1977 was a year of great innovation. In the tech-world, Apple released their first personal computer, the Atari 2600, France stopped using the guillotine to execute people (seriously? took ’em long enough), and the legendary Star Wars. In music Punk music was sweeping across Great Britain, while in the US the competition for guitar supremacy was in full effect. Like every week, this list was not easy to narrow down. Check out our list and if you don’t see your favorite album, spark up a convo in the comments section. Enojy!
Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
Rumors is the eleventh, and best selling album from Fleetwood Mac. The album took well over a year to produce, pushing back the release date from September of ’76, and resulting in the cancellation of an entire sold-out world tour. But the wait was well worth it. Rumors spent 31 weeks atop the billboards and has sold over 40 million copies world wide. Various personal, and interpersonal issues became the subject of many songs. Attempting to explain all of the conflicts could fill a boat, so in short, there was a lot of relationship and fidelity issues, and I’ll leave it at that. Jesse Hopper of Pitchfork perfectly sums up the essence of Rumors when she writes:
"Records with singles that never go away tend to evoke nostalgia for the time when the music sound-tracked your life; in this case, you could’ve never owned a copy of it and still know almost every song. When you make an album this big, your craft is, by default, accessibility. But this wasn’t generic pabulum. It was personal. Anyone could find a piece of themselves within these songs of love and loss.
It is difficult not to buy into the mythology of Rumors both as an album and pop culture artifact: a flawless record pulled from the wreckage of real lives. As one of classic rock’s foundational albums, it holds up better than any other commercial smash of that ilk (Hotel California, certainly). We can now use it as a kind of nostalgic benchmark– that they don’t make groups like that anymore, that there is no rock band so palatable that it could be the best-selling album in the U.S. for 31 weeks. Things work differently now. Examined from that angle, Rumors was not exactly a game changer, it was merely perfect."
Street Survivors – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Street Suvivors was the fifth studio album from Lynyrd Skynyrd. The southern rock group had built a pretty large following with hits like “Sweet Home Alabama” and Street Survivors was going to propel the group into stardom. And it did. Street Survivors reached the #5 spot on the billboards, and the singles “What’s Your Name” and “That Smell” each made into the Top 20. The album went Gold in just 10 days and quickly reached Double-Platinum certification. As it was, Street Survivors had been the breakthrough the band had been looking for, but it will forever be marred by the tragedy that occurred just 3 days after its release. While the band was on a flight from Baton Rouge, they ran out of gas and crashed. The crash killed the pilot and co-pilot, as well a the band’s lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, their new guitarist Steve Gaines, and back-up singer Cassie Gaines. Despite the sadness that surrounds that album, it is undoubtedly the group’s best work. Stephen Erlewine calls it “a hell of an album. The band springs back to life with the addition of guitarist Steve Gaines, and Van Zant used the time off the road to write a strong set of songs, highlighted by “That Smell,” “You Got That Right,” and the relentless boogie “I Know a Little.” It’s tighter than any record since Second Helping and as raw as Nuthin’ Fancy. If the original band was fated to leave after this record, at least they left with a record that serves as a testament to Skynyrd’s unique greatness.
Low – David Bowie
Low is David Bowie’s eleventh studio album. Like many of Bowie’s albums, it was initially met with mixed reviews. Partially due to his collaboration with musical experimentalist Brian Eno, the album was also just different than any other Bowie album. Mirroring the album’s title, Bowie had been at a low. He had just gotten through a very messy contract with his previous manager, and had developed a bad habit with cocaine, and would be strung out for days at a time. In an attempt to kick his habit and put his emotions into song, Bowie moved to Germany, where the album would be recorded. “Low‘s first side is a beautiful futurist ruin, littered with holes left purposefully unfixed. Two decades after its release, Bowie noted that his crew ‘really captured, unlike anything else in that time, a sense of yearning for a future that we all knew would never come to pass.’ Visconti heightens the decay and distills the lifespan of every sound, treating Dennis Davis’ drums so that he was playing along to a withered echo of his last strike, like an explosion contained in a tin can.” Critics loved and hated the musical exploration of the album, many citing it as too inaccessible for most listeners. However, that’s exactly what Bowie was going for, and exactly what he had been doing. So as odd or strange as people may find Low to be, considering all of the things Bowie had been going through, it’s a perfect manifestation of his journey and struggles.
