Kraftwerk "Radio-Aktivität" (1975)

Radio-Aktivität

release date: Oct. 1975

format: cd (1986 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,98]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Kling Klang / EMI - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 2. "Radioaktivität" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Radioland" - 4. "Ätherwellen" - 8. "Antenne" - 12. "Ohm Sweet Ohm" (4 / 5)

5th studio album by Kraftwerk and the band's second album on the compilation Der Katalog (2009) following one year after Autobahn. Here the band is for the first time a permanent quartet with the two primary composers and musicians Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, again together with percussionist Wolfgang Flür - who also played on the predecessor, as well as new percussionist Karl Bartos. Emil Schult is songwriter of more than half of the songs and he is also credited the artwork of the album, but still not credited as an official member. The album runs just under 38 minutes and it's the band's first to be simultaneously released in an original German version as well as a versioned English edition with English song titles mainly for English-speaking countries, but also for release in the Netherlands and in Scandinavia - where the album was released as Radio-Activity.

Once again, the band has managed to take another leap further into the electronic genre. You'll find only a few overlaps with Autobahn and additionally, the album here is more stringent with electric percussion pads, vocoders, and a stronger pop profile with melodic choruses, in addition to a number of experimental traits, which tend towards modern glitch pop with what some have condescendingly called 'blip-blop music' - with reference to sounds simulating radios and electronic instruments. Between more traditional compositions at three to six minutes duration, shorter compositions from 14 seconds to just over one minute are interspersed, as small breaks with different sound sequences. It's a new and ground-breaking way of making music, which has inspired artists then and now. English band Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark have especially on their Dazzle Ships (1983) included some of the same sound loops and fun quirks found on Radio-Aktivität.

The album was met by lukewarm reviews and didn't perform to well commercially on a national scale, where it peaked at number #22, but the album went to number #4 in Austria and simply topped the albums chart in France. Contemporary reviewers were skeptical - probably because it's so different, but retrospective reviews attest to the album's status as yet another of the band's seminal releases.

Personally, I can easily hear OMD's huge inspiration, but because I first listened intensively to OMD, it's somewhat difficult to see Kraftwerk's music as better. It's obvious though, that the British band stole with hands and claws, but they didn't just copy, and that's ultimately what musicians do when they help push boundaries and create their own sound. Radio-Aktivität is a proof of the band's innovative style and is not a complete album without twists and turns, where in particular the slightly outdated instruments used distinguish the album from later releases, but it's nevertheless so beautifully produced and thoroughly new in form and sound that it surpasses much else of contemporary releases.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Mojo, Q Magazine, Uncut 4 / 5, Spin 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Thin Lizzy "Fighting" (1975)

Fighting
release date: Sep. 12, 1975
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,15]
producer: Phil Lynott
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Rosalie" - 3. "Suicide" - 4. "Wild One" - 7. "Spirit Slips Away" (3,5 / 5) - 9. "Freedom Song"

5th studio album by Thin Lizzy. Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson are more upfront on this album and it comes out as the first Thin Lizzy album with its characteristic sonic style founded on two dominant electric guitars. It's clearly better than the band's earliest albums, the style may be there, but I don't find that the songs are that interesting.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Deep Purple "Come Taste the Band" (1975)

Come Taste the Band
release date: Oct. 10, 1975
format: vinyl (TPSA 7515) / digital (2010 remaster)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,96]
producer: Martin (The Wasp) Birch and Deep Purple
label: Purple Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Comin' Home" - 2. "Lady Luck" - 5. "I Need Love" - - B) 1. "Drifter"

10th studio album by Deep Purple released on Purple Records and produced by Martin Birch and Deep Purple. Stylistically, the band continues with a mix of hard rock, funk, soul elements and more mainstream pop / rock as was the case on Burn (1974). The album features the band's new guitarist Tommy Bolin who had replaced one of the band's central composers, Ritchie Blackmore, but it remains the only album with Bolin as guitarist. In early '76 the band was on an Asian tour and Bolin who was a drug addict often failed to play guitar properly and the band broke up Mar. '76 - Bolin died of a heroin overdose Dec. 1976. Deep Purple was, however, rejoined in 1984 with the original "Mark II" members, Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Roger Glover and Ian Paice. The band still lives on, although, the members list have changed since the reunion but Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and Ian Paice are still together as Deep Purple. This is my newest album with the band. I have listened to a few of their more recent albums, including their "reunion" album Perfect Strangers (1984), which became the band's biggest commercial success, but I have failed to find anything interesting in their following releases and simply see the band as one connected to the early 1970s.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars, Sputnik Music calls it "very poor" and hands it 1,5 / 5 stars ]

