ILM's Now For Something Completely Different... 70s Album Poll Results! Top 100 Countdown! (Part 2)

You mean like one guy voted them #1, #2 and #3?

that one got 20 votes

57. ZZ TOP Tres Hombres (2807 Points, 20 Votes)
RYM: #63 for 1973 , #1709 overall | Acclaimed: #965 | RS: #498
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http://open.spotify.com/album/0Em8m9kRctyH9S3MTXAHvY
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http://www.superseventies.com/oaaa/oaaa_zztop3.jpg

Besides spawning two incredible albino rock & blues brothers and one late first lady of the boogie, Texas is becoming one hell of a place to say you're from. The whole Southern rock & roll sound seems to be catching on as fast as a swig of potato liquor reaching the brain.

ZZ Top makes no bones about being cowboys who used to be in the psychedelic music scene and who have recently discovered the joys of guzzling beer and driving their cars and bikes at 110 miles an hour. Tres Hombres is a definite step back to their white blues roots. Their second album, Rio Grande Mud, had an English feel in the production end with Rolling Stones-type tunes such as "Chevrolet" and the Brown Sugarish "Francene." ZZ Top have shown in all three of their recordings the dynamic rhythms that only the finest of the three-piece bands can cook up. Billy Gibbons plays a tasty Duane Allman lead with Dusty Hill and Frank Beard pounding out the funky bottom.

Tres Hombres was recorded with their live performances in mind. Minimal echo and lots of live-sounding jamming. "Waiting for the Bus" is a mean muddled track reminiscent of early Canned Heat complete with the usual repetitive three-chord lick. Vocally, ZZ have an advantage over most white rockers in that these Southerners sound black anyway with lines like..."You don't have to worry, 'cause takin' care of business is his name" -- sung by Gibbons in a drawl so thick he would do Leadbelly justice.

ZZ Top seem to be at least one of the most inventive of the three-piece rockers but they are only one of several competent Southern rocking bands. I do wonder when the audiences will get tired of hearing the same..."Poot yawl hans together" patter. -- Steve Apple, RS

Tres Hombres marked ZZ Top's elevation into the megaleague as one of the biggest touring acts in the United States. The jury will probably always be out on which was the better of ZZ's two great eras -- straight-down-the-line blues rock (1970s) or pumpin' blues disco (1980s and '90s). What is indisputable is that their Texas roots were absolutely inseparable from their down 'n' dirty sound.

Tres Hombres is a showcase of everything that is magnificent about the group -- and the inclusion of the huge hit "La Grange" is only part of that story. In fact, "La Grange," based around a riff so simple yet so inspired that you will never forget it, is atypical for its mumbling novelty vocal. "Precious and Grace" -- a song about picking up a couple of hitch-hiking women who turn out to be ex-cons -- mixes a great Led Zep-styled riff in the verse with a ripsnorting near-psychedelic chorus. The two devices come together seamlessly. "Move Me On Down the Line" is a snappy boogie that sounds indebted to post-Cream Jack Bruce. "Jesus Just Left Chicago" is another gem of a track, fluid and apparently effortless. The incredible "Master of Sparks" concerns a fine Texas tradition, the habit of kickin' your buddies off the back of a speeding pickup just for the heck of it.

The cover of the album -- the original vinyl is a gatefold that opens on a garish photograph of the Mexican dish after which the record is named -- says it all, really, though the oblique cover shots of the threesome hide the fact that these guys were only in their mid-twenties. -- David Nichols, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

review
[-] by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tres Hombres is the record that brought ZZ Top their first Top Ten record, making them stars in the process. It couldn't have happened to a better record. ZZ Top finally got their low-down, cheerfully sleazy blooze-n-boogie right on this, their third album. As their sound gelled, producer Bill Ham discovered how to record the trio so simply that they sound indestructible, and the group brought the best set of songs they'd ever have to the table. On the surface, there's nothing really special about the record, since it's just a driving blues-rock album from a Texas bar band, but that's what's special about it. It has a filthy groove and an infectious feel, thanks to Billy Gibbons' growling guitars and the steady propulsion of Dusty Hill and Frank Beard's rhythm section. They get the blend of bluesy shuffles, gut-bucket rocking, and off-beat humor just right. ZZ Top's very identity comes from this earthy sound and songs as utterly infectious as "Waitin' for the Bus," "Jesus Just Left Chicago," "Move Me on Down the Line," and the John Lee Hooker boogie "La Grange." In a sense, they kept trying to remake this record from this point on -- what is Eliminator if not Tres Hombres with sequencers and synthesizers? -- but they never got it better than they did here.

There was definitely a bit of Pink Fairies campaigning, too.

The Rolling Stone review for Paranoid is breathtakingly stupid and even worse than Christgau's reviews.

I was surprised to enjoy Tres Hombres a lot, despite not really being a rock dude. I do have a beard though, so maybe that helped me connect.

I have come to the conclusion that in general I prefer eulogies to campaigns. Even the thought of having to "campaign" for something fills me with dread.

56. PARLIAMENT Mothership Connection (2824 Points, 23 Votes)
RYM: #16 for 1975 , #486 overall | Acclaimed: #287 | RS: #274
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http://open.spotify.com/album/734MC4wQsfNWsg9HLTrUoN
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That DJ from Chocolate City, or maybe it's the Chocolate Milky Way, keeps the beat going with nothing but his rap, some weird keyboard, and cymbals for stretches of side one. And later produces the galactic "Give Up the Funk" and a James Brown tribute that goes "gogga googa, gogga googa"--only believe me, that doesn't capture it. A- -- R. Christgau

With the "Parliafunkadelicament thang," leader George Clinton has succeeded in creating two distinct identities for one band -- the mystical voodoo of the Funkadelics and the stabbing, humorous funk of Parliament. While Funkadelic has no discernible influence, Parliament is more closely attuned to the post-Sly wave. But unlike the Ohio Players or Commodores, the group refuses to play it straight. Instead, Clinton spews his jive, conceived from some cosmic funk vision, under titles like "Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication," "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" and "Mothership Connection (Star-Child)."

