100 Greatest Songs of the 1970s. [Archive] - Comic Book Resources Forums

Ilash

11-14-2006, 03:32 AM

Cool, I've been hoping you'll do this. Since you intend to do only five at a time, I'll try and comment on every song you list. Also, since you're only allowing one song per artist, I'll list my pick from that artist if I disagree and point out whether I agree with the positioning or not. I'll also make a note to say whether I had heard the song previously - if not I'll try and check it out so I can comment on it. Lastly, once this is all done, I'll put up a few choices of my own if I feel you've left anyone out. This should be fun.

100. Bachman-Turner Overdrive “Takin’ Care of Business”

(Heard before)

Well, you have pointed out what's wrong with this and yes, it is as good a choice as any BTO song - probably better in fact. I totally agree with you about the piano too and it is a really fun song but I guess the only question is to see what other boogie-rock you put on your list to see whether it truly belongs here. But yes, I can't really see this deserving to be any higher.

099. Patti Smith “Dancing Barefoot”

(Heard it for the first time)

I'm pretty much completely unfamiliar with Patti Smith's work (haven't gotten around to her yet) but this is very good stuff. You have hit the nail on the head with your description but am I the only one who gets a big Stevie Nicks vibe from this song?

098. The Who “Baba O’Riley”

(Heard already)

Agree with the pick. I'd be tempted to put up something from Quad but because those songs work better as part of the whole, I'm with you entirely on this song. It should be much, much higher but for such a fantastic write up, I'm willing to forgive you.

097. The Allman Brothers Band “Melissa”

(Heard already)

So this is your Allman's pick huh? Well, you know what, I again agree entirely. Simply one of the best love songs I have ever heard but again, I can't match your description of the song, which is again right on the money. And again, I would put it higher.

096. Human League “Being Boiled”

(Heard for the first time)

Hmmm, okay, I do see the merit in this and I respect your choice to include it but, as I'm sure you'll be completely unsurprised to know, this sort of music really isn't my cup of tea (though I really like Alice Cooper's New Wave albums, oddly enough). Sorry, subjectivity would mean I would preclude this song.

Jonathan Bogart

11-14-2006, 11:13 PM

096. Human League “Being Boiled”

(Heard for the first time)

Hmmm, okay, I do see the merit in this and I respect your choice to include it but, as I'm sure you'll be completely unsurprised to know, this sort of music really isn't my cup of tea (though I really like Alice Cooper's New Wave albums, oddly enough). Sorry, subjectivity would mean I would preclude this song.
Heh. If I can get you to listen to a bunch of new wave and post-punk for the first time, it'll all be worth it.

And the next batch (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-ii.html) is up.

howyadoin

11-14-2006, 11:37 PM

I think you're absolutely right about Heart.

And sweet Jesus, look how thin Ann was back then.

Ilash

11-15-2006, 04:25 AM

Okay, I'm unfamiliar with most of these songs. I know the artists but I haven't given them much of a chance yet. Let's see if any of these bands/ artists gain a new devotee.

095. Heart “Crazy on You"

(heard for the first time)

I've never been particularly impressed with what I've heard of Heart but it is possible that I've mainly heard their 80 stuff. Listening to this, I'm going to guess this is the case because this is really rather good. It's good solid pop rock and I can see why you've included it here.

094. Lou Reed “Perfect Day”

(Heard before)

Great song, great pick. This would be my Reed pick as well and yes, it is rather strange that we would both include a song so unrepresentative of Lou Reed. It could be a bit higher, I suppose but I have no real problem with its placement.

093. Ronnie Spector “Try Some, Buy Some”

(heard for the first time)

This song is from George Harrison's Living in the Material World, right? I haven't heard that album or his version of the song (yet) but this is indeed good stuff. Not sure I would include it in my top 100 but I have no real quibble with your doing so. Interesting bit of trivia about all four Ex-Beatles playing on this song - I did not know that. Also, funnily enough, I found this on Soulseek under a folder called "Jonathan Bogart's 100 Best Songs of the Seventies".

092. Sparks “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us”

(heard for the first time)

I've been meaning to check out these guys, just never got around to it yet. I definitely see the Queen comparisons and it is, sure enough, a rather good song but I can't ever see it becoming a favourite.

091. The Wild Tchoupitoulas “Hey Pocky A-Way”

(heard for the first time)

I can pretty safely say that I have never heard of these guys before but this song is pretty cool. It sound like a mixture of Dr John, seventies funk music and The Stones circa Black and Blue. A nice pick.

Jonathan Bogart

11-15-2006, 06:24 AM

This song is from George Harrison's Living in the Material World, right? I haven't heard that album or his version of the song (yet) but this is indeed good stuff. Not sure I would include it in my top 100 but I have no real quibble with your doing so. Interesting bit of trivia about all four Ex-Beatles playing on this song - I did not know that. Also, funnily enough, I found this on Soulseek under a folder called "Jonathan Bogart's 100 Best Songs of the Seventies".
Uh-oh.

.

Ontir

11-15-2006, 06:34 AM

I've got a cover album that Simple Minds did; but unfortunately they don't make much effort to credit the original artists, so I didn't know who did all of them. It took awhile to discover that Being Boiled was the Human League, and it's only reading this, that I learned that the great Patti Smith did Dancing Barefoot, which thinking about the lyrics, now makes sense. I'm going to see if iTunes has her original version.

Jonathan Bogart

11-15-2006, 06:57 AM

I've got a cover album that Simple Minds did; but unfortunately they don't make much effort to credit the original artists, so I didn't know who did all of them.
I thought the CD cover was a picture of a mixtape with the songs and original artists written in pen.

That's one of my favorite albums, by the way. Not the Simple Minds version, but the original-artists mixtape they compiled by doing it. A lot of those songs will probably show up on my list.

Ontir

11-15-2006, 07:10 AM

Not all the songs are listed on the cover, and even with the ones that are, you can't read the artists - which sucks!

thehod

11-15-2006, 07:42 AM

All I'm saying is that The Sweet's Blockbuster better be in there 'cos its better than Bowie's The Jean Genie.

Anyone wishing to hit me can form an orderly queue whilst I make for the hills.

jessecuster3

11-15-2006, 08:01 AM

Jonathan Bogart

11-15-2006, 09:07 AM

Not all the songs are listed on the cover, and even with the ones that are, you can't read the artists - which sucks!
Huh. You're right:

http://www.terapija.net/fotke/mjuzik/20041124_152836_3.jpg

Jonathan Bogart

11-15-2006, 09:08 AM

All I'm saying is that The Sweet's Blockbuster better be in there 'cos its better than Bowie's The Jean Genie.

Anyone wishing to hit me can form an orderly queue whilst I make for the hills.
Mm. "Jean Genie" certainly isn't in there.

scratchie

11-15-2006, 09:43 AM

Huh. You're right:

http://www.terapija.net/fotke/mjuzik/20041124_152836_3.jpg
Are you being sarcastic? I had no trouble reading the artists:

Van Morrison
David Bowie
Pete Shelley
Patti Smith
Kraftwerk
The Doors
Echo and the Bunnymen
Neil Young
Roxy Music
Velvet Underground

Interesting mix.

But I really think "The Jean Genie" should be on the list.

rick

11-15-2006, 10:03 AM

So far that's a great list, although I hope that this isn't the only song you picked by Patti. I love that I'm not the only one to remember “Hey Pocky A-Way” although I don't know if it would make my top 100 list.

As always though, even if some of the songs aren't my cup of tea, your choices are just fantastic.

And yeah, Heart really did suck in the 80's. I think that's why they still haven't made the Hall of Fame yet.

Ontir

11-15-2006, 11:55 AM

Are you being sarcastic? I had no trouble reading the artists:

Van Morrison
David Bowie
Pete Shelley
Patti Smith
Kraftwerk
The Doors
Echo and the Bunnymen
Neil Young
Roxy Music
Velvet Underground

Interesting mix.

But I really think "The Jean Genie" should be on the list.

I'm not being sarcastic. 1st: There are 3 songs missing. 2nd: the actual CD cover isn't as big as it's presented here.

Jonathan Bogart

11-15-2006, 12:13 PM

But I really think "The Jean Genie" should be on the list.
You think that's David Bowie's best song?

Jonathan Bogart

11-15-2006, 12:24 PM

1st: There are 3 songs missing.
Two songs. The other is "Love Will Tear Us Apart." We'd better all know who the original is by.

Ontir

11-15-2006, 12:34 PM

3 song: "Being Boiled" ~ Human League, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" ~ Joy Division, and "Promised You a Miracle" ~ Simple Minds, and again, that image is much bigger than the CD Book.

scratchie

11-15-2006, 01:12 PM

You think that's David Bowie's best song?One of his best, sure. Not that I've given it a whole lot of thought, but that's always been one of my favorites, and would be on the short list if I were compiling a similar list to yours.

Jonathan Bogart

11-15-2006, 02:03 PM

3 song: "Being Boiled" ~ Human League, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" ~ Joy Division, and "Promised You a Miracle" ~ Simple Minds, and again, that image is much bigger than the CD Book.
Ah. My copy doesn't have the Simple Minds song. Although I do have the original version.

Thank God we cleared that up.

Matthew E

11-15-2006, 02:49 PM

I'm only just seeing this thread now. I'm glad you're doing this and curious to see what's up next. (More stuff I've never heard of, I'm sure; of the first ten I'm only familiar with three.)

Should I do my own response list again? Maybe not; the main reason why I did the '60s one was just to see if there was a third great hundred '60s songs after you and Pitchfork had had your picks. I guess it'll depend.

Comments:

BTO doesn't need to apologize to anybody for being on this list. They were excellent. I can think of a couple of songs I'd rather include than TCB, though (not that it isn't great), and higher up.