T. Rex "Bolan's Zip Gun" (1975)

Bolan's Zip Gun
release date: Mar. 11, 1975
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Marc Bolan
label: EMI - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Light of Love" - 3. "Precious Star" - 4. "Token of My Love" - 10. "Golden Belt"

10th studio album by T. Rex and the first to be solely produced by Marc Bolan. Following little success with his previous album, Bolan wanted full control of the sound of this release, and for the first time in a long time he actually succeeds in exploring new musical territory with a combo of glam rock, boogie, and bold use of blues and especially soul. The result is slower and more complex compositions but the album turned out as his least successful album so far, which may seem a bit unfair as I find it bettering his Zinc Alloy... album, and it's really not far from Bowie's Diamond Dogs from '74 - and then again: It perhaps shows how Bolan now comes up with an approach to new evolving styles.

Supertramp "Crisis? What Crisis?" (1975)

Crisis? What Crisis?
release date: Sep.14, 1975
format: vinyl (1977 reissue) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,65]
producer: Ken Scott, Supertramp
label: A&M Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Easy Does It" - 2. "Sister Moonshine" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Ain't Nobody But Me" (3 / 5) - 4. "A Soapbox Opera" (4 / 5) - 5. "Another Man's Woman" (3 / 5) - - B) 1. "Lady" (4 / 5) - 2. "Poor Boy" - 3. "Just a Normal Day" - 4. "The Meaning" (4 / 5) - 5. "Two of Us"

4th studio album by Supertramp. Like the successful Crime of the Century (Nov. 1974) the album is co-produced by Ken Scott. It's the first album I ever heard with the band. I used to borrow the album from my older brother, and really liked it a lot. Eventually, he gave me the album when he moved out of our family house back in '78. I still consider the album the band's best. It's right there on the verge of progressive rock art pop and the more cheesy and standardised pop they made later on, and I like it more than its more famous predecessor because it's a move away from bluesy American r&b soft rock to a more simplified European art pop.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

10cc "The Original Soundtrack" (1975)

The Original Soundtrack
release date: Feb. 1975
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]

Track highlights: 2. "I'm Not in Love" (4 / 5) - 4. "The Second Sitting for the Last Supper" (2,5 / 5)

3rd studio album by 10cc released on Mercury Records and produced by the band. I think the best thing about the album is the cover art designed by Hypgnosis, an art group that fronted many album covers in the 1970s and especially bands and artists of art pop, experimental, and progressive rock. The music is rather theatrical, but just boring with its fusion of rock opera, jazz elements and tedious arrangements. Yes, the album contains the 1970s great classic "I'm Not in Love", which really only seems misplaced here as no other song on the album comes close to that. Other than that the band was famous for having the composer duo Godley and Cream in its earliest and original line-up. Kevin Godley was the band's percussionist, drummer, (and lead) vocalist and songwriter, and Lol Creme was multi-instrumentalist, (backing) vocalist, and composer, and together they became famous as Godley & Creme, a successful producer- / composer- / video director-duo for lots of artists in the early 1980s. However. the classic track "I'm Not in Love" was written and composed by Etic Stewart and Graham Gouldman - the other two of the band.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Neil Young & Crazy Horse "Zuma" (1975)

Zuma
release date: Nov. 10, 1975
format: cd (1993 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Neil Young & David Briggs with Tim Mulligan
label: Reprise Records - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 1. "Don't Cry No Tears" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Pardon My Heart" (4 / 5) - 5. "Barstool Blues" - 8. "Cortez the Killer" (4,5 / 5) - 9. "Through My Sails" (feat.Crosby, Stills & Nash)

