Urban75 Album of the Year 1973
- Thread starter Knotted
- Start date
Indeliblelink
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A bongo & conga infused cover version of an instrumental made famous by The Shadows might not be the most likely candidate for one of hip hop's cornerstone tracks and indeed Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band's version of Apache languished in obscurity until DJ Kool Herc started playing it at New York block parties in the mid 70s, now it's one of the most sampled breakbeats out there [there's even a documentary about it - see trailer below]. Other tracks on their 1973 album "Bongo Rock" have been heavily sampled too.
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Spandex
A crazy bulbous punchbag of sound
The Dubliners were one of the few bands me and my dad could agree on. He generally leaned towards classic dad rock, I generally leaned anywhere else. There were only two gigs we went to together and The Dubliners was one of them, just him & me hanging out like friends instead of parent and child.
Steel Icarus
we move
Paris 1919 by John Cale
Three Embryo albums representing the band in their most intense free form jam period. Jazz-rock-funk-world fusion turning again and again to styles from north Africa, Middle East and the Indian subcontinent as a basis for improvisation and the live experience continuous with their jazz/rock roots. Very fluid line ups too and each album and indeed each track has its own sound.
The first of these is We Keep On and it's a very minimal line up with jazz saxophone luminary Chalie Mariano but it's a full on jam and it sounds big even if there are only four musicians playing. Actually goes punk rock at one stage.
And then there's Steig Aus which catches the band variously at their most fast and furious and dreamy. With Jimmy Jackson and Dave King back on keys/bass respectively this recaptures the sound they had in 1972 and ramps it up notch.
And finally Rock Session which has a relatively clean well produced sound (for Embryo) and perhaps show cases what they were up to better than the previous two because of that.
These are arguably the best three albums Embryo ever made and all in 1973. Controlled chaos/throw everything into the pot.
The first of these is We Keep On and it's a very minimal line up with jazz saxophone luminary Chalie Mariano but it's a full on jam and it sounds big even if there are only four musicians playing. Actually goes punk rock at one stage.
And then there's Steig Aus which catches the band variously at their most fast and furious and dreamy. With Jimmy Jackson and Dave King back on keys/bass respectively this recaptures the sound they had in 1972 and ramps it up notch.
And finally Rock Session which has a relatively clean well produced sound (for Embryo) and perhaps show cases what they were up to better than the previous two because of that.
These are arguably the best three albums Embryo ever made and all in 1973. Controlled chaos/throw everything into the pot.
In 1972 Agitation Free were doing something very similar to Embryo but by 1973 they had dropped most of the world fusion aspects and made a jazz informed, sonically experimental space rock 2nd album.
Both gently melodic and abstract/noisy. Their most famous tune Laila is caught in this magnificent piece of live footage on Rock en Stock
This band have such easy going fluidity and way the play off each other.
Both gently melodic and abstract/noisy. Their most famous tune Laila is caught in this magnificent piece of live footage on Rock en Stock
This band have such easy going fluidity and way the play off each other.
Between were another in a roughly similar vein to the above two bands but with a cleaner sound and tending towards modern classical/ambient combining with oriental sounds. 1973's And the Waters Opened is probably the best thing they did.
Three Ash Ra Tempel albums from 1973.
Starring Rosi
Join Inn
Seven Up
The last of these was a session dropping acid in 7Up with Timothy Leary. Difficult to choose between them, out in space jamming and the last of this short but amazing period for the band.
Starring Rosi
Join Inn
Seven Up
The last of these was a session dropping acid in 7Up with Timothy Leary. Difficult to choose between them, out in space jamming and the last of this short but amazing period for the band.
Related to the above is this album. Walter Wegmüller - Tarot. Wegmüller was a non musician who brought together Ash Ra Tempel and Wallenstein to make this incredible album. Basically the group who would later be called the Cosmic Jokers. Ash Ra Tempel and Wallenstein were two very different bands the former acid drenched space rock and the latter fast and furious prog rock but the sound here is much closer to the former but with added electronics.
Has anybody mentioned Kraftwerk? No? Curious.
Ralf und Florian is a bit of transitional album from the experimentalism of early Kraftwerk to the synth sounds of Autobahn and beyond. But here it is still lacking that artistic visions - quasi ironic technological modernism etc. It's pretty aimless. And actually I like that. Just burbling melodic electronic beauty for its own sake. I've listened to this many more times than I have Autobahn.
Ralf und Florian is a bit of transitional album from the experimentalism of early Kraftwerk to the synth sounds of Autobahn and beyond. But here it is still lacking that artistic visions - quasi ironic technological modernism etc. It's pretty aimless. And actually I like that. Just burbling melodic electronic beauty for its own sake. I've listened to this many more times than I have Autobahn.
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
I don't like the first two albums much but this one is great. Tanzmusic is a favourite, and probably the track where you can most clearly hear the classic Kraftwerk sound starting to emerge.
Indeliblelink
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Kollektiv - Live 1973, This didn't get released until 2005 but this seems a good place to mention it.
The39thStep
Urban critical thinker
Very underrated . Also liked their Blind Owl Wilson period
Serge Forward
Just enjoyin' my coffee.
Serge Forward
Just enjoyin' my coffee.
There's so much strange jazz/rock in 1973 but Dzyan's Time Machine is stranger than most of them. You might have Mahavishnu Orchestra fusing jazz and rock but this is fusing the further reaches of free jazz with rock. It's also excellent.
The39thStep
Urban critical thinker
I think Bees Make Honey may have been the first Pub Rock band although Eggs Over Easy might object. Like a lot of the later pub rock bands the album Music Every Night is a little flat , far better live.
Oh and Sergius Golowin's Lord Krishna von Goloka. Effectively another Wallenstein/Ash Ra Tempel collaboration but with Witthüser and Westrupp. As spacey as spacey gets and then a bit more spacey and then just as you think it's all too spacey it ramps up the spaciness. Similar territory to Popul Vuh but spacier. For my money the best Ash Ra Tempel related release this year on account of it being properly spacey.
Serge Forward
Just enjoyin' my coffee.
Tom's first album:
Serge Forward
Just enjoyin' my coffee.
Also, I really liked this 1973 album by Chuck Berry:
Bio (album) - Wikipedia.
Bio (album) - Wikipedia.
Serge Forward
Just enjoyin' my coffee.
Serge Forward
Just enjoyin' my coffee.
Yes, I know the video says 1974 but it's incorrectly labelled. Virtuoso was released in 1973.
