The THIRD 100 from 1971. #1: Echoes (1 Viewer)

[Pip's Invitation]

7. Do Your Thing -- Isaac Hayes (from the Shaft soundtrack)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-pjopYogIc

However you want to classify this song, which takes up almost all of side 4 of the Shaft soundtrack, the music scene hadn't seen much like it. The music scene had also never seen a double album of original material from an R&B artist. 

It begins as a passionate ballad in the style Hayes had been doing for a few years, with some freaky guitar sounds in the background. Then at around 3 minutes, it goes full freak. The bass holds the groove tight so you never forget it's a funk song, but everyone else goes nuts. Most of the final 16 minutes is a showcase for pioneering lead guitarist Charles Pitts, who plays fast as hell, but not so fast that the groove is overwhelmed, and employs all kinds of effects. I have always joked that this song must hold the record for largest ratio of notes played by the lead guitarist to notes played by the rhythm guitarist (Michael Toles comes in with a "FLANG!" about once every 3 seconds). There is also some fantastic fill work from drummer Willie Hall, and the horns burst in at just the right time. And Hayes himself contributes an excellent organ solo around the 12-minute mark. This is one of the rare songs that is perfect to make love to AND to get stoned to. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Keith Emerson ruined “Lucky Man”, otherwise a good Lake ballad. He’s worse than any guitar show off. 
 

I think the same about Wakeman, but I know many here won’t agree. 

I was thinking more of Still You Turn Me On and From the Beginning. The synth solo at the end of the latter doesn’t bother me, in contrast to the one at the end of Lucky Man.

For me your criticism of Wakeman is more applicable to his solo work than to his work with Yes.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I was thinking more of Still You Turn Me On and From the Beginning. The synth solo at the end of the latter doesn’t bother me, in contrast to the one at the end of Lucky Man.

For me your criticism of Wakeman is more applicable to his solo work than to his work with Yes.

I don't think Wakeman helped any of Yes' songs, either, but I hear you. Left on his own, he got completely out of control.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I was thinking more of Still You Turn Me On and From the Beginning. The synth solo at the end of the latter doesn’t bother me, in contrast to the one at the end of Lucky Man.

For me your criticism of Wakeman is more applicable to his solo work than to his work with Yes.

Hey, meant to ask: how's your wife feeling? 

 

[Leroy Hoard]

The keyboardist that added the most without dominating the overall sound imo was Jon Lord. Of course DP was more rock than prog, that probably helped.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Hey, meant to ask: how's your wife feeling? 

She's better, thanks. She's progressed from all liquids to bland solids to regular food that isn't remotely rich or fatty, and hasn't had any serious pain issues in a while. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

The keyboardist that added the most without dominating the overall sound imo was Jon Lord. Of course DP was more rock than prog, that probably helped.

Deep Purple did a great job of deploying the talents of everyone without overwhelming anything. It could be a little much live, but even most of the live material I've heard doesn't bother me to a great extent. 

It probably helped that they started out as a poppier psychedelic band before becoming more proggy and heavy. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Speaking of DP, I still can't fathom how Steve Morse forged a career path of Dixie Dregs -> Kansas -> Deep Purple, with some stints as a music writer thrown in. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

i stopped defending 40 yrs ago - i just listen.

Karn Evil 9, Close to the Edge & Thick as a Brick send me into transports of delight & wonder that eclipse any other kind of listening, so i do so more than any rock, any soul, any jazz. y'all be podunks, pure & simple

 

[wikkidpissah]

7. Do Your Thing -- Isaac Hayes (from the Shaft soundtrack)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-pjopYogIc

However you want to classify this song, which takes up almost all of side 4 of the Shaft soundtrack, the music scene hadn't seen much like it. The music scene had also never seen a double album of original material from an R&B artist. 

It begins as a passionate ballad in the style Hayes had been doing for a few years, with some freaky guitar sounds in the background. Then at around 3 minutes, it goes full freak. The bass holds the groove tight so you never forget it's a funk song, but everyone else goes nuts. Most of the final 16 minutes is a showcase for pioneering lead guitarist Charles Pitts, who plays fast as hell, but not so fast that the groove is overwhelmed, and employs all kinds of effects. I have always joked that this song must hold the record for largest ratio of notes played by the lead guitarist to notes played by the rhythm guitarist (Michael Toles comes in with a "FLANG!" about once every 3 seconds). There is also some fantastic fill work from drummer Willie Hall, and the horns burst in at just the right time. And Hayes himself contributes an excellent organ solo around the 12-minute mark. This is one of the rare songs that is perfect to make love to AND to get stoned to. 

looooove Hayes's "ima be black for about 30 minutes up in here - check it out" records from that era. *lalala* by the time i get to Phoenix i'll be even blacker, now *lalala* right on...