7th studio album by Neil Young released as Neil Young & Crazy Horse. The album was released only 5 months after On the Beach and is a natural successor. Zuma is Young's second "real" [official] collaboration studio release with Crazy Horse, although, the band's line-up played with Young on several other studio albums and touring as part of his regular live band since his debut.
The album is lighter and more rock-styled than his albums following his first collaboration work with Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere from 1969, and it may be seen as a move away from the dark thematic style on the previous albums. Aside from the more one-dimensional electric folk rock when working solely with Crazy Horse, the collaboration aspect helps Young shaping his compositions for a certain output, and in that respect, I could refer to his difficulties, especially on his following albums, in finding a common sound and style for his albums. Although, Zuma contains soft and mellow tunes like the semi-acoustic "Pardon My Heart" and a country rock track like "Lookin' for a Love" they still fit in, quite nicely, on the overall project thanks to the use of the same line-up for all tracks. This is one of the better Neil Young albums and as such a highly recommendable release.
All songs are written by Neil Young.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Lou Reed "Coney Island Baby" (1975)

Coney Island Baby

release date: Dec. 1975
format: digital (2006 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]
producer: Lou Reed, Godfrey Diamond
label: RCA / Records / BMG Entertainment - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 8. "Coney Island Baby" (5 / 5)

6th solo studio album by Lou Reed, originally released on RCA Records, reissued on BMG Japan 2006 with 6 bonus tracks. After having hit rock bottom with his previous album Metal Machine Music (Jul. '75), Reed, the songwriter is back on some sort of track. The album contains the previously unreleased "She's My Best Friend" (track #3), originally written for The Velvet Underground and in '85 issued on VU., but other than that Coneys Island, Baby is Reed in his nearly most charming corner.
Lou still seems somewhat affected by whatever drugs he did at this time of his career, and it didn't do his music much of a favor after his heydays with Transformer (1972). The song "Coney Island Baby" IS, however, a true classic.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Blender 2,5 / 5 stars ]

Neil Young "Tonight's the Night" (1975)

Tonight's the Night
release date: Jun. 20, 1975
format: cd (1997 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: David Briggs & Neil Young with Tim Mulligan
label: Reprise Records, Germany - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 1. "Tonight's the Night" - 3. "World on a String" - 4. "Borrowed Tune" (4 / 5) - 5. "Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown" (live) (4 / 5) - 8. "Albuquerque" - 10. "Lookout Joe"

6th studio album by Neil Young is much like On the Beach, only stylistically with more focus on blues rock. Actually, the album was recorded in the Fall of 1973 (mostly on one recording session) as the natural follow-up to Harvest but the release was delayed for two years. Also, very much like On the Beach this album wasn't well-received in its own time but today many music critics praise it among his best. Rolling Stone and allmusic.com both hand it 5 out of 5 stars.
The emphasis on blues rock may also be seen in the light that the Crazy Horse line-up are part of the studio recording, as well as the live feel, due to the studio recordings playing live. Another thing the album has in common with the previous release is its part of 'The Ditch Trilogy', a term used by Young himself in referring to the years after Harvest, which includes Journey Through the Past, On the Beach and Tonight's the Night. In this respect the trilogy aspect refers to his dark period with heroin related deaths and life on the edge, in general.
The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", and although, it's not an immediate favourite of mine, it's a fine and enjoyable album.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

Francesco de Gregori "Rimmel" (1975)

Francesco De Gregori
Rimmel (1975)

"Pablo"

.  .  .

.  .

. 

Tom Waits "Nighthawks at the Diner" (1975)

Nighthawks at the Diner
release date: Oct. 1975
format: cd (1990 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]
producer: Bones Howe
label: Asylum Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "Emotional Weather Report" - 6. "Eggs and Sausage (In a Cadillac With Susan Michelson)" - 8. "Better Off Without a Wife"

3rd studio album by Tom Waits is nearly a perfect live album with the sound of a drunken Waits in his prime, chattering, joking with what sounds like life experience wisdom playing merrily out there in what might sound like a warm pub atmosphere. Only issue is that it has been staged and practically recorded in a large studio with hand-picked spectators for two days of recordings. The album follows one year after The Heart of Saturday Night.

