10 Reasons the '70s were Rock's best decade

[izzygirl]

Sorry...I'm not as cool as you are.

[moreblack]

it was bought over by Jamaican immigrants who made it the sound of the streets of London, that weren't Claptons doing, it was there before he even came about, the whole skinhead movement was centered around SKA for crying out loud...and it was a reaction to hippies like Clapton, not informed or led by it, Clapton didn't introduce no one to shit, in fact the people that were into reggae scoffed at that shit, Reggae has been widespread throughout England since a decade plus before Clapton recorded I Shot the Sheriff...even the mods were listening to Ska, back when Clapton still making a name for himself of sorts.

yeah, but none of that stuff was exactly mainstream. i.e. very cult-like in small pockets. As for him being a racist, we're in a GNR forum...

[Redhead74]

10 Reasons Why The Above Reasons Are A Load of Bollocks by SugarayLen

1) The whole riffs thing was done a lot better by bluesmen that came before the 70s, it was nothing new or even particularly impressive. Catchy? Yes...but not a lot besides

2) Truth is 70s radio was full of pop shit, just like radio in every other era before or since. The parameters of what is or isn't rock is conveniently broadened everytime people wanna sing up rock but whats real is real, Al Green ain't got shit to do with rock and never did.

3) Southern Rock was is probably the foremost culprit of leading rock n roll to museumhood, based on it's totally inoffensive lack of originality and content.

4) Seems pretty much just a continuation of what was happening with artwork in the 60s, with nothing new to it that could concievably be considered it's own stamp i.e. the stamp of the 70s

5) Punk existed because 70s rock sucked, it is not a part of 70s rock, it was the remedy to it

6) Artist Friendly Record Labels = a total fucking falsehood. In fact they're more artist friendly now because of imprint labels that are run under the auspices of individual artists who sign more artistically inclined stuff than any of the so-called "hip" A&R men of the 70s and in these ways, with your Shady Recordses and the like, are certain artists nutured and then blown up or taken overground, in fact these labels were the snobbiest stuck up fuckin' bastards of all, there's a reason when independent record labels that flourished in later decades got their start in the 70s, because unless you played up to the expectations of these so called artist friendly labels, you never got a fuckin' look in.

7) Glam Rock - OK, point taken on that one

8) MTV did not exist...so uh, there were less avenues for music to get a push...thats a good thing?

9) No comment

10) Brilliant album, one of the best i've ever heard but to say it says something for the identity of the 70s doesn't say a lot for the 70s considering it was considered a retro/kitsch album even then.

Conclusion: Fuck the 70s. The few (and i mean few) things that were good about the 70s were in direct contrast to all this shit. What was good about the 70s was where Motown went, what was good about the 70s was punk ripping up the 70s rock blueprint and breathing life and the spirit of invention into music, what was good about the 70s was krautrock and burgeoning electronic experimentation in music, outside of the rock dinosaurs and their indulgences, what was good about the 70s was the birth of hip hop, what was good about the 70s was funk, what was good about the 70s was the explosion of new sounds coming out of Jamaica under the reggae banner that totally revolutionised and cleared the way for a million fuckin' other musical genres of the future.

Rock tried it's best to leech of every single one of the above mentioned musical innovations, for it's own benefit, whilst at the same time disregarding them, rock by the 70s was the establishment, it was knowingly writing it's own mythology at that point and acting it out with none of the exhuberance and vitality of the 60s. In short, it had become masturbation.

Lenny you need to write a book about the history of music or something one day. I'd buy it. It would be a joy to read.

With regards to album art I must say that while the 70s had its own distinct style and look, the same can be said of any decade, and while the 70s style has a massive 'cool factor' now, it is by no means the most innovative or original era in terms of graphic design. The 60s was in every way far more influential, original and modern (in the truest sense of the word) than the 70s. The development of style in that era still has reverberations with designers today and in all its life has never looked as dated as the 70s design has at times managed to be.

