A lot of good music showed up in 1974 and some of it is included on Ultimate Seventies 1974. There’s “Help Me” by Joni Mitchell from her best album, Court and Spark. Eric Clapton’s classic “I Shot the Sheriff” never gets old.
Elton John gets two songs: “Bennie and The Jets” and “The Bitch is Back.” Who can forget the odd cover of “The Loco-Motion” by Grand Funk? And I’m fond of the suggestive “Midnight at the Oasis” by Maria Muldaur.
Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Bad Company (3)– | Can’t Get Enough |
| 2 | Al Wilson– | Show And Tell |
| 3 | Redbone– | Come And Get Your Love |
| 4 | Eric Clapton– | I Shot The Sheriff |
| 5 | Joni Mitchell– | Help Me |
| 6 | Billy Swan– | I Can Help |
| 7 | Al Green– | Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy) |
| 8 | The Hues Corporation– | Rock The Boat |
| 9 | Elton John– | Bennie And The Jets |
| 10 | Gregg Allman– | Midnight Rider |
| 11 | Lynyrd Skynyrd– | Sweet Home Alabama |
| 12 | Grand Funk*– | The Loco-Motion |
| 13 | Brownsville Station– | Smokin’ In The Boys’ Room |
| 14 | Steely Dan– | Rikki Don’t Lose That Number |
| 15 | David Essex– | Rock On |
| 16 | Maria Muldaur– | Midnight At The Oasis |
| 17 | Carl Douglas– | Kung Fu Fighting |
| 18 | Wet Willie– | Keep On Smilin’ |
| 19 | Dionne Warwick and the Spinners– | Then Came You |
| 20 | Elton John– | The Bitch Is Back |
No surprise—I know all of them! And it would be easier to list the songs I don’t like than the ones I do (which is almost all of them); and, honestly, even the ones I’m not too fond of (like “Smoking in the Boys Room”) still have so much nostalgia attached to them that I wouldn’t change the station if they came on. My favorites here include the aforementioned “Help Me”, “Show and Tell”, “Rickie, Don’t Lose That Number”, “Bennie & the Jets”, and “Come Get Your Love”. Great stuff.
Deb, I only have a few of the ULTIMATE SEVENTIES series, but like you, I’m happy with the excellent selections on those CDs.
Back in the day, I used to catch Maria Muldaur (along with her then-husband Geoff) whenever they played with the Kweskin Jug Band at Club 47 in Harvard Square. The front row seats were inches from the stage and Muildaur would wear the mini-est of miniskirts. The band was always great, but my eyes were more focused on her legs — certainly the most memorable part of the show. Great times!
Jerry, I, too, remember the Miniskirt Era fondly! Maria Muldaur’s song received heavy airplay back in the day.
What Deb said, mostly. Although now I have a much greater appreciation for “Rock The Boat” after seeing the great use of it in a second series episode of Derry Girls. Hilarious.
Also the Joni Mitchell (one of my favorites), the Steely Dan, and the Eltons. Not a fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Jeff, Joni Mitchell songs rarely show up on these compilation CDs so I’m happy that it was included in this volume.
Probably too expensive for low-budget comps, usually.
Todd, money is always an issue for these CD compilations. Many don’t have “Name” groups or singers because of costs. Sometimes, the compilation CD is a string of “One-Hit” Wonders.
Though that last can be a feature more than a bug, since too often no one was rushing to re-release some of the one-hit bands’/performers’ Greatest Hit (and possibly more impressive work) in too many cases.
Steely Dan, Dionne, Elton, Hues, and yes, god help me, KUNG FU FIGHTING. Not fond of the rest, and sorry, I can’t stand the Grand Funk track.
Fred, Grand Funk’s rendition of “The Loco-Motion” is a polarizing song. Some people love its wackiness compared to the classic Little Eva version. Others share your opinion. But, in 1974, their song got a lot of airplay on local rock stations.
