Golden years

So following on from the records made while I was alive, I thought I'd go back ten years before I was born and work out which of my favourite records were made then.  The unshocking news is that there was a lot more good music made between 1968 and 1977 than in the tens years afterwards (or the ten years after that, for that matter).  In fact, almost all of my very favourite records were made between 1968 and 1973.  I'm not entirely sure why I think this is the golden era of pop/rock music (or whatever genre these fall into) - my parents own a few of these  records (Abbey Road, Blue, Tapestry, For the Roses), but there are also an awful lot that they don't.  There are some that I've picked up from friends (Tom showed me Astral Weeks, William introduced Neil Young, Julian gave me The Band); there are others that I've sort of found my way to through allmusic and reviews in papers and magazines.  I first heard a Laura Nyro song on a flight to Dallas.

There are obviously a lot of great records made during these years that I don't know well (I realised as I read through the lists here), so a trip to Fopp is perhaps in order.

I've used the same rules as last time - underlined means I'm not sure whether this is definitely one of my favourites for the year; italics means we don't have a copy in the flat.  If it's both, I don't have a copy and therefore can't be sure it's one of my favourites, but I like what I've heard.  If it's just italicised then I know the record pretty well and know I like it but haven't got around to buying me a copy.  Oh - and I had to allow myself five picks for each year because I couldn't work out which were my favourite three for some of these years.  1976 is the only weak spot - not so sure about some of these picks.

1968 Laura Nyro - Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, Blood Sweat and Tears - Child is Father to the Man, Van Morrison - Astral Weeks, The Band - Music from Big Pink, Leonard Cohen - The Songs of Leonard Cohen

1969 Laura Nyro - New York Tendaberry, Crosby, Stills and Nash - Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, The Beatles - Abbey Road, The Band - The Band

1970 Laura Nyro - Christmas and the Beads of Sweat, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Deja Vu, Nick Drake - Bryter Layter, Neil Young - After the Gold Rush

1971 Joni Mitchell - Blue, David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name, David Bowie - Hunky Dory, Carole King - Tapestry, Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

1972 Joni Mitchell - For the Roses, Stevie Wonder - Talking Book, Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks, 1964 - 1971, David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust, Nick Drake - Pink Moon

1973 Stevie Wonder - Innervisions, Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On, John Martyn - Solid Air, Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy, Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure

1974 Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark, Joni Mitchell - Miles of Aisles, Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece, Neil Young - On the Beach, Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic

1975 Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks, Neil Young - Zuma, Steely Dan - Katy Lied

1976 Joni Mitchell - Hejira, David Bowie - Station to Station, Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life, The Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle, Bob Dylan - Desire

1977 Steely Dan - Aja, Fleetwood Mac - Rumours, The Jam - In the City, Television - Marquee Moon, The Steve Miller Band - Book of Dreams

Comments

[fromthemorning]

I think you should get Sticky Fingers on there. Hot Rocks is not enough all on its lonesome, anyways its a comp...

Honourable mentions, I would propose, to Liege and Lief ('69), Autobahn ('74) and The Modern Lovers eponymous('76).

What about Scott4? Overlooked I assume ;)

[Peter]

Scott 4 - can't believe I missed that one. I remember thinking it should be included (and meaning to check on Scott 3, for that matter), but obviously forgot in the final reckoning.

That has to sneak in - Neil Young misses out (the great songs on Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere don't quite make up for the good ones enough to displace Scott 4).

I realise that compilations might not seem in the spirit of things, but I've included one or two already. As I said elsewhere, if Elvis Costello can do it, then I'll do it too.

Thanks for the honourable mentions.