic album, but it's one I have and it does have some great songs on it: "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" and "The B1tch Is Back" to name but two.

And now, two more from 1973:

Loud 'N' Proud - Nazareth

A nice heavy metal album from some boys from Scotland. Not their best album (that would be Malice In Wonderland), but it is a very serviceable one, nonetheless.

Queen - Queen

A classic debut by one of rock's all time great heavy metal bands. "Keep Yourself Alive", "Great King Rat", "Liar", etc. Absolute classic.

np - A Momentary Lapse of Reason - Pink Floyd

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

Pretzel Logic is good, but has some bad tracks... Especially "East St. Louis Toodle-oo". I don't mind instrumentals, but this is a ***BORING*** instrumental.

On the other hand, some of the other tracks are very nice...

"Charlie Freak"
"Pretzel Logic"
"Any Major Dude Will Tell You"
"Barrytown"

I'd agree with Benn on Eldorado. Lynne's comments on the album just not working with layered violins is spot on.

Surprised that you rate "Stormbringer" over "Burn". The title track, "Holy Man" and "Soldier Of Fortune" are really the only notables here. I just think "Burn" has a lot more of the classic Purple sound we know and love. I'll be crossing my fingers for "Come Taste The Band".

Todd,

I have been enjoying your lists. Thanks for the effort!

Here are a few off the top of my head that would be on my lists that were not on yours:

1967
Forever Changes - Love
Odessey and Oracle - Zombies
The Velvet Underground and Nico - The Velvet Underground

1968
We're Only in it for the Money - Frank Zappa/Mothers

1969
The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground

1970
All Things Must Pass - George Harrison
Loaded - The Velvet Underground
Moondance - Van Morrison
Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon

1971
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
John Prine - John Prine
Tapestry - Carole King
Blue - Joni Mitchell

1972
Bustin' Out - Pure Prairie League
Talking Book - Stevie Wonder
Sailin' Shoes - Little Feat

1973
Tres Hombres - ZZ Top
Innervisions - Stevie Wonder
Overnite Sensation - Frank Zappa

1974
Court and Spark - Joni Mitchell
Queen II - Queen
Sheer Heart Attack - Queen
A-1-A - Jimmy Buffett

Keep up the good work...

Yeah, I thought I'd surprise you by rating "Stormbringer" over "Burn". I think they're both classic Purple albums. The title track of "Burn" is hands down the greatest Purple track ever and is one of the greatest hard-rock songs of all time. But the rest of the album has only fair to middling material on it, although "Mistreater" is a great blues rocker. Actually, I probably rate the two about even, I think I listed "Stormbringer" higher here because I tend to stick up for that album because I feel it gets unjustly slammed too much. It's a really neat change of pace for the band. I agree with the three songs you named as the best (and would throw in "High Ball Shooter" into the mix as well. "Holy Man" is a fantastic song, as is "Soldier of Fortune". I believe Cynical Chick elsewhere accused "Soldier" of ripping off Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven". I only hear a little of that in the intro, but didn't Zeppelin themselves admit to ripping that off from Spirit's "Taurus?"
As to "Come Taste the Band", I like it, but I think the production seems really rushed for some reason. It's redeemed by the last two songs, "This Time Around/Owed to G" and the fabulous "You Keep On Moving."

Cazbob has mentioned a couple of albums I'd definitely agree with. I'm embarrassed that I didn't mention them first.

The Velvet Underground and Nico - the Velvet Underground and Nico

This album was another eye, or rather ear-opener for me. It helped shape the way I listen to music. I can't imagine my CD collection not having it.

What's Going On - Marvin Gaye

One of the perfect albums to listen to on a Sunday. It's soulful, spiritual and funky all at the same time.

Thanks for reminding me of those l.p.s Caz!

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

Personally, I've always found The Velvet Underground to be a bit over rated. Good stuff, to be sure, but not THAT good.

I've never really been a big Velevet Underground fan either, which is why their album (an otherwise obvious choice) didn't appear on my '67 list. Also, as I said before, I've never been big on Clapton, and I'm also not big on John Lennon's solo career (although "Imagine" is a magnificent song). Also Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart I find unlistenable. But again, that's just my personal taste.

In retrospect, George Harrison's "All Things" should have been on my 1970 list. Shame on me! It's just that it's been ages since I heard that one - I need to pick up a copy ASAP.
'75 list to come soon . . .

All of the items on Cazbob's list are indeed excellent and noteworthy (especially 1971), though there are only a few that I would consider classic rock- perhaps Van Morrison (Moondance, at least), Queen, George and John...

It could be a good time to define the term, for the sake of this board, at least. Some people define things more broadly than others but I personally don't think that release dates should carry that much weight. I would be inclined to place VU, Zappa, Marvin Gaye and the like outside the scope of this topic.

More interesting to me: where would somebody like Bob Dylan, or the Byrds, or the Band be categorized, if one was so inclined to do so?

