Listed below are the best albums of the 1970s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 6 hours ago).
"It may not be fair, but I have always less appreciated the work of Schulze (who left Tangerine Dream (TD) because of artistic differences with Edgar Froese in 1970) than TD's. As a young boy you may need variety. Possibly it was difficult for me at that time to appreciate the musical and artistic...""It may not be fair, but I have always less appreciated the work of Schulze (who left Tangerine Dream (TD) because of artistic differences with Edgar Froese in 1970) than TD's. As a young boy you may need variety. Possibly it was difficult for me at that time to appreciate the musical and artistic values of the currently highly acclaimed and groundbreaking "Irrlicht". Track 1 ("Ebene") gets under way with heavily manipulated strings. The mixed in drones are accompanied by strings played backwards. The process of generating music (indeed, you can call it "Musique concrète") is more important here than the result. Occasionally you hear sounds that seem to come from a synthesizer, but Schulze did not have a synthesizer for recording Irrlight. I would therefore like to know all the details of the process and the instruments used. Later in Track 1, Schulze plays his special, modified organ as if his life depended on it. I fear that I am too old and less sensitive to experiments. Track 3 is more monotonous and sounds like the relentlessly held and amplified background noise from a factory in the metal industry. I do not think we are in Berlin but in the Ruhr area, and here everything is dark, angry and hostile. This does not make you happy. On the contrary. We have to wait for the sublime "Mirage" to find a more accessible sound carpet. But for now this is the "Dark Ambient" of a sound artist. The recording of the reverse playback of an orchestra is interwoven with the noise that turns the background gray. I can't make up my mind. Does Irrlicht have such great artistic value? Is this album still relevant, or can we talk about musical archeology?"[+]Reply
"Great album. Very under rated. All MK II albums are all on very level par (as in all fucking great) and this is up there with them. That is what defines Deep Purple as one of the all time greatest rock acts to emerge, the amount of legendary albums to come out in a short time span. MK II that is,...""Great album. Very under rated. All MK II albums are all on very level par (as in all fucking great) and this is up there with them. That is what defines Deep Purple as one of the all time greatest rock acts to emerge, the amount of legendary albums to come out in a short time span. MK II that is, didn't like where it headed with Coverdale."[+]Reply
"Hmmmm .... Well, upon first listen, this might seem to actually be a better album than Madcap. The compositions are as zany as ever, with playful lyrics and simply bizarre melodies. Also, the backup band here (including Gilmour and Wright) has made sure to augment Syd's wackiness with some actual...""Hmmmm .... Well, upon first listen, this might seem to actually be a better album than Madcap. The compositions are as zany as ever, with playful lyrics and simply bizarre melodies. Also, the backup band here (including Gilmour and Wright) has made sure to augment Syd's wackiness with some actual, solid arrangements. Sounds all good, right?
Well, no actually, it doesn't. The album may theoretically sound like an improvement over Madcap, but the problem is that it "improves" on Madcap in exactly the wrong way. Barrett's mental condition had only gotten worse since Madcap, which shows itself in some of the lyrics getting even nuttier than before, yet instead of emphasizing that aspect of Syd (which was very arguably just as crucial to his shtick as the actual songs were), Gilmour and Wright tried to mask this and make him appear as a relatively normal singer-songwriter (ha). Even more irritating is that the way they went about this was to make it sound somewhat like the contemporary Floyd albums (which I quite like, mind you), but with only about a tenth of the creative energy that went into Atom Heart Mother. The best example of this is the otherwise quite decent "Gigolo Aunt," where Wright spends what seems like forever after the main song has ended puttering with one of the most boring organ jams I can possibly conceive. Yet even when the Floyders aren't outright stealing time from Syd (like with the album's rolling 12-string guitar intro, which is nice but has absolutely nothing to do with what Barrett could do at the time), the dull organy arrangements often sound totally incompatible with Syd's childish ramblings, and that's bothersome to me.
