Urban75 Album of the Year - 1977

[killer b]

Be interested how you work out your ratings, or is that a closely guarded trade secret?

 

[ska invita]

good fun, thanks belboid.
I need to play the Suicide lp, tried one track, sounds great.

I'm surprised by Kraftwerk being so high...massively influential and groundbreaking, but to listen start to finish as an lp, less fun I think.

here's mine
10. Fela Kuti - Opposite People
9. Third World - 96 Degrees In the Shade
8. Iggy Pop ‎– Lust For Life
7. Harry Mudie Meet King Tubby ‎– In Dub Conference Vol. 2
6. Miles - Dark Magus
5. Augustus Pablo's East of the River Nile
4. Fela Kuti - Sorrows Tears and Blood
3. Parliament ‎– Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome
2. Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan ‎– Ask Rufus
1. The Congos' Heart of the Congos

ive rinsed the congos lp, so Rufus would've been number one but I can still remember the thrill of discovering it.

 

[belboid]

Be interested how you work out your ratings, or is that a closely guarded trade secret?

Absolutely not, all must be above board and open.

11 points for a Number 1, then 9 for 2 etc down to 1 for 10. If two albums tie, the one with more first places is lower (they've already had their bonus), and then the one which more votes, wherever they were placed. Then cheat they're tied.

e2a: The only ties were at 20 & =19. The latter got one extra vote each, pushing them ahead. Then they got exactly the same votes, the ultimate tie.

 

[ska invita]

Junior Murvin and Punkentelechy only narrowly missed out (assuming that that vote for Junior Marvin isn't referring to an obscure artiste I am unaware of), and AC/DC got the most votes without making it even near the chart. I'd have thought the Damned might do better, but apparently not.

I think there is also a junior mArvin, but it's an easy mistake to make

 

[belboid]

I think there is also a junior mArvin, but it's an easy mistake to make

If they also released an album in 1977 called Police & Thieves, then they're cheeky fuckers. I can actually imagine someone trying that in this Spotify age.

 

[ska invita]

If they also released an album in 1977 called Police & Thieves, then they're cheeky fuckers. I can actually imagine someone trying that in this Spotify age.

I did wonder if it was a name chosen to get a few cheap mistaken bookings!

 

[danny la rouge]

Here's mine:

The Ramones - Rocket to Russia
Klaus Schulze - Mirage
Miles Davis - Dark Magus
Bootsy Collins - Ahh...The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!
The Congos - Heart of the Congos
Willie Nelson - To Lefty From Willie
Television - Marquée Moon
Cluster & Eno - Cluster & Eno
Parliament - Live: P-Funk Earth Tour
Culture - Two Sevens Clash

I chose by which ones I'd listened to most recently. Except for the Ramones, Which I cheated to include.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Junior Marvin was briefly in the Wailers iirc. So was probably OK for bookings in '77.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

1. The Congos - Heart of The Congos
2. Suicide - Suicide
3. Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express
4. Yabby You - Deliver Me From My Enemies
5. Ramones - Rocket To Russia
6. David Bowie - Low
7. The Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks
8. Junior Murvin - Police And Thieves
9. The Muppets - The Muppet Show
10. The Clash - The Clash

 

[killer b]

1. Bowie - Low
2. Suicide - Suicide
3. TG - Second Annual Report
4. Queen - News of the World
5. Congos - Heart of the Congos
6. Bowie - Heroes
7. Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express
8. Rumours
9. Eno - Before and After Science
10. Rocket to Russia

 

[belboid]

For me -

Quark
Marquee Moon
Low
The Clash
The Idiot
Lust for Life
Wire
Suicide
Heroes
Never mind the bollocks


Sod showing off my hipness, those are the albums I play over and over and over.

 

[killer b]

Did anyone show off their hipness?

 

[cybershot]

Mine were:

David Bowie - Heroes
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (soz)
Eagles - Hotel California
Slade - Whatever happened to Slade
Cheap Trick - In color
Aerosmith - Draw the line
Motorhead - Motorhead
Meat Loaf - Bat out of hell
Judas Priest - Sin after Sin
John Williams - Star Wars

 

[Lurdan]

Hmmm. Got an urge to see what the Melody Maker top 10 for the year was but sadly it's not on line. Here are the NME and Sounds lists.

And here's the Official Chart Company's list of the 10 best selling albums (not all released that year of course).

