The early 1970s featured diverse styles of music. There was folk-rock like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Mr. Bojangles,” R&B like Dionne Warwick and The Spinners’ “Then Came You,” and quirky novelty hits like Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime.”
Also included on this compilation CD are classics like Ike & Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary,” The Four Tops’ “Ain’t No Woman,” James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain,” and Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain.”
And, of course, there are filler songs like Shocking Blue’s “Venus” and The 5 Stairsteps’ “O-O-H Child.” This is another hodgepodge of songs that manages to satisfy my ears as I’m driving around running errands. Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B-
TRACKLIST:
| James Taylor (2)– | Fire And Rain | 3:16 | |
| Nitty Gritty Dirt Band– | Mr. Bojangles | 3:46 | |
| Don McLean– | American Pie | 4:10 | |
| Seals & Crofts– | Diamond Girl | 3:50 | |
| Dionne Warwick And The Spinners*– | Then Came You | 3:53 | |
| Mungo Jerry– | In The Summertime | 3:32 | |
| Three Dog Night– | Joy To The World | 3:15 | |
| Shocking Blue– | Venus | 3:01 | |
| Alice Cooper– | School’s Out | 3:29 | |
| Ike & Tina Turner– | Proud Mary | 2:45 | |
| Gladys Knight & The Pips*– | Midnight Train To Georgia | 4:38 | |
| Four Tops– | Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I Got) | 3:04 | |
| The 5 Stairsteps*– | O-O-H Child | 4:59 | |
| America (2)– | A Horse With No Name | 4:13 | |
| Melanie (2) Accompanied By The Edwin Hawkins Singers*– | Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) | 3:46 | |
| The Main Ingredient– | Everybody Plays The Fool | 3:24 | |
| Carly Simon– | You’re So Vain | 4:17 | |
| Three Dog Night– | Mama Told Me Not To Come | 3:19 | |
| The Guess Who– | American Woman | 5:07 | |
| Bachman Turner Overdrive*– | You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet | 3:52 |
I like all of the songs here (my frame of reference being, would I switch stations if this song came on), although I have to be in the right mood for “Mr. Bojangles”. You don’t hear “Lay Down Candles in the Rain” very often, that’s for sure. Today’s fun fact: the lead singer of The Main Ingredient (“Everybody Plays the Fool”) was Cuba Gooding, Sr., father of the actor.
Deb, love your Fun Fact!
Deb, I knew that.
Sentimental favorite: JOY TO THE WORLD. when Kitty was very pregnant with our first child, the baby would start “dancing” in the womb whenever that song came on the radio.
Other favorites include The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Don McLean (great songs but a miserable person), Ike and Tina (again, great music, but Ike was a shit), Alice Cooper (SCHOOL’S OUT could be my personal anthem), Gladys Knight, Four Tops, 5 Stairsteps, Carly Simon, and Bachman Turner Overdrive. For reasons I cannot understand, I also like IN THE SUMMERTIME, HORSE WITH NO NAME, and DIAMOND GIRL. I guess there’s no accounting for my taste.
Jerry, glad the music on ONLY ROCK ‘N ROLL: 1970-1974 brought back some fond memories! That’s one of the reasons I listen to these retro compilation CDs…
My favorite “Horse With No Name” story: when Jackie was teaching, this odd older teacher went on a trip to Arizona and took a lot of slides. She made the kids watch them in an assembly, to the soundtrack of the America song, which she borrowed from Jackie. She later accused Jackie of turning the other teachers against her, but she did that herself.
Jeff, some people are self-destructive…
Good comp. Main Ingredient, 5 Stairsteps, Tops.
Fred, I like a mix of hits and some obscure songs I haven’t heard in decades!
Yes, I know all the songs. I’d take Joy To the World (played at the start of THE BIG CHILL) first. Veus may be “filler” but it was also a #1 song.
Jeff, I have admiration for One Hit Wonders!
All worth a listen! My fab fave is Midnight Train to Georgia and least favorite is Proud Mary, unless CCR does it!
Bob, CCR is classic with “Proud Mary.”
All good songs
Maggie, I had low expectations for ONLY ROCK ‘N ROLL: 1970-1974 but everyone seems to like the songs on this compilation CD!
I’ll take a hundred plays of “Venus” over half of one play of the misogynist whine “American Woman”–The Guess Who had a publicity photo of one of them in a trash can about the time that was a hit, and that seemed fitting to me, as a kid. Meanwhile, the Dutch band might’ve been a one-hitter in the U.S., but, as the current WIKIPEDIA article notes, “The band sold 13 million records by 1973 but disbanded in 1974.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shocking_Blue details other hits somewhere.
Todd, as I recall, “American Woman” was a hit for a Dutch band, The Guess Who, who couldn’t handle success…and broke up after selling millions of copies!
The Guess Who apparently got together in Winnipeg in 1958, albeit under other names featuring co-founder Chad Allan, and were first referred to as “Guess Who?” in a puerile stunt in 1965. I think you’re conflating the Dutch origin of Shocking Blue, the “Venus” band, with the Canadian misogynists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guess_Who
Todd, I remember the Canadian Broadcasting Company radio stations playing Guess Who songs on a regular basis in those days…
Local content. Pity it was kind of rancid in their most popular years.