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

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Thin Lizzy – Black Rose: A Rock Legend (Mercury/Vertigo, 1979)
My order of favorites changes every year. For a while Vagabonds of the Western World (Deram, 1973) was in my top three on the strength of "The Rocker," "Mama Nature Said" and "Little Girl In Bloom." Recently Bad Reputation (1977) overtook Jailbreak (1976) for the #2 spot, but Black Rose has remained my #1. I wrote this in '06:

Like a lot of people, I had written off Thin Lizzy for a long time, because “The Boys Are Back In Town” was one of the most annoying, overplayed songs of the 70s. Knowing that “Jailbreak” was a great song wasn’t quite enough to overcome the prejudice that Thin Lizzy were no better than Foghat, Grand Funk Railroad and Black Oak Arkansas (who all had a decent song or two, but were distinctly uncool). Old metal faves Iron Maiden cited Thin Lizzy as an influence on their twin guitar sound, but I didn’t think anything of it. It wasn’t until the early 90s, when Urge Overkill (Saturation definitely had a nice Thin Lizzy flavor) and Billy Corgan (unfortunately none of Phil Lynott’s soulful charm rubbed off on him) were preaching the greatness of Thin Lizzy. I picked up a cheap vinyl copy of Jailbreak and agreed that it was indeed a classic. Yet it didn’t occur to me for several more years that they might have other great albums. Interestingly, Phil Lynott also haunted the backdrop of the history of punk. In reading interviews and oral histories, Lynott could be found lurking amongst punkers, metalheads and new wavers, inelegantly wasted. There must have been something to his music that would cause such a wide array of countercultural types to respect him.

So I picked up Fighting, Johnny The Fox and Bad Reputation, and realized they’re all great. Thin Lizzy had it all—Dylan’s lyricism, Van Morrison’s Celtic, mystical soul, Springsteen’s working class romanticism and storytelling, Led Zeppelin’s pomp and grandeur, and even Judas Priest’s (via Wishbone Ash's) ass-kicking twin-guitar attack. The last album I picked up was Black Rose: A Rock Legend, and it became my favorite, with a great one-two kick off in “Do Anything You Want To” and “Toughest Street In Town.” More great storytelling and guitar solos throughout, it’s at least as consistent as Jailbreak. With Tony Visconti producing, it’s also their best sounding album. The only tune I don’t like is “My Sarah,” written for his daughter. I also found that their debut album was full of promise, range, and great guitars. And while their 80s work was not the same as the classic run of Lizzy albums, since they were influenced a bit by their NWOBHM progeny, and Lynott’s drug use was getting out of control, they also were quite good. Chinatown was probably the biggest letdown at the time coming off of the amazing Black Rose, but even it has good things to offer, at least in the first half. In his book The Collector’s Guide to Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties, Martin Popoff rated Renegade the fifth best album of that decade. Now that’s just crazy talk. It’s pretty great, but Thunder And Lightning is better. It’s as if Lynott knew his days were numbered and he had to go out with a bang.

What do you think of Phil's electronic stuff?

xp, Yeah I listened to Man's Rhinos, Winos & Lunatics, and it may indeed be their best. I have the double Live Dates (1973) Wishbone Ash, and it's good. Crushed Butler is interesting, Death comparison is apt, but only one song really stood out. I've heard The Drones, and always considered them pretty third rate, especially if you put them up next to Buzzcocks, but I will re-listen. I acquired Gaseneta but forgot to bring to work. I'm most excited to hear Monitor, but also don't have access at the moment. The descriptions of the obscure stuff has been very helpful and I'm enjoying hearing them, but so far none would remotely qualify for my top 100, even Les Rallizes Denudes. Keeping an open mind though!

Phil's solo albums? Mostly terrible, but of interest to hardcore fans.

one of phils solo singles was the 80s theme tune for top of the pops

Live Dates is great!

is the Monitor album on Spotify usa? its not available here anyway

brad c thanks for voting!

Welcome!

You like Ya ho wha 13, AG? Been listening to Penetration: An Aquarian Symphony, and its cool, for sure.Kind of like Hendrix with all the stuffing tore out.

(at least one is. others are more vast instrumental explorations more in the outre Kraut end of the spectrum. kind of like what Sungod was trying to do with some of the more aimless passages in Crash Galactic but better at it)

Im not really familiar with them bar the odd track here and there.

I made a custom chart for the genres in this poll and here are the results

What are the chances of our results being similar?

I just realized that I neglected to nominate the Plastic People of the Universe and apparently, so did everyone else.:(

And I neglected to include prog rock in that custom chart , lol

Here is the proper results with prog included the results change dramatically.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/615HMURV6-L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

T2 - It'll All Work out in Boomland (Decca, 1970)

This was in the RYM list, haven't heard it yet. Someone wanna talk about it?

