1970-1979 WTF - The Hard 'n' Heavy 'n' Loud + Krautrock, Arty, Noisy, Weird, Funky, Punky Shit - Albums Poll! - VOTING THREAD! Closes Mar 8th 11.59 PM UK Time - All ILXORS/LURKERS WELCOME

thanks, that seems to work

I would like to thank this poll because scrolling through the nominations got me thinking about Mother's Finest, which got me Googling, and now I'm going to go see them play in May. Psyched. Maybe I'll submit a ballot in gratitude.

oh just vote. Anyway you like. Some are voting the heaviest some the most metal or krautrock or funk or weird and some just pick 20-100 albums they like on the list.
all of those ways are fine!

thanks man. tbph I have no memory of writing that post last night so I'm not gonna spend too much energy defending what was no doubt an overstatement designed to get ppl to listen to betty davis; still, the intensity of davis's performance makes it seem to fit this poll in a way that a lot of other stuff doesn't. like I love that 1st hot chocolate album & will vote for it but I really have no idea what it's doing in a "hard & heavy & loud" poll despite having some rock elements, but with nasty gal I'm like, ok that makes sense. But it's always worth bearing in mind that a large proportion of what I post will be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJgWq_kSR9w

my ballot as it stands is pretty ahem heavy on the art-rock and funk stuff, rock-rock is a blind spot for me. I don't want to submit it just yet because I want to catch up on the stuff that's more in the "spirit" of this poll. Like the other day I listened to an aerosmith album for the 1st time ever. (it was fantastic actually!)

Oh there's no shortage of Betty Davis fans on ILM, whether they vote or not in this poll remains to be seen. But if its nominated and on the sheet then anyone can vote for it whether they think its heavy or not. The "weirder" stuff is to give the poll results something a bit different like with the 80s equivalent we did. There will be no shortage of the heavier rock in the poll hehe.

ps do check out Flower Travellin' Band - Satori.

and lots of the other nominations too

Remember the new rules - if you vote for 100 albums then there is no artist limit.

and please subscribe to the SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

If anyone wants to check out a lost classic black acid rock album then do check out
http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0000/218/MI0000218646.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

African-American psychedelic groups, and rock bands from Trinidad, were both uncommon items around 1970. The Next Morning fit into both categories, making them an interesting curiosity regardless of their music. The music, however--average 1970 hard-rock with soul, hard rock, and psychedelic influences, particularly from Jimi Hendrix--is not as unusual as their origins. One would not suspect from listening that the group were largely from Trinidad, with the proliferation of heavy, bluesy guitar and organ riffs, and the strained soul-rock vocals of Lou Phillips. They recorded one album, released in 1971, that received little notice before their breakup.
The Next Morning formed in the late 1960s in New York, four of the five members having come to the city from Trinidad; Lou Phillips was from the Virgin Islands. Jimi Hendrix was a big influence on the band, as were some other hard rock acts of the period like the Who, and rock-soul hybrids like Sly Stone and the Chamber Brothers. The Next Morning were busy on the New York club circuit and attracted attention from Columbia Records, but ended up signing to the smaller Roulette label, whose Calla subsidiary issued their lone, self-titled LP in 1971. Although the jagged guitar sounds of Bert Bailey and some unexpected chord shifts made the album less pedestrian than some efforts in the style, the songs tended toward the long and meandering side, and the material was not as outstanding as their influences.

review
by Cub Koda

Take four musicians from the Caribbean, relocate them to New York and start filling their heads with the Who, Chambers Brothers, Sly and the Family Stone and Jimi Hendrix. After they become the tightest and most talked about rock band in the city, have them cut their debut album in something like three hours. This is the scenario of the Next Morning, a band of Caribbean immigrants who cut this amazing little piece of psychedelia around 1970 for Roulette's Calla subsidiary. Tunes like "Changes of the Mind," "A Jam of Love," "Life Is Love" and "Back to the Stone Age" literally drip with trippy, fuzzed over and phasey vibes. Another lost classic.

