In the spirit of the "Allmusic Loves" and the AV Club's "My Favorite Music Year" comes the Shaft Went to Africa rip off "A year in my Ipod." Originally this was just going to be a summary of what was on my ipod sorted by any given year but it became much more. I did a lot of research for this and opened myself up to a lot of stuff had never listened to before. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do this again in the near future and ideally make this a monthly column.
1978 is probably the greatest year ever. Not because it's my favorite year in music history but because it's the year my parents found it fit to bring me into this world. Due to this being the year of my birth I thought it would be the perfect place to start with what will hopefully become a regular column. While 1978 isn't my favorite year in music history, it's arguably the deepest. In doing research for this (i.e. listening to music from this year), I found there to be at least 40 albums I really, really enjoy and music from 1978 currently occupies roughly 3 gig's worth of Ipod space.
1978 found a wide variety of music fighting for relevance. The punk explosion was in full force (specifically in Britain) while in America, the roots of the early 80's Hardcore movement were starting to emerge along with the rising mainstream popularity of new wave and on both sides of the ocean the earliest albums that would come to later be classified as post-punk were released. While a lot of what I listen to focuses on more underground forms of music, the mainstream was well represented by some excellent classic rock albums, the continuing popularity of disco and the final stages of the outlaw country movement. There's also enough guitar theatrics to keep fans of metal and hard rock satisfied for a while. On top of all that, Funk, Soul, R&B and Reggae groups were all experimenting more and more which would lead to the emergence of hip-hop only a year later.
There are sooooo many worthwhile albums to talk about that were released in 1978 that I'm sure I missed more than one (again the depth of quality records released this year is truly astounding). Due to the immense amount of great music from 1978 this entry will be done in 2 parts. After the jump are some fine examples of the depth and scope of music 1978 had to offer, separated into some rather generic categories. The top 25 will be posted tomorrow.
London Town is a quality group of enjoyable soft rock. It's not amazing but "I've Had Enough," "Famous Groupies" and "With a Little Luck" are among the best songs of McCartney's solo career.
The Band: The Last Waltz
I've seen The Last Waltz on TV or blu-ray a number of times and while the music contained on the soundtrack is excellent, it's just not the same without the video. The soundtrack does feature a number of tracks not included in the movie so it's well worth owning.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: You're Gonna Get It
Petty's second album features a couple classic tracks ("I Need To Know," "Listen To Her Heart") but a majority of the tracks are enjoyable but not memorable.
Bob Dylan: Street Legal
Dylan's first album to feature pure pop production (i..e. very glossy and full of backup singers) isn't one of his best albums but it isn't a travesty either. It just sounds odd and the style doesn't seem to fit the songs.
The Who: Who Are You
The Who's last album with Keith Moon is too reliant on synthesizers and Roger Daltry was in full blown annoying vocal bluster mode to be really effective. On the plus side "Who Are You" is a classic and the rest of the tracks offer an interesting take on aging in a rock band.
Van Morrison: Wavelength
This one falls into the "enjoyable but not really memorable" category as well. The lengthy (8 minutes) "Take it Where You Find it" is really the only song that sticks out but all the songs are worth hearing at least once.
Neil Young: Comes a Time
This one almost made the top 25. Comes a Time finds Young in country and folk mode and I just prefer him when he rocks. It's still a fine album for anyone looking to dig into Neil's lengthy discography.
Billy Joel: 52nd Street
With songs like "Big Shot," "My Life" "Honesty" and "Rosalinda's Eye's", 52nd Street is one of Joel's better albums. Unfortunately the lesser known songs aren't good enough to make it a true classic.
John Prine: Bruised Orange
Prine let's his Dylan influence shine through on one of his better albums. It's a nice collection of simple folk-rock that has an easygoing vibe that suits the music fine. In a year without such a depth of great stuff this would likely rank high on a best of list.
The Kinks: Misfits
The Kinks turned to arena rock here and enjoyed a critical and commercial resurgence. "A Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy," "Black Messiah" and "Live Life" hide Ray Davies acerbic lyrics in glossy and enjoyable hard rock.
Todd Rundgren: Hermit of Mink Hollow
Hermit of Mink Hollow isn't the best Todd Rundgren album I've heard but it's still pretty good. That's all I have to say about this one.
Hard Rock and Metal
Boston: Don't Look Back
Boston's second album is basically an extension of their debut. The number of classics is smaller with the title track being the only one that really qualifies but fans of Boston won't be disappointed.
Molly Hatchet: Molly Hatchet
The first Molly Hatchet album starts out with a "helllll yaahhhhhh" and never lets up. It's a good collection of heavy southern rock that I'm sure was a staple at numerous late 70's party's.
Ted Nugent: Double Live Gonzo
This is album that truly cemented Sweaty Uncle Teddy's reputation as a guitar god. Along with "Stranglehold" and "Cat Scratch Fever" are classic Nuge jams like "Yank Me, Crank Me" and "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang." There is no shortage of theatrics on display here. This gets a 10 on the sweat scale.
Rainbow: Long Live Rock & Roll
I liked Rainbow's last album to feature Ronnie James Dio a lot more than I thought I would. Richie Blackmore's guitar work is outstanding and Dio is in fine voice. It's not really my type of music but I have new appreciation for it.
Judas Priest: Stained Class
I'm not a big metal guy but of all the classic early metal bands Judas Priest is probably my favorite. Stained Class is perhaps their heaviest album and while I don't think it's their best, tracks like "Exciter," "Invader" and "Better By You, Better Than Me" make a strong case that it may be.
Avant-garde
Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band: Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)
Shiny Beast is neither the Captain at his weirdest or at his most normal but it does strike a nice balance between the two. It's certainly not for everyone but any album that has the fractured calypso of "Tropical Hot Dog Night" is worth seeking out.
