40 Year Itch : 1972 in Twang, Part 1

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Released originally as an eight-track called All American Music in 1972, this obscure recording really did become legendary when band mates Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock and Joe Ely found success later in their careers. The guy who played musical saw did not become famous...and my ears still can't get used to the sound. But More a Legend Than a Band deserves its cult status thanks to songs like "Dallas", "Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown" and "One Day at a Time".

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The man who wrote "Mr Bojangles" has by now shed his folksinger persona for that of a Texas dope smoking chilled out  party animal...who wakes up some mornings with short lived regrets. Recorded in both NYC and Austin, Walker is backed by a superb band that makes "laid back" actually rock.

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This song may be the biggest gem of the post. Unfairly, Willis Alan Ramsey is best known for writing "Muskrat Candlight" which became "Muskrat Love" for both America and Captain and Tennille. He recorded one perfect album at the age of 21 and has yet to make a follow-up. ( Willis asks "What's wrong with the first one?")

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 Country singer Steve Young is best known for writing the title track of the 1972 album Seven Bridges Road, which was covered by The Eagles on their 1980 live album. When looking for the origins of "outlaw country" you might just want to start here.

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 Linda Ronstadt, the singer's third solo album, is a mixed bag. Some sweet country covers ("I Fall To Pieces", "I Still Miss Someone") and a number of singer songwriting gems ( Jackson Browne's "Rock Me On The Water", Neil Young's "Birds"). Most notable, because the backing band --made up of Glenn Fry, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner --became The Eagles.

40 Year Itch: Soul-Full Stew, Part 2

Some more chunks of funk from 1972. I'll have to admit at this point I'm not going to be able to get to every great album from this magnificent year.

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For their second album, the Dayton Ohio funksters knocked out a tight classic that went gold in part because of another eye-catching album ( they would get more eye-catching ) and the presence of a #1 R and B  novelty hit called "Funky Worm". Dig for the deeper cuts ( like "Laid It", "Pride and Vanity") and you won't be disappointed.

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The Isley Brothers recordings of the 1970's are almost always a rewarding listen and Brother Brother Brother is no exception. Hanging out just behind the beat, the Brothers stretch out ( "It's Too Late" runs ten groovin' minutes) with the help of some young Isley cousins: guitarist Ernie Isley, bassist Marvin Isley and keyboardist Chris Jasper. The addition of new blood would pay off to an even greater degree on 1973's  3 + 3 . Features both the Top 40 hit "Pop That Thang" and "Work To Do" which would be covered by the Average White Band on AWB.

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Producer and songwriter extraordinaire ( "Working In a Coalmine", "A Certain Girl", "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky", "Fortune Teller") Allen Toussaint follows up his 1971 solo album with Life, Love and Faith. Toussaint IS New Orleans music...though his songs are best served by other singers. Still when you've got The Meters backing  him up, you've got something special. Remarkably diverse.

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Released in April of 1972, this album of duets is one of the year's great soul gems. Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway both attended Howard University ( tho' at different times) and Roberta Flack covered Hathaway songs on her first two albums. And that was before the two met and discovered their tremendous chemistry. "Where is the Love" topped the Easy Listening and R and B charts and peaked  in the pop charts at #5. The two would duet again in 1978 with the gorgeous "The Closer I Get To You" (#2 Pop, #1 R and B). On a sad note, it seems half the time I stay in New York City I'm booked at the Essex House. From that hotel's balcony, Hathaway apparently jumped to his death in 1979. A lovely man who also recorded 1972's best live album.

40 Year Itch: A Soul-Full Stew - Part 1

As the year comes to a close, we at 1001Songs realize there are some gaps to fill before we can declare that we have successfully scratched that 40 year itch. Today we scratch that soul itch with notable releases we didn't get to in 2012.

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Funkadelic follows up their classic 1971 album Maggot Brain with a freak funk double album. The star of Maggot Brain, scorching guitarist Eddie Hazel,  has all but disappeared by now but the expanded Funkadelic line-up now includes former JB's member Bootsy Collins. America Eats Its Own is surprisingly political ( the title cut claims America is a bitch that sucks the brains of her great grandsons and daughters")
but also includes George Clinton's usual sexual puns ( "Wild and warm is my pussy", Clinton sings on "I Call My Baby Pussycat", "My pussy is where it's at" ) .

  

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The JB's are James Brown's backing band so it's little wonder that some of these cuts sounds like backing cuts. You're leaning into the speaker expecting to hear the Godfather of the Soul. Some of these cuts --apparently collected from  a variety of years--can be heard on other albums. "Escapism" is on the 1971 James Brown album Hot Pants. It's good, maybe even great...but I'm spending my money on The Meters.

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"Whatcha See is Whatcha Get" is one of 1971's great singles and it, along with "In The Rain" helped the Detroit R and B group The Dramatics hit the Top 20 with their 1972 debut album. Yes, the songs were great but so were the super fly dance steps and prom suits.

For his second solo album, the former Temptations singer delves into Afro-centric grooves like the title cut, some funky grooves ( "Let Me Run Into Your Lonely Heart") and most notably an eight minute precursor to the whole Disco scene called "Girl You Need A Change of Mind". Check out the Thin Man from Birmingham's tune below and you'll hear why it filled the dance floor. Damn, I wish I owned this album. Especially because a rare CD copy runs no less than $104 on Amazon.com

We'll have four more great chunks of funk in a later post!