[dalsh327]

part of me sees the old pics of Bob Marley with the Les Paul and expect him to bust out some KISS riffs

I just threw up in my mouth And yeah, as far as Eric Clapton doing shitloads for black music because he was this fuckin' noble soul is sullied somewhat by the fact that the bloke is an incorrigible racist that did a pissed up rant against blacks and arabs and foreigners in general, even going as far as to cite Jamaicans specifically:

"I used to be into dope, now I’m into racism. It’s much heavier, man. Fucking wogs, man. Fucking Saudis taking over London. Bastard wogs. Britain is becoming overcrowded and Enoch will stop it and send them all back. The black wogs and coons and Arabs and fucking Jamaicans and fucking [indecipherable] don’t belong here, we don’t want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don’t want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome. England is for white people, man. We are a white country. I don’t want fucking wogs living next to me with their standards. This is Great Britain, a white country, what is happening to us, for fuck's sake? We need to vote for Enoch Powell, he’s a great man, speaking truth. Vote for Enoch, he’s our man, he’s on our side, he’ll look after us. I want all of you here to vote for Enoch, support him, he’s on our side. Enoch for Prime Minister! Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!"^[113]

And this idea that, y'know, it was Clapton what spread reggae through England and the world is a load of bollocks, it was bought over by Jamaican immigrants who made it the sound of the streets of London, that weren't Claptons doing, it was there before he even came about, the whole skinhead movement was centered around SKA for crying out loud...and it was a reaction to hippies like Clapton, not informed or led by it, Clapton didn't introduce no one to shit, in fact the people that were into reggae scoffed at that shit, Reggae has been widespread throughout England since a decade plus before Clapton recorded I Shot the Sheriff...even the mods were listening to Ska, back when Clapton still making a name for himself of sorts.

In that context, Clapton sounds like he's joking, but it's possible that he wasn't. All I know is that I've never heard the rant, and know the shows he was doing around that time were full of rants and subpar guitar playing. He was trying to crack jokes in between songs on other bootlegs. Yeah he sounds like an asshole, but his support of Powell was even when he was sober, after Powell died. So who knows - Clapton has a conservative bent, and I'm surprised no one ever asked Roger Waters about the comment, because he's on the far left politically and they're good friends.

Chris Blackwell brought reggae over, he grew up in Jamaica, and it's what built Island Records. I read The Beatles did a variety show and had Millie Small on, so I guess that would be England's first widespread exposure to reggae.

[Dan H.]

Sorry...I'm not as cool as you are.

We can't all be

[Guest Len B'stard]

it was bought over by Jamaican immigrants who made it the sound of the streets of London, that weren't Claptons doing, it was there before he even came about, the whole skinhead movement was centered around SKA for crying out loud...and it was a reaction to hippies like Clapton, not informed or led by it, Clapton didn't introduce no one to shit, in fact the people that were into reggae scoffed at that shit, Reggae has been widespread throughout England since a decade plus before Clapton recorded I Shot the Sheriff...even the mods were listening to Ska, back when Clapton still making a name for himself of sorts.

yeah, but none of that stuff was exactly mainstream. i.e. very cult-like in small pockets. As for him being a racist, we're in a GNR forum...

Mods weren't mainstream? Skinheads weren't mainstream? It WAS mainstream, just cuz it weren't in the record stores or in the charts 100% don't mean it was any less widespread, it was literally the sound of the streets of London through the late 60s, ALL through the 70s and a lot of the 80s with ragga and the like. Of England even. We're talking about an entire history of music thats being ignored and like, written out of history because it don't suit certain peoples views of the world.

Now, after the fact, there's these documentaries coming out like Reggae Britannia and Reggae at the BBC and they're all scrambling now to actually paint an accurate view of what was going on in London in the late 60s and throughout the 70s cuz believe me, it weren't fuckin' rock n roll.

Skinhead was not a small movement in England, it was HUGE, all the two tone stuff was not like, some tiny thing, it was massive. All that rudeboy stuff, fuck me that was popular right up until the early 90s when i used to go to school, Drum & Bass and Jungle, which basically comes from the whole reggae thing was massive throughout the 90s, Bob Marley played on fuckin' Zimbabwaes first independence day, people like Shabba Ranks were treated like fuckin' Gods from another planet at a certain point in the early 90s, this ain't your localised stuff man it's just like...if White America don't reckon it's the bollocks then it ain't well then excuse me but fuck White America, when was the last fuckin' time White America had anything going for it musically anyway? (Eminem i'd say, bless him).