Shall we open up the floor to debate...

First off, Benn, sorry it's taken me so long to get back here. While we'll just have to disagree about the merits of our favorite Beatles albums, I'm glad you learned a little bit about Abbey Road.

Now then, Miko brings up some interesting points. But, of the groups he mentions as being "outside" the classic-rock scope, I should point out that Marvin Gaye gets a lot of playtime on Albuquerque's classic rock stations. So, somebody thinks he counts for classic rock. Your mileage may vary, of course. Dylan, The Byrds, and the Band, all show up on our stations quite frequently. Thus, I don't think that you can say these artists shouldn't be classified under "classic rock," even though there may be other genres that are more applicable.

Oh, and while we're talking about Marvin Gaye, has anyone else noticed that "What's Going On" and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" are, like, the same song, only in different keys? I'm not the only person to see this, right?

For my own purposes, I've been using bands that have entries in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock (1983 edition), plus giving a spot to the occasional more obscure artist who released an album so excellent that I could not in good conscience leave off of a list. Of course, the categorization for this encyclopedia is pretty wide. It has entries for all the bands mentioned above, and encompasses folk, jazz, R&B, etc. so it actually has categories in all forms of modern popular music and not just rock. I understand the point that Dylan, for example, might not be considered rock per se.
The only reason I'm giving such weight to release date is to break the list down into digestible increments, as I explained earlier.

I was under the impression that the words "Classic Rock" were only being used because they're redilly identified with the era in question.

Oh, and I forgot to say in the last post that I was glad to see someone mention Odessey and Oracle.

Now for 1975:

1. "Born to Run", BRUCE SPEINGSTEEN
2. "Sun and Steel", IRON BUTTERFLY
3. "Blue Jays", JUSTIN HAYWARD AND JOHN LODGE
4. "Wish You Were Here", PINK FLOYD
5. "Blood on the Tracks", BOB DYLAN
6. "One of These Nights", THE EAGLES
7. "Physical Graffiti", LED ZEPPELIN
8. "Desolation Boulevard", SWEET
9. "Toys in the Attic", AEROSMITH
10. "Hearts", AMERICA
11. "Straight Shooter", BAD COMPANY
12. "A Night at the Opera", QUEEN
13. "The Who By Numbers", THE WHO
14. "Horses", PATTI SMITH
15. "Return to Fantasy", URIAH HEEP

OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES:
"Come Taste the Band", DEEP PURPLE; "Hair of the Dog", NAZARETH; "Equinox", STYX; "Welcome To My Nightmare"; ALICE COOPER; "Fool For the City"; FOGHAT; "Eager to Please", KEN HENSLEY; "Schoolboys in Disgrace", THE KINKS; "Scheherazade and Other Stories", RENAISSANCE; "Masque", KANSAS; "Recycled", NEKTAR

As I said on Part 1, "Born to Run" definitely belongs.

Every single track on this album is a good one (though Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out does tend to drag at the end), and several really GREAT ones (Jungleland, Born To Run, and Thunder Road -- in order of my opinion).

MIAs IMHO:

Pangaea - Miles Davis

What Were Once Vices, Now Are Habits - the Doobie Brothers

Blood On the Tracks - Bob Dylan

That's the Way of the World - Earth, Wind and Fire

Face the Music - Electric Light Orchestra

Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy - Elton John

Siren - Roxy Music

Horses - the Patti Smith Group

Venus and Mars - Wings

np - Life Is Killing Me - Type O Negative

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

???? I thought I had listed "Blood on the Tracks" and "Horses"?

Todd,

Excellent 1975 list. I would have had 9 or 10 of yours on my list. I would move up Fool for the City and I would add Blow By Blow by Jeff Beck.

Thank you Cazbob.

Oops, you did, Todd. Sorry. My bad. (Blame it on the early hours of the day. I had just awakened when I posted. Sorry.)

np - Holy Diver - Dio

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

Marvin Gaye gets a lot of playtime on Albuquerque's classic rock stations. So, somebody thinks he counts for classic rock- Sparrow47

Another reason to like New Mexico, Sparrow.

It has entries for all the bands mentioned above, and encompasses folk, jazz, R&B, etc. so it actually has categories in all forms of modern popular music and not just rock- Todd Pence

I was under the impression that the words "Classic Rock" were only being used because they're redilly identified with the era in question- Blitz

Here's my take: Classic Rock defines a radio format which in and of itself incorporates certain sub-styles of the music. So letting that define the term works for me up to a point, though my own inclination is to keep the whole "culture/counter-culture" thing separated. Otherwise you could open up a pandora's box (well...I could open one up... ).

Siren - Roxy Music - Benn
Hell yeah! I'd also add the previous year's Country Life

Other mentionables from my side of the fence:

Renaissance- Ashes are Burning 1973
The other two of the big three were already mentioned.

Bob Dylan- John Wesley Harding 1967 and The Basement Tapes 1975 (yes- for what's in the grooves, dammit, yes!)