Stylewise, it's a turn towards vocal jazz in a bluesy corner, and the songs are really a fine collection. The album appears in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

Together with the first two releases, Nighthawks at the Diner has a natural part of Waits' early period, where a great deal of inspiration is drawn from contemporary American singer / songwriter and folk tradition, which at the time embraced artists such as Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Tim Buckley and more.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Mojo, SputnikMusic 4 / 5 stars ]

Bachman-Turner Overdrive "Hey You" (1975) (single)

Hey You, 7'' single

release date: 1975

format: vinyl

[single rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]

producer: Randy Bachman

label: Mercury - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) "Hey You" (4,5 / 5) - - B) "Flat Broke Love"

Single by Canadian band Bachman-Turner Overdrive written by Randy Bachman was the lead single from the album Four Wheel Drive (May 1975), and it also reached number #1 on the Canadian singles charts. The song is the band's second single to make it to the top of the charts, but the song (and single hit) "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" from Not Fragile (Sep. 1974) remains the band's best-charting song, which also topped the charts in Germany, South Africa, New Zealand, and in the US.

I listened to this over and over again back when I was 10-14 years old and discovered the single in my brother's leftovers. It took me some time to realise the name of the band wasn't Batman-Turner Overdrive.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" (1975)

Wish You Were Here
release date: Sep. 12, 1975
format: vinyl (reissue) / cd (2011 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Pink Floyd
label: Harvest - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Part One) (1-5)" - 2. "Welcome to the Machine" - 3. "Have a Cigar" - 4. "Wish You Were Here" - 5. "Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Part Two) (6-9)"

9th studio album by Pink Floyd following 2½ years after The Dark Side of the Moon (Mar. 1973), which had been an enormous commercial and artistic success, and as a result the band then found it difficult to work on new material.
Wish You Were Here is far from its predecessor but nevertheless it's still another great achievement by a highly innovative band. Stylistically, this it signals a move away from the experimental and psychedelic universe, and it's more like the band's first combo of progressive rock and art rock album, a style the band would later continue on The Wall (1979) and later successive albums.
Wish You Were Here is one of my favourite Pink Floyd albums and like their '73 album this is enlisted in countless lists with the best albums of all time, and thus (deservedly) included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Again, the iconic cover art is made by (George Hardie at) Hipgnosis.

My vinyl issue is a Swedish print purchased around 1982-84.
[ allmusic.com, Blender, The Daily Telegraph 5 / 5 stars ]

1975 Favourite releases: 1. Bruce Springsteen Born to Run - 2. Patti Smith Horses - 3. Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here

Jethro Tull "Minstrel in the Gallery" (1975)

2002 Remaster

Minstrel in the Gallery
release date: Sep. 5, 1975
format: digital (2002 remaster)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: Ian Anderson
label: Chrysalis Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Minstrel in the Gallery" 3 / 5) - 2. "Cold Wind to Valhalla" (3 / 5) - 4. "Requiem" (3,5 / 5) - 7. "Grace" (3,5 /5 )

8th studio album by Jethro Tull. After Thick as a Brick (1972) Jethro Tull released another conceptual album A Passion Play (1973) consisting of only one track, which received mixed to negative reviews, except from in the US where the band sold better than in the UK - both the '72 and the '73 album ended up on top of the charts in the US album but 'only' reaching number #5 and #13 respectively in the UK. After that, the band released War Child (1974), which apparently is more ordinarily composed with 10 tracks.

Minstrel in the Gallery is yet again an album of Jethro Tull blend of progressive rock and hard rock with influences from folk and classical. I don't find it as great as their '71 or '72 album nor as fine as the '77 and '78 albums. I think, it's like a more closed and narrow album for the enlightened few.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Sputnik Music 4,5 / 5 stars ]

org. vinyl cover

C.V. Jørgensen "T-Shirts, gummisko & terylenebukser" (1975)

original cover

T-Shirts, gummisko & terylenebukser

release date: 1975

format: *cd (2004 remaster)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]

producer: Nils Henriksen

label: Frituna - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Louis Band" - 2. "På en fortovsrestaurant" - 5. "Flik-flakker" - 8. "Pak dit grej"

2nd studio album by C.V. Jørgensen and the follow-up to En stynet strejfer (1974) originally C.V.'s second and final on the label Hookfarm. The album is his first with actual producer credit, attributed guitarist Nils Henriksen (from the band Culpeper's Orchard), who would also later produce the sequel, on which he got a more significant part, but with this album he actually initiated his career as a record producer. The backing band is largely identical to the musicians from the debut. Per Wium has taken over the role as guitarist from Ivan Horn, but both bassist Erik Falck and drummer Gert Smedegård participate here. Although, Nils Henriksen contributes on slide and electric guitar, his role here is primarily as producer, whereas on later albums he took a more prominent part in Jørgensen's backing band playing guitar and keyboards. Incidentally, the album's title is a line from the first track, where the words come in a different order: "...han rendte fremmedgjort rundt på Vesterbro iført T-shirts terylenebukser og gummisko".