Anyone see bill magill or tom d?

I dont know of that T2 album either. Interested in hearing something about it too.

I only know T2 from the one track they had on this comp, which I bought in my late-teen prog days & which was my first encounter with thin lizzy, curved air & bill fay among others. I remember not being into the T2 track at all really.

(can't believe the price of that comp on amazon now, what the hell?)

that legend of a mind comp is on spotify, I'm listening to the t2 track now and it's not bad actually!

can you link it please? I hate searching for comps on there.

after listening to the whole track I'm not sure what young me was thinking, it's ace! I'm gonna check out that boomland album now. btw LOL at spotify's thing of concatenating all the different artists with the same name, so they're on the same page as the bassline t2!

xp http://open.spotify.com/album/7rVmN6Ts1yg6JPtfSV3Z2r

I just realized that I neglected to nominate the Plastic People of the Universe and apparently, so did everyone else.:(

Crap. That would have been a good one to get in here. Those guys are so good.

xp cheers!

Plastic People of the Universe?

btw I do urge you all to check out High Tide
http://open.spotify.com/album/2llyB6pfedAwMjL5E9tqLq

Its the follow up to their brilliant 1969 debut Sea Shanties (also check it out)

btw this T2 track is great!

Plastic People of the Universe?

Weirdo rock band during communist Czechoslovakia. Very interesting story behind them. Tons of albums and the ones I've heard (Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned seems like the best starting point) have all been great.

Lots of sax and violins.

http://youtu.be/JdvKBP4_7G4

in honour of this poll I finally started reading japrocksampler, tempted to skip ahead to the 70s bits. It's been on my shelf for a while & this seemed like a good day to pick it up, esp since I'm at home with a nasty HEAD cold & am dosed up w/max strength cold & flu meds & (purely medicinal) brandy, the next best thing to actual drvqs. Have to say the 2 biggest revelations to come from this thread for me have been that les rallizes denudes album & flower travellin band's satori, amazing. Hoping for more such discoveries in the rollout.

btw did you decide to bring the deadline forward in the end?

here's the whole T2 album w/ some bonus tracks

http://youtu.be/UeTGzwD7Stw

Egon Bondy's... would probably make my top 20 if it were on the list.

No, its staying at march 8th as others prefer the extra time to check out stuff and I think the further away date sutes seandalai as hes way too busy just now.

lol suits

Egon Bondy's... would probably make my top 20 if it were on the list.

Totally agree, it would've made my top 20 for sure. Although, when I went thru the noms and was making my ballot I found about 70 albums that I wanted to put in my top 20. This poll is such an embarrassment of riches...speaking of which, this T2 album is pretty great.

This poll is such an embarrassment of riches

god yes. I think that is why some wont take part as they find it impossible to even limit their choices to 100.
Most ballots so far seem to be full 100 ones.

we're finally into the last 2 weeks of voting too. it seems like this poll has been open for nearly 6 months... ;)

btw was Jorge Ben - Africa Brasil not nominated under 'funk' or did balls veto it? I cannot remember.

xxp it's definitely made me realise just how much great 70s music I still need to catch up on. This is one of my favourite eras & I always thought I knew it reasonably well but so much of the nominations list is new to me. Not just the obscuro stuff but all the stuff I passed over assuming I'd get around to them at some point, eg I've never listened to a cure album, and only got around to checking deep purple & ac/dc after marcello covered them on his blog.

but then I guess everyone's record collection is a bit random like that, my 70s collection has a lot to do with "what was a fiver at FOPP" and later "what looked cool in borderline records in brighton"

wins did you used to post under a different name?

no I'm new! been a lurker for 8 years, created an account about a month ago just to make one comment & found that once there was an empty comment box at the bottom of the page the temptation to add my tuppence worth was too great so I stuck around.

oh that's happened to just about everyone!
welcome!

digging T2's "no more white horses", that horn section is kinda great

yeah it is great. Just about to dive into the album once the new Manilla Road album finishes.

Ok started listening and it is indeed rocking.

And to all who have voted in this poll do not forget this one Takin' Care of Business: ILX 70s RAWK TRAX VOTING RULES AND CAMPAIGNING THREAD - VOTING THREAD!- Closes Nov 8th 11.59 PM UK Time - All ILXORS/LURKERS WELCOME

the T2 track no more white horses
http://youtu.be/Yg1i6Y-ybTw

oh look the albums on Spotify http://open.spotify.com/album/0iZBTom1nx3pqdYELHAXx4

and its great!

best find along with Stray

Anybody who's into doobie bros style funk rock or csn's "dark star" should check out "love do me right" by Rockin' Horse.
I don't know how to post youtube links on this ipad, sorry.

Listening to T2, ears are smokin. There's a nice 2008 reissue still available.