Traffic- John Barleycorn Must Die 1970 and The Low Spark... 1971

Byrds- Younger Than Yesterday 1967 and Sweetheart of the Rodeo1968

Faces- A Nod is as Good as a Wink... 1971

Allman Bros.- Live at Fillmore East 1971

Commander Cody- Lost in the Ozone 1971 (no snickering unless you've heard it...)

Couldn't resist rounding out the top 20 from the "Slipped Disc" book for some more opinion.

Singles
=======
20) "Emotional Rescue" Rolling Stones
19) "I am Henry VIII, I am" Herman's Hermits
18) "Love the One You're With" Stephen Stills
17) "Baby Talks Dirty" The Knack
16) "Good Girls Don't" The Knack
15) "I Am Woman" Helen Reddy
14) "Lonely Boy" Andrew Gold
13) "Cat's In The Cradle" Harry Chapin
12) "Taxi" Harry Chapin
11) "All I Have To Do Is Dream" Andy Gibb and Victoria Principal

Albums
======
20) "70's Hits: Great Records Of The Decade- The Original Recordings, Volume 1" Various
19) "Days Of Future Passed" The Moody Blues
18) "Travolta Fever" John Travolta
17) "Shaggs' Own Thing" The Shaggs
16) "Philosophy Of The World" The Shaggs
15) "Self-Titled" Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe
14) "Live Killers" Queen (totally disagree BTW- It's a fantastic document of their late 70's show)
13) "Queen II" Queen (Totally agree, too much production, swirling guitars and $tupid lyrics- and yes I am a HUGE Queen fan)
12) "Byrds" Byrds
11) "Aqualung" Jethro Tull

anyway- after Todd got all riled up about the Yes album at no. 10 I just felt I should represent the author and quote part of his entry on the album...
"Tales from Topographic Oceans is a long, long 81 minute song broken into four sections (one per side on a double album). The wobbly sections have only tenuous connections, which break upon any serious inspection. The lyrics are Eastern mystical psychobabble (why don't British art rockers make fools of themselves with the blatherings of of European philosophers? not as cool), heavily weighed down by dragging tempos. As soon as a song gets almost fast enough to garner interest, the drums immediately slip away and we're stuck with Anderson warbling ethereally about mountains or birds. The birds could fly away, the mountains weren't so lucky"

Okay, so now we've got "Aqualung", two Queen albums, another "Yes" album (recorded for contractual reasons under the ABWH moniker) and "Days of Future Passed". This guy has shown his true colors. He's an anti-art-rock bigot. I don't mean to imply that there's anything wrong with not liking art rock (it's certainly not for everybody). But to take a holier-than-thou attitude and ridicule people who do like that type of music is churlish. "Aqualung" and "Days" are both pretty accessible albums I think, and even people who don't like art rock generally admit to liking these albums.
I won't get into the TFTO debate, since it is chronicled well enough in the hundred plus reviews at amazon.com Certainly it's not a flawless album (what album is?), but every serious fan of rock music should listen to it. Whether or not you ever come to like it, it WILL increase your musical appreciation ability. There is some fantastic musicianship here.
The guy who wrote this book must be one of these books must be one of those ignorant Philistines who wrote for Rolling Stone magazine.

Well, Todd, only one of the book's authors has written for Rolling Stone magazine. That's Jimmy Guterman. He has also written for Spy and has authored the book, 12 Days on the Road. The other author is Owen O'Donnell. He is credited as being the editor of Contemporary Theater, Film and Television.

I should also mention that I am not a fan of art-rock. I have select art-rock albums in my collection. But overall, I find the music to be too pretentious, pulseless and dull. On the other hand, if it's a musical style that someone else likes, well, that's their business. I don't hold it against them. I certainly don't feel they are imbeciles or worse. It's just a difference in opinion. That's all. My rock and roll musical tastes were formed in the late '70s, when art-rock was starting to die out. (Thank god.) (Sorry, Todd.)

I treat the book as an interesting attempt at iconoclasm. I found some of it to be pretty funny. But overall, it has a kind of "Aren't-we-clever-and-sophisticated?" air to it. It's a novelty to me and nothing more.

"I won't get into the TFTO debate, since it is chronicled well enough in the hundred plus reviews at amazon.com" - Todd Pence

To be honest, that doesn't really impress me. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that the majority of the reviews on amazon.com are those written by fans of the work in question. I admit I haven't really gone over too many of those reviews in too great of detail. That's just my impression. Which, quite frankly, is most likely very wrong.

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

If you haven't already- try AMG Tales... (hope it works- the site's been bugging out lately)

All Music Guide has probably the most fair and balanced reviews that I've seen on the web. The reviewers are quite knowledgable within their respective genres and provide insight to most aspects of the recordings.

The home page is www.allmusic.com

Neither's working...how 'bout this allmusic.com

They didn't like "Cat's in the Cradle"? What on Earth is wrong with them?...

