DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... 1971: Musics Greatest Year?

You have never been more correct about anything, anywhere ever.

Love the Wilburys!

Black Sabbath's created a totally new genre of music.
They were the blueprint for heavy metal
Zepplin and Purple were hard rock not metal.
But 1971 was a good year for bands coming into their own creatively and finding themselves.

I don't like Heavy Metal, yet I love Black Sabbath. I'm not a musical expert and can't tell you why that is so. It may be that they seem to have a greater tie to the Blues/Hard Rock than the Metal bands that followed them? It may be their haunting riffs, lyrics, and vocals? It may be the orchestration of the band? It might be a combination of all of the above and more?

I don't know, but I think Sabbath is a great band and also a very influential band.

I reckon it is a combination of all of the above + Tony Iommi's downtuned power drone riffs AND Bill Ward's drumming is straight up jazz. Listen to the man...the dude was a jazz drummer in a heavy rock band.

I'm not a mega Sabbath fan either, but I have TOTAL respect for them and their huge influence on 20th century rock music.

While it was released in November of 1970, I certainly consider it something we were hearing mostly in 1971.

Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs - Derek & the Dominos



While it has been overlooked in this thread, another 1971 release was important in my music future.

Leon Russell and the Shelter People

Some music just moves you. His music always did.

I think your song years are all screwed up. You might want to fact check the next time before you post.

I provided links. Check them out before you call me out.

j/c

Traffic was another band I loved. I'm a huge Steve Winwood fan. While not my favorite Traffic album, it's certainly a vintage work of the band and Steve Winwood.

The 1971 release of the album Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

I love "Low Spark".

"John Barleycorn" was a distant second.

Rod Stewart's "Every Picture Tells a Story", was released in May, 1971, reached #1 on both US and UK album charts, and went double-platinum. Love this album ...





Side one

Title / Writer(s) / Length

"Every Picture Tells a Story" Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood 6:01
"Seems Like a Long Time" Theodore Anderson 4:02
"That's All Right / Amazing Grace" Arthur Crudup / traditional; arranged by Stewart 6:02
"Tomorrow Is a Long Time" Bob Dylan 3:43

Side two

Title / Writer(s) / Length

"Henry" Martin Quittenton 0:32
"Maggie May" Stewart 5:15
"Mandolin Wind" Stewart 5:33
"(I Know) I'm Losing You" Norman Whitfield, Eddie Holland, Cornelius Grant 5:23
"(Find a) Reason to Believe" Tim Hardin 4:05

Total length: 40:31

Great album! Mandolin Wind was by far my favorite song from that album.

I loved Rod's covers of the Temptations' "Losing You" and Dylan's "Tomorrow Is A Long Time".

Jeez, 1971 certainly was a watershed year for rock music. Just thought of another ... Jethro Tull's iconic masterpiece, "Aqualung". Reached #4 on UK charts and #7 in the US, and eventually went triple-platinum (3 X 1 million sold). I remember when my brother called me over to the stereo and put his headphones on me, saying "you gotta hear this". Martin Barre's guitar solo on the title cut gave me goose bumps ...





(All tracks written by Ian Anderson, except where noted.)


Side one

Title / Length

"Aqualung" (Ian Anderson, Jennie Anderson) 6:34
"Cross-Eyed Mary" 4:06
"Cheap Day Return" 1:21
"Mother Goose" 3:51
"Wond'ring Aloud" 1:53
"Up to Me" 3:15


Side two

Title / Length

"My God" 7:08
"Hymn 43" 3:14
"Slipstream" 1:13
"Locomotive Breath" 4:23
"Wind-Up" 6:01

I'll stop now ...

j/c

From the first side, I always liked Lake's "Stones of Years" portion.

My third favorite ELP album overall (behind their first and "Brain Salad").

My wife's favorite ELP album. Like you, Deb was a classical musician (piano), and ELP's albums were peppered with tributes to classical composers like Bartok, Bach, Mussorgsky, Copeland, and others - although that's not so much the case with Tarkus, IIRC. Being a bit of a musical simpleton, not to mention lazy, I thought listening to a lot of their stuff was too much like work - like reading (or trying to read) William Faulkner.

In HS, Prog and Jazz was manna for me.
Prog and Jazz ...and Zappa.

LOL Dave, that was what I was trying to say in my first couple of posts. I even listed some of the ones you are now bringing up. You must not have read what I wrote. But, it's all good. It was a great year for music and I contend it was the best ever.

I actually prefer EARLY Tull to Led Zeppelin. Don't get me wrong, I dig LZ, but I think JT were more creative as a band....69-71 Tull, in particular, is just outstanding. I will place 'Stand up', 'Benefit' and 'Aqualung' as well as their B-Sides from this period head to head with Zeppelin and in my opinion the better band is always Tull. Anderson's lyrics are complex, insightful, introspective and just superb, Barre is an underrated guitarist and their rhythm section rocks in a very jazzy way. Love watching old footage of them. That said, I lose interest with 'Thick As A Brick' (1972) onwards.

