Masters Apprentices – Choice Cuts (1971)
I spoke about the story of the band, particularly around this artistically fertile but logistically tumultuous final period in their history recently. This is the more famous and commercial of the pair of classic Masters albums. It is an Australian classic and recently finally got a nice fancy re-release and promotion which might hopefully add further to it being appreciated. The energy of the band’s performances and the raw but crisp production is what stands out the most. The album hits you with a hammer, without a great deal of nuance of dynamics, but in a good and deliberate way, as the band leans into a more genuine hard rock direction. The first half of the album features slightly more spidery, fluid, heavy jams, with Doug Ford’s guitar solos cutting everywhere and Glenn Wheatley’s punky bass way up front. The tracks across the second half are slightly more dynamic, Progressive and interesting, but also simpler in some ways. They have more dynamic shifts but are in essence all based around single, brilliant, enrapturing rock ‘n’ roll riffs. Between this all is the magnificent outlier, the iconic and achingly gorgeous classic single Because I Love You.
Highlights: Because I Love You, Our Friend Owsley Stanley III, Death Of A King, Song For A Lost Gypsy
Greatest Moment: Because I Love You.
The Doors – L.A Woman (1971)
This is the final of the main six Doors albums released during Jim Morrison’s all too brief lifetime, which also came to an end within 1971. After some patchier efforts as the 60s gave way to the 70s, this album was a mighty return to form and a welcome final elegy that both captures so much of what The Doors did best but also continues to show their expanding diversity of influences. Compared to their first two classics in 1967, LA Woman is less rooted in the core Manzarek-organ dominated cliches of The Doors sound, and a bit less consistent overall. It has far more pure rhythm and blues workours, with varying results, and a more 70s sound, with jazzy psychedelics giving way to a crisper, better produced overall band dynamic. The peaks here are maybe the greatest moments they ever produced. The title track and the perfect album and (sort of) career closing masterpiece Riders On The Storm both ooze away gorgeously, with a perfect balance of quintessential brooding darkness and delirious frantic peaks, but as disciplined as they would ever sound, never veering too wildly off track and always building a bubbling forward momentum.
Highlights: The Changeling, L.A Woman, L’America, Riders On The Storm
Greatest Moment: L.A Woman might be my all time favourite Doors song. It does all the core Doors shtick but tighter and at a higher pace and energy. Either the payoff ‘city at night’ climaxes after the subtly building verses or the instrumental slow-down and re-build towards the end apply.
Focus – Focus II (1971)
The second and most famous album by the long time great Dutch prog favourites. Hocus Pocus is the main obvious reason for this of course. There are few other creations by an otherwise obscure act that have gained more pop cultural traction as the highly recognisable, hilarious classic. It is brilliantly simple and effective, never varying from its formula of Jan Akkerman’s mighty classic riff and soloing, Pierre Van Der Linden’s solo drum breakdown, and some sort of Thijs Van Leer madness. It is the astonishingly bizarre but freakishly skilled yodelling and soprano opera vocals of Van Leer that make the song. What’s crazy to consider though, is that Hocus Pocus was a late addition in order to give a more rock sound to what was otherwise considered a softer more pastoral album. The remainder of Side A’s short tracks are different kinds of sweet and soft mostly, based either around gorgeous classical guitar from Akkerman or clasically inspired piano and organ work from Van Leer. But the reason the album is truly excellent is its second side, the magnificent side-long classic suite Eruption.
Highlights: Hocus Pocus, Focus II, Eruption
Greatest Moment: In theory it should be THAT absurd high A Van Leer reaches in Hocus Pocus, but in practice it is probably all manner of gorgeous moments in Eruption, particularly the achingly beautiful melancholy opening guitar and organ theme which reoccurs satisfyingly throughout.
Roxy Music – Roxy Music (1972)
This is one of the small handful of about 5 or 6 albums which I’m most pained about not covering in full detail. These close ‘reserve’ picks which so narrowly missed just out on the Top 52 all share a certain esoteric nature which limits their re-listenable excellence, but also defines their unique brilliance. There has never been an album like this self titled debut album from Bryan Ferry’s kooky glam-art rockers. A contemporary account in Rolling Stone puts it best. “In England in the early Seventies, there was nerdy art-rock and sexy glam-rock and rarely did the twain meet. Until this record, that is.” Ferry in particular always has such a suaveness to everything he does, and the lyrical content of the album has this romantic and classical quality to it, influenced by Hollywood, literature and history. But the sound is absolutely wild, with the band switching between cacophonous discordant rock and minimal Eno-dominated avant-garde soundscapes. Ferry’s vocals are so fixated on both reaching a level of extreme croon and ultimate cool chic that they become quite absurdly over-wrought at times, but you never at any stage escape the feeling that you’re listening to a total game-changer of a new-sounding record.
Highlights: Remake/Remodel, Ladytron, Virginia Plain, Sea Breezes
Greatest Moment: The spectacular oboe launch in Ladytron. The whole first half of the track is remarkable, with Eno’s obscenely beautiful moonscape intro giving way dramatically to Ferry and the band. But after this first verse, there is a sudden tempo shift at the front of which is a screaming oboe solo from Andy Mackay which sends shivers down the spine.
Gentle Giant – Octopus (1972)
Gentle Giant are maybe the best of the insider-adored but outsider-unknown obscure Prog bands. They never achieved any kind of mainstream recognition of note but consistently put out interesting, varied, complex consistent albums throughout the early 70s. Unlike so many of the standout albums by otherwise less notable or worthy artists featured in a lot of these bonus entries, Gentle Giant produced up to about five albums consecutively which were all excellent. I’m still never quite sure which is the best of Octopus or its immediate predecessor Three Friends. This one is the less constantly rocking so it seems a quirky choice, but that’s exactly why I lean towards it. This album is unique, within their or any discography, both their most consistent and their most melodic. The first side is particularly strong, with a pair of violin and electric piano dominated baroque-inflected ditties then trumped to the contrasting double treat of the single-worthy fun hard pop-rocking A Cry For Everyone and the masterfully mad Knots. Side B doesn’t quite reach the same heights but taps back into some of the same baroque flavour, occasional tender beauty, and constant spindly off-kilter rock.
Highlights: Racounteur Troubadour, A Cry For Everyone, Knots, River
Greatest Moment: Any number of those in the remarkable Knots, a stop-start part-acapella, part-tuned percussion, part-crisp quintessential Prog odyssey in four short minutes. It’s harmonies make Bohemian Rhapsody seem quaint.
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