Hidden Treasures - 1972

[Scott]

1972 

In putting this playlist together I came to experience a weird Deja-Vu in alot of what I was reviewing. '72 seems like a pivotal year, it sounded like there was a clear shift away from 60's hippie music to more progressive and tighter sounds.

Personally this may be the year that started my interest in music, as much of what I was going through was music that I still love and embrace today. For example, the first track you will hear is The Wizard by Uriah Heep. That album really resonated with me as it was one of the first albums I snuck into my brothers room to play. Still Heep's best album to date IMO. Similar story with REO Two, ZZ Top, and Loggins and Messina. I first heard the Styx track a few years later at my brothers friends house, he was Styx's biggest fan (and like all intelligent classic rock fans, most people put their Styx fandom on hold once DDY left and that imposter stepped in). Anyway... when all is said and done, and when I look back on the time that music took a foothold in my life I often say 74-75, that may still prove to be true, but I think I've at least identified the launching point. This 70's series is getting better and better...


So ... time for Jon's favorite part of these series'... lets get to the WIki-facts.

• January 20 – The début of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical difficulties. Dark Side of the Moon would be played in its entirety the following night, but it would be a full year before the album was released.
• February 9 – Paul McCartney's new band, Wings, make their live debut at the University of Nottingham in England. It's McCartney's first public concert since The Beatles' 1966 US tour.
• February 14–18 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-host an entire week of The Mike Douglas Show.
• March 15 – L.A. disc jockey Robert W. Morgan plays Donny Osmond's "Puppy Love" non-stop for 90 minutes. Police are called, but no arrests are made.
• April 16 – Electric Light Orchestra make their live debut at the Fox and Greyhound pub in Park Lane, Croydon, England.
• August 5 – Clive Davis signs Aerosmith to Columbia Records at Max's Kansas City in New York, NY.
• September 21 - ABC premieres the new TV series In Concert. The first episode features Alice Cooper.
• December 31 - The first New Year's Rockin' Eve, with host Dick Clark, airs on ABC with Three Dog Night as the featured act. Blood, Sweat & Tears, Helen Reddy and Al Green also perform.

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

	Uriah Heep Demons and Wizards 1 - The Wizard This is the album that solidified Uriah Heep's reputation as a master of gothic-inflected heavy metal. From short, sharp rock songs to lengthy, musically dense epics, Demons and Wizards finds Uriah Heep covering all the bases with style and power. The album's approach is set with its lead-off track, "The Wizard": it starts as a simple acoustic tune but soon builds into a stately rocker that surges forth on a Wall of Sound built from thick guitar riffs, churchy organ, and operatic vocal harmonies. Other highlights include "Traveller in Time," a fantasy-themed rocker built on thick wah-wah guitar riffs, and "Circle of Hands," a stately power ballad with a gospel-meets-heavy metal feel to it.
	Styx Styx I 2 - Best Thing Immediately striking is the strong musicianship that DeYoung and Curulewski -- both classically trained -- bring to the project. The four-part "Movement for the Common Man" is impressive considering the dynamics of its scope -- ranging from the hard-hitting aggressive "Children of the Land" to the audio vérité "Street Collage." The latter section includes dialogue and conversations with everyday people and effortlessly flows into a chorus of Aaron Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man." The nearly quarter-hour suite concludes with the brisk and inspired "Mother Nature's Matinee." The catchy and propulsive "Best Thing" became Styx' incipient excursion into the pop singles chart, landing at 82 nationally and scoring even better regionally.
	REO Speedwagon TWO 3 - Golden Country As soon as REO Speedwagon's second album -- aptly titled T.W.O. -- kicks off with "Let Me Ride," it's clear that the band has made some significant strides in gaining a personality. Part of this is due to singer Terry Luttrell being swapped out for Kevin Cronin, whose keening tenor is markedly different from Luttrell's bluesy gargle, and part is due to three of the songs, dramatic multi-sectioned rockers, being more distinguished than the pedestrian boogie of the debut. That boogie hasn't been abandoned -- the group takes the swing out of Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie," which brings it closer to the anonymous thud that characterizes Gary Richrath's "Flash Tan Queen," along with much of the rest of the album. Cronin's two side-openers of "Let Me Ride" and "Music Man" point the way toward the group's classic sound.
	Loggins and Messina Loggins and Messina 4 - Angry Eyes Following on the success of their first album, this album built on the strengths of their debut outing. It also became the true introduction of the team, Loggins and Messina, not as singles playing together, but rather as a team that played as one. Their backup band was anchored by multi-instrumentalist Al Garth, and also featured keyboardist Michael Omartian and Poco steel guitarist Rusty Young.
	ZZ Top Rio Grande Mud 5 - Just Got Paid With their second album, Rio Grande Mud, ZZ Top uses the sound they sketched out on their debut as a blueprint, yet they tweak it in slight but important ways. The first difference is the heavier, more powerful sound, turning the boogie guitars into a locomotive force. There are slight production flares that date this as a 1972 record, but for the most part, this is a straight-ahead, dirty blues-rock difference. Essentially like the first album, then. That's where the second difference comes in -- they have a much better set of songs this time around, highlighted by the swaggering shuffle "Just Got Paid," the pile-driving boogie "Bar-B-Q," the slide guitar workout "Apologies to Pearly."

