Baker's Dozen

Let me preface this ambitious undertaking by laying down some ground rules. First, it’s by no means meant to be a definitive list, just a collection of some of my favorites. Second, a few of the records here are by artists who are quite popular (Dylan, Joni Mitchell) and hardly ones you would deem “overlooked.” However, there are certain albums in their catalogs that are often relegated to second or third class status relative to the widely acknowledged masterpieces. Now, without further adieu, here are 13 overlooked LPs from the 1970s:

Teenage Head (1971)

Flamin’ Groovies

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Although Sticky Fingers gets all the glory, the Flamin’ Groovies bested them in ‘71 with the explosive garage rock swagger of Teenage Head. Don’t believe me? Take a listen to the title track and watch the hair on your arms rise. Still don’t believe me? Well, when somebody pointed out the similarities between Sticky Fingers and Teenage Head to Mick Jagger, he remarked that the Groovies did a better job. From the Elvis-infused rockabilly strut of “Evil Hearted Ada” to the bluesy drawl of “City Lights” and the jug-band gallop of “32-20,” Teenage Head is a joyous expression of youthful abandon that belongs on the shelf of any discerning rock enthusiast.

Stormcock (1971)

Roy Harper

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Stormcock is underrated British troubadour Roy Harper’s magnum opus, an ambitious progressive acoustic rock album that boasts scathing lyrics aimed at organized religion, masterful guitar work, and inventive arrangements. Harper displays mind-bending acoustic guitar technique throughout the 40+ minutes, standing toe-to-toe with Jimmy Page, who turns in one of his greatest solos on the epic “The Same Old Rock.” Throw in some lush orchestrations by David Bedford and swirling, multi-layered vocals and you have a record that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the classics by Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.

Whatevershebringswesing (1971)

Kevin Ayers

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Kevin Ayers provided the pop sensibility and whimsy that made the first Soft Machine record such a pleasure. For his solo career he perfected his formula of off-kilter avant-rock, combining hummable melodies with humor, wit and jazz-informed psychedelia, all delivered in his rich baritone. Whatevershebringswesing is notable for its slow, stately pace, and while the prog rock tendencies of his early career are evident, the arrangements aren’t burdened by complexity. For those of you looking to dive in to the catalog of one of British rock’s more likable eccentrics, Whatevershebringswesing is a good place to start.

Muswell Hillbillies (1971)

The Kinks

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After reeling off four nearly perfect records between 1967-1970, Ray Davies and company returned with perhaps their most unusual work to date. It also stands as one of their best, and that’s a high compliment when you consider its company (Village Green Preservation Society, Arthur, Something Else By). Using American roots music as a jumping off point, Muswell Hillbillies finds Davies lamenting the stresses of modern life on the working class, tackling topics such as poverty and the suburbanization of London. Ever the witty observer, Davies peppers the narratives with autobiographical tidbits that manage to be wry, sarcastic and heartbreaking at the same time. The following lines from album opener “20th Century Man” pretty much sums it up: “Ain’t got no ambition/I’m just disillusioned/I’m a twentieth century man/but I don’t wanna be here.”

Long Player (1971)

The Faces

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I’m just going to come out and say it: The Faces at their peak were the best rock and roll band on the planet. That’s right, better than the Stones, the Who, or Led Zeppelin. While A Nod Is as Good as a Wink… to a Blind Horse is universally heralded as their best release, Long Player finds the Faces at their most loose and wild. A ramshackle collection of scuzzy rockers and blues workouts, the album bristles with energy, thanks in large part to the electric chemistry between the five musicians. And don’t let the schlock of Rod Stewart’s later work fool you, as the Faces’ lead singer he was deadly. With the vastly underrated Ronnie Lane on bass, Ian McLagan on keyboards and future Rolling Stone Ron Wood on guitar, the band was more than a sum of its parts, it was a veritable super group that was more ‘86 Celtics than ‘09 Yankees, if you know what I mean.

No Other (1974)

Gene Clark

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It’s a shame that Gene Clark is best known for his short stint with the Byrds from 1964-1966, because his catalog (both as a solo artist and with Dillard and Clark) spanning the next 20 years is chock full of overlooked brilliance. For this list alone it would have been justified for me to select White Light (1971) or Roadmaster (1972), but I’m partial to the dizzying No Other. Ahead of his time, Clark used every modern recording technique at his disposal to augment his already masterful songwriting. Add to that a roster of the biz’s best studio musicians – Michael Utley, Jesse Ed Davis, Allman Brothers’ Butch Trucks, Lee Sklar, Russ Kunkel, Joe Lala, Chris Hillman, Danny Kortchmar, Howard Buzzy Feiten, and Stephen Bruton – and you have a blissed out country-rock song-cycle that stands as one of the decade’s most thrilling records. Take that, Roger McGuinn!