I've got a horrible feeling I forgot to vote for Family - Bandstand

I checked and I had *phew*

*phew*

The 1st 70s poll results (not the alternate poll jf did a couple of years ago)
100. VA - Nuggets
99. New York Dolls - s/t
98. David Bowie - Heroes
97. Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
96. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On the Edge of Town
95. The Cure - Three Imaginary Boys
94. Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
93. Philip Glass - Einstein on the Beach
92. Sparks - Kimono My House
91. Cheap Trick - Live at Budokan
90. Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstacy
89. Sparks - No. 1 in Heaven
88. Can - Future Days
87. The B52s - The B52s
86. Parliament - Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome
85. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
84. Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power
83. The Slits - Cut
82. Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
81. The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
80. Neu! - Neu!
79. The Beatles - Let It Be
78. John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
77. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
76. Big Star - Third
75. John Cale - Paris 1919
74. Donna Summer - On the Radio
73. Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson
72. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
71. Parliament - The Mothership Connection
70. Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
69. VA - Saturday Night Fever
68. Wire - 154
67. Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
66. Led Zeppelin - IV
65. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
64. Big Star - #1 Record
63. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
62. David Bowie - Station to Station
61. Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
60. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
59. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
58. Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes
57. The Congos - Heart of the Congos
56. Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
55. Ornette Coleman - Dancing in Your Head
54. Richard and Linda Thompson - I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight
53. David Bowie - Hunky Dory
52. The Fall - Dragnet
51. Neil Young - Tonight's the Night
50. Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic
49. Roxy Music - Roxy Music
48. Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
47. Stevie Wonder - Talking Book
46. Suicide - First Album
45. Miles Davis - On the Corner
44. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
43. Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians
42. Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
41. Neil Young - On the Beach
40. Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
39. Wire - Chairs Missing
38. Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
37. Can - Ege Bamyesi
36. Brian Eno - Another Green World
35. Serge Gainbourg - Histoire De Melody Nelson
34. Nick Drake - Pink Moon
33. Elvis Costello - This Year's Model
32. Neil Young - After the Goldrush
31. Big Star - Radio City
30. The Clash - The Clash
29. The Velvet Underground - Loaded
28. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
27. Wire - Pink Flag
26. Can - Tago Mago
25. David Bowie - Low
24. Joni Mitchell - Blue
23. Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets
22. Ramones - Ramones
21. Al Green - Call Me
20. Kraftwerk - The Man Machine
19. The Stooges - Fun House
18. Michael Jackson - Off the Wall
17. VA - The Harder They Come
16. The Sex Pistols - Nevermind the Bollocks
15. The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
14. David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
13. Gang of Four - Entertainment
12. Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
11. The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street
10. Marvin Gaye - What's Goin' On
9. Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady
8. PiL - Metal Box
7. Blondie - Parallel Lines
6. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
5. Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express
4. Television - Marquee Moon
3. Bob Dylan - Blood On the Tracks
2. The Clash - London Calling
1. Sly & the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On

