Hidden Treasures - 1977

I've had this playlist ready for a few days but in putting this together it was very clear early on that we lost several huge influential people in 1977. T-Rex, the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash and those lost in that, and then Elvis. Sadly Jimi Jamison also passed in the last couple days which kind of underscores and reminds us that though they may be lost, they've left behind a gift in their musical legacy that will live on forever. My hope is that we represent them well here on CRB.

onto this weeks post...

So I've been keenly waiting for that certain moment when I would realized the year that music took a foot hold in my life. It's here...

When I was reviewing the list of albums released in 1977 it became quite clear that these albums were the ones put the stake in the ground of my musical taste. So, this weeks playlist is full of songs that truly were part of this experience. All of them were present in my life and collection in 1977 and all of them still get considerable airtime around here.

Some Wiki-Facts for you - as always these are sponsored by JonsMind-O-Pedia...

January 1 – The Clash headline the opening night of London's only punk rock club, The Roxy
February 4 - Fleetwood Mac's widely anticipated Rumours is released; it goes on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time
February 14 – The B-52's give their first public performance at a party in Athens, Georgia
February 15 – Sid Vicious replaces Glen Matlock as the bassist of the Sex Pistols
April 26 – New York's disco Studio 54 opens
June 12 - Guitarist Michael Schenker vanishes after a UFO concert at The Roundhouse in London
June 22 – Kiss are elected "most popular band in America" by a Gallup poll
July 26 – Led Zeppelin cancels the last seven dates of their American tour after lead singer Robert Plant learns that his six-year old son Karac has died of a respiratory virus (The show two days before in Oakland proves to be the band's last in the United States)
August 16 – Elvis Presley is found dead at his home Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee
September 16 – T.Rex frontman Marc Bolan is killed in an automobile accident
October 20 – A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in a forest in Mississippi, killing songwriter & vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, background vocalist Cassie Gaines and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick and seriously injuring many of the remaining band members.
December 14 – Saturday Night Fever appears in theaters, igniting a new popularity for disco music and pushing it to the forefront of American pop culture, with the soundtrack to the film by Bee Gees (who had composed most of the tracks)

PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/avxp2imj

	Prism Prism 1 - Spaceship Superstar I first heard this on a local radio station that used to have playlist freedom and woudl often play new up and coming bands. Prism's debut release automatically struck a chord with Canadians, netting a number 23 hit in that country with "Spaceship Superstar," thanks to the bright, animated keyboard playing of John Hall. Produced by Bruce Fairbairn, 1978's Prism introduced the band's staunch, Journey-like arena rock sound, guided by vocalist Ron Tabak. The album sold relatively well in Canada, but went rather unnoticed throughout the U.S. or the rest of the world.
	Santana Moonflower 2 - She's Not There I was exposed to this double LP at my friends house who's brother loved the album so much it was almost all I heard him play when he was around. Still sticks with me to this day... Santana, which was renowned for its concert work dating back to Woodstock, did not release a live album in the U.S. until this one, and it's only partially live, with studio tracks added, notably a cover of the Zombies' "She's Not There" (number 27) that became Santana's first Top 40 hit in five years. The usual comings and goings in band membership had taken place since last time; the track listing was a good mixture of the old -- "Black Magic Woman," "Soul Sacrifice" -- and the recent, and with the added radio play of a hit single, Moonflower went Top Ten and sold a million copies, the first new Santana album to do that since 1972 and the last until Supernatural in 1999.
	Sammy Hagar Musical Chairs 3 - Turn Up The Music Another stolen gem from my brothers collection and still my favorite Hagar solo album. He don't write 'em like this anymore... Musical Chairs features some guitars that are a treat for listeners fond of the much tougher, uncompromising music that Hagar used throughout the '70s to build one of the largest followings for an American hard rock solo artist. With a strong backing lineup that included former Montrose alum Denny Carmassi (drums), Bill Church (bass), and Alan Fitzgerald (keys), Hagar's music comes off lean and mean. Thanks especially to Hagar himself and longtime musical associate Gary Pihl, the riffing on Musical Chairs separates the recording from many hard rock issues of the day. Aggressive numbers like "Turn up the Music" and "Straight From the Hip Kid" do the most sonic damage on this classic red-rocker offering.
	Rod Stewart Foot Loose & Fancy Free 4 - Hot Legs If you read the track listing on this album you'll recognize a lot of radio hits, but it wasnt the more popular tracks that caught my ear on this one, it was a 45 of "I Was Only Joking" that made me listen further. Foot Loose & Fancy Free featured Stewart's own band, the original Rod Stewart Group that featured Carmine Appice, Phil Chen, Jim Cregan, Billy Peek, Gary Grainger and John Jarvis. It continued Stewart's run of chart success, reaching number two. "You're in my Heart" was the hit single, reaching number four in the US. The rocker "Hot Legs" achieved a lot of radio airplay as did the confessional "I Was Only Joking". In appearance, Stewart's look had evolved to include a glam element, including make-up and spandex clothes.
	Styx The Grand Illusion 5 - Miss America Probably one of the first 10 albums I ever bought. I remember coming across it the same week it was released in a local mall. I bought it to impress my brother who loved Styx. I believe it worked... Built on the strengths of "Come Sail Away"'s ballad-to-rock metamorphosis, which gained them their second Top Ten hit, and on the high harmonies of newcomer Tommy Shaw throughout "Fooling Yourself," The Grand Illusion introduced Styx to the gates of commercial stardom. The pulverized growl of "Miss America" reveals the group's guitar-savvy approach to six-string rock, while De Young pretentiously struts his singing prowess throughout the title track. Shaw's induction into the band has clearly settled, and his guitar work, along with James Young's, is full and extremely sharp where it matters most. Even the songwriting is more effluent than Crystal Ball, which was released one year earlier, shedding their mystical song motifs for a more audience-pleasing lyric and chord counterpoise. Reaching number six on the album charts, The Grand Illusion was the first to display the gelled accomplishments of both Tommy Shaw and Dennis De Young as a tandem.