Veedon Fleece (1974)

Van Morrison

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While not quite on par with 1968’s Astral Weeks (one of my favorite records of all time), Veedon Fleece is still a work to behold. Shedding the more soulful, jazz-inflected hits of Moondance and Tupelo Honey, Veedon Fleece is a record that requires patience, its majestic beauty continuously unfolding with each listen. John Kennedy said it best in a review from PopMatters: “Veedon Fleece is a poet’s album, a jazz lover’s album, a masterpiece of soul-singing, a blue and green journey into the places of the heart that were first opened up for dowsing with Astral Weeks.”

The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975)

Joni Mitchell

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Most people associate Joni Mitchell with the confessional folky singer/songwriter of Blue. However, Joni’s best work is the jazz-inflected, experimental “world” music she released on the sublime The Hissing of Summer Lawns. Other than the straightforward pop of “In France They Kiss on Main Street,” the album is loaded with complex and challenging compositions that find her dabbling with sampling (the field recording from Africa of the Drummers of Burundi in “The Jungle Line”), multiple overdubs (“Shadows and Light”), orchestral arrangements (“Shades of Scarlett Conquering”), and modern jazz (“Harry’s House/Centerpiece”). Reviled at the time by some critics, the album has matured gracefully, now recognized as a towering achievement in Mitchell’s impressive career. Indeed, Prince once proclaimed in Rolling Stone that The Hissing of Summer Lawns was “the last album I loved all the way through.”

Howlin’ Wind (1976)

Graham Parker

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A purveyor of the “angry young man” style of delivery shared by early-career Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello, Graham Parker lept out of the gate fully formed with his rousing debut, Howlin’ Wind. And while he spits his lyrics with disdain that’s palpable, the soulful pub rock behind him keeps things from getting too pointed. Indeed, the punchy horns, rich Hammond organ and jaunty guitar lines fronted by Parker’s snarl give you an idea of what the spawn of Van Morrison and Johnny Rotten might sound like.

Honky Tonk Masquerade (1978)

Joe Ely

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Lubbock’s Joe Ely already made a splash with his solid debut the year prior, but he shot the moon with his stunning follow-up, an essential country album that even country-averse music fans must own. Once again collaborating with his Flatlanders friends, Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Ely churns out 10 perfect gems, from the dancefloor ready “Cornbread Moon” and “Jericho (Your Walls Must Come Tumbling Down),” to the tear in your beer barroom ballads of “Honky Tonk Masquerade” and “Tonight I Think I’m Gonna Go Downtown.” While Ely’s dusty warble takes center stage, Ponty Bone’s accordion accents add just the right touch of bordertown flavor and Lloyd Maines’ pedal steel keeps the honky tonk weepy.

Here, My Dear (1978)

Marvin Gaye

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Rivaling Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks as the most intense break-up album of all time, Here, My Dear is a deeply personal and harrowing account of the dissolution of a marriage. As the story goes, Marvin’s extravagant lifestyle (cocaine and cars) prevented him from paying alimony and child support to his ex-wife. As a solution, he agreed to give her the royalties to his next project, which would become Here, My Dear. Allmusic’s Rob Theakston describes it as “the sound of divorce on record — exposed in all of its tender-nerve glory for the world to consume… Gaye viciously cuts with every lyric deeper into an explanation of why the relationship died the way it did…” The strain and emotion is evident in Marvin’s voice, but the imperfections emote an honesty and passion that few records achieve.

154 (1979)

Wire

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The first two Wire albums contained a combined 36 songs, some clocking in at less than a minute long. The tracks were fast, terse, punk-fueled nuggets of cold paranoia. Wire’s third release, 154, is where the band earned the “post” part of its “post-punk” tag. This was dark, arty music colored by washes of synthesizer, stabbing, angular guitar lines and the typically detached vocal delivery of Colin Newman and Graham Lewis. The songs are longer and more deliberate, with elements of industrial and goth music that hint at the direction the band would take in later years. And while 154 doesn’t have the rush of the earlier records, it stands as the most engaging and enduring of Wire’s first incarnation.

Slow Train Coming (1979)

Bob Dylan

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It’s time for a re-evaluation of Dylan’s mostly reviled “born-again Christian phase.” Slow Train Coming is not only the best of his three overtly religious albums released in the late ’70s and early ’80s, but I would argue that it’s his strongest studio album spanning the twenty-one years between 1976’s Desire and 1997’s Time Out of Mind. Although I’m a firm atheist, there’s a lot to enjoy in Dylan’s twisted take on sacred music, from his fire and brimstone admonishments of non-believers and sinners (“Slow Train,” “When You Gonna Wake Up”) to his rousing devotional anthems to God (“Precious Angel,” “I Believe In You”). Its laser focus works, making Slow Train Coming a highly listenable album that never gets stale.

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