ETA: good to hear your Gladys is getting better, Pip. best wishes -

 

[otb_lifer]

 Thick as a Brick sends me into transports of delight & wonder that eclipse any other kind of listening, so i do so more than any rock, any soul, any jazz. y'all be podunks, pure & simple

fixed, so i could do "this^"



i see ya shuffle in the courtroom 

with your rings upon your fingers

and your downy little sidies

and your silver buckle shoes ...

 

[wikkidpissah]

fixed, so i could do "this^"



i see ya shuffle in the courtroom 

with your rings upon your fingers

and your downy little sidies

and your silver buckle shoes ...

So you go for a stroll in high heels

Then your foot gets caught under the wheels

And your wise men dont know how it feels

To be Crushed by a Truck

 

[Pip's Invitation]

1 hour ago, wikkidpissah said:ETA: good to hear your Gladys is getting better, Pip. best wishes -

I only now JUST realized why you call her Gladys. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

6. Ohio/Machine Gun -- The Isley Brothers (from Givin' It Back)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC6qOvfgDJI

You knew I was gonna try to find a way to get Neil in the top 10. I discovered this a few years ago after Youtube suggested it because I was playing so much Neil.

The idea behind the Isleys' Givin' It Back was to pay tribute to some of their favorite pop/rock songwriters, just as various pop/rock performers had paid tribute to them by covering their songs (most notably the Beatles' version of Twist and Shout). On the opening track, they fused two of the greatest antiwar/pro-peace songs of the era, CSNY's Ohio and Jimi Hendrix' Machine Gun. They completely reinvented the arrangements for both, emphasizing, through the music, the overwhelming sounds of war, and, through Ronnie Isley's lead vocal, the anguish of the people involved in it. It is a hell of a ride, and every single second of it is stunning. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

5. Super Stupid -- Funkadelic (from Maggot Brain)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVHrvx-Ua68

One of the best fusions of funk and rock ever created, and one of Eddie Hazel's finest moments. The riffage is as monstrous as anything you'll hear on a Sabbath record and Hazel's soloing rivals that of any of the era's guitar heroes, but the soulful vocals and the persistent congas remind you that this is not just a straight rock track. This song served as the gateway for me to discover the world of P-Funk, and I would not be surprised if that was the case for others. It's loud, it's intense and it's groundbreaking.

I have seen this song performed live -- by Audioslave. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

She's better, thanks. She's progressed from all liquids to bland solids to regular food that isn't remotely rich or fatty, and hasn't had any serious pain issues in a while. 

She's also feeling well enough that she decided we should rearrange our bedroom today. So I've been able to update this thread consistently today since that's where my desktop computer is. 

 

[Uruk-Hai]

5. Super Stupid -- Funkadelic (from Maggot Brain)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVHrvx-Ua68

One of the best fusions of funk and rock ever created, and one of Eddie Hazel's finest moments. The riffage is as monstrous as anything you'll hear on a Sabbath record and Hazel's soloing rivals that of any of the era's guitar heroes, but the soulful vocals and the persistent congas remind you that this is not just a straight rock track. This song served as the gateway for me to discover the world of P-Funk, and I would not be surprised if that was the case for others. It's loud, it's intense and it's groundbreaking.

I have seen this song performed live -- by Audioslave. 

I could write a book-length thesis on this song, but you've saved everyone that torture with your writeup.

Your Top Ten is going swimmingly, sir.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

4. You Don't Love Me -- The Allman Brothers Band (From At Fillmore East)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdBsB6U-gVg

This song, written by Willie Cobb in 1960 and adapted from a cover by Junior Wells in 1965, takes up all of side 2 of At Fillmore East and is one hell of a ride. 

This version was recorded in March 1971. Later in 1971 the band began interspersing part of King Curtis' Soul Serenade into it to honor Curtis after he was murdered. 

I will give the rest of this writeup over to @turnjose7because he stated the strengths of the Allmans' version of the song so eloquently in his Allman Brothers countdown, which you should read if you haven't already.

