1973 in music

Two and a half years ago – March 2006, I think – Cousin Mike sent me a list of songs he described as “arresting”. When you hear these songs, you stop what you’re doing to listen, and maybe turn up the volume. An interesting email conversation developed, and I said that I’d probably call my list “songs I like”, or “Bob’s favorites”. My list would be mostly classic rock, but with some blues, folk instrumental, Irish, Cajun Zydeco, and soul mixed in. So, I started to compile such a list…and took a break when I noticed it had grown to 448 entries. Editing had to happen, and the task seemed daunting. Still does, in fact.

A month or so ago I returned to a different idea. What if I could make a "best of" playlist for just one year? Such compilations exist, and most of them I’ve found to be disappointing. Simply put, I’m not interested in what sold the most. I just want to hear what I want to hear.

Time to experiment, but what year should I choose? I got to thinking of “one-hit-wonders”, bands that had only one hit, or a few hits…and I only like one of them. A look at my Big List, and I noticed Mott the Hoople. Now, I sure wouldn’t want a whole disk of their music, but I do like All The Way From Memphis. I searched for that online, found that it was released in 1973. Hmmm…what else came out that year?

Actually, quite a bit more than I remembered at first. I found a site that listed virtually every song released by year, and though 1973 might not have been the busiest year in rock, I did turn up a few of my favorites. I’ve worked on this on and off when I could make a few moments. It could be the best method might be for me to work on each year separately, then eventually combine all the lists into one. Talk about a long term project.

Remember, I’m not at all claiming these were the “best” songs that year…just a ranking of what I like. And so, just for fun, here's my favorite music from...

1973

1. Eric Clapton / Derek and the Dominoes – Little Wing (live – Rainbow Concert)
(I’ve yet to hear a bad version of this powerful, musically emotional rock song. Sometimes I prefer the Stevie Ray Vaughan cover, or the Jimi Hendrix original; these three versions will likely tie somewhere in the top five on my final list.)
2. Joe Walsh – Rocky Mountain Way
(Of course.)
3. Fleetwood Mac – Hypnotized
(This one’s so smooth, and it’s *Way* underplayed. I don’t get to hear it nearly enough, so I always crank it up when it comes on - and I can get away with controlling the volume. Despite the band’s huge commercial success in the late 1970’s and into the 1980’s, I have a personal preference for the British blues years of the early Mac.)
4. (Tie) Paul McCartney and Wings – Mrs. Vanderbilt
Paul McCartney and Wings – Let Me Roll It
(I easily could have just said the “Band On the Run” album here, but I wanted this to be a list of individual songs instead. My two favorite tracks from the album.)
5. REO Speedwagon – Ridin’ the Storm Out (studio version *Only*)
(My favorite of theirs, and possibly the only REO song to make my final list.)
6. Led Zeppelin – Dancing Days*
7. Steely Dan – My Old School*
(* These two were a close call. When I’m on a Steely Dan kick, I’d rank My Old School slightly ahead of Dancing Days.)
8. Rick Deringer – Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo
(This song really says 1973 to me. Written by Rick Deringer and also previously recorded by Johnny Winter on his Johnny Winter And album in 1972.)
9. Mott the Hoople – All the Way From Memphis
(They had another song that was a bigger hit, but this is their song that I like.)
10. Pink Floyd – Time
(Yes, the alarm clock intro is annoying, but the rest of the song more than makes up for it.)
11. Yes – Long Distance Runaround / The Fish (live – Yessongs)
(If this was the earlier studio version it would be ranked higher. But after all, this is a 1973 list.)
12. Wishbone Ash – Everybody Needs a Friend
(My first obscure entry here, what little airplay it received was mostly on college radio stations. I might have ranked this higher, but the vocals are well, a little too sweet…strictly a slow dance number. It’s definitely worth a listen though, for the long guitar bridge around two thirds of the way through. Not quite as emotional musically as Little Wing, but it still can give me chills.)
13. Steely Dan – Reeling In the Years
(single release – album released in 1974)
14. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Tuesday’s Gone
(Before you hit the ceiling that I haven’t yet mentioned Free Bird…well, that’s a song I used to like more, and it might make my final list. But its Been. Played. Into. The. Ground. I prefer Tuesday’s Gone.)
15. (Tie) Paul McCartney and Wings – Band On the Run
Paul McCartney and Wings – Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
Paul McCartney and Wings – Jet
(See my note for the two way tie at number 4.)
16. Hot Tuna – Letter To the North Star
(So obscure I never would have heard it if we didn’t have the The Phosphorescent Rat album at the college radio station. Happy and upbeat…I still like this one.)
17. Bob Dylan – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
(I’m not a huge Dylan fan, but there are a few of his songs I like. I like to turn this one up.)
18. Little Feat – Dixie Chicken
(I don’t recall if I heard this in 1973, but I have heard it since and it has grown on me.)
19. Eagles – Desperado
20. Bachman Turner Overdrive – Takin’ Care Of Business
(This one has surprised me a bit how well its held up over the years.)
21. Led Zeppelin – Over the Hills and Far Away
(Two or three years after this came out I walked by a student at MU who was sitting under a shade tree near the Francis Quadrangle, picking this out on an acoustic guitar…and doing a good job of it too. A nice memory.)
22. Led Zeppelin – The Ocean
(Sometimes I like this one better than Over the Hills and Far Away. It depends.)
23. Yes – Roundabout (live – Yessongs)
(See my note for number 11.)
24. Pink Floyd – Brain Damage
(I can’t resist these lyrics: "…The lunatics are in my hall, the paper holds their folded faces to the floor, and every day the paper boy brings more." Clever.)
25. Fleetwood Mac – For Your Love
(Their cover of a great song by The Yardbirds)
26. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Simple Man
27. Moody Blues – I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)
28. Emerson Lake and Palmer – Still You Turn Me On
(Two art rock / progressive rock songs in a row. That ought to do it for this list…I have to be in the right mood these days.)
29. Steely Dan – Do It Again
30. War – The Cisco Kid
(This one has grown on me a bit over the years.)

