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1978 Ramones - Road To Ruin ("Questioningly," "I Wanna Be Sedated," "She's The One") Genya Ravan - Urban Desire Lou Reed - Street Hassle ("Street Hassle," "Real Good Time Together") (may be one of Lou's 2 or 3 best 70s records, ranking right up with Transformer and Berlin; Lou seemed particularly energized by punk and the NY musical underground) zxyxz 77: I'm not a big fan, but those other two you mention I really like, so I really should check this out. The Residents - Duck Stab zxyxz 77: A classic, featuring the smash hits "Blue Rosebuds", "Lizard Lady" and "The Electrocutioner". The Rezillos - Can't Stand The Rezillos (artsy new wavers from Scotland) zxyxz 77: Fine, quirky pop punk ditties. REO Speedwagon - You Can Tune A Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish Rich Kids - Ghosts Of Princes In Towers zxyxz 77: It's OK, but far short of the talents of the people involved (especially Midge Ure.) Tom Robinson Band - Power In The Darkness zxyxz 77: If the music ain't all great, the lyrics never get boring. Rolling Stones - Some Girls ("Miss You," "Some Girls") (at the time, this seemed like a great LP; now it sounds pretty dated to my ears) Todd Rundgren - Hermit Of Mink Hollow ("All the Children Sing," "Can We Still Be Friends?") zxyxz 77: Excellent as usual. Rush - Hemispheres zxyxz 77: Their first really good album. The Saints - Eternally Yours ("Know Your Product") Bob Seger - Stranger In Town ("Hollywood Nights," "Old Time Rock and Roll," "Feel Like a Number," "We've Got Tonight") Sham 69 - Tell Us The Truth (Clash inspired British punkers) zxyxz 77: Yobo boot boy Punk. Me, I'm more on the arty side. Patti Smith - Easter ("Privilege (Set Me Free)", "Because the Night") (a more commercially accessible Patti Smith, in part because of "Because the Night," co-written by Bruce Springsteen) Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town ("Badlands," "Candy's Room," "Promised Land") (while, to my ears, it sounds just a bit dated, these are still heartfelt, meaningful songs and this LP is a minor classic) Squeeze - Squeeze ("Take Me I'm Yours") zxyxz 77: The hit was another blast of pure New Wave invention. "Remember What?" should have been a single. Starcastle - Citadel zxyxz 77: That was from '77. Fine mix of Yes and Styx. The Stranglers - Black And White ("Walk on By," "Nice and Sleazy") zxyxz 77: Awesome record. My favorite of the groups lumped in with British Punk's first wave. This band always gave each song a unique treatment to match the character of the topics, and they always became the characters through their singing. Steele Pulse - Handsworth Revolution (great Reggae musicians) Styx - Pieces Of Eight ("Blue Collar Man") The Suburbs - The Suburbs EP Suicide - Suicide (a brilliant band from NYC consisting of the singer Alan Vega and the synth player Martin Rev; their records are gloomy, droning and haunting, and perhaps are an acquired taste) Rachel Sweet - Fool Around Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings And Food ("Take Me to the River") zxyxz 77: Love it all except for that song. Television - Adventure zxyxz 77: Need to get this back again. Their first was so great, but I find them to be more classic rock than New Wave. 38 Special - Special Delivery Richard and Linda Thompson - First Light George Thorogood - Move It On Over ("Who Do You Love") Throbbing Gristle - 2nd Annual Report (another important, influential, experimental post-punk band from the industrial north of England) Peter Tosh - Bush Doctor Toto - Toto ("Hold The Line") Robin Trower - Caravan To Midnight Tuff Darts - Tuff Darts Ultravox - Systems Of Romance zxyxz 77: Immortal. The sound of the future unveiled in a year of present/ past collisions. U-Roy - Version Galore Van Halen - Van Halen ("Runnin' With The Devil," "You Really Got Me," "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love") (a very noteworthy debut by a band that would soon rule the airways) Cherry Vanilla - Bad Girl (David Bowie's former publicist put out a pretty decent record of her own) Various Artists - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack (one highlight: Aerosmith - "Come Together") (the soundtrack to the "so bad, it's good" travesty of the Beatles' memory) Various Artists - No New York (features Mars, DNA, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, and the Contortions, all produced by Brian Eno) (most of the persons I've ever shared this with thought it was unlistenable noise, but to me, it's great. Released in the aftermath of the breakup of the Sex Pistols, when cries of "punk is dead" could be heard far and wide, the bands of the No Wave movement - all deliberately noisy, abrasive and atonal, were musical experimentalists, pioneering a next new thing. I recommend this to all those with an openness to radical new sounds) zxyxz 77: Never seen this anywhere. Probably good, as I do like the Contortions. The Vibrators - V2 Tom Waits - Blue Valentine Tiny Dancer: One of my faves, I'll stick up for "Red Shoes By The Drugstore", "Romeo Is Bleeding" and "29 Dollars". Great drinkin' album as long as you hide the knives ;-) Wire - Chairs Missing zxyxz 77: Interesting, innovative, and certainly my favorite by them. The Who - Who Are You ("New Song," "Had Enough") (the Who sounding a bit fatigued) zxyxz 77: It's grown with me. Best tracks: "Sister Disco", "Music Must Change", "Guitar and Pen", "Love is Coming Down", and the title track. Wreckless Eric - The Wonderful World Of Wreckless Eric ("Whole Wide World") (produced by Nick Lowe, this British singer