|
1978 1977 may have been, as I discussed in an earlier post, a revolutionary year, but 1978 was a terrific year in its own right, at least as far as the music was concerned. Perhaps the best analogy to this year was the Cretaceous era of some 130 million years ago. In the Creteceous era, dinosaurs still ruled the earth, but were on their way toward extinction. At the same time, was the rise of the mammal, with its new modes of adaptation. If we examine 1978, we still find plenty of instances of dinosaur-like arena rockers, bands like Yes and Black Sabbath, as well as their lesser imitators, ruling the earth; at the same time, new musical lifeforms coexisted in the musical forest. But just as the gymnospores went into decline, and the angiospores began to spread, the musical forest itself began to change. Some of the older lifeforms that survived the changes were all the better for it. The diverse musical forest was certainly reflected in my own record collection. The Clash sat side by side with Styx, Hall and Oates with the Police, Bob Marley with Ted Nugent. Of course, not all of these I liked or listened to equally; some were the result of my having given in to commercial hype. Some of these, like Styx, I would come to more or less denounce. While I was excited by the punk/new wave bands and was delighted to discover so many of them, I was still sentimentally attached to the old guard: The Stones, Black Sabbath, The Who, Queen, Aerosmith, and certainly gave the old guard a lot of my listening time. This was also the year that three of my all time favorite songs came out: "Roxanne," "Surrender," and "Promised Land." Being a Jersey kid, it was hard to avoid the omnipresence of The Boss In a certain sense, punk came and went (i.e. the Sex Pistols broke up amid scandal; Sid killed Nancy and then ODed), but left a lasting mark (post-punk and the alternative rock movements of the 1980s and beyond) in this year. But from that point on, rock seemed forever divided into above ground/underground, or mainstream/cutting edge. Some of the older musicians who avoided resisting the changes taking place, be they Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, or Ray Davies, continued to do great work; others, living somewhat hermetically sealed, rock star lives, (e.g., Rod Stewart, The Stones, Jimmy Page, Yes, etc.) became old, irrelevant dinosaurs. - Tom AC/DC - Powerage AC/DC - If You Want Blood You've Got It (live) The Adverts - Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts zxyxz 77: Awesome. The only punkers besides the Pistols to cultivate that giant wall of sound (as opposed to speed) approach. Aerosmith - Live Bootleg The Art Bears - Hopes and Fears (a fine Henry Cow spinoff band) zxyxz 77: Some interesting stuff, but difficult to sit through front to back. Atlanta Rhythm Section - Champagne Jam ("Imaginary Lover") The Band - The Last Waltz BeBop Deluxe - Drastic Plastic zxyxz 77: BEST LP OF THE YEAR, HANDS DOWN!! A dozen different futures are invented here. The 80's get a head start. Big Star - Third/Sister Lovers Elvin Bishop - Hog Heaven Stephen Bishop - Bish Black Sabbath - Never Say Die (their last record with the original lineup) Blondie - Parallel Lines ("One Way or Another," "Heart of Glass") zxyxz 77: One of the year's best dressed bands had some fine pop ditties. Boston - Don't Look Back David Bowie - Stage (live) Cabaret Voltaire - Extended Play EP (a band ahead of its time) Can - Out Of Reach Can - Cannibalism 1 Captain Beefheart - Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) (he's unquestionably an acquired taste, and this is one of his best) The Cars - The Cars ("My Best Friend's Girl," "Just What I Needed," "Good Times Roll") (I loved this record, and I remember hearing "Just What I Needed" inside a car while in Boston that year; how cool is that?) zxyxz 77: Great New Wave/ AOR hybrid, but my fave song is "I'm in Touch with your World", the only one you'll never hear on radio (unless I'm the DJ.) Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight ("California Man," "Surrender," "On the Radio") (perhaps Cheap Trick's golden masterpiece; certainly Surrender is a perfect pop song) Cheap Trick - Live at Budokon Chrome - Half Machine Lip Moves Eric Clapton - Backless ("Early In The Morning," "Tulsa Time") The Clash - Give 'Em Enough Rope ("Safe European Home") zxyxz 77: So-So. Longer tracks like "Last Gang in Town" and "All The Young Punks", as well as "Stay Free" and "Drug Stabbing Time" are great, "Tommy Gun" is very self derivative, and "Guns on the Roof" is horrible (a couple variations of the "I Can't Explain" riff had preceeded this out and out rip off.) The Cortinas - True Romances zxyxz 77: Read about 'em for years but never heard them. Elvis Costello - This Year's Model ("No Action," "Beat," "On the Radio") zxyxz 77: This LP would be perfect if it had included "I Dont Want to Go to Chelsea", my fave track (I know the UK version did, but that didn't have "Radio Radio", bummer.) Dead Boys - We Have Come For Your Children ("Ain't It Fun") Dead Fingers Talk - Storm The Reality Studios Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo ("Jocko Homo," "Satisfaction") (beloved by high school geeks and misfits in the late 70s) The Dictators - Bloodbrothers Dire Straits - Dire Straits ("Sultans of Swing") (I never really cared for this band, though I acknowledge their talents) zxyxz 77: I had this on the turntable just as I clicked on this post. Aside from "Sultans", it's very pure in its rootsiness, but it has grown on me. The Dixie Dregs - What If zxyxz 77: Fantastic fusion. The Doobie Brothers - Minute By Minute ("What a Fool Believes") The Doors - An American Prayer (The Doors made a "come-back" ... well, not exactly, but with the release of this and the Morrison biography, "No One Gets Out of Here Alive," they were heavily rediscovered) Bob Dylan - Street Legal Brian Eno - Music for Films zxyxz 77: His best mood music LP. Brian Eno - Ambient 1/Music for Airports (Eno, great innovator that he is, invented a new musical style here) Brian Eno with Cluster/Moebius and Roedelius - After the Heat zxyxz 77: Excellent (both Eno LPs). Exile - Mixed Emotions ("Kiss You All Over") Bryan Ferry - The Bride Stripped Bare zxyxz 77: I need to get this, though I find his solo stuff somewhat thin. Firefall - Elan Foreigner - Double Vision ("Hot Blooded") Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove (get funky now) zxyxz 77: Here's a genre I've never really "got". Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel zxyxz 77: Very enjoyable, despite being a sophmore jinx. Gang of Four - Damaged Goods EP zxyxz 77: Incredibly innovative stuff. Generation X - Generation X ("Your Generation," "Ready, Steady, Go") zxyxz 77: Probably the year's best dressed band, and the one that would have the far most reaching influence into the future, fashionwize, not to mention some great tracks like "Promises, Promises" and "Kiss Me Deadly". Genesis - And Then There Were Three zxyxz 77: Fantastic lush symphonic pomp pop. It can be addictive. "Burning Rope" mmmm ..., dont get me started. Nick Gilder - City Nights ("Hot Child in the City") (that song was good trashy fun) The Godz - The Godz (a fun, three chord balls to the wall rock and roll record by an obscure band from the midwest) Robert Gordon - Fresh Fish Special Grateful Dead - Shakedown Street ("Good Lovin'") Hall and Oates - Darryl Hall and John Oates ("Sara Smile") Hall and Oates - Along the Red Ledge zxyxz 77: One of their best. Cathartic Punkouts like "Alley Cats" and "Don't Blame it on Me", rich soul like "The Last Time" and the beautiful ballad, "August Day". Go to the next page for the rest of the list. Choose a year or click on Next 1970/ 1971/ 1972/ 1973/ 1974 1975/ 1976/ 1977/ 1978/ 1979 
Visit us all at alt.culture.us.1970s Website designed and maintained by Tiny Dancer (tinyd@bell.net) Graphics courtesy of 
|