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Urban75 Album of the Year 1974

and I am astounded no one has mentioned what Kurt Cobain described as the greatest album ever recorded

King Crimson released two this year, but Red is better than Larks' Tongue In Aspic

 
The39thStep said:
Kevin Coyne is one of those artists whose reach diminished the longer he went on and even after his death there was no revisiting him or reappraisal. His back catalogue was just left untouched for years. Ex -psychiatric worker and drug counsellor his lyrics often contained references to his client's experiences and at times he seemed to reflect his clients behaviours. Blame It on the Night his third album, was an attempt to push him by Virgin , who were desperate for revenue, towards a more mainstream audience, adding saxophones , female singers etc. However, the merit in his work was nearly always either his bluesy type style or his acoustics with cutting and often disturbing lyrics. Blame It on the Night is worth a visit if only to remind/discover what he was all about warts and all.

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I can't say he's ever been a great fave of mine, but like me he hails from Derby, and even now he's the only musician of any distinction I can think of that's ever come from there. Which maybe explains why they put up this plaque at the college he studied at, I noticed a few years ago when I was up there. Btw his 1973 single Marlene is notable for being the first ever released by Virgin.

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belboid said:
and I am astounded no one has mentioned what Kurt Cobain described as the greatest album ever recorded

King Crimson released two this year, but Red is better than Larks' Tongue In Aspic

Click to expand...

belboid said:
and I am astounded no one has mentioned what Kurt Cobain described as the greatest album ever recorded

King Crimson released two this year, but Red is better than Larks' Tongue In Aspic

Click to expand...

Starless and Bible Black not Larks Tongues in Aspic.
 
belboid said:
and I am astounded no one has mentioned what Kurt Cobain described as the greatest album ever recorded

King Crimson released two this year, but Red is better than Larks' Tongue In Aspic

Click to expand...

Its a phenomenal album and I could write an essay on how Starless develops from a mellotron and violin backed ballad to a tense edgy instrumental with almost sound effect like percussion and as the pressure builds up teasing you it leaves you wondering exactly where it will end until it explodes into this sax led jazz finale with waves after wave of Fripps guitar. It's beautiful.
 
I've always felt Starless was a bit too much of a melodrama, although that part with the two note guitar riff is fantastic. I really like Fallen Angel and One More Red Nightmare though.
 
The39thStep said:
Kevin Coyne is one of those artists whose reach diminished the longer he went on and even after his death there was no revisiting him or reappraisal. His back catalogue was just left untouched for years. Ex -psychiatric worker and drug counsellor his lyrics often contained references to his client's experiences and at times he seemed to reflect his clients behaviours. Blame It on the Night his third album, was an attempt to push him by Virgin , who were desperate for revenue, towards a more mainstream audience, adding saxophones , female singers etc. However, the merit in his work was nearly always either his bluesy type style or his acoustics with cutting and often disturbing lyrics. Blame It on the Night is worth a visit if only to remind/discover what he was all about warts and all.

Click to expand...


I used to know someone who worked in drug rehabilitation with Kevin Coyne; he had some interesting stories.
 
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Robert Palmer-Sneaking Sally Through the Alley.
Forget all that bloated MTV type stuff with Power Station, this is what a young Robert Palmer was all about. Fresh out of Vinegar Joe he manages to enlist members of the Meteors, Lowell George and some other excellent American musicians to record this album Sneaking Sally Through the Alley. It's a funk, RandB, and soul and everyone excels themselves, Palmer's vocals and delivery are great.

 
Though it's maybe not as "good" as Red. I really like Starless and Bible Black and I've listened to it more times over the years than Red. It's mostly live and most of the live material is improvised (there's also an extended live improvisation on Red). I find this material to be really engrossing. Not perfect or polished or well put together but not trying to be either. More coherent than the various avant garde noise improvisation groups, more rock, but still open.



 
Knotted said:
Kraftwerk and Cluster came into their own in 1974. Although I personally prefer the earlier rougher wilder work of both bands, I think 1974 saw three German albums unambiguously state the electronic future.





And Harmonia's (Cluster + Neu!'s Michael Rotter) Music Von Harmonia

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Just been down a Harmonia rabbit hole after Spotify suggested the Harmonia and Eno album to be. Will be checking out other stuff by them; two albums plus other recordings that came to light.
 
maomao said:
Puerile filth and the birth of drum and bass (a break from this track I believe if you don't want to sit through forty minutes of a bloke changing the lyrics of pop songs to rude words).

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IM sorry I cant accept that, the blowfly break is a jungle break

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I see on wikipedia that 1974 was when Van Morisson released both It's too late to stop now and Veedon Fleece.

Another brace of albums for my list, don't know about the rest of you. . .
 
Getting spacier. Much, much spacier. 1974 was the year all those Cosmic Joker albums were released. The Cosmic Jokers never existed, this was Ash Ra Tempel and Wallenstein jamming and experimenting recorded and released by Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser without their consent or even knowledge. The self-titled album and Galactic Supermarket are the ones with the side-long spacey jams and are really what you're likely to be here for. The others have shorter odd bits of electronic/rock experiments, Sci-fi Party is probably the best of these three.

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Sticking with the kosmische... we have Yatha Sidhra's only album, A Meditation Mass. It's like a polished Paradieswärts Düül (if you know, you know). Hippyish rock with mournful but insistent grooves building ever so slowly. Lots of flute.

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There's another spacey krautrock one off from Code III with Planet of Man. Sci-fi themed post Tangerine Dream/Ash Ra Tempel dreaminess. But sparse and quite odd. Klaus Schulze on drums and promoted by him.

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And then there's Klaus Schulze's third solo album Blackdance. A bit more tame than the first two, but still very lush.

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Tangerine Dream also losing their edge a little bit. Still a good album in Phaedra.

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Then there's also this American trumpeter who in 1974 realised the Germans were way ahead of the game and bought an electric organ. The result isn't bad. Included for the sake of completionism.

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Yatha Sidhra is the best of the above IMO.
 
It's also 1974 for the Johnstons' Ye Jacobites by Name, which I think must be a compilation of their older folky/Irish trad stuff:



Again, definitely not one for the cool kids' table, but there you go.
 
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