1975
Because 1975 was a pretty weak year, I was able to include the 13 minute Fela Kuti track “Expensive Shit” without losing anything I’m really going to miss. It’s a great song, and while Fela didn’t have the huge impact he deserved in America, he’s certainly the biggest African musician to ever hit over here.
But to say that this is a weak year is to take nothing away from the few great tracks there were, as everything here is pretty fantastic. Although a lot of people don’t like “Young Americans,” I get a big kick out of it, and “Born to Run,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “Low Rider” are really fun cuts. “Shame, Shame, Shame” and “Tear the Roof Off the Sucker” are both great party tracks, and Little Johnny Jewel” was the first (and best) Television song, a lesser known track because it was not included on a record.
Two woman had big records in 1975, Patti Smith with her cover/reworking of Van Morrison’s “Gloria,” and Loretta Lynn’s feminist anthem “The Pill,” and both were easy selections for this compilation, as they are both extremely important and fucking awesome. On the other side of the singer/songwriter sexual coin, Paul Simon and Bob Dylan had two of their biggest hits. “Tangled Up In Blue,” in particular, comes pretty close to being my favorite Bob Dylan song. He’ll be included in a few more mixes, obviously.
Finally, a note about J.D. Crowe. I know most people who take a look at this blog every week don’t know or care too much about Bluegrass, but as someone who has only recently (within the past two years) been delving into the genre, I have to include what I think is one of the most important records in the modern bluegrass era, and one of the best songs from that album. Great musicianship and beautiful recordings, J.D. Crowe and the New South is highly recommended for anyone interested in the genre, and if you like the song I included, the rest of the album is equally enjoyable.
Enjoy and comment below.
Download the mix here.
1. Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen - 4:31
2. Young Americans - David Bowie - 5:09
3. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen - 5:53
4. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd - 5:17
5. St. Elmo's Fire - Brian Eno - 3:03
6. Low Rider - War - 3:13
7. Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk) - Parliament - 3:41
8. Shame, Shame, Shame - Shirley & Company - 4:05
9. Little Johnny Jewel (Parts 1 & 2) - Television - 7:09
10. Gloria - Patti Smith - 5:56
11. The Pill - Loretta Lynn - 2:38
12. Old Home Place - J.D. Crowe & The New South - 2:49
13. 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon - 3:32
14. Tangled Up in Blue - Bob Dylan - 5:41
15. King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown - Augustus Pablo - 2:31
16. Expensive Shit - Fela Kuti and The Africa 70 - 13:13
posted by bza @ 4/17/2006
5 Comments:
Yeah, KC and the Sunshine Band was one of the groups that lost out when I decided to go with Fela. Basically, I didn't have enough songs to fill up the whole mix, but I had a few songs that would have to go if I put in a 13 minute song.
Ultimately, as big as their self titled record was, those hits seem very much like novelty songs. I don't know if you noticed, but I didn't include anything from the multi-platinum Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, either. I have little case to support my decision, but if I have to pick between the songs I included here and either one of those songs, the stuff included wins out every time.
Do you prefer "Low Rider" or "Get Down Tonight"? Personally, I think "Low Rider" is a much more musically interesting song. I actually love disco, I just don't really like the commercial interpretation of it.
Kiss, on the other hand... not so much. They're like the disneyland of rock and roll.
This was a very enjoyable mix. I don't know what else to say. Queen was my favorite band when I was 10 and has poked up to the top a few different times since then, so it's always nice to see them get some props.
The last two songs are from what are probably my favorite dub and afrobeat albums, respectivley.
Triviatime. Is this so far, the mix with the least about of songs?
Definitely, I didn't mean to imply those both weren't totally relevant and excellent suggestions; they most certainly were.
I was simply making my case for why I didn't include them. In all honesty, you're probably right about both of them, in particular KC and the Sunshine Band. But not including kiss was a personal decision, and I guess I just made the choice to go with fela rather than put kc and a few songs that weren't really worthy of going on the mix (I honestly don't even remember what those were going to be now). The reason I mentioned low rider was that I was wondering what song you would knock off the mix to fit kc on there. I actually think I had a kc song, but it didn't fit so I put the shorter JD Crowe song instead. I'm not sure.
I think I'll play around with this mix and see what happens. Probably the two songs that would go first would be JD Crowe and Brian Eno, cause those are probably the two least significant.
Either way, thanks for commenting... it's great to get feedback, good and especially bad.
I'd also like to mention that my word verification phrase is "zzwtf" which is pretty good.
Gah! 1971!! You forgot American Pie!!
AAAUGH!!
Me.
No, I did not forget American Pie.
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