1978: The Year In Music

1978 – 25000 people die in an earthquake in Tabar, Iran. Notable films such as “Grease”, “Deer Hunter” and “Halloween” premier. Chicago Hustle vs Milwaukee Does becomes the first Women’s Pro Basketball League (WBL) game. Maybe a boring year for news, but the music was anything but forgettable!

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 – Three Times a Lady (Commodores)

A simple ballad to kick off the Billboard hits, and I can dig it.

“Three Times a Lady” has some gorgeous piano and a sultry vocal performance from Lionel Richie.

9 – Boogie Oogie Oogie (A Taste of Honey)

Now this is Disco!

Most Disco hits of the era fall back on common tropes, but “Boogie Oogie Oogie” is all about having a good time above all else. The best song Chic never wrote.

8 – (Love Is) Thicker Than Water (Andy Gibb)

If you count his work in the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb has five songs in this Billboard top 10. That’s quite a dominant performance in 1978!

“(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” is a bit boring, unfortunately, but you can tell some thought went into it at least.

7 – Baby Come Back (Player)

I have no idea how I haven’t heard “Baby Come Back” yet, but that’s the good thing about this yearly musical retrospective.

It’s sensual and rousing, albeit a little simple in composition.

6 – How Deep Is Your Love (Bee Gees)

The Bee Gees dominated 1978 with their “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, still to this day one of the best movie soundtracks ever released.

“How Deep Is Your Love” is the slow ballad of the album, and it’s one of the best slow-jams of the late 70’s. The vocals are sublime, and the production is stellar.

5 – Kiss You All Over (Exile)

With a title as exciting as “Kiss You All Over”, I’m disappointed by how by-the-book this song is.

4 – Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees)

As soon as you hear the opening groove and string slide of “Stayin’ Alive”, you know you’re in good hands.

Andy Gibb’s high-pitched vocals are beyond iconic, and the timing of every note seems to have been scientifically engineered in a lab for maximum Disco fever.

3 – You Light Up My Life (Debby Boone)

“You Light Up My Life” is a good ballad. Boone’s vocals are good. Nothing more to add really.

2 – Night Fever (Bee Gees)

None of the Bee Gee’s songs on the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack are underrated, per se, but “Night Fever” is the one that never seems to get as much love as the others.

It’s the most dramatic Disco song of the year, and I love the ending with the overlapping vocals.

1 – Shadow Dancing (Andy Gibb)

I’m not sure how this Andy Gibb solo effort managed to beat the Bee Gees classics to be the biggest hit of 1978, but “Shadow Dancing” has its charm I suppose.

FAVOURITE – “Stayin’ Alive” (Bee Gees)

LEAST FAVOURITE – “Kiss You All Over” (Exile)

Top-Rated Songs

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

10 – Don’t Stop Me Now (Queen)

Brace yourselves – we have a cavalcade of bangers coming in this highest-rated top ten songs.

“Don’t Stop Me Now” has a dramatic energy throughout, with amazing vocals from Freddy Mercury (as always) and surprisingly awesome backing vocals.

9 – Miss You (The Rolling Stones)

By this point in their careers, I’m used to Rolling Stones songs that either rely on Blues or Rock n Roll tropes – so an all-out groove-fest is a pleasant surprise.

The bassline of “Miss You” is what makes it so danceable, and Jagger’s erratic vocal delivery is also a bonus.

8 – Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty)

The famous saxophone solo of “Baker Street” was supposed to be a bog-standard guitar solo, but when the guitarist was running late the saxophonist stepped up to the plate. The rest is history.

That saxophone is the clear stand-out, but the laid-back verses work well too.

7 – Because The Night (Patti Smith Group)

“Because The Night” is an odd mix of Punk Rock and Pop Ballad … and somehow it works?

Patti Smith’s vocals are very powerful, and the piano and guitar chords sound huge.

6 – Who Are You (The Who)

The bouncy production and playful vocals are what make “Who Are You” stand out immediately, and the tongue-in-cheek story and intense breakdown make it iconic.

5 – La Villa Strangiato (An Exercise In Self-Indulgence) (Rush)

It’s been a while since we’ve had a classic Prog Rock song on these lists, and who better to make that comeback than Rush?

“La Villa Strangiato” is much more aligned to the Rush I know and love, with all three members giving incredible performances over the nine minutes.

4 – Just What I Needed (The Cars)

The Cars had one of the best debut albums of the decade, and “Just What I Needed” is the big one.

It’s Punk-y and Garage Rock-y, with a chorus that I love.

3 – Heart Of Glass (Blondie)

Blondie was on the forefront of New Wave, and there perhaps isn’t a better New Wave song than “Heart Of Glass”.

I really like the bouncy production and the energetic guitar and bass, and Blondie’s vocals are lazy yet precise.

2 – Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush)

Nobody was making music in the 1970’s and 80’s quite like Kate Bush.

She was a one-of-a-kind creative genius, and “Wuthering Heights” was the first big one – her high-pitched vocals are divine, and the production is amazing.

1 – Sultans Of Swing (Dire Straits)

We’ve heard Prog Rock precision and Pop masterpieces in 1978, but sometimes all you need is an all-time great guitar performance to make your song the best.

“Sultans Of Swing” is Dire Straits at their very best, with possibly the greatest six minutes of non-stop guitar playing ever put to tape.

BEST SONG OF 1978 – “Sultans Of Swing” (Dire Straits)

Top-Rated Albums

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

5 – The Cars (The Cars)

“Just What I Needed” is the clear stand-out from The Cars’ debut album, but the opening stretch of songs including “Good Times Roll” and “My Best Friend’s Girl” are some of the best Rock of the year.

The second half of the album isn’t as strong, sadly, but it was their debut so I’ll let them off.

4 – Lanquidity (Sun Ra)

… Whoa. Sun Ra, I wasn’t familiar with your game.

The whole album is a weird, Space-y kind of Jazz, with some of the most bizarre songwriting and production you’ll hear. It won’t be my favourite album of the year, but I can appreciate the craft.

3 – Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Bruce Springsteen)

Bruce Springsteen was well and truly an American icon by this point, and “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” is one of his early classics.

The opener “Badlands” is an amazing way to kick things off, and the rest of the album doesn’t let up with bangers like “The Promised Land” and “Prove It All Night”.

2 – Music For 18 Musicians (Steve Reich)

Steve Reich was one of the founding fathers of musical Minimalism, and his Avant-Garde approach to songwriting is prevalent in “Music For 18 Musicians”.

I can’t really name favourites since they all have titles like “Section VII”, but I can say that the whole album is an experience. Unfortunately, due to its minimalistic nature, it gets a bit same-y by the end.

1 – Die Mensch-Maschine (Kraftwerk)

Kraftwerk are weird. They write weird, electronic, robotic music. Let’s get that fact out of the way. Are we all on the same page? Good – I love this album.

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the off-beat electronic tones as much I did, but the production and just how different it is from its contemporaries made it stand out. “Das Model” is a banger, if you’re looking for one song in particular.

BEST ALBUM OF 1978 -“Die Mensch-Maschine” (Kraftwerk)

I have a bone to pick with besteveralbum’s top five albums of 1978 – “Parallel Lines” by Blondie, “Jazz” by Queen, “This Year’s Model” by Elvis Costello, “More Songs About Buildings And Food” by Talking Heads, and “Some Girls” by The Rolling Stones all missed out … To be honest, that’s a better selection of five than this!

Final Thoughts

All of the songs were great, but it’s the albums that stop 1978 from achieving an “A-” grade – even if I count the “unofficial top five” it still isn’t enough to push the year to the top tier.

Overall Grade: B+

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