It's all opinion, and I always loved Jethro Tull. Their lyrics are pretty deep and Ian Anderson is a very complex dude. I think he has some genius attributes, but other times, there is a bit of disconnect w/society. Thick as a Brick is a good example of this because he opens with "I really don't mind if you sit this one out," and it is rather disparaging towards his audience. That is all well and good, but that sense of arrogance is a negative.

And again, it's all opinion, but JT, while a great band, is not in the same class as Zeppelin. They are both great bands, but LZ is a historic band that truly helped shape music's landscape at the time.

And yes, I know all about the plagiarism and how it detracts from their legacy. But, damn man.............this band turned out so many great hits that it is mind boggling. And their live performances were were legendary. I saw them in Ohio, PA, MI, and California. The Cali concert was the second most incredible concert I have ever witnessed, trailing only Pink Floyd's concert where they played Dark Side of the Moon and then introduced some of the songs off the their upcoming Wish You Were Here LP.

First of all, I was agreeing with your "thesis" about 1971 with that statement. Second, I read your post but I didn't memorize it. There's bound to be some overlap in a thread like this.

I wasn't being critical, Dave. I think I even said it's all good or something like that. I probably should have just shut up, but when I responded to you..........I was hoping that people would go back and look at the original list and check out the links I provided because the blank is amazing.

But again, I wasn't getting on you and I apologize if it came across that way.

Creativity wise....Tull, in my mind, were more creative artists The comparison being made is also because during their time they were often compared to one another.

'Thick As A Brick' is the beginning of the end for me. I lose interest in the self indulgence of that album. However, even Anderson commented that he was tired of people calling them "prog rock" so he set out to make a true "prog rock" album and 'Brick' is it. Before that record, however, the lyrics on 'Aqualung' compared to lyrics on Zeppelin 4 (both albums recorded in 1971, which is the focus of this thread) are superior. 'Aqualung' is full of reflective questioning of religion, education, society, class issues...there is nothing fantastical about this nor are they just about sex (LZ4). This is deep, introspective stuff about the human condition. Add to it no blatant rip offs and the music is creative, alive, fresh and original. Yeah, I definitely stand by my opinion that Tull from 69-71 were the better artists.

But, as you say...it's all subjective and one's opinion.

LZ4 has amazingly great lyrics. It's about sex? Or did I misread that? LOL

Stairway to Heaven? The Battle of Evermore? Going to California? When the Levee Breaks? Sex? What?

Additionally, it's not just about the lyrics. Most folks consider Stairway to Heaven the greatest song of all time. It has everything you could want in a song.

I love Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson was great, but they fall short of LZ, and I don't think it is even close.

'Black Dog' is all about sex and the song I was referring to. Don't get me wrong...I like the album and 'Black Dog' is a killer rock song. BUT....imho, Anderson's lyrics in 'My God' are superior than anything on Zepp 4. And, there's some killer riffs by Barre all over that album that are easily up there w/Page.

'Levee' is the tune that is ripped off w/no credit to its original blues artists. Great rendition, but come on Plant/Page....give credit where credit is due. And, while I honor it and agree that 'Stairway' is a brilliant anthem song I could honestly live the rest of my days without ever hearing it again. It's SO OVERPLAYED (esp on American FM radio). This is why when I hear 'Aqualung' from start to finish it for me is the more creative and intellectual of the two.

I once wrote a long essay debating the two artists and these two albums as they came out the same year. It got printed and received some interesting feedback...people falling firmly on the Tull side or Zeppelin camp, but the most interesting responses came from readers who went back and re-listened to both records and compared them and reevaluated them with fresh eyes and ears.

But, it's also my opinion so you can take for what it's worth.

When The Levee Breaks has a bad-ass drum sound. They recorded in an old house, stuck John Bonham in a hallway on the ground floor and miked him from above.

The plagiarism bit .... it was really on only their first couple albums....Page could be a cold-stone businessman... a big Richard - but they did go back and give the original writers - old blues guys, their due credit and IIRC, money as well.

'When the Levee Breaks' is a traditional/original blues tune by Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie.

I won't touch the other lawsuit that the band Spirit are suing them for (the acoustic intro to 'Stairway' vs 'Taurus' by Spirit are virtually the same). But, the two bands played w/each other and both Plant & Page apparently LOVED Spirit.

I thought that might be brought up.

This is a 13-minute TV segment about the Randy Califirnia (estate) lawsuit overvStairway, from a few years ago, on CBC in Canada.

If anyone cares to, please allow my guitar god, Rik Emmett, to explain why the lawsuit was sketchy, and how only a small portion of Taurus was used, and how that descending chromatic run has been used for centuries.

