Almanac Music: ‘100 x 100, 1954 to 1977’, 71- 80

 

The Stax gang used to go down the road from the studio, take a room in a motel to sleep or relax, write a song. April 1968, Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated on the balcony of that hotel, the next day the great Stax band got together and it was never gonna be the same.
We’re getting near that time when subtle swinging rhythms give way to boom-thunk and pointless displays of instrumental virtuousity – not that I’d be writing about that, this is a list of quality.

 

71 – ‘I Get The Sweetest Feeling’, Jackie Wilson, June 1968
Jackie had one of the true magical voices, the Kent sides are all great, a blend of pop and soul, drums, piano, horns, strings and here you hear him at his best, listen three times, no, five times to him singing, the vibrato, the control of his instrument. I played this song a lot when I met my first true love in 1986.

 

72 – ‘White Room’, Cream, August 1968
Eric’s wah-wah guitar solo is flipping awesome, Jack and Ginger play around with and through the rhythm. Tom Dowd recorded it in Atlantic’s New York studio, he was taken aback by the volume of several amp stacks in one room. A great track, yet a terrible precursor of things to come.

 

73 – ‘Say It Loud (I’m Black And I’m Proud)’, James Brown, August 1968
April 1968, James had a show in Boston, with riots flaming across the country the mayor got the show telecast live and everyone stayed home to watch JB on telly. Tired of beating our heads against the wall and working for someone else, the Godfather laid down this statement and, in less than three minutes, invented rap and hip-hop fifteen years before anyone noticed.

 

74 – ‘Open My Eyes’, Nazz, July 1968
Dig that riff! Epic fuzztone, killer rhythm, 20 year old Todd Rundgren making a statement, this is a near perfect example of guitar pop. If this band lived in your town, you’d go see every show.

 

75 – ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’, Marvin Gaye, October 1968
Paranoia and the danger of rumour, beautifully crafted, there’s something ambiguous and scary inside this song. Believe half of what you see, some of none of what you hear. Believe in what you hear in this glorious song, in Marvin’s voice, the backing vox sneaking up on him with doubt, the strings echoing his fear, the tension in the rhythm.

 

76 – ‘Nothing But A Heartache’, Flirtations, November 1968
Three young women from Carolina relocated to London, the song had been around for a while, they recorded a slice of psychedelic soul. It has the horns, the rhythm, it has every soul hint and an English style about it, it’s one of the greats. I’ve walked through villages in distant countries and this song would always click onto my mental jukebox.

 

77 – ‘I Want To Take You Higher’, Sly And The Family Stone, March 1969
Check that bass line, don’t it want to take you higher? Boom lacka lacka lacka, horns, chorus, everyone sings a line, this was the first great funk band, black and white, Sly was a disc jockey in San Francisco, heard everything, melded it all together with his own ideas, burnt out his nose. He made wonderful music on his journey to insanity.

 

78 – ‘Cissy Strut’, Meters, May 1969
Pure rhythm from a fantastic funky band. Put it on a loop and fuck your brains out.

 

79 – ‘Albatross’, Fleetwood Mac, November 1968
There be few instrumental tracks as beautiful as this one. Booming toms, cymbal wash, guitar melodies and harmonics, sit out back at dusk and listen to this, watch the stars come out to play.

 

80 – ‘Move On Up’, Curtis Mayfield, September 1970
Curtis was an all-round genius musician, this song is all about hope and aspiration, it’s gospel music and secular words, speaks to the new generation yet, holy fuck, did anyone at all listen? With just a little faith, if you put your mind to it, you can surely do it. Curtis was about to step on stage in 1990 when a lighting rig fell on him, spent his last years quadriplegic, a terrible fate for such a talent.

 

On the verge of the 1970s, a weird, stinky and wild decade. Worried about nuclear war? Have a sniff of this white stuff, kid, it’ll take your mind off it. You rich or poor? We’ve got one for each.

 

 

To read more by Earl O’Neill click HERE.

 

 

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