Bringing obscure songs from the 1970s such as deep album cuts, underrated cover songs and forgotten singles back on this blog. The 70s was a great time for music, possibly the best and the most diverse; that some gems that need to be rediscovered
This moody synth epic was one of the most timeless soft rock productions of the 70s mainly due to it's portentous Sci-Fi operatic sound. It starts with a flurry of spooky instrumentation; from from haunted keyboard sound, twinkling cocktail piano trills to the occasional digital gurgle from an analogue synth it plants an image in my mind of a supernatural forest like a Midsummer's Nights Dream. The twilight atmosphere continues with a hallowed lead vocal beaming down from the heavens above. The tender crack in his voice as he sings the word 'behind' keeps the song rooted in intimate emotion whilst surrounded by galactic textures. The soaring chorus I first heard in a quick snippet in Toy Story 3 is of course iconic but never gets old; it has a 'whooshing' quality transporting you as the cooing vocal harmony goes up an step and a funky piano beats along and a glassy synth slides underneath. The surging quality of the track is what struck me but the murky atmospherics of the opening to the clear as daylight chorus and that beautiful bridge about the 'the dawn may be coming soon' It's like transcendental meditation encapsulated in a simple melody but deep spiritual philosophy. Meanwhile the pioneering synth work was a fitting concept in itself.
Jazz rockers Dreams, made up of the Brecker Brother, drummer Billy Cobham and future Late Show bassist Will Lee, return for their sophomore album, Imagine my Surprise is chock full of horns and blue eyed soul vocals, streamlined guitar lines and huge wah wah guitar flecks.
Calico Baby with its effortless soulful delivery and pop smarts and pre-Disco wah wah and horn groove, the excellent mellow country pop of Why I Can't Find a Home, while the very 70s sounding harmony drenched sunshine pop of Just Be Ourselves carries an important lyrical message about reserved people suffering anxiety. Don't Cry My Lady is another laidback ballad with deep horns and vocals reminiscent of Stax. The closing track is a upbeat jazzy ditty with quirky offbeat soul arrangements of shuffle drum pattern, inane rhyming patter, twanging trumpets and horns and wah wah meows.
Elton's Honky Château (1972) is famous for Rocket Man, but looking past that song's epic construction are some solid gems like the banjo and piano bounce of opener Honky Cat, the dark vaudeville jazz of I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself and the droning multi-tracked gospel croon of Salvation. The album is filled out by suitable piano heavy jives like Mellow, Slave, Susie (Dramas), Amy; all Honky Tonk country rockers in keeping with the album title and solid tunes if forgettable.
Fast falling behind other rock giants like Kiss, Queen and Rush who debuted after them, the Warner Bros Presents album of 75 asserts a more simple riff based sound with greater use of keyboards and effects.Bob James replaced the departing Sammy Hagar, later of Van Halen fame, after some acrimony between the singer and the band's name sake guitarist. The thrilling Matriach is full of Deep Purple playing and a chugging organ part that is like a telegraph line, All I Need is a very melodic pop cut off the record and the raucous, circular riffs and rough shouting vocals on the Twenty Flight Rock cover is another personal highlight as they broaden their approach. The waves of phaser sound effects like crashing ocean waters lapping over the 60s sounding track Whaler is another neat production technique, while Bob James shines with a grittier and more youthful vocal on Dancin Feet and Lucky Man. But One and a Half is a blatant rip off of the Eastern fingerpickin instrumental, Black Mountainside from Led Zeppelin 1 which in itself was a direct cover of a folk instrumental by Davy Graham so ..I guess all is good then. The best thing about this album is, although less enjoyable than their previous two efforts, the B movie poster album cover where he gets the girl whilst a dinosaur with wings seems to terrorise a town of people at the foot of a castle is pure fun.