"“You Don’t Love Me” edges out “Statesboro Blues” for my favorite blues cover by the Allmans. The song was originally recorded by Willie Cobbs though was based on “She’s Fine, She’s Mine” by Bo Diddley. The Allman Brothers reportedly heard a version by Junior Wells and Buddy Guy called “You Don’t Love Me, Baby” which served as their inspiration.

This is the song that most definitively lives up to the thread title of being a “blues jam.” The beginning is straight 12-bar blues with an arrangement quite similar to the Junior Wells/Buddy Guy version and some outstanding bluesy vocals by Gregg. But from their it goes off to another planet with epic jams that in some cases, like at Boston Commons 1971, would bring the song’s total length over 25 minutes.

A number of versions from the band’s Fillmore East shows were released and these are, of course, the best known. Duane and Dickey really push each other to amazing heights of virtuosity on these recordings. Each has a couple of their own solos on these versions, but there are also places where they harmonize and places where they play off of each other. There are so many great licks and so much soul and feeling throughout that it is hard to say which part is my favorite. Obviously, Duane’s solitary guitar around the seven-minute mark really stands out, but then around nine minutes Dickey comes in with a riff that is just as cool. And so it goes for the next ten minutes, one continually matching the other.

While the versions from Fillmore East are undoubtedly the most famous, none stands out as my favorite. Instead, that honor goes to a version recorded at A+R studios in August of 1971. Duane pays tribute to King Curtis by inserting part of “Soul Serenade” into his solo and it is simply beautiful (you can hear him start to tease it at about 8:40). The entire A+R concert is great, by the way. Probably the best of the Allman Brothers radio broadcasts.

In later years the band simplified the song a little bit, cutting back the jam so that the song ran closer to 8 or 9 minutes. They still did some cool stuff with it, including putting part of the jam before the vocal part, such as the Knoxville 2005 show (can’t find video of this one, but you can play a sample of the audio here)."

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Amazing list considering 200 songs were already drafted. You have Tom Brady at #199 beat.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

6. Ohio/Machine Gun -- The Isley Brothers (from Givin' It Back)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC6qOvfgDJI

You knew I was gonna try to find a way to get Neil in the top 10. I discovered this a few years ago after Youtube suggested it because I was playing so much Neil.

The idea behind the Isleys' Givin' It Back was to pay tribute to some of their favorite pop/rock songwriters, just as various pop/rock performers had paid tribute to them by covering their songs (most notably the Beatles' version of Twist and Shout). On the opening track, they fused two of the greatest antiwar/pro-peace songs of the era, CSNY's Ohio and Jimi Hendrix' Machine Gun. They completely reinvented the arrangements for both, emphasizing, through the music, the overwhelming sounds of war, and, through Ronnie Isley's lead vocal, the anguish of the people involved in it. It is a hell of a ride, and every single second of it is stunning. 

The Isleys are one of those bands that kinda gets lost when folks list great American groups. They shouldn't be overlooked, though.

They charted records in the 50s/60s/70s/80s/90/00s (I don't know if they have in the 10s or 20s, but I wouldn't bet against it).

They were self-contained when most bands (especially black bands) weren't.

They started their own record label in the 60s because they were fed up with the music industry not knowing what to do with them.

They've reinvented themselves about eleventy-dozen times (sometimes on the same album) and have been great in each version.

Doo ***, raucous rock and roll, hippie rock & soul, flame-thrower funk, baby-making ballads that would cause Barry ####### White to blush, New Jack Swing, indie-ish acoustic, power chording, message songs, Motown-type factory soul. 

They are both one of the most covered bands of all time AND one of the best cover bands ever. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

The Isleys are one of those bands that kinda gets lost when folks list great American groups. They shouldn't be overlooked, though.

They charted records in the 50s/60s/70s/80s/90/00s (I don't know if they have in the 10s or 20s, but I wouldn't bet against it).

They were self-contained when most bands (especially black bands) weren't.

They started their own record label in the 60s because they were fed up with the music industry not knowing what to do with them.

They've reinvented themselves about eleventy-dozen times (sometimes on the same album) and have been great in each version.

Doo ***, raucous rock and roll, hippie rock & soul, flame-thrower funk, baby-making ballads that would cause Barry ####### White to blush, New Jack Swing, indie-ish acoustic, power chording, message songs, Motown-type factory soul. 

They are both one of the most covered bands of all time AND one of the best cover bands ever. 

Agreed with all of that. They even turned Summer Breeze into something that the most ardent yacht rock hater would like. 

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Agreed with all of that. They even turned Summer Breeze into something that the most ardent yacht rock hater would like. 

