It has certainly been a long, strange trip yet here we are near the end of the 74 FROM ’74 album countdown. With a dozen-and-a-half days of 2024 still remaining. What efficiency!
Before launching into the final five albums, it is timely to recall that this is neither a ‘Best of’ list, nor a ‘Greatest albums’ list. The number attached to a particular LP has little quantifiable meaning compared to any other entry. These are albums I’ve enjoyed—some for a few years, others for decades—with a subjective rating of how much I’ve appreciated them. Naturally, your list will be different and that’s great! It is, in fact, inevitable as 1974 was an extraordinarily diverse and interesting year in music.
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#5
KRAFTWERK — AUTOBAHN
As I recall, it was late in 1974 when I first heard the side-long title track of Kraftwerk’s breakthrough album. There had been a radio edit that caught my ear with its automotive pulse and German lyrics—a rough translation of which I could manage thanks to four years of high school Deutsch—and I looked forward to hearing it beep out of my little transistor radio. Then it occurred to me that the Rowden White Library’s listening room might have the album. It did, and I immersed myself in the hypnotic, seriously tongue-in-cheek excursion that unfolded like a grey European highway. I’m pretty sure I taped the LP in the record/electrical goods shop where I worked, and first owned a copy on CD in the mid-80s. Interestingly, the 21st century vinyl re-issue adds an extra two minutes to the closing coda of “Autobahn”; Ralf Hütter loves fiddling with Kraftwerk product.
Astonishingly, Kraftwerk are travelling the world in 2024/5 for their “50 Years of Autobahn” tour.
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#4
JONI MITCHELL — COURT AND SPARK
Ms Mitchell has always been something of an enigma, to me at least. Equal parts Piaf and Galadriel, she is both vulnerable waif and utterly intimidating elven queen. Musically sophisticated yet emotionally raw, the songwriter/artist/musician is equally at home singing about yet another rubbish relationship or paying wry homage to a blues legend. A restless spirit with a crack in her heart and a gimlet eye, Joni Mitchell had her most successful album with this varied yet cohesive LP. Court And Spark began a sequence of studio albums that are as good a chronological trio as any in popular music. I rank this record highly because it continues to comfort, charm and confound after countless listens. That’s quite an achievement, I reckon.
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#3
KING CRIMSON — RED
The tussle between King Crimson’s two 1974 albums was intense. That Starless And Bible Black came in at #6 and Red at #3 is not a decision I could defend with any fervour. In the end, both are fabulous examples of Robert Fripp’s vision and the band’s inspired execution. Starless has peerless songs, Red has an edgy energy that often nudges into the, er, red. On any given day they could swap places, drift up a notch or settle a little lower. Complex music is like that, the mood we bring will have a huge influence on how we react. The other day I asked the boy (young man) who he thought my favourite artist was. I was thinking Yes, or Steely Dan, or perhaps Miles. ‘King Crimson’, he said. I wondered (silently) whether that is because he has witnessed the absurd expenditure on a ridiculous number KC box sets over the past few years. It did also occur to me that he might actually be right, but who’s ranking?
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#2
YES — RELAYER
After the lush majesty of Tales From Topographic Oceans the astringency, the intensity of Relayer was a shock. It was like an ice-pool plunge after the healing sauna steam of its predecessor and I shivered just a little, shelving the new LP for several months while I adjusted to the acute angles and sharp corners of Yes’s 1974 opus. Surely this was more than the substitution of Patrick Moraz for Rick Wakeman? Relayer has beauty and intensity, dissonance and dreams; it is almost as if Yes can see change just over the horizon as they channel all their energy, their hubris and angst, their ambition and experience into these three long pieces. A high point in progressive rock.
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#1
TANGERINE DREAM — PHAEDRA
How did I encounter Tangerine Dream’s fifth LP? Had I seen the band’s earlier German releases in my favourite city import shop, discovered during my first year at university? Was a track played on Billy Pinnell’s Album Show on AM station 3XY? Is it possible a record company sales rep showed it to Max Rose and I in the shop where I worked part-time? Details have faded out of radio range over the decades, but some memories remain.
Lying on my bed in the late evening, a gently spluttering kerosene heater providing warmth while the die-cut apertures in the top of the metal column cast ghostly blue light on the ceiling. A wavering rose of spectral radiance, it got stronger as my eyes dark adapted and the music of Phaedra spilled through the shadowed room. This was my first trip into the spacey realms of electronic music; what an introduction it was. This was not simply music to dream by (though it did inspire mental meanderings) but a guided journey into hitherto unknown realms. My musical life was never the same after Phaedra; its music still has the power to lure me on cosmic odysseys, beyond and before.
