Mike Post (1974) The Rockford Files

 Mike Post, a producer famous for arranging Classical Gas and the northern soul hit Afternoon of the Rhino, Post would bring his penchant for vibrant, big band horn suites to TV. Soon to become a big name in TV theme tunes in the 80s alogn with partner Pete Carpenter their names would be made with the theme music for America's Greatest Hero, Hill Street Blues, Magnum PI and Law and Order he would soon become synonymous with the minute and a half intros. With a deft skill in mixing diverse elements with a grand melody, here Post brings together a swaggering Minimoog lick that just oozes with the kind of cool reserved for rock stars it fits the lead character Jim Rockford; an effortlessly cool, charming and confident detective. The explosive drum fills punctuate through along with electric guitars and barrelling horns but it's the interplay and contrasts of the countrified harmonica with the slick, urban Moog riff both so rolling along smoothly and melodically in their own way. The buildup of the horn section trumpeting along to the single wah wah guitar is superb before the final return of that awesome all pervasive moog lick.


Mixing in Prog rock, country hoedown and Motown into a slick package that would announce Post's talents and the many faces of Jim Garner's Rockford, not to mention how cool it sounds. Such disparate elements you would never think would mesh and yet seem almost organic here.

Queen (1974) Seven Seas of Rhye

 Queen started out as a heavy prog band, combining the stacked high harmonies of a band like Styx with heavy metal riffing like Sweet, taking more pomp with more ornate arty aristocratic excess than the glam rockers or prog bands like Yes they soon became more of their own brand of regal pop metal. Only a small instrumental cut on their first album, Seven Seas of Rhye apepeared in full form on Queen II (1974), ironically despite it's Zeppelin-esque numbering this is where they, like another heavy band Rush, started to make the move from unoriginal ripping off Led Zep (NB :almost to the point where they should've sent some checks to Page and Plant) to rapidly discovering their own approach.

Their own sound particularly seemed to coalesce on this track; it's full of Sweet styled harmonies, speed metal riffs, Brian Mays' sea of multi tracked guitars and Freddie Mercury's strident vocals. Far more dynamic and better singers and song writers than novelty Glam act The Sweet, Queen were a natural successor to that whole scene with their sense of humour (the song ends with a jolly old singalong of 'I do like to be beside the seaside') combining with strong quality to produce garish but slightly less dated music.

Road (1972) Spaceship Earth

 There's certainly more than a passing resemblance to The Experience here in Noel Redding's early 70s power trio follow up, the bassist was trying to follow up playing alongside one of the best drummers and the best guitarist in the world three years after that groups' demise and the passing of Jimi Hendrix. It's a very rote effort with very occasional brilliance from the guitarist Les Sampson, while the heavy wah wah funkiness of Man Dressed in Red of their single, self titled LP has some of the liquid cool of Redding's former associates, Spaceship Earth is pure heavy rock madness in a good way; worth the trip if it proved Redding really needed his former bandmates a bit more than they needed him.
 It has that sledgehammer beat combined with wall of sound distortion, mixing heaviness and beauty in a manner not unlike that former trio but sadly not anywhere near as fresh or original with the same sci-fi imagery.

Ringo Starr (1978) Who Needs A Heart

With a dirty rock guitar mixed with sweet soul instances of saxophones and horns while Vini Poncia adds gentle baking vocals to this interesting track. The central melody is classic pop with Ringo's limited drawl drily delivering with a suggested regret, while his standard beat and the upbeat arrangement towards the end feel like classic Ringo. The best part is the chorus where the backing vocals ask a question before quickly comes in with the answer reminiscent of 'With a little help from my friends' bridge "Who needs a love like yours, that is bringin me down" Splendid and his best from his late 70 slump.

Ringo Starr (1972) Nashville Jam

A funky blues based jam with the some of Nashville's best musicians, there is occasional pedal steel licks fitting nicely into the compact beat driven by the Starr of the show. Ringo's rock steady beat and occasional fills and rolls are uncharacteristic of him but serve the heavy backbeat very well as everything from slide guitar, to acoustic and organ turn up in the mix. Ringo's foundation allows some fluid blues playing while the groove meanders into different portions naturally like when the piano takes the fore or when a country guitar interjects here and there with simple licks here and there. The fiddle works well with it's smooth soloing fitting in with the rest of this very funk infused Purdie-esque work out. This definitely stands out on the album, closing it with more weight and punch then the whole album of country standards could muster, the blend of funk rhythms with country twang is a delightful blues based extravaganza. While its hard to tell who plays what as there is credited a lot of musicians, such as two fiddle players, two pedal steel players and two guitarists, and two drummers so who even knows in the end who did what except its is inspired and natural. Interesting from a band so well known for song craft, writing and studio trickery that the best track on his second solo album is a vocal less jam: smooth and melodic.

Ringo Starr (1974) Back Off Boogaloo

This driving defiant rocker was a welcome surprise from Starr, with its strong slide guitar licks of his former band mate George Harrison, powerful vocal harmonies working with the Beatles-esque vibe of the lyrics and the pounding drum sound. It's a brutal rocker, heavy and yet with great rock n roll and pop elements; I also think Ringo in 1972 and 1973 was producing frankly some of the best of the Post Beatles solo stuff with his country album(Beaucoup of Blues) and all star rock variety album(Ringo) to come as well as his fabulous non album singles like this (and It Don't Come Easy).