I like the Seals & Croft version, too, but like the IB's take more. I also like their version of "Love The One You're With" better than the original, but you & I may differ on that one 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

3. Right On -- Marvin Gaye (from What's Going On)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTCqgk7bfkc

In his book "Never a Dull Moment: 1971 -- the Year That Rock Exploded," David Hepworth referred to What's Going On as "like a jazz record not merely because it had jazz manners and was slathered in strings and employed congas and triangle as its most prominent form of percussion...But it's also jazz in the sense that...it plays like one long single."

The track on which that is most apparent is Right On, which took everything we knew about R&B and turned it upside down. The use of percussion is astounding (percussionist Earl DeRouen received a co-writing credit) and the closest thing to a lead instrument on the first half of the song and on the coda is flute, which was pretty much unheard of in R&B at the time. The strings do an excellent job of bringing in dramatic tension as the pace escalates. Yet the track never lets you forget that it is grounded in funk and soul. The bass is propulsive and thick, and Gaye's singing is impassioned as he touches on inequality, spiritual struggle and love of God.

In addition to jazz, the track also resembles what some of the more innovative rock acts were doing at the time, notably Traffic and Santana. Fittingly, Santana covered it in 1992.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I also like their version of "Love The One You're With" better than the original, but you & I may differ on that one 

It's a tie in my mind. Both performances are great, but the lyrics are odious either way. 

I don't think their version of Hello It's Me works as well as Todd's, though.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

The top 2 songs may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they are songs that are extremely well-known to and often esteemed by people of our demographic (that is, middle-aged white men), and their absence from the first two lists was a bit puzzling to me. 

 

[Uruk-Hai]

The top 2 songs may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they are songs that are extremely well-known to and often esteemed by people of our demographic (that is, middle-aged white men), and their absence from the first two lists was a bit puzzling to me. 

You gonna finish up today, or "tim" us and stretch it out over 7 or 8 weeks? 

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I don't think their version of Hello It's Me works as well as Todd's, though.

Agreed. Ronald Isley is a better singer than Todd, but Todd's vocal works better on this song. So does his arrangement; the Isleys were trying too hard to make this into something it wasn't.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

You gonna finish up today, or "tim" us and stretch it out over 7 or 8 weeks? 

Given our schedule today, most likely I’ll post #2 tonight and #1 tomorrow morning.

 

[wikkidpissah]

**drumroll**

 

[Pip's Invitation]

**drumroll**

Given what I know of your tastes, I think you’ll approve of 1 and 2.

In other words, you’re safe from Carole King.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Given what I know of your tastes, I think you’ll approve of 1 and 2.

In other words, you’re safe from Carole King.

(eggplant emoji - they actually have a purplefruit in the emojis but it edits on the page)

 

[wikkidpissah]

6. Ohio/Machine Gun -- The Isley Brothers (from Givin' It Back)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC6qOvfgDJI

You knew I was gonna try to find a way to get Neil in the top 10. I discovered this a few years ago after Youtube suggested it because I was playing so much Neil.

The idea behind the Isleys' Givin' It Back was to pay tribute to some of their favorite pop/rock songwriters, just as various pop/rock performers had paid tribute to them by covering their songs (most notably the Beatles' version of Twist and Shout). On the opening track, they fused two of the greatest antiwar/pro-peace songs of the era, CSNY's Ohio and Jimi Hendrix' Machine Gun. They completely reinvented the arrangements for both, emphasizing, through the music, the overwhelming sounds of war, and, through Ronnie Isley's lead vocal, the anguish of the people involved in it. It is a hell of a ride, and every single second of it is stunning. 

one of my first impulses to write a song was a reaction to Kent St..................sorta, but i didnt try cuz it was outta my lane

Two Jackson State (HBCU) antiwar protesters were killed when police opened fire on a dormitory after chasing students who were protesting the Kent St shootings into the building. the street on which the protest was held and dorm was located was named after some Civil War general or sumn. waited the entire 70s for an Afro-American artist to do a protest song called...............wait for it...............Lynch Street.

 

[plinko]

(eggplant emoji - they actually have a purplefruit in the emojis but it edits on the page)

 

[wikkidpissah]

5. Super Stupid -- Funkadelic (from Maggot Brain)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVHrvx-Ua68

One of the best fusions of funk and rock ever created, and one of Eddie Hazel's finest moments. The riffage is as monstrous as anything you'll hear on a Sabbath record and Hazel's soloing rivals that of any of the era's guitar heroes, but the soulful vocals and the persistent congas remind you that this is not just a straight rock track. This song served as the gateway for me to discover the world of P-Funk, and I would not be surprised if that was the case for others. It's loud, it's intense and it's groundbreaking.

