Journey To The Center Of The Mind by The Amboy Dukes
This is an album which at the same time sounds bluesy and psychedelic and does a great thing in doing so. Of course don't forget the inventive guitar playing of Ted Nugent and with songs like the title track and many others you can't go wrong. hardrock this ain't yet but a fine record without real highlights it is and this album enters at the 13th rank of the year.
Just threw this on thanks your diary. What an amazing milestone. I would definitely argue that American hard rock does sort of start here. At the very least, it was an important stepping stone. Great rec and highly underrated!
I skipped 1971 and 1972 so these are two album of 1973 I listened to:
First an album I already own:
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Stranded by Roxy Music
Fir Your Pleasure of the same year is the real classic but this one comes pretty close. The first time without Brian Eno but doesn't make it less good. The highlight is of course Song For Europe but Street Life and Mother Of Pearl come close. The album rises from the 7th to the 5th rank of the year.
One album from 1974 I already own/know and one album of 1975 from my wishlist:
I already know this one:
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The Heart Of Saturday Night by Tom Waits
All in all a good album of Tom Waits with the title track, Shiver Me Timbers and Drunk On The Moon as the highlights and goes from the 33rd to the 30th rank on my 1974 chart.
An album from my wishlist:
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Hearts by America
Daisy Jane, Midnight Woman Tonight and especially Sister Golden Hair are very good but the rest of the tracks is fairly average. In any case good for an entry in my 1975 year chart at the 30th rank on my 1975 year chart.
I'll skip 1976 so immediately to 1977 of which I listened to 2 albums:
An album I already own/know:
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Lust For Life by Iggy Pop
The song Lust For Life is the first song I knew from Iggy Pop and maybe the first punk song I ever heard (punk was generally a bit banned in belgium at the time as it was as it was on UK radio). It was also the time I bought my first cassette player and I remember I taped my favorite songs from my transistor radio (with of course incredibly bad sound quality) and this was the first track on the first tape (the second was Hey Jude where I dropped a pencil while taping it I still hear virtually when I hear the song). Also the video clip he taped for the Dutch pop show Top Pop was unheard of: Iggy Pop just crawled on the floor in a clear state of drugginess.
But the best track of the album remains The Passenger. For me this is just the best song to dance on (an by dancing I mean moving as I want to not as prescribed by rules) because it's the summum of bouncy rhythms. I saw Iggy I think three times live and The Passenger was always the highlight where I could throw off every inhibition.
And the rest of the album is not bad either so it's only natural it moves up from the 14th to the 11th rank.
An album from my wishlist:
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Telephone by Téléphone
I'm counting to cover most albums of Téléphone, that fantastic French punk group which was much more than that in this round and this is their first and a great album it already is. For me the best track here is Hygiaphone which is just a straight out rock 'n roll song with an incredible groove. But the main song here is Metro c'est trop (subway is too much, which has a bit the same feel as Birth School Work Death, the drag of going to work every day. So their themes are mainly about living in a big city. They may be a bit derivative from English punk and rock'n roll in general but they do have their own voice so if you're interested just listen to them, you might like their albums. The album enters my top chart at the 20th rank.
Jesus Of Cool by Nick Lowe
His albums are always filled with something good and something more mediocre and this also goes for this album which is one of his best and most known not in the least because of I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass which was a hit. But So It Goes is maybe even better. The album moves up from the 60th to the 49th rank.
Then an album from my wishlist:
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Shpritsz by Herman Brood & His Wild Romance
His live album Saturday Night 1975-1984 is a must have but this about his best regular album. His life was like a rollercoaster: he was painter, writer, singer but above all one of the most known junkies from Holland and committed suicide by jumping off the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam. And of all people, Frank Black (or more correctly Black Francis) made an album about him: Svn Fngrs. And on the album itself: it contains his best know song Saturday Night and is otherwise a good rock'n roll album. It enters at the 41st rank.
Breakfast In America by Supertramp
I have always loved the band and I suppose I first heard of them with this album which contains so many hits. In hindsight of course Crime Of The Century is much better but this one is just a classic as well and it moves up from the 41st to the 17th rank.
And an album from my wishlist:
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Crache Ton Venin by Téléphone
After the first album now also their second album from this French punk band with lots of Stones influences. In fact I first learnt from this band because of my French school teacher who dissected the lyrics of La Bombe Humaine in one of his lessons (yes we had teachers like that although it was a catholic school) and I immediately loved it. This song is still the best from the best although the whole album is good and just displays a lot of energy even if you don't speak any French. It enters at the 20th rank of the year.
The Correct Use Of Soap by Magazine
By Many viewed as one of their less good albums if you have a track like Song From Under The Floorboards on offer, you can't go wrong. and there's so much more from this great postpunk band. So the album moves up from the 64th to the 38th rank of the year.
An album from my wishlist:
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Au Coeur De La Nuit by Téléphone
And already the third album from this great French rock band. As the albums go along, there is less and less of a punk spirit but many of the tracks still rock hard. The signature song is Argent Trop Cher but the title track and Fleur De Ma Ville are equally good. Immediately enters at the 47th rank.
For 1981 there isn't an album from my year chart I haven't revisited in more than 7 years so I immediately move to an album from my wishlist:
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Marauder by Blackfoot
A bit less southern rock than in their previous albums and a bit more hardrock but not to worry: the twin guitar attack still rules on the best songs which are not all great but ex the closer Searchin' is a good slowburner. The album enters at the 29th rank in my 1981 top chart.
The Sky's Gone Out by Bauhaus
This third album is as good as the first two which means very good. Maybe a bit more experimental especially in the second part but also these tracks contribute to the very special dark atmosphere of this album and from the hard rocking Third Uncle (an Eno cover) to the very quiet All We Ever Wanted Was everything, the voice of Peter Murphy is what keeps it all together. Only the last track, Exquisite Corps, which is essentially a collage of very different parts with not much to glue it together, is maybe a bit too experimental for its own good with the snoring dub as the highlight. The album goes to the 26th rank of the year.
I forgot I still had a Téléphone album to cover from this year (1982):
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Dure Limite by Téléphone
At this third album they lost a bit of the punk energy they displayed in their first two albums. But they could still rock as some of the better songs on this album prove like the title track and Ca C'est Vraiment Toi. But they also gave us some softer songs which are still very good like Le Temps and Ce Soir est Ce Soir. Only Le Chat has a nice flow but is not really a good song. All in all again a good album which lands at the 28th rank of my year chart of 1982.
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