The Little Eve original played continually on the loudspeaker at our neighborhood pool in summer 1962, along with “Sherry” and “Stranger on the Shore.”
Fred, 1962 was another great year in popular music. I have a BILLBOARD CD of 1962 music that I’ll have to dig out…
Well, 1974 was the year I rounded my first decade…I was listening to my parents’ jazz and pop and classical and rock albums (my mothers’ rock material did tend to focus on her 1950s favorites, those that her younger sister hadn’t stolen or scratched to death, or a few Pickwick anthologies she’s picked up in then-recent years), so Maria Muldaurs jazz-influenced voice was what caught my attention (I would only later see how striking she was visually). And most of this music was hard to miss, even if my father had all but inexplicably become addicted to “Easy Listening” stations; my mother less so, and at least some of the cars we had still had only AM radio.
“Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room” was intentionally funny, in a way that Grand Funk’s cover of “The Loco-Motion” maybe only probably was (I already loved the Little Eva original), and the Brownsville Station single was one of my first record purchases (backed with their cover of “Barefootin””). “Rikki” was my introduction to Steely Dan, and you can guess how much that song blew my doors off. Joni MItchell’s as well. It was Bob Marley’s classic before Eric Clapton’s good cover of “Sheriff”.
Listing the ones I really didn’t like would be easier for me, as well: Billy Swan’s “I Can Help” was/is basically a bro-stalker song with an annoying recurring organ riff–no thanks, buddy, on any level. Douglas’s “Kung Fu Fighting” was goofy at every level, but not funny enough for me…easier to take than the Swan song, though. Wet Willie’s cover of “When You’re Smiling” was a bit cute but I didn’t find it annoying so much as OK filler. Haven’t thought of the overstated but relatively spare “Rock On” in decades.
One could do worse for that year’s pop hits.
Todd, I like the ULTIMATE SEVENTIES series because they capture the essence of music for thot decade. Listening to ULTIMATE SEVENTIES 1974 gives the listener a fair idea of what was going on musically that year.
Well, in “top 40” pop radio in the US, anyway!
And, of course, “Sweet Home Alabama was an “answer record” to Neil young’s anti-racist/Jim Crow anthem “Southern Man”…too sad that both told too much of the truth…even if in both cases the truths could be extended not just north but species-wide, with other chauvinisms and incompletely-distributed fellowship too obvious damned near everywhere.
Nope, apologies–“Keep on Smiling” isn’t the song I was thinking of…but a just OK original.
I was glad to see Redbone there. My favorite Redbone song is unsurprisingly Maggie. I only scanned quickly so if the James Gang was listed. I missed it (Walk away). That was my favorite bar song to dance to.
Maggie, the USPS says your box of audiobooks has arrived!
Yes. Thanks. I was so thrilled to see some new to me ones.
Maggie, there’s enough audiobooks in that box I sent you to keep you listening all Summer long! Enjoy!
Ethnically obligated to support Redbone as well (as another Native nations/mostly Euro guy). Not that Redbone the band’s nor Lolly/Leon’s solo work has been difficult to like or endorse.
James Gang (of course) was led by Joe Walsh. We’ve seen him do “Walk Away” with the Eagles.
A few rad tracks and a lot of middling music! By this point of my life new music was starting to fade out of my favor!
Bob, I’ll have to remember the “slide” in rock ‘n roll started in 1974…
Dunno. Fleetwood Mac and a few of the other already or soon millionaires were doing good (or even their best) music, punk and new wave and ska were breaking out beyond the fringes, even as reggae had, even disco had some interesting work going, and Donna Summer and others were soon on the scene. I doubt this will nudge BN any, but the late ’50s was almost a more barren time in “pop” music, except when takes into account how much interesting work was happening in jazz, folk, blues, and all the other musics that could/did feed into the “pop” stew…
Todd, the 1970s were a great time for album sales. Some groups and artists sold millions of copies. That doesn’t happen today…