#20
STEELEYE SPAN — NOW WE ARE SIX
This is the LP where the British folk-rockers really emphasised the latter. Now We Are Six rocks! “Thomas the Rhymer” bolts out of the gate at a gallop, and the pace and energy are maintained through the hilarious “Two Magicians” and mythic “Seven Hundred Elves”. Indeed, common wisdom has it that, but for the dreadful “Twinkle Twinkle” (yes, that one) and lame “To Know Him Is To Love Him” (featuring David Bowie on sax), this would be Steely Span’s best album.
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#19
THE RESIDENTS — MEET THE RESIDENTS
Once the starting list for this 74 FROM ’74 Countdown was established there were just shy of 270 contenders. Here we are in the top 20 and I still don’t know whether The Resident’s debut belongs here or at #271. Even the Allmusic Guide seems ambivalent, commenting that their “deconstructions of countless rock and non-rock styles, which are then grafted together to create chaotic, formless, seemingly haphazard numbers” is “not entirely successful.” It may depend on whether your mood leans towards Beefheartian Zappaesque avant-garde mischief making. Or not.
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#18
CLUSTER — ZUCKERZEIT
If you have thought of Cluster as a ‘difficult’ band, then this is the entry point for you. In fact, if you have never thought about the German duo at all, this is the entry point for you. Ten crisp, concise tracks, half by Joachim Roedelius and the other half by Dieter Moebius, offer a set of glossy, laminated postcards displaying all that there is to love about the pair. We have sweet melodies (“Marzipan”) and more experimental rhythmic textures (“Rote Riki”) all wrapped up in a deliciously tongue-in-cheek package: Zuckerzeit = sugar time. As Julian Cope says in Krautrocksampler, “the sleeve is good enough to eat,” and so is the music.
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#17
VAN MORRISON — IT’S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW
Ireland’s most irascible minstrel was in exuberant form for this 2LP live set. Far from demanding the audience came to him, he is pumping it out like there’s no tomorrow. With a set list beginning in the era of Them and following through to the previous year’s Hard Nose The Highway, Van delivers a sparkling set list pulsing with a live energy that draws you forward and douses you with his unique spirituality: Celtic soul, blues roots, ballads, beauty and bonhomie. Amazing.
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#16
BILLY COBHAM — CROSSWINDS
Not only was Crosswinds my first Billy Cobham album, it was one of the very first jazz-rock LPs I acquired. It took a little deciphering at first—the infectious funk was unfamiliar and took a while to enter my system—but soon the combination of virtuoso playing and great compositions won me over completely. Cobham’s associates include John Abercrombie on guitar and George Duke on keys, and of course the leader’s drum prowess is well to the fore. An album I enjoy almost as much now as when I first brought it home half a century ago.
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vinylconnection.com.au 
As life would have it, I was listening to The Original Galapagos Duck’s 1974 Ebony Quill album when I opened your post. Maybe it’s not a top twenty contender but I’m enjoying it. And.maybe I need to pick my moment to pick up Cobham again.
Thanks
DD
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Ebony Quill is a super LP. I’m not sure why I included The Removalists (also from 1974) in the 1974 Jazz post. I must have been confident there would be a later opportunity to include it. Must see if I can remedy that miss.
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Yes, it’s a good album, which IMHO might have been great if they’d pushed the boundaries just a bit further.
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Agreed. As Brian Brown did so well on Carlton Streets in… 1975.
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Thanks for that tip
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Crosswinds not as frenetic as I recalled it to be, probably due to playing at a sensible volume because Z was taking a nap. However I only got half way through before the nap ended.
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Consideration applauded. Billy will happily await your return.
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In the mid eighties I got into Van Morrison in a big way. I mostly bought his albums in order and this live one capped it until the 90s…then I picked it up again but I’ve never been into his 1980s to now material as much as his 70s music….but I do like some don’t get me wrong. This is one of my favorite live albums….I got to see him in 2010…his voice was incredible.
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I think pretty much any 70s Van album will offer rewards. As you say, after that it pays to be, um, selective.
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Thank you…I was afraid I was being an 80s snob. I just listened to Saint Dominics Preview today in fact.
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🙂 For what it’s worth, my favourites from the 80s are the first one, ‘Common One’, and ‘Poetic Champions Compose’ from 1987.
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I like those…especially Common One.
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It took me a long time to enjoy the Van album; too much bombast. The Steeleye is a favourite that Ian Anderson pretended to produce so well, could do without the Bowie moment. It’s a monster though. I need to explore Billy Cobham, I’ve enjoyed all I’ve heard but too many tunes not enough time.
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The time thing sure is true. With Mr Cobham, the debut, Spectrum is intense, the sophomore, Crosswinds is funky has heck, and Total Eclipse is more prog-influenced. There, I’ve saved you an hour. 🙂
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That loud guitar on that Steeleye Span record is pretty unexpected. Weirdly, it was my dad’s only record by them, he didn’t really like to rock.
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LOL. I guess we all have a few ‘outlier’ albums, G. I have a couple of Metallica LPs! What are your outliers?
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Early Metallica are a bit proggy, so I wouldn’t be too surprised by that if it’s 1980s ones.
Multiple people have told me that I don’t seem like someone who’d be into Tom Petty, which is kind of weird.
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It is rather odd. Given your appreciation of pop/powerpop/garagerock etc, I’d have thought some of his stuff would be right up your alley. Having said that, I was a rather late arrival at the Petty party, so I don’t want to sound arch!
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I wonder if it’s because Petty gives off redneck vibes, since he’s from the south. But he was a pretty bright, open-minded guy.
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Certainly a plausible hypothesis. Dylan and George got on well with him, which isn’t such a bad ‘reference’!
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Yup especially #16 and # 17. Just watched the film Belfast last night. Van’s soundtrack hit the spot from start to finish.
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I do really like the cover of Now We Are Six.
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Isn’t it a corker? Thanks for picking that out. 🙂
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I grew up listening to Steeleye Span, car trips and rainy days staying inside, and I think the old folks have every recording on either wax or CD but I think “ parcel of rogues” will always be my favorite.
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