I have seen this song performed live -- by Audioslave. 

my BFF has been in the same garage band for decades. really good cover band (except for a propensity youd loooove, Pip - their brilliant, boozy supercrunchy GibsonSG lead guitarist could make almost any song sound like a Neil Young joint), good personalities, at least sober. when they were still ambitious (90s), they'd complain about the lack of gigs, so i set about using my old A&R savvy to repackage coverbanding in a way which would guarantee greater exposure.

came up with a concept - two bands in one. First set - come out as the Commutaz (a Boston curse) - everybody in suits or uniforms and play a lot of pent-up rock songs complaining about the world, being putdown/heldback by Da Man. close the set with, the Animals' "We Gotta Get Outta This Place", take fifteen, come back as the Lazyboiz - each band member dressing in Hawaiian shirts or bicycle shorts or whatever, each representing as a Village People of White Sloth, and do nothing but bonzo dance/party numbers. "Super Stupid" was one of the first tunes on my Lazyboiz set list, so you reminded me here. still a good concept - too hi-concept for a buncha middle-aged electricians from MetroBoston. they still in da garage.....

 

[plinko]

Carole King is on my next countdown, 7.1.22 stay tuned please

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Our afternoon plans got cancelled, so I guess I'll finish this out today.

2. Yours Is No Disgrace -- Yes (from The Yes Album)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fUudna1Xuw

With Steve Howe taking over on guitar, Yes made a huge jump in quality -- and popularity -- on their third record, The Yes Album. The new lineup spent months writing and rehearsing in mid-1970, and the new material bore many fruits from those efforts. Most impressive was the nearly 10-minute opener, which not only contains some extraordinary and fluid guitar work from Howe and some of Chris Squire's most melodic bass playing, but also, in contrast to how the band is stereotyped, took on current events in the lyrics. This is an antiwar anthem, and a powerful one, telling the soldiers that they had no choice but to fight and they weren't to blame for the situation. 

The structure of the song is far more complex than what the band had attempted on its first two albums, and consisted of several sections that were developed separately in rehearsals and then stitched together -- but the flow and consistency of the song doesn't make that obvious. It heralded a very high level of composition and performance that the band would achieve in the next 2 years, which remains unmatched by most artists, and which would make them one of the top acts of the decade, even when some of their post-1972 albums fell flat.

I saw Yes in 1987 and 1991 and this was performed both times. At the 1991 show, which featured an 8-piece version of the band (Squire, singer Jon Anderson, guitarists Howe and Trevor Rabin, keyboardists Rick Wakeman and Tony Kaye, and drummers Bill Bruford and Alan White), they opened with a spectacular 20-minute version of this.  

 

[Binky The Doormat]

2. Yours Is No Disgrace -- Yes (from The Yes Album)

reaction.

 

[wikkidpissah]

reaction.

yours is a disgrace

 

[wikkidpissah]

With Steve Howe taking over on guitar, Yes made a huge jump in quality

the most significant personnel change in rock history

 

[Binky The Doormat]

the most significant personnel change in rock history

I'm going for Ringo replacing Pete Best here, but I get it.

 

[wikkidpissah]

I'm going for Ringo replacing Pete Best here, but I get it.

only reason i didnt add my usual "and it's not close". 

 

[Uruk-Hai]

the most significant personnel change in rock history

That's only true because Grand Funk RR was so perfect, they didn't need to change anything.

Back to lesser beings......

I'd submit Diana Ross (who, as you know, I'm not a fan of) is at least equally important.

 

[BobbyLayne]

That's only true because Grand Funk RR was so perfect, they didn't need to change anything.

I'm your captain

 

[northern exposure]

64. Monkberry Moon Delight -- Paul and Linda McCartney (from Ram)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I__NoPWSeFI

This is the most unhinged track on Ram, but I love it so. Paul sings like a constipated Little Richard, but his approach perfectly matches the all-over-the-place arrangement and wacky lyrics. And yet the melody is jaunty and memorable, as Paul tended to do. I said in the most recent Beatles countdown thread that one of the reasons this song appeals to me is that it would have made a GREAT Beatles song. It would have fit perfectly on the White Album. And just imagine how much better it would have sounded if John did the second vocal instead of Linda. 

