Listomania! - 1974

If one mentions 1974, I immediately think of 3 things. First, I think of Nixon resigning the U.S. Presidency over the Watergate mess. I actually watched a lot of the testimony before the House on TV - I was such a bore! Second, I think of the Ali - Foreman Rumble In The Jungle in Zaire. I was an Ali hater until that fight. I was so sure that the bigger, stronger, younger Foreman would punch Ali's lights out and shut his big mouth once and for all that I would have wagered pretty much anything on it. What a total shock! We didn't have the money to go and watch it on closed circuit TV, so my Dad and I were glued to the radio for round by round updates. When they said that Ali had won, I was the one who was speechless. Third, I think of the Philadelphia Flyers becoming the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. Man, I despised them! I had grudging respect for Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent, the goalie, but they were a collection of thugs right out of Slap Shot who bullied and fought their way through the league and beat Boston in 6 games in the finals. Musically, things went much better for me as I continued on with my obsession and started spending all of my allowance on records. I also took my sister Jondah to see The Carpenters at the London Gardens because my Dad made me. I wanted to go see Alice Cooper, but he wouldn't let me because "they're letting snakes loose on stage and he wears makeup like a woman." Well, sad to say, but The Carpenters were my first concert.....let's get to the list!

Top 10 Of 1974

10. Another Park, Another Sunday - The Doobie Brothers

I was never a huge fan of the brothers Doobie, but I really liked a few of their tunes. This would still be my favourite by them. Led by Tom Johnston's distinctive vocals, this was still the original band, before Michael McDonald came in to replace Johnston and turn them into MOR crap. This song has such a beautiful melody and sentiment about it. Its got that summery feel about it, all laid-back West coast grooviness. Producer Ted Templeman fed the guitars through Leslie speakers to create that almost shimmery, waterfall sort of effect. The b-side of this single, Black Water, became a much bigger hit. While I do like Black Water, this is the one for me. I remember reading a music mag that was around at the time called Circus and seeing the ad for the album this song was from called What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits. "Another lonely park, another Sunday. Why is it life turns out that way? Just when you think you got a good thing, it seems to slip away." Doobie-doobie-doo.

9. #9 Dream - John Lennon

The melody of this tune ranks up there with anything Lennon ever wrote in my opinion - a gorgeous, lilting, dreamy melody. This is from his Walls & Bridges album, which he recorded while estranged from Yoko and on a huge cocaine binge in L.A. The whispered "John" part is actually May Pang, his girlfriend at the time, not Yoko as many believe still to this day. The usual session guys like Klaus Voormann on bass and Jim Keltner on drums show up on this record, so the playing is very solid. Apparently, the nonsense vocals in the chorus are indeed just made up words, not a Buddhist chant or any other kind of mystic b.s. "Dream, dream away, magic in the air, was magic in the air? I believe, yes I believe, more I cannot say, what more can I say?"Dude really had a thing for the number 9......so 9 it is!

8. The Golden Age Of Rock 'n' Roll - Mott The Hoople

What an exciting feeling I got the first time Steve played this rockin' raver for me! The spoken intro builds and then the band just rocks out all the way through! Great girly backing vocals, Ian Hunter belting it out, the baritone sax just growling at the bottom of the mix - what a song! It's the kind of song that makes you want to do a Tom Cruise in your undies when nobody's home. British politicians at the time were worried about the decibel levels at live concerts and wanted to pass a law stating that 96 decibels would be the maximum allowed by law, hence the "We're your 96 decibel freaks" line in the song. "Don`t wanna smash, want a smash sensation. Don`t wanna wreck, just recreation. Don`t wanna fight, but if you turn us down we`re gonna turn you around, gonna mess with the sound." Me ears 'r' bleedin'!

7. Rebel Rebel - David Bowie

This ode to androgyny marked a beginning of a new period and the end of an old one for Bowie. The new was that he had broken up his band, The Spiders From Mars, and people wondered how he would do without Mick Ronson's able assistance. Well, if this rip-snorter was any indication, he would be just fine. The smokin' guitar line is played by Bowie himself and has become one of the most iconic guitar riffs in music history. My friend Mark Peesker once phoned me and before he even said hello, he played this guitar part into the phone and I instantly knew who it was on the other end. The old was that it was basically the last Glam song that Bowie did. He went on to his soul phase for the next few records after this one, but not before freaking out this 13 year old with the Diamond Dogs album cover. I was at the record store buying something else (I forget exactly what) and I recall seeing the album opened up into the full gatefold on the counter at the front and I couldn't believe my eyes the whole time I waited in line. "Got your mother in a whirl, she's not sure if you're a boy or a girl." Gender bending 101!