Big ditto for "Aqualung."

>All Music Guide has probably the most fair and >balanced reviews that I've seen on the web. The >reviewers are quite knowledgable within their >respective genres and provide insight to most >aspects of the recordings.

I second this recommendation.

I have All Music Guide's website bookmarked. But admittedly, I have not really read any reviews there. But I do agree that it is a great informational website, though. These days I don't read many reviews unless they are about albums I have an interest in purchasing.

np - To Whom It May Concern - Lisa Marie Presley (I love that song, "Lights Out". "S.O.B." is not too bad either. Even if the hook of the song sounds suspiciously like Stevie Nick's "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around".)

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

I am going away to Philadelphia this weekend, will continue this board when I return.

All things considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia.

So would I. Love that town. I'm back now. Took in a doubleheader of my Phillies Saturday. Yesterday, saw da Bell and all that neat stuff. And what an appropos segue talking about the city of Philly sets up for a year ending in '76 . . .

1. "Alice Cooper Goes to Hell", ALICE COOPER (hands-down Coop's best overall album, IMO)
2. "Boston", BOSTON
3. "Hotel California", THE EAGLES
4. "Night Moves", BOB SEGER
5. "Leftoverture", KANSAS
6. "High and Mighty", URIAH HEEP
7. "Running With the Pack", BAD COMPANY
8. "A Trick of the Tail", GENESIS
9. "Crystal Ball", STYX
10. "Agents of Fortune", BLUE OYSTER CULT
11. "2112, RUSH (It just now occurs to me that "Caress of Steel", really, REALLY, shoulda been on my '75 list. I just forgot about it for some reason. Pardon me while I smack self on forehead).
12. "Destroyer", KISS
13. "Jailbreak", THIN LIZZY
14. "A New World Record", ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA
15. "Good Singing, Good Playing", GRAND FUNK RAILROAD

Onya Todd! Good to see Kiss and ELO getting a guernsy in your list. Both of the albums you mentioned are brilliant (indeed "New World Record" would be in my top 5 all time greatest albums). Here's hoping for an appearance by "Love Gun" (which I think is a better album than "Destroyer"), and "Out Of The Blue" make an appearance!

Here's a personal favorite from 1973 I forgot to list:

Berlin - Lou Reed

Haunting and chilling. One of Lou's best post-VU albums.

From 1975:

Honey - Ohio Players

A nice, funky album. Sing it now, "Rollercoaster/Of love".

1976 favorites (to one degree or another):

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - AC/DC

Toys In the Attic - Aerosmith (My favorite Aerosmith album.)

A Rock and Roll Alternative - the Atlanta Rhythm Section

Blondie - Blondie

Dreamboat Annie - Heart

Rastaman Vibrations - Bob Marley and the Wailers

Fly Like an Eagle - the Steve Miller Band

Close Enough For Rock and Roll - Nazareth

Coney Island Baby - Lou Reed

Radio Ethopia - the Patti Smith Group

Wings At the Speed of Sound - Wings

Songs In the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder

np - The Complete Bitches Brew - Miles Davis

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

That is, my '76 list is of l.p.s I like that Todd didn't list. Of what he listed that I liked are

Agents of Fortune - Blue Öyster Cult (Duh! )

Alice Cooper Goes to Hell - Alice Cooper

Boston - Boston

Hotel California - the Eagles

Night Moves - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band

Destroyer - KISS

A New World Record - Electric Light Orchestra

still playing - The Complete Bitches Brew - Miles Davis (It sounds so good with a martini. I've had a rough last three days. SIGH)

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

Todd,

Another fine list. I would have had 10 of your 15 on my list. I would second Benn's votes for Toys in the Attic and Songs in the Key of Life. The only one missing from both Todd & Benn's lists is Desire, by Mr. Zimmerman. Lots of great tunes on that one (Hurricane, Mozambique, Isis, Romance in Durango, etc.)

I can't overstate how much Toys in the Attic was played by me and half of the students in my junior high school. For me, it is THE album of my early teenage years.

Yet another error of omission: I meant to put Hot Tuna's "Hoppkorov" on the '76 list. For some reason, I had that down in my notes as a '77 album.

For 1976:

"Kenton '76", Stan Kenton and his band

Of course, that's not rock, it's Big Band.

Yet another error of omission: I meant to put Hot Tuna's "Hoppkorov" on the '76 list.- Todd Pence

It's a cool album, Todd, but I'm not sure it merits such high esteem. It does sport two exceptional tracks- "Watch the North Wind Rise" and a revved up version of Chuck Berry's "Talkin' 'Bout You"- but on the whole it doesn't hold up to 1972's Burgers or Jorma Kaukonen's Quah (1974), which are classics. (And this is coming from somebody who played in a Hot Tuna cover band at one point in his life. Actually Hoppkorv made up most of our set, but still...)

