1977: The Year In Music

1977 – 583 people die in the worst aviation disaster ever in Tenerife. Hamida Djandoubi is the last person to be executed by Guillotine in France. Star Wars premiers. Smallpox is effectively eradicated, one of the most spectacular vaccination successes in human history. Some grim news this year … but the music was as great as ever!

I’ll be looking at the popular and highest-rated songs / albums of the year, giving my opinions on their musicality and longevity as well as an overall verdict for the year as a whole.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Billboard Top 10 (Popular) Singles

Source: Wikipedia

10 – Torn Between Two Lovers (Mary MacGregor)

A simple love ballad with standard chord changes and ideas. Not much more to say beyond that.

9 – Undercover Angel (Alan O’Day)

“Undercover Angel” is a weird Country / Disco hybrid, which I can kinda dig.

8 – (Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher (Rita Coolidge)

A cover of a Jackie Wilson classic, and yet Rita Coolidge made “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher” slower and simpler. Not impressed.

7 – Don’t Leave Me This Way (Thelma Houston)

I know “Don’t Leave Me This Way” for the Communards cover in the 80’s, so hearing the original Thelma Houston version was a culture shock.

To be fair, this version has an energy and vibrancy that I can get behind.

6 – I Like Dreamin’ (Kenny Nolan)

“I Like Dreamin'” isn’t on Spotify for reasons unknown, so it got off to a bad start.

It’s fairly standard, but Nolan’s vocals are suitably sweet.

5 – Angel In Your Arms (Hot)

It’s laughable how much Hot have fallen off the face of the earth – they have less than 3000 monthly listeners on Spotify, which is probably worse than Phil down the pub who released a single years ago.

“Angel In Your Arms” is a boring 70’s love ballad. You don’t need any more information.

4 – Evergreen (Love Theme From A Star Is Born) (Barbra Streisand)

A classic Streisand ballad. It’s a shame I’m not really into Streisand ballads.

3 – Best of My Love (The Emotions)

Whoa … Is this an actually exciting song? I can’t believe my luck!

“Best of My Love” is female-led Disco / RnB done right. It’s bouncy and buoyant, with fun performances all round.

2 – I Just Want to Be Your Everything (Andy Gibb)

I’m not exactly sure why Andy Gibb broke away from the Beegees for a brief solo career, but at least we got some decent songs out of it.

“I Just Want to Be Your Everything” could have very well been a Beegees song, although it is a little cheesy.

1 – Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright) (Rod Stewart)

I’ve started to come around to some of Rod Stewart’s songs, but “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” isn’t one of them.

It’s slow and prodding with hardly anything exciting going on, and Stewart’s vocals can feel a little raspy at the best of times.

FAVOURITE – “Best of My Love” (The Emotions)

LEAST FAVOURITE – “Angel In Your Arms” (Hot)

Ouch. That was a boring set of hits. Hopefully the top-rated songs and albums can do a better job.

Top-Rated Songs

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

10 – Sheep (Pink Floyd)

You’re about to see a lot of songs from Pink Floyd’s “Animals” in this top ten, and for good reason.

“Sheep” is probably the least good of the three show-stoppers on account of it being slow for the majority of it, but the sudden eruptions of musicality are always fun.

9 – Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)

One of the songs that made me pick up a bass guitar in the first place.

Tina Weymouth’s bassline is instantly iconic, and David Byrne’s erratic lyrics about the titular “Psycho Killer” are off-putting at first but enthralling on repeat listens.

8 – Pigs (Three Different Ones) (Pink Floyd)

My personal favourite song from “Animals”.

Its lyrics are provocative and accusatory, and the groove is one of the dirtiest Pink Floyd ever did.

7 – Like A Hurricane (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)

Neil Young really impressed me with the last song to make a top ten, but “Like A Hurricane” didn’t stick out to me as much.

I’ve never really been a fan of his lazy vocals, and some of the guitar playing – as awesome as it is in points – felt sloppy, as if they should’ve done a few extra takes to get it right.

6 – Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac)

The members of Fleetwood Mac dealt with the inner turmoil within the band in different ways, and Lindsay Buckingham’s effort “Go Your Own Way” went for all-out Rock.

It’s a powerhouse of a track, with simple yet effective songwriting and riffs.

5 – Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)

Where “Go Your Own Way” was Buckingham’s outpouring of emotion, Stevie Nicks went for the more subdued approach with “Dreams”.

I think she ended up writing the better of the two tracks, as the soulful singing and laid-back production work wonders.

4 – The Chain (Fleetwood Mac)

Three Fleetwood Mac songs in a row – suffice it to say, “Rumours” is one hell of an album.

“The Chain” starts off with a really intense slow section, but the part everyone remembers is the bass riff leading to the explosive climax.

3 – Dogs (Pink Floyd)

The 17-minute runtime may be off-putting to some, but every single second of “Dogs” is an audio delight.

It switches tempo and time signature with ease – you get the sense that Pink Floyd could write bangers in their sleep by this point in their career.

2 – Marquee Moon (Television)

“I remember how the darkness doubled” … with that opening line I was already hooked on Television’s “Marquee Moon”.

It’s a staple of New York Punk, with erratic guitar riffs and a plodding groove that carries the entire 10-minute runtime.

1 – “Heroes” (David Bowie)

There have been some bangers in 1977, but none of them were going to compete with one of my favourite songs of all time.

Bowie tells a simple story of lovers beneath the Berlin Wall, but the emotion and oomph he packs into every lyric is second to none.

BEST SONG OF 1977 – “Heroes” (David Bowie)

Top-Rated Albums

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

5 – Aja (Steely Dan)

I’ve worn my love of Steely Dan on my sleeve across this musical retrospective, and “Aja” is their best work.

Every song here is great and produced to perfection, but the personal highlights are “Black Crow”, “Deacon Blues”, “Peg” and “Josie”.

4 – Low (David Bowie)

David Bowie had a fantastic 1977 – his other iconic album “Heroes” was rated 6th for the year!

“Low” was Bowie and Brian Eno’s audio masterpiece – they set out to encapsulate universal themes and lyrics into widely-accessible music, and they accomplished it. Songs like “Sound and Vision”, “Breaking Glass” and “Subterraneans” remain personal favourites after many years.

3 – Marquee Moon (Television)

The title track is the clear stand-out of “Marquee Moon”, but the rest of the album is no slouch either.

I really like “See No Evil” and “Venus” as a one-two punch opening, and while the second half of the album isn’t as strong it still displays the New York Punk style of the era.

2 – Rumours (Fleetwood Mac)

“Rumours” seems to be everyone and their nan’s favourite Classic Rock album these days, and for good reason.

Despite tensions within the band, fantastic songs like “Go Your Own Way” and “Dreams” emerged and cemented themselves as pop culture classics.

1 – Animals (Pink Floyd)

“Animals” is only five songs in total (and two of them are interlude tracks more than anything), yet even then it packs a punch like few other albums do.

“Dogs” and “Sheep” contain some of Pink Floyd’s best songwriting, and my personal favourite “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” always sucks me in across the 12 minutes.

BEST ALBUM OF 1977 – “Rumours” (Fleetwood Mac)

I almost gave the “Best Album” award to Bowie for the second year running, but the cultural impact of “Rumours” cannot be understated.

Final Thoughts

1977 had some of the best high-rated songs and albums yet, but the hits were pants. You win some you lose some, I guess.

Overall Grade: B+

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: