Knives in W11

Okay – so 1977 is the best year ever for music – so here’s my super-indulgent gull-wing Brazilian blow-back list.

Songs:

1. All This and More (The Dead Boys) – The Dead Boys don’t get enough credit for their amazing sound, and the influence they clearly had on the Sex Pistols. This is one of the greatest punk anthems – gives me shivers.
2. Complete Control/White Man In Hammersmith Palais (The Clash) – IMO ‘Complete Control’ is one of the best rock songs ever. Perfect guitar sound. ‘White Man in Hammersmith Palais’ is the Clash’s best song. Real reggae – real punk – real good.
3. Breakdown (Buzzcocks) – Formed immediately after hosting one of the first Pistols gigs, this seminal Manchester band released the first Independent UK punk single ‘Spiral Scratch E.P.’ It is still one of the most modern and arresting releases of the UK punk scene.
4. Stranded (The Saints) – Meanwhile – in Australia (!) The Saints were crafting their own distinctive punk sound – one of my favourite Rock vocals of all time.
5. Young Savage (Ultravox) – and before they became popular as one of the early UK electro groups, Ultravox had a tight punk ethic.
6. Marquee Moon (Television) – this is just an amazing song, regardless of the confusing genres typically assigned to Television.
7. Let There Be Rock (AC/DC) – I have to admit that I can’t really stand AC/DC – but I highly recommend watching the documentary ‘Let There Be Rock’ and witness the weirdness of the original Bon Scott-led line up. In 1977 AC/DC were womanizing hard-drinking Aussie scumbags with a great sense of humour. This is by far their best song IMO – Bon Scott all the way.
8. Hanging Around/Peaches/No More Heroes (The Stranglers) – yeah that’s right – my #7 is three singles by The Stranglers. This band had so much potential, but somehow never broke out like they deserved to. I think the punks were confused by the beardy drummer and the keyboard arpeggios – that’s what makes them brilliant.
9. Three Little Birds (Bob Marley & The Wailers) – I typically loathe Bob Marley’s music – not only is it overplayed to the point of exhaustion, but I get very tired of the constant Rasta preachiness and squeeky clean production. That said – this is one of the most positive songs of all time and I love it. Check out Naomi Campbell in this video!
10. Lust For Life (Iggy Pop) – not a huge Iggy fan, but its just one of the greatest songs from the punk era. Jim Morrison would have been proud. This is the best version BTW – Manchester 1977 filmed for Tony Wilson’s TV show.
11. Psycho Killer (Talking Heads) – Its good.
12. Short People (Randy Newman) – they got no reason.
13. Billericay Dickie (Ian Dury) – If you haven’t seen it – I highly recommend ‘Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll’, a biopic of Ian Dury starring Andy (Gollum) Serkis. One of the best music movies ever made, regardless if you’re a fan of Dury or not (I wasn’t til I saw it!)
14. Rockin’ All Over The World (Status Quo) – I don’t know if this band is even known in the US, but they’re a bit of a joke in the UK, which is a shame. A truly great (if predictable) rock band. This is their biggest hit – stick your thumbs in your belt-loops, take a rock stance and start headbanging.

Albums:

1. ABBA: The Album (ABBA) – This album accompanies the excellent ‘ABBA: The Movie’ which contains some of the best concert footage of the band. If you think ABBA are shit – watch them live. ABBA: The Album is my favourite ABBA album for a number of reasons – the production is awesome – check out Benny/Bjorn’s supertight production on ‘Hole In Your Soul’, as well as the proto-LLoyd-Weber vocal breakdowns and Agnetha’s insanely high scream! The album kicks off with the Pink Floyd-esque ‘Eagle’ – moves on to superhits  ‘Take A Chance on Me’ and ‘The Name of the Game’ as well as the saccharine and rather hateful ‘Thank You for the Music’ (hey – its ABBA – there’s gotta be something terrible on every album!) And perhaps you can forgive Benny & Bjorn for Mama Mia the musical, when you listen to the powerful  ‘I Wonder’ and the insane ‘I’m a Marionette’, both part of a mini-musical performed live during this era of touring. If you feel like taking a chance on ABBA, start here.
2. Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s The Sex Pistols (Sex Pistols) – Best album ever.
3. Rocket To Russia (Ramones) – if I was going to recommend a Ramones album to anyone, it would be this one. Ramones at their purest. Highlights are ‘Rockaway Beach’, ‘Here Today Gone Tomorrow’ their classic ‘Sheena is a Punk Rocker’, the psychedelic ‘Teenage Lobotomy’ and their version of ‘Surfin Bird’. I read an interview with album producer Tony Bongiovi (Jon Bonjovi’s cousin) where he talks about recording ‘Surfin Bird’. Apparently they recorded the backing track first, and then Joey did a vocal take. There was no click-track or marker where he was supposed to come back in after the psychedelic section, and he nailed the timing, first take. He credits Joey Ramone as one of the greatest musicians he’s worked with.
4. From Here To Eternity (Giorgio Moroder) – Moroder is the best dance producer ever, and this is his best album. Non-stop frickin’ awesome. Own it.
5. The Clash (The Clash) – Debut album, fast, gritty, nasty, awesome. I personally prefer the US version (released years later) that includes different versions and extra tracks, but the original UK version is consistent and no-nonsense. Highlights for me are Mick Jones’ ‘Protex Blue’ and the genre-defining ‘Police Thieves’.
6. Trans Europe Express (Kraftwerk) – its trippy from start to end – everyone should take the time to listen to this album every few years. Truly beautiful.
7. Damned Damned Damned (The Damned) – totally raw, totally rock ‘n’ roll, totally punk. Brian James’ guitar is stunning, Scabies drums are amazing – Sensible’s bass and vocals are brilliant and Vanian’s at his best. A perfect album and heavier/faster/punker/funnier than all the rest.
8. Motörhead (Motörhead) – not their best, but a seminal metal album. White Line Fever.
9. Low (David Bowie) – not to be out-done by the punk scene that he had unwittingly fostered, Bowie takes us on a very spooky and Germanic journey into the bleak future. Side two all the way.
10. Young Loud and Snotty (The Dead Boys) – my #1 song is from this album, but the rest of it is pretty good as well, especially ‘Caught With The Meat in Your Mouth’ which has got to be one of the best song titles ever, right?
11. Star Wars (John Williams) – Leia’s theme. Damn!

Oh yeah – ‘Knives in West Eleven’ is a lyric from the Clash’s 1977 b-side ‘1977’ – one of their worst songs.

1978 by moonra

1978

lp’s

1.  Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? Answer: We Are Devo!  listen
2.  Wire – Chair Missing listen
3.  Blondie – Parallel Lines  listen
4.  Television – Adventure listen
5.  Bob Dylan – Street Legal listen
6.  Cecil Taylor – Cecil Taylor Unit listen
7.  The Clash – Give “em Enough Rope  listen
8.  Lou Reed – Street Hassle listen
9.  Dead Boys – We Have Come For Your Children listen
10.  The Saints – Eternally Yours listen
* The Cars – The Cars (honorable mention)

songs

1.  Who Says A Funk Band Can’t Play Rock? – Funkadelic
2.  You Can’t Put Your Arm Around A Memory – Johnny Thunders
3.  Before They Make Me Run – Rolling Stones
4.  Radio, Radio – Elvis Costello
5.  What’s Next to the Moon? – AC DC
6.  One Hundred Punks – Generation X
7.  Take Me I’m Yours – Squeeze
8.  Sister Disco – The Who
9.  The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down – The Band
10.  New Precision – Be Bop Deluxe

Tim’s 1978 Top Tens

1978 turned out to be a good year! This probably my favourite top ten to date.

Songs:

