Great 1970s albums

[stephenhannan]

Not been on this site for umpteen years

Just to run in again thought I'd start a thread from my era

Well lets have some feedback

When comfortable I'll be back to who discussions again

So here goes

Lets list great 1970s albums and why

I was asked this week to name my all time favourite albums and guess what 50% came from the 70s

[Dino]

"Shinki Chen & His Friends" by Shinki Chen. 1971. http://www.spirit-of-metal.com/group...Chen-l-en.html
http://metropolis.co.jp/arts/japan-b...ese-rock-gods/

Although I recently discovered this album, and really wish I had heard it as far back as I'd heard Pink Floyd's "Meddle" and Genesis's "Nursery Cryme" in the early 90's. Shinki doesn't sound anything like Prog for a start!

Shinki Chen is a man who has been considered the "Japanese Hendrix". But if you rush off to listen to his music on Spotify, You Tube would be better as the two best tracks at the end of this album aren't even up on Spotify!

Shinki Chen was in a three piece with a singing bass guitarist and a drummer, through the use of drugs they became known as Speed, Glue & Shinki. One massive mistake I made when first listening to the music was thinking Shinki was also the singer as well. A common mistake as some people thinking the bloke who disappeared out the Manic Street Preachers was the singer. Shinki's guitar playing is excellent!

When you look at the album cover of a drawing of him with a big massive cigarette, you'd probably think Shinki was another casualty, but no! Shinki quit the music business a year after this album, unhappy with everything he had recorded, and now lives in Japan making money out of just playing at nights but drug free.
How about that for a happy ending!
I'll be back on this afternoon to give 7 good reasons for "Shinki Chen & His Friends" from 1971 to be a great 1970's album to start off with.
(You Tube "Gloomy Reflections","Corpse" and "Farewell To Hypocrites", but make sure you include the words "Shinki Chen" in those searches, or else you'll never know where you'll end up!)

[Rob McCow]

This one was a favourite. Sneaks in at the tail-end of the 70's.



But to describe 'Unknown Pleasures' by Joy Division as a bit dark is understating it.

[Nyder]

ELO- Out of the Blue. It's fab! And of course, the "Darts" and "Everyone Plays Darts" are pretty good :-)

[SiHart]

Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. A great, prog album, full of wonderful songs!

[Dino]

Shinki Chen & His Friends

1. The Dark Sea Dream http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAaNLrZwtYo

So far, Pink Floyd's Umma Gumma, yes but this has pace and better jump scares!

2. Requiem Of Confusion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwtMrKGGvQc

Do you think Brian May may have listened to this and thought "Yeah, but he's a stupid druggie! The druggie... that's stupid..." and went on to achieve success. This shits on Led Zeppelin, no wonder Jimmy Page thought "Shit... well I suppose I'd best get into cocaine then?"

3. Freedom Of A Mad Paper Lantern http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlWIwbNwPlE

You think it'd be the most commercial of the album from the start, but then that shuffle they lock into. It's too punky for the blues, but too bluesy for Punk! Imagine if this was on the 1971 BBC Four Fills Space With Night?

4. Gloomy Reflections http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw7iUPY7WJ8

This is my favourite from the album. It's a shame the You Tube videos don't capture the pristine of the actual CD.

5. It Was Only Yesterday http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Asumt6p4V58

You'll have to take my word for it, the phasing on the CD for this is amazing. This is the last track on Spotify of Shinki Chen. I suspect foul play on this by showing how the album really ends. This is just slightly faster than Gloomy Reflections but still slower than the second and third tracks. Shinki is on fire here. This really gives him his stars as "Japan's Hendrix". But onto the final two killer reasons why this is a Great 1970s album...

6. Corpse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHo11tW08M0

This is the first thing I ever heard of Shinki. A random You Tube recommendation. I was listening thinking "What the hell is this? Is he the singer as well?" It became apparent from the sound quality of You Tube, I used Amazon to trace a copy of the album. I would have made a post like this before, but I've been listening and re-listening to it in a sound quality that I didn't think was possible.
I think the riff is better than all of Disraeli Gears.

7. Farewell To Hypocrites

Maybe the reason it's not on Spotify is the lyric about shooting down, down down, down "white collared conservative!".
I really love the mood change less than five minutes in. ARGH! The sound quality of this Video is shit! Please, please get the CD instead!
Anyway, I love how just when you thought it was safe to give your verdict when it was over.
THIS is jamming. And if I knew you could play like this in the early 90's, Britpop would have been a bit more interesting!