6. Seagull - Bad Company

The first, self-titled Bad Company album was something of a major sensation at my high school. It seemed like everyone had a copy and they were all talking about how Zeppelin had signed them to their label, Swan Song. I would hear the 8-track tapes blaring out of car windows in the student parking lot every day. It was a great debut album and this folky ballad is my fave song on it. Urged on by former Mott The Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs' brilliant acoustic guitar, vocalist Paul Rodgers never sounded more soulful than on this song. He is one of the best singers of the rock era in this guy's books. He could rock out, or he could be smooth and full of feeling. I forgive him for joining up with Queen in the past couple of years as he obviously wanted to pad the pension kitty a bit more. As for the subject matter of the song, I actually hate seagulls, scavenging rats with wings that they are! "And you fly away today, and you fly away tomorrow, And you fly away, leave me to my sorrow." Hey seagull, go hang out in the McDonald's parking lot why doncha'?!!

5. Prairie Rose - Roxy Music

Bryan Ferry wrote this as an ode to Texas and then-girlfriend Jerry Hall who was from there. She later went on to grace the cover of the Siren album and become Mrs. Mick Jagger for a time. The phrasing of Ferry's outstanding vocal plays really well against Phil Manzanera and his slide guitar and it is mostly this duo that makes the song great. The bass played by the underrated John Gustafson sets the groove in place and the band just sounds like they are having the best time ever playing along. This is taken from the great Country Life album, you know, the one with the cover pic of the mostly naked girls with their hands over various body parts standing in front of some trees or pot plants or something. "Though I'm not sure I can explain your strange allure. Oh prairie rose, a crown of thorns, a scented flow-er." Nobody before or since sounded like Mr. Ferry!

4. Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do) - Aretha Franklin

Sung by the peerless Queen of Soul, this is a smooth, funky little ditty. Once you hear it, it sticks in the old craw all day long, but that is a good thing. Written in 1967 by Stevie Wonder, her version is the gold standard. Every note the band plays is perfect, thanks in part to Jerry Wexler's production and also to the fact that she used some of the greatest studio musicians around at the time like Bernard Purdie on drums and Chuck Rainey on bass, both of whom later made signature contributions to some Steely Dan records. But it is Aretha, with her soul and power, that owns this record. They can keep trotting out their Mariahs and Whitneys and the like, but Ms. Franklin will never be surpassed for sheer vocal talent.....or cheeseburger consumption. "Baby for you my dear, it's like living in a world of constant fear. Hear my plea, I've got to make you see that our love is dying." OK, go play the song and listen for this part and just lose yourself in it. Now....get going...go on....you know you want to.....

3. Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan

Hot damn, but I love this song. A snaky little blues shuffle laid down by drummer Jeff Porcaro (later of Toto) and the vocals harmonizing and sounding like a horn section are just a couple of the charms of this song. Walter Becker himself steps out from behind the bass and plays a sizzling guitar solo too. As usual, the production is top drawer, as it is on all Steely Dan records. I once had a guy in a stereo shop tell me that Steely Dan (named after a metal dildo in Burroughs' Naked Lunch) albums were what people brought with them to test out new systems before they decided to purchase one. This is musical craftsmanship at its finest with nary a peep out of place. From the album of the same name, this record was the last one that would be done as a band as Steely Dan henceforth was really just Becker and Donald Fagen with a bunch of top studio guys. "Well, I've seen 'em on the TV, the movie show. They say the times are changing but I just don't know. Those days are gone forever, over a long time ago." Amen, brother.

2. Don't You Ever Learn? - Todd Rundgren

This vies for consideration as my favourite Todd song ever. The intro is a gorgeous, almost classical, piano piece. The rest of the band then joins in with a lovely high-register bass line and some really great syncopated drums. From the record where Todd fell totally in love with synthesizers, the eponymously titled Todd, it is a suite-like song that changes tempos and rhythms constantly. I adore his vocal here though as he brings out his Philly roots and does a brilliant job of using his voice as part of the band's presentation, much like a jazz musician. This album has 2 other faves of mine, Heavy Metal Kids and The Last Ride, but this song is just a bit better and nearer to my heart, so it made the cut in the end."Don't you ever listen? Don't you ever learn? The world is on fire, your body doesn't burn." Todd was one of the first noodlers and twiddlers.

1. Back Of A Car - Big Star

This song from their great second album, Radio City, is one of my picks for best of all time, not just 1974. It would certainly be in my Top 10 of all time. It's got everything - ringing, chiming, clunky, bendy guitars, and maybe some of the best drumming these ears have ever heard. This is brilliant skin work by Jody Stephens, especially right after the "Sitting in the back of a car" parts. The rolls he does are incredible! Alex Chilton sounds so young and vital on the vocals too! The song sounds like it was right out of the British Invasion and I really dig the production job on it. Here is another song that gives you a day long earworm after you hear it, and I have been known to walk through the woods in the dog park singing this out loud, much to the chagrin of startled passers-by. " Sitting in the back of a car, music so loud you can't tell a thing." Pardon?