Mothership Connection is patterned closely after last year's tongue-in-cheek success, Chocolate City. With little regard for theme or lyric development, Clinton weaves a non-stop rap of nonsensical street jargon ("Sombody said, 'Is there funk after death'/I said is seven up") like a freaked out James Brown. And oddly enough, former Brown sidemen, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley, make up Parliament's horn section, along with Joe Farrell and the Brecker Brothers. But this album refuses to be taken seriously, except as Clinton's parody of modern funk. After all, it was George Clinton who renamed James Brown the "Grandfather of Soul." -- Ken Barnes, RS

Inspired by Motown's production line of sound, George Clinton gradually constructed the funk juggernaut that was Parliament-Funkadelic: two groups, several side projects, and more than 50 musicians, including sax star Maceo Parker and bass deity Bootsy Collins.

Mothership Connection -- Parliament's third and best album -- testifies to the sheer power of their extreme musicianship and innovation. The cover depicts a spreadeagled Clinton in makeup and thigh-length platform boots jumping out of a spaceship, which is as close as a photo can get to describing what is on the album itself. Under Clinton's guidance, Parliament took funk, washed it in acid, dressed it in a camp, sci-fi outfit, and wrapped it in cool. The result is seven tracks of relentlessly perfect R&B, immaculately arranged by Collins, Clinton, trombonist Fred Wesley, and keyboardist Bernie Worrel.

"P-Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up") heralds what is to come. Clinton speaks smoothly over languid basslines, before kicking into high gear and letting the synths, horns, and harmonies take over. From then on, each track is an explosion of interweaving rhythms and melodies.

Mothership Connection's innovation alone makes it one of the best ever funk albums. A huge success at the time ("Tear The Roof Off That Sucker" was Parliament's biggest hit on the Hot 100), it changed the way people looked at funk and R&B. Decades later, its impact resounded in the work of rappers like Warren G. and Snoop Dogg, and rockers like The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primus. The P-Funk legacy makes Clinton and Co. one of the most important American acts ever. -- Liam Pieper, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die,

review
[-] by Jason Birchmeier

The definitive Parliament-Funkadelic album, Mothership Connection is where George Clinton's revolving band lineups, differing musical approaches, and increasingly thematic album statements reached an ideal state, one that resulted in enormous commercial success as well as a timeless legacy that would be compounded by hip-hop postmodernists, most memorably Dr. Dre on his landmark album The Chronic (1992). The musical lineup assembled for Mothership Connection is peerless: in addition to keyboard wizard Bernie Worrell; Bootsy Collins, who plays not only bass but also drums and guitar; the guitar trio of Gary Shider, Michael Hampton, and Glen Goins; and the Brecker Brothers (Michael and Randy) on horns; there are former J.B.'s Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker (also on horns), who were the latest additions to the P-Funk stable. Besides the dazzling array of musicians, Mothership Connection boasts a trio of hands-down classics -- "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)," "Mothership Connection (Star Child)," "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" -- that are among the best to ever arise from the funk era, each sampled and interpolated time and time again by rap producers; in particular, Dr. Dre pays homage to the former two on The Chronic (on "The Roach" and "Let Me Ride," respectively). The remaining four songs on Mothership Connection are all great also, if less canonical. Lastly, there's the overlapping outer-space theme, which ties the album together into a loose escapist narrative. There's no better starting point in the enormous P-Funk catalog than Mothership Connection, which, like its trio of classic songs, is undoubtedly among the best of the funk era.

I dont even need to say it

Track Listing:

P. Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)
{G Clinton, W Collins, B Worrell} 7:41 lyrics
Mothership Connection (Star Child)
{G Clinton, W Collins, B Worrell} 6:13 lyrics
Unfunky UFO
{G Clinton, W Collins, Garry Shider} 4:23 lyrics
Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication (The Thumps Bump)
{G Clinton, W Collins, B Worrell, G Shider} 5:03 lyrics
Handcuffs
{G Clinton, McLaughlin, Glen Goins} 3:51 lyrics
Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)
{G Clinton, W Collins, B Worrell} 5:46 lyrics
Night Of The Thumpasorous Peoples
{G Clinton, W Collins, G Shider} 5:10 lyrics

Personnel:

Vocals: George Clinton, Calvin Simon, Fuzzy Haskins, Raymond Davis,
Grady Thomas, Garry Shider, Glen Goins, Bootsy Collins
Horns: Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker,
Boom, Joe Farrell
Bass: Bootsy Collins, Cordell Mosson
Guitars: Gary Shider, Michael Hampton, Glen Goins, Bootsy Collins
Drums and Percussion: Tiki Fulwood, Jerome Brailey, Bootsy Collins, Gary Cooper
Keyboards & Synthesizers: Bernie Worrell
Horn Arrangements: Fred Wesley, Bernie Worrell
Rhythm Arrangements: Bootsy Collins, George Clinton
Extraterrestial Voices and Good Time Hand Clappers: Gary Cooper,
Debbie Edwards, Taka Kahn, Archie Ivy, Bryna Chimenti, Rasputin Boutte,
Pam Vincent, Debra Wright and Sidney Barnes

"P.Funk"
Lead Vocal: George Clinton

"Mothership Connection"
Lead Vocals: George Clinton (rap), Glenn Goins

"Unfunky UFO"
Lead Vocals: Glenn Goins, George Clinton

"Handcuffs"
Lead Vocals: George Clinton, Glenn Goins

"Give Up The Funk"
Alternating Lead Vocals: George Clinton, Ray Davis (intro), Glenn Goins,
Garry Shider

Rating: GZ ***** RC ***** MM *****

Comments:

GZ: Highlights include Title track, "P-Funk", "Handcuffs", "Give Up The Funk" -- a classic. Absolutely essential.

