It’s Thursday, and that means another installment of our Throwback Thursday posts. This year we are covering the music of 1973. But first, lets hop in the time machine that is the internet for a little history lesson. In 1973 the U.S. finally withdrew their forces from Vietnam, The World Trade Centers become the tallest buildings in the world, Watergate hearings begin, Secretariat wins the Triple Crown, and Mrs. Billy Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in an epic tennis match. Now that you’ve had your flashbacks, we bring you the Top 10 Albums of 1973.
Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd
Dark Side of the Moon is arguably Pink Floyd’s greatest piece of work. It is estimated that the album has sold over 50 million copies, ranking it among the worlds top selling albums of all time. Dark Side of the Moon is Floyd’s eighth studio album and was recorded at the legendary, Abbey Road Studio. After the departure of former band member, Syd Barrett in 1968, the band began steering away from the psychedelic noodling and long instrumentation, and started focusing on developing themes and perfecting their lyrics. After a few years of experimentation, the end result became Dark Side of the Moon. “With their 43-minute opus, Pink Floyd delivered a masterpiece on death, madness and the post-war problems of kids who came of age in the ‘50s. In a way it’s a tribute to Barrett, whose mental breakdowns were well-known and well-documented at that point. But it’s also a tribute to a generation of young twenty-somethings searching for reason and purpose. The Dark Side of the Moon doesn’t necessarily have the answers; the best it can muster is a we’re-all-crazy-here shrug. And maybe that’s enough” (Michael Gallucci, Ultimate Classic Rock)
Houses of the Holy – Led Zeppelin
Houses of the Holy is Led Zeppelin’s fifth studio album and has sold over 11 million copies to-date. Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly calls it “Their last unqualified masterpiece and an album of remarkable stylistic range.” On “D’yer Mak’er“, you can hear the influence of reggae, while “The Grunge” clearly takes its roots in the funk of James Brown. “They are most in the zone on “Over the Hills and Far Away“, which is on a very short list of best songs Zep ever wrote, which is to say that it’s among the best rock songs ever written. Everything they ever did well—pastoral beauty, crunchy riffs, stop/start changes, monster drum grooves—could be found on this single track. “The Ocean” features what could be Jimmy Page’s single greatest riff. “The Rain Song” is a masterful study in the power of guitar tone, both for its full acoustic strumming and the electric guitar work that has always evoked the weather of its title. John Paul Jones’ gorgeous Mellotron passage is one of the definitive uses of that strange instrument. And “No Quarter” is a disorienting bad-vibes epic, archetypal of the ’70s, capturing the bleak interiority of a certain kind of drug experience.” (Pitchfork)
Quadrophenia – The Who
Quadrophenia is The Who’s sixth studio album, and second rock-opera. Quadrophenia is the only Who album to be fully composed by leader, Peter Townshend, who utilized multi-track synthesizers and sound effects, in order to create complex layers of sound. “Townshend tried to combine the story of a mixed-up mod named Jimmy with the examination of a four-way split personality (hence the title Quadrophenia), in turn meant to reflect the four conflicting personas at work within the Who itself.” (Richie Unterberger, AllMusic) Peter Townshend called it “The Who’s last great album. [The Who] never recorded anything that was so ambitious or audacious again. And it was kind of the last album where Keith Moon was in a fit state to be a working member of a band. He kind of went off into space after that, so it’s a poignant album for me.” The plot of the album follows Jimmy, a working-class modernist, who is struggling to find a sense of self worth. His relationship with his parents has deteriorated, and he has found solace in drugs and fellow modernists on the beaches of Brighton. After his girlfriend leaves him for his best friend, and his former friends have all gotten jobs, he takes a boat out to a rock which overlooks the sea, where the story ambiguously ends with Jimmy contemplating life. Perhaps the ending is a parallel to Keith Moon who “went off into space”, we may never know, but if one thing is for certain, it’s that Quadrophenia will go down as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is Sir Elton John’s seventh, and most popular album. It has sold over 30 million copies and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. As Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes, “It was designed to be a blockbuster and it was. Prior to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John had hits — his second album, Elton John, went Top 10 in the U.S. and U.K., and he had smash singles in “Crocodile Rock” and “Daniel” — but this 1973 album was a statement of purpose spilling over two LPs, which was all the better to showcase every element of John’s spangled personality.” Notable hits from the album include “Candle in the Wind“, “Bennie and The Jets“, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road“, and “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting“. In a 40th Anniversary interview with Rolling Stone, Elton John recalls, “I didn’t even know what a joint was when I made Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. That all changed when I made the next record, but in 1973 I was very naïve. And the naiveté is the most pleasant thing about this record, probably.” Elton John will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the greatest performers and entertainers to ever have lived, and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was the album that really set the tone for the 40+ years of concerts that have followed.