And what was so bad about Heart in the '80s?

howyadoin

11-15-2006, 07:26 PM

Two songs. The other is "Love Will Tear Us Apart." We'd better all know who the original is by.Not Paul Young.

Jonathan Bogart

11-15-2006, 08:44 PM

And what was so bad about Heart in the '80s?
Cheesy generic synth backing, excrutiatingly drippy lyrics, and the fact that the fatal words "power ballad" apply.

Here's the next five (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-iii.html).

Jessica Drew

11-15-2006, 09:49 PM

Wow. I marvel at your essay on #90, and then I scroll down a notch, and I literally recoil from my desk. I then quickly scroll down to the bottom of the page and slowly work my way up, like a child hiding his eyes from the terror on the screen (oops...allusion to the wrong decade) and slowly separating his fingers to make sure it's safe to return to viewing, until the shock/suspense music starts playing again, as I cautiously approach #88.

EDIT: ...and that's some do on Cetera, I tell you.

thehod

11-16-2006, 02:29 AM

On a purely personal point of view I would definatly include..

Lola - The Kinks
My Sweet Lord - George Harrison
Life on Mars? - Bowie
Kashmir - Led Zepplin
I Feel Love - Donna Summer
Lust for Life - Iggy Pop
Pretty Vacant - Sex Pistols
No More Heroes - Stranglers
Ever Fallen in Love? - Buzzcocks
Mr Blue Sky - ELO
Teenage Kicks - The Undertones
Heart of Glass - Blondie
Cars - Gary Numan
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson

But then again its always been said i have shite taste in music

thehod

11-16-2006, 02:34 AM

I remember a radio 1 DJ (forget which one) talking about Wuthering Heights on one of those 100 greatest programmes a few years back.

He said he wasn't sure whether he was playing it at the wrong speed or not when he first put it on cos her voice sounded so weird.

Jonathan Bogart

11-16-2006, 02:06 PM

Ontir

11-16-2006, 02:54 PM

Ah. My copy doesn't have the Simple Minds song. Although I do have the original version.

Thank God we cleared that up.

DOH!

The downside of iTunes, is that things get batched together oddly sometimes. "Promised You a Miracle" isn't on that disk, it just got thrown in the middle of the songs that were, so it is one less than I thought. I tried to read the band names on my CD though, and couldn't read all of them at that size.

Ilash

11-16-2006, 04:18 PM

Hate to say it but again I'm only really familiar with one song here (The Zep one).

090. Led Zeppelin “When the Levee Breaks”

I don't think this would be my Zeppelin pick but your spot-on analysis both of the song and the band made me think that maybe it should be.

089. Chicago “Saturday in the Park”

I've been actually a bit apprehensive about getting into this band, assuming (yup, there's my problem right there) that they were just easy listening pap. So they weren't always like that, huh? Good to know! Really cool song too - I like it right off the bat. I really dig the sound overall. Remind me again, why I haven't checked these guys out before?

088. Nicky Hopkins “Speed On”

Nicky Hopkins rules! Of course, I say that based on his always reliably excellent playing with all those sixties bands (though I am yet to crack Quicksilver Messenger Service). I had never heard any of his solo stuff before so thanks for pointing me towards this because this song ROCKS. And of course it rocks while having the guitar as the calmest part of the song too, which is not something you can say too often. And George Harrison again - man, I hope you do include something by him on this list. Wait, this is the decade of All Things Must Pass - of course you will! Uh, right?

087. Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights”

Well, not sure which version of the song I checked out but the vocals are VERY chipmunkee so I'll assume it's the original. I've heard of her, of course but one thing I do want to know - does she always sing like this? Is she putting us on because, flippin' hell, those are some squeeky vocals! How do you even know what she's singing, I can't make out a word. For what it's woth though, I actually rather like the other aspects of the song but I think her singing will take some getting used to. But hey, at least she's distinctive.

086. The Pointer Sisters “Yes We Can Can”

Ooooooo... this is cool! Heard of them too but I'm not sure if I've ever actually heard anything by them. I would need some more listens to see whether I would rate this as high as you do but this is a kickass groovy little number.

Seriously though, could you please post some songs next time that don't leave me feeling like a total ignoramous.

Jonathan Bogart

11-16-2006, 04:31 PM

089. Chicago “Saturday in the Park”
Remind me again, why I haven't checked these guys out before?
Well, Starostin doesn't like them very much...

088. Nicky Hopkins “Speed On”
And George Harrison again - man, I hope you do include something by him on this list. Wait, this is the decade of All Things Must Pass - of course you will! Uh, right?
I already included a song he wrote and produced, and one he played the guitar solo on. You want vocals, too?

Seriously though, could you please post some songs next time that don't leave me feeling like a total ignoramous.
We'll see.

Ilash

11-16-2006, 04:45 PM

Well, Starostin doesn't like them very much...

Oh. Didn't even realize he reviewed them.

EDIT: Just checked out his page with all of two reviews on them. He gives the first album a rating of 12, which is a pretty high rating for a band he doesn't like.

I already included a song he wrote and produced, and one he played the guitar solo on. You want vocals, too?

Yes Please, if it's not too much to ask. Yeah, I really love ATMP that much.

DDM

11-16-2006, 05:52 PM

Siouxsie & the Banshees, "Hong Kong Garden" (1978)
Heart, "Barracuda"
Fleetwood Mac, "Gold Dust Woman" (1977)
Television, "Little Johnny Jewel"
Iggy Pop, "The Passenger"
Bauhaus, "Bela Lugosi's Dead" (1979)
X-Ray Spex, "The Day The World Turned Day-Glo" (1977)
ABBA, "Waterloo"
Donna Summer, "I Feel Love"
Gloria Gaynor, "I Will Survive"
David Bowie, "Ziggy Stardust"
Kraftwerk, "Hall of Mirros"
Blondie, "Heart of Glass" (aka the Disco Song)

howyadoin

11-16-2006, 06:52 PM

089. Chicago “Saturday in the Park”

I've been actually a bit apprehensive about getting into this band, assuming (yup, there's my problem right there) that they were just easy listening pap. So they weren't always like that, huh? Good to know! Really cool song too - I like it right off the bat. I really dig the sound overall. Remind me again, why I haven't checked these guys out before?Because for the most part, they are just easy listening pap.

Jonathan Bogart

11-17-2006, 12:42 AM

Yes Please, if it's not too much to ask. Yeah, I really love ATMP that much.
If it's any solace, I'm not really a big Beatles fan...

Next! (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-iv.html)

Serik

11-17-2006, 01:20 AM

It's great to see "Rosalita" on the list!

The Wild, The Innocent, and The E Street Shuffle is, hands down, one of the best sophomore albums in rock n roll. If you know Bruce soley from Born to Run or Born in the USA, you're really missing out on a damn fun record. Just hearing those ridiculously silly opening horns on the record's title track brings a grin to my face. And we can't forget "Incident on 57th Street," a Jersey shore West Side Story in 6 minutes. "New York City Serenade" is the most beautiful and seductive songs Bruce has ever wrote.

I'm really digging this Top 100 list.

Jessica Drew

11-17-2006, 01:37 AM

JB: Your Pink Floyd paragraph is the best damn description of the feeling one gets from their music that I've ever read. You seriously need to find someone to publish this stuff.

leonaozaki

11-17-2006, 05:11 PM

But I really think "The Jean Genie" should be on the list.

Man, as much as I love that song, "Jean Genie" isn't even the best song on Aladdin Sane-- that honor, of course, goes to either "Drive In Saturday" or "Panic in Detroit."

Hmmm...thinking more broadly, Neil Young and David Bowie owned the 70's, didn't they?

One could do a best of the 70's list using those two alone.

rob

Patient Boy

11-17-2006, 07:19 PM

Jonathan: I wanted to say this on the Sixties thread, but somehow procrastinated and never got around to it.

If you aren't already making a living off this, you really should.

Camron Amaya

11-17-2006, 07:38 PM

092. Sparks “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us”
(Ron Mael)
Kimono My House, 1974

Might as well get this out of the way now: there is no Queen on this list. That’s because this song exists, and Queen is rendered unnecessary thereby. Okay, hyperbole; and of course I still bang my head to the last movement of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” But Russell Mael’s operatic falsetto completely destroys Freddie Mercury’s, and in this short glam-pop-metal-novelty song, they manage to hit every one of Queen’s marks: glorious riffage, classical melody played at a brisk rock & roll clip, wild Hollywoodesque imagery — everything except the massed choirs of Mercuries.

one word......NEVER!

Jonathan Bogart

11-17-2006, 10:31 PM

One could do a best of the 70's list using those two alone.
Don't think I wasn't tempted.

And next (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-v.html).

scratchie

11-18-2006, 08:35 AM

But I really think "The Jean Genie" should be on the list.Man, as much as I love that song, "Jean Genie" isn't even the best song on Aladdin Sane-- that honor, of course, goes to either "Drive In Saturday" or "Panic in Detroit."Let's not turn this into another "Jean Genie"/"Panic in Detroit" flame war! :D

leonaozaki

11-18-2006, 01:20 PM

Hey Jon,

I share your love for "Pancho and Lefty," and so I was wondering what you think of the various versions of it. I've heard Dylan do one; of course the Haggard/Nelson version is justifiably famous; but for my money my favorite version is the one by Emmylou Harris. It's one of the few pieces of non-classical music that's so beautiful it literally brought tears to my eyes.

There; I admitted it!

rob

Jonathan Bogart

11-18-2006, 02:17 PM

Confession time: I've heard the other versions (especially the Emmylou Harris one), but never really listened to them, you know? It was Van Zandt who hit me over the head with it.