It's especially saddening to me that a good number of the songs here are right on the level of the best stuff from Madcap, and that I consequently somewhat long for the Soft Machine to come back and trip over themselves trying to follow Syd's nuttiness. The opening triad of "Baby Lemonade," "Love Song" and "Dominoes" are terrific melody-wise, and "Dominoes" is even nice enough to have some chaotic sliding guitar noise softly happening in the background that adequately reminds us that we're listening to freaking Syd Barrett and not Jimmy Buffett. I'm also a big fan of "Wined and Dined," which likely would have been a hit in the hands of a less cultish artist, with a simple-but-effective main melody that can't help but stick in my head for hours on end after hearing it. And, now that I think about it, "Waving My Arms in the Air" is a nice little ditty too.
Unfortunately, the signs of serious decline are apparent over much of the rest of the album. Some of the songs are just kinda dull, but without the kind of eccentricity that showed up in the second half of Madcap. And then there's "Rats" and "Wolfpack," the two instances where Syd's madness are shown totally uncut. I know it's hypocrisy to have complained that the rest of the album made an attempt to mask his madness, and then to complain when the producer doesn't mask it, but these tracks don't show a genius turning into a madman; they just show a madman. It's an important part of his legacy, yes, but only as the sad conclusion to his decline.
So in short, this here is one massively uneven album. It helps considerably that it ends with a song that Syd wrote when he was 12, called "Effervescing Elephant," which puts his silly ditty skills on display front and center, but one clear dose of genius does not an album make. I give it an 8 because there are quite a few nice gems on here, but unless you're already a big fan of Madcap, it's hard for me to give it a serious recommendation. "[+]Reply
"Équinoxe (English: "equinox") was the second major-label album release by French musician Jean Michel Jarre, released on Disques Dreyfus (with license to Polydor) in late 1978. The album reflects a day in the life of a human being, from morning to night. Parts 1 to 4 (i.e. side A) and tracks 5 to...""Équinoxe (English: "equinox") was the second major-label album release by French musician Jean Michel Jarre, released on Disques Dreyfus (with license to Polydor) in late 1978.
The album reflects a day in the life of a human being, from morning to night.[citation needed] Parts 1 to 4 (i.e. side A) and tracks 5 to 8 (side B) segué smoothly from one to the next.
Jarre had developed his sound, employing more dynamic and rhythmic elements, particularly a greater use of sequencing on basslines. Much of this was achieved using custom equipment developed by his collaborator Michel Geiss.
The release was followed by a concert on the Place de la Concorde, Paris on July 14, 1979. The concert attracted 1 million people, becoming Jarre's first entry in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest crowd for an outdoor concert.
Two singles were released from the album, "Équinoxe Part 5" first, and then "Équinoxe Part 4". Part of "Équinoxe Part 8" has been played live with different arrangements, including a version for an acoustic street organ, under the title of "Band in the Rain".
