I was having a FB chat with the estimable Ryan Maffei, who has a thing for records released in the year 1974; as it turns out, so do I. He invited me to make a list sometime; and this is the result. As always, a disclaimer- while this is a list of favorites, the individual albums are not necessarily always my favorites, if that makes any sense.
OK, here goes nothing. Not necessarily in order of preference, but the order in which I thought of them. I’d write capsules, but I’d like to get this posted by August so this is just a list.
Jefferson Starship - Dragon Fly
Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece
Randy Newman - Good Old Boys
Traffic - When the Eagle Flies
Harry Nilsson - Pussy Cats
Tony Ashton and Jon Lord - First of the Big Bands
Slade - Clap Your Feet, Stomp Your Hands
Neil Young - On the Beach
Todd Rundgren - Todd
Queen - II
Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (‘)
Lou Reed - Sally Can’t Dance
Sparks - Kimono My House
George Harrison - Dark Horse
Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties
King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black
Alan Price - Between Today and Yesterday
Maria Muldaur - Waitress at the Donut Shop
Cat Stevens - Buddah and the Chocolate Box
Mott the Hoople - The Hoople
Yes - Relayer
John Lennon - Walls and Bridges
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - The Impossible Dream
Sandy Denny - Like an Old Fashioned Waltz
Roger McGuinn - Peace on You
I’m gonna cut this thing off at 25; I suppose I could list more but life is short, you know. Anyway, I think ‘74 was a hell of a year for music, maybe the last really good year of the 1970s, who can say.