DDM

11-18-2006, 05:12 PM

Emmylou Harris, "Queen of the Silver Dollar"
Dolly Parton, "Jolene"

berk

11-20-2006, 04:48 PM

for a band that started out almost pathetically influenced by the Stones, ... I don't usually bother arguing about this stuff because it's mainly just a matter of taste, but what the hell:

Boy, do I ever disagree with you on this. I don't think they were ever particularly Stones-influnced. Dylan, maybe. And they certainly shared a bunch of influences with the Stones, but influenced bythem? My ears tell me otherwise. And the Hunter-Hoople were never pathetic in any way, shape or form. Right from the moment he joined they transcended their influences to create something unique - within the same sub-genre of British blues-based rock in which the Stones toiled as well, of course.

howyadoin

11-20-2006, 07:30 PM

I don't usually bother arguing about this stuff because it's mainly just a matter of taste, but what the hell:

Boy, do I ever disagree with you on this. I don't think they were ever particularly Stones-influnced. Dylan, maybe.Couldn't agree more. Dylan's influence is all over Ian Hunter's vocal phrasing in particular.

Jonathan Bogart

11-20-2006, 08:03 PM

Boy, do I ever disagree with you on this. I don't think they were ever particularly Stones-influnced. Dylan, maybe. And they certainly shared a bunch of influences with the Stones, but influenced bythem? My ears tell me otherwise. And the Hunter-Hoople were never pathetic in any way, shape or form. Right from the moment he joined they transcended their influences to create something unique - within the same sub-genre of British blues-based rock in which the Stones toiled as well, of course.
Chalk it up to my usual sin of hyperbole, plus lazy thinking. I included "Rock & Roll Queen" on my 60s list, so I love their beginnings too. But it's my contention that they did get better when they got more focused.

Anyway. The next set is up (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-vi.html).

rick

11-20-2006, 08:20 PM

Don't think I wasn't tempted.

And next (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-v.html).

Jonathan, I'm sorry, but while I will certainly agree that Yoko Ono is a fine and talented artist and I certainly admit that it’s your list, but you can not seriously think for a minute that Yoko is musically talented?

Look, I own a copy of Metal Music Machine and the first Frippatronics LP, so it’s not that I don’t have the ability to listen to music that will sterilize a cat at 50 yards.

But ”Don't Worry, Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking For Her Hand In The Snow)" remains the single most unlistinable song ever recorded by a mjor label, and ”Listen the Snow is Falling” is right there beside it.

Please tell me this is because your mad that she gets the break-up blame?

Jonathan Bogart

11-20-2006, 08:32 PM

But ”Don't Worry, Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking For Her Hand In The Snow)" remains the single most unlistinable song ever recorded by a mjor label, and ”Listen the Snow is Falling” is right there beside it.
Woah woah woah. "Don't Worry Kyoko" is, I agree, punishing to the nth degree. I don't know about "unlistenable" (especially by modern noise-rock standards), but certainly no fun at all. But "Listen, the Snow Is Falling" is just a pretty pop song. You've gotta be thinking of some other song.

rick

11-20-2006, 08:39 PM

Woah woah woah. "Don't Worry Kyoko" is, I agree, punishing to the nth degree. I don't know about "unlistenable" (especially by modern noise-rock standards), but certainly no fun at all. But "Listen, the Snow Is Falling" is just a pretty pop song. You've gotta be thinking of some other song.

Okay, you're right, I just checked and I admit it, I was thinking about Feeling the Space instead.

And boy that was a bad album.

I'm still no fan of "Listen the Snow is Falling", but I admit it wasn't as bad as those.

Still, I have to say that considering the huge amount of amazing music that the 70's had in it, I am stunned to see anyone put work by Ono on that list.

Jonathan Bogart

11-20-2006, 08:46 PM

Still, I have to say that considering the huge amount of amazing music that the 70's had in it, I am stunned to see anyone put work by Ono on that list.
Actually, I think of it more as a Lennon song, with John playing Phil Spector to Yoko's Ronnie. But yeah, this is definitely one of my kinks.

rick

11-20-2006, 09:03 PM

Actually, I think of it more as a Lennon song, with John playing Phil Spector to Yoko's Ronnie. But yeah, this is definitely one of my kinks.

It's okay.

I have a couple of albums by the Tiki Tones so I already know all about kink.

Jessica Drew

11-20-2006, 09:51 PM

Jonathan, I'm sorry, but while I will certainly agree that Yoko Ono is a fine and talented artist and I certainly admit that it’s your list, but you can not seriously think for a minute that Yoko is musically talented?

You didn't like "Walking on Thin Ice"? I did. Still do, though the tape I once had of it (the version copied from a radio-station '45) has been missing for a few years.

Phrozen

11-20-2006, 10:19 PM

I am wondering when Rush will pop up. Passage to Bangkok and Fly BY Night are my favorite from the pre-Moving Pictures era.

Jonathan Bogart

11-20-2006, 10:30 PM

I am wondering when Rush will pop up. Passage to Bangkok and Fly BY Night are my favorite from the pre-Moving Pictures era.
Just so you can stop holding your breath, I've got no Rush on the list. Sorry.

Jessica Drew

11-20-2006, 10:32 PM

I am wondering when Rush will pop up. Passage to Bangkok and Fly BY Night are my favorite from the pre-Moving Pictures era.

Every time my now seemingly-defunct band would play live, my brother would always holler, "Hey, Neil Peart! Play 'Tom Sawyer'!" Then, he would start chanting/rapping the opening verse at the top of his lungs. He did this every single time he heard us play.

howyadoin

11-20-2006, 10:38 PM

Just so you can stop holding your breath, I've got no Rush on the list. Sorry.Not even "Closer to the Heart"?

Blasphemy.

Phrozen

11-21-2006, 06:02 AM

Just so you can stop holding your breath, I've got no Rush on the list. Sorry.

So, it is 'Best Songs of the 1970s except by one of the most talented bands of the decade' I got ya.

Jonathan Bogart

11-21-2006, 06:19 AM

Talent schmalent. I just don't care for 'em, and as rick pointed out above, my taste is not meritocratic. I'm comfortable with that.

rick

11-21-2006, 06:33 AM

Talent schmalent. I just don't care for 'em, and as rick pointed out above, my taste is not meritocratic. I'm comfortable with that.

Yeah, nothing personal, but I'm not a fan of theirs either.

Joe Rice

11-21-2006, 06:47 AM

Incidentally: how many drummers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Answer?

All of them. One to do it, the rest to talk about how Neil Peart would have done it.

Matthew E

11-21-2006, 02:39 PM

Potentially pathetic, I know, but I've listed my own hundred-plus seventies songs. The amusement value of the exercise, for me, is in seeing how many of them show up on your list (which is why I won't post mine on here until yours is done). Actually I started this a while ago, but none of my choices got knocked off in the interim. I've got over 130 songs listed, but I'll eliminate duplicates of ones on your list before posting here.

Adam Crocker

11-21-2006, 03:46 PM

So, it is 'Best Songs of the 1970s except by one of the most talented bands of the decade' I got ya.

Well John has stated that he never liked prog much and tends to focus on concise pop songwriting over everything else. I freely admit to enjoying seventies Rush and they are talented. But no more so than most prog bands of the decade, many of which were quite wretched. Even if you're talented there's a matter of how one uses that talent. And as Emerson Lake and Palmer and Yngwie Malmsteen demonstrate you can squander talent without drug addiction to not practicing your chops. And the results can get pretty awful and pretty dumb. I say this as someone who has actually sat down and listened to the entirety of "Karn Evil 09."

While I rate Rush higher than ELP I do frankly find a lot of their songs to be silly (and delicious guilty pleasures...like brownies!) with their overbearing sci-fi lyrics. Moreover, proggy guitar solos (and drum solos) are not everyone's cup of tea and I still rank Tom Verlaine's guitar work over Alex Lifeson's any day. I feel that Verlaine does more interesting things sonically and melodically with his playing. In fact he reins everything in so he can give it more direction and shape. Plus he's a damn good songwriter to boot.

So basically whatever talent Rush has there are many reasons why their work would not appeal to even ardent music listeners. (Never mind Geddy Lee's voice.) And Prog has pretty much become a niche interest since its heyday in the seventies since its not surprising that it would noticeably absent from many "Top Whatever" lists.

Besides the existence of King Crimson pretty much negates the need for any other prog band on the list save for the deliciously eccentric canterbury units.

(Aw crap, now I wanna listen to some Rush.)

Jonathan Bogart

11-21-2006, 08:20 PM

If I don't get around to posting an update tonight, blame it on the fact that
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000ICLHIE.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V40088915_.jpg
was released today.

Also, I just got hold of
http://www.fantagraphics.com/recent/bks/popey1.jpg
I'm sure you understand.

rick

11-21-2006, 08:28 PM

Jessica Drew

11-21-2006, 09:07 PM

JB: How good is the Waits album? I'm a little strapped for cash this month, and I've got to decide between it and the Sufjan Stevens' new album Songs for Christmas (whose snippets sound incredible).

Jonathan Bogart

11-21-2006, 09:14 PM

JB: How good is the Waits album? I'm a little strapped for cash this month, and I've got to decide between it and the Sufjan Stevens' new album Songs for Christmas (whose snippets sound incredible).
I had to not listen to it in the car because I started crying because it sounded so beautiful.

But Waits is definitely one of my kinks.

Jessica Drew

11-21-2006, 09:21 PM

I had to not listen to it in the car because I started crying because it sounded so beautiful.

I hate you, dammit. I've got friends flying in from Pennsylvania to dine with us Friday night, and I just know that they'd love listening to the Stevens' album as we ate. Well, I guess I'll just have to try the ol', "Oops. Wrong CD" trick and hope it works (though my wife'll know better).

But Waits is definitely one of my kinks.

Yup, me too...but not my wife. She hates the (what used to be) experimental, disjointed, atonal tracks as much as she hates just about anything (though she loves his more traditionally-arranged and written songs).

howyadoin

11-22-2006, 01:00 AM

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000ICLHIE.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V40088915_.jpg
Damn, what a great album cover.