The album reached #11 in the UK charts and #126 in the US charts.[2]
During the 1980s, Équinoxe Part 4 was used in the opening credits of the TVNZ documentary series Our World. [3]
[WikiPedia]"[+]Reply
"A very minimalist album that does shine in places but also struggles to maintain my attention for the full run time. It has moments where it is really psychedelic and you end up getting lost in these crazy beats and rhythms which is exactly what the artist wants you to do. This is really helped b...""A very minimalist album that does shine in places but also struggles to maintain my attention for the full run time. It has moments where it is really psychedelic and you end up getting lost in these crazy beats and rhythms which is exactly what the artist wants you to do. This is really helped by the drums which are phenomenal on this album and are the real highlight for me. However, it just feels a bit to empty at times and it is so easy for me to switch off from the album. It can feel partly made at times as well and like it is missing something to complete the sound that they are trying to achieve. Overall, this album is an experience but doesn't have the quality to be amongst the greatest of all time. "[+]Reply
"Defining album (Along with Rumours) of its time. Hard to explain to those who weren't around, but this was one of those "must have" records. Still dig it - especially the last track."Reply
"They're so depressing, going 'round and 'round Ooh, they make me dizzy, oh fast cars they run me down (Fast Cars) And I don’t like french kissing because you swallow my tongue (Sixteen) Revenge of The Nerds! We all know that punk rock changed everything. Now, all you had to learn was three measly...""They're so depressing, going 'round and 'round
Ooh, they make me dizzy, oh fast cars they run me down (Fast Cars)
And I don’t like french kissing
because you swallow my tongue (Sixteen)
Revenge of The Nerds! We all know that punk rock changed everything. Now, all you had to learn was three measly chords & you were golden. The groupies, the drugs and all the rest of that hedonistic alpha-male rockstar lifestyle was all yours! But… What if even the thought of a girl made you want reach for the nearest asthma inhaler? And the idea of driving drunk with a bottle of Jack in a "fast car" sounded not only dumb but filled with images of bodily injury & your disappointed mother. Well you're in luck! Because Punk rock not only changed WHAT was required to play rock but WHO could play rock. And no band was as vital for this seismic shift as the Buzzcocks.
Forget everything you’ve heard. Another Music in a Different Kitchen is not only the best Buzzcocks album, but also THE best place to really experience them in all their socially awkward, anxiety-riddled glory. AMIADK doesn’t simply flow. It’s propelled! Building a palpable tension that climaxes with the brilliant couplet of Fiction Romance and Autonomy. In comparison, Singles Going Steady suffers from the inherent deficiency of all singles compilations - it’s a greatest hits album. And is thus not only devoid of all the idiosyncratic detours and charms of AMIADK, it defuses most of the claustrophobic tension. And tension is what the Buzzcocks are all about.
PS: Contains Morrissey’s (& mine) favorite punk rock song of all time - Fiction Romance. Morrissey would soon after make an entire career out of this concept."[+]Reply
"At last, a deluxe edition, which basically makes this version obsolete, is finally available. Both nights at the Lyceum in London are now featured on an excellent release. The gigs are fairly short (first night, 60 mins, second night, 70 mins) but that's just a small quibble. What matters is that...""At last, a deluxe edition, which basically makes this version obsolete, is finally available. Both nights at the Lyceum in London are now featured on an excellent release. The gigs are fairly short (first night, 60 mins, second night, 70 mins) but that's just a small quibble. What matters is that a previously great live album has now become an undisputed masterpiece and an essential release for any music fan. Absolutely brilliant. "[+]Reply
"When I purchased a copy of this album, I was a junior high kid, and it was not an easy album to understand. I could only buy one album a month back then (naturally), so I would listen to the album every day, and I could gradually digest the beauty (and aggressive nature) of the album over time. A...""When I purchased a copy of this album, I was a junior high kid, and it was not an easy album to understand. I could only buy one album a month back then (naturally), so I would listen to the album every day, and I could gradually digest the beauty (and aggressive nature) of the album over time.
As the band called it quit in 1974, I thought I would never see the band again, and this was true with this formation at least. For a young boy in Japan, it was beyond imagination that 30 years later, the boy would meet all the four members of the band (though in separate interview opportunities.) So, to me, this album is a very special one.
Musically speaking, as Jamie Muir had left the band (who, the recent Larks' Tongues box set revealed, was the first member of the new formation and the key to the jazz/improvisation aspect of the band), the other members were forced to fill the role Jamie had played: spontaneities. For this reason, the album is fundamentally "live." The most structured track on this album is paradoxically Fracture, which is based on the persistent riffs and highly technical (and mathematical) guitar work by Robert Fripp. You can also find "funk" elements under the influence of Herbie Hancock or even Miles. It is not a perfect album, but well conveys the spirit of '73 when the music was still more or less free from commercialism. "[+]Reply
