Love watching your project progress, but frankly I can only do some good in the '90s, I think. You might check out Soul Jazz Records Presents New Orleans Funk, Volumes 1-3; great records that extend through 1973, though there's about a decade span on each compilation. Very fun records that I've been spinning a lot lately since I bought the first two compilations on vinyl for the gf for christmas.
Thanks for the input, all, feel free to post any further soul/funk recs from 1973. Continuing on...
1973: Glam Rock
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Glam rock vaulted into the international spotlight following T. Rexโs Electric Warrior (1971) and Bowieโs The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972). The genre is actually defined more in terms of a performerโs public and on-stage presentation than their music, but there were definitely stylistic similarities between the various glam rock acts, as they tended to favor simple and melodic songs with bright, dirty-sounding guitars. Some landmarks from the year:
In late 1973, Marc Bolan of T. Rex famously declared, โGlam rock is dead!โ This turned out to be wrong, as the genre would see plenty of activity and popularity in the following few years, but T. Rex was definitely taking its music in a different direction. Compared to their first two albums, Tanx is less poppy and anthemic, but it still manages to capture much of the energetic flair that made T. Rex famous.
In many ways, David Bowie was the embodiment of glam rock, as he developed his on-stage personae so thoroughly that he sometimes found it difficult to distinguish between his true self and the character he was playing. Bowie described Aladdin Sane as an American continuation of his Ziggy Stardust character, where a lightning bolt symbolized mixed feelings about his 1972 tour of the US.
The album itself is far less thematically cohesive than its predecessor and honestly, itโs kinda painful for me. Itโs rare that one of my favorite artists puts out something that I actually find unlistenable, but Bowie managed it here. This album definitely has more than its share of defenders, though, so feel free to make your case.
Roxy Music carried the baton for the โartisticโ wing of the glam rock explosion through much of the โ70s. This was to be their last album with Brian Eno, whose vision for the band was decidedly more avant-garde than Bryan Ferryโs. Enoโs influence is especially noticeable on the title track here. Although I always seem to enjoy the experience of listening to a Roxy Music album, I havenโt found them particularly memorable and donโt feel drawn to return to them very often.
Music critic Robert Christgau includes the New York Dolls in his list of the top 5 artists of all time, along with the Beatles, Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, and Thelonious Monk. Pretty good company, but why would he include a two-record flash-in-the-pan on such a prestigious list? Turns out they were pretty influential on the development of punk rock and some go as far as to say that they created it.
Whatever your view on that, they certainly had a unique sound for their time. The energy of their performances was virtually unmatched, but I donโt think their songwriting holds up that well next to many other all-time greats. I recommend the album, but folks who are already familiar with later punk rock acts like the Clash and the Ramones are unlikely to find them as life-changing as Christgau did.
Other glam rock I listened to from 1973:
Goodbye Yellowbrick Road (Elton John) - Elton rose to fame during the singer-songwriter craze of the early โ70s, but he didnโt hesitate to jump on the glam rock bandwagon when it drove by. This album is actually pretty eclectic, with hints of progressive rock as well, but its not really my cup of tea. To me, heโs more of a singles artist.
meccaleccaVoice of ReasonProfile The Land of Enchantment
Maybe not quite as essential as For Your Pleasure, but Stranded is still a classic. Psalm and Amazona are 2 of Roxy Music's best tracks _________________ http://jonnyleather.com
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