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COMING SOON
Watch out for a summary of the entire 74 FROM ’74 series, along with an invitation to share your 1974 favourites.
vinylconnection.com.au 
What a lovely wrap, to bring this around to your most personal associations. Really makes it unique and more powerful than a mere reciting of the standout tracks or lineups. You made it personal! What heavy hitters here too. You among them.
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Thanks for being on the ’74 journey, Bill. And the other journeys we share too.
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What efficiency, indeed! As is typical for me, I need to catch up on some earlier rankings. As for your conclusion of the 1974 countdown, I’m not at all surprised to see the bands occupying four of the top spots, knowing as I do how fond of their oeuvre you are. But I’m delighted to see Joni right up there. Court and Spark is one of my all-time favorites, with Down To You my favorite cut. You note that “Court And Spark began a sequence of studio albums that are as good a chronological trio as any in popular music.” I’d propose that it was Ladies of the Canyon (1970) that began a sequence of studio albums that are as good a chronological quartet as any in popular music (LOC, Blue [1971], For the Roses [1972], and Court and Spark [1974].
I join Bill in thanking you for sharing your personal connections to the music.
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Of course I meant “I’m not at all surprised to see the bands occupying four of the top five spots…”
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Hey, JDB. Glad you found at least one strong connection in this resolutely progressive set!
I think you can mount a very strong case for the Joni trio/quartet you mention, culminating in Court and Spark. I’d venture that those who favour her confessional singer-songwriter phase would be totally on board with your suggestion, while those excited by her jazz interpolations and observational short stories might be on my side of the court . For me C&S is the fulcrum (or perhaps the net?). Irrespective of preferences, Ms Mitchell is truly a legend of popular music.
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I think you’re exactly right: I definitely lean toward her singer-songwriter phase, as the albums she produced during those years are ones I was introduced to at an impressionable age (~17 – 19 years old). I was never as drawn to the jazzier output. And how’s this for a coincidence: I got in my car at 4:45 AM today (to head to the YMCA for a swim), put the key in the ignition, started the engine and what was on the radio? Help Me, from Court and Spark. 🙂
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Love those little synchronicities, right? I think ‘Help Me’ was the song that first caught my attention and sparked curiosity about hearing more of Joni.
Interestingly, during these most recent listens the songs I responded to strongly were ‘Free Man in Paris’ and ‘Car on the Hill’. The latter is a lovely example of that transition we were noticing.
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King Crimson might have been one of the most underrated bands in the states. Kraftwerk was another band that was more popular in Europe. Yes created some really good music, but the only issue with that band is that many of their songs were too long for radio play.
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They were not particularly radio friendly in the 70s, were they? (“Roundabout” got to #13 in the US.)
Interestingly, a single edit of “Soon” from Relayer was released as a single, but failed to do much business.
Yes did have a US #1 single, but not until 1983.
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“Owner of a Lonely Heart” was probably the song you are referring to. It wasn’t a 7 minute song.
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Growing up, Court & Spark and Blue were always on my folks record player. Two of my all time favorites.
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They penetrate out psyches, those formative albums. Blue is superb too! Thanks G.
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Thanks for yet another great and informative rewind/replay through some truly great records!! Always a delight to follow this series.
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A pleasure, JES. Really appreciate your coming along for the ride!
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Early to mid-seventies was a formative time for my personal music tastes. The LP album and selected tracks achieving live airplay on radio programs with FM and colour TV on the horizon. True as you rightly write musical choices are subjective but also influenced by the cultural mileau of the times and where you fit in demographically. Funny if memory serves me well? Recall first listening to Kraftwerk’s offering while traveling in Auckland on a freeway. Horror! Shock! they’ve achieved wider recognition and gone ‘commercial’. My personal favourite was the previous year’s release Ralf and Florian. Sublime. Joni Mitchell admittedly an admirer but never a devotee. For the Roses was in my record collection. Some terrific photos including on the album sleeve probably fitting the mood. Joni looking serious and seriously attractive too. Have seen a later release from the photo shoot with Joni smiling beatifically into the camera. Tangerine Dream’s Phaedra the stars align there VC. May have been the following year in ’75 at Dallas Brooks Hall during TD’s THC tour of Australia. No dancing in the aisles too mellow.
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Enjoyed the snapshots and memories the post evoked, Woody. Thanks for sharing them.
Why, oh why did I not go to DBH to see them? Ah well, at least I caught both shows a few months before Edgar died. A sad consolation prize.