And TURN THIS MUTHA OUT! It's the Alternate 1970s Albums Poll on ILX — Results Thread
100. Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges - Clube de Esquina (1972) [80 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote]
99. Chic - C'est Chic (1978) [80 points, 14 votes]
98. John Lennon - Imagine (1971) [80 points, 15 votes]
97. Patti Smith - Horses (1975) [80 points, 17 votes]
96. Van Halen - Van Halen (1978) [81 points, 6 votes, 1 first place vote]
95. Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac (1975) [81 points, 8 votes]
94. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory (1970) [81 points, 11 votes]
93. Blondie - Eat to the Beat (1979) [82 points, 9 votes]
92. Miles Davis - Agharta (1976) [82 points, 10 votes]
91. Ian Dury - New Boots and Panties!! (1977) [83 points, 6 votes]
90. Neu! - Neu! 2 (1973) [83 points, 10 votes]
89. Tom Waits - Closing Time (1973) [84 points, 6 votes]
88. Black Sabbath - Vol. 4 (1972) [85 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote]
87. Hawkwind - Space Ritual (1973) [85 points, 11 votes]
86. Aerosmith - Rocks (1976) [86 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote]
85. Tubeway Army - Replicas (1979) [86 points, 9 votes]
84. Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak (1976) [86 points, 11 votes]
83. The Who - Live at Leeds (1970) [87 points, 6 votes]
82. Comus - First Utterance (1971) [87 points, 9 votes]
81. Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece (1974) [88 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote]
80. Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue (1977) [90 points, 10 votes]
79. Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (1973) [92 points, 9 votes]
78. Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action (1976) [92 points, 10 votes]
77. Pere Ubu - Datapanik in the Year Zero EP (1978) [93 points, 6 votes]
76. ABBA - Arrival (1976) [93 points, 8 votes]
75. David Bowie - Lodger (1979) [93 points, 12 votes]
74. Cluster - Zuckerzeit (1974) [93 points, 14 votes]
73. Pere Ubu - Dub Housing (1978) [94 points, 12 votes]
72. The Rolling Stones - Some Girls (1978) [95 points, 13 votes]
71. Neil Young - Harvest (1972) [96 points, 9 votes]
70. Herbie Hancock - Sextant (1973) [96 points, 12 votes]
69. Stevie Wonder - Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) [97 points, 10 votes]
68. Throbbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats (1979) [98 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
(Tie) 66. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) [99 points, 9 votes]
(Tie) 66. Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark (1974) [99 points, 9 votes]
65. The Pop Group - Y (1979) [99 points, 10 votes]
64. Al Green - The Belle Album (1977) [100 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote]
63. Steely Dan - Katy Lied (1975) [100 points, 9 votes]
62. Black Sabbath - Master of Reality (1971) [100 points, 11 votes]
61. Various Artists - No New York (1978) [101 points, 10 votes]
60. The Specials - The Specials (1979) [102 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
59. John Cale - Fear (1974) [104 points, 11 votes]
58. Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson (1971) [106 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
57. King Crimson - Red (1974) [109 points, 12 votes]
56. Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978) [110 points, 12 votes]
55. Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove (1978) [110 points, 13 votes]
54. Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975) [111 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote]
53. Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger (1975) [111 points, 12 votes]
52. Van Morrison - Moondance (1970) [111 points, 13 votes]
51. Yellow Magic Orchestra - Solid State Survivor (1979) [112 points, 6 votes, 2 first place votes]
(Tie) 49. The Who - Who's Next (1971) [112 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
(Tie) 49. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Armed Forces (1979) [112 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
48. David Bowie - Aladdin Sane (1973) [113 points, 11 votes]
47. Harmonia - Musik von Harmonia (1974) [113 points, 13 votes]
46. Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick (1977) [116 points, 9 votes]
(Tie) 44. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Zuma (1975) [116 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
(Tie) 44. James Brown - The Payback (1973) [116 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
43. Grateful Dead - American Beauty (1970) [119 points, 9 votes]
42. Amon Düül II - Yeti (1970) [120 points, 12 votes]
41. New York Dolls - Too Much Too Soon (1974) [121 points, 4 votes, 2 first place votes]
40. Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs (1970) [121 points, 9 votes]
39. Funkadelic - Free Your Mind... And Your Ass Will Follow (1970) [124 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
38. Miles Davis - Get Up With It (1974) [124 points, 12 votes]
37. This Heat - This Heat (1979) [125 points, 10 votes]
36. T.Rex - The Slider (1972) [127 points, 13 votes]
35. Tim Buckley - Starsailor (1970) [127 points, 13 votes, 1 first place vote]
34. Funkadelic - Standing on the Verge of Getting it On (1974) [128 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote]
33. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run (1975) [128 points, 11 votes, 1 first place vote]
32. Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby (1970) [128 points, 14 votes]
31. The Cars - The Cars (1978) [131 points, 13 votes]
30. Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells a Story (1971) [140 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
29. Fela Kuti & Afrika 70 - Zombie (1977) [141 points, 13 votes, 1 first place vote]
28. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (1975) [146 points, 14 votes]
27. Talking Heads - 77 (1977) [147 points, 15 votes]
26. Led Zeppelin - III (1970) [149 points, 11 votes]
(Tie) 24. T.Rex - Electric Warrior (1971) [151 points, 17 votes]
(Tie) 24. Faust - IV (1973) [151 points, 17 votes]
23. Ramones - Rocket to Russia (1977) [152 points, 13 votes]
22. Can - Soon Over Babaluma (1974) [152 points, 16 votes]
21. Harmonia - Deluxe (1975) [155 points, 11 votes, 1 first place vote]
20. Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band (1976) [161 points, 10 votes]
19. Todd Rundgren - A Wizard, A True Star (1973) [162 points, 12 votes]
18. Lou Reed - Transformer (1972) [164 points, 16 votes]
17. Joni Mitchell - Hejira (1976) [165 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
16. The Raincoats - The Raincoats (1979) [168 points, 12 votes, 1 first place vote]
15. Steely Dan - The Royal Scam (1976) [176 points, 11 votes, 2 first place votes]
14. Steely Dan - Aja (1977) [177 points, 16 votes]
13. Neu! - Neu! 75 (1975) [187 points, 17 votes]
12. Brian Eno - Before and After Science (1977) [187 points, 18 votes]
11. XTC - Drums and Wires (1979) [188 points, 15 votes, 2 first place votes]
10. Yes - Close to the Edge (1972) [189 points, 11 votes, 1 first place vote]
9. Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance (1978) [205 points, 20 votes]
8. Kraftwerk - Autobahn (1974) [230 points, 25 votes]
7. Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda (1970) [248 points, 19 votes]
6. X Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents (1978) [263 points, 20 votes, 3 first place votes]
5. Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom (1974) [307 points, 19 votes, 5 first place votes]
4. Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo (1978) [310 points, 27 votes, 1 first place vote]
3. Curtis Mayfield - Curtis (1970) [310 points, 28 votes, 3 first place votes]
2. Talking Heads - Fear of Music (1979) [405 points, 28 votes]
1. Fleetwood Mac - Tusk (1979) [527 points, 30 votes, 4 first place votes]

