the 1960s or the 1970s

[Memnoch The Devil]

Which was the better decade for music?

Consider this:

1960s:

Beatles,

Early Pink Floyd,

The Rolling Stones,

Bob Dylan,

Donovan,

Jefferson Airplane,

The Doors,

Jimi Hendrix,

The Velvet Underground,

The Animals

The Yardbirds

Led Zeppelin

Jethro Tull

The Byrds

The Who

Simon & Garfunkel

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

1970s:

Black Sabbath

Aerosmith

Rush

Led Zeppelin

Queen

ELO

WAR

Elton John

David Bowie

Grand Funk Railroad

Deep Purple

Free

The Stooges

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Allman Brothers

Three Dog Night

T. Rex

The Carpenters

Yes

Fleetwood Mac

Derek and the Dominoes

The Beatles solo careers

Parliament

Sex Pistols

The Clash

The Bee Gees

Cat Stevens

[Snake Eyes]

70's. Fuck that was a hard choice though.

[kevin]

The 1960s versus the 1970s--

In the 60s we had Kennedy, we had Vietnam, We had the true birth of Rock N' Roll, and watched as the Rock N' Roll rose bloomed and so many times of Rock blossomed and thrived. Psychedelia, hard rock, blues-rock, even Metal was starting. We had the Beatles, Janis, Hendrix, we watched as Bob Dylan's career began, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Jefferson Airplane, we had the Stones starting off, The Doors, the Zeppelin began it's fleight by the end of the 60s. We had a revolution, culturally, musically and politically the country was divided more than it had been in a century, and at times there was true and frightening chaos in the riots, in the marches for peace and equality. This was a time for young people, and happiness, and and all everyone had a dream, of peace and love and tolerance, at all times and opportunties the elders discredited and discouraged the kids' freedom. We saw the Civil Rights movement take off. We had tragedies such as the Manson killings which were used as propaganda towards hippie groups. We saw some of the greatest leaders rise and inspire people's hearts only to be shot down in cold blood.

The 70s from what I've seen were more laid back and liberal. We also saw many bands' come to their greatest periods of musical inspiration and watched as Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, AC/DC, David Bowie and many other groups reached their peaks and battled for the Big Chair as the Biggest Band on Earth. We watched as Watergate unfolded and made people distrust the government less and less. Gas shortages. The long era of division ended as the last troops fleed Vietnam in '73.

This era saw the beginning of large and glamorous concert shows filled with lights and effects, it also saw the first true long Rock N Roll epics, and by the end of the decade the airwaves were filled with Punk, Disco, the beginnings of Glam and Hair Metal, and even some Regagge. We watched as the '60s dream of Peace and Love slowly faded away and the innocent, untamed decadence of the 60s was replaced by the "All about Me (and Blow too)" decadence and wild parties of the 70s; As bell-bottom widths got wider and hair length got shorter.

[Guest Satanisk_Slakt]

That's pretty damn hard. I have to think about it.

[Guest Satanisk_Slakt]

That's pretty damn hard. I have to think about it.

I picked 60's.

[Memnoch The Devil]

I think the 60s is better if you like more folky/psychaedlic stuff, whereas the 70s is better if you like hard rock/prog rock.

[Randy Lahey]

You forgot to add CCR, Cream, and The Kinks on your list.

Edited February 17, 2009 by Randy Lahey

[RJ88]

70s, no question IMO

[d.lyric]

The 1960s versus the 1970s--

In the 60s we had Kennedy, we had Vietnam, We had the true birth of Rock N' Roll, and watched as the Rock N' Roll rose bloomed and so many times of Rock blossomed and thrived. Psychedelia, hard rock, blues-rock, even Metal was starting. We had the Beatles, Janis, Hendrix, we watched as Bob Dylan's career began, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Jefferson Airplane, we had the Stones starting off, The Doors, the Zeppelin began it's fleight by the end of the 60s. We had a revolution, culturally, musically and politically the country was divided more than it had been in a century, and at times there was true and frightening chaos in the riots, in the marches for peace and equality. This was a time for young people, and happiness, and and all everyone had a dream, of peace and love and tolerance, at all times and opportunties the elders discredited and discouraged the kids' freedom. We saw the Civil Rights movement take off. We had tragedies such as the Manson killings which were used as propaganda towards hippie groups. We saw some of the greatest leaders rise and inspire people's hearts only to be shot down in cold blood.

The 70s from what I've seen were more laid back and liberal. We also saw many bands' come to their greatest periods of musical inspiration and watched as Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, AC/DC, David Bowie and many other groups reached their peaks and battled for the Big Chair as the Biggest Band on Earth. We watched as Watergate unfolded and made people distrust the government less and less. Gas shortages. The long era of division ended as the last troops fleed Vietnam in '73.

This era saw the beginning of large and glamorous concert shows filled with lights and effects, it also saw the first true long Rock N Roll epics, and by the end of the decade the airwaves were filled with Punk, Disco, the beginnings of Glam and Hair Metal, and even some Regagge. We watched as the '60s dream of Peace and Love slowly faded away and the innocent, untamed decadence of the 60s was replaced by the "All about Me (and Blow too)" decadence and wild parties of the 70s; As bell-bottom widths got wider and hair length got shorter.