The Residents: Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
If you've ever listened to early Ween, you will quickly realize how much a debt that fine band owns to the Residents. This is the only one of their albums I've ever heard and I understand it's actually more accessible than their earlier ones. That's hard to believe because this is about as weird as "pop" music gets
Tom Waits was still more focused on bar-room jazz than being weird at this point in his career but I don't have a better category to place this in. Blue Valentine is one of Wait's lesser albums but it does have the excellent trio of songs "Romeo is Bleeding," "$29.00" and "Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis." They're worth the purchase price alone.
Tom Waits: Blue Valentine
R&B, Soul, Funk and Reggae
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Kaya
Kaya is Marley's softest album and not a true reggae classic but songs like "Is This Love" and "Sun is Shining" will live forever.
Prince: For You
The debut album from Prince is a promising but pretty generic set of R&B. The roots of the genius to come are there but you have to search pretty hard to find them.
Parliament: Motor Booty Affair
Motor Booty Affair is a another in a long line of excellent Parliament albums but ultimately it's not one of George Clinton's greatest works. Still there's no denying the solid grooves of tracks like "Aqua Boogie" and "Mr. Wiggles"
The Blues Brothers: Briefcase Full of Blues
Whether you consider them a loving tribute or a tongue in check send up, the Blues Brothers brought 60's Stax style music to a whole new (and paler) audience. I really enjoy them and the backing band is absolutely fantastic.
Punk Rock
The Buzzcocks: Another Music in a Different Kitchen
The Buzzcocks: Love Bites
The best way to enjoy the Buzzcocks is through their singles but the first two albums by one of the originators of pop punk aren't too shabby either. The band was a lot more diverse than they get credit for and even though not everything works, the failures are still admirable.
Black Flag: Nervous Breakdown
You can pretty much trace the entire hardcore punk genre to this EP. 4 songs, 5 minutes and a helluva lot of rage. Black Flag would go on to be the most important hardcore band in history and it all started here.
Dead Boys: We Have Come for Your Children
The Dead Boys second album is held back by it's neutered production but it's got some great songs. "3rd Generation Nation" and "Ain't it Fun" in particular are standouts.
Crass: Feeding of the 5000
Crass are a pretty important band in the history of ultra left wing British punk but really I find this album to be almost unlistenable. I'm including it here for historical purposes only.
The Vibrators: V2
The Vibrators second album does not reach the heights of their debut and they weren't really a punk band but V2 is still a solid collection of rock.
X-Ray Spex: Germ Free Adolescents
X-Ray Spex were one of the first punk bands to sing from a female perspective and Germ Free Adolescents is their best album. It's full of ultra catchy meditations on society's expectations on women and singer Poly Styrene's rebellion against them. It's also a lot of fun. Bonus points for having a saxophone player in the band.
Post-Punk
Public Image Ltd: Public Image Ltd
I don't know if it's fair to say the Johnny Rotten's first post Sex Pistols album is as influential as Never Mind the Bullocks but it is one of the first albums to be associated with the Post-Punk movement. From scathing indictments of Religion ("Religion I," "Religion II") and the price of fame ("Public Image") to the crappy sounding reggae dance of "Fodderstompf" this album helped paved the way for a whole new sub-genre of music, even if it isn't always that enjoyable.
Wire: Chairs Missing
Wire expanded on their debut by making the songs longer, introducing some semblance of melody and focusing on new lyrical themes. It's by no means an easily accessible album but it might be the best one of Wire's career.
Joy Division: Warsaw
Even though it went unreleased until 1994 Warsaw is still an important album from 1978. Joy Division would go on to do bigger and better stuff in their near future but for pure energy and anger they never topped Warsaw
Magazine: Real Life
Ex-Buzzcock Howard Devoto was one of the first original Brit punks to grow weary of the genre's limitations and expand on them. Real Life is Magazine's best album and one of the earliest and best post-punk records in history.
Siouxie & the Banshees: The Scream
The Scream is a very accurate title for this fine debut. From the metallic sounding guitars to Siouxie's impassioned wailing vocals, everything about this screams both literally and figuratively. Fantastic stuff and a true landmark in the history of the post-punk subgenre.
New Wave
Television: Adventure
The second album by Television doesn't have the same guitar theatrics of their debut but very few albums do. It's still great proof that not everyone associated with the 70's underground was devoid of musical talent.
Boomtown Rats: Tonic for the Troops
The Boomtown Rats would go one experience success in the early 80's but Tonic for the Troops is a pretty good album in itself. It's full of spastic keyboard driven pop that just doesn't quite fully stick in your brain.
Devo's debut is full of jagged rhythms, quirky lyrics and more guitar work than their subsequent releases. Highlight's include a total reconstruction of the Stones "Satisfaction," "Mongoloid," "Jocko Homo" and of course the cover tribute to Chi-Chi Rodriguez. It all adds up to fairly weird but effective album of pseudo novelty rock.
XTC: White Music
XTC: Go 2
The first two XTC albums only show glimpses of the pop music they would go on to eventually make but they're decent examples of jagged new-wave rock.
The Stranglers: Black and White
The Stranglers moved away from punk into more keyboard driven new wave rock. The results are hit and miss but when the music hits ("Nice 'n' Sleazy," "Toiler on the Sea") it's pretty sweet.
Robert Gordon: Fresh Fish Special
Robert Gordon was one the most important figures in the rockabilly revival of the late 70's and early 80's. Fresh Fish Special is a great collection of Elvis tributes and fun. It's even got the original version of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire" which would become a big hit of the Pointer Sister's (in a watered down lesser version). It's a lot of pastiche but also very enjoyable.
Stay tuned tomorrow for my top 25 albums of 1978.
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