This is actually a really cool video, entertaining. Go to the video within the link.... I think haha.


https://933theplanetrocks.radio.com/blog...lagiarism-trial

Loved our post, but Dawg... I got your hook-up for top-shelf 70's Prog creativity.

Rock, Jazz, Medieval, Renaissance, Classical, 20c. Avant-garde... they incorporated it all in a coherent, focused product that was supremely attached to their name. Invoke this band's moniker in a conversational reference, and you'll immediately get nods of approval and respect from Real Musicians. What this band created was unmatched by any other contemporary Prog assembly. They were simply The Absolute Best.


They represent the synthesis of music, prose, poetry, visual art, philosophy... and they KILLED IT with each joint they dropped.


I don't want to share this personal treasure with just anyone. Not just yet.


Check your inbox.

Btw I knew Levee was an obscure blues song haha I just got caught up in typing the post after I mentioned it

Edit: and btw, I agree the similarities are quite obvious.

I've seen this. I'm a fan of Spirit. Huge fan, actually. They could have, SHOULD have been huge. They were offered a spot at Woodstock, however, they had just released 'Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus' and were ill advised by management NOT to do Woodstock and tour that album instead on their own stages. Terrible move. Had they played the festival the world would have heard them and they would have exploded. That also destroyed the band and they imploded and limped on. Absolutely brilliant band whose first 4 records are huge faves of mine.

Randy California was also an incredible and very underappreciated guitarist who was probably more inspired by Wes Montgomery than he was rock and roll. He blew Jimi's mind when Hendrix saw him in the clubs and he even played on California's solo LP before his death. Randy's stepdad, Ed Cassidy, was their drummer and man, what an amazing drummer he was too! Randy's later work brought a beautiful, organic Hawaiian feel to his guitar. Easily one of my faves.

Yeah, I'm biased. I like them better than LZ too. But, I DO like LZ. Honestly!


PS: Lamp, re: Rik Emmett....I saw Triumph when I was 12 or 13. 'Never Surrender' tour. They had quite the laser show. It blew my young mind!

That was the album that hooked me. Where'd you see them?

Not to dismiss the premise, but we don’t knew what the list for the other years look like.

We could say 67, 68, 73, 75, or 77 as well.

Bringing up a single year makes us go back and look closer... and there is great material here.

Who’s Next is one of my desert island albums.

And just to be clear, I have most everything on the rock list, and a lot of vinyl on the list on that list as well.

Delete. It's not worth it.

Dude....come on, give me a break. This is a lame reply...are you really going to delete a reply about music in a thread that you created? Are you really going to get upset because somebody may think another band is better than a band you like? Are you really going to delete a thread and then post "Delete. It's not worth it."? How passive aggressive is that? I mean....why even bother typing that? Lame.

Art is subjective....no, you won't convince me otherwise that LZ are better than 69-71 era Tull. I have done the research and I have listened to those albums and singles many, many, many times and have compared and contrasted. I have taken the time to write an essay about it. My opinion and my tastes subjectively rates that early period of Tull as the better of the two artists.

For the record, just because a band was/is popular and influential doesn't mean they are creative geniuses. The world is sold on a lot of stuff. There are MANY bands who influenced hundreds of other bands that you probably never heard of. I can easily name hal a dozen in a split second who created it all, but who are credited for nothing. It's just the way the cookie crumbles unfortunately.

But anyway...here I was thinking this was a very good thread and topic happening with decent dialogue. Well, it still is...but I guess you are choosing not to be part of it. What the hell, man?

Whatevs. Life is too short.

I'll just say that sometimes people think that exposure is king. And it is true that the great bands who get the most exposure have the greatest influence simply for the fact that you can't influence people when nobody hears you. Or, as is the case here, when one band has 20 songs that everyone hears verses a band that only has a few popular songs that everyone hears, obviously the band with so much exposure impacts far more people. So in that aspect I agree that Zep had much more impact on the next generation of musicians. I mean if you look at kids who were trying to learn Stairway to Heaven verses those trying to learn Aqualung, it's obvious what the next generation of guitar players were influenced by.

But on the other hand, that's never truly been a factor for me as a listener. I don't share you affinity for Tull but music is subjective.

I was quite lucky for living in a smaller city like Dayton. Of course we had the standard rock station that played the popular bands. At first it was WONE-FM. Then the call letters were changed to WTUE. But for a town of that size, we also had a blessing. WVUD out of the University of Dayton. They were more album related and played great music that many people rarely heard of.

Bands like Mahogany Rush, Captain Beyond and I could just go on all day....

So it gave me a chance to realize that talent wasn't the only thing that mattered in music. There were a lot of great bands with superb talent. Sometimes it boiled down to being at the right place, at the right time and how your band is marketed.

I was very lucky in that regard and it greatly expanded my listening and music menu.