Pitchfork -- Best Albums of the '70s

[Bombay Chutney]

Yeah, you're probably right.

[Relaxer]

I predict in the top ten:
 
 Clash -- London Calling
 Sex Pistols -- Bollocks
 John Lennon -- Plastic Ono Band
 Clash -- Clash
 Ramones -- Rocket to Russia
 Big Star -- Third/Sister Lovers
 Kraftwerk -- Autobahn
 Lou Reed -- Transformer (though I could kinda see them being dicks and saying Metal Machine Music)
 New York Dolls -- New York Dolls (or instead, Johnny Thunders L.A.M.F.)
 Sly & Family Stone -- There's a Riot Goin On
 
 Others I can see making the list:
 Fleetwod Mac's Tusk, token Bruce album, Philip Glass Music in 12 Parts, one of Stevie Wonder's classics, Damned Damned Damned, and the Sat Night Fever soundtrack.

[ggw]

What about Black Sabbath?

Originally posted by pollard:
   

Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
  BTW, FYI, Devo gave Neil Young the title RUST NEVER SLEEPS.

they also helped form GBV by getting Bob Pollard and Mitch Mitchell kicked out of the metal band they were in for their "unconventional views on music", bet that makes you like Devo that much more, right? right? [/b]

Is that 'cause they're from Ohio too?

Some possibles?
 
 Jeff Beck: Wired
 Frank Zappa: Hot Rats

[ratioci nation]

Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
  Is that 'cause they're from Ohio too?

from http://www.sponiczine.com/
 
 

Around this time the first strands of punk and prog-rock were infiltrating America�??s heartland. Dayton was by no means the cultural center of Ohio, but like any town its size, it had its share of forward-looking music aficionados.
 
 Mitch Mitchell introduced Bob to Devo�??s first album Are We Not Men?, much to Bob�??s chagrin. �??I couldn�??t believe anyone would put out an album that sucked so bad,�?� he said in a 1995 interview with Puncture. �??But I was into that theatrical prog-rock stuff, so I kept listening to it and reading the lyrics, and finally I decided, �??this shit�??s amazing!�??�?� Genesis, Wire, King Crimson and Bowie soon followed.
 
 At this point, Bob and Mitch were asked to leave Anacrusis due to their unconventional views on music, (and the fact that they had shaved their heads).

Wasn't Mitch Mitchell in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, or something?  
   <img src="http://www.ilovebacon.com/061604/lunch.jpg" alt=" - " />
 He must be rather old, by now.

[bearman🐻]

I predict that stuff like "Horses" by Patti Smith, "GI" by the Germs, "Unknown Pleasures" by Joy Division, the first New York Dolls record, "the Modern Dance" by Pere Ubu and "Singles Going Steady" by the Buzzcocks will all be in the top 20. And probably "Loaded" by the Velvet Underground.

[grotty]

There better be some:
 Rolling Stones ~ Sticky Fingers
 Gram Parsons ~ GP/Grievous Angel
 Black Sabbath ~ ...Reality or Paranoid
 in the top 1/3
 
 ******************
 
 Relatedly...I've always thought that Exile on Mainstreet was more than a bit over-rated. As much as I like the Stones (Sticky Fingers would make my top 5 ALL-TIME list), I've never been fully able to appreciate EoM as the masterpeice it's proclaimed to be.
 
 There's a great article in the most recent HARP magazine called Desert Island Dud The case against the Rolling Stones' Exile on Mainstreet as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
 
 It talks a lot about most of the players on the record not even being the official Rolling Stones members, but actually session players. And that most of the songs are still really just dressed up demos.
 
 The article ends with this summary:
 
 "Sorry, but Exile on Mainstreet doesn't come close to being the Stones' grandest achievement. In fact, its debauchery all but guaranteed that they would eventually flame out for good, or be forced to reinvent themsleves as a sleek corporate machine to survive...But the true legacy of Exile on Mainstreet is far more sinister than this. Besides the toll it took on so many directly involved with it, the album endures today as bullshit inspiration to countless musicians who romanticize excess, glorify self-destruction, and lie to themselves that their latest murky-sounding, half-finished work is the best thing they've ever done. Unless you're a sheltered multi-millionaire, like Keith Richards, that kind of lie usually leads to the nut house or death. How cool is that?"

[Chip Chanko]

"...so I went to your room and read your diaryyyyy-yyyyyy!"

[ratioci nation]

was surprised to see Low at #1, typical that they would pick an artist's least accessible album

[ratioci nation]

Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
  Wasn't Mitch Mitchell in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, or something?  

uh, yes, but not this one

[bearman🐻]

Interesting list...most of my predictions came true, but I am really stunned at the fact that Patti Smith wasn't represented. "Horses", whether or not you agree" was a really important record for women in rock'n'roll...given how the industry was dominated by men and it was weird to see a band like the Runaways come along. But that record was an incredible accomplishtment, but a HUGE omission. I'm a little surprised by Pere Ubu's "The Modern Dance" not being there as well. I've never listened to Can, and as much as I love Bowie, I'm not sure that so many of his records belonged in the top 100. Not like this list means anything anyway. And neglecting to add "GI" by the Germs is just insane too. That is one record that holds up to the test of time.

[grotty]

Some of my favorites are in their discard heap. I realize now why I disagree with them so often.
 
 "Among the casualties this time out were: Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Patti Smith, Sticky Fingers, Ornette Coleman, Pere Ubu, Van Morrison, Black Sabbath, "Heroes", Chic, Queen, Nina Simone, New York Dolls, The Jam, Frank Zappa, Transformer, Curtis Mayfield, The Police, The Damned, Aretha Franklin, Tonight's the Night, The Kinks, Tom Waits, Elton John, Yes, Janis Joplin, Station to Station, Willie Nelson, Cheap Trick, AC/DC, Grateful Dead, Alice Coltrane, Paris 1919, The Upsetters, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Cecil Taylor, Amon Düül II, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Augustus Pablo, Human League, Chi-Lites, Captain Beefheart, No New York, Magazine, The Slits, The B-52's, Durutti Column, Burning Spear, Tangerine Dream, Gene Clark, Françoise Hardy, Magma, Kimono My House, The Adverts, Manuel Göttsching and/or Ash Ra Tempel, Lee Hazlewood, and all of Brazil, including Caetano Veloso."
 
 On the other hand - I'm SO fucking glad to see that Captain Beefheart didn't make it. Does anyone really like them - Dupek excluded?

[bearman🐻]

Let's face it...the 70's started off a little uncertain musically, but it was a hell of a decade for music. A musical renaissance for sure. They could have easily done a top 200 records and still have left great records out.