TK: The album was originally titled Landing In The Ghetto.

RC: How to describe this one? How about: the most important album of the last 20 years; the culmination of a superb team of musicians, vocalists, and conceptualists, working at their peak; an avant garde funk album that broke all the rules and wrote a few of its own; a concept album free of any restraints associated with that genre; a brilliantly fused assortment of funk, jazz, gospel, Motown, science- fiction, sex, drugs and...; the PhD project of Dr. Woo, Bernie Worrell; the genesis of a freaky universe that sprang full-born from George Clinton's mind; Bootsy Collins' coming-out party: the bass that launched a thousand Motherships; the simultaneous coming-of-age and birth of P.Funk; THE BOMB. It's all that and more. The album indulges every Funk Mob whim without going overboard. There's great singing throughout, particularly from new member Glen Goins. Horns are given a workout without dominating the album, with the introduction of the Horny Horns. All of the mistakes and false starts found on earlier albums were erased, and new ground was struck at every turn. Even the stuff based on old formulas and obvious attempts at commercialism sounded fresh and resonant.

The album starts off similarly to Chocolate City, with a narrator explaining that we are now tuned in to radio station WEFUNK, home of the P.Funk, the Bomb. Clinton's character Sir Lollipop Man ("chocolate coated, freaky, and habit forming") lays on rap after rap about the miraculous qualities of P.Funk. Bootsy lays down some seriously thick grooves, the horns take over the melody, and Bernie provides the flavor with those ethereal keyboards. The comparison between coke and funk is cleverly phrased ("I want my funk uncut"), as something that brings you up and out. The Brecker Brothers come in with brilliant solos in the middle, as the song slows down, creating an aching tension. This is finally resolved in the orgasmic finale, as Clinton signals, "Well, alright!" and the whole band and chorus kicks in. The song structure, the witty lyrics, the rhythm and the improvisations are top-notch the whole way. This leads into "Mothership Connection", as Clinton's next character, Starchild, takes us on a tour of the Chocolate Milky Way galaxy. Another addictive bassline keeps it on the one, with gorgeous descending guitar & keyboard lines following. The horns are out front, filling in the gaps. The Mothership `ain't nothin' but a party`, but it's also a means of salvation, for as Starchild says, `You have overcome, for I am here.` And combining and comparing the Mothership to "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", the old spiritual, is a brilliant device. As Clinton has said, he wanted to put `brothers in outer space, in places people wouldn't normally associate them.` The future is hip, funny, and vibrant. Continuing on the sci-fi theme, we swing into "Unfunky UFO", one of the most underrated gems in the P.Funk universe. It features lead-swapping between Garry, George and Glen, with a engaging story about aliens who want to steal your funk. The guitar riffs drive this song, right along with another solid bassline and superb drumming from Jerome Brailey, who is excellent on the entire album. His rhythms are crisp and precise, and he plays complex parts effortlessly. "Supergroovalistic..." is one of those chant songs that showcases Bernie, as he pulls out all the stops working with weird sounds and effects. "Handcuffs" is an R & B throwback, fully spotlighting the singers. The song is one of those wonderfully, ridiculously sexist creations that features lines like `If I have to keep you barefoot & pregnant, just to keep you in my world/Lay down, girl, and take off your shoes/Cause I'm a gonna do what is I got to do`. One of the best vocal efforts ever from the group. "Give Up The Funk", the biggest hit from the album, is in many ways its weakest track. A pure dance track, it features a clever drum intro with Ray Davis' famous baritone, with the horns and keyboards swelling into the main body of the song. Unfortunately, it tends to get a bit repetitive, although it is still quite entertaining, particularly the `dah dah dah dah-dah` chant. The true star of the song is Jerome Brailey, who propels the song constantly, and finishes it with a flourish. The journey ends with "Night Of The Thumpasorous Peoples", a crazed chant song that is once again dominated by Bootsy & Bernie. Bernie invents a variety of weird sounds that are so funky you can smell 'em, and Bootsy explores a lot of new territory that would propel him into having his own solo act. And the chant of `Ga ga goo ga, ga ga goo ga, ga ga goo ga ga` is their most infectous.

While there are certainly a number of themes explored here, it's never done in any kind of obvious way. The outrageousness of the concepts allows the deeper meaning to sink in slowly, and while there's a loose connection amongst all the songs, each stands out individually, not trapped within the order or framework or an album, something that happens often with concept albums.

MM: Probably the best all around album in the PFunk universe. Every track is strong. I like the mellow groove of "Supergr...." and the bass focus on "Night Of The Thumpasorous" also.

"But this album refuses to be taken seriously, except as Clinton's parody of modern funk." -- Ken Barnes, RS

Mothership Connection went on to become a surprise hit - the album sold more than one million copies (P-Funk's previous albums had barely grazed the top 100), and soon this music that "refuses to be taken seriously" was taken very seriously indeed by Rolling Stone magazine. In a 3/23/78 review of Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome, for example, Ken Tucker wrote that George Clinton seemed to be blessed with "unlimited inspiration," and that "Bop Gun," the record's lead single "puts everything else on the radio to shame." Peter Keepnews, in a positive review of Uncle Jam Wants You that ran in the 11/29/79 issue, called "One Nation Under a Groove" "one of the most irresistible singles of the Seventies."

Nonetheless, Dave Marsh rated Mothership Connection only three stars in the first edition of the RS Record Guide ("Fascinatingly vulgar, like all of Clinton's projects, but also engaging in a rather diffuse way."). Maggot Brain was not rated or mentioned in the book; shockingly, neither was One Nation Under a Groove. In fact, Joe McEwen rated only two Funkadelic albums: Hardcore Jollies, which he gave two stars, and a greatest hits compilation, which mustered a three-star rating. Despite this, McEwen, somewhat amusingly, proclaimed Funkadelic to be "the truest representation of urban life offered in black music."

Mothership Connection was #274 on RS's 500 greatest albums list; One Nation Under A Groove was #177. -- schmidtt, Rolling Stone's 500 Worst Reviews of All Time

k voted for both of those. great great great records!

dave marsh & rolling stone can go get fucked

Like, I dont even like La Grange at all, but Tres Hombres is so stacked with deep cuts like Master of Sparks and Hot Blue & Righteous that it p much instantly transcends that overrated beer commercial nonsense (it helps that LG is shuffled away in the middle of Side 2) xp

Ag you were just extolling the virtues of Marsh's Big Book of Rock Lists, like, 3 weeks ago!

55. JUDAS PRIEST Sad Wings of Destiny (2836 Points, 20 Votes)
RYM: #6 for 1976 , #366 overall | Acclaimed: #4417
http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0002/367/MI0002367511.jpg?partner=allrovi.com
http://open.spotify.com/album/5k3WFIHmmuHrUWSj5McaAe
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Sad Wings Of Destiny carved a new plateau for the fledgling form, marking an intensification of the edifying darkness, the band assembling an invasion of the imagination with abstract but disturbing flurries of hell-fired torment, the only distant relatives to the album's frightful vibe being perhaps Sabotage, Rising, or oddly enough, Vol. 4, Priest however offering a vastly more futuristic, technical type of heavy metal than any warmed-over leftovers from the first wave could even imagine. Sad Wings marks no less than the second of three landmark events in the history of metal. Six years earlier, we have the in-earnest invention of the form, with Uriah Heep, In Rock and Paranoid. Sad Wings (and incredibly Priest's next three in a row), amazingly bereft of challengers from '76 to '80, marked the first spike in an established genre, raising metal to new, mind-expanding, technically impeccable levels, second spike being the intensified, majestic speed metal of Metallica's Ride The Lightning in '84, while in the shadows, Mercyful Fate's Melissa convincingly recreated and reminded us of the advancements Priest had managed. Comprising six visceral metal classics and two extremely delicate funeral dirges, Sad Wings proceeded to rewire hard rock with legendary masterworks such as strident progressive metal opener "Victim Of Changes," seminal slasher tale "Ripper," and rampant mind-grind about mind games "Tyrant," all working a sort of becalmed night, their ministerial levity evoking guarded monks toiling in rapt seclusion, mediums receiving an avalanche of seismic, sobbing and sobering riffery puzzle-pieced into sturdy towers of previously unknown medieval metallics. Lyrics tend towards the darker corners of the brain--religion in conflict, moral and material struggles, death and other concerns above time, concerns never rendered flashing or even colourful, poetry evoking the subdued but rock-solid tones within the monster cathedrals of Britain and the Birmingham band. And the record's bass-bedded production, as well, supports such earthy and ancient engineering with trustworthy strength, all players reverent of the record's pulse, each offering his specific wisdom and restraint and recognition of the massive grooves at work, a restraint that will fly out the window come the blinding fury of Sin After Sin one year hence. Unquestionably, this is the record that established Priest's enviable reputation, even if any degree of commercial success would elude the band for another four years or so, Sad Wings Of Destiny becoming a pioneer of a new and versatile type of gothic riffery, and as history would show, a woodshed record for all sorts of metalizers gaining their sea legs in the late 70s. Grave and serious metal innovation, tragically, unfathomably, unnoticed in its time. 8/10 -- M. Popoff

Chock full of ear-piercing vocals and the thick, sensuous rhythms of a Fender Stratocaster, Sad Wings of Destinyrecalls the intensity of the Deep Purple of Machine Head. This is the second time around, of course, so the effect is less startling. Even the titles -- "Genocide" and "The Ripper," for instance -- parallel Purple's malevolent attitude.

Priest lacks Deep Purple's keyboard emphasis but the real difference is in the vocals. Lead singer Robert Halford is a screamer with powerful projection and little control, although he executes a complete turnaround in "Epitaph," where he proves he can sing fluid tenor on a song suitable for Barry Manilow. If the Yardbirds/Zeppelin legacy has led Aerosmith so far, surely Judas Priest has a fair chance of success through copying Deep Purple, especially since their antecedents are no longer contenders for the throne. -- Kris Nicholson, RS

As the decade progressed the plateau on which Metal was encamped, like the geological oddity of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, broke free of the surrounding geography and thrust upwards, breaking off almost all connection with the outside musical world. This is perfectly signaled by records like Judas Priest's Sad Wings of Destiny, upon which, if you don't mind me extending my metaphor yet further, the roaming dinosaurs began to feast on the corpses of other dinosaurs. Rob Halford's banshee wail is in tonality equal parts Osbourne and Plant, even if his lyrics are disorientating kitchen-sink. The music with its choppy, low-slung riffs and "singing" leads seems to contain nowt but pure metal. This is forbidding stuff but also thoroughly individual music that was instrumental in the birth of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. -- Woebot

review
[-] by Steve Huey

The year 1976 was crucial for the evolution of heavy metal, as landmark albums like Rainbow's Rising and Scorpions' Virgin Killer began to reshape the genre. Perhaps none was quite as important as Judas Priest's sophomore effort, Sad Wings of Destiny, which simultaneously took heavy metal to new depths of darkness and new heights of technical precision. Building on the hard prog of bands like Queen and Wishbone Ash, plus the twin-guitar innovations of the latter and Thin Lizzy, Sad Wings fused these new influences with the gothic doom of Black Sabbath, the classical precision of Deep Purple, and the tight riffery of the more compact Led Zeppelin tunes. Priest's prog roots are still readily apparent here, particularly on the spacy ballad "Dreamer Deceiver," the multi-sectioned "Victim of Changes," and the softer sonic textures that appear from time to time. But if Priest's style was still evolving, the band's trademarks are firmly in place -- the piercing, operatic vocals of Rob Halford and the tightly controlled power riffing of guitarists K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton.

