1977 goes down in the history books as the year punk came along and saved music. However a number 38 by the Sex Pistols was the only punk we'd had in the Top 40 by January 1977 and that record came out at the end of 1976 and therefore isn't included in this batch.
The best record is the only hit from American rockers Boston with "More Than A Feeling". It's a song that takes you on a journey without being overly complex. The main hook consists of just 4 chords.
In 2nd place we have Boz Scaggs with "What Can I Say", one of those records I've heard many times as background music but the first time I've properly sat down and taken a listen and it was an enjoyable one.
Then in 3rd we have a solid record from Thin Lizzy with "Don't Believe A Word". Not a punk record by any stretch of the imagination, but being 2 minutes long and straight to the point means it's suited to the punk era.
There's no disco overload this time and we have more credible disco records than cheese. There's "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes which was already 2 years old and they were one of the original disco acts. Then there's "Boogie Nights" by Heatwave who again I would put in the credible disco category.
The only cheesy pop disco record comes from German group Silver Convention with "Everybody's Talkin Bout Love" and whilst I can't say I like it, it's nowhere near as bad as some disco records I've heard.
Stevie Wonder opted not to release "Isn't She Lovely" as a single because he didn't want to shorten it to a radio edit. Instead we get a cover from David Parton which sounds like an all round karaoke version.
One band I've never really got is the Eagles. Their greatest hits is the 3rd best selling album of all time but I've always found their music rather boring and with "New Kid In Town" being over 5 minutes long that's very much the case there.
No Motown this time but we do have 2 former Motown acts. The Detroit Spinners have a solid if unspectacular record with "Wake Up Susan". Gladys Knight & the Pips had some great records and some really boring ones and "Nobody But You" fits the latter category.
The worst record though is another boring ballad "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer. Probably not helped by the fact the first version I heard was the 90s cover by Jambo from Hollyoaks.
Overall it's been a big improvement on 1976 and in a way it's like 1963 again.
Score: 40
No comments:
Post a Comment