2008 digitally remastered and expanded reissue of this album featuring three 1970 BBC sessions as bonus tracks. The rise of power trio T2 in 1970 was rapid as they made appearances at virtually every major venue in London. Then their debut album was released; they seemed poised for a breakthrough. As the band recalled, they were playing the Marquee club, with John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix hanging out backstage, which was all to the good. But people were coming forward saying, "we can't find your album anywhere." In short order, the band fell apart. Still, their sole Decca album has become well established as an all-time classic amongst Progressive and Psychedelic music collectors-even the Techno and DJ crowds. The fact that it has done so without hype is a testament to the innate quality of the music. The album is packed with melodic acoustic passages, frenzied fuzz guitar workouts, not to mention acid-trip induced lyrical and musical content. It is, in every way, an extraordinary album, one of Rock music's best kept secrets, on a par with all the other major works that form the rock music canon of the time.

Aquarius:

We KNOW this is gonna be one that the legions of AQ customers into psych, prog and other late sixties/early seventies heaviness will want. And even if that's not one of your primary musical specialties, this would be a good choice to check out anyway if at all curious. British psych/prog power trio T2 released this one amazing album on Decca in 1970, the bizarrely-titled It'll All Work Out In Boomland. Somehow, that LP didn't make much of an impact at the time (although the band did play the Isle of Wight Festival) and has pretty much been forgotten by all except obsessive psych/prog record collectors. Until now, it's been pretty hard to come by - the previous cd reissues we know of were either crappy bootlegs or rare, expensive Japanese imports. We've always wanted to list it, though. So we're very happy that the Lion Productions (US) and Acme Gramophone (UK) labels have just teamed up to put out this nice new reish, which boasts three bonus tracks as well!

T2, composed of drummer/vocalist/songwriter Peter Dunton, guitar whizz Keith Cross, and bassist Bernard Jinks, played HEAVY psychedelic bluesrock (a la Cream, Hendrix, Blue Cheer), mixed with progressive stylings (incorporating acoustic guitar, piano, mellotron, strings). Their songs combine Cross's big fuzzed-out hard rock riffs and psych-skronk leads with mellow, melancholic pretty parts and Dunton's gentle, whispery vocals. Very melodic yet heavy, totally classy and special. For instance, the song "No More White Horses" perfectly weaves amped up electric guitar feedback fury into a tasteful tapestry that also glows with lovely piano and majestic horns. Boomland also features T2's side-long, 21+ minute long masterpiece "Morning", a massive, memorable epic of many moods, a track meant to musically and lyrically describe (or potentially enhance?) an LSD trip, as the text and elaborate diagram included underneath the cd tray explains! There's two other songs on the album proper, the storming opener "In Circles" (which reminds us of stuff on Stray's first album, if you know 'em) and the calmer, exquisitely beautiful "J.L.T.", replete with lush orchestration.

Definitely one of the best bands from those magical years of the early '70s! Certainly one that should be better known. Do you dig the fuzzy, proto-metal heft of the aforementioned Blue Cheer? And also heavy progressive Krautrock stuff like Amon Duul II, Gila, Necronomicon, and Out Of Focus? Well kinda put those two together and you'll have some idea of T2's genius. Or imagine Randy Holden's Population II project gone all symphonic. Also, if you're into early, pastoral British psych/prog like In The Court-era King Crimson, Wishbone Ash, or the more obscure (but recently highlighted here) Bachdenkel then you need to hear T2! And for weird, psychedelic cover paintings, this is up there with Culpeper's Orchard, another lost '70s heavy druggy psych classic that we could compare this with musically as well.

Boomland is the kind of thing that turns up in the personal "Top 10 of All Time" lists of those lucky enough to have heard it. This is an official reissue, done up deluxe with those bonus tracks (live BBC Radio sessions from '70, including two non-album songs among them) and a thick cd booklet crammed with insanely extensive liner notes (excerpted from a book about the album or something) that discuss not just T2's history but also provide in-depth examination of Boomland's songs in regard to both the lyrics and the musical theory behind the compositions. Talk about prog! This goes even beyond the usual thorough Acme/Lion packaging treatment. Highly recommended.

Also available is a self-titled album of demos recorded in 1970 meant to be for their second album:

For years, fans assumed that Boomland was both the beginning and the end of the group's recorded legacy. But Acme Records unearthed an eponymous second album of material, recorded in 1970 with the original line-up as demo tracks for a planned second album. This second T2 album, had it been released in 1970, could have put the band on the same level of fame with the likes of Deep Purple, Free, and King Crimson (bands with whom T2 shared a stage). It's hard-driving opener `Highway,' ablaze with wailing guitars, gives way to moody introspection, culminating with the LSD induced finale, 'T2.'