And if you think it's a one off. Here's the best track of the three of them locked together from the album with the tiger on the cover "Speed, Glue & Shinki".
That album is meant to be more influential than "Shinki Chen & His Friends", but it doesn't have the great songs this album has. And after listening to their other album "Eve" yeah... it's not bad. But I can understand his decision to step away from the record business.

"Search For Love"- Speed, Glue & Shinki http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaJV7nj_0W4

And this had a toiling bell and sound effects a whole year before "Dark Side Of The Moon"!

So in passing, how many albums can you say are great that have "& His Friends" in the title? If I've convinced you to buy this album, you'll know the answer to that question on your third consecutive play!

[stephenhannan]

pink floyd

wish you were hear

An album I played endlessly in my bedsit in 1975

Just rediscovered and now played endlessly again

[MacNimon]

Fleetwood Mac Rumours,
Springsteen Darkness On The Edge Of Town,
Journey Infinity,
Queen A Night At the Opera & Day At The Races,
Bob Seger Stranger In Town,
Genesis Nursery Chryme, Trespass, Then There Were Three
Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon




Sent from my KFJWI using Tapatalk 2

[stephenhannan]

Dark side of the moon is almost perfection

Nursery crime is fantastic but then again the early incarnation of Genesis is fantastic. The latter two albums especially Lamb Lies down benefits from the developement of the the synthenised capabilities.

Queen. famously in the early days from not using synthesisers are almost perfect on a Night at the opera but does not have tha same perfection on a Day at the Races. Better still somewhere later on

Not heard Journey so here is one to do and so is Bob Segar

Bruce Springsteen will always be Bruce Ringsting to me and having never got in to his albums cannot comment

Rumours has been done to death and I am fed up with being told how great it is Bob segar

Thats my sunday listening sorted out.

Have you tried Supertramp "Crime of the century"? Screams 5th form at you

[stephenhannan]

Alright! I will conceed Lower sixth

[MacNimon]

I forgot about that Supertramp album...haven't listened to it for years! Another favourite I didn't mention was Bowie's Ziggy Stardust...

I can't disagree with your comment about Rumours, Stephen, although it's still the best Fleetwood Mac album of the decade. Those which preceded and followed it have loads of classic tracks but are still patchier affairs, imo, overall.

As for Queen, check out this thread for more detailed thoughts...
Queen Time Team

[SiHart]

I prefer Supertramps' Breakfast in America personally. Full of great tunes!

[MacNimon]

I haven't mentioned Deep Purple's Machine Head or Burn yet, or Led Zeppelin's IV or Physical Graffitti. Both groups had much more to offer than just those albums, though. By contrast (in musical styles), ABBA's excellent Arrival and Voulez-Vous

[MacNimon]

Not heard Journey so here is one to do and so is Bob Segar

That Journey album (Infinity) is their first with Steve Perry on vocals but several years before they perfected their polished stadium rock sound and this sounds light-years removed from that. This just sounds so much more fresh and natural...an all-time favourite of mine.

Bob Seger, though...Stranger In Town is where he perfected his sound. It's predecessor, Night Moves, is a bit rougher around the edges but is another classic.

[stephenhannan]

I forgot about that Supertramp album...haven't listened to it for years! Another favourite I didn't mention was Bowie's Ziggy Stardust...

Ziggy stardust is the album that was fantastic.

Diamond Dogs was the one that should have been perfection

Lou Reeds Bowie inspred Transformer is somewhere in the mix here

[stephenhannan]

I checked out the thread

Wow.........

Time for me to shut up about Queen forever and bow to those of higher thinking.

I just like what I like

[Rob McCow]

I just like what I like

The best way to be!

Any fans of The Moody Blues here?

[Si Hunt]

"Blood on the Tracks" by Bob Dylan!

Si.

[MacNimon]

Any fans of The Moody Blues here?

I've got to admit that they're a group who've passed me by...I don't mean that I don't like them, but apart from a couple of songs (and a few Justin Hayward solo efforts) I really haven't heard anything of theirs. That's something I've always meant to rectify but never seem to get round to.

Any recommendations?

I like what I like

And Stephen, there's nothing wrong with that! I had sometimes wished I had said that during that Queen thread...It's certainly not easy trying to put into words what you like or dislike about music...personally, I find it much harder to describe than talking about film/tv/books etc

[Wayne]

Zep III, Zep IV
Warrior on the Edge of Time, Quark Strangeness & Charm (Hawkwind)
Deep Purple In Rock, Machine Head
Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols
No More Heroes, Black & White (Stranglers)
Power in the Darkness (TRB)
Overkill (Motorhead)

[Paul Clement]

Eagles - Hotel California
Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman
Blondie - Parallel Lines
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run