had a great cockney accent and a bunch of very catchy tunes) X-Ray Spex - Germfree Adolescents zxyxz 77: A fine Punk record, even if it doesn't excite me like it used to. XTC - White Music ("This is Pop") zxyxz 77: One of the most talented, exciting and original New Wave bands, and this was only a start. Don't forget Go-2, their second, more polished, abstract and superior second album, also released in 1978. Yes - Tormato zxyxz 77: A great, eclectic album. This band really did have some ideas for the new era, with such contributions as the cathartic Prog/ Punk of "Release, Release", the quirky "Arriving UFO" and the beautiful ballad "Onward", not to mention the classic style epic, "On the Silent Wings of Freedom." Neil Young - Comes A Time Tapper Zukie - MPLA (a good 70s rastaman) Tiny Dancer adds: April Wine - First Glance ("Rock 'N' Roll Is A Vicious Game," "Roller") The boys finally crack the American market with this one and earn their first US gold album. The Carpenters - The Singles 1974-1978 ("Sweet Sweet Smile," "I Won't Last A Day Without You," "Solitaire," "Please Mr. Postman," "I Need To Be In Love," "There's A Kind Of Hush") The Carpenters - Christmas Portrait ("Merry Christmas, Darling") Not many Christmas collections spawn their own classics but this one did. Other highlights include a beautiful version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Karen was a treasure, we were lucky to have her for the brief time we did. Harry Chapin - Living Room Suite ("Dancin' Boy," "Poor Damned Fool") Two hits for Harry off this one and two of my faves, "Why Do Little Girls" and "Flowers Are Red". Alice Cooper - From The Inside ("How You Gonna See Me Now") Bought it for the Bernie Taupin connection (this was the first time Elton and Bernie "broke up" as they both worked with other artists) and grew to love it! All about Alice's time drying out and the time he spent in a mental hospital this one not only rocks ("Wish I Were Born In Beverly Hills", "Serious", "For Veronica's Sake") but has some great ballads to boot ("The Quiet Room", "How You Gonna See Me Now"). Neil Diamond - You Don't Bring Me Flowers The title duet with Barbra Streisand was a huge hit and Neil had his own hit with "Forever In Blue Jeans". Heart - Dog And Butterfly ("Straight On") Elton John - A Single Man ("Part-Time Love", "Georgia", "Madness", "Song For Guy") Without Bernie writing the lyrics that old feeling just wasn't there but he had a hit with "Part-Time Love" and wrote a classic instrumental in "Song For Guy". Gordon Lightfoot - Endless Wire ("Daylight Katy") Barry Manilow - Even Now ("Copacabana (At The Copa)," "Even Now," "Can't Smile Without You," "Somewhere In The Night") One of his biggest and best, IMHO, with the four hits listed and three others I loved, "A Linda Song," "Where Do I Go From Here" and "I Just Want To Be The One In Your Life". Barry Manilow - Foul Play (soundtrack) ("Ready To Take A Chance Again") Great movie and lovely soundtrack. Barry Manilow - Greatest Hits ("Mandy," "New York City Rhythm," "Ready To Take A Chance Again," "Looks Like We Made It," "Daybreak," "Can't Smile Without You," "It's A Miracle," "Even Now," "Bandstand Boogie," "Tryin' To Get The Feeling," "Could It Be Magic," "Somewhere In The Night," "Jump Shout Boogie," "Weekend In New England," "Copacabana (At The Copa)," "I Write The Songs") Also released as Manilow Magic. The definitive Manilow collection, this double album was on my turntable constantly. Alas, it's now out of print. Beware of collections of the same name that don't have a picture of Barry wearing a white shirt and a gold star necklace, they're just cheap imitations. Olivia Newton-John - Totally Hot ("A Little More Love") And, man, was she ever hot! I think the album cover sold more copies than the single myself. Linda Ronstadt - Living In The U.S.A. ("Back In The U.S.A.," "When I Grow Too Old To Dream," "Just One Look," "Alison," "Ooh Baby Baby," "Love Me Tender") Her last album of the decade was another number one with Elvis Costello's "Alison", Chuck Berry's "Back In The USA", Smokey's Robinson's classic "Ooh Baby Baby" and a lovely version of Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender". "When I Grow Too Old To Dream" proved she could handle the moldy oldies as well, maybe she should consider doing an album of old standards in the upcoming 80s ;-) Barbra Streisand - Songbird ("Tomorrow," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" w/ Neil Diamond) Also noteable for the lovely semi-autobiographical title track. Trooper - Thick As Thieves ("Round, Round We Go," "The Moment That It Takes," "Raise A Little Hell") Yet another classic hit here, "Raise A Little Hell", which must be played at maximum volume with your fists pumping the air or your Canadian passport will be revoked ;-) Various Artists - Grease soundtrack Huge movie and equally huge album. From the opening strains of "Grease" by Frankie Valli to the final "We Go Together" with John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John and the rest of the cast, this one's a classic. Big hits for John and Olivia with "Summer Nights" and "You're The One That I Want" and Olivia on her own had a massive hit with "Hopelessly Devoted To You". Hard not to get up and boogie or jive to Sha-Na-Na's "Born To Hand-Jive" and, my personal fave, "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" by Stockard Channing. Don't hurt me, Buddy ;-) Go to the next page for zxyxz 77's list of noteable albums 1970/ 1971/ 1972/ 1973/ 1974 1975/ 1976/ 1977/ 1978/ 1979 
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