1 - Arrival - ABBA
2 - 20 Golden Greats - The Shadows
3 - 20 Golden Greats - Diana Ross and the Supremes
4 - Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
5 - A Star Is Born - Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofferson
6 - Hotel California - Eagles
7 - The Sound of Bread - Bread
8 - The Johnny Mathis Collection - Johnny Mathis
9 - Greatest Hits - ABBA
10 - Animals - Pink Floyd

Not a single fucking disco album in the Urban top 25 ?

Anyhow here's mine

1 - Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks
2 - The Pirates - Out Of Their Skulls
3 - Donna Summer - Once Upon A Time
4 - Chic - Chic
5 - The Salsoul Orchestra – Magic Journey
6 - Parliament - Live (P-Funk earth Tour)
7 - ELO - Out of the Blue
8 - Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express
9 - Earth, Wind & Fire – All 'N All
and
10 - Saturday Night Fever (Soundtrack) (Although I wasn't sure if it was allowed).

 

[belboid]

Did anyone show off their hipness?

include something proper obscure, probably almost unlistenable, eclectic and all that malarkey.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I was 8 years old in 1977, so the Muppets LP is the only one I would have actually listened to at the time. In fact I absolutely caned it on a dansette we had. It's one of those albums that I know the length of the gaps between the tracks, as much as the tracks themselves.

It is a pretty weird album. "The Great Gonzo Eats A Rubber Tyre To The Flight Of The Bumble Bee" is just what it says and there is a good argument that Bowie's "Warszawa" has the compositional edge here.

But showtunes like "Mr Bassman" and "Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear" never fail to put a smile on my face.

Protip: The second LP is even better.

 

[killer b]

include something proper obscure, probably almost unlistenable, eclectic and all that malarkey.

News of the World is a great album I'll have you know!

 

[danny la rouge]

Did anyone show off their hipness?

Not so far, sadly.

 

[Indeliblelink]

Well I did stick the Bruce Ditmas albums on the end -

1 Kraftwerk - Trans-europe express
2 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Exodus
3 Tangerine Dream - Encore
4 Augustus Pablo - East of the river Nile
5 John Williams - Star wars ost
6 Throbbing Gristle - The second annual report of throbbing gristle
7 David Bowie - Low
8 Fela Kuti & Afrika '70 - Zombie
9 Arpadys - Arpadys
10 Bruce Ditmas - Yellow / Aeray Dust

 

[butchersapron]

View attachment 115503

I was 8 years old in 1977, so the Muppets LP is the only one I would have actually listened to at the time. In fact I absolutely caned it on a dansette we had. It's one of those albums that I know the length of the gaps between the tracks, as much as the tracks themselves.

It is a pretty weird album. "The Great Gonzo Eats A Rubber Tyre To The Flight Of The Bumble Bee" is just what it says and there is a good argument that Bowie's "Warszawa" has the compositional edge here.

But showtunes like "Mr Bassman" and "Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear" never fail to put a smile on my face.

Protip: The second LP is even better.

We burnt my dad to one of the ones off that. Not sure which one though.

 

[killer b]

Not so far, sadly.

After the debacle of the Doors getting the top spot for 67, my main motivation was to stop something horrible like that happening again - no point in wasting your votes on wilful obscurantism when something so important is at stake.

 

[belboid]

Proper hipness requires you to vote multi-ethnically, for at least one woman, and at least three genres (one of which The Telegraph would suspect was made up). As the only woman on the entire list was a member of Fleetwood Mac, you can be assured no one voted 'hip'

e2a: actually, there was Talking Heads too, and TG, and Donna Summer only just missed out.

 

[killer b]

As the only woman on the entire list was a member of Fleetwood Mac, you can be assured no one voted 'hip'

crikey. that's pretty bleak.

 

[killer b]

actually, cosey fanni tutti from 'gristle is a lass. but still.

 

[belboid]

crikey. that's pretty bleak.

if not entirely accurate

 

[Knotted]

Mine were:
1) Zamla Mammaz Manna - För äldre nybegynnare
2) Ornette Coleman - Dancing in Your Head
3) Univers Zero - 1313
4) Throbbing Gristle - 2nd Annual Report
5) Donna Summer - I Remember Yesterday
6) Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express
7) The Congos - Heart of the Congos
8) Embryo - Apo Calypso
9) K Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas - s/t
10) Residents - Fingerprince

 

[killer b]

ah yes, talking heads too.

 

[danny la rouge]

I'm disappointed there was no country.

 

[danny la rouge]

2 - 20 Golden Greats - The Shadows

Great record. Had it in vinyl, got it on CD. But a compilation, so not allowed.

 

[Lurdan]

Great record. Had it in vinyl, got it on CD. But a compilation, so not allowed.

Good job I didn't include it in my own list then