Eliot Johnson

11-22-2006, 09:14 AM

ah man i love seeing art ensemble of chicago on that list. theme de yo-yo is probably the best song from Les Stances A Sophie, too. great song.

list is a little western rock/pop/punk/country/folk etc (good Prine pick btw) centric though. so far it could defintely use more tropicalia, jazz, krautrock, japanese underground, afro beat, canterbury scene considering that those scenes were more or less thriving at some point around that time. And man if you throw some no wave on that list, i'm gonna love you forever.

additionally, western rock/pop/punk/country/folk/etc albums that need to be represented: Eno's Another Green World, Fun House, Pere Ubu's Modern Dance, Pop Group's Y, Histoire De Melody Nelson, Fear of Music/77/More Songs, Wigwam's Being, Comus's First Utterance, Tonight's The Night, Band of Gypys, Sibylle Baier's Colour Green (who needs Vashti Bunyan when you've got Sibylle Baier?), songs of love & hate, Raincoats.

and if i don't see Richard & Linda Thompson's I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight somewhere on the list, we're gonna have problems.

scratchie

11-22-2006, 11:18 AM

and if i don't see Richard & Linda Thompson's I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight somewhere on the list, we're gonna have problems.You misspelled Pour Down Like Silver.

Jonathan Bogart

11-22-2006, 12:55 PM

list is a little western rock/pop/punk/country/folk etc (good Prine pick btw) centric though. so far it could defintely use more tropicalia, jazz, krautrock, japanese underground, afro beat, canterbury scene considering that those scenes were more or less thriving at some point around that time. And man if you throw some no wave on that list, i'm gonna love you forever.
Did you read my opening statement? Sorry, it's already gotten as outré as it's gonna get. It's what I like the most, not what I respect most.

And there's nothing not in English. Which is a damn shame, but check with me in a year and I bet it'll be at least 70% different.

DDM

11-22-2006, 01:29 PM

"It's Only Money," by Thin Lizzy

Hiromi

11-26-2006, 03:41 PM

I'd be hard pressed to come up with just one song by 70s Thin Lizzy. They put out some great stuff those 10 years.

Eliot Johnson

11-27-2006, 10:14 AM

You misspelled Pour Down Like Silver.

man I want to see... is so much better than pour down like silver. it's workingclass folk rock at its finest...every song just has this perfect synergy. R. Thompson's guitarwork is flawless (the beginning Calvary Cross is the reason why guitars were electrified)...the perfect thing to listen to when you get off on friday evening.

Pour Down is great but it's too stripped down. It doesn't have the full majesty of I want to See.

person who has a blog,

no i didn't read the opening statement, because opening statements are usually rather dull. i read all the comments though and they weren't dull. regardless of respect, if you're liking a lot of the stuff you say you like on that list, there's a lot of krautrock, afro-beat, japanese underground, tropicalia, canterbury scene that you simply have to check out because you would enjoy them. not to mention a ton of jazz in the vein of Art Ensemble of Chicago. I doubt you'd go much for no wave, though.

Jonathan Bogart

11-27-2006, 12:25 PM

no i didn't read the opening statement, because opening statements are usually rather dull. i read all the comments though and they weren't dull. regardless of respect, if you're liking a lot of the stuff you say you like on that list, there's a lot of krautrock, afro-beat, japanese underground, tropicalia, canterbury scene that you simply have to check out because you would enjoy them. not to mention a ton of jazz in the vein of Art Ensemble of Chicago. I doubt you'd go much for no wave, though.
Hey, I dig James Chance, Steve Reich, Fela Kuti, Gilberto Gil, Archie Shepp, Gong, and Tangerine Dream as much as the next guy, but none of them made the list (sorry for the spoilers, guys).

This time, anyway. This is inherently a song-oriented list, and I tend to consume the avant-garde and obscuro stuff in album-sized chunks without paying attention to tracklists. But, yeah, I'm a pop dude at heart. One of the unfortunate side-effects of having really wide-ranging tastes is that it can often be mistaken for having no taste.

Eliot Johnson

11-27-2006, 03:50 PM

Hey, I dig James Chance, Steve Reich, Fela Kuti, Gilberto Gil, Archie Shepp, Gong, and Tangerine Dream as much as the next guy, but none of them made the list (sorry for the spoilers, guys).

This time, anyway. This is inherently a song-oriented list, and I tend to consume the avant-garde and obscuro stuff in album-sized chunks without paying attention to tracklists. But, yeah, I'm a pop dude at heart. One of the unfortunate side-effects of having really wide-ranging tastes is that it can often be mistaken for having no taste.

sounds cool. wouldn't really call any of those avant-garde ('cept chance maybe) or obscuro but i get your drift. actually haven't heard any Reich though for some reason.

Gil's best work, by far, was in the 60's anyway (tom ze for 70's tropicalia) and point taken about Fela Kuti and Tangerine Dream (i'm not really a fan to be honest, Zeit is ok) as far as album-ness goes, but Shepp (all of Attica Blues more or less) and Gong ("Tried so Hard" at the very least) have some songs that are pretty much pop masterpieces.

you actually have great taste, but i'm just kinda confused about why you feel you being a 'pop dude' means you can't at least put some Can on a 70's list.

Jonathan Bogart

11-27-2006, 04:27 PM

you actually have great taste, but i'm just kinda confused about why you feel you being a 'pop dude' means you can't at least put some Can on a 70's list.
It's not that I can't, it's just that no Can composition stands out enough in my memory and desire to be listed.

So far.

Eliot Johnson

11-27-2006, 04:57 PM

"can" was a metaphor for music not from the us/england.

i'd like to reiterate how thrilled i am to see art ensemble of chicago on there though.

Indigo Al

11-27-2006, 07:06 PM

Johnathan, I loved your essay on Ike and Tina. You're very good at this.

Now, I wonder what disco will appear on this list, if any at all?

And if I may suggest at least one, it would be "Cherchez La Femme" by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band.

Jonathan Bogart

11-27-2006, 08:45 PM

"can" was a metaphor for music not from the us/england.
That doesn't change my response. (And I said "not in English," which isn't the same thing.)

The next five are up (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-vii.html), finally, now that the holidays are done kicking my ass.

Eliot Johnson

11-27-2006, 09:16 PM

pink moon is a really dull album/song. by that point, drake's melodies were bland and his lyrics nowhere near as poetic as they once where. Basically, if pink moon were any longer than its current short running time, it's sparseness would bore me to tears. as it is, it's not bad background music, but that song certainly doesn't deserve to be on any list.

Five Leaves Left is from the sixties, but it's worth mention because it's a breathtaking album full of songs that deserve to be on similar lists. If you want a moody singer songerwriter from the seventies, try Cohen (i trust he'll appear later on) and leave Drake for the car commercials.

that Television album is one of those classics that i really have no desire to hear, but i probably will hear it and like it. some day.

You picked the right Genesis album/song. Not to big on their stuff, but as prog goes, thats' a good album. i enjoy it. Wigwam is so much better though. hell, yes is so much better.

Jessica Drew

11-27-2006, 09:47 PM

....The next five are up (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-vii.html), finally, now that the holidays are done kicking my ass.

#70 - I admire your effrontery of that last line...and I completely agree with it. This song is rock-musician-geek heaven. You're right about the structure and it's almost maddening precision: at first, the rhythm guitar begins on the one (actually, on the "one-and") for a couple of measures; then, Verlaine comes in on the upbeat of the two, and things go almost completely haywire when the bass comes in on what seems like a half-measure too soon; on top of all that (well, actually, underneath it all), come the drums, playing eigth notes just like all the rest of the musicians...starting simultaneously with the bass, but seemingly rolling around it. IT'S CRAZY!

This loopy song, with it's nerdy polyrhythms, and the always-behind-the-beat vocals, all tuned in to some kind of strange, Ditkoesque synchronicty, loops its way to the Cale-derived solo, when the drummer decides to start playing jazz and solo along with Verlaine, while the bass and rhythm guitar keep the beat...it's just nuts. The real kicker...and what makes this song damn-near epiphanous (or, if listened to while drunk, the ephiphany could be very real...hell, it was with me years ago)...is after all this polyrhythmic precision, after the solo...all four musicians clamp down and start playing the exact same rhythm at the exact same time: duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh....and then we get Freebird. And we begin again.

EDIT: Uh...sorry JB...didn't mean to usurp your thread here...I just absolutely love that song, so please forgive my ramblings, and you said all this much more succinctly than I just did. Great write up and cool choice (though I'd have placed it much higher).

Matthew E

11-28-2006, 11:37 AM

By the way, are you planning on doing this for the '80s and '90s too?

Jonathan Bogart

11-28-2006, 11:58 AM

By the way, are you planning on doing this for the '80s and '90s too?
Not really. But I wasn't planning on doing this when I was in the middle of the 60s list.

Jonathan Bogart

11-28-2006, 11:24 PM

pink moon is a really dull album/song. by that point, drake's melodies were bland and his lyrics nowhere near as poetic as they once where. Basically, if pink moon were any longer than its current short running time, it's sparseness would bore me to tears. as it is, it's not bad background music, but that song certainly doesn't deserve to be on any list.
Holy shit, you're right; I don't find it interesting and sparely beautiful. I can finally stop living a lie.

Seriously, here's what you skipped because you were afraid of being bored for a few seconds:
On a similar tip, “greatest” is of course a totally subjective adjective. These are MY greatest songs. Don’t like them? Go make your own damn list.

And with that, the next five (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-viii.html) are up.

rick

11-28-2006, 11:53 PM

I just can't knock any music list that includes both Looking Glass and Throbbing Gristle on it.

Jessica Drew

11-29-2006, 12:06 AM

And with that, the next five (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-viii.html) are up.

#65 - In answer to your question: Me

#64 - With a name like that, I wonder if the band ever produced any instrumental porno music....