The only one missing from both Todd & Benn's lists is Desire, - Cazbob

I will, not surprisingly, second that motion.

Benn- Lotsa great selections on your first August 5 post. Also- thanks for mentioning Earth Wind and Fire's That's the Way of the World- that's my wife's absolute fave of all time. It reminded me to get it off of its dusty shelf and crank up the ole Thorens. Great stuff!

I also got out Surrealsitic Pillow and After Bathing at Baxters by Jefferson Airplane. You should definitely try to check out Pillow if you can- it's still all that it's cracked up to be, although I prefer Baxters myself...


---
btw- the TFTO link I posted earlier is working today.

"Benn- Lotsa great selections on your first August 5 post. Also- thanks for mentioning Earth Wind and Fire's That's the Way of the World- that's my wife's absolute fave of all time. It reminded me to get it off of its dusty shelf and crank up the ole Thorens. Great stuff!" - Miko Iko

Hey, you're welcome, Miko. That's the Way of the World is one of my all-time favorite albums, too. It's a gorgeous blend of funk, soul and R&B. The title cut is a classic.

One thing I should mention, I know I've been listing albums that aren't "rock" albums and this thread is about "classic rock", but, well, frankly my memory of the era in question is one where there really wasn't as great a distinction made from one genre to another as there is today. I mean, come on, Chuck Mangione had a big hit in those days. Jazz, blues, rock, metal, disco, funk, R&B, country and soul could more often than not be heard on the same radio station. Today's stations have become so narrow in the audience they seek that it's ridiculous. I don't see how appealing to a select group can lead to any kind of commercial success. I guess that's why I'm not a radio executive.

Anyway, I guess the albums I'm listing is done to reflect more accurately (if that's possible) the era, the year in question, rather than confining myself to just "classic rock". So I apologize for any lapses I've made in what I've listed.

np - Life Is Killing Me - Type O Negative (I'm really starting to enjoy this album. Songs like "How Could She?", "I Like Goils" and "Todd's Ship Gods (Above All Things)" are some of the highlights of Type O's new CD. To me anyway.)

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

Here's a list of my favorites from 1977:

1. "Out of the Blue", ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA
2. "Rumours", FLEETWOOD MAC
3. "Animals", PINK FLOYD
4. "Point of Know Return", KANSAS
5. "Firefly", URIAH HEEP
6. "The Grand Illusion", STYX
7. "Wind and Wuthering", GENESIS
8. "A Farewell to Kings", RUSH
9. "Dawn Explosion", CAPTAIN BEYOND
10. "Spectres", BLUE OYSTER CULT
11. "The Stranger", BILLY JOEL
12. "Oops! Wrong Planet", UTOPIA
13. "Marque Moon", TELEVISION
14. "In City Dreams", ROBIN TROWER
15. "Lost Without Your Love", BREAD

OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES: "Foreigner", FOREIGNER; "Love Gun", KISS; "Book of Dreams", STEVE MILLER; "Works Vol. 1", EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER; "CSN", CROSBY STILLS AND NASH; "Walk on the Wild Side", LOU REED; "Lace and Whiskey", ALICE COOPER; "Something Magic", PROCOL HARUM; "Going For the One", YES

"I will of course focus exclusively on studio albums and eliminate live albums and best-of collections." - Todd Pence

Which why I assume Lou Reed's Walk On the Wild Side album didn't make the top 15. It's a best-of compilation. (The title cut, "Walk On the Wild Side" debuted on the 1972 album, Transformer.)

np - The Uplift Mofo Party Plan - the Red Hot Chili Peppers

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

Of the albums you list, Todd, I agree with

Out of the Blue - Electric Light Orchestra

Rumours - Fleetwood Mac

Animals - Pink Floyd

Grand Illusion - Styx

Spectres - Blue Öyster Cult (of course)

Foreigner - Foreigner

Love Gun - KISS

Some of my favorites from 1977 not yet listed:

Draw the Line - Aerosmith

Plastic Letters - Blondie

Little Queen - Heart

Sleepwalker - the Kinks

Diamantina Cocktail - Little River Band

I Robot - the Alan Parsons Project

Foot Loose and Fancy Free - Rod Stewart

And one album I forgot to mention for 1976:

Summertime Dream - Gordon Lightfoot (the album with "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald")

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

Oh yeah, two more from 1977 I forgot to list:

Little Criminals - Randy Newman ("Short people ain't got no reason...")

Talking Heads `77 - Talking Heads ("Psycho killer/Qu'est-ce que cest/Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better.")

np - The Uplift Mofo Party Plan - the Red Hot Chili Peppers (I restarted the CD since yesterday. I didn't have time to finish listening to it then.)

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

13. "Marque Moon", TELEVISION
Nice to see this one there. It was awesome then, and it remains so. I particularly love Richard Lloyd's guitar solo on "Guiding Light"

14. "In City Dreams", ROBIN TROWER
The Trower fans that I knew at the time were seriously devided over this one, but I always thought of it as his best. Worth seeking out for "Sweet Wine of Love" alone.