Selling England By The Pound – Genesis
Selling England by the Pound is Genisis’ fifth album, reaching the 3 spot on UK’s billboards. The band release the single “I Know What I Like“, which was surprisingly the Genesis’ first Top 30 hit. The title of the album, “Selling England by the Pound”, was chosen by band member Peter Gabriel, which he adopted from the UK Labour Party as a symbol that Genesis had not sold out to American culture. “The album’s opening track “Dancing With The Moonlit Knight” gives the perfect snapshot of what Genesis were about at this point. Its folk roots gradually morph into Elgar-esque, jazz rock grandeur as the band finally captured their true sound on vinyl. It still retains the creepy sense of Edwardian ghosts in there too.” (Chris Jones, BBC). Reviews of Selling England by the Pound were initially critical of the band’s over-use of British culture references. Critics noted that their previous album, Fox Trot, had really been their first breakout album, so when Selling England by the Pound came out, some critics felt the band had gone backwards instead of forwards. Turns out critics can be wrong, and the album now ranks 7 on Rolling Stone’s Readers Poll: You Favorite Prog Rock Albums of All Time. “The music they produced with Peter Gabriel is, without a doubt, some of the finest prog rock ever recorded. Selling England By the Pound was Gabriel’s second-to-last work with the group, and it was the last time they really worked together as a full creative unit. There’s hardly a stinker on the whole thing, but if you just hear one song, put on “Firth of Fifth.” Steve Hackett’s guitar solo is out of this world. “
Raw Power – Iggy Pop and The Stooges
Raw Power is The Stooges’ third studio album. The album was not commercially successful upon release, but Raw Power had a strong cult following, and is now considered to be a pioneering influence on the creation of punk rock. “Raw Power became the album most responsible for giving the Stooges a life after death. Where the primordial caveman blues of The Stooges and the proto-metallic grind of Funhouse made them touchstones for future grunge, stoner-rock, and noise artists, Raw Power provided a mainline for first-generation punks and the 80s hard-rockers that followed in their wake.” (Stuart Berman, Pitchfork) There is some confusion as to whether or not the album is technically a Stooges or an Iggy Pop album. After The Stooges first two albums, drugs and disagreements broke the band up. David Bowie, who was a big fan, found Iggy Pop, brought him to London, and got him a solo record deal with Columbia Records. “Iggy Pop knew he wanted the help of James Williamson – who had been added as a second guitarist in the waning days of the Stooges – on the new album, but the pair couldn’t find a rhythm section in 1972 London that shared their unique view of rock and roll. And so, they decided to reunite with original Stooges (and brothers) Scott and Ron Asheton.” (Bryan Wawzenek, Ultimate Classic Rock) So what had started as a solo project, resulted in the band reuniting, and an agreement was reached so credits for the album read “Iggy Pop and The Stooges“.
Band on the Run – Paul McCartney & Wings
Band On The Run is the third album from Paul McCartney and Wings. The album was released in December of 1973, and did not receive initial commercial success. However, with the help from the singles, “Jet” and “Band on the Run“, Band On The Run became the Top Selling Album of 1974, and McCartney’s most popular post-Beatles album. Having grown tired of recording at the Abbey Road Studio, McCartney decided to record Band On The Run in Nigeria, at which point two members immediately departed from the group. In Nigeria the band rented houses and had to be driven to the studio every morning. They recorded during the week and traveled the area on the weekends. McCartney’s departure from the Beatles had not only left George Harrison and John Lennon bitter, but the critics were also bitter. McCartney’s first two albums after leaving the Beatles were not well received, and Band On The Run saw it’s fair share of negative reviews. Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes, “there’s little of real substance on the record. No matter how elaborate the production is, or how cleverly his mini-suites are constructed, Band on the Run is nothing more than a triumph of showmanship.” Critics cite lyrical content as the reason they don’t like the album, but luckily music is much more than just words. McCartney created a masterpiece, not an album. The experience of the album is an undeniably enjoyable expression of emotions, which at the end of the day, is the only real goal of making music.