Musically, Jørgensen's first two albums are closely related in that both are clear expressions of psychedelic rock, and they also both take their point of departure from roots rock and folk rock, as characterised by The Band, Neil Young, Little Feat, and Dylan in particular. At the same time, both albums also point in several directions - sometimes they are experimental and bold psychedelic expressions, where you hear hints of inspiration from Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, and Cream), at times you'll notice an influx of funk rock, and at other times the music is characterised more by straightforward folk rock and country rock, which sometimes makes the band sound like a Danish copy of British and American idols. With this album, Jørgensen introduces a more distinctive narrative style of his own towards more positive stories with a touch of irony in portraits of people like himself: artists on the road, young people doing nothing or who are searching for their path in life, or when he outlines the daily life of common people.

T-Shirts, gummisko... was promoted with the release of the single "Flik-flakker" which didn't come close to a national success. However, the album clearly helped establish C.V. Jørgensen as a new Danish songwriter worth keeping an eye on, and the album paved the way for a better record deal. It's not an album that has aged particularly well, and in the main it mostly sounds like Jørgensen and band, who are attempting to make a Danish version of what international names have already established. Still, the album is a clear evidence of the development that C.V. has started, and especially with tracks like "På en fortovsrestaurant" and "Pak dit grej" it points quite nicely in the direction of the much more original and solid third album, Storbyens små oaser (1977), where he demonstrates a new high level in contemporary Danish rock songwriting.

The album was released with two different covers: the first edition had a 'beach' front cover (à la Neil Young On the Beach), whereas a later edition came with a 'portrait' cover.

*included on the compilation De 2 første ['The first two'] (2004), a 2-cd-release containing Jørgensen's first two albums.

'portrait' cover

BEST OF 1975:Bruce Springsteen "Born to Run" (1975)

Born to Run
release date: Aug. 25, 1975
format: cd (1988 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,18]
producer: Bruce Springsteen, Mike Appel, Jon Landau
label: CBS Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Thunder Road" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Night" (4 / 5) - 4. "Backstreets" (5 / 5) - 5. "Born to Run" (5 / 5) - 6. "She's the One" (4 / 5) - 7. "Meeting Across the River" (3,5 / 5) - 8. "Jungleland" (3,5 / 5)
[ full album ]

3rd studio album by Bruce Springsteen originally released on Columbia Records. The r&b and folk rock elements are tuned down, and instead there's much more focus on rock and what has become a term as heartland rock, which basically is a blend of more traditional American genres of folk, country, r&b, roots rock with electrified and energetic harmony-based pop / rock. New Springsteen producer, Jon Landau, helps building layers on the music, which complete the major difference from his previous two albums. The songs are more simple constructs, although, they're perhaps even more orchestrated. Several songs from the album have become staples at Springsteen concerts: "Thunder Road", "Backstreets", She's the One" and the title track, which became Springsteen's first (and perhaps biggest) million-dollar selling single hit.
Although, early familiar with the title track, I didn't listen to the album in its entirety until after Darkness on the Edge of Town.
The album is by most critics considered his breakthrough album and one of his best ever. Naturally, the album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone Album Guide, Sputnikmusic 5 / 5, Uncut, Mojo 4 / 5 stars ]

1975 Favourite releases: 1. Bruce Springsteen Born to Run - 2. Patti Smith Horses - 3. Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here

Rod Stewart "Atlantic Crossing" (1975)

Atlantic Crossing
release date: Aug.15, 1975
format: vinyl (gatefold - BS 2875)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,86]
producer: Tom Dowd
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: England, UK

6th studio album by Rod Stewart containing one of his major hits: "Sailing" written by Scottish songwriter Gavin Sutherland and first performed by the Sutherland Brothers - initially released as a single in '72 and included on the US album of Lifeboat credited Sutherland Brothers & Quiver (Quiver was a band preceding the formation of Sutherland Brothers). Original version.