#63 - I wonder if David Byrne knows this song....Listen to the guitar lick in the Talking Heads' "Wild Wild Life," and you'll wonder, too.

#62 - "...lapels big enough to shelter...bearded Gibbses..." - and beats almost as sharp and tight as your wit.

#61 - Surprising call, but a good one. I usually avoid that song on that album, because it's too damn sad, and unlike Layla and BBB, offers no electric catharsis. It reminds me of some of Richard Thompson's sad songs, too (or vice-versa).

Still loving these lists, JB. I'll say again: send this list (and your previous one) to the right book publisher, and they'd publish 'em in a heartbeat. Your'e a wonderful writer, and other pop/rock music lovers/afficianados need to read these essays. They're essential.

howyadoin

11-29-2006, 12:10 AM

Who did that Harry Chapin illustration? It reminds me of Sienkiewicz.

Jonathan Bogart

11-29-2006, 12:29 AM

Who did that Harry Chapin illustration? It reminds me of Sienkiewicz.
I dunno. It's from the Verities and Balderdash album, which I don't have to check for art credits, and Google comes up blank.

Eliot Johnson

11-29-2006, 01:17 AM

Holy shit, you're right; I don't find it interesting and sparely beautiful. I can finally stop living a lie.

'bout damn time

On a similar tip, “greatest” is of course a totally subjective adjective. These are MY greatest songs. Don’t like them? Go make your own damn list.

holy guacamole, i've suddenly had an epiphany and released that my opinions aren't the ones that everyone should hold, thank you, oh powerful blogwielder, for enligtening me!

turning now towards the 'serious' side of things i have to say that a list where dissenting discussion is not allowed is a pretty bad list. what's the point of making a list if we're not going to discuss it? pulling the subjectivity card is without a doubt the lamest thing anyone can do because DUH EVERYTHING IS COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE, but that doesn't mean we can't discuss it. the subjectivity card prevents discussion which is one of the most dangerous things we can do with regard to art.

Jonathan Bogart

11-29-2006, 06:33 AM

turning now towards the 'serious' side of things i have to say that a list where dissenting discussion is not allowed is a pretty bad list. what's the point of making a list if we're not going to discuss it? pulling the subjectivity card is without a doubt the lamest thing anyone can do because DUH EVERYTHING IS COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE, but that doesn't mean we can't discuss it. the subjectivity card prevents discussion which is one of the most dangerous things we can do with regard to art.
Not allowed? Watch out, my goons are at your door! Seriously, say whatever you want. Not being familiar with Television is already punishment enough.

(And I don't get why my leaving things out automatically equates to ignorance of them. But I get all hissy whenever it's implied that I don't know everything.)

scratchie

11-29-2006, 08:00 AM

#63 Nice call. I had such a crush on Rachel Sweet when I was 14.

rick

11-29-2006, 08:06 AM

#64 - With a name like that, I wonder if the band ever produced any instrumental porno music....

Think it through Jess.

What is the major throbbing gristle in your body?

Why it's your eardrum of course.

Jessica Drew

11-29-2006, 05:16 PM

Think it through Jess.

What is the major throbbing gristle in your body?

Why it's your eardrum of course.

Uh...yeah! That's true...but for think of the complete IDIOTs who wouldn't know such a thing...what in the world would they think of that name?

Well, since I'm obviosly not one of those idiots, I really couldn't tell you....

Jonathan Bogart

12-01-2006, 04:52 PM

Between EJ's disdain and JD's panegyrics, I had a brief identity crisis, but I'm all better (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-ix.html) now.

(No, not really.)

JeffreyWKramer

12-02-2006, 09:35 AM

It's nice to see someone else respects Chic.

Sure, disco *mostly* sucked, but there were a few exceptions, and Chic was one such exception

scratchie

12-02-2006, 10:11 AM

Disco didn't really start to suck until it became an overexposed fad ("Disco Duck", "In the Navy", etc). Up until then, it was just a sub-genre of r&b with a lot of good songs and a helluva lottta funk.

I have to laugh, every time I go to a wedding, and see the same macho white guys who were crying "Disco Sucks!" in 1979 and 1980 dancing to "We Are Family" and (especially) "YMCA". Even ignoring its influence on British dance-pop of the 80s, Disco has turned out to have a lot more longevity than most of the mainstream rock music of the late 70s (Foreigner, anyone?).

rick

12-02-2006, 06:57 PM

Between EJ's disdain and JD's panegyrics, I had a brief identity crisis, but I'm all better (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/11/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-ix.html) now.

(No, not really.)

Love the new entries, especially Freddie's Dead.

There's one that I bet hasn't had any air play since 1977.

Matthew E

12-02-2006, 07:20 PM

Love the new entries, especially Freddie's Dead.

There's one that I bet hasn't had any air play since 1977.

It has in my house.

rick

12-02-2006, 07:23 PM

It has in my house.

As well it should.

If it was up to me, I'd have had Curtis Mayfield write a new national anthem.

For me, he could do no wrong.

Jonathan Bogart

12-05-2006, 12:13 AM

Back on the crazy train (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-x.html).

howyadoin

12-05-2006, 01:30 AM

Back on the crazy train (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-x.html).Excellent Fleetwood Mac choice. That song's definitely got something extra bubbling under the surface.

scratchie

12-05-2006, 07:05 AM

Just to be difficult, Natty Dread is not from "before [Marley] took on rock production"; that shift came with his first Island album, Catch a Fire (e.g. check out the guitar solo on "Concrete Jungle"). Compare "Lively Up Yourself" or "Bend Down Low" to the earlier versions to hear the difference.

He did continue to get more "slick" and "commercial" in his production as the decade progressed, but that was mainly to try to appeal to the soul/r&b audience once he had already won over the rock fans.

Jonathan Bogart

12-05-2006, 09:15 AM

Just to be difficult, Natty Dread is not from "before [Marley] took on rock production"; that shift came with his first Island album, Catch a Fire (e.g. check out the guitar solo on "Concrete Jungle"). Compare "Lively Up Yourself" or "Bend Down Low" to the earlier versions to hear the difference.
Then the liner notes from the Trojan box set I have are inaccurate. Damn it. It certainly sounds less rock-polished than the better-known live version.

scratchie

12-05-2006, 09:28 AM

Then the liner notes from the Trojan box set I have are inaccurate. Damn it. It certainly sounds less rock-polished than the better-known live version.Now I'm confused. Is this version from the Trojan set, and if so, is it the same as the one on the Island LP? Typically, most of Trojan's Marley catalogue has come from the pre-Island days, although they've made a lot of new licensing deals since being bought by Sanctuary and may have been able to include some Island material in their more recent releases.

At any rate, Trojan's liner notes haven't been particularly authoritative about anything since Steve Barrow left the label in the late 80s or early 90s. The studio version of "No Woman No Cry" may be less polished than the live version (as a card-carrying reggae snob, I generally prefer Marley's pre-Island output :D), but it's well documented that it was Marley's and Chris Blackwell's intention to create a version of reggae that was more palatable to American rock & soul audiences when Marley started recording for Island in 1973. Check out the two-CD deluxe version of Catch a Fire if you ever get a chance, which features the original version, as recorded in Jamaica (sans overdubs) alongside the more familiar Island Records version.

leonaozaki

12-05-2006, 04:41 PM

Hey Jonathan,

This is going back a while, but why did you choose the Wild Tchoupitoulas version of "Hey Pocky Way" over the Meters'? Just wondering. I agree, the Wild Tchoupitoulas version is great, but I've always liked the Meters' version just a little bit more.

rob

Jonathan Bogart

12-05-2006, 04:58 PM

This is going back a while, but why did you choose the Wild Tchoupitoulas version of "Hey Pocky Way" over the Meters'? Just wondering. I agree, the Wild Tchoupitoulas version is great, but I've always liked the Meters' version just a little bit more.
Two reasons: I wanted the very slight bit of greater diversity that the Tchoupitoulas gave to the list, and when I listened to them back to back, Aaron Neville's voice on the Tchoupitoulas version sealed the deal.

Jonathan Bogart

12-05-2006, 05:03 PM

Now I'm confused. Is this version from the Trojan set, and if so, is it the same as the one on the Island LP? Typically, most of Trojan's Marley catalogue has come from the pre-Island days, although they've made a lot of new licensing deals since being bought by Sanctuary and may have been able to include some Island material in their more recent releases.
Sorry about the confusion; the Natty Dread version is the one I'm talking about. The reggae-overview-for-beginners box set (http://www.amazon.com/This-Is-Reggae-Music-1960-1975/dp/B00064LOV4) I mentioned ends in 1975 and gives as its reason for doing so the fact that after 1975 reggae changed thanks to Bob Marley's Stateside ascendance, largely due to his rock production. So the error is a combination of those notes being unclear and my more general ignorance.

Hiromi

12-05-2006, 06:18 PM

Certainly no arguement on the Bowie selection.

Jonathan Bogart

12-05-2006, 08:40 PM

The next one is up already (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xi.html), and now I don't know what to do with the rest of my evening.

Adam Crocker

12-05-2006, 08:56 PM

I haven't said much about your list even though I am loving it and a few comments have sprung to mind that I haven't got around to writing down, but in response to this one...

Fleetwood Mac were one of the bands most frequently namechecked by the likes of Joe Strummer as the Enemy, the destroyers of the good, the true and the beautiful in pop music, and which punk had a manifest destiny to destroy in turn, thereby saving the world for rock & roll. While it makes for great rhetoric (and a few aging British critics still wave the punk-rock flag, bless ’em), as history recedes into the distance it’s all pop music.