What else do you recall from 1972?

[Jon]

I recall nothing from 1972.

I did not experience any déjà vu while listening to this.

Keening
noun
1. the act of a person who keens.
2. a wailing lament for the dead; keen.

So, Kevin Cronin wails for the dead? 

"But if when anyone died
Came keeners hoarser than rooks,
He bade them give over their keening;
For he was a man of books."

-William Butler Keats

Nice that you used the album version of "Angry Eyes", expected that you would use the single version because, you know, the album version is "too long". 

That's a mob car pictured. Probably a body in the trunk.

I'm trying to think of more stuff to say, but I'm drawing a blank.

I have all these songs, but only three of these albums. Guess which ones. 

I'm done.

[Scott]

Im guessing you don't own the REO and ZZ TOP albums, rather you have these tunes on some sort of compilation

[Jon]

That is correct. Sadly, you win nothing. 

[Scott]

Oh but I do win something!!

[Jon]

[Scott]

[Gordon Williams]

Excellent song list! One of the better ones for me.

The Uriah Heep tune is an awesome classic. Great vocals and lyrics, fantastic production...an "atmospheric" tune that can "take me away" every time I hear it. My favorite Heep album is actually "Look At Yourself", but there are plenty of great, early Heep albums. Including this one, "Salisbury", "Very 'eavy...Very 'umble", and "Magicians Birthday". "Very 'eavy...Very 'umble" was actually titled something else, if I recall right, on the American release. I have it on vinyl somewhere.

Never heard the Styx tune, but it's a great song. Like the Heep tune, it features some excellent keyboard work. You guys know I'm not crazy about keyboards, but when done right, it can be a great enhancement. This tune was done right...very good tone/sound on the keyboards. Excellent vocals, and the bass at times sounds like, or reminds me of "fuzz bass".

The REO is a great tune, as well. Have not heard this studio version very often, having had it on the live album, and having played that live album many times back in the day. Some excellent lead guitar here, sounding like twin guitars. But it's probably just played and tracked twice.

Never got into Loggins and Messina much at all, but I do love this song. Dont believe I've ever heard this longer version, though. The saxophone adds to this tune for sure. Awesome chorus, and just a solid track.

Finally, the ZZTop smokes, as a lot of older ZZTop does. Killer, funky main riff, with some slide fills, and some humorous lyrics sung with a great delivery.

Very nice post! Now off to check out the albums posted by Jon and RJHog.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Heep -  I have this album.  Listened to it once and it didn't move me.  However, listening to this track now makes me desire another listen.  This is really, really good.  Must make a mental note.

Styx - I'm a big fan of this album.  I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of Styx fans have never even heard it.  To me, it's the best album of the first four Wooden Nickel recordings.  The music is terrific and even without Tommy Shaw, the vocals are superb.  Outstanding pick.

REO - The guitar on this song smokes!.  So does the bass.  Killer song.

L & M - I had never heard this song until a couple of years ago.  I heard it on the radio one day and was sufficiently pleased enough to pick up a cd with the song on it.  This is a very laid back jam.  I wouldn't call the guitar playing flashy, but it just sucks you in here, along with that sax and what sounds like some other wind instrument, maybe a flute.  This song is kind of hypnotic.

Top - Never been a big ZZ Top fan, but this is definitely one of their better songs to me.  Nice guitar.

My ranking:

1. Styx

2. REO

3. Uriah Heep

4. Loggins And Messina

5. ZZ Top

...but all good tracks this week bro.  Nice job.

[Gordon Williams]

Man, early ZZTop is fantastic! Up there with early Aerosmith, Nuge, etc.

[Scott]

Agree!