1971 Band |
Votes |
Album |
Connors' Comments |
Led Zeppelin |
13 |
ST IV |
Jul20. So, this has to be close to the perfect rock album. I have all songs bar Four Sticks and Stairway to Heaven in my #1971Hotterest100. I can recognise Stairway's brilliance, I am just so over it and honestly don't think it is the best on here. Black Dog's riff is so memorable and this song has to be up there as one of the best starts to an album. Rock and Roll rolicks along and is a quintessential rock track. A great song to turn to to liven any live show, as bands like the Foo Fighters have shown. I did not realise it was so short either. Maybe why I love it :P. The Battle of Evermore is an interesting song, if a little long. Misy Mountain Hop is just cool and who doesn't love the bass in this? The folky Going to California has always been one of my favourite Led Zeppelin songs. I can't really explain why, I just love it. Then the awesome When the Levee Breaks wraps things up. I love the intro beat and the way each instrument comes in. Has a very cool underlying riff too. I get why this album is widely regarded and I am on board too. Oct21. Not a lot to add really. 3 of my Top 1971 H100 are from this album. I even listened to 'Stairway to Heaven' all the way through this time and did not mind it, though like so many long songs, you could just cut to the second half where all the interesting parts happen. Upping my score the the best possible. 5+/5 |
The Rolling Stones |
11 |
Sticky Fingers |
Sept20. Love the straight ahead sounds on here. Basic rock 'n' roll. Brown Sugar is a fantastic opener and into the very catchy Sway. We slow down even further for the slow Wild Horses which is a good song but surprised me to be one of only two singles. I love the fuzzed out guitars and warbling bass of Can't You Hear me Knocking? - a song I have not paid any attention to before. Man, I liked this one to start with, but not where it went, rambling on with a Doors-like organ and saxophone. The blues cover You Gotta Move is a decent little jaunt. Pace and rock picks back up with Bitch but it is not my favourite here and then we slow right down again. I found a fair bit of the middle to late album a bit too droney to be honest. I adore Dead Flowers thanks to the punk band The Copyrights who do a brilliant cover of it. And Moonlight Mile is a brilliant jangly end to the album. It's jsut a pity these two slower songs are preceded by other slow songs. So, a kickass start, wanes in the middle and finishes on a high. Not the first album to do that. The good songs here are very good though. Close to 4.5, but going 4 for now. 4/5 |
The Who |
9 |
Who's Next |
Sept20. For a band I love, I simply do not know The Who's albums very well. I have three songs for this in my H100 for 1971 and all are in the Top10, but I don't know the other tracks. Well, Baba O'Riley the 'Teenage Wasteland' song is far and away my favourite song from 1971, so we are obviously off to a thumping start. Bargain starts well. I like the acoustic guitar and then the drums and guitar sound awesome later on. Not thrilled with the extended synthesizer-driven ending - sounds like they are just dragging things out. The acoustic guitars stay out for the slow Love Ain't for Keeping which has a Led Zeppelin feel. It's not bad, but I would not have had it third song in after the extended second song. My Wife is a solid, jangly rocker worth more listens. Just got to say at this point, how cool Keith Moon's drum fills have been. The Song is Over starts with nice piano and then builds into a decent song, but could really have done without the annoying synthesizers again. They really ruin parts of this song. What was the obsession with these things? Getting In Tune also starts slow with piano. Not sure why they grouped these together. It sounds all Bealtes-ish to me and is a decent mid-album song. Going Mobile was the find for me on these listens. What a ripper melody. It sounds a little too commercial, but those drums are a highlight again, as well as the driving rhythm. A cool addition of acoustic guitars again, then the electric playing near the end is excellent. Again - what's with the synthesizers? Up next is the brilliant, acoustic Behind Blue Eyes. I love how it also ups the tempo about 3/4s of the way in. Then we end with Won't Get Fooled Again where they actually make decent use of keyboards (and synthesizers?). An excellent closer to the album and finishes with more of Moon's highlights! He really had his own style, didn't he? You all know the only thing holding me back from giving this a 5+, so I won't repeat here. 5/5 |
Black Sabbath |
8 |
Master of Reality |
Oct17. I can see how this is a main influence on stoner rock and even grunge. I enjoyed the fuzzed out songs. Will prob rate higher with more listens. Mar20. So, the quieter moments stood out this time through. Not because they are the best songs, they were just a surprise wedged between the heavy, drony tracks. Everything else is very down-tuned isn't it? The bass warbles. Iommi's riffs are awesome again, especially on Sweet Leaf - so memorable. After Forever is a solid rock song, as much Led Zeppelin as it is downtuned stoner rock. Children of the Grave had to be a major influence on heavy metal to come. Lord of this World was the track that grabbed me on this listen; it was not in my H100 for 71 - it is now. I love the groove Into the Void settles into. This is a cool song to end the album. Upping the score. 4.5/5 |