That poll turned out to be a very fun poll and I hope johnny fever participates in this current poll.

Was about halfway putting together my ballots for this when voting got suspended and my attention drifted away - back on it now.
Got to thank all the people that have been campaigning for particular albums so far, it's been a nice way to dip into lots of music I wouldn't have heard otherwise. Giving Pink Fairies - Kings of Oblivion a go just now - Raceway is a killer tune. :)

You cant go wrong with any of their albums.

Do It is of course their best known tune.
But I recommend I Wish I Was A Girl. Which is nominated in the tracks poll. And Motorhead fans will know City Kids. (both of those are on Kings Of Oblivion)

^Yeah it's a cool album overall. I'm finding the whole early 70s Ladbroke Grove/hairy UK underground stuff quite intriguing at the moment 'cause on the one hand a lot of it can seem awkward and dated but on the other it's a little corner of rock history that still seems under-explored (with possible exception of Hawkwind I guess).

Also in the spirit of your recent youtubes, here's Mandrill rockin out on Soul Train:
http://youtu.be/bnwKaI1im4Q
(Track is from Composite Truth which is nommed iirc. Mandrill have been another nice find via the campaigning.)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41O+2GHxxtL._SS500_.jpg

Stray - Stray (Transatlantic/Castle, 1970)
Keyes is f'in' right on, Stray rules. I'd only had a crappy rip of their second album, Suicide (1971) and was not initially wowed, but prompted by Keyes I revisited and heard the remaster of their first album (the only one nominated here). It's amazing. They were actually signed to a contract way back in 1966 as young teenagers on the strength of precocious musical talent rivaling Free. Their early background in mod and psychedelia is there, along with heavy proto-metal, prog, even some jazz fusion and Hawkwind-like space rock. Some of their more driving moments even remind me of some early MC5, but more musically diverse and complex. Makes me want to hear more. The 2006 reissues of this and Saturday Morning Pictures (1972) are widely available, but for some reason Suicide is hard to find. The closing title-track is cool, with Del Bromham's guitar solos resembling Sir Lord Baltimore.

Aquarius on Stray:

Here's yet another one of those bands that we'd vaguely heard of (or perhaps not) but never really encountered actual records by, and now that we have we can't figure out why they weren't a bigger deal! I think I first became aware of 'em via the thanks/influences list on a Pentagram album. Kinda always assumed they were your basic British blues rock but on the evidence of this, their 1970 debut they were something a little different than the Cream/Zep sort of thing I'd imagined. They're rather more like a '60s psych-pop singles band, of the garagey/Nuggetsy variety, with the fuzz factor and sheer guitar heaviness cranked way up toward proto-metallic levels. More psych than prog, more pop than blues. Kinda punk too. Very kick ass and energetic, catchy and rockin', venturing from the paisley-painted pop melodicism of "Around The World In Eighty Days" to the slamming punkish "Only What You Make It" to a number of extended fuzz guitar workouts... but first and foremost it's good old-fashioned hard rock. Think Thin Lizzy. Or Dust, or Budgie. Or even early, early Rush (one song here always puts Byram in mind of "Working Man"). But as mentioned it's got a poppy '60s garage vibe unlike a lot of those acts... And there's enough proggier, psychier elements loaded in here to pique the interest of a wider audience than just the hard rock lovers among us. The guitar parts especially are full of odd harmonies and melodic richness that bring to mind Amon Duul II, if Amon Duul II could have managed to fit their open ended song structures into a tighter blues rock straight jacket. What makes Stray's music work so well is their attention to structure: keeping their compositions on a tight leash and avoiding the esoteric meanderings that can be a pitfall to many prog rockers. This and their sense of dynamics, knowing just how and when to throw the switch and rip the seat of your pants, is what must have made them a seriously kick ass live band (and apparently they were super popular as such in and around their London, England turf, but unfortunately never managed to cash in on the hard rock success like some of their contempories). They recorded numerous albums, of which this first one is likely their best (though their second LP Suicide is a good one too, and we're just not that familiar with the rest of their '70s output), but their biggest claim to fame might be that Iron Maiden covered one of their songs on a b-side ("All In Your Mind", the very first track on this disc). Stray's version was way better btw.