Madman Across the Water is best known for the astounding opening track Tiny Dancer with it's effortlessly rolling melody and piano driven pulse. Levon, the second track follows in a similar melody with a Daniel-esque character song, the mopey balladry continues on Indian Sunset, but Razor Face is just as strong as Tiny Dancer with it's double tracked vocals and more lonesome aching vocal wails and a strong downhome accent. The title track carries an overcooked acoustic arrangement and overdone vocals by Elton. The ending lala las of Rotten peaches elevate the dour track while the mandolin draped folk rock of Holdiay Inn is reveals a different prowess, the backing vocals are acrobatic and gospel stacked while the sparkling strings of Paul Buckmaster ride in like a fantasy adventure score while an Eastern rage tinge subtly enters with them. The spindly workings of the mandolin are gasping with the stacked string orchestrations and the reverbed drums punching through. All the Nasties is clearly from the same chords of Tiny Dancer and carries the same verse/chorus phrasings and tempo as well as licks though the Handel sounding choral voices are more progressive touch sounding like a choir of monks or druids. Occasionally Elton's juicy wail stands out with his unique mannerisms like an operatic cowboy playing a saloon bar. Final track Goodbye captures the record's issue, it's too one note and dour in Eltons' vocal while the flexible piano, drums and strings struggle to drag some of the songs into the crackling chemistry that Bernie Taupins' magical lyricism could galvanise, without the Taupin the package would really feel far too laidback and monotone to work, when it clicks he rivals Neil Young, when it doesn't he could put the Eagles to forget what they were listening too.
Clearly devised in the Jackson Five mould, The Sylvers left it a little too late to jump on the bandwagon as the bubble gum pop vein was getting old by 72, the year of their bouncy Jackson-esque debut album. 1972 was the last year of that sounds mainstream popularity, it would be the year before the Jacksons great up and embraced dance oriented funk in 73's Get it Together as a whole generation grew up. 1969 and 1970 was by far the peak of bubblegum from 1910 Fruitgum Factory to Archie's Sugar Sugar to Tommy 'dizzy' Roe to the Jacksons and the Osmonds even stitching to the teen aimed candy coated rock n roll of Glam rock acts like the Sweet and T Rex. But Soft Rock/Yacht Rock/ FM/ AC/ whatever youwantocallit would take over in 73 with artists like Elton John, but the Sylvers were not hanging on to that bubblegum sound for too long, this gem and single from that album reveals where they were going; a harder more progressive soul. Though they ultimately went down the Disco RnB route here on this gem there is proof of something darker and more engaging.
This song belongs more to the rarely acknowledged genre of cinematic soul, a label of grand dramatic string arranged soul numbers from artists such as Isaac Hayes, The Unifics, the Undisputed Truth and Curtis Mayfield. They each had records that carried a widescreen sound; complete with dark, foreboding brass parts mingling with shrieking strings weaving a movie score feel.
It starts with a maudlin piano that reminds me of the interesting modal piano lines of Earth Wind and Fire such as 1979's Fantasy, but here Leon Sylvers was ahead of the curve. A Philly styled touch is felt as a Electric sitar twangs in unison and a drumbeat kicks us in to a sweeping and grand verse sung by Leon in his caressing, wise baritone. This brooding arrangement hangs with the feel of a funeral march horns sound over the stormy arrangement before a flowery pop chorus vocal by Edmund Sylvers; its such a huge sounding track full of fatalism, all its missing is a gong smash. The sound has such a steady feel, a light touch and yet latent power, its extraordinary; just listen to that impulsive yelp at 1.42 is one of the best things I'll ever hear and shows how much hunger this group had. From the delicate descending piano run to the little harp flourishes that dip in and out to the fluttering electric guitar fills to those smoky horns seething underneath. This brooding suite captures the dark desires of teen hood so well and reveals the first glimpse of Leon Sylvers III who would go onto become a highly in demand Producer and arranger.
Fast falling behind other rock giants like Kiss, Queen and Rush who debuted after them, the Warner Bros Presents album of 75 asserts a more simple riff based sound with greater use of keyboards and effects.Bob James replaced the departing Sammy Hagar, later of Van Halen fame, after some acrimony between the singer and the band's name sake guitarist. The thrilling Matriach is full of Deep Purple playing and a chugging organ part that is like a telegraph line, All I Need is a very melodic pop cut off the record and the raucous, circular riffs and rough shouting vocals on the Twenty Flight Rock cover is another personal highlight as they broaden their approach.
The waves of phaser sound effects like crashing ocean waters lapping over the 60s sounding track Whaler is another neat production technique, while Bob James shines with a grittier and more youthful vocal on Dancin Feet and Lucky Man. But One and a Half is a blatant rip off of the Eastern finger-pickin instrumental, Black Mountainside from Led Zeppelin 1 which in itself was a direct cover of a folk instrumental by Davy Graham so ..I guess all is good then. The best thing about this album is, although less enjoyable than their previous two efforts, the B movie poster album cover where he gets the girl whilst a dinosaur with wings seems to terrorise a town of people at the foot of a castle is pure fun.