There's the reality of whats it the pop charts, then you gotta think about who WATCHES the pop charts...and then goes out to buy those records...and is there a audience for music outside of that...does or has everybodys record collection always reflected the pop charts? I mean whilst still remaining essentially about contemporary music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95zSqP75kVI

And Dalsh...joking, really? You wanna read what he's said about it since, the cunt. Two words, two words for Eric, Jimi fuckin' Hendrix, sit down Eric. Is that was historys gonna do to this kind of shit, eventually? Aww, it was just a joke lads, y'know, don't take it personal.

I think it's just difficult for a lot of people to digest because there's no real reference point for it but it's never been a big thing for people around here, everyones from some other culture or something, Jamaicans, Turks, Arabs, English white people, Pakistani's, Indians, Maltese, Irish, Scottish...now even like, European, Englands always just been a big mess of different cultures, never need no kind of hook to make other people like, accessible, you just took everything for what it was.

All in all i think it's quite impressive for a type of music born out of a country thats probably smaller than most American states and has only been around for 50 or so years.

Chris Blackwell brought reggae over, he grew up in Jamaica, and it's what built Island Records. I read The Beatles did a variety show and had Millie Small on, so I guess that would be England's first widespread exposure to reggae.

Jamaican immigrants bought reggae over, records and all and it was the sound of the street and THAT was when your Chris Blackwells got the idea that maybe there was some money in it because although it was all you heard in the working class areas of London, your stuck up BBC etc record labels and radio stations weren't about to play it and people like Blackwell cottoned onto this but to say that he just bought it over is silly, it was well well fuckin' entrenched in this country before Blackwell had anything to do with it.

And yeah, Millie Small, Israelites by Desmond Dekker, one of them two.

Edited November 12, 2012 by sugaraylen

[moreblack]

The thing is, where is the entry point for the listener? The people that are already there might roll their eyes or whatever, but depending on your circumstances, it may have been Clapton that did it. And there's probably no shortage of folks who will stand up and say that's where that first contact took place for them. Depends how ambitious to seek out new things the listener is. But the influential artists will still reach a lot of ears with their version of stuff that one might not yet have come across. I mean, how many kids might check out Queen now because Lady Gaga had Brian May on a song?

[Guest Len B'stard]

The thing is, where is the entry point for the listener? The people that are already there might roll their eyes or whatever, but depending on your circumstances, it may have been Clapton that did it. And there's probably no shortage of folks who will stand up and say that's where that first contact took place for them. Depends how ambitious to seek out new things the listener is. But the influential artists will still reach a lot of ears with their version of stuff that one might not yet have come across. I mean, how many kids might check out Queen now because Lady Gaga had Brian May on a song?

I don't doubt that but it's missing out an entire section of history and ignoring the truth to make a statement like "Eric Clapton took reggae mainstream", it's just ridiculous and utterly false, i mean Christ, by the time Clapton covered it, it pretty much WAS mainstream, he'd heard it because it had gone mainstream, it's disrespectful of the lives and works of many many people that strived for this music. Yes i'm sure many a person perhaps listened to reggae or gave it a chance because of Eric Clapton but to suggest he opened the floodgates, or even a crack in dam is just false. I mean one only needs to look at the timeline to suss that out, it's just lazy opining based on people who don't care to get a clue that claim that shit.

[classicrawker]

Don't kbow if it is the best decade, as the 60's were damn good, but don't see how anyone who likes rock or prog music can argue it had some great bands who made some of their best music in that decade

Aerosmith

Black Sabbath

Deep Purple

Humble Pie

Uriah Heep

Alice Cooper

Led Zeppelin

David Bowie

Mountain

Ten Years After

Lou Reed

Queen

Jethro Tull

AC/DC

Rod Stewart

Bruce Springsteen

Steely Dan

Foghat

Roxy Music

Johnny Winter

Ted Nugent

Bad Company

Elton John

Stevie Wonder

Jackson Brown

Eagles

Iggy

NY Dolls

Clash

Sex Pistols

The Who

Prog bands like

Yes

ELP

Genesis

Pink Floyd

King Crimson

Hawkwind

Souhern Rock exploded

Allman Brothers

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Outlaws

Marshall Tucker

Those are off the top of my head and I missed a ton of great bands but there was just a tremendous amount of great music in that decade...........