Home (1972) Tramp

For a rare UK country rock band that started the 70s opening for Zeppelin, even had a song that seemingly chides 'Jim Page' to look back to his younger days, this isn't that colourful. While their bluesy cowboy style wasn't as soulful as other UK country acts of the time like Eggs Over Easy and Matthews Southern Comfort, this song features some excellent Allman Brothers 'Blue Sky' styled vamping on the electric guitar. There isn't much of a sound here except a vague mix of Poco and Pub Rock, though the choice of a Hammond Organ amp being used to create a liquid Hendrix sound for the crystalline rhythm guitar playing is inspired and features across all the album tracks from their humorously titled debut album Pause of a Hoarse Horse(1972).

Of note; is the solid rhythm section featuring ACDC's future long term bassist Cliff Burton, while there is some Dickey Betts and Duane Allmans-esque jamming at the end of the song. Of more note; is the whole country rock genre was seized by The Eagles debut album in 1972 virtually wiping the floor commercially with all contenders in the genre as they hit the right balance of country and rock, this album tends to overdo the bluesy guitar licks and underdo the cowboy vibe making it sound like a half-hearted effort all round.

Kenny Loggins (1978) Easy Driver

From Kenny's second solo album (unless we consider Sittin In album his first, though technically it either a collaboration or the debut of the Loggins & Messina duo) it overall has a more keyboards and lush, middle of the road ballads. That is why Easy Driver stands out on this particular album with its throbbing, doo wop laden rock n roll jaunt; its highly melodic and a change of pace as well as a great vehicle for his soulfully, smoky voice.

Bill Wyman (1974) White Lightnin

Bill Wyman's 1974 debut album Monkey Grip contains the calypso related absurdities that you would expect from it's title, mixing animated vocals with bass driven rhythms with a range of influences from honky tonk and country to reggae and calypso heavy laidback grooves. The biggest surprise isn't the three dimensional and eclectic brand of rhythm and blues but Wyman's strong conviction, sen s of humour and passion for the material not to mention his exquisite song writing which is full of in your face black humour. It achieves many of the best aspects of a solo album, showing off hidden talents, changing their identity as well as building on skills they have already shown. In many ways the promise of his work on InAnotherLand is here expanded upon and we see great insight into his potential. While the opener track, I Wanna Get Me a Gun, is possibly the most representative track, White Lightnin mixes bluegrass and reggae almost indistinctly.

Kenny Loggins (1977) I Believe in Love

The most striking from Loggins' very first solo album, taking the smooth, eclectic arrangements of Loggins and Messina but heavily emphasising his soft soul style more. While the delightfully light jazzy verses are great, a bouncy samba feel it all powered by the dramatic flute based hook with it's wood wind groove sounding like a may pole dance a tight revolving riff of flute, piccolo, viola and who knows what else all to create a natural, acoustic flavoured tropical feel full of world music influences and a lot of passion. While there are some light funk material on the album and some great ballads this stands out as the most ear catching tune and easily the best to take away from it.

Mixing the old worldly charm of the medieval lettering he uses on his solo albums with the smooth sound displayed by the monochromatic and diffused aqua blue tint of the album cover; seductive and timeless.

Black Sabbath (1978) Air Dance

While the Never Say Die album is full of party hardy metal indicative of Glam metal acts of the next decade along with their 1978 opening act Van Halen, like the title track, Shock Wave and the Springsteen-esque triumphalism of A Hard Road, Air Dance is the best of the other side of the album. There is a more prog jazz feel to this and many other numbers that sets this LP apart from it's successors, while flute, medieval folk, synths and strings had factored into other Black Sabbath albums this one followed on from the dramatic, theatrical storytelling of Technical Ecstacy diverting the themes away from the politics and gloomy, fuzzed out metal they pioneered.

Here we start with some heavily rendered slide guitars before we get treated to a dizzying cocktail of lounge lizard piano and jazzy hi-hat playing from Bill Ward. Ozzy's dreamy vocals create a relaxing tune with Imomi's uncharacteristically smooth slide guitar interjects occasionally, the track is very airy and light in terms of tonally to the point it might float away, away away..

It's also got a very dance able rhythm lie a lot of Sabbath tracks did fitting the title even more, ending this prog-metal masterpiece with it's some tense Sci-Fi synth licks right out of the Twilight Zone amongst a samba beat at the end as Imomi deliciously wah-wahs out. It's a eclectic effort that works from a band very much misunderstood and an album very much misunderstood by the band themselves who hated it, it was of course the last of the classic lineup. Curiously the same piano runs appear in the following track ,Over You, in an almost identical jazzy hard rock progression.

Hall and Oates (1972) Waterwheel

From their experimental Folk debut album Darryl Hall's delicate falsetto carries a renaissance styled emphasis along side the albums' reflective arrangements of cocktail piano, finger-picking acoustics, stabbing strings and sturdy bass. High above all the clouds is Hall's characteristic vocals soaring incandescently alongside ringing piano flourishes all dressed in a classy arrangement. This neo-renaissance romantic and semi acoustic vibe would be a 100 million miles from their New Wave and indie pop personas a full decade later, but the offbeat harmonies and counter melodies that would be part of their HALLmark are present here.

Fleetwood Mac (1975) Landslide

Probably my favourite Mac tune and yet this incredibly touching folk ballad wasn't released as a single. Steve Nicks subdued melancholic melody hints at future Mac hit Sara. This tune hits you right in the heart with Nicks delicate delivery suggesting feelings rather than declaring them this song lack of a hook makes it far more timeless than their 1977 hits which would rock out a lot more. The mature subject makes it open interpretation and far more affecting than you would expect though Nicks songs like Dreams and Rhiannon like Bob Welch before were always quite mystical but packed with raw emotions.