10. Wire - Chairs MissingWire was in the forefront of alternative post-punk scene. Their music combines many different musical styles from punk to rock and from electronica to pop. The main interest is in the sounds though. Wire uses experimental synth sounds on top of stripped-down electric guitars and makes hypnotic rock songs out of them. This album has one hit beyond others though. Outdoor Miner is among the best songs of the year. Hauntingly beautiful Marooned is also a great song. The uneven quality between the songs makes me grade this album on the tenth place, but the whole albums is, if nothing else, an interesting experience in experimentation of new sounds. Where Wire's previous album Pink Flag gave pretty straightforward punk-rock, Chairs Missing features a constantly changing feast of alternative music. Listen to the album on Spotify.
I'm not usually a big fan of electronic music, but when it comes to late 70's synthesiser music, I'm all in. The sounds are futuristic for their time. It might sound weird today, but back then this kind of music must've been something really special. Even now, this music has kept it's forward looking futurism, since no later music can be categorised as space age music in a same way. Jarre's albums are unique in another sense as well. They don't have separate songs. There are only different episodes, but the whole album is basically one big symphony. This is usually not possible anymore in the time, when songs are listened to individually playing i-Pods on shuffle. Equinoxe is not Jarre's greatest masterpiece, but it's a great introduction to his space age world. Listen to the album on Spotify.
The more I listen to Elvis Costello, the more confident I am, that I've missed out on a lot, not having listened to him before. His first few albums are quite spectacular feasts of great melodies and punk-rock aesthetics. This Year's Model is less orchestrated than his later albums, but the songs speak for themselves with more stripped-down instrumentations. I can straight away hear the influences this music has had on many contemporary singer-songwriters, such as Brendan Benson and Ben Kweller. In the time of punk on the other hand and stadium rock giants on the other, it's really refreshing to find an artist who's somewhere in between, making melodic and skilfully played songs but without too big an ego. Friends of the 2000's indie singer-songwriters, I encourage you to listen to Elvis Costello more. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Late 70's Springsteen albums are among the best stadium rock albums ever made. At times they're a bit tacky, because of the massive sounds, but most of the time I just have to appreciate the perfect playing of his band. Darkness on the Edge of Town is among Springsteen's best albums. The songs have amazing melodies and Bruce's rock voice is great. This was a time when even the biggest stadium artist could be taken seriously. Nowadays music enthusiasts rate highly only small scale bands, that play small clubs and are making their first or second albums. In the 70's bands were allowed to become huge and that is audible in the confidence and talent in these songs. Bruce takes the stage with his charisma and let's everyone know who's the boss. Listen to the album on Spotify.
6. Patti Smith Group - EasterMuch like Elvis Costello, Patti Smith drew influences from the punk scene, but made melodic and innovative rock songs out of it. Easter has more innovative songwriting than Smith's first few albums, but the mood has shifted a bit away from punk towards more traditional rock sounds. This is not a bad move in my opinion, being a huge fan of good melodies and all. Because the Night shows the pop side of Patti Smith and immediately the emotion is really high. This is what we hear a lot more on Wave a year later. Easter is in my opinion a great shifting album from early Patti Smith to later more melodic Patti Smith. I have not listened to this album enough to find all of its secret hooks and quirky sides, but I'm already liking this rock n' roll superstar's masterpiece. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Kate Bush is one of the most influential art/dream pop artists. Her unbelievably high singing voice is an otherworldly experience. The Kick Inside is Bush's debut album and in my opinion it's also the best album she ever made. She also made another album the same year, Lionheart, that is almost equally good, but I did not bring it up in this blog, since I only want to include one album by one band in the given year. The Kick Inside includes Bush's probably most well-known song Wuthering Heights, but that is by no means all that this album should be known for. The whole album is full of great melodies and dreamy sounds. Strange Phenomena is probably my favourite song from this album. Bush's music sounds like a straight influence on Joanna Newsom's music in the 2000's. Listen to the album on Spotify.
When it comes to Queen's rock-opera, Jazz is rarely mentioned. I have no clue why, since it's one of the best albums of the band. It has hits like, Fat Bottomed Girls, Bicycle Race and most importantly Don't Stop Me Now, which is one of the best songs of the band. A beautiful ballad, Jealousy, is one of my personal favourites. If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them is a great party song. in Only Seven Days shows beautifully, how theatrical songs Queen can conjure. Queen's talents on the 70's albums are unique. This is one of the band's I really would've liked to see live, but was too young when Freddie Mercury was still alive. Queen is one of those bands I've listened to almost all my life and I can still say that I enjoy their music immensely. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Kraftwerk's industrial electro-pop had its finest moments in the late 70's. The Man Machine is probably their best album. There's some timeless quality about this album that makes it an instant classic. The album cover that resembles old communist posters adds to the mystery of the band. Every single song on this album is amazingly good. Last year, Kraftwerk performed all of their albums individually in London's Tate Modern. The tickets were really expensive, so I didn't go, but if I would've bit the bullet and gone to see one of the shows, The Man Machine would've been my choice. Robots, Metropolis and The Model are my favourite songs on this beautifully futuristic album. When I listen to the album, I picture a future city full of flying cars and huge skyscrapers. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Blondie's 70's albums all have their great songs, but Parallel Lines is the only absolutely brilliant album from the beginning to the end. Hanging on the Telephone, One Way or Another and Heart of Glass are known to wider audiences. you might almost call Parallel Lines the greatest hits of Blondie, since almost all the best songs can be found on this album. Blondie's punk influenced rock-pop is among the best bands of the late 70's. The album cover is one of the most iconic of the era. The range of different styles on this album is vast, but still the albums sounds coherent. Debby Harry's voice extends from beautifully sweet ballads to raging rock screams. Blondie's influence can be heard in many 2000's indie rock bands. The combination of punky guitars and great melodies is great! Listen to the album on Spotify.
Tom Waits' 70's albums are full of film noir nostalgia. The melodies are amazingly beautiful blues and jazz influenced piano accompanied masterpieces. After few albums, Waits developed his trademark growling singing voice, which at first put me off, but which I've eventually grown to love. Blue Valentine is, in my opinion, Waits' best album after the change in his singing voice. This album has it all, beautiful ballads and wild and scary blues jams. Christmas Card from a Hooker In Minneapolis and Whistlin' Past the Graveyard are my favourite songs, but there is no single song on this album, that I wouldn't call amazing. It's a bit shame that Waits turned into little less melodic sounds in the 80's, since I don't like those albums as much and I don't think I can never get enough of Waits playing piano and singing alone. Listen to the album on Spotify.
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