This foundation sounded like little else on the metal scene at the time, and gave Sad Wings of Destiny much of its dramatic impact. Its mystique, though, was something else. No metal band had been this convincingly dark since Black Sabbath, and that band's hallucinatory haze was gone, replaced by a chillingly real cast of serial killers ("The Ripper"), murderous dictators ("Tyrant"), and military atrocities that far outweighed "War Pigs" ("Genocide"). Even the light piano ballad "Epitaph" sounds like a morbidly depressed Queen rewriting Sabbath's "Changes." Three songs rank as all-time metal classics, starting with the epic "Victim of Changes," which is blessed with an indelible main riff, a star-making vocal turn from Halford, explosive guitar work, and a tight focus that belies its nearly eight-minute length. "The Ripper" and "Tyrant," with their driving guitar riffs and concise construction, are the first seeds of what would flower into the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement.

More than any other heavy metal album of its time, Sad Wings of Destiny offered the blueprint for the way forward. What's striking is how deeply this blueprint resonated through the years, from the prog ambitions of Iron Maiden to the thematic echoes in a pair of '80s thrash masterpieces. The horrors of Sad Wings are largely drawn from real life, much like Slayer's Seasons in the Abyss, and its all-consuming anxiety is over powerlessness, just like Metallica's magnum opus, Master of Puppets. (Though this latter preoccupation doubtlessly had more psychosexual roots in Rob Halford's case -- witness the peculiar torture fantasy of "Island of Domination.") Unfortunately, Sad Wings of Destiny didn't have as much impact upon release as it should have, mostly owing to the limitations of the small Gull label. It did, however, earn Judas Priest a shot with Columbia, where they would quickly become the most influential band in heavy metal not named Black Sabbath. (Note: To date, all CD reissues of Sad Wings of Destiny have switched the A and B sides of the original vinyl version.)

LOL just reading the RS review for Paranoid. Who the fuck is Kip Treavor?

Boom here we go! Greatest album ever right above me!

lol Kip Treavor was the lead singer of Black WIDOW... lol Rolling Stone sux.

*bowing my knee in fealty to the antichrist*

not a very good rep of the counter-culture is it

It's becoming obvious why RS never put out that glossy coffee table book of original reviews! Some of these reviews are indeed inexcusable (I particularly hate Dave Marsh, Anthony DeCurtis and others). But the reason I wouldn't always completely write off every critic for the bad reviews they've done is that some, like Christgau, sorted through dozens of albums every week, thousands a year, and wrote hundreds of reviews, many on artists he's hearing for the very first time, most of which had not been reviewed anywhere else. So he was listening to stuff isolated from any cultural or critical context and restricted by massive volumes and limited time, responding with his initial gut reaction. The results were sometimes witty, often stupid, sometimes brilliant. The past 15+ years critics have a much different experience. By the time they hear an album there's usually already a deep knowledge base about the artist available in forums and blogs. Writers now have the option to consider a wide range of other popular and critical opinions while forming theirs. Even if they want to avoid that input, it's hard to avoid. Even back in the 80s there were more sources to draw from, with more magazines and fanzines than ever. And as of the mid-80s, there was already early e-mail based discussion forums.

I dunno most of the lyrics on Paranoid are pretty obvious... War Pigs is pretty obv. antiwar, its hard to miss it... the rest are mostly just horror movie plots turned into songs without any clear moral message, but that's kinda what created Metal with a capital m. No songs about girls and cars, just weird and scary stuff. I think Iron Maiden did this to the extreme with their lyrics, but its clear to me the album is supposed to be scary like a Hammer movie, maybe it was just too good.

unimpeachable run, that last three, and all got votes from me. Think I need to give Pink Fairies another listen as well...

54. ROXY MUSIC Roxy Music (2836 Points, 20 Votes, 1 #1)
RYM: #37 for 1972 , #835 overall | Acclaimed: #203
http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0000/038/MI0000038422.jpg?partner=allrovi.com
http://open.spotify.com/album/4KjUgJn22cmBRQC0AHcjI3
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From the drag queen on the cover to the fop finery in the centerfold to the polished deformity of the music on the record, this celebrates the kind of artifice that could come to seem as unhealthy as the sheen on a piece of rotten meat. Right now, though, it's decorated with enough weird hooks to earn an A for side one. Side two leans a little too heavily on the synthesizer (played by a balding, long-haired eunuch lookalike named Eno) without the saving grace of drums and bassline. B+ -- R. Christgau