I don't know Kevin, what's with all the "we" shit and where did you get so much information about the 60's and 70's? Weren't you born in the late 80's? Past life regression therapy perhaps?

All that and I don't see your answer to the question!

[kevin]

The 1960s versus the 1970s--

In the 60s we had Kennedy, we had Vietnam, We had the true birth of Rock N' Roll, and watched as the Rock N' Roll rose bloomed and so many times of Rock blossomed and thrived. Psychedelia, hard rock, blues-rock, even Metal was starting. We had the Beatles, Janis, Hendrix, we watched as Bob Dylan's career began, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Jefferson Airplane, we had the Stones starting off, The Doors, the Zeppelin began it's fleight by the end of the 60s. We had a revolution, culturally, musically and politically the country was divided more than it had been in a century, and at times there was true and frightening chaos in the riots, in the marches for peace and equality. This was a time for young people, and happiness, and and all everyone had a dream, of peace and love and tolerance, at all times and opportunties the elders discredited and discouraged the kids' freedom. We saw the Civil Rights movement take off. We had tragedies such as the Manson killings which were used as propaganda towards hippie groups. We saw some of the greatest leaders rise and inspire people's hearts only to be shot down in cold blood.

The 70s from what I've seen were more laid back and liberal. We also saw many bands' come to their greatest periods of musical inspiration and watched as Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, AC/DC, David Bowie and many other groups reached their peaks and battled for the Big Chair as the Biggest Band on Earth. We watched as Watergate unfolded and made people distrust the government less and less. Gas shortages. The long era of division ended as the last troops fleed Vietnam in '73.

This era saw the beginning of large and glamorous concert shows filled with lights and effects, it also saw the first true long Rock N Roll epics, and by the end of the decade the airwaves were filled with Punk, Disco, the beginnings of Glam and Hair Metal, and even some Regagge. We watched as the '60s dream of Peace and Love slowly faded away and the innocent, untamed decadence of the 60s was replaced by the "All about Me (and Blow too)" decadence and wild parties of the 70s; As bell-bottom widths got wider and hair length got shorter.

I don't know Kevin, what's with all the "we" shit and where did you get so much information about the 60's and 70's? Weren't you born in the late 80's? Past life regression therapy perhaps?

All that and I don't see your answer to the question!

http://www.mygnrforum.com/index.php?showtopic=77674

[Memnoch The Devil]

The 1960s versus the 1970s--

In the 60s we had Kennedy, we had Vietnam, We had the true birth of Rock N' Roll, and watched as the Rock N' Roll rose bloomed and so many times of Rock blossomed and thrived. Psychedelia, hard rock, blues-rock, even Metal was starting. We had the Beatles, Janis, Hendrix, we watched as Bob Dylan's career began, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Jefferson Airplane, we had the Stones starting off, The Doors, the Zeppelin began it's fleight by the end of the 60s. We had a revolution, culturally, musically and politically the country was divided more than it had been in a century, and at times there was true and frightening chaos in the riots, in the marches for peace and equality. This was a time for young people, and happiness, and and all everyone had a dream, of peace and love and tolerance, at all times and opportunties the elders discredited and discouraged the kids' freedom. We saw the Civil Rights movement take off. We had tragedies such as the Manson killings which were used as propaganda towards hippie groups. We saw some of the greatest leaders rise and inspire people's hearts only to be shot down in cold blood.

The 70s from what I've seen were more laid back and liberal. We also saw many bands' come to their greatest periods of musical inspiration and watched as Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, AC/DC, David Bowie and many other groups reached their peaks and battled for the Big Chair as the Biggest Band on Earth. We watched as Watergate unfolded and made people distrust the government less and less. Gas shortages. The long era of division ended as the last troops fleed Vietnam in '73.

This era saw the beginning of large and glamorous concert shows filled with lights and effects, it also saw the first true long Rock N Roll epics, and by the end of the decade the airwaves were filled with Punk, Disco, the beginnings of Glam and Hair Metal, and even some Regagge. We watched as the '60s dream of Peace and Love slowly faded away and the innocent, untamed decadence of the 60s was replaced by the "All about Me (and Blow too)" decadence and wild parties of the 70s; As bell-bottom widths got wider and hair length got shorter.

I don't know Kevin, what's with all the "we" shit and where did you get so much information about the 60's and 70's? Weren't you born in the late 80's? Past life regression therapy perhaps?

All that and I don't see your answer to the question!

I'm a pedo who loves little Japanese girls.

[kevin]

[Powerage5]

Null vote on my end. There are more 70's artists I listen to but the 60's had Dick Dale and The Who, one of my favorite guitarists, and one of my favorite bands, respectively. 80's is my favorite decade though; hardcore punk, Iron Maiden and Slayer alone is enoguh for me.

[Randy Lahey]

67-72 is the best period for rock music.

