Rock music 1969 - 1971 a listening experience.

In a unusual listening phase I've engaged in now for approximately 3 weeks.
I've listened to nothing else but rock music from the three year span of 1969 to 1971.
This was started by accident when I went on a early Jethro Tull, Grand Funk, Ten Years After listening session over a lazy Sunday three weeks ago and I became so satisfied by what I was hearing that I knowingly decided to stay in that time period until I grow tired of it.
Instead of growing tired of it I have actually become addicted to it.
I have added many bands to the equation since that first day including Deep Purple's earliest, Pink Floyds Ummagumma hit home strong!....King Crimson's earliest, Yes - Time And A word, and The Yes Album.
Black Sabbath's first and Paranoid, The Doors first was a perfect add, Savoy Brown - Raw Sienna, some Zappa and The Mothers, and some Uriah Heep,Van Der Graff Generator,Traffic and Harrisons All Things Must Pass Is On Deck.

I have to say this has been one of the most fruitful and enjoyable listening experiences I can remember.
Those years are magic.

Thoughts, experiences, suggestions?

 

I get in the way back machine now and then but with a little wider time frame and usually just to focus on a one of my favorites from back then like Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Dylan, early Larry Coryell, Harvey Mandel, Lou Reed/Velvets, Jethro Tull, John Mayall, The Doors, Quicksilver Messenger Service, or jazz-- Miles Davis, Albert Ayler, John Coltrane, Sun Ra and others. But generally, I just soak my head in that pool for awhile and then move on again. Right now I'm soaking up Beach Boys from 1963 through 1973.

 

That is the prime three best years overall for a wide array of music recorded that I enjoy most. Knock yourself out.

 

Great, classic time frame, so much to listen to then.

 

Sounds like me in 1996-1997 - my "classic rock" phase.

 

Loaded, and then Paul McCartney!

 

Check some Mountain.

 

Mountain. Climbing and Nantucket Sleighride

 

So much great stuff. This is one of my favorites. Trapeze - Medusa.

 

Maturity rules!

Myself I benefit largely from stretching this out to 1972, in order to encompass more classics from the birth of UK prog (Focus, Gentle Giant's "Three Friends" and masterwork "Octopus"), as well as Argent, Joni, Santana's fusion era, Zappa's big band era... The list seems endless!

 

Ya, I pretty much stay in the 70's music "zone". Don't do this intentionally, but it's what I happen to like...

 

Caravan - Caravan (1969), If I could do it all over again, I'd do it all over you (1970) and In the land of grey and pink (1971).

 

Try Taste - On The Boards, and The Move - Shazam, both from 1970. Often overlooked, excellent albums.

 

Led Zeppelin!

 

These 5 are essential listening for the Time Period

Cluster-S/T
Fleetwood Mac-Future Games
Chico Buarque-Construcao
Miles Davis-Jack Johnson
Weather Report-S/T

 

I can play this game, skipping over those already mentioned and sticking the essential:
1969
Allman Brothers - s/t
The Band - s/t
Beatles - Abbey Road
Blind Faith - s/t
Blodwyn Pig - Ahead Rings Out
Crosby, Still, and Nash - s/t
Fairport Convention - Liege and Leaf
Grateful Dead - Live Dead
Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers
Moody Blues - On the Threshold of a Dream and To our Children x 3
Rolling Stones - Let it Bleed
Spirit - Clear
Johnny Winter - s/t and Second Winter

1970
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmos Factory
CSNY - s/t
Derek and the Dominoes - Layla Sessions
ELP -s/t and Tarkus
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
Genesis - Trespass
Grateful Dead - American Beauty and Workingman's Dead
Kinks - Lola vs
Led Zepp I & II & III
Santana - Abraxas
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
Spirit - Twelve Dreams
Van der Graaf Generator - H to He
Edgar Winter - Entrance
Johnny Winter And
Wishbone Ash - s/t
Neil Young - After the Gold Rush

1971
Allman Brothers - Idlewild South, Fillmore East
Jeff Beck - Rough and Ready
ELP - Tarkus
Flash - s/t
Focus - Moving Waves
Genesis - Nursery Cryme
Led Zepp IV
Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame
Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
Santana III
Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells a Story
Wishbone Ash - Pilgrimage
Strawbs - From the Witchwood
Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Who - Who's Next

 

To me:
The interesting thing about this particular period, is what Stan Cornyn said in his book, "EXPLODING!!".
He states that WEA was so 'flush-with-cash', that Mo & Joe would sign ANYONE they thought was even a little 'out-there', just to see what would happen!
Of course, they always knew the difference between actual 'songwriters' and 'flashy acts', but, they didn't care, when it came to their 'bottom-line'....
In their eyes, ANYTHING could have 'hit' potential!

 

Stupidely assimilating UK with Focus here... Thinking of course, as a "North American", of their rather spectacular arrival on our scene...

 

Some key suggestions:
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
The Kinks - Arthur
Mickey Newbury - Looks Like Rain
Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Sings Newman
Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die
The Who - Tommy
The Pretty Things - Parachute (Kind of like a heavier Rolling Stones recording Abbey Road)
Laura Nyro - New York Tendaberry
Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs
Faces - First Step
CCR - Pendulum
Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells a Story
The Stooges - Fun House
King Crimson - in the court of the crimson king
John Prine - John Prine

 

^^ Which makes me think that anyone willing and able to explore local scenes outside the usual UK and American ones (which is natural, as rock is fundamentally an English-speaking form of musical art) would be pleasantly surprised at how burgeoning some of these scenes were, in that field and during that particular timeframe. I am thinking of the province of Quebec, of France, Italy, Holland... The list probably could go on and on...

Yesterday, I was spinning Spanish group Barrabàs's first album - I hadn't heard that since, what, 1972? when "Woman" used to play such a hell of a lot over on my highschool PA radio - and was amazed at how good these guys were, in their genre. Their flute player Ernesto Duarte is the best rock flute player-improviser I have ever heard... Way better than Ian Anderson, whom used to win all those polls! (I say this as a huge Jethro Tull fan.)

 

Flamin' Groovies - Flamingo and Teenage Head
Hackamore Brick - One Kiss Leads To Another
MC5 - Kick Out The Jams/Back In The USA/High Time
Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground and Loaded

 

Just a note, if you spun the Doors first you went outside your self imposed parameter. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

Wore out a couple copies of this one:

 

Me too. Those Kama Sutra pressings were always pretty lousy to begin with.
I'd love it if Vic Anesini could get a hold of those 2 Groovies albums and work on them, he did a fabulous job on the Hackamore Brick.

 

Marvin Gaye's - What's Going On
Pink Floyd - Meddle
Santana - Santana III
Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey

Though the 2 Yes albums, The Yes Album and Fragile, would steal the honours for me