I checked out Man's Man (1970), Do You Like It Here, Are You Settling In? (1971) and Live At The Padget Rooms, Penarth (1972), and enjoyed 'em. Nice quirky prog, on "All Good Clean Fun" it sounds like they were an influence for Field Music. The live 24:49 version of "Spunk Rock" (a song originally released in '69) does indeed rock. The double live has the best chance of making my list.

I just heard Stomu Yamashta's Go (1976) for the first time, and it's awesome. Steve Winwood and Michael Shrieve (drummer for Santana) share top billing on the album cover, but also features Klaus Schulze! Far out jazz fusion space rock. This wasn't nominated, but Floating Music (1972) with Come To The Edge was, need more time to see how it compares. After that will check out Shrieve's Automatic Man (1976).

http://991.com/newGallery/Man-Rhinos-Winos--Lun-446251.jpg is the best one

Listened to the Stray album and it's really good.

I think i'll try out that Henri Texier album. It looks interesting.

I dont know who nominated it, but if they are reading this thread, got anything to say about it? http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1092/1598/1600/_texier_varech.jpg

as suspected its not very rock and we were, as known in the trade, stirmonstered :). It is very good and worth checking out though. Just dont expect Noxagt or anything.

for sick mouthy and other latecomers who find the nominations strange please read
1970-1979 WTF - The Hard 'n' Heavy 'n' Loud + Krautrock, Arty, Noisy, Weird, Funky, Punky Shit - Albums Poll! Nominations ! (ends Oct 17 you slack bastards - jjjusten edit)

and thanks to mr mouthy for his vote it went through ok

you know that point of the poll where everyone shouts too low! or complains they cant believe nobody voted for some album or they ask why the known fans of albums didn't vote? Well this is where you can rectify that by
A) Voting
B) Campaigning for albums
C) Getting others to vote

(this especially aimed at messrs perry & justen)

has anyone seen jacob sanders around?

Totally agree with the excitement over the Stray album. So fuzzy. So good.

I am beginning to wonder if it really was worth extending the voting to the 8th. Anyone against changing it to March 1st?

Just re-voted.

going to spend some serious time with a lot of these albums, weigh up my thoughts and vote v. v. soon

It's been mentioned upthread somewhere but this Iron Claw album is really good.

http://youtu.be/QccXPRTBMJg

Oh, Iron Claw wasn't nominated. I don't feel so bad about not voting for it then...it's still great though, and should have been nommed.

Iron Claw is good stuff. The reason I wish punk/post-punk was excluded is there's just so much ground to cover, making it hard to fit in interesting obscure stuff even on a 100 album ballot. I was unable to fit in albums by Heavy Metal Kids, Cockney Rebel, Radio Birdman, Suicide, Heldon, Captain Beyond, Jobriath, Dust, Uriah Heep, Bang, Hard Stuff, High Tide, Highway Robbery and The Groundhogs, all great stuff. I considered excluding punk related stuff from my ballot, but since it's in the poll and people are going to vote for them, I'd hate not to represent for some favorites.