Honorable Mention, Part 1
(Many of these might make it to my final list):

31. Steve Miller Band – The Joker
32. Jim Croce – Operator (That’s Not The Way It Feels)
33. ZZ Top – Waiting For the Bus / Jesus Just Left Chicago
(I came close to leaving this off. Jesus is so much more than mere man, He is God and man, and with us always in Spirit. He’s always in Chicago, and everywhere else…he’s not limited to going from place to place like we do. But, I listened closely to the lyrics and I didn’t hear the mockery usual in the few rock songs that mention Jesus…it’s just more of a blues song. Musically good.)
34. Rolling Stones – Angie
(I’m not much of a Stones fan, but I do like some of their songs. This one’s pretty good.)
35. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird
(I liked this more when it first came out. See comment for number 14.)
36. Chicago – Feelin’ Stronger Every Day
37. Steely Dan – The Boston Rag
38. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Mississippi Kid
(Just for fun.)
39. Loggins and Messina – My Music
40. Dobie Gray – Drift Away
(A pop / soul song that’s grown on me over the years.)
41. Aerosmith – Dream On
(I’m not much for songs that scream at me, but this might be the best from what I think of as an early “hair band”.)
42. The Who – Love Reign O’er Me
(The Who have done better songs; I do think this one’s the best track from Quadrophenia.)

Honorable Mention, Part 2
(A few of these might make my final list):

43. Jim Croce – Bad Bad Leroy Brown
44. King Harvest – Dancing In the Moonlight
45. B. W. Stevenson – My Maria
46. Todd Rundgren – Hello It’s Me
47. George Harrison – Living In the Material World
48. Bryan Ferry – These Foolish Things
49. Focus – Hocus Pocus (part 1)

Also Ran
(Part of the 1973 music scene, and there will be songs from five of these artists on my final list. Probably not these, though.)

50. Billy Joel – Piano Man
51. Paul McCartney – My Love
52. Paul Simon – Loves Me Like a Rock
53. (Tie) Jim Croce – I Have to Say I Love You In a Song
Jim Croce – I’ve Got a Name
(Hard for me to list these two by rank.)
54. Deep Purple – Smoke On the Water (studio version)
55. Billy Preston – Will It Go Round In Circles
56. Sweet – Ballroom Blitz