[moreblack]

I mean one only needs to look at the timeline to suss that out, it's just lazy opining based on people who don't care to get a clue that claim that shit.

I don't think that's necessarily the definition for those people. After all, there's gotta be guys and gals on here who for example at first had no clue KOHD was a Dylan song. If you're not around something, it's gonna take for someone to show you a glimpse of the stuff for you to become interested.

Those are off the top of my head and I missed a ton of great bands but there was just a tremendous amount of great music in that decade...........

agreed, and I'd take that list you made up against a "best of" list from any other decade. Though I doubt any of them would be as long, or significant.

Edited November 12, 2012 by moreblack

[Guest Len B'stard]

I mean one only needs to look at the timeline to suss that out, it's just lazy opining based on people who don't care to get a clue that claim that shit.

I don't think that's necessarily the definition for those people. After all, there's gotta be guys and gals on here who for example at first had no clue KOHD was a Dylan song. If you're not around something, it's gonna take for someone to show you a glimpse of the stuff for you to become interested.

Those are off the top of my head and I missed a ton of great bands but there was just a tremendous amount of great music in that decade...........

agreed, and I'd take that list you made up against a "best of" list from any other decade. Though I doubt any of them would be as long, or significant.

I could agree with the bit aimed at me there moreblack. As far as that list, how many black artists are in it? Exactly.

[classicrawker]

I mean one only needs to look at the timeline to suss that out, it's just lazy opining based on people who don't care to get a clue that claim that shit.

I don't think that's necessarily the definition for those people. After all, there's gotta be guys and gals on here who for example at first had no clue KOHD was a Dylan song. If you're not around something, it's gonna take for someone to show you a glimpse of the stuff for you to become interested.

Those are off the top of my head and I missed a ton of great bands but there was just a tremendous amount of great music in that decade...........

agreed, and I'd take that list you made up against a "best of" list from any other decade. Though I doubt any of them would be as long, or significant.

I could agree with the bit aimed at me there moreblack. As far as that list, how many black artists are in it? Exactly.

How many black Rock bands were there in the 70's exactly? I made a list of the bands I listened to back in the day

I could have included Sly and the Family Stone who I loved but their best music was in the late 60's Same with my favorite artist of all time Hendrix...besides what does race have to do with anything?

[moreblack]

As far as that list, how many black artists are in it? Exactly.

Aw man, don't do that.

Keep in mind he said he missed a ton of great stuff, the list is by no means conclusive. But it's good all the same, and besides most of the listed artists were influenced by the black musicians.

[Guest Len B'stard]

As far as that list, how many black artists are in it? Exactly.

Aw man, don't do that.

Keep in mind he said he missed a ton of great stuff, the list is by no means conclusive. But it's good all the same, and besides most of the listed artists were influenced by the black musicians.

Which sort of further backs up the point i was getting at with the reggae right, about black music being hugely fuckin' popular on the streets but not getting a fuckin' look in with the mainstream.

At classicrawker, don't get me wrong mate, i weren't having a go at you or nothing and i don't suppose you've read the last ten pages ( i dont blame ya ) so it must seem to you like, what the fucks this cunt going on about race for but i've been having a bit of a back and forth here with moreblack and the last few pages have been touching on race in a roundabout way at least, in that the topics title is 70s being the best decade for rock music and my point of contention was that in fact it weren't and the best things that were going on then weren't in rock but in other avenues, not exclusively black either before it sounds like my entire point was centred around race, electronic music, krautrock, other stuff was in there but the tide of the conversation in regards to reggae etc had sort of begun to touch upon race inasmuch as reggae, this hugely popular thing didn't really get a look in in the mainstream and then you kinda came in and listed rock bands from the 70s and it sort of fit my point admirably because every single one of em was white, i weren't saying you were a racist or nothing and its certainly not an attempt by myself to say that you like ALL white music because, like i say, you were naming rock bands in the 70s and they were predominantly white anyway but...thats sort of approaching the point i was trying to make, that a lot of other music didn't get a proper airing in the mainstream because it was inaccessible for whatever reason but no less like...artistically or historically valid, y'know what i mean?

