NO GAP YEAR – contrary to claims 1974 produced some great albums…..

[email protected] October 1, 2019

There is an argument, hard to accept as it is, that 1974 was a low-key year for rock music, some going as far to say it was the least distinguished of the entire decade.

Those holding this point of view possibly base their theory on the absence of new material from many acknowledged big-hitters of the day, reflecting on twelve months when there was nothing fresh from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd and The Who – and while Bob Dylan reunited with The Band for a US tour and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young filled stadiums throughout the summer, as recording artists neither entity found the time, or desire, to emerge from the studio with something newly created.

After the gargantuan efforts that had gone into producing the seminal 1973 releases ‘The Dark Side of the Moon‘ and ‘Quadrophenia‘, Pink Floyd and The Who became preoccupied by other commitments; Floyd with touring and wondering how on earth they would follow such an opus, The Who immersed in the film version of their 1969 rock opera ‘Tommy‘.

Featuring lead singer Roger Daltrey in the title role and with composer/guitarist Pete Townshend overseeing the movie soundtrack, The Who did manage to tie up a few loose ends with ‘Odds & Sods‘ – a fascinating collection of largely unreleased material mostly recorded between 1968 & 1972.

With Zeppelin licking their wounds from the underwhelming critical response to ‘Houses Of The Holy‘ from the previous year (who like me admires its diversity despite the disparaging reviews?), their guitar virtuoso Jimmy Page later commenting, ‘1974 didn’t really happen did it?’ – sentiments echoed by many an observer if certain rock critic opinion polls are to be believed.

The four former Beatles could be forgiven in thinking the same as Page – McCartney failing to follow his outstanding ‘Band On The Run‘ (1973), (when he did with ‘Venus And Mars‘ in 1975, it was solid rather than spectacular), while the 1974 offerings of the others, ‘Walls & Bridges‘ (Lennon), ‘Goodnight Vienna‘ (Starr) and ‘Dark Horse‘ (Harrison), failed to muster an LP worth of decent material between them.

After beginning his career with two fine albums in 1973, Bruce Springsteen, the latest in a long line of ‘new Dylan’s‘, was also absent from the new release market, the coming man establishing himself as a major force with the momentous ‘Born To Run‘ the following year.

As for Dylan, he returned from touring with The Band to find his marriage in tatters, the distress he felt reflected in tracks recorded in the closing months of 1974 – the ensuing masterpiece ‘Blood On The Tracks‘ appearing in January 1975.

It was not just those out of circulation who served to give 1974 its perceived bad name.

After showing a distinct lack of cohesion on ‘Goats Head Soup‘ (1973), the Rolling Stones regained some semblance of purpose with ‘It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll‘ but it was still below par.

‘Smiler‘ (Rod Stewart) had its moments, but not nearly as many as found on the four albums that precede it, with more innovation expected from David Bowie than heard on ‘Diamond Dogs.’ The less said about ‘Caribou‘ (Elton John) the better.

Yet despite the absenteeism and dip in previous standards, only the foolhardy or uninformed would decry 1974 as a write-off for recordings. True, it may not have the collective excellence of 1971 or even 1975 (‘Blood On The Tracks‘, ‘Born To Run‘, ‘The Who By Numbers‘, ‘Tonight’s The Night‘, ‘Young Americans‘ and ‘Physical Graffiti‘ for goodness sake), but were 1972 or 1979 really any better than 74?

Besides, any year that contains brilliant work by Jackson Browne, Richard and Linda Thompson, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young has plenty to recommend it – not to mention the astounding ‘No Other‘ by ex-Byrd Gene Clark, two glorious contributions from Van Morrison, another astonishing Stevie Wonder collection and the everlasting joy that is Linda Ronstadt’s ‘Heart Like A Wheel.’

Steely Dan disappointed nobody with ‘Pretzel Logic‘ and Little Feat saw their stock rise even higher on ‘Feats Don’t Fail Me Now.’

Following his sad demise at the age of just 26 in September 1973, Gram Parsons wrote his own epitaph with the magnificent ‘Grievous Angel‘, the year virtually book-ended by Dylan and The Band – the acclaimed shows of the spring superbly captured on the double live set ‘Before The Flood.’

So to those who do not deem 1974 a wonder year listen again – you are missing a very fine vintage.

TWENTY GREAT ALBUMS of 1974:

1. NO OTHER – Gene Clark;
2. ON THE BEACH – Neil Young;
3. LATE FOR THE SKY – Jackson Browne;
4. COURT AND SPARK – Joni Mitchell;
5. HEART LIKE A WHEEL – Linda Ronstadt;
6. PRETZEL LOGIC – Steely Dan;
7. I WANT TO SEE THE BRIGHT LIGHTS TONIGHT – Richard and Linda Thompson;
8. GRIEVOUS ANGEL – Gram Parsons;
9. FULFILLINGNESS FIRST FINALE – Stevie Wonder;
10. IT’S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW – Van Morrison;
11. FEATS DON’T FAIL ME NOW – Little Feat;
12. BEFORE THE FLOOD – Bob Dylan and The Band;
13. VEEDON FLEECE – Van Morrison;
14. GOOD OLD BOYS – Randy Newman;
15. 461 OCEAN BOULEVARD – Eric Clapton;
16. ODDS AND SODS – The Who;
17. SHEER HEART ATTACK – Queen;
18. AVERAGE WHITE BAND – Average White Band;
19. SECOND HELPING – Lynyrd Skynyrd;
20. SOUVENIRS – Dan Fogelberg;

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NEIL SAMBROOK is also the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle Book.