Hope you are jotting down some ’74 faves for next Tuesday!
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Shall tune in Bruce! Cheers Woody
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I was on a business trip Tuesday through Thursday and almost would have missed the finale of your impressive countdown. I’m thrilled to see Joni Mitchell’s “Court and Spark,” which was one of the six 1974 albums I picked to highlight on my blog with a dedicated post.
Of course, I’m also aware of Kraftwerk and can also confirm I’ve listened to the single edit of “Autobahn.” I’, definitely going to check out “Phaedra.” I believe I’ve listened to some if its music before. One of the albums by Tangerine Dream I heard many moons ago is “Alpha Centauri.” If I recall it correctly, I liked it at the time, but it’s been too long to remember, so I would have to revisit it.
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I do hope you enjoy Phaedra, Christian. It is more polished than Alpha Centauri (their second LP) but just as inventive and engrossing.
And really, I do think it’s your duty to take the full 22 minute Autobahn trip. 😉
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🙂
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Thanks, Bruce! I think I like “Phaedra” – spacey stuff! “Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares” (that title rolls right off your tongue) reminds me a bit of Jean-Michel Jarre’s “Oxygène,” which I love. Of course, that album came two years after “Phaedra,” so Tangerine Dream can rightfully claim they did it first.
We’ll see about “Autobahn” in its full beauty. I’m going to Germany next Sunday to spend the week of Christmas with my dad, though the current plan is to take an ICE highspeed train from Frankfurt to Siegburg (close to Bonn). As such, perhaps “Trans Europa Express” might be a better choice? 🙂
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LOL. TEE is my favourite Kraftwerk album, Christian, so no argument about that choice! It looks like a trip of about 80 minutes? So time enough for TEE *and* Autobahn. It’s your cultural duty, you know.
And yes, Jean-Michel was doubtless listening to the electronic artists of his eastern neighbour, particularly TD and Klaus Schulze. I love Oxygene too; Jarre sweetened the sometimes austere German sound (and had a bigger hit than either of those originators ever had! Clever fella!). I listened to Oxygene just yesterday; always enjoy that trip.
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Ha, okay, so perhaps “Autobahn” and “TEE” it is going to be – after all, when the ICE pushes the pedal to the metal, it kinda feels like flying on the Autobahn in a Porsche! 🙂
Each time I listen to Oxygene, for which I think headphones are an absolute must, I feel like I’m floating in space. BTW, I’ve also listened to some of Klaus Schulze’s music and like “Timewind” and his “Dark Side of the Moog” series.
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Super. Schulze is a legend and a true heavyweight of the genre. In fact, if you ever feel the need for a deep dive, there is a three part series at VC (here is the first). His catalogue is massive!
In the meantime, the very best wishes for your trip to Deutschland.
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Thanks, Bruce, I’ll be sure to check it out. And thanks for the ‘bon voyage.’ 🙂
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Good list, your 2, 3, and 4 are all top ten for me, I think. I can’t remember if I’ve heard Phaedra, I guess I should.
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That’s a head-nodding level of overlap, Graham. I can’t remember much about your enjoyment of electronic music, but I think anyone who has enjoyed Jarre’s Oxygen should consider a late night voyage (under headphones) with Tangerine Dream, and Phaedra is a fine place to start.
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[…] #5 — #1 […]
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Thanks so much for this engaging and idiosyncratic countdown
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A pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it Farnsie! 🙂
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First off. Why I like your choices so much is, thats what they are YOUR choices. Not gleamed off of some site or what others have said but by hours. days. months, years of listening. It comes through loud and clear, you’re not faking this. #3and #2 are high on my listening history.. Good job Bruce.
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Thanks, CB. Of the five years I’ve taken this trip, this one is probably the most personal.
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This has made me curious to check out Court and Spark and Autobahn (both of which I’m unfamiliar with). I’ll let you know how I get on.
And of course it’s very interesting to hear “the boy’s” guess at your favourite artist – good pick from him. My guess would’ve been Steely Dan, Tangerine Dream or the Bevis Frond.
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Ha, that’s good guessin’, pardner. The first two are certainly contenders. I think the stumbling block with Nick’s enormous catalogue is that I don’t know enough of it well enough!
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was wondering if Relayer was gonna place here. I think a lot of folks found it to be a bit too much. that middle section of Gates is, I think, the highpoint of prog as a genre. you can’t rock harder than that. it’s almost as if with Wakeman and Bruford gone Howe decided he was gonna take it all on himself.
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There’s something in that, I agree. And spurred on by Moraz!
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