David Bowie (1972) Starman

Hardly a lost gem but this is the first Bowie song I remember. The sound has a funky groove with a disco guitar break before the chorus a couple years before disco first began. It wasn't necessarily his vocals or guitar playing that made him a superstar but the whole enchanting package that his songs were and his unique artistic voice. He had some impressive contemporaries but I always felt his radical shifts in genre were more incredible did the guy who sung Young Americans also do Heroes and start with Space Oddity?. He took more chances than Marc Bolan and was more exciting than Elton John. He defined a generation and yet had a long, successful career: we lost a legend today.

Jay Ferguson (1976) Snakes on the Run

With a danceable bass line and accompanying acoustic guitar and piano this is off of Jay Fergusons' first solo album, All Alone in the End Zone, this is pre Thunder Island's vivid yacht rock and post Jo Jo Gunne's countrified boogie. It is actually a really good example of mid-70's soft rock when the country elements were replaced with disco and soul. Also check out the track Hit and Run; which is surely a contender for the title for 'most 70s sounding song ever' with its mix of Hard rock syncopations, Moog laden prog passages, rhythm guitar driven funk all mixing with singer songwriter piano.

Sweet (1978) Silverbird

 From my favourite Sweet album the incredibly under appreciated (though not on Lost70sGems) Level- Headed (1978) which was a brief commercial comeback for the group with the 'Love is like Oxygen' hit single. It begins with several sharp strikes of a wide open, acoustic guitar before a synthesized bass part gurgles underneath and we get to the vocals. The song features a bubblegum tone to it's story of young love; it is about a fictitious 'silverbird' rescuing the young protagonist from a lonely bedroom back to his love. This is a another great Brian Connolly lead vocal, proving why he was lead vocalist in a band full of exceptional singers; his delivery of lines such as "I was a young boy..yeah she was young too" and "It's been five-years, unjusti-fied years" are stellar and just as catchy as the pop hooks. In fact go back to Sweet's first record Slow Motion to hear how his vocals anchored the band with a Dylanesque brogue. 

Jackson Five (1973) Skywriter

The title track of the last album of the Jackson Five's bubblegum phase it began with the right sound of harpsichord that was key to their post -psychedelia brand of sunny funk pop. With pre-disco clavinets underlining it and phased harmonies smoothly cutting through the chorus kept the Jackson Five fresh and up to date with new sounds, though the verses are classic Tamla Motown that's not at all a bad thing. Like I Want You Back it features Michael singing with conviction about a break up and wanting to win back a girl's heart. Considering his age though I'm not sure he could hire out a Skywriter plane, but I won't scrutinise..

Blue Magic (1977) I Waited

The last song on their Message from the Magic album, it is very different from the lush ballads and upbeat club tracks, it features a chilled out bass groove complete with pinging vibes like a stroller type of song boosted by some fawning 'ah' backing vocals. The central melody is suitably relaxed "I could've loved anyone, but I waited!" The first few seconds should draw you into this fresh sounding track from the late 70s.

Eagles (1973) Outlaw Man

 The Eagles had two clear sides to their music; one is heavy rock based on contrasting dynamics and the other is smooth ballads that stay even paced. Examples of both are in the two singles from the Desperado album; probably their best album as it's chock full of the former. Outlaw Man did better than Tequila Sunrise precisely because it, like Lyin Eyes and other singles,  had no shifts in it staying at the same laid back pace. Take it Easy was in a similar vein of laid back country strums but it didn't stick so rigidly to a verse chorus structure like Tequila Sunrise and songs like Best of My Love. Also Take It Easy did more interesting things with the backing vocals.  
 
Outlaw Man is a prime example of the Eagles breaking from formula which is probably why it's not present on the bands many greatest hits selections; selections that cemented the band's reputation as being mellow and formulaic. Outlaw Man is a top notch arrangement seguing in from a short banjo rendition of Doolin Dalton into a aggressive acoustic strum before the hard rock guitar slashes in; the nice addition of electric piano chords adding a jazzy rhythm. Glenn Freys' growly intoning vocals are as evil and omnipresent as his power chords cutting through the acoustic bed. This rivals Witchy Woman as one of the best hard rock efforts by the first incarnation. Randy Meisners' frenetic bass work along with Freys' wailing coda is a great heavy moment from the band during any line-up full stop.

Grand Funk (1975) Bad Time

With I'm Your Captain/ Closer to Home this is the best self penned hit from the trio from Flint MI. Starting with Mark Farners' acapella vocal declaration before entering a swinging and very melodic pop song.