7. "Wind and Wuthering", GENESIS
For me, one of the few post-Gabriel Genesis discs that has stood the test of time. Understated and quite good.

Anyway, I guess the albums I'm listing is done to reflect more accurately (if that's possible) the era, the year in question, rather than confining myself to just "classic rock". - Benn

There is some overlap, especially from the mid 70's on, between what was considered commercial and underground, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to throw that into the mix. Actually, 1977 was a watershed year in a number of respects. In that vein, some notable exceptions:

Talking Heads `77 - Talking Heads
Definitely. Most people didn't hear it until More Songs... came out, a classic nonetheless.

Same thing with the first Cheap Trick album, which is now regarded as their best.

The Other Biggies from the Class of 77

Elvis Costello- My Aim is True

The Clash- The Clash

The Damned- Damned, Damned, Damned

Ramones- Rocket to Russia

Sex Pistols- Never Mind the Bullocks...

Richard Hell and the Voidoids- Blank Generation

And, too good not to mention-

Joe Ely- Joe Ely

I was wondering if anyone would throw in the Sex Pistols!

Getting near the end here: here's 1978

1. "Some Girls", THE ROLLING STONES
2. "Darkness on the Edge of Town", BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
3. "Van Halen", VAN HALEN
4. "Killing Machine", JUDAS PRIEST
5. "Comes a Time", NEIL YOUNG
6. "Excitable Boy", WARREN ZEVON
7. "Pieces of Eight", STYX
8. "Just a Game", TRIUMPH
9. "Heaven Tonight", CHEAP TRICK
10. "From the Inside", ALICE COOPER
11. "Shakedown Street", THE GRATEFUL DEAD
12. "Breathless", CAMEL
13. "Long Live Rock and Roll", RAINBOW
14. "Infinity", JOURNEY
15. "Double Vision", FOREIGNER

Arrgh! I forgot about Never Mind the Bullocks! ARRRGH! That is one of my primal scream albums. Ugh. I should be shot for that omission.

You know what, Todd? This year it's easier to list what I disagree with, rather than what I agree with. So

Killing Machine - Judas Priest

Just a Game - Triumph

Shakedown Street - the Grateful Dead (Never was much of a Dead fan, anyway.)

Breathless - Camel

Long Live Rock and Roll - Rainbow

What I would add:

Champaign Jam - Atlanta Rhythm Section

Parallel Lines - Blondie

Running On Empty - Jackson Browne

The Cars - the Cars

C'est Chic - Chic ("Freak Out!/Le Freak/C'est Chic/Le Freak") (Okay, so I actually do like some disco. Sue so me.)

David Gilmour - David Gilmour ("There's no way out of here/When you come in/You're in for good.")

Dog and Butterfly - Heart

Misfits - the Kinks

Sleeper Catcher - Little River Band

One Nation Under a Groove - Funkadelic ("Who says a funk band can't play Rock and Roll?")

Jazz - Queen

Street Hassle - Lou Reed

Stranger In Town - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band

Easter - the Patti Smith Group (The first Punk album I heard and owned. Still a very disturbing record.)

More Songs About Buildings and Food - Talking Heads

Toto - Toto

Who Are You - the Who (Erratic, yes. But still an excellent album, said the unabashed Who fan.)

London Town - Wings

One I've forgotten to mention from 1974:

Crime of the Century - Supertramp

Yet more for the Class of 1977:

Exodus - Bob Marley and the Wailers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

News of the World - Queen

Saturday Night Fever - various artists (Screw it. It's a classic, whether it's disco or not.)

Aja - Steely Dan

Even In the Quietest Moments... - Supertramp

np - KoRn - KoRn

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

Hmmmmmmm.......not sure why you missed out Ace Frehley's and gene Simmon's KISS solo albums- I would put those in the class of '78. And is ELO's "Discovery" '78 or '79?

Discovery ("Disco-very," as keyboardist Richard Tandy noted) was a summer of 1979 release. How I remember it well. '79 had a lot of great songs, IMNSHO.

I liked Ace's solo album better than Gene's or Paul's. I think Peter Criss' was the next best one to me. Ace's was the best seller, IIRC. It, at any rate, had the biggest hit, "New York Groove". A great song, to be sure. I just haven't heard any of the solo albums in years, so I can't really pass judgment on them right now.

np - 20 Greatest Hits - Hank Williams

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

And now 1979, which brings us to the end of the period:

1. "The Wall", PINK FLOYD
2. "Mirrors", BLUE OYSTER CULT
3. "Darkness on the Edge of Town", BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
4. "Rust Never Sleeps", NEIL YOUNG
5. "The Fine Art of Surfacing", THE BOOMTOWN RATS
6. "Breakfast in America", SUPERTRAMP
7. "In Through the Out Door", LED ZEPPELIN
8. "Cornerstone", STYX
9. "Monolith", KANSAS
10. "Desolation Angels", BAD COMPANY
11. "The Long Run", THE EAGLES
12. "Tusk", FLEETWOOD MAC
13. "Discovery", ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA
14. "Highway to Hell", AC/DC
15. "The Rose", BETTE MIDLER

Okay, scratch "Darkness" from that last list. I don't know where my brain was. Geez, maybe I'd better do revised, error-free versions of these?