40 Year Itch: 1972 in Country Music

1972 was the year 13-year old Tanya Tucker hit the Top 5 with "Delta Dawn". The Fan Fair debuted and Opryland USA opened in Nashville. Countrypolitan was still dominating country music radio-- string sections replacing fiddles and steel guitars. And it was a good year for cross-overs from country to the pop charts especially for newcomer Donna Fargo and Mac Davis.

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Johnny Cash is on a roll with his network TV show, White House concerts and recent marriage to June. He celebrates the latter with his 38th album A Thing Called Love which includes his wedding song " I Promise You".

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Here's another wedding song. This one, written by Donna Fargo, almost went to 13 year old starlet Tanya Tucker. Good thing for both of them that Tanya wound up recording "Delta Dawn". "Happiest Girl" made Donna Fargo a cross-over a star. She followed it with another smash hit "Funny Face".

1972 was a good year for Merle Haggard. Then California Governor Ronald Reagan pardoned The Hag for his past crimes ( including burglary, robbery, and  larceny) And Haggard released Let Me Tell You About a Song featuring two #1 hits ( "Daddy Frank", "Grandma Harp") as well as the ground-breaking "Irma Jackson", a song about an interracial romance.

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The writer of the 6 million selling single "Harper Valley PTA", Tom T Hall hit #1 on his own with "(Old Dogs, Children And) Watermelon". The single , released in November of 1972, is a true account of a conversation Hall had with a old black janitor at the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami.

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George and Tammy renewed their vows on the album Me And The First Lady in the song "The Ceremony". Jones was already such an erratic a performer he was earning the nickname "No Show" Jones. Tammy, on the other hand, at earned the title "First Lady of Country Music".

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The same year the Hag released "Irma Jackson", Buck Owens made his first #1 in three years with his own song about an interracial romance. "Made in Japan" is about a girl "made in Japan". Recorded with The Buckaroos, it features a steel guitar which seemed to be an endangered sound on Country radio at the time.

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Dolly Parton was on a hit making streak in the early 70's both as a solo artist and with Porter Wagoner. Although some country stations, citing "sexually suggestive lyrics",  refused to play the title cut of her 1972 album Touch Your Woman, the single still hit #6 on the country charts. I guess following it up with the album cut "A Lot Of You Left In Me" was a non-starter.

40 Year Itch: 1972 - The Best of Brasil

As spectacular a year as 1972 has been for progressive rock, glam rock, Krautrock, Italian rock n roll, soundtracks, and R and B...what truly made it an outstanding year for music is what happened in Brazil. MPB, Musica Popular Brazileira, is a blending of traditional Brazilian samba with contemporary folk, rock and jazz sounds. Its innovators, Os Novos Baianos, Jorge Ben, Chico Buraque were joined by psychedelic 60's/Tropicalia veterans Tom Ze, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa and Clube da Esquina mainstays like Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges to create an unforgettable year.

There are three must have albums from Brazil circa '72. Acabou Chorare by Novos Baianos tops this list for reasons discussed in an earlier post. Jorge Ben's mostly acoustic album, Ben, has the  most played song on my iPhone "Caramba". Both "Caramba" and "Fio Maravilha" were on the Brazil Classics compilation David Byrne put together in the early 90's. Finally there's Clube da Esquina which has been called the Brazilian Sgt Pepper's. It's lush recorded by Milton Nascimento with some input from Lo Borges. You could really make somebody's Christmas by buying them all three.

 Here are video clips from some of the best Brazilian music from 1972.

40 Year Itch : The Jewish Elvis

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Neil Diamond followed his chart topping hit "Song Sung Blue" with a series of ten "Hot August Night" concerts at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles ( recorded for a live album released on December 9, 2012) and then a 20-concert stand at the Winter Garden Theater in New York.

  Hot August Night is considered to be the ultimate Neil Diamond album, one part sterling showman at his peak; one part pure kitsch. Neil usually toured with a small rock band but for this epic outdoor setting, he brought in a orchestra that somehow doesn't overwhelm the tunes. Brimming with confidence, "Brother Love" played his hits ("Solitary Man", Cherry,Cherry", "Sweet Caroline") and some light-weight filler ("Porcupine Pie", "Soggy Pretzels"). The most recent release has 24 songs

 Burned out, he announced he'd be taking a break from performing, telling the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner: "I felt strongly about taking a sabbatical. I wanted a normal existence. I wanted to remove myself from celebrity status..to do things people take for granted, like driving my son to school and having breakfast with my wife. I wanted to re-establish personal relationships with family and friends...to be home for birthdays and Christmas. To make up for times I wasn't around...to stop seeing my life as a juggling act."

 The break lasted just over three years.

 

40 Year Itch: Try to Run, Try to Hide

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And so, finally  we come to 2066 And Then and their 1972 debut album Reflections On The Future.

Though only together for a year, this German hard rock band produced a hard rocking psychedelic marvel that would appeal to basement stoners who favor the riff rockers ( "At My H0me") and spaced out jams ( the 15 minute title cut) of Deep Purple and Iron Butterfly. The name of the band harkens back to the Norman Conquests and the Battle of Hastings. It's just a thousand years later...and then.

This band hits it on every level... from the exceptional musicianship to the husky, bad ass vocals. One of my favorite surprises in my year-long quest for great music from 1972.