What do you consider the best year in music??? And why??
Breez
1,706 Posts
For me I'd say 1973. As far as braeks and beats '73 seems to been THAT year for some of the most hunted records. When ever I find some new band I've never heard of, that has a sick braek, sure nuff the record is usually from '73. I also think that '67 was a great year for rock. What do my fine SS brethren think?
Comments
For rock n roll my favorite year is 1970 though. Its the year when psych peaked and prog was still interesting.
next question.
This is a great thread topic, and it's difficult to answer. I have to go with 1972 since so many albums I love were released during that year. Here are some representative examples:
-"People Hold On"-Eddie Kendricks.
-"Eat a Peach"-The Allman Brothers.
-"S/T"-Maxayn.
-"Something/Anything?"-Todd Rungren.
-"Harvest"-Neil Young.
-"Superfly"-Curtis Mayfield.
-"Last Days and Times"-Earth, Wind, and Fire.
-"The World is a Ghetto"-War.
-"Can You Feel It?"-S.O.U.L.
-"Stop and Go"-Bohannon.
-"Carney"-Leon Russell.
-"Talking Book"-Stevie Wonder.
-"America Eats Its Young"-Funkadelic.
-"Summer Breeze"-Seals & Croft.
-"No Secrets"-Carly Simon.
-"Crossings"-Herbie Hancock.
-"Let's Stay Together"-Al Green.
-"S/T"-Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway.
-"Round 2"-The Stylistics.
-"Still Bill"-Bill Withers.
-"Young, Gifted, and Black"-Aretha Franklin.
-"Natural Illusion"-Bobby Hutcherson.
I'll stop there, but you get the idea.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
BOOOOO!!!!
I think I agree with you the most. Cosign on the studio technology comment: it made music too synthetic. But 1973 wasn't always righteous.
Great year... So many hip hop classics.
1966. Psychedelia was just starting to hit, but hadn't gotten boring yet. Garage-rock was right at its' peak. There was still a 12-string folk-rock influence carrying over from '65. Soul music was in its' stride. Over in NYC, the Latin musicians and the soul guys started listening to and being influenced by each other - hello, boogaloo! Buck Owens & the Buckaroos were claiming Bakersfield, CA as "Nashville West." This was from before I was born, but I'm sure anyone who was playing or listening to music that year knew that the cork was going to pop and there would be major changes in the next few years, both musically and socially.
1972. Rock was sleeping, but soul music was just feeling its' natural oats that year. Superfly, Wattstax, "Troglodyte," "I Got So Much Trouble In My Mind," Gamble & Huff, Albert King's I'll Play The Blues For You, Stylistics, Chi-Lites, "I'll Be Around," Sylvers, Donny Hathaway, Isleys, Stevie Wonder, Funkadelic, "Everybody Plays The Fool," the Counts, Ike Turner's Blues Roots, Detroit Emeralds, James Brown & co. (JB's, Lyn Collins), Bobby Womack, Gil Scott-Heron,Meters, EWF, Hi Records (Al Green, Otis Clay, Ann Peebles), "Why Can't We Live Together." Plus, it was a real good time for chitlin-circuit soul/blues on smaller labels - Little Johnny Taylor, Ted Taylor, Chick Willis ("Stoop Down Baby"), Little Mack Simmons, Jerry Washington. Hell, moving over into jazz-funk, even Grover Washington, Jr.'s first album was tight.
No year really is.
1966 was pretty bananas as far as classic rock albums go too - Freak Out!, Revolver, Pet Sounds and Blonde on Blonde the same damn year! And yeah, 1972 is a pretty crazy year for soul and funk.
John Hammond signed both Aretha and Dylan.
The Beatles formed.
Motown was getting off the ground in a big way and Stax starting up.
James Brown released You Got The Power and Think.
Ray Charles and Sam Cooke were in their stride.
The future looked bright and the stage was set for 1966,1972-73.
No doubt that's an impressive list, and I get that it's a personal one for you (even as most of those titles are acknowledged classics). But just to play devil's advocate, couldn't similarly impressive lists of rock, jazz, and soul classics be built for just about any year from, say, '66-'74? One could even build impressive cases for other years using only other albums by the artists listed above.
Might be interesting to refine the question a little -- what was the best year for jazz, for rock, for funk, etc. -- or to try to come up with an answer that doesn't rely on records alone. Part of me has a hard time accepting a given year as the best for music when both John Coltrane and Otis Redding had already died, for instance.
Co-sign,
I say 1963, and my reason I can't explain very well. But, sometimes I really try to image what it would have been like to listen to KRLA in 1963.
http://www.oldiesloon.com/ca/krlaind63.htm
thank you SoulStrut,
lilmonstu (aka) Dj Don Sequitur
Critical Beatdown - Ultramagnetic MC's
Girls I Got Em Locked - Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud
Straight Out The Jungle - The Jungle Brothers
By All Means Necessary - Boogie Down Productions
Strictly Business - ePMD
Long Live The Kane - Big Daddy Kane
Follow The Leader - Eric B & Rakim
Road To The Riches - Kool G. Rap & Polo
In Full Gear - Stetsasonic
Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A.
Goin' Off - Biz Markie
The Great Adventures of Slick Rick - Slick Rick
Eazy-Duz-It - Eazy E
The World's Greatest Entertainer - Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew
He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
It Takes A Nation OF Millions To Hold Us Back - Public Enemy
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Plug Tunin' - De La Soul
Its Takes Two - Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock
Run's House/Beats To The Rhyme - Run-DMC
The 900 Number - 45 King
10% Dis - MC Lyte
Goin Back To Cali/Jack The Ripper - LL Cool J
Step Up Front - Positive K
Bass - King T
Supersonic - J.J. Fad
Wraith of My Madness/Princess of The Posse - Queen Latifah
I Poineered This - MC Shan
Gittin Funky - Kid N Play
Strong Island - JVC Crew
agree on 1963...its the last year that went either conscious or sub-consciously un-influenced by the Beatles in regards to Rock n Roll and R&B. I like the Beatles, but the originality and creativity of early 60s stuff was kind of stalled after their pervasive influence. Also Jazz was on that Hard Bop/Outside bridge ala Eric Dolphy and Impulse/Blue Note killers. 1963 was indeed a killer year for music.
ask and ye shall receive
KRLA Ted Quillin Aug 27 1963
unfortunately chopped up but you still get an idea of what KRLA sounded like in '63
some of my favourites:
Stevie Wonder - Innervision
Curtis Mayfield - Back to the world
Jimmy McGriff & Richard Groove Holmes - in concert
Bill Withers - Live at the carnegie hall
Charles Earland - Leaving this Planet
Donny Hathaway - Extension of a man
Melvin Sparks - Texas Twister
Willie Hutch - The Mack
James Brown - The Payback
Bobby Womack - Facts of life
Johnny Pate - Shaft in Africa
Al Green - Call me
Edwin Starr- Hell up in Harlem
Terry Callier - What color is love
Roy Ayers - Coffy
Isaac Hayes - Joy
Buddy Rich - The roar of 74
etc. etc
It's picky I know but even though it's widely reported as coming out in 1973, Callier's "What Colour is love" actually came out in 1972 . It's one of the main reasons for me choosing '72 as the best year for black music