Well, this time I disagree with The Fine Art of Surfacing (only because I've never heard the album. "I Don't Like Mondays", based on the story of Brenda Spence, is a classic, though.) Desolation Angels - Bad Company and The Rose - Bette Midler

My additions to the Class of 1979:

In the Heat of the Night - Pat Benatar

Eat to the Beat - Blondie

Candy-O - the Cars

Dream Police - Cheap Trick

Dancing In the Dragons's Jaw - Bruce Cockburn ("Sun's up/Mm hm/Looks okay/The world's survived into another day.")

Dire Straits - Dire Straits ("You get a shiver in the dark/It's raining in the park/But meantime/South of the river you stop and hold everything.")

George Harrison - George Harrison ("All I've got to do/Is to love you/All I've got to be/Is be happy/All it's got to take/Is some warmth to make it/Blow away/Blow away/Blow away.")

Look Sharp! - Joe Jackson ("Is she really going out with him?/Is she really going to take him home tonight?")

Rickie Lee Jones - Rickie Lee Jones ("Chuck E's in love/Chuck E's in love.") (My introduction to jazz.)

Low Budget - the Kinks ("Now I'm calling all citizens from all over the world/This is Captain America calling/I helped you out when you were down on your knees/So won't you catch me now/I'm falling?")

Dynasty - KISS

First Under the Wire - Little River Band

D4mn the Torpedoes - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Outlandos D'Amour - the Police ("Roooox-Anne!" )

Bombs Away Dream Babies - John Stewart ("People out there are turning music into gold.")

Fear of Music - Talking Heads ("This ain't no party/This ain't no disco/This ain't foolin' around/This ain't no Mudd Club/Or CBGB's/I ain't got time for that now.")

Children of the Sun - Billy Thorpe (You do remember this song, don't you?)

Hydra - Toto

Van Halen II - Van Halen

Back to the Egg - Wings

DegÜello - ZZ Top (Is there a way to put an umlaut over lower case letters? Where can I find a complete list of Discus formattings?) (BTW, this is my favorite album by that "Little Ol' Band From Texas"!)

(Okay, so I've listed a lot of albums from 1979. It's a year I have fond memories of. To me, it was one of the best years for Pop/Rock music. Almost everyone had at least one great song that year. I miss it.

One more missing from the class of 1978:

Don't Look Back - Boston

np - Woke Up with a Monster - Cheap Trick

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

Personally, I never cared much for Peter's Solo album. I can appreciate that it is a tribute to his roots and idols but it really is not right for an album bearing the KISS logo. I loved Ace's (and even Gene and Paul grudgingly label it the best) but Gene's has a real theatrical quality about it. Paul's is very middle of the road, (although there are a number of great songs on there I will add).

BTW- let me be the first to congratulate you Todd on doing this. Well done!

Funny, "a tribute to his roots and idols" is how I'd describe Gene's solo album. Not to mention that it's an album where Gene seem to be saying, "See how many famous people I can get to help out with my album!" I guess what blows it for me is that Gene covered "When You Wish Upon a Star". I mean, I'm sorry, but that clashes too much with his onstage persona. The other three kept theirs within bounds on that score. I mean, it makes sense that Paul, the Lover, would have a middle of the road l.p.

And yeah, Todd, congratulations on getting this done. It was an interesting and insightful look at your tastes in music. Thanks!

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

The stars thing never bothered me about Gene's, although I concede that his album was also a tribute to his idols. I think, though, a lot more songs from his album fit into a Kiss stage show as opposed to songs from Peter's. I have a video of a concert from their Dynasty tour and they do "Tossin' and Turnin'" and it just sounds so out of place in the show.

Your welcome, Benn. It was insightful to me too as well, believe it or not. I think now that I'm done I may go back through the years again and this time try to pick a top ten or fifteen list of individual songs from each year.

It's been too long since I've heard the four KISS solo album, Rodney. I do remember liking the Cat's "I Can't Stop the Rain". But that's about the only song on that album I have a clear memory of. To me Criss' solo album - and I'm going on impressions rather than any detailed memeories here - fit him and his musical style better than Gene's did. Peter was, remember, the one who wrote KISS' only number one hit: "Beth".

Still, I can see where "Tossin' and Turnin'" (it is a cover of the late 50s/early 60s hit, isn't it?) would sound out of place at a KISS concert. But then, so would "Beth", really. (From "Black Diamond" or "Shock Me" to "Beth" is such an awkward transition.)