Exodus – Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bob Marley & The Wailer‘s ninth album Exodus was the breakthrough they had been looking for. It quickly went gold in the US and UK, and opened the doors the band needed for commercial success. In late December of the previous year, an assassination attempt had been carried out on Marley’s life, with two bullets grazing the young artist. As a result, Marley and his band moved from Jamaica to England to record the album, and the influences of British culture, though subtle, are apparent. Exodus is more reflective and calming than previous albums. While politics remained a prominent theme, love became star of show. Both sides of the album contain some of Marley’s best works, but side 2 is essentially a “Best of Bob Marley”. Side 2 contains “Jamming” “Waiting in Vain“, “Three Little Birds” “Turn Your Lights Down Low” and “One Love“. “Exodus may make you want to rise up and fight on the side of Jah, but the message you take from the album as a whole is the one delivered in ‘One Love’ and ‘Three Little Birds’: ‘Don’t worry about a thing/ Cause every little thing gonna be all right,’ goes the latter; ‘Let’s get together and feel all right,’ Marley says in the former.” (Pitchfork)
Animals – Pink Floyd
In typical Pink Floyd fashion, their tenth album Animals is a concept album. Loosely based on the novel Animal Farm, Pink Floyd symbolizes various socioeconomic classes as animals such as “ruthless pigs and mindless sheep”. Thomas Erlewine calls it Pink Floyd’s “strangest and darkest” album. “Through it all, though, the utter blackness of Roger Waters’ spirit holds true, and since there are no vocal hooks or melodies, everything rests on the mood, the near-nihilistic lyrics, and Gilmour’s guitar. These are the kinds of things that satisfy cultists, and it will reward their attention — there’s just no way in for casual listeners.” NME calls it “One of the most extreme, relentless, harrowing and downright iconoclastic hunks of music to have been made available this side of the sun” and Melody Maker declare it “[An] uncomfortable taste of reality in a medium that has become in recent years, increasingly soporific.” Despite all of the darkness, Animals was well received. It hit the #2 spot on the UK Billboards and the #3 spot in the US. It even beat out ABBA for most week’s spent on the charts at a whopping 108 weeks.
Aja – Steely Dan
Steely Dan’s sixth album Aja is “A coolly textured and immaculately produced collection of sophisticated jazz-rock. (AllMusic) It’s the group’s best selling album and first to receive the coveted Platinum Certification. It peaked at #3 on the US Charts, #5 in the UK, and won the Grammy for “Best Engineered Non-Classical Album”. British musician Ian Dury said:
“Well, Aja‘s got a sound that lifts your heart up.. and it’s the most consistent up-full, heart-warming.. even though, it is a classic LA kinda sound. You wouldn’t think it was recorded anywhere else in the world. It’s got California through its blood, even though they are boys from New York.. It’s a record that sends my spirits up, and really when I listen to music, really that’s what I want.”
Aja is one of the smoothest, cleanest, most accessible albums you can listen to. It’s easy listening at it’s finest, and that’s not a stab at the band, it’s a testament to their pursuit of perfection. All of the hours and days spent sifting through different takes to find just the right sound was worth it. A masterpiece is the final result, and almost 40 years later, remains one of the best musical pieces ever.
Never Mind The Bullocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols – Sex Pistols
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, is the first and only album from the Sex Pistols. This revolutionary album set into motion a cultural revolution that would later be labeled as the Punk movement. The Sex Pistols had not been making any friends on their way to stardom. The teenagers appeared drunk and cursed on British television, been fired from 2 record labels, and had been banned from playing in most of England. The title of their album didn’t help their cause either (or did it…?). Many folks found “bollocks” offensive and record companies either wouldn’t stock it on their shelves or had to cover up the word to avoid encounters with police. As Rolling Stone recounts, “Never Mind the Bollocks changed everything. There had never been anything like it before and really there’s never been anything quite like it since. The closest was probably Nirvana, a band very heavily influenced by the Sex Pistols.” It ranks #13 on NME’s list of all time greatest albums, and second best on Rolling Stone’s list of “Best Albums of the Past 20 years”.