Hell I wouldn't be surprised if Joe was ready to give them a listen by at least 1981. By then he took sounding like ABBA (or this case the Ellen Folely record he and Mick Jones worked on) as a compliment. (Which was it meant to be.)

scratchie

12-05-2006, 10:34 PM

Sorry about the confusion; the Natty Dread version is the one I'm talking about. The reggae-overview-for-beginners box set (http://www.amazon.com/This-Is-Reggae-Music-1960-1975/dp/B00064LOV4) I mentioned ends in 1975 and gives as its reason for doing so the fact that after 1975 reggae changed thanks to Bob Marley's Stateside ascendance, largely due to his rock production. So the error is a combination of those notes being unclear and my more general ignorance.Ah, I get it. As for the 1975 cutoff, I think it might have more to do with this than with Marley's success:In 1974 (finalized in 1975), Trojan was brought by the Saga company, which focused on releasing budget LPs. Trojan was now headed by individuals who were not familiar with its current catalogue, or with reggae music. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_Records )

If anything, Marley's popularity led (not surprisingly) to more rasta-oriented reggae being released (e.g. groups like Culture and Inner Circle) to try to pick up on the trend. But due to Marley's popularity, such groups were more likely to be picked up by labels like Island and Virgin rather than Trojan!

As far as Stevie Wonder goes, it's hard to argue with "Superstition", but personally, I prefer almost everything off of Innervisions: "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing", "Golden Lady", "Higher Ground", "Too High". For some reason, everything just seemed to come together perfectly on that album.

Good call on the Van Morrison tune, though.

howyadoin

12-05-2006, 10:43 PM

By then he took sounding like ABBA (or this case the Ellen Folely record he and Mick Jones worked on) as a compliment.In Bizarro world, maybe.

Oh, and that Ellen Foley album was horrible.

Adam Crocker

12-06-2006, 05:22 AM

In Bizarro world, maybe.

Oh, and that Ellen Foley album was horrible.

Never heard the Foley album myself, but if you think this was from Bizarro world...

http://www.joestrummer.us/strum95.html

M = Musician Magazine interviewer
J = Joe Strummer
F = Robert Fripp

M: Speaking of evolving musical forms and working in different style, I got the new Ellen Foley record recently and I noticed that you and Mick wrote most of the tunes, and that you all (the Clash) back her up on the record. I played it for a few people and asked "now, who do you think this is?" Most people thought it was Abba...

S: That's a compliment!

F: Abba are very, very good.

M: I agree, but I'm surprised to hear you both say that. What do you like about them?

S: They hardly ever lay a turkey on you. They've kind of hit a rut these days, but they were in there just blammin' 'em onto the charts for ages, which is admirable... also the girls are nice looking!

Ottmeister X

12-06-2006, 04:43 PM

Don't forget Hold Your Head Up by Argent. Absolutely one of the best songs of the 70's.

scratchie

12-06-2006, 08:35 PM

Don't forget Hold Your Head Up by Argent.Lord knows, I've tried.

Jonathan Bogart

12-08-2006, 07:52 PM

Lord knows, I've tried.
Heh. I think I've got my fair share of pretentious bloat-rock already up.

And so's the next (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xii.html) five.

Jonathan Bogart

12-09-2006, 12:19 AM

Holy shit, I did it again (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xiii.html) already.

Jonathan Bogart

12-09-2006, 06:38 PM

And again (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xiv.html). Stop me before I post again!

scratchie

12-10-2006, 12:39 PM

Jonathan Bogart

12-11-2006, 10:20 PM

Some more great picks. Glad to see the best ever Gary Numan song made the cut. But there are better Todd Rundgren songs, even on Something/Anything. I would have picked "Couldn't I Just Tell You" or "I Saw the Light" myself.
I dunno; to this day nothing grabs me quite like "Hello, It's Me" did the first time I heard it. I'm a big romantic softie at heart.

And the next one (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xv.html)'s up.

rick

12-11-2006, 10:30 PM

I dunno; to this day nothing grabs me quite like "Hello, It's Me" did the first time I heard it. I'm a big romantic softie at heart.

And the next one (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xv.html)'s up.

Quick question, mostly becasue I've never thought about it one way or another, but why is World Music a bad label?

Jonathan Bogart

12-11-2006, 10:44 PM

Quick question, mostly becasue I've never thought about it one way or another, but why is World Music a bad label?
Because it's a generic label for so thousands of varieties of music and different traditions and ways of understanding music. All it means is "not American (or at least not in English)." There's nothing that, say, a Portuguese fado has in common with South Korean Norae Undong, besides not being American. Generally I tend to be pretty ethnocentric (it's an American birthright), but it bugs me that there's not even a more evocative term for the multiplicity of sounds and forms outside Western tradition.

rick

12-11-2006, 10:46 PM

Because it's a generic label for so thousands of varieties of music and different traditions and ways of understanding music. All it means is "not American (or at least not in English)." There's nothing that, say, a Portuguese fado has in common with South Korean Norae Undong, besides not being American. Generally I tend to be pretty ethnocentric (it's an American birthright), but it bugs me that there's not even a more evocative term for the multiplicity of sounds and forms outside Western tradition.

Right, gotcha.

That of course makes perfect sense.

Indigo Al

12-12-2006, 02:37 PM

What lyric did I miss in Lady Marmalade that makes the song about a transvestite?

Also -- a few posts back -- great write-up of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" -- exactly how I feel about Diana Ross's "Love Hangover"

Your position on Siouxsie as "greatest female punk rocker" is quite arguable though, and perhaps merits its own thread...

Adam Crocker

12-12-2006, 06:58 PM

Re: Blank Generation;

I agree completely with your assessment that it was a Doo-Wop song. The fifties roots were made baldly evident to me when I first heard it (and understand this was when my serious education in music was only beginning so my experience with fifities R&B was limited) once they hit the "ooh-ooh-ooh"s that followed on the chorus. However, the bassline at the opener sounded kinda lounge-jazzy to me.

Oddly enough I learned that such a searing, incendiary song (and the one that alongside "Heroin" turned me into the music fanatic that I am today) had its origins in a novelty number written by Rod McKuen (guh!) called "The Beat Generation." (A b-side to "The Mummy" by Bobby McFadden which was in Tom Verlaine's record collection oddly enough.) I heard a sound clip of it, and sure enough the rhyme scheme in the chorus is similar to that in "Blank Generation." As is the bassline.

Jessica Drew

12-12-2006, 07:59 PM

....And the next one (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xv.html)'s up.

I know it's the wrong decade, but what do you think of the Heads' version of "Life During Wartime" from the Stop Making Sense album?

Jonathan Bogart

12-12-2006, 08:19 PM

I know it's the wrong decade, but what do you think of the Heads' version of "Life During Wartime" from the Stop Making Sense album?
Technically, I think nothing of it. I haven't heard it.

I'm a bad fan; there are very few acts, even among my favorites, that I have every album for.

rick

12-12-2006, 09:19 PM

I know it's the wrong decade, but what do you think of the Heads' version of "Life During Wartime" from the Stop Making Sense album?

I know Jon missed it, but I think that "Life During Wartime" on SMS is one of those rare examples where the live recording beats the original studio recording in every single way.

A truly amazing performance.

Jessica Drew

12-12-2006, 09:40 PM

I know Jon missed it, but I think that "Life During Wartime" on SMS is one of those rare examples where the live recording beats the original studio recording in every single way.

A truly amazing performance.

I agree. It's my favorite Heads' performance--live or in-studio. The SMS version pushes the rhythm to the fore in the mix, and the keyboard work, thereby, seems less perfunctory than in the studio mix. Speaking of the rhythm work, in the live version Frantz seems to rush the beat at the ends of measures a few times, and it helps to really propel the song. Also, Bernie Worrell's synths positively swing (in that spacey P-Funk manner), much more so here than in the studio version. AND...SMS has the wonderbul back-up vocal duo of Lynn Mabry & Edna Holt....

Jonathan Bogart

12-12-2006, 09:53 PM

And we've entered the home stretch. (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xvi.html)

Jessica Drew

12-12-2006, 10:00 PM

And we've entered the home stretch. (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xvi.html)

LOVE the picture of Quatro...for, primarily, two reasons: one--it reminds me of the crush I had on Quatro when I only knew her as Leather Tuscadero on the old TV show Happy Days, and two--seeing the picture of Quatro reminds of the name "Quatro," which was what my friends and I called our half-Spanish neighborhood buddy's dog; we called the dog "Quatro" because he had three legs...go figure.

Jonathan Bogart

12-13-2006, 07:08 PM

LOVE the picture of Quatro...for, primarily, two reasons: one--it reminds me of the crush I had on Quatro when I only knew her as Leather Tuscadero on the old TV show Happy Days, and two--seeing the picture of Quatro reminds of the name "Quatro," which was what my friends and I called our half-Spanish neighborhood buddy's dog; we called the dog "Quatro" because he had three legs...go figure.
Aw, I'd meant to mention her Happy Days stardom, but forgot, mostly because I've never really watched the show. (Yeah ... I'm young.)

Next. (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xvii.html)

Jonathan Bogart

12-14-2006, 11:57 PM

Aargh! I had the next one almost entirely written up, and my browser locked. I had to reboot, and of course nothing was saved. I'm going to bed.

This weekend should see the entire thing finished, though.

Jonathan Bogart

12-19-2006, 11:50 PM

Shit. I clearly miscalculated how much impact a brother returning from Afghanistan and a series of farewell parties for one of my best friends would have.

So this weekend. Not that anyone will (have time to) care by then.

Jonathan Bogart

12-27-2006, 12:48 AM

No more promises.

But the antepenultimate (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xviii.html) post is up.

Jonathan Bogart

12-27-2006, 08:04 PM

And now the penultimate (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xix.html).

Sparkle Motion's Rising Force

12-27-2006, 08:49 PM

I'm assuming Can and Black Sabbath will be making appearances in that final post.

Jonathan Bogart

12-27-2006, 08:50 PM

I'm assuming Can and Black Sabbath will be making appearances in that final post.
Assume what you like. Black Sabbath already appeared once.