The Doors |
8 |
L.A Woman |
Sept20. For years, I never got the appeal of The Doors. Then I listened some more and read a fair bit and started to understand what a cool little scene this would have been. Those that listened to them at this time describe something pretty cool. I still don't love the music, but have more appreciation for it. That said, just having this album rumbling along in the background today was pretty good. It's not music I would go crazy for. I noticed the real heavy blues influence on this one. I had it playing in the background whilst remote learning/teaching. My 11 year old daughter pointed out how Changeling sounded like Funky Town :P. I quite like it as an opening track. I'm pretty partial to the use of organ here. It must be my mood, b/c I added Love Her Madly to my 1971 H100 too. Been Down So Long and Cars Hiss by My Window are so bluesy I had to check if they were covers of old blues or traditional songs. Apparently not. Good songs. Have not really gelled with the title track in the past, but today I dug it - though wish it was not so long. This is weird adding so many The Doors songs to my H100 list. L'America is the droney Doors I don't like. It gets better, but not a favourite. Normally, I am sure I would put Hyacinth House in the same category, but I liked it today. Crawling King Snake is a classic blues cover and done well. The spoken-word-like WASP does little for me and then Riders on the Storm brings us home. I am not in love with this song like many. It goes for too long for a slow and repetitive song, but it is a solid album closer here. Not sure this would stack up with favourites from other years, but I'm going to give it a 4 compared to others here. 4/5 |
Pink Floyd |
6 |
Meddle |
Sept20. OK, what a cool, bass-driven, building intro to the first track, One of These Days. I hope this goes somewhere - well 4 mins in and the pace picks up. Didn't need the weird spoken 2 lines, but overall a cool intro to album more than a song. Pillow of Winds is a dreamy, Beatles-like song that I might have enjoyed if it was half as long. It's just not the sound that need to go for 5 minutes. And if that does not put you to sleep, 6 minutes of Fearless just might. Again, not bad, just long for a meandering slow song. San Tropez is even more Beatles-like. A nice, cruisy number. Wow, then we go all acoustic and bluesy for 2 minutes of Seamus. The dog sounds sent my dog off :D. Not really any rock in sight other than first track so far. So, I was worried about 5-7 minute slow, meandering songs, then we get 23 minute Echoes. Holy shit. Not bad background music, but not something to sit an actively listen to. So this talks about an albatross. So this is the song where I remember from a punk doco where they said how it was a reaction to 20 minute songs about fucking albatrosses. That always resonated with me. I can totally see how music started reacting against this. I am clearly on the reactive side here. This bored the shit out of me. Still, sounds here mostly okay. Just not something I would be in a hurry to come back to. 2/5 |
David Bowie |
6 |
Hunky Dory |
Sept20. Man, resisting the urge to just bag this out from the start. The album title and cover certainly don't help matters. Fucking horrendous. Anyway, thanks to Shrek I know Changes and my son has grown up a little and now plays this version. Nowhere near rock, but it is a decent song. We are off to a promising start. If you had told me the piano-driven Oh! You Pretty Things was a Beatles song, I would have believed you. I like it. Then we have an even slower piano number and then another piano driven number in Life on Mars. I don't like the vocal theatrics of this song, but at least a guitar made an appearance. I don't think electric drums were around in '71 (I could be wrong), but what is with the drum sounds on here? They sound manufactured and bland - a total contrast having just listened to The Who. Kooks swings between Beatles and Cat Stevens and fun and ordinary. Quicksand is boring and again, could do without the 'over-singing'. I couldn't wait for this one to end. (In the end, I didn't - I skipped it). Fill Your Heart was painful. After a decent start we are heading downhill big time here. OMG, as I was typing this, the song got even worse! Andy Warhol has a decent acoustic riff, but I just don't enjoy Bowie's vocals. The boogie parts and twang of the guitar of Song for Bob Dylan are okay, but gone as soon as they appear. At least there was some guitar here. Finally, some guitars driving a song in Queen Bitch but has more of a disco beat than a rock beat. Still, I did not hate this one. This is the closest to rock we have on here. Then we have the acoustic and very slow The Bewley Brothers. Not a bad song, but I just don't think Bowie's voice suits this style. How the hell an album like this comes 7th in a yearly list on a site that clearly promotes hard rock, punk and metal has me dumbfounded. Some bands I don't like, but get why people do. I can see why someone might listen to this album, but I don't get how this is regarded as great at all. Do people listen to the albums or just worship anything Bowie does? Anyway, in all, I liked three songs, but they are nice ditties, not rock. 2/5 |