"The Pistols paved the way for countless other bands to make similarly rebellious statements, but arguably none were as daring or effective. It’s easy to see how the band’s roaring energy, overwhelmingly snotty attitude, and Rotten’s furious ranting sparked a musical revolution, and those qualities haven’t diminished one bit over time. Never Mind the Bollocks is simply one of the greatest, most inspiring rock records of all time." – (AllMusic)
The Clash – The Clash
AllMusic calls The Clash’s debut, self-titled album “pure, unadulterated rage and fury, fueled by passion for both rock & roll and revolution.” The Clash was a different style of punk. It seemed more refined and less like a collection of noises and anger. Their song writing was not the most complex but neither were their messages. Political, social, and economic strife are all too apparent at the time, and The Clash did nothing to hide their disapproval. “I’m So Bored with the USA” discusses the Americanization of the UK, and “Remote Control” speaks about the corrupt politicians, “Career Opportunities” details the lack of jobs in the UK. The Clash was far more successful in the UK compared to the US, reaching the #12 spot in the UK, but not breaking 100 in the US. The album is nearly as relevant to society now as it was upon it’s release.
"Joe Strummer’s slurred wails perfectly compliment the edgy rock, while Mick Jones’ clearer singing and charged guitar breaks make his numbers righteously anthemic. The charging, relentless rhythms, primitive three-chord rockers, and the poor sound quality give the album a nervy, vital energy. Rock & roll is rarely as edgy, invigorating, and sonically revolutionary as The Clash." (AllMusic)
Slowhand – Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton’s fifth studio album Slowhand saved the legends career. His previous album was sub-par, it failed to woo his fans and received minimal commercial success. Clapton decided to bring is own band back into the studio with him as well as producer Glyn Johns for his work with The Rolling Stones and The Eagles. Slowhand opens with the relaxed, bluesy shuffle of J.J. Cale’s “Cocaine” and sustains it throughout the course of the album. Alternating between straight blues (“Mean Old Frisco“), country (“Lay Down Sally“), mainstream rock (“Cocaine,” “The Core“), and pop (“Wonderful Tonight"), Slowhand doesn't sound schizophrenic because of the band’s grasp of the material.” write Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic. The album takes its name from Eric Clapton’s nickname. Clapton had built a reputation for replacing broken guitar strings on stage, and while he did this the crowd would give him a slow clap until he had tuned it and was ready to play. The album was a huge success across the globe, performing extremely well in places like Croatia, Norway, Netherlands, and even Japan. The balance and transitions from genre to genre really help make this album accessible to everyone, and is a huge reason for its longevity and legacy as one of Clapton’s best works.
Marquee Moon – Television
Marquee Moon is the debut album from American rock band Television. In the US the album was not as commercially successful as the group had hoped. However, the group’s punk and alternative rock sound made the album a surprising success in the UK. In retrospect, all of the critics seem to agree on at least two things. 1 – There is no weak song on the album. Pitchfork writes “‘Carried Away‘, the best ballad on either album, floats away on an organ instead of a guitar; ‘The Fire‘ sounds as melodramatic as ‘Torn Curtain‘ but a lot less Stygian. And while ‘Foxhole‘ and ‘Ain’t That Nothin‘ wouldn’t have broken the flow on Marquee Moon, there’s a sense that they’re going in a different direction but with the same tools” The second things critics agree on, is that the strongest part of the album is the guitar work. Listen to the title track “Marquee Moon” to hear for yourself.
"It’s astonishing to hear the interplay between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd — but it is a guitar rock album unlike any other. Where their predecessors in the New York punk scene, most notably the Velvet Underground, had fused blues structures with avant-garde flourishes, Television completely strip away any sense of swing or groove, even when they are playing standard three-chord changes. Marquee Moon is comprised entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group’s long, interweaving instrumental sections, not through Verlaine’s words." – (AllMusic)