Also in 1968 only an album I already own/know:
Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968) by Creedence Clearwater Revival
If this album would only contain songs written by the band (ie by John Fogerty) this would be a good but not great blues album with one better one: the closing Walking On the Water and just shows what a great band CCR would become on the following albums.
But this first album is in fact a classic because of two covers: Susie Q and I Put A Spell On You; it's not so much the quality of those two tracks although they are great but the way in which they are delivered. Especially I Put A Spell On You puts that great voice of John Fogerty at the absolute front and together with those wonderful guitar lines, they make this in one of the greatest song versions ever made. So no wonder this album moves up from the 12th to the 7th rank of the year.
Last edited by dihansse on 07/31/2026 20:15; edited 1 time in total
Also in 1968 only an album I already own/know:
Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968) by Creedence Clearwater Revival
If this album would only contain songs written by the band (ie by John Fogerty) this would be a good but not great blues album with one better one: the closing Walking On the Water and just shows what a great band CCR would become on the following albums.
But this first album is in fact a classic because of two covers: Susie Q and I Put A Spell On You; it's not so much the quality of those two tracks although they are great but the way in which they are delivered. Especially I Put A Spell On You puts that great voice of John Fogerty at the absolute front and together with those wonderful guitar lines, they make this in one of the greatest song versions ever made. So no wonder this album moves up from the 12th to the 7th rank of the year.
Completely agree with your write up. CCR were a phonemically productive band over a very short time frame and the quality never really dropped during their short career. This was a great debut and the covers, especially I Put A Spell On You, are terrific.
I'd single out my favourite CCR cover, Heard It Through The Grapevine from Cosmos Factory, as the definitive version of this song (contentious viewpoint possibly)
And again only an album I already own/know now for 1969:
Kick Out The Jams (1969) by MC5
For their debut album they chose to make it a debut album and what a debut album it was with surely a lot of energy as this version of their main hit Kick Out The Jams proves. In general you can call this a hard blues album but there's a real punk energy (except maybe for the very psychedelic end song), sometimes a bit messy but mostly hard rocking. A good album which has certainly set a standard and it moves up from the 35th to the 22nd rank.
First one I already own/know:
The Madcap Laughs (1970) by Syd Barrett
The importance of Syd Barrett for the growth of the early Pink Floyd can't be underestimated and there were some great songs coming from his hand on their first albums. But I think I somewhat overestimated this solo album of his because at the time it became clear that his health was going downhill both because of his mental condition as from other substances. The only really good track here is Terrapin which shows that he could still write a great song. But after listening to this album again I fear that that's it. Not that it is unlistenable, there are still some ok songs with whispers of his genius but overall, well no. So the album moves down from the 28th to the 38th rank.
And an album from my wishlist:
Climbing! (1970) by Mountain
A band with links to Clapton/Jack Bruce/Cream which is best heard on the song written by Jack Bruce, Theme From An Imaginary Western, for me also the best track of the album and not the best known and much covered Mississippi Queen. But there's more: it is a bit of a mix between the guitar rock of the Cream and Southern rock and it sounds very good on other great tracks like For Yasgur's Farm. All in all a good album I should have discovered earlier and it enters my year chart at the 27th rank.
For 1971 only an album I already own/know I listened to:
Ram (1971) by Paul & Linda McCartney
On this album there's two great (Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey and Backseat Of My Car) and one good song (Dear Boy) and then...not so much. On his first solo albums after the Beatles (in fact together with Linda) there wasn't a real focus to his album and that's clearly heard on this one. But still some good songs so it goes from the 37th to the 24th rank on my year chart.
And only an album I already own/know from 1972:
Talking Book (1972) by Stevie Wonder
A bit too sugar sweet and the instrumentation sounds a bit dated except for those two magnificent tracks: Superstition and You Are The Sunshine Of My Life (and partly also I Believe). In any case: his next two albums would be much much better. But still ok for my year chart and it moves up from the 34th to the 30th rank of the year.
First an album I already own/know:
New York Dolls (1973) by New York Dolls
It just happens that I know this band especially by their odd and rarities album Seven Day Weekend and that I discovered this first album of theirs much later and maybe underestimated it a bit because now I think it's an absolute classic. This album is both sleazy, increadibly hard rocking and blessed with a great punk spirit. And the list of classic tracks coming out from this album is just too long to sum up with of course Personality Crisis but Also with Frankenstein and Subway Train as personal favorites. A very good album which moves up from the 21st to the 11th rank of the year.
And an album from my wishlist:
Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1973) by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
BTO is a bit of an overlooked band by me. Of course I know You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet by heart like everybody does but I didn't know more of them except for the fact that Randy Bachman was once part of The Guess Who. And then there's this first album of them and it's much harder than I imagined them to be: it's some kind of southern rock blues hardrock band although they come from Canada and especially the guitars really rock on great tracks like Gimme Your Money Please and Stayed Awake All Night. In fact they do sound a bit like the Allman Brothers also because of their sometimes jazzy side. Btw I'm now listening to a great live album of theirs: BTO Japan Tour. And their first album enters my year chart at the 8th rank.
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (1974) by Eno
Not the classic album many people make of it but fairly enjoyable with Third Uncle as the highlight and it climbs from the 25th to the 22nd rank of the year.
First an album I already own/know:
Fleetwood Mac (1975) by Fleetwood Mac
The Album just before Rumors and a lot of the songs are already a preview of that classic album. Rhiannon is in my view still the (best) old Fleetwood Mac but tracks like I'm So Afraid are already a good match for what was to come. Already a great album which moves up from the 32nd to the 18th rank of the year.
And an album from my wishlist:
Four Wheel Drive (1975) by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
And another album from this underestimated band. OK, Hey You seems to be a (of course well done) carbon-copy of You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet but the rest is just good old southern rock with She's Keeping Time as a personal favorite. This album enters my year chart at the 9th rank.
First an album I already own/know:
A New World Record (1976) by Electric Light Orchestra
The album with which ELO really broke through with big hits like Telephone Line and Livin' Thing. Jeff Lynne showed that he could not only make great arrangements with that fantastic fusion between classic and rock but also could write great songs. A classic album which firmly stays a the second rank of the year.
And an album from my wishlist:
La Düsseldorf (1976) by La Düsseldorf
When Neu! finished Klaus Dinger formed this band which is still centered around motorik rhythms but in a much more accessible form (a bit in the direction of what Kraftwerk did. The album only contains 4 sometimes very long track but they are certainly entertaining and I fairly liked it so it enters my year chart at the 23rd rank.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
dihansse