Alice Cooper |
4 |
Killer |
Sept20. Opens with one of my favourite Alice Cooper tracks - the very cool Under My Wheels - a song I did not discover early either. It has everything. A great chorus, cracking guitars, great drum fills and even a fun horn section (that is not just a saxophone noodling on). Be My Lover is the other song I already had in my 1971 H100. And proof that even cool rockers were not immune to the influence of synthezisers, comes Halo of Flies. Crappy start, but it develops into a decent galloping song that has moments of Beatles in it, but goes too long. It's their attempt at prog and like most prog songs (for me), it has some good parts and parts that are annoying. Not a big fan of the spoken word of Desperado but the guitars are good and moments when it builds are cool. You Drive Me Nervous is down and dirty rock 'n' roll at its finest. A song I have kinda missed in Alice's collection. Rectified now and into my #1971 H100. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah continues with the groove. This one is a lot of fun. Dead Babies was not really a song I got into in the past, but it has really grown on me. I am only starting to work out the lyrics too which helps. Closing track, Killer has some very cool guitars too. A pretty good end to a pretty good album. 4/5 |
Alice Cooper |
4 |
Love It To Death |
Oct17. Cracking start. Love 1st 3 tracks. 9min song lost me, some good stuff after that too. Sept20. Caught in a Dream is a fun opener with its stomping beat. I'm Eighteen is timeless and Long Way To Go I like last time I listened to this, but now it has rocketed up on 1971 H100 order. What a cool rollicking song. But then all momentum is lost with the long and slow Black Juju. It sounds like a discarded The Doors track. Things pick up again with the groove-laden Is It My Body? The guitars rip in this track and what a cool bass line. Then we have a couple of okay mid-paced rockers before the interesting Ballad of Dwight Fry. Of course I had to look up who Dwight Fry(e) was and I was not surprised to find out he was an actor from early horror movies. Sun Arise starts rather slow, but builds into a fairly fun track, but overall, a much weaker second half to the album here. 3.5/5 |
Yes |
4 |
The Yes Album |
Yes |
4 |
Fragile |
ZZ Top |
3 |
ZZ Top's First Album |
Oct17. Like first song. Rest a bit boring and 'samey' to me. Last one good too. 2.5/5 |
John Lennon |
3 |
Imagine |
Deep Purple |
3 |
Fireball |
Rod Stewart |
3 |
Every Picture Tells a Story |
1971 Band |
Votes |
Album |
Connors' Comments |
Janis Joplin |
2 |
Pearl |
T. Rex |
2 |
Electric Warrior |
Uriah Heep |
1 |
Salisbury |
Flower Travellin' Band |
1 |
Satori |
Bang |
1 |
Death of a Country |
Oct17. Never heard of these guys. 1st listen = not bad. Worth more listens. Fav = Life on Ending. 3/5 |
Faces |
1 |
A Nod is as Good as a Wink… to a Blind Horse |
Dec20. I listened to this one straight after the Faces '73 album Ooh La La and after the first listen of each, I preferred the other. I have read that this is their 'definitive' work. Maybe I am more in touch with Ronnie Lane's songwriting? Maybe this one is steeped a little more in the blues, rather than upbeat boogie and rock? The rocking Too Bad near the end of the album was the standout on first listen. Giving it another spin and I like the opening track, Miss Judy's Farm; it kicks things off with some swagger. You're So Rude is Beatles rhythms where Lane's vocals that remind me of a cross between Bob Dylan and Lou Reed. It's a nice little, organ-driven ditty. Then we get a couple of mid-album tracks: a slow song that sounds like it should have been on a Stewart solo album, a little bounce in Last Orders Please. Stay With Me picks things up and was the big single here. It is not my favourite here, but it is still a very good song. Debris is in the style Paul Kelly later mastered. We get a decent Chuck Berry cover before the stomping Too Bad and very cool That's All You Need (that reminds me of Rose Tattoo) to finish. Another good album to be sure. 3.5/5 |
Flamin' Groovies |
1 |
Teenage Head |
Jethro Tull |
1 |
Aqualung |
Grand Funk Railroad |
1 |
Survival |
MC5 |
1 |
High Time |
Sept20. I love the garage rock of the MC5. I was surprised this only received the 1 vote (from me) in the 1971 Albums run here at 7Rock. But then again, I don't know the album real well either. Sister Anne is a very cool opener and at this time the only song from here in my 1971 H100. Baby Won't Ya continues the fun. Another solid song. |
John Lee Hooker & Canned Heat |
1 |
Hooker 'n Heat |
Cat Stevens |
1 |
Teaser & the Firecat |
Oct17. Easy-listening folk. Quite enjoyable (though very far from rock). 3/5 |
Jimi Hendrix |
1 |
Cry of Love |
R.E.O Speedwagon |
1 |
ST |
Daddy Cool |
1 |
Daddy Who? Daddy Cool |
The Kinks |
1 |
Muswell Hillbillies |
Rory Gallagher |
1 |
Deuce |
Can |
1 |
Tago Mago |
Faust |
1 |
ST |
Van Der Graaf |
1 |
Pawn Hearts |
Caravan |
1 |
In the Land of Grey & Pink |
Carole King |
1 |
Tapestry |