Aladdin Sane – David Bowie
Aladdin Sane is the sixth studio album from the late David Bowie. Aladdin Sane is another of Bowie’s alter-egos, who he describes as “Ziggy Stardust goes to America”. Ziggy Stardust is the character whom we follow in Bowie’s previous release, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. “Ziggy Stardust wrote the blueprint for David Bowie’s hard-rocking glam, and Aladdin Sane essentially follows the pattern, for both better and worse. A lighter affair than Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane is actually a stranger album than its predecessor, buoyed by bizarre lounge-jazz flourishes from pianist Mick Garson and a handful of winding, vaguely experimental songs.” (Thomas Erlewin, AllMusic) Aladdin Sanedebuted at #1 on the UK Billboards, and reached #17 on US billboards, making it the most successful Bowie album to-date. Bowie wrote the songs while touring the US, and was heavily influenced by what he observed while on the road. As a result, many British critics thought that Bowie had sold out, but that simply wasn’t the case. 3 months after the album’s release, Bowie famously killed off his character “Ziggy Stardust”. As Bowie remembers it, “There was a point in ’73 where I knew it was all over. I didn’t want to be trapped in this Ziggy character all my life. And I guess what I was doing on Aladdin Sane, I was trying to move into the next area – but using a rather pale imitation of Ziggy as a secondary device. In my mind, it was Ziggy Goes to Washington: Ziggy under the influence of America.” From the moment that Ziggy was killed off, Bowie had cemented himself as a true rock star, and will always be remembered as such.
Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd is the debut album from US rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and what a debut it was. “Tuesday’s Gone“, “Gimme Three Steps“, “Simple Man“, and the legendary “Free Bird“. “The genius of Skynyrd is that they un-self-consciously blended album-oriented hard rock, blues, country, and garage rock, turning it all into a distinctive sound that sounds familiar but thoroughly unique. On top of that, there’s the highly individual voice of Ronnie Van Zant, a songwriter who isn’t afraid to be nakedly sentimental, spin tales of the South, or to twist macho conventions with humor.” (Thomas Erlewin, AllMusic) The original members of the band, Ronnie Van Zant, Bob Burns, Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, and Larry Junstrom, were all high school friends in Florida. After many years of jamming together and a few name changes, Lynyrd Skynyrd came into being. After releasing their debut album, the band released 4 more albums, Second Helping, Nuthin Fancy, Gimme Back My Bullets, and Street Survivors, all of which went platinum with the exception of Gimme Back My Bullets, which received Gold Certification. In 4 short years the band had positioned themselves as the world’s most prominent southern rock band, and after the release of Street Survivor, was readying themselves for a grandiose tour. Suddenly, on October 20, 1997, while traveling to their next show their plane experienced engine failure. While attempting an emergency landing, the plane crashed. Ronnie Van Zant, new guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray were killed on impact. Lynyrd Skynyrd disbanded, but has since reunited with a revamped lineup, playing shows across the globe. As long as there is someone ready to yell “FREE BIRD!!!”, the band and its members will not be forgotten.
Innervisions – Stevie Wonder
Innervisions is Stevie Wonder’s 16th (yup, 16) studio album. The 23 year old Wonder did pretty much everything on this album. From lyrics, to production, he even played all of the instrumentation for 6 of the 9 songs. Days after Innervision’s release, Wonder was involved in a car accident that left him in a coma for days. Wonder made a full recovery, losing none of his musical talent, and even regaining his sense of smell (which was lost due to the accident). Following the release of his previous album, Talking Book, Wonder commented on the state of music, “We as a people are not interested in ‘baby, baby’ songs any more, there’s more to life than that.” “When Stevie Wonder applied his tremendous songwriting talents to the unsettled social morass that was the early ’70s, he produced one of his greatest, most important works, a rich panoply of songs addressing drugs, spirituality, political ethics, the unnecessary perils of urban life, and what looked to be the failure of the ’60s dream — all set within a collection of charts as funky and catchy as any he’d written before.” (John Bush, AllMusic) Highlights from the album include, “Living for the City“, “Too High“, and “Higher Ground“.