Sparkle Motion's Rising Force

12-27-2006, 11:16 PM

I'll go back and look for it again--I blasted through 100-06 pretty quick.

All I'm saying is that Can should by rights be there.
As should FZ, now that I think of it.

Jonathan Bogart

12-28-2006, 12:20 AM

Anyone else want to make some predictions for the next 24 hours before the final five get posted? I'm curious as to how well you guys know my taste.

Sparkle Motion's Rising Force

12-28-2006, 12:27 AM

Well, since my edit didn't show up like I thought, I will repeat

CAN
Frank Zappa
King Crimson
Solo Eno (I know you did a Roxy Music already, but 2 different beasts after all.)

I can't guess your tastes necessarily, but those are the glaring omissions.

Edit: I can't believe I forgot it---where is Suicide?!!?

Jessica Drew

12-28-2006, 12:53 AM

Anyone else want to make some predictions for the next 24 hours before the final five get posted? I'm curious as to how well you guys know my taste.

Kansas
Boston
Journey
Bad Company
Jethro Tull
Grand Funk Railroad
The Carpenters
John Denver
Olivia Newton-John
Helen Reddy
Neil Sedaka
Barry Manilow

Matthew E

12-28-2006, 12:28 PM

Anyone else want to make some predictions for the next 24 hours before the final five get posted? I'm curious as to how well you guys know my taste.

Well, as I said, I put together my own list, which I'll post here afterwards for comparison's sake. My rules for putting it together were the same as yours, with the extra rule that I wouldn't use any of the ones from your list. And, so far, you've only knocked six songs off my list:

Jet (which I had at 54)
Let's Stay Together (which I had at 51)
Freddie's Dead (which I had at 27)
Like a Hurricane (which I had at 12)
Superstition (which I had at 3)
What's Goin' On (which I had at 2)

I know you don't have my number one song on your list (which ought to be all you need to know to guess which one it is), and as for the rest... are there any there I'd think you'd put in your top five? Yeah, maybe some, but I won't get greedy; I'll just guess 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'.

leonaozaki

12-28-2006, 05:45 PM

Anyone else want to make some predictions for the next 24 hours before the final five get posted? I'm curious as to how well you guys know my taste.

Since there's no Bob Dylan on the list yet, I believe there is a strong probability he'll show up. Will he be #1? And, more importantly, which song will it be? I could see it being "Tangled Up in Blue," but I'm sure you'll surprise me.

rob

Jonathan Bogart

12-28-2006, 11:59 PM

Jessica Drew

12-29-2006, 12:31 AM

Only one correct guess (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xx.html), though JD wasn't really trying. I hope....

:D :D :D :D

Jessica Drew

12-29-2006, 12:45 AM

Only one correct guess (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-part-xx.html), though JD wasn't really trying. I hope.

Can, Zappa, Crimson, and Eno are difficult for me to apply to this kind of exercise: I can't separate the songs from the albums without doing violence to what I love about them. So the song list is more pop-oriented. So sue me.

Though I've never heard that Captain Beefheart track (or album), I absolutely love your top five: the quality, the variety, the originality. Never would I have expected to see Beefheart and Abba on the same list within two spaces of each other. Also, I was glad to see another acknowledgment of the Faces' sloppy grace. If that record--and many of their other ones, too--isn't prime rock n' roll, I don't know what is.

Wonderful list. Can't wait to read it again.

...while you're prepping your one for the eighties.:D

Patriot07

12-29-2006, 01:19 AM

My only problem is that there aren't enough repeted bands. In some ways it almost reads like "100 Greatest Bands of the 1970s." Some bands had more than one good song. Like The Who for example. They, IMO were one of the few bands to fully epitomize the 70s and they only get mentioned once on your list. Same with Zeppelin (they might have more than one mention, but not many).

I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I'm just saying it's not how I would have handled it.

Adam C

12-29-2006, 04:39 AM

My only problem is that there aren't enough repeted bands.

Well he said from the outset that he was deliberately limiting it to one song a band since you could write the entire list from the canon of single artists in the seventies (see David Bowie and Neil Young).

Patriot07

12-29-2006, 08:33 AM

Well he said from the outset that he was deliberately limiting it to one song a band since you could write the entire list from the canon of single artists in the seventies (see David Bowie and Neil Young).

I know, but because of that I don't think it's as complete a list as it could have been.

scratchie

12-29-2006, 08:52 AM

Can, Zappa, Crimson, and Eno are difficult for me to apply to this kind of exercise: I can't separate the songs from the albums without doing violence to what I love about them. So the song list is more pop-oriented. So sue me.
http://micmaz.outbacks.de/images/simpsons_lawyer.jpg

Sir, I represent the International Union of Prog Rock Geeks. It is my understanding that you have published a list of "great" songs that does not include the finger-bending, mind-stretching musical calisthenics of Zappa, Crimson or Rush. ...

Sparkle Motion's Rising Force

12-29-2006, 06:26 PM

No Can, no Credibility.

(emoticon)

Indigo Al

12-29-2006, 07:03 PM

Re: ABBA, Eurovision and "mediocrity-going-to-die" --- Is that still true with Lordi???

Jonathan Bogart

01-01-2007, 01:20 PM

Re: ABBA, Eurovision and "mediocrity-going-to-die" --- Is that still true with Lordi???
Fun, over-the-top mediocrity is still mediocrity. The only reason Lordi is notable is that they won Eurovision; otherwise, they're a family-friendly GWAR.

Anyway, for anyone who came in late, or is too lazy to click a couple of times, here's the final list:

100. Bachman-Turner Overdrive “Takin’ Care of Business”
099. Patti Smith “Dancing Barefoot”
098. The Who “Baba O’Riley”
097. The Allman Brothers Band “Melissa”
096. Human League “Being Boiled”
095. Heart “Crazy on You”
094. Lou Reed “Perfect Day”
093. Ronnie Spector “Try Some, Buy Some”
092. Sparks “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us”
091. The Wild Tchoupitoulas “Hey Pocky A-Way”
090. Led Zeppelin “When the Levee Breaks”
089. Chicago “Saturday in the Park”
088. Nicky Hopkins “Speed On”
087. Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights”
086. The Pointer Sisters “Yes We Can Can”
085. Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb”
084. Gil Scott-Heron “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
083. James Luther Dickinson “Wine”
082. Tim Buckley “Starsailor”
081. Bruce Springsteen “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)”
080. Yoko Ono “Listen, the Snow Is Falling”
079. Townes Van Zandt “Pancho and Lefty”
078. The Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass “Theme de Yo-Yo”
077. Mott the Hoople “Honaloochie Boogie”
076. Kirsty MacColl “They Don’t Know”
075. Leon Russell “Tight Rope”
074. John Prine “Sam Stone”
073. Ike & Tina Turner “Funkier Than a Mosquito’s Tweeter”
072. Iggy Pop “The Passenger”
071. Candi Staton “Too Hurt to Cry”
070. Television “Marquee Moon”
069. Nick Drake “Pink Moon”
068. Harry Chapin “Taxi”
067. The Damned “Smash It Up, Parts I & II”
066. Genesis “Firth of Fifth”
065. Looking Glass “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)”
064. Throbbing Gristle “Hot on the Heels of Love”
063. Rachel Sweet “Who Does Lisa Like?”
062. Chic “Le Freak”
061. Derek & the Dominos “Thorn Tree in the Garden”
060. Wings “Jet”
059. Curtis Mayfield “Freddie’s Dead”
058. Chi Coltrane “Thunder and Lightning”
057. Gang of Four “Damaged Goods”
056. Badfinger “No Matter What”
055. David Bowie “Aladdin Sane”
054. Donna Summer “I Feel Love”
053. Bob Marley & the Wailers “No Woman No Cry”
052. Wreckless Eric “The Whole Wide World”
051. Fleetwood Mac “Gold Dust Woman”
050. Neil Young & Crazy Horse “Like a Hurricane”
049. Stevie Wonder “Superstition”
048. Big Star “Thirteen”
047. Van Morrison “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)”
046. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On?”
045. Dolly Parton “Jolene”
044. The Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop”
043. Kraftwerk “Neon Lights”
042. T. Rex “20th Century Boy”
041. Jackson Browne “Rock Me on the Water”
040. Magazine “The Light Pours Out of Me”
039. Fanny “Ain’t That Peculiar”
038. Black Sabbath “Iron Man”
037. Todd Rundgren “Hello, It’s Me”
036. Siouxsie & the Banshees “Hong Kong Garden”
035. Janis Joplin “Me and Bobby McGee”
034. The O’Jays “Back Stabbers”
033. Tubeway Army “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?”
032. The Rolling Stones “Angie”
031. Dr. John “Right Place, Wrong Time”
030. Joe Jackson “Look Sharp!”
029. Labelle “Lady Marmalade”
028. Tom Waits “The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)”
027. Richard Hell & the Voidoids “Blank Generation”
026. Talking Heads “Life During Wartime”
025. Elvis Costello “Alison”
024. Warren Zevon “Werewolves of London”
023. Sly & the Family Stone “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”
022. Suzi Quatro “Can the Can”
021. Ultravox “Hiroshima Mon Amour”
020. Yes “Roundabout”
019. Johnny Thunders “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory”
018. The Commodores “Easy”
017. John Baldry & Maggie Bell “Black Girl”
016. The Temptations “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today)”
015. Roxy Music “Remake/Remodel”
014. Rod Stewart “Mandolin Wind”
013. The Undertones “Teenage Kicks”
012. Wizzard “See My Baby Jive”
011. Al Green “Let’s Stay Together”
010. Joy Division “Transmission”
009. Blondie “Heart of Glass”
008. Randy Newman “Louisiana 1927”
007. The Clash “Complete Control”
006. John Cale “Paris 1919”
005. Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band “My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains”
004. Bob Dylan “Tangled Up in Blue”
003. ABBA “Waterloo”
002. The Buzzcocks “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone) (You Shouldn’t’ve)?”
001. The Faces “Stay With Me”

And there's a postscript (http://jbogart.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-greatest-songs-of-1970s-epilogue.html) up now too. Thanks for reading, everyone.

scratchie

01-01-2007, 02:11 PM

Bravo, Jonathan.

