What do you remember about 1975? Were you even born?
Was your world dominated by mother’s breast, or were you starting your first job? Attending kindergarten or enrolling at uni? Doing calisthenics or marching against the Vietnam war?
What music was rocking your world… or has wormed its way into your cultural landscape over the ensuing five decades?
Here are some LPs from half a century ago.
These are all from the Vinyl Connection collection, some of the two hundred and fifty odd I’ve been corralling into a spreadsheet and mounting on the turntable.
They are all good albums with interesting music, yet none of the records in this post made my final cut of favourites.
What did? And how were they ranked?
Tune in over the next couple of months as we saddle up for a pilgrimage through albums celebrating 50 years of life.
Yes, folks, it is the annual ever-expanding epic we call…
75 FROM ’75
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vinylconnection.com.au 
I was 3 Bruce. Grooving to Puff The Magic Dragon and various Beatles kiddie friendly songs, no doubt.
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And some Bob Marley, no doubt.
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More Incredible String Band at that time I think. I love them for nostalgic reasons but I don’t find them an easy listen these days.
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With all this distance, ISB sometimes come across as rather precious, don’t they? Still, as you say, in the right mood they’re guaranteed to raise a smile.
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They have a purity and naivety to them that can be heart achingly beautiful and sits well with my childhood, but not necessary my grubby present self.
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I’ll be waiting with bated breath! Lately, I’ve been re-discovering “Ghosts” by the Strawbs, so I hope it’s on the list.
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I wonder, Rick, whether you are someone who prefers their disappointing news up front, or would rather ignore it until it is unavoidable? I’ll take a punt on the former, and reveal that although I have Strawbs progressive album from 1974, I don’t have ‘Ghosts’. Sorry.
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Let’s go with Skyhooks’
Living in the 70s
I’m probably still living it today although I can no longer get under a Lygon St Limbo.
First real job started – Statistics, which delivered significant benefits for many years.
~
Thanks
DD
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Did we ever discover whether ego was, in fact, a dirty word, DD?
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I really commend you for doing this, Bruce, and your formidable list gets bigger year after year!
As for 1975, it pretty much still was was the beginning of my music journey and starting to pay attention to vinyl records my 6-year-older sister owned. Two from 1975 that come to my mind were Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” and the America compilation “History: America’s Greatest Hits” – both records I love to this day!
There were other albums I fondly remember like CSN&Y’s “Deja Vu”, “Santana’s Greatest Hits” and “Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits,” but they all came out prior to 1975.
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At least one of those ’75 titles will appear… late in the program! And two of the titles in the last para have featured in previous editions of this ridiculous project! Great to have you aboard again, Christian.
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Thanks, Bruce, must be America, no doubt!😆
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🤣
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EGO v ego
Maybe it depends on how you capitalise on it?
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The Reds beat the Red Sox in the 1975 World Series.
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I red that.
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The Basement Tapes…oh me oh my. Often overlooked when thinking of The Band or Bob Dylan, but I love it.
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It’s one of the LPs I’m wrestling with. 😖
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Refreshing my memory of The Basement Tapes as I type, Pete. It’s a fascinating document, for sure. But as it was recorded well before the target year, it won’t get a guernsey in 75 FROM ’75. Sorry mate.
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Ha! “Guernsey” must be Aussie slang. (I know it as an island and type of bovine.) But I agree, the BT’s were recorded much earlier and don’t belong in ’75. Besides, the music is too good for that year! 😆
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🤣
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Bruce! Once again, I’m s-o f-a-r behind here on VC, but I’ll catch up. Promise. I was an awkward 13-year-old in 1975. There are several albums released in 1975 that I didn’t discover and fully explore until I’d started college (looking at you Born To Run, Nighthawks At The Diner and Fleetwood Mac). But one that I played over and over after its May ’75 release was Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Every song was a gem, with favorites = Tower of Babel, Bitter Fingers, (Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket, and Better Off Dead. Looking forward to your countdown.
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Forgot to call out CFATBDC’s album art!
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And fancy booklet!
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Confession: I had completely forgotten about the extras. Imagine my delight when I pulled out the album – which I still have, despite not having a turntable for several years – and finding 1) the booklet of lyrics, 2) the booklet of ‘Scraps’, 3) a full color poster of the album art, and 4) an application to join the Elton John Fan Club (cost = $4.00)! A most welcome blast of nostalgia!
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Don’t you love those fulsome packages! Must check how many of those I have in my secondhand copy. 🤔
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The Captain was solidly in early drafts of the list, JDB.
But when I decided on just one (-ish) list that included progressive and jazz-rock albums a lot of difficult calls were inevitable. Four or five of the albums in this post got the chop while a further twenty or so fell to my prog proclivities.
The strength of sub-genres was one reason I delayed and dithered about even attempting a list for ’75, yet, well, here we are. 🙃
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Oh dear, I sense you’re preparing me for the likelihood that CFATBDC won’t make your list…
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VC’s ’75 prologue! Classic whetting the appetite for the main courses, lets hope there’s not a whiff of Mr Creosote about. Bob Dylan and The Band up country at Big Pink legendary stuff. Bootlegs who remembers those? The Basement Tapes were released by Columbia in response to demand created by the inferior black market product. Belatedly arrived in my musical consciousness relatively recently, nonetheless a quality recording with some hidden treasures. Can understand it being in the reserve list though for the 1975 Countdown. Is Molly still about?
Rising for the Moon is solid enough Fairport Convention but no where near the earlier classics. Sandy Denny was still there, *Dave Swarbrick a great later addition,Trevor Lucus the Aussie connection. But the rest definitely batting 2nd/11. However they did tour Oz 1975 and played at Festival Hall. I was there with my good friend Debbie, (bless her soul) who turned me on to Fairport and other wicked stuff. Splendid concert, although t’was a mite distracted attempting to record my own house of stoush recordings on cassette tape. (It was never released).
Lastly Tom Waits Nighthawks at the Diner. Was Tom aurally referencing Edward Hooper? A double ‘live’ album recorded at the Record Plant in LA. That and four recording sessions suggest some polish was added to Tom’s streetwise performance demeanour. Those early Asylum albums Tom recorded including Closing Time and The Heart of Saturday Night was a debut purple patch not many artists could match. Blue Valentine released in 1978 remains an enduring favourite to this day. Bruce pencil that in three years hence and seriously reconsider Nighthawks for a gueurnsey for’75!
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Thanks a lot for engaging so fulsomely from the outset, Woody!
Rather than repeat, or copy and paste, have a glance at my reply to JDB below. I found this list almost impossible, due to the proliferation of rock sub-genres and the strength of the contenders.
Maybe I could invite people to start noting down their Fave Fifteen or something. You’ve got until late December. 🙂
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That’s so good. Poor Ann and Nancy, though…
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I know! I feel mean.
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They won’t notice. Though they’re from Seattle and I had a neighbor who partied with them and said they’re really legit.
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Hooray!!
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Of course have a few of those.
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