1. Hanging On The Telephone (Blondie) – In my opinion this is the best single of all time. Debbie Harry’s voice at its best, killer guitar licks and drum fills, amazing verses, brilliant choruses, a killer bridge and huge ending – all in 2:22. Incredible song.
2. Theme From Monkey Magic (Godiego) – Godiego are a Japanese band that have released 55 albums (!) In 1978 they recorded the theme tune to a comedic chop-socky TV show called ‘Monkey Magic’. Based on the 19th Century novel by Wu Cheng’en, the show was dubbed into English and became an instant success. Godiego’s theme tune is the toughest funkiest space-rock jam ever – though some of the lyrics didn’t scan so well after translation! Email me if you want to hear the full lenghth version – Youtube took my video down 😦
3. This Perfect Day (The Saints) – Chris Bailey is probably the best rock vocalist ever. As remote and obscure as this Australian band was in 1978 – they nailed the Detroit punk sound better than most. A very intense and strange song.
4. I Don’t Mind (Buzzcocks) – One of Pete Shelley’s masterpieces. Like ‘Hanging On The Telephone’ this is an almost perfect pop song/single – tight, hooky, modern and heavy-on-the-heart. No-one writes a love song like Pete Shelley, and this is one of his best. It just beat ‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldnt’ve?)’ onto my top ten list because it has such ingenious chords changes and a killer bridge.
5. The Artilleryman And The Fighting Machine (Jeff Wayne) – This is my favourite track from Jeff Wayne’s epic disco-funk-rock concept album ‘War Of The Worlds’. This track features voice-overs from Sir Richard Burton and David Essex (!) – I chose it because it includes some of the best themes on the album, and some sublime orchestration, production and mixing.
6. Safe European Home (The Clash) – Surely one of the best rock songs of all time – a brilliant sound and a hugely professional shift for the Clash. For those who are interested some discreet mixes turned up on Youtube recently. Being able to hear Mick’s backing vocal at 2:12 were a revelation to this Clash fan!
7. Carry Me Home (Dennis Wilson) – This track was issued a few years back packaged with the re-release of ‘Pacific Ocean Blue’. One of the darkest, most moving of Dennis’ typically dark moving songs!
8. Outdoor Miner (Wire) – What a strange band Wire are – the taught art-punks surprise everyone with a melodic second album. Sublime tune.
9. The Electrician (The Walker Brothers) – After a comeback hit in ’75, the Walker Brothers found themselves in a 3 album deal with GTO records. By this point, Scott Walker had already recorded too many terrible pop albums (all deleted now!) so steered the Brothers into making a more experimental album. ‘The Electrician’ is the best track on ‘Nite Flights’, and probably the most accessible of Scott Walker’s avant-garde songs. This is a great place to start, if you’ve ever been interested in what all the fuss is about.
10. Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush) – Kate’s a bit hit-and-miss in my opinion, but her first hit is an astounding piece of songwriting. Check out the ‘Red Dress’ video – oh Kate!

(11.) Kangaroo (Big Star) – ‘Third/Sister Lovers’ didn’t make my top ten albums list – but ‘Kangaroo’ is a brilliantly spooky song! This is what happens when you let the engineer loose on your demo!

Albums:

1. War Of The Worlds (Jeff Wayne) – as a child this disco-prog concept album used to simultaneous fascinate and terrify me. It still has the same effect! Wayne’s orchestration and production are pretty seminal in this genre – pretty much all disco albums sounded like this in 1979! Richard Burton is phoning in his voice-over, but all the other contributors give it their all (especially Phil Lynott as the priest!) 
2. Another Music In A Different Kitchen (Buzzcocks) – Its legend that everyone in attendance at The Sex Pistols show at Manchester Free Trade Hell in 1976 started a successful band – but The Buzzcocks were definitely there – they organized the show. After shedding vocalist Howard Devoto and swapping instruments and members, they came up with this incredible first album, packed tight with angsty love songs and futuristic art-rock-inspired pop songs. A unique and underrated band regardless of the ‘punk’ tag. Pete Shelley pretty much invented the gender-unspecific love song (though it was pretty obvious he was gay!), paving the way for the likes of Morrissey and Husker Du. Musically a huge influence on Nirvana. Also released in 1978 is their second album ‘Love Bites’ with the classic track ‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldnt’ve?)’.
3. Parallel Lines (Blondie) – I’m not the biggest Blondie fan – but this album is just a classic from start to finish! Sunday Girl, Heart Of Glass, One Way Or Another…
4. Eternally Yous (The Saints) – Who the hell are The Saints? Well it seems there was an awesome punk scene in Australia in the late 70s and this album is a gem!
5. Ambient 1: Music for Airports (Brian Eno) – I’m also not a huge Eno fan, but there’s no denying this a seminal and gorgeous album. Far out,
6. Road To Ruin (Ramones) – Perhaps not the originators of punk, but the band that unified the movement across the planet. Ramones 4th album hammered home their bubblegum cartoon-rock ethic.
7. Give Em Enough Rope (The Clash) – As a Clash nerd I couldn’t leave their 2nd album off the list. Essentially its a problematic album, chiefly because it was produced by American rock producer Sandy Pearlman (Blue Oyster Cult et al) and was duly damned by the music press and punks alike as a sell-out. However, its actually a very robust rock album, the Clash show their lighter side with tracks like ‘Julies Been Working for the Drug Squad’ and ‘Drug Stabbing Time‘ (a close second to ‘Safe European Home’ on my top 10 song list!) 
8. Outlandos d’Amour (The Police) – I fucking hate Sting, and pretty much everything The Police did after this was meh – but I can’t deny everything on this album is brilliant.
9. The Man Machine (Kraftwerk) – The band’s 7th album wasn’t much of a departure, but had a perfect balance of pop, humor and minimalism. ‘The Robots’ and ‘Man Machine’ are particular highlights.
10. Bambu (Dennis Wilson) – “Gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh.”