One band that sometimes gets overlooked is Magazine. I'd think they have an ILM following but they didn't make the previous two 70s polls. I wrote this when the 2007 reissue came out.

http://aumusiclibrary.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/magazine-real-life-458222.jpg
Magazine, Real Life (Virgin/EMI, 1978)
Magazine, Secondhand Daylight (Virgin/EMI, 1979)
Magazine gets only a fraction of the acclaim and attention lavished on Joy Division not for lack of good music, but because rather than off himself, Howard Devoto worked in an office after the breakup of his band (when he wasn't working on underrated solo projects and spinoff bands). The truth is, their music is as powerful and groundbreaking as their more famous contemporaries. Just as their name can evoke the glamor of fashion rags or the menace of a weapon, the band walked the line between sophistication and violence. Devoto was a key player in the beginning of the punk movement, organizing two early Sex Pistols shows in Manchester and forming the Buzzcocks. Yet before more than a few hundred people even heard of punk, Devoto grew bored with its limitations and moved on. He found like-minded musicians in Scottish guitarist John McGeoch, keyboardist Dave Formula and future Bad Seed Barry Adamson on bass. He intended to expand on what Iggy Pop and Bowie did the previous year on The Idiot and Low. Real Life is one of the earliest and most riveting examples of post-punk, embodying perfectly the tension between Devoto's roots in punk and his desire to stretch out, particularly on "Shot By Both Sides," based on a riff written by his former Buzzcocks mate Pete Shelley. "Definitive Gaze" is a glistening sci-fi chase song that builds upon Eno and Bowie without soundling like copycats. Their definitive song is the glowering "The Light Pours Out Of Me." Bonus tracks include a rougher, original single version of "Shot By Both Sides," second single "Touch and Go" and the James Bond theme "Goldfinger." If Devoto was the emotionally distant outsider on Real Life, he was a glacier on Secondhand Daylight. While it has highlights such as "Rhythm of Cruelty" and "Permafrost," the album's main accomplishment is its consistently brittle sound and feel, that would influence The Comsat Angels, The Cure and many others.

More proto-metal!

http://fastnbulbous.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/buffalo-volcanic.jpg

Buffalo – Volcanic Rock (Vertigo/Repertoire, 1973)
When the first three Buffalo albums were reissued by Repertoire eight years ago they were considered a “lost” band, despite the fact that they were the first Australian band to be signed by Vertigo records, which did their best to stir up hype by claiming Dead Forever… (1972) was better than Sabbath’s Vol. 4. That’s not fair competition, but they were certainly as good as Budgie. Volcanic Rock was their peak, belatedly considered a proto-stoner rock classic. Only Want You For Your Body (1974) is worth checking out too for the diverse but tightly wound songs. They released two more albums that unfortunately devolved into ordinary boogie rock after firing guitarist John Baxter and losing bassist Pete Wells to Rose Tattoo.

http://fastnbulbous.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/budgie-never.jpg

Budgie – Never Turn Your Back On A Friend (MCA, 1973)
Considered second-tier among metal architects Sabbath, Purple and Heep, Budgie were underrated then and now though they were later acknowledged as huge influences by the likes of Judas Priest, who toured with them heavily in the early days, Iron Maiden and Metallica. All of their first five albums are excellent and worth hearing. Burke Shelley’s Geddy Lee-like high pitched vocals and their quirky sense of humor perhaps kept them from bigger success. Their third album brought things together with sharp production, scintillating Roger Dean artwork, the supercharged opener “Breadfan” and epic workouts like “In the Grip of a Tyrefitter’s Hand” and “Parents.”

http://fastnbulbous.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/lucifersfriend.jpg
Lucifer’s Friend – Lucifer’s Friend (Philips, 1970)
Lucifer’s Friend are a German band with Brit singer John Lawton, who’s impressive wail initially elevated them over fellow keyboard-heavy proto-metallers Atomic Rooster and Uriah Heep. The amazing “Ride The Sky” features an elephant-like french horn melody that controversially was compared to Led Zeppelin’s “The Immigrant Song.” However this was released first, so as usual Zep are most likely the plagiarists. Sabbath and Deep Purple are clear influences, but it could be argued that Lucifer’s Friend may have influenced Purple’s evolution on Machine Head. Vertigo signed the band on the strength of their debut, but their sound would evolve radically into more progressive and lush sounds on subsequent albums. The Groupies Killed The Blues (1972), I’m Just A Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer (1973) and Banquet (1974) are interesting in that they are as diverse and unpredictable as Man’s records from that same era.

Magazine didn't make the 2 other 70s polls? I'm surprised at that as I thought they were one of the beloved ILM bands. Well you all now have the chance to rectify that.
There's no Budgie on spotify so thats a shame.