Todd, if you do a top 10-15 of each year, I may have to consider working up one of my own, unless you or someone else objects. Even if I don't, it'll still be interesting to see your lists.

np - Summertime Dream - Gordon Lightfoot

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

>Todd, if you do a top 10-15 of each year, I may >have to consider working up one of my own, >unless you or someone else objects. Even if I >don't, it'll still be interesting to see your >lists.

Please feel free to, my friend. I've already started making my lists. One problem is that certain years were stronger than others. In other words, while I found about 20 or 25 essential can't leave 'em off songs for years like 1970 and '71, it was difficult to find even five essential songs for 1978. So I may make the length of the lists dependant upon a given year. I've also discovered that on my list, there is a predominance of ballads over teeth jarring rockers. I guess I'm just a wuss at heart. I may even make this into a huge tape compilation (my CD burner stopped working some time ago, and I'm too poor to get a new one, what with the fact that I spend most of my earnings on classic rock CDs).

Well, I've started working on my 1967 list. I can tell you that some bands will probably have more than one songs on many of the years in question. I'm also operating on the assumption that the songs do not have to be "hits".

np - Blues Legend - John Lee Hooker

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

>Well, I've started working on my 1967 list.

Well, let's get the new board started then!

Ok Todd, I had to pass this story along today. I was in a cd shop today and they had the newly remastered version of "Tales Of Topographic Oceans". I held it, looked at it, hummed and haa-ed over it. I had your words ("rewards the patient listener") ringing in my ears as well as the review from my book. In the end I went with the best of Velvet Underground.
Which leads me to my next point..

On one of the singles boards I mentioned Icehouse's "The Berlin Tapes". It was a dance piece consisting of cover versions sung by Iva Davies and his backing band (or "Icehouse"). I got a friend of mine to locate original versions of the 16 songs that make up the cd and I had a couple observations and questions.

Firstly- VU's "All Tomorrow's Parties" is totally pooped upon by Icehouse. The original is badly recorded, badly sung and poorly executed (he says preparing to dodge rotten cyber-tomatoes from VU fans) but Iva and the boys bring it up to legendary status.

I never thought "Loving The Alien" would sound good stripped down, but it does

and OMG! how ticked off was Lennon when he recorded "How Do You Sleep?", I wonder what Paul thought of that number?

Benn will be pleased to know that Lou Reed's "Berlin" is covered and linked seamlessly to Sinatra's "All The Way" (Interestingly, all the songs are performed in their original keys, none are altered, and yes, "Berlin" and "All The Way" do match up- even the originals strangely enough)

Davies shows an uncanny knack for vocal impersonation- from Paul Rodgers on "Be My Friend", through Robert Smith on "At Night" as well as John Lennon, Lou Reed, Bowie, David Byrne ("Heaven"), Jim Kerr ("Let There Be Love") and Bryan Ferry ("Really Good Time").

The other songs on this album are-
"Sister Europe", "Complicated Game" (what a brilliant lyric), "Disappointed" (originally by Public Image Ltd), "Love Like Blood" (originally by Killing Joke), "Heroes" and "Being Boiled".

Shame you US guys can't get that cd over there.

Actually, looking on amazon.com, The Berlin Tapes is available. So is Flowers and several other Icehouse albums. The Berlin Tapes is an Australian import and costs around $23. At this point, I'm pretty satisfied with what I own of Icehouse's oeuvre (Icehouse and Man of Colour). But who knows? I might decide to give it a try anyway. It is available.

"It's all one song." - Neil Young

VU's "All Tomorrow's Parties" is totally pooped upon by Icehouse. The original is badly recorded, badly sung and poorly executed (he says preparing to dodge rotten cyber-tomatoes from VU fans) but Iva and the boys bring it up to legendary status.- Rodney Hrvatin

lol. Well...maybe those tomatoes will be coming from Andy Warhol or Nico (she's got more of a legacy with that one than VU, IMO) fans, but not from me. Besides, any cover, even a great one, can only enhance one's legacy. Actually, Nick Cave did a great version on his Kicking Against the Pricks album, I'd be curious to hear how it stacks up.

Also, it sounds like there's a great line up of other covers as well. I'm assuming that "Sister Europe" is the Psychedelic Furs song and that "Complicated Game" is originally by XTC?

Indeed it is.

It was really fascinating to hear both versions.

Speaking of albums, Zagat did a survey...

"The Rose," Todd. You gotta be joshing me. Then again, I'd put Abba's "Voulez Vous" in there, so what do I know? Abba has long been one of my guilty pleasures, and I sorely regret never seeing them in concert (did they ever tour the U.S.? I think not.)
I once walked into J&R Music World one afternoon in June 1979, and it was like Christmas in the summertime. New albums from Abba ("Voulez Vouz"), Led Zeppelin ("In Through The Out Door") and Paul Mc Cartney and Wings ("Back To The Egg") were out that day.