I just got around to reading the Top 15, and I am thoroughly impressed (and entertained). I usually detest lists like this (when propogated by the know-nothings at Rolling Stone or VH1), but yours was one of the most enjoyable and insightful I've ever read. I hope you'll print out a hard copy so that this piece of writing isn't lost in the event of a system crash.

To get back to an issue that was floating around the last time I stuck my head in here, your piece on "Roundabout" was perfect, and about exactly as much prog as any list of great songs requires. And I say that as an enormous and life-long fan of Fripp, Eno, Crimson and Can in particular.

The inclusion of Buzzcocks and Joy Division (and your analysis of their importance/greatness) gives me hope that the great lost "new wave" era of 1977-79 may some day get its due, if only the professional historians of our pop culture ever manage to acheive the same level of knowledge and insight as some random comic book fan with a blog.

I do have two minor factual nits to pick, namely that Elvis Costello was never "formerly known as" Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus because Aloysius was just a name he pulled out of thin air for the album credits on King of America, and that the Blood on the Tracks track which was quoted by Hootie was "Idiot Wind", not "Tangled Up in Blue" ("They say I killed a man named Gray", etc...).

Jonathan Bogart

01-01-2007, 02:43 PM

I do have two minor factual nits to pick, namely that Elvis Costello was never "formerly known as" Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus because Aloysius was just a name he pulled out of thin air for the album credits on King of America, and that the Blood on the Tracks track which was quoted by Hootie was "Idiot Wind", not "Tangled Up in Blue" ("They say I killed a man named Gray", etc...).
I did know the first factoid but included Aloysius anyway just for humor value, and Hootie does sing, "I'm tangled up in blue" at one point during the song. But yeah, I'd forgotten the rest of the lyrics.

scratchie

01-02-2007, 06:50 AM

and Hootie does sing, "I'm tangled up in blue" at one point during the song. But yeah, I'd forgotten the rest of the lyrics.Good lord, what a hack. I guess I had blocked that part of the song out of my mind.

Matthew E

01-10-2007, 08:53 AM

I had originally planned to put comments with these, but it seems that if I wait for myself to do that, I'll just never post it at all. This doesn't represent much more than my personal tastes, but I hope that it proves mildly diverting:

100 Love or Let Me Be Lonely - Friends of Distinction
99 Absolutely Right - Five-Man Electrical Band
98 Control of Me - Les Emmerson
97 Do You Know What I Mean - Lee Michaels
96 I Don't Like Mondays - Boomtown Rats
95 Summer Nights - Grease O.S.T.
94 Mama Let Him Play - Doucette
93 Lookin' Out My Back Door - Creedence Clearwater Revival
92 Tonite Is a Wonderful Time - April Wine
91 Are You Ready - Pacific Gas & Electric
90 99 - Toto
89 Burning Bridges - Mike Curb Congregation
88 Pretty Lady - Lighthouse
87 Mystery Dance - Elvis Costello
86 Rainy Days and Mondays - Carpenters
85 Dancin' on a Saturday Night - Bond
84 They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore - Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys
83 Cover of the 'Rolling Stone' - Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show
82 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
81 Evil Ways - Santana
80 Go Down Gambling - Blood, Sweat and Tears
79 Good Times - Chic
78 Day Dreaming - Aretha Franklin
77 Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
76 Racing in the Street - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
75 London Calling - Clash
74 Love to Love You Baby - Donna Summer
73 Friend of the Devil - Grateful Dead
72 God Save the Queen - Sex Pistols
71 I'm Not In Love - 10cc
70 The Air That I Breathe - Hollies
69 Why Can't We Be Friends - War
68 Rainbow Connection - Kermit the Frog
67 The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
66 Oh What a Feeling - Crowbar
65 Basketball Jones - Cheech and Chong
64 Fogerty's Cove - Stan Rogers
63 Coming Home - Ian Thomas
62 Theme from 'Cleopatra Jones' - Joe Simon
61 Moondance - Van Morrison
60 Crazy Talk - Chilliwack
59 Night Moves - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
58 Blue Collar - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
57 Cruisin' - Smokey Robinson
56 Love Reign O'er Me - The Who
55 Pocahontas - Neil Young
54 Great American Melting Pot - Schoolhouse Rock
53 Crazy Love - Poco
52 Vehicle - Ides of March
51 Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - Dramatics
50 Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
49 Almost Saturday Night - John Fogerty
48 Ohio - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
47 Brown Sugar - Rolling Stones
46 Rapper's Delight - Sugarhill Gang
45 Some Sing, Some Dance - Pagliaro
44 Rock & Roll - Led Zeppelin
43 When Will I See You Again? - Three Degrees
42 Mohammed's Radio - Warren Zevon
41 Another Brick in the Wall, Part II - Pink Floyd
40 Life's Been Good - Joe Walsh
39 Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine Part I - James Brown
38 Theme from 'Shaft' - Isaac Hayes
37 O-o-h Child - Five Stairsteps
36 Lean On Me - Bill Withers
35 Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
34 The Boys in the Bright White Sports Car - Trooper
33 Dirty Work - Songbird
32 Passing Time - Bearfoot
31 Rock Lobster - B-52s
30 Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty
29 The Rubberband Man - Spinners
28 Eagle - ABBA
27 Puppet Man - Fifth Dimension
26 Fox on the Run - Sweet
25 Rock the Boat - Hues Corporation
24 Gold - John Stewart
23 Rock'n'Roll Lullaby - B.J. Thomas
22 Lido Shuffle - Boz Scaggs
21 I Love Music - O'Jays
20 Just My Imagination - Temptations
19 Burning Love - Elvis Presley
18 You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth - Meat Loaf
17 Get Up, Stand Up - Bob Marley and the Wailers
16 Swingtown - Steve Miller Band
15 Let It Be - Beatles
14 Carey - Joni Mitchell
13 War - Edwin Starr
12 Instant Karma! - John Lennon
11 September - Earth, Wind and Fire
10 Let Go the Line - Max Webster
9 Drift Away - Dobie Gray
8 Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
7 American Pie - Don McLean
6 Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) - Raspberries
5 City of New Orleans - Arlo Guthrie
4 Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
3 Road Runner - Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
2 Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel
1 Layla - Derek and the Dominoes

berk

01-10-2007, 03:57 PM

...
98 Control of Me - Les Emmerson
...Love that song. Nice to see it make somebody's list, since not many people seem talk about it now. Emmerson's other solo hit from around that time, "Cry Your Eyes Out", matches it IMO.

twilight

01-11-2007, 07:45 AM

Nice looking list Mr.Bogart.

If I had a good downloading program I'd check out all the ones I'd never heard.

The Who down so low and The Ramones up so high?
For shame.

Ilash

03-04-2007, 03:04 PM

As promised here's a belated response to this great list. I don't agree with a lot of it but you did another hell of a job on it. Great stuff. Here are some random thoughts on the list:

Worst (to me, of course) exclusions

Where oh where were Jethro Tull. You include Genesis and Yes but not the Tull. Why? They're like so much better man. Why not some King Crimson too?

10cc. Kind of figure that these guys would be right up your alley. Kind of surprised by their exclusion.

George Harrison. Something from ATMP should surely be on there.

Most of those you listed were pretty surprising though, I must admit. And I'm much more familiar with most of those than a great many of the songs on your list.

Top 10 Songs that I felt were RIGHT on the money

Lou Reed - Perfect Day
Big Star - Thirteen
Fleetwood Mac - Gold Dust Woman
The Temptations - Ball of Confusion
Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World
Bob Marley - No Woman No Cry
Black Sabbath - Iron Man (one of the best unbelievably idiotic songs ever)
Elvis Costello - Allison
Randy Newman - Loisiana 1927
The Who - Baba O'Reilly
Allman Brothers - Melissa.

Top 10 right artists, wrong songs (my pick in brackets)

The Clash (a whole bunch of candidates from London Calling that I much prefer to this song but I do prefer the Clash when they moved away from straightforward punk)

The Rolling Stones (Wild Horses is a much better ballad but there are so many better choices than this)

Derek and the Dominoes (Just about any other song from that album like, oh I don't know, LAYLA!)

Wings (Jet's actually a great choice but I would easily pick Maybe I'm Amazed as Macca's best 70s song)

Van Morrison (This is unfair because I haven't actually heard this song yet but nothing I've heard from him comes close to the best material on Moondance.)

The Ramones (You want to know how absurdly obvious my tastes are? I think the best Ramones song is I Wanna Be Sedated)

Todd Rundgren (It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference)

Dr John (Such A Night)

Bob Dylan (Shelter from the Storm)

Faces (Ooh La La. Awesome to see them at number one even if they don't deserve it, by the way)

Right artist but I can't really decide on the best song

Neil Young (Great choice but i love so much of his 70s stuff I can't decide)

Led Zeppelin (Don't actually know what my favourite song is by them. Probably one from their first album but eh it's Zep, I just can't seem to care that much. Their best years were behind them by 1970.)

Warren Zevon (I only have an old greatest hits of his and I still can't decide which is his best song. Says a lot about the dude, don't it?)

Badfinger (I would probably choose Day After Day but they have a few contenders for their best song)

Top 5 new discoveries from the list

Patti Smith - Dancing Barefoot.
Heart - Crazy On You
Looking Glass - Brandy You're A Fine Girl
Richard Hell and the Voidoids - Blank Generation (come on, how are these guys not nihilists with a name like that?)
The Undertones - Teenage Kicks

As for stuff that I still don't really like, it's basically the more electronic or cold New Wave stuff.