With the release of their first LP (produced by King Crimson lyricist Pete Sinfield after the departure of original Roxy guitarist Davy O'List, formerly of the Nice), the fledgling sextet revolutionized rock — trashing concepts of melodic conservatism, ignoring the prevalence of blues-based and otherwise derivative idioms and denying the need for technical virtuosity, either vocally or instrumentally. The flamboyantly bedecked poseurs presaged such low couture iconoclasts as the New York Dolls and all the glamsters who followed; the music mixed all sorts of elements into a newly filtered original sound that set the stylish pace. The tracks — Ferry-penned fantasies like "Re-make/Re-model," "2 H.B.," "If There Is Something" and the group's monumental debut, "Virginia Plain" (a 45 not on the original album, but added to later editions) — are at once amateurish and highly developed, brilliant blunders that took some acclimation to fully appreciate. As much as the music, the album's kitsch graphics were also widely imitated. -- Trouser Press

review
[-] by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Falling halfway between musical primitivism and art rock ambition, Roxy Music's eponymous debut remains a startling redefinition of rock's boundaries. Simultaneously embracing kitschy glamour and avant-pop, Roxy Music shimmers with seductive style and pulsates with disturbing synthetic textures. Although no musician demonstrates much technical skill at this point, they are driven by boundless imagination -- Brian Eno's synthesized "treatments" exploit electronic instruments as electronics, instead of trying to shoehorn them into conventional acoustic patterns. Similarly, Bryan Ferry finds that his vampiric croon is at its most effective when it twists conventional melodies, Phil Manzanera's guitar is terse and unpredictable, while Andy Mackay's saxophone subverts rock & roll clichés by alternating R&B honking with atonal flourishes. But what makes Roxy Music such a confident, astonishing debut is how these primitive avant-garde tendencies are married to full-fledged songs, whether it's the free-form, structure-bending "Remake/Remodel" or the sleek glam of "Virginia Plain," the debut single added to later editions of the album. That was the trick that elevated Roxy Music from an art school project to the most adventurous rock band of the early '70s.

(played by a balding, long-haired eunuch lookalike named Eno)

more Poxy Muzak...

That is right on (about Sabbath). On top of that, while the members weren't exactly good church-going boys at the time, heh, they certainly still held Christian beliefs and actually wore those crosses because they were genuinely freaked out by a Satanic cult they refused to play for, and threatened to curse the band.

Interesting piece, Black Sabbath: The First Christian Rock Band.

A reminder about Martin Popoff's reviews from The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal - Volume 1: The Seventies, the first number is the heaviness number. The second is how good Popoff thinks the album is on a scale of 10.

later lyrical concerns leant more towards cocaine, lawsuits

awww

Roxy Music s/t was top in my top 10, was kinda hoping itd get top 20, even maybe beat out Marquee Moon (lol talk about wishful thinking)

anyone think KISS will make it into the top 50?

ugh hope not

sorry KISS ARMY members

excuse me I was in the KISS NAVY!

Rear Lieutenant Gene Simmons in command!

Ewww

Cocaine and lawsuits, lol, too true! Here's what I posted on an old thread:

It's pretty well known these days that the band are not really into the occult despite their image. Dio once scoffed at the idea of them being satanists and said they're "just a bunch of good Catholic boys."

Good might be a stretch, but in their early days, some satanists and head witch of England Alec Sanders starting taking an interest in Black Sabbath by showing up at gigs and stalking them at hotels. After Sabbath refused to play their satanic mass, they put a hex on the band. Ozzy asked his father make them those large silver (actually aluminum) crosses they've been known to wear thereafter. Iommi and Geezer were both Catholic (Geezer actually almost became a priest!), Ozzy with Church of England, Ward agnostic. They may not have being church-going guys after forming Sabbath, but they certainly had a healthy fear of the satanists and a belief in the power of the cross symbol!

funnily enough...

Ewww

― today's tom soy yum, mean mean thai (Spectrist), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 16:57 (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I know, v sorry

53. KING CRIMSON Starless and Bible Black (2857 Points, 19 Votes, 2 #1s)
RYM: #50 for 1974 , #1807 overall
http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0002/263/MI0002263031.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

This is as close as this chronically interesting group has ever come to a good album, or maybe it's as close as Robert Fripp has ever come to dominating this chronically interesting group. As usual, things improve markedly when nobody's singing. The lyrics are relatively sharp, but there must be better ways of proving you're not a wimp than casting invective at a "health-food faggot." Unless you are a wimp, that is. B -- R. Christgau

Just as they were about to be classed among the living relics, Robert Fripp and friends have returned from a lengthy creative hiatus with an inventive new album. They've taken the disjointed pieces of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, infused them with some life, and woven them into a package as stunningly powerful as In the Court of the Crimson King, the LP that launched "mellotron rock."

Crimson displays a certain confidence here that hasn't before graced its efforts. William Bruford's multifaceted percussive offerings are particularly impressive in this light -- he's finally mastered his distinctively eclectic style. David Cross's violin and viola are woven into the Crimson tapestry far more effectively than before, adding the counter-soloist that Fripp needed to give variety to the band's sound.

The material relies on instrumental interaction, with Crimson now intent on exploring some of the frontiers charted by Yes. "The Great Deceiver" rocks out almost as maniacally as did "21st Century Schizoid Man," showing that where Yes would marvel at the world, Crimson prefers to grab it by the balls. But with "Trio" Crimson demonstrates that it's capable of maintaining the balace between aggression and introspection, using the juxtaposition of viola and mellotron-flute tape to evoke a hauntingly blissful serenity.

