Over the years I’ve presented compilation CDs on Thursdays, I’ve noticed the ones with 1970s music seem to be the most popular. Fortunately, I have dozens of compilation CDs from the 1970s I haven’t listened to yet. Flashback! and Extreme 70s were two of them. I listened to them over the 4th of July weekend.
Flashback! from 1991 includes plenty of Name groups and singers. Classics like Eric Clapton’s “I Shot the Sheriff” and Stephen Stills “Love the One You’re With” still sound great! Who can forget Kansas’ “Carry On Wayward Son” or Foreigner’s “Hot Blooded”–songs that still get airplay on our Oldies radio staton today.
Extreme 70s from 2003 includes Name groups and singers, but many of them are second-tier. I still hear Looking Glass’s “Brandy” from time to time. Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” still gets played. Eddie Money is still making money with “Baby Hold On.”
Do you remember these Seventies songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: Flashback!: B+ Extreme 70s: B-
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Deep Purple– | Smoke On The Water | 5:40 |
| 2 | Foreigner– | Hot Blooded | 4:23 |
| 3 | The Allman Brothers Band– | Ramblin’ Man | 4:48 |
| 4 | Bruce Springsteen– | Badlands | 4:02 |
| 5 | Pink Floyd– | Money | 6:23 |
| 6 | Cheap Trick– | I Want You To Want Me | 3:39 |
| 7 | Bad Company (3)– | Can’t Get Enough | 4:14 |
| 8 | Kansas (2)– | Carry On Wayward Son | 5:23 |
| 9 | Eric Clapton– | I Shot The Sheriff | 4:23 |
| 10 | The Cars– | Let’s Go | 3:33 |
| 11 | Stephen Stills– | Love The One You’re With | 3:05 |
| 12 | Lynyrd Skynyrd– | Freebird | 9:08 |
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Looking Glass– | Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) | 3:06 |
| 2 | Santana– | Oye Como Va | 4:17 |
| 3 | Earth, Wind & Fire– | Shining Star | 2:51 |
| 4 | The Isley Brothers– | That Lady | 5:34 |
| 5 | The Amazing Rhythm Aces– | Third Rate Romance | 3:22 |
| 6 | Albert Hammond– | It Never Rains In Southern California | 3:19 |
| 7 | Eddie Money– | Baby Hold On | 3:30 |
| 8 | Redbone– | Come & Get Your Love | 4:57 |
| 9 | Blue Öyster Cult– | (Don’t Fear) The Reaper | 5:07 |
| 10 | The Edgar Winter Group– | Frankenstein | 4:45 |
EXTREME is a mildly worse collection, but I hope both didn’t run you too much…the Vargas brothers’ band Redbone did allow Lolly Vargas to go on to a more sustained career as “Leon Redbone”, and their song is one of the better ones there. The Santana is the best, by me, by some distance, and I’ll listen to the Edgar Winter record. “Brandy” and “Don’t Fear the Reaper” are a bit too far into the unpleasantly creepy school of AOR.
FLASHBACK does gather more staples of today’s ’70s Oldies stations, and I certainly liked the Kansas and the Foreinger better when they and I were new. The Springsteen I barely remember, but remember too many of the others too well.