I have a book that purports to have “The 100 Best Rock ‘n’ Roll Records of All Time” by Jimmy Guterman. Not sure that I agree with him on all of his choices, but he makes compelling arguments for them. Most are among the best of all time, so there’s something to the list.
And while I can’t say that it is the best album of all time, Rod Stewart’s “Every Picture Tells a Story” comes in at #1. It’s certainly great, and I’ve played it these last 50 years. Yes, 1971 was 50 years ago, and I’ve had the album since it was out. Rod has originals (like “Maggie May” and the title song), judicious covers (Dylan, Motown) all perfectly sequenced.
In looking at the music of 1971, it seems to me that it’s the last gasp for that particular type of music. AM radio still played singles from albums, but albums were becoming more of their own form than just a bunch of songs thrown together. All styles were played on the radio, so rock, soul, and country could all be played back to back without it seeming to be too weird.
The result was another great year for music. Today’s podcast focuses on the music I most think about when 1971 is brought up. There was so much great music that I will have other playlists put together – soul and 45’s also planned for the look back at 50 years. After 1971, music as we know it changes – sometimes for good, and sometimes for not so good.
But let’s start with this slam-bang lineup: Rod Stewart, the Who, Carole King, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Santana, Nilsson, the Doors, Todd Rundgren, Grin, Alice Cooper, T. Rex, and David Bowie.
You can go to brennick.net to stream or download, or download the podcast brennick.net. Thank you for tuning in.
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