The two lengthy instrumental passages that comprise Side Two of Starless and Bible Black show Crimson at its best, relaxing into lengthy improvisational patterns that spotlight the virtuosity of each member. The ease with which these moves are carried off indicates that Fripp has finally assembled the band of his dreams -- hopefully it'll stay together long enough to continue producing albums as excellent as this one. -- Gordon Fletcher, RS

Bob Fripp and his band know more ways to be intelligent, dead serious, and fairly boring than anybody I know save for the Master of Musical Monotony himself, John McLaughlin. David Cross may well be the outstanding member of this group as he's the least competent on his instrument (violin), but all the others play their instruments with a same degree of technical proficiency. "The Great Deceiver" is the best and most interesting track on the album; in fact it may be the only listenable song produced by this King Crimson to date, but one good apple don't spoil the whole bunch. -- Jon Tiven, Circus Rave

The majority of the record was based on live improvisational recordings from a concert recorded the previous fall in Amsterdam. It's no wonder, as Crimson spent the better part of March through November 1973 on the road with only a few weeks in the summer to rest. The first side contains shorter snippets, as well as a few (more or less) songs. Both "The Great Deceiver" and "We'll Let You Know" rely on fury to get their point across (which they do), while the gentler "The Night Watch" is simply resplendent. ...Again, the key is the rhythm section of John Wetton and Bill Bruford; as Fripp would later comment, they were "terrible to play over." Indeed. With only twelve minutes of studio recordings, the album is a little short on new material, but taken as a live record it's another matter.-- C. Snider, The Strawberry Bricks Guide To Progressive Rock

Fripp and the boys were busy in 1974, later in the year came the storming Red album, but before that came this offering. King Crimson are usually lumped in with the lumbering prog-rock likes of Yes and ELP, but while they share a certain number of starting points (and band members), since their debut in 1969, they have always been that bit more closer to the edge (as well as that more technically proficient!). This can still be seen to this day with recent offerings such as Thrak and The ConstruKction Of Light, both being contemporary masterpieces.

Starless... opens in fine speedridin' form with 'The Great Deceiver', which begins at full pace, slows briefly for a short Zepp-esque riff, then grinds down to a few staccato bass notes for the first verse. As usual with Crimson there are many rhythm, riff and tempo changes. Blistering. 'Lament' begins as a vocal-led ballad, but then unexpectedly dissolves and rebuilds into a freaked-out funk monster of a song - John Wetton's vocals ranging from soulful to fiery.

'We'll Let You Know' takes the form of a studio jam, and is about as loose and bluesy as Crimson get. Bill Bruford's syncopated percussion linking the free wheeling bass and guitar. 'The Night Watch' opens with a wall of cymbals and chorused guitars, to give an almost oriental feel - David Cross' violin picking up on this, while Wetton shares the story of what appears to be an old painting. Fripp, meanwhile, paints his own picture with some beautifully intricate harmonics.

'Trio' is almost complete silence for a whole minute, eventually Cross' violin emerging, accompanied by some gentle bass-stroking from Wetton - before Fripp joins in with his best viola impersonation. Eerie, again quite oriental, and very soothing. 5 minutes 41 seconds just isn't enough - I put this track on repeat play during moments of quiet contemplation. 'The Mincer' is the strangest track on offer, and possesses some excellent unexpected, 'catch you by surprise', snare work from Bruford. The title track begins with some quiet feedback and Bruford beating some kind of heart beat. Tambourines join in, the whole thing builds. The song title is beautifully evoked through the 9-minute soundscape. Challenging, but never unlistenable, the whole thing turns more jazzy toward the end once Wetton and Bruford fall into step.

The closing track 'Fracture', strangely enough sees a return to the more structured Frippery and bizarre chord progressions. The fingerwork is quite mind boggling at times - and a lot of people criticize Fripp for his 'over-complication', but you'll usually find that's just jealous guitarists! - but huge funky islands appear all over the place, and the whole thing rides out on a high.

One of King Crimson's best albums, certainly one of their funkiest, from arguably their strongest line-up. A classic which I heartily recommend - especially as an accompaniment to its sister album, Red (which is reviewed elsewhere here by Squid Tempest).  -- fwump bungle, Head Heritage

review
[-] by Bruce Eder

Starless and Bible Black is even more powerful and daring than its predecessor, Larks' Tongues in Aspic, with jarring tempo shifts, explosive guitar riffs, and soaring, elegant, and delicate violin and Mellotron parts scattered throughout its 41 minutes, often all in the same songs. The album was on the outer fringes of accessible progressive rock, with enough musical ideas explored to make Starless and Bible Black more than background for tripping the way Emerson, Lake & Palmer's albums were used. "The Night Watch," a song about a Rembrandt painting, was, incredibly, a single release, although it was much more representative of the sound that Crimson was abandoning than where it was going in 1973-1974. More to that point were the contents of side two of the original LP, a pair of instrumentals that threw the group's hardest sounds right in the face of the listener, and gained some converts in the process. [Starless and Bible Black was remastered again for CD in the summer of 2000, in significantly improved sound that brought out the details (and surprising lyricism) of much of the material in far greater detail. The booklet included with the remastered version is not as impressive as some of the rest of the series entries in terms of information, but has great photos.]

Then Ozzy found a leaf sweater than the stevia which sweetened the coffee after Anglican mass...

I wonder how many albums Fripp was involved in, no matter how tangentially, that placed in this poll.

Look at the face of 70s rock and you will see the face of Fripp staring back!!

You mean the face of Bob Fripp, International Lover PhD

from Toyah Wilcox University

I can't believe how tight they played during this time period, the live recordings of Fracture for instance are nightmarish

52. AEROSMITH Rocks (2882 Points, 20 Votes, 1 #1)
RYM: #38 for 1976 , #2097 overall | Acclaimed: #396 | RS: #176
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http://open.spotify.com/album/5Uv5LmSKTT9okGkr3l9MjR
spotify:album:5Uv5LmSKTT9okGkr3l9MjR

http://www.superseventies.com/oaaa/oaaa_aerosmith2.jpg

Dave Hickey compares the teen crossover of the year to a Buick Roadmaster, and he's right -- they've retooled Led Zeppelin till the English warhorse is all glitz and flow, beating the shit out of Boston and Ted Nugent and Blue Oyster Cult in the process. Wish there were a lyric sheet -- I'd like to know what that bit about J. Paul Getty's ear is about -- but (as Hickey says) the secret is the music, complex song structures and that don't sacrifice the basic 4/4 and I-IV-V. A warning, though: Zep's fourth represented a songwriting peak, before the band began to outgrow itself, and the same may prove true for this lesser group, so get it while you can. A- -- R. Christgau

Whether or not Rocks is hot depends on your vantage point. If your hard-rock tastes were honed in the Sixties, as this band's obviously were, Aerosmith is a polished echo of Yardbirds' guitar rock liberally spiced with the Stones' sexual swagger. If you're a teen of the Seventies, they are likely to be the flashiest hard-rock band you've ever seen. While the band has achieved phenomenal commercial success, their fourth album fails to prove that they can grow and innovate as their models did.

