1974 COUNTDOWN | #64

1974 COUNTDOWN | #64 — #60

#64

STEVIE WONDER — FULFILLINGNESS’ FIRST FINALE

Compared to the sharp-edged focus of Innervisions, FFF is a mellow affair. Working pretty much on his own, Wonder delivers a selection of fine songs which are broadly about relationships and the journey of connection. “Boogie on reggae woman” and “You ain’t done nothin’” are obvious standouts; surely Stevie Wonder is one of the most deft exponents of electronic keyboards in the entire decade. In sum, it is all classy stuff if sometimes a little too smooth for my tastes. Less a beacon of social anger than a warm blanket for a chilly day.

#63

GREENSLADE — SPYGLASS GUEST

Greenslade’s third album was the first not to have a Roger Dean cover, but that should not be held against it. The twin keyboard attack of Daves Lawson and Greenslade are front and centre so it is progtastically rich in synth, piano, Fender Rhodes and so on. Here Clem Clemson guests on el. guitar, which adds tonal variety. Dave Lawson’s unique lyrics are always a highlight—”Little Red Fry-up” is about a rooster being chased by a hatchet-wielding farmer— adding edge to the dense keyboard sounds.

#62

ROBERT PALMER — SNEAKIN’ SALLY THROUGH THE ALLEY

Robert Palmer’s debut album is an over-looked funk-infused gem. There is little hint of the Ferry-esque lounge lizard he would become in the next decade; here Palmer sings his heart out, backed by The Metres, Aaron Neville and Little Feat’s Lowell George. Great fun and great playing.

#61

PROCOL HARUM — EXOTIC BIRDS AND FRUIT

By 1974, the massive success of Procol Harum’s debut single was a long time gone. Not that the band had disappeared; more gently but inexorably declined. The primary song-writing team of Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid (with contributions from Robin Trower along the way) had written the bulk of the band’s songs over seven annual albums of increasingly patchy quality. Their eighth album was a return to top form, with Brooker-Reid writing all nine songs on Exotic Birds and Fruit. VC favourite: “As Strong as Samson”. A powerful tune, great organ work, goosebump chorus. Curious about the album cover? It featured in the Art On Your Sleeve series.]

#60

RICK WAKEMAN — JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH

Preposterous and overblown, yet charming and consistently entertaining, Rick Wakeman’s second solo album topped the UK charts, was a #2 album in Australia and Canada, and #3 in the US.

On a hot summer night in Melbourne I sat way up the back at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, just outside the cyclone wire fencing separating paying customers from ticketless urchins, and soaked up the sounds and spectacle of one of the biggest shows of its era. Jules Verne would have hated the story liberties but would, I’m sure, have gloried in the symphonic rock performance. Magic.