We’ve gone back to 1984, 1994, and 2004 in previous posts this year. Let’s do one more of these decade anniversaries. 1974. High school junior year for me. An impressive and broad-ranging year of music. Hard rock, soft rock, country rock, prog rock, glam rock, and combinations of these styles. Reggae, too. Nostalgia weighs heavily decades later, especially for the high school and college years. Let’s remember some of the musical happenings from 1974:
- Rush and Kiss released their first albums, both self-titled
- Queen, Van Halen, and The Ramones launched their first U.S tours
- Stevie Wonder won the Grammy for Album of the Year, Innervisions, and Roberta Flack took home Record and Song of the Year for her version of “Killing Me Softly.”
- About 200,000 fans attended the California Jam at the Ontario Motor Speedway, with a lineup of Rare Earth, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Black Oak Arkansas, Seals and Crofts, The Eagles, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. (I was there!)
- “Waterloo” was the Eurovision Song Contest winner catapulting ABBA to fame
- “Mama” Cass Elliot died in her sleep at 32 after performing two shows at the London Palladium.
- Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac
Here’s my top 10 of 1974:
10. When the Eagle Flies by Traffic: The 7th album from Traffic was their last for 20 years. It’s uneven, but its wistful atmosphere enveloped me in 1974 and still does. First track “Something New” takes you back to early Traffic, “Graveyard People” is a trippy dream, “Dream Gerrard” an 11-minute jazz improv, and “Walking in the Wind” a treasure of bass, keys, and Steve Winwood’s vocals.
9. Crime of the Century by Supertramp: The third and breakthrough album for Supertramp is a joy right off the bat. The harmonica intro of “School” and the piano lead, rumbling bass, and sparkling vocals shout out that these guys sound good. Piano and guitar pedals accentuate the bluesy, bouncy “Bloody Well Right.” “Dreamer” and the title closing track proclaim the superb pop rock of Supertramp.
8. Natty Dread by Bob Marley: Bob Marley’s 7th album was the first without Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. “Lively Up Yourself” starts with a celebration of reggae. The album’s best-known song, “No Woman, No Cry,” includes a little gospel and rap as it to contemplates life inside the Jamaican ghetto. Politics (“Revolution”) and religion (“So Jah S’eh”) permeate throughout. But a laid- back vibe pervades even with the heavier themes.
7. Pretzel Logic by Steely Dan: Steely Dan’s 3rd album got them back on track after Countdown to Ecstasy failed to score a hit single. First song “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” was the most successful song of their career. The keys, harmonies, and guitar by Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (who would shortly leave the band to join the Doobie Brothers) deliver an exquisite tune. The acoustic “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” is simply lovely. There’s an element of jazz throughout, and man, do they know how to record an album.
6. Sheer Heart Attack by Queen: The 3rd album by Queen brought us that first classic Queen song, aptly named “Killer Queen.” They rock out and glam it up. The opener “Brighton Rock” takes Jimmy and Jenny on holiday and explodes with Mercury’s flamboyant vocals and May’s echoing guitar solo. And then there’s “Stone Cold Crazy.” The blistering two-minute metal assault is the poster child for an album named Sheer Heart Attack.
5. Court and Spark by Joni Mitchell: The elegant Canadian’s 6th and most successful album imbues her trademark folk rock with traces of jazz. She rocks on “Raised on Robbery,” melts our hearts on “Help Me,” and takes us on a romantic getaway on “Free Man in Paris.” Honest, melancholy, and uncertain with a blissful sheen.
4. It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll by the Rolling Stones: The Stones’ 12th album was their last with guitarist Mick Taylor and first produced by Jagger and Richards (“The Glimmer Twins”). “Dance Little Sister” and the title song embody the name of the album. The ballads shine – “If You Really Want to Be My Friend,” “Time Waits for No One,” and “Till the Next Goodbye.” Toss in a touch of reggae (“Luxury”), funk (the ominous “Fingerprint File”), and a rousing cover of the Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and you’ve got an auspicious transitional album.
3. Country Life by Roxy Music: Siren will always reign over the other Roxy Music albums, but this 4th record would be next on the list for me. The opener “The Thrill of It All” and “Casanova” are up tempo rockers, while “Bitter Sweet” is a lush ballad, and “Out of the Blue” highlights the violin of Eddie Jobson. But it’s the closing number, “Prairie Rose,” that brings the house down with its steel guitar, rollicking piano, and stomping beat.
2. Diamond Dogs by David Bowie: Bowie’s 8th LP was the last of his glam era and first without The Spiders from Mars. Side One is a classic. The creepy spoken-word intro, “Future Legend” (“This ain’t rock n’ roll, this is genocide”), straight into the title song, then the soaring suite of “Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)”, and finally, the signature “Rebel Rebel” with Bowie riffing away like Keith Richards in the absence of Mick Ronson.
1. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis: Peter Gabriel’s final album with Genesis is a masterpiece. It’s the story of Rael, a Puerto Rican youth from New York City who is suddenly taken on a voyage of self-discovery and encounters bizarre incidents and characters along the way. The double album has a few lows, but the highs are sensational. The bouncy “Counting Out Time,” the lush “Carpet Crawlers,” the humorous “Cuckoo Cocoon,” and the powerful “Back in NYC” are the band’s high point. One of their finest musical moments is when the drums and guitar explode in unison on “Fly on a Windshield.”
Honorable Mentions: Burn (Deep Purple) thanks to the title song, War Child (Jethro Tull) because I saw the tour at the L.A. Forum, and Relayer (Yes) due to another epic Yes one-side song: “The Gates of Delirium.” Other notable albums of 1974 include, Fulfillingness’ First Finale (Stevie Wonder), Here Come the Warm Jets (Brian Eno), On the Beach (Neil Young), Late for the Sky (Jackson Browne), Bad Co (Bad Company), On the Border (The Eagles), Holiday (America), What Were Once Vices are Now Habits (The Doobie Brothers, I saw that tour, too), Cantamos (Poco), and 461 Ocean Boulevard (Eric Clapton).
Trivia: Joe Walsh played guitar and produced the 1974 album Souvenirs album by what singer-songwriter?
Trivia: “Rock Around the Clock,” the 1954 hit by Bill Haley and the Comets, hit the Billboard charts again 20 years later thanks to exposure in what TV series and movie?
Answers below
Here’s two noteworthy songs from 1974:
Trivia answers: Dan Fogelberg and Happy Days and American Graffiti
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