The most winning aspect of Rocks is that ace metal prducer Jack Douglas and the band (listed as coproducers for the first time) have returned to the ear-boxing sound that made their second album, Get Your Wings, their best. The guitar riffs and Steven Tyler's catlike voice fairly jump out of the speakers. This initially hides the fact that the best performances here -- "Lick and a Promise," "Sick as a Dog" and "Rats in the Cellar" -- are essentially remakes of the highlights of the relatively flat Toys in the Attic. The songs have all the band's trademarks and while they can be accused of neither profundity nor originality, Aerosmith's stylized hard-rock image and sound pack a high-energy punch most other heavy metal bands lack.

Steven Tyler is the band's obvious focal point, a distinction earned primarily by his adaptation of the sexual stance that missed the young Jack Flash. On the rockers, his delivery is polished and commanding and sufficiently enthusiastic to disguise the general innnocuousness of the lyrics. On the riff-dominated songs, though, such as "Last Child" or "Back in the Saddle," he is prone to shrieks that don't bear repetition. Unlike Jagger, his vocal performance cannot save otherwise mediocre material.

The material is Rocks' major flaw, mostly pale remakes of their earlier hits, notably "Dream On," a first-album ballad that helped make the complete Aerosmith catalog gold. Aerosmith may have their hard-rock wings, but they won't truly fly until their inventiveness catches up to their fast-maturing professionalism. – John Milward, RS

Another band RS had little love for during their mid-70s heyday, and then reappraised after they had sold millions of records. (Actually, it would probably be more accurate to say that Aerosmith were a group that RS reviled in the '70s almost as a consequence of their success, and later put on a pedestal for the very same reason.) Wayne Robbins provided this predictable critique in the 1983 guide: "Lead vocalist Steven Tyler, with his puffy, pouty lips and salacious eyes, had the manner of his lookalike, Mick Jagger, but none of his command of song or movement."

I would imagine Aerosmith seemed pretty laughable - almost like a cartoon version of the Stones - when they first appeared in 1973. But their timing couldn't have been better: Aerosmith's rise perfectly coincided with the Stones' decline. In recent years, the Stones actually seem to be imitating Aerosmith, and not the other way around: the descending chorus on A Bigger Bang's "Let Me Down Slow," for example, sounds almost identical to Rocks' "Lick and a Promise."

Rocks was #176 on RS's 500 greatest albums list; Toys in the Attics was #228. – schmidtt, Rolling Stone's 500 Worst Reviews of All Time

Flushed with the success of Toys In The Attic, Aerosmith wasted no time or momentum in returning to the studio to cut what for many is their magnum opus. Rocks, recorded partly at their Wherehouse rehearsal space and at the Record Plant in New York, was fueled by the excesses that would prove to be their near-undoing. But with the help of Jack Douglas, theband managed to focus their talents like never before, creating an aptly titled package of gems.

More cohesive than Toys..., Rocks also features a richer, tougher sound -- the downright dangerous guitar combination of Joe Perry and Brad Whitford is spurred on by the sleazy rhythm section of Tom Hamilton and Joy Kramer, making tracks like "Rats In The Cellar" and "Back In The Saddle" send sparks.

At the center of it all is Steven Tyler's determined, devilish howl -- a vocal style that earned him the moniker "The Demon of Screamin'." On "Get The Lead Out," Tyler requested the support of a singer from the Metropolitan Opera on the refrain (making one wonder what happened to the singer's career after a session that must have shredded a once-fine voice).

The lyrics deal with extremes, whether it is sex ("Back In The Saddle"), drugs ("Combination"), or fame ("A Lick And A Promise") -- there is either too much or too little, typically at the same time. The subject matter is fitting for a band whose predilections scared the most drug-addled musicians in the business, leading them to dub Tyler and Perry the Toxic Twins. -- Tim Sheridan, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

Few albums have been so appropriately named as Aerosmith's 1976 classic Rocks. Despite hard drug use escalating among bandmembers, Aerosmith produced a superb follow-up to their masterwork Toys in the Attic, nearly topping it in the process. Many Aero fans will point to Toys as the band's quintessential album (it contained two radio/concert standards after all, "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion"), but out of all their albums, Rocks did the best job of capturing Aerosmith at their most raw and rocking. Like its predecessor, a pair of songs have become their most renowned -- the menacing, hard rock, cowboy-stomper "Back in the Saddle," as well as the downright viscous funk groove of "Last Child." Again, even the lesser-known tracks prove essential to the makeup of the album, such as the stimulated "Rats in the Cellar" (a response of sorts to "Toys in the Attic"), the Stonesy "Combination," and the forgotten riff-rocker "Get the Lead Out." Also included is the apocalyptic "Nobody's Fault," the up-and-coming rock star tale of "Lick and a Promise," and the album-closing ballad "Home Tonight." With Rocks, Aerosmith appeared to be indestructible.

Why did Kiss outsell Aerosmith in the 70s? Aerosmith were so superior

So ZZ Top is gonna play Cleveland on August 24 at...Tiger Stadium.