1970 - "After the Gold Rush" - Neil Young
Dreams, visions, hallucinations and UFOs. That's what I think of when I think of the 1970s. I'm certain I heard the Prelude version of this song from the 1980s before I discovered the original, and Young's emotions really come through. Even if he has no idea what he's singing about. Dolly Parton tells the story of when she covered the song with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris: "When we were doing the Trio album, I asked Linda and Emmy what it meant, and they didn't know. So we called Neil Young, and he didn't know. We asked him, flat out, what it meant, and he said, 'Hell, I don't know. I just wrote it. It just depends on what I was taking at the time. I guess every verse has something different I'd taken.'" Exactly.
1971 - "Life on Mars?" - David Bowie
Is there a more beautifully uplifting melody in the Bowie catalog? The lyrics are utterly surreal, quite like Bowie himself at the time. And the video is actually Bowie's fourth --pretty amazing considering this is 1971!
1972 - "Pink Moon" - Nick Drake
If you're of a certain age, you first heard this song thanks to a stirring Volkswagen TV commercial. Nick Drake's quiet beauty - and his melancholy - will probably never be matched.
This might be the most fertile year, musically speaking, of the early half of the decade. I could have easily gone with "Search and Destroy" by Iggy and the Stooges (and run the risk of being branded a Wes Anderson devotee what with Iggy and "Life on Mars" from 1971.) And while I always loved the song "Future Days" by Can, I have to give the nod to Roxy Music. They were far ahead of their time, taking glam to new levels of artistry and bringing experimentalism to the mainstream. They were also hugely influential -- on the punks and the New Wavers that came along a few years later. And they were visual pioneers as well, preoccupied with style and glamor.
1974 - "Autobahn" - Kraftwerk
This was music that the world hadn't yet heard. And it changed the shape of music for decades to come. Kraftwerk spawned new wave, electro, even hip hop and techno. Theirs is an enormous legacy -- and easily one of the most lasting and most diverse of any single artist. Plus their video paved the way for one of our all-time heroes Gary Numan.
1975 - "Make Me Smile" - Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
1975 was a tough choice. It seems to be a particularly barren year, musically. Sure, Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" is an easy way to go. And Dylan released Blood on the Tracks. But from there, it's a big drop. "Low Rider" by War? Foghat's "Slow Ride"? Glen Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy" ("Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston" are far better songs) Or "Jive Talkin'" by the Bee Gees? (No offense to the late Robin Gibb.) But this glam rock classic was covered by over 100 other artists, including Duran Duran, Erasure and The Wedding Present. Perhaps the best thing about 1975 are the terrific years that come after it, which we'll get to in future posts.
I just want to clarify: these are not my favorite or "best of" the year. I have been chosing these based off the of the videos and footage for each that I have found. It started with Mugo Jerry & grew. I am a HUGE Neil Young Fan, but WATCHING Neil Diamond and that hair is what makes it so worthwhile. Many of these artists are forgotten about or would have never made it in the image conscious 80's - that is why I went with these. Otherwise, '72 would have been "Brown Sugar," '75 "Thunder Road," '79 the Clash, etc.
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