Constipated Little Richard was my planned stage name where I played Billy Joel covers. Sadly the act never got off the ground ……or dropped if you will.

 

[[scooter]]

I suppose now is not a good time to point out that @Anarchy99 already did a 3rd 100 from 1971....two years ago.

https://forums.footballguys.com/topic/786152-wait-theres-more-another-100-songs-from-1971

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I suppose now is not a good time to point out that @Anarchy99 already did a 3rd 100 from 1971....two years ago.

https://forums.footballguys.com/topic/786152-wait-theres-more-another-100-songs-from-1971

Ha. Well, those of you who wanted a strict numerical accounting had more than a year to bring this to my attention. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

9. Sweet Leaf -- Black Sabbath (from Master of Reality)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eleGPkE9Gk

Drug songs were not solely the realm of hippie bands. It makes sense that Sabbath would have one, because they did a boatload of drugs.

Tony Iommi:

“We were getting really drugged out, doing a lot of dope. We’d go down to the sessions and have to pack up because we were too stoned; we’d have to stop. Nobody could get anything right, we were all over the place, everybody’s playing a different thing. We’d go back and sleep it off and try again the next day.”

Ozzy Osbourne:

“[I was on] booze, coke, heroin, acid and Quaaludes to glue, cough syrup, Rohypnol, klonopin, Vicodin … On more than a few occasions, I was on all of those at the same time”

Iommi:

"We all played 'Sweet Leaf' while stoned."

Geezer Butler:

"We were going: 'What could we write about?' I took out this cigarette packet, and as you opened it, it's got on the lid: 'it's the sweetest leaf that gives you the taste' I was like: 'Ah, Sweet Leaf!'"

The song begins with the sound of Iommi coughing while smoking a joint, for heaven's sake.

But drug songs don't get a high place (see what I did there?) on this list just for being drug songs. The riffage is absolutely killer -- it could be argued that the birth of "stoner rock" occurs here -- and in contrast to the zoned-out vocals in the hippie-band drug songs, Ozzy's singing is positively manic; he's REALLY into his weed (and really resentful toward the "straight people")! The breakdown in the middle, featuring ridiculous technique from Iommi and Bill Ward, is another one of the band's signature moments. This is no tossed-off drug joke, this is one of the best tracks of the year. 

Ozzy is having “life-altering” surgery on Monday, says wife Sharon.

https://nypost.com/2022/06/12/ozzy-osbourne-to-undergo-possibly-life-altering-surgery/amp/

 

[zamboni]

1971 Beat Club performance of Yours Is No Disgrace

Amazing song in its own right in the studio, but to watch them doing it live with all its intricacies is even more special.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

1. Echoes -- Pink Floyd (from Meddle)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53N99Nim6WE

This is an undeniably impressive and important song, not only for Pink Floyd's career, but for the development of the rock scene in 1971. I even have a post at the end of Bracie's thread asking where it is. 

The song was developed from several different exercises and experiments and combined into one glorious work (original title: Nothing, Parts 1-24). Each passage is stunning and reveals new things on repeated listens. The pinnacle IMO is the "funky section," which starts just after the 7-minute mark and lasts until about the 11-minute mark. Roger Waters and Nick Mason lock into a tight groove while Rick Wright interjects with ominous organ squalls and David Gilmour absolutely destroys on slide guitar. But the rest of the work is just as thrilling. The passage after the "funky section" is one of the most radical and experimental the band ever committed to wax (and they did a lot of that in their early years), featuring ungodly sounds Gilmour made by plugging a wah-wah pedal in the wrong way (which Mason later said was a mishap they kept because it sounded so cool.) The first 7 minutes and the last 7 minutes are more in line with what you'd expect to hear from a prog band of the era, and more than anything else from Meddle or their records before it point toward the sound they would assume for the rest of the '70s that would make them icons. 

The Live at Pompeii version may be even better. 

After 1975, live performances by the band or its members have been rare, but I have been fortunate enough to catch two of them. Echoes opened the first 12 shows on their 1987 North American tour, one of which (at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia) I attended, and Gilmour performed it (with Wright in his backing band) on his 2006 tour, which I caught at Radio City Music Hall. 

Thank you all for paying attention and following along, which made the work I put in to compile this list more than worth it. 

 

[rockaction]

Glad you were able to give the demographic what it craved, Pip. It seems to have been a nice meeting of personal taste and quality aligning with others' tastes. You've given an FFA recognition to some art forms that would be lost to history as a pop music footnote if not for the survivors and lovers of those scenes.