[Guest deleted_19765]

It's really funny to read these posts, as if the only music to occur throughout those decades was the Rock music we still hear on the radio. Let's take an objective look at as much music as possible, genre by genre, with Rock coming last, just to bother everyone.

Pop:

If we were to remove The Beatles and similar acts from Pop, placing them in Rock, there isn't a lot to talk about during the 60s as opposed to the 70s. Motown was at its peak, without argument. Stax produced some great output, but with less consistency. There was Brill Building near the beginning of the decade, but it didn't survive for long. That leaves reactionary Patti Page type acts and little else. The explosion that started in Rock circa 1967 opened the door for a diverse array of interesting Pop sounds and acts to reach prominence in the 70s. Although Motown receded, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye produced their greatest works. Philly Soul and Funk also added to the landscape. Acts like Linda Ronstadt, Carpenters, and others appropriated the innovations of the 60s into their ultra-polished, ultra-commercial music to great effect. Without having to go much further, Pop had the advantage in output and diversity in the 70s.

Jazz:

The opposite is true of Jazz in the 60s and 70s. Blue Note reached its peak in the early 60s, and you could probably spend the rest of your life listening to titles by Lee Morgan, Grant Green, Sonny Clark and others during this period. Coltrane recorded almost everything of consequence in his solo career during the 60s. Miles' second quintet produced several groundbreaking records and his early fusion albums were far better than those to come, whether his own or those of his disciples in the 70s, during which acoustic Jazz was more or less dead. The 60s are a shoe-in here.

Country:

Nash Vegas dominated Country in the 60s, which made for a lot of great music from Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, and others. Johnny Cash was probably at his most successful during the 60s as well. But I think Country was more exciting in the 70s. Merle Haggard, Hank Jr., and the outlaws all perfected their sounds in the 70s. If you'd like to include Country-Rock acts such as The Eagles and Gram Parsons, they came into their own in the 70s as well. Ray Price's Pop Country style was fully developed. This case comes down more to opinion, but I'm taking the 70s.

Blues:

The 60s saw the best records from Paul Butterfield and Junior Wells, and Chess records was still going strong. Son Seals and a few other good acts rose in the 70s but there really wasn't as much competition. By appropriating Blues more heavily, Rock had basically killed any potential audience for Blues in the 70s. Just like today, the public turned towards records from the 50s and the pre-war period, and new Blues acts lived out of buses, touring constantly and selling very little.

Reggae:

We have to account for the fact that Reggae hardly existed in most of the world until the 70s. And we had Bob.

Rock:

The breakthroughs of the late 60s yielded great output in the 70s. Most "60s" artists as we call them released their best work in the 70s. The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell among them. The Funk created by James Brown, Sly Stone, and Hendrix blossomed under George Clinton's groups. Marc Bolan perfected Glam Rock and David Bowie did everything. By the end of the decade, new revolutions were occurring with the rise of Punk and exciting new acts such as Talking Heads and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Even though I don't listen to much Punk, I'm increasingly appreciating the late 70s. It was a confused time in music and some of the experiments to take place, however imperfect, remain interesting today. Still, there's something to be said for the excitement of music in the late 60s. The Beatles, The Doors and The Byrds bent minds, The Band howled from somewhere deep in the North American consciousness, San Francisco was a trip with Jefferson Airplane and co., Bob Dylan changed our conceptions of music and lyrics forever, and Jimi Hendrix did almost everything that would end up happening in the 70s by his first album. Rock fans who lived through the 60s tend not to be too impressed by the 70s, and you can't really blame them. In retrospect, the coolest Rock music wasn't what was on the radio, and the Prog and AOR ruling airwaves for most of the 70s just doesn't compare to those who reigned during the latter half of the 60s.

Even as I type this, its hard to make a choice. But my heart is definitely with the 60s, so that's how I'll vote.

Thanks for reading my big, pretentious post.

Edited February 17, 2009 by AgainstAllOdds

[d.lyric]

AgainstAllOdds, I enjoyed your post, it's got me thinking, but I still can't vote. I lean slightly toward the sixities, but .....

maybe tomorrow I'll have an answer.

[axl_on_drums]

My favouite band of all time are from the 60's, The Beach Boys, so that's enough for me.

[Guest deleted_19765]

My favouite band of all time are from the 60's, The Beach Boys, so that's enough for me.

Wow, there's a big miss by me! If I kept it in mind, I'd be editing my post forever.

And thanks d.lyric!

[inthisriver]

I vote kevin.

[Sprite]

Mid to late 70's is when Rock really picked up for me. They started to get away from the pyschadellic shit and just started to play good ol' rock n' roll.

[LCG]

1960s

[JeanGenie]

i have to go woth the 60's. It's just a feeling that you can't dubicate. I think the 70's and 80's have just been an echo of the 60's.

[Marky]

Oh how I'd love to have been around in the 60s I was really born in the wrong year.

[hans_moleman]

Who do you love more - mom or dad??

I can't vote!!

[Shuffle]

I chose the '70s but not by much, and largely because I'm familiar with a lot more music from the '70s than from the '60s.