1974 is quite a weak year for albums. I do have a solid number one, but everything else is very good; not great. I considered doing another Easter Island Head, but that's kind of a cop-out. So, the contenders that missed the cut are still good albums. RUSH's debut was the final cut and you all know how I feel about RUSH. Another cut was Gram Parsons' Grievous Angel, which is arguably ground zero of what would become alt-country. My favorite Frank Zappa album, Apostrophe, didn't make it either. And of course the albums by Steely Dan, ELO and Elton John missed out. The other contenders were Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell. That's a decent list.
The runaway number one is Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis. One of the concept double albums ever. There is a whole convoluted story about Rael and his misadventures with sex, but the music is the star of the show. Don't get me wrong, Peter Gabriel's vocals are stellar, but the focus is how they interact with the music rather than what he's saying. It makes sense that Peter Gabriel and the rest of the band went their own ways after this, because this was the height of what this version of Genesis could do. Love it!
Number two might be a surprise...Desolation Boulevard by The Sweet. The first two 7" singles I ever bought were "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox on the Run". I love this album. They were lumped in with glam, but they were just a great rock band. I could argue the seeds of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal can be found in songs like "No You Don't", "Sweet F.A." and "Set Me Free". "Fox on the Run" is the standout though. The vocals and harmonies are tremendous.
Number three is Diamond Dogs by David Bowie. This is the final album of my favorite period of Bowie. It made my Mt. Rushmore one the strength of two of my favorite Bowie songs, the title track and "Rebel, Rebel". "Diamond Dogs" is one of those tracks, like "Watch That Man", were the verses are all attitude and then the hooky chorus just kicks in the door. I love the bridge on "Rebel, Rebel". "They put you down, they say I'm wrong. You tacky thing, you put them on".
Number four is a revisionist choice, since virtually no one heard this album when it came out. I'm talking about Big Star's Radio City. They have retroactively been lumped in with power pop, which is a difficult genre to pin down. This is due to the standout track from this album, "September Gurls". They were clearly an influence on Cheap Trick, who is also labeled as power pop even though I would just consider them mostly a rock band. Anyhow, "September Gurls" is a perfect song and it's criminal that it wasn't a huge hit. The rest of Radio City is stylistically diverse and great in it's own right.
Looking ahead to 1973, it's almost a repeat of 1975. Extremely strong at the top. There is an obvious number one, but it may not be my pick. I haven't decided yet. It's another murderer's row. I can list six albums without even trying; Dark Side of the Moon, Houses of the Holy, Quadrophenia, Aladdin Sane, Band on the Run and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Crazy! Peace.
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