Fastnbulbous please post as many of your reviews of nominated albums as you can. They're great!

Amazed there's been no music sounded better in the 70s as it was all on vinyl post yet.

hmmm the bbc reviewed an Ohio Players album? http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wchf

Hi, I am reserving my right not to vote but will enjoy the roll-out.

Regards.,

I do hope it will be a good roll-out

Not even had a test run of the results so far so I really have no idea what the roll-out will look like.
Maybe we will have weird results like the 80s poll?

http://www.furious.com/perfect/atasteofkrautrock.html

http://www.furious.com/perfect/krautrock.html

And from the conversation I remember that the most impressive thing for the Englishmen was the ugly name the band had: Birth Control. I remember that a group called Eloy was only a running gag among the insiders and journalists in Gemany (poor man's Pink Floyd or was it poor man's Moody Blues?). I remember Faust, who never was popular or widely known in Germany because it was an invention of an outside journalist, a promotion product, but not a real 'living' group.

KRAUTROCKSAMPLER- Julian Cope
Cope is a lunatic, a crazy man (if I can trust the music lexicons). He was not present, he didn't ask the people who were present. He's just a fan with "a name". Yes, Cope is enthusiastic about his beloved exotic musical preferences. And if the media, the journalists and the people would take it just as that, great. Fine. Wonderful. But they BELIEVE it is the truth just because it's Julian Cope. Why do so many people always need "known names" to tell them what to believe? Can't they think for themselves? Can't they listen to the music, check a bit about the history, and make their own judgement. Is it really too much asked? Maybe. The other way it's easier.

Long ago, I read one (or two?) of Cope's articles in the English music magazine WIRE. It was about Can or Amon Duul or something like that. It was the very first time that an English magazine wrote a long positive article about a genuine German band and genuine German "rock" music. It was also clear to see that Cope was a "fan". I liked it as I liked other articles in that issue (especially the fact that MY beloved album "Out to Lunch" by Eric Dolphy was elected No. 1 in some of Wire's polls).

Many moons later, these enthusiastic articles by this fan were released in book form. Even later (1996), this book was also translated into German and released here. And then the trouble started. German journalists who seemed to know even less than Cope jumped on that book (Cope seems to be a singing rock star over here) and wrote articles. Old, long forgotten bands such as Amon Duul or Faust got together again and made a new album and did some concerts. The promotion machineries of the involved record companies seemed to work properly. As a result, we had even more articles about that old time and old bands with one worse than the other. All was mixed up. Simple German heavy rock groups that nobody cared about then are suddenly called "cosmic"; groups that everybody laughed about when they tried their kind of rock 20 years ago are suddenly "historically important". A man like Florian Fricke (Popol Vuh), who didn't touch electronic tools for the last 20 years, was called "electronic expert". And all writers refer to that Cope book.

First it was just funny to watch, but suddenly the few real inventors (Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk) were lumped together with all the poor and long gone Krautrock. The characteristics of quality (if I may say so) were not valid anymore. Someone told me that Cope has a kind of TOP 50 Albums or so in his book and among it are most (if not all) of those terrible "Cosmic Jokers" albums. These albums get no better just because a crazy English singer loves them (and maybe just because out of non-musical reasons). Was he the only one in his adolescent years who owned these albums and therefore was proud of them? I know that syndrome from MY childhood- with me it was "jazz".

A few weeks ago, a radio man (who, by the way, was part of the German rock scene in the first five or so years in the seventies of this century) told Klaus Schulze and me on the air what Cope had written in his book about "Electronic Meditation" and we all had a good laugh still on the air. We all agreed that there ARE better and more important albums in the annals of rock music. There were many very good and essential and important rock records but not one from Germany (with rare exceptions, say, Kraftwerk). Anyway, on the radio we agreed also, that this book must be shit.

The trouble is - and this is not Cope's fault - that all the German journalists take Cope's private excitement as the given historic truth. They treat it as if it's a history book full of facts. No, it's just Cope's private opinion. In this domain, his book is certainly very good and exciting. But in its result to those stupid journalists and to some fans, it's awful.

Or, and this comes right now to my mind, could it be that all the non-musical people have - finally - their own bible? There is so much very good music available, from the past seven centuries up to today and the German rock scene in the 1970's is maybe worth a short visit, but... but.... A huge "but".