And it ain't always about race either, sometimes it's just new sounds, a lot of Krautrock could be inaccessible just for being so fuckin' out there and also from an alien culture (albeit slightly less alien than the Carribean).

My whole point is kinda centred around the assertion of the OP being that the 70s was the best decade for rock which i was saying it weren't and in fact the best things happening in music in those times was outside of rock but for numerous different reasons, of which one sadly was race, a lot of it didn't get a look in. But it weren't exclusively race, some of the reasons weren't even big moral cause crap like that, it was just about degrees of inaccessibility but by the same token, since we're on race here, there is no denying that that was an issue throughout the 50s 60s 70s 80s and even in the 90s to a degree, in music although i'd say not really nowadays.

I hope i've explained myself here cuz i wouldn't want you to leave here thinking i jumped up your arse just for naming your favorite rock bands, it's just that you came at the right point in the discussion with a good solid representative list of rock n roll in the 70s and it illustrated my point somewhat, no offence meant or anything dude, i mean i'm sure if the question was just "what music did you like?" as opposed to "what rock bands did you like?" there'd've been a fair few black folks in there. And even if there weren't, even if there weren't a single one, it wouldn't make you a racist, that weren't what i was getting at, fella

[classicrawker]

As far as that list, how many black artists are in it? Exactly.

Aw man, don't do that.

Keep in mind he said he missed a ton of great stuff, the list is by no means conclusive. But it's good all the same, and besides most of the listed artists were influenced by the black musicians.

Which sort of further backs up the point i was getting at with the reggae right, about black music being hugely fuckin' popular on the streets but not getting a fuckin' look in with the mainstream.

At classicrawker, don't get me wrong mate, i weren't having a go at you or nothing and i don't suppose you've read the last ten pages ( i dont blame ya ) so it must seem to you like, what the fucks this cunt going on about race for but i've been having a bit of a back and forth here with moreblack and the last few pages have been touching on race in a roundabout way at least, in that the topics title is 70s being the best decade for rock music and my point of contention was that in fact it weren't and the best things that were going on then weren't in rock but in other avenues, not exclusively black either before it sounds like my entire point was centred around race, electronic music, krautrock, other stuff was in there but the tide of the conversation in regards to reggae etc had sort of begun to touch upon race inasmuch as reggae, this hugely popular thing didn't really get a look in in the mainstream and then you kinda came in and listed rock bands from the 70s and it sort of fit my point admirably because every single one of em was white, i weren't saying you were a racist or nothing and its certainly not an attempt by myself to say that you like ALL white music because, like i say, you were naming rock bands in the 70s and they were predominantly white anyway but...thats sort of approaching the point i was trying to make, that a lot of other music didn't get a proper airing in the mainstream because it was inaccessible for whatever reason but no less like...artistically or historically valid, y'know what i mean?

And it ain't always about race either, sometimes it's just new sounds, a lot of Krautrock could be inaccessible just for being so fuckin' out there and also from an alien culture (albeit slightly less alien than the Carribean).

My whole point is kinda centred around the assertion of the OP being that the 70s was the best decade for rock which i was saying it weren't and in fact the best things happening in music in those times was outside of rock but for numerous different reasons, of which one sadly was race, a lot of it didn't get a look in. But it weren't exclusively race, some of the reasons weren't even big moral cause crap like that, it was just about degrees of inaccessibility but by the same token, since we're on race here, there is no denying that that was an issue throughout the 50s 60s 70s 80s and even in the 90s to a degree, in music although i'd say not really nowadays.

I hope i've explained myself here cuz i wouldn't want you to leave here thinking i jumped up your arse just for naming your favorite rock bands, it's just that you came at the right point in the discussion with a good solid representative list of rock n roll in the 70s and it illustrated my point somewhat, no offence meant or anything dude, i mean i'm sure if the question was just "what music did you like?" as opposed to "what rock bands did you like?" there'd've been a fair few black folks in there. And even if there weren't, even if there weren't a single one, it wouldn't make you a racist, that weren't what i was getting at, fella

No worries Sugar...actually I was pretty much a rock fan in the 70's but did like Ike and Tina and some of the other Motown musicians...I was not a big reggae fan back then, I aquired a taste as I got older,but did not hate it just never listened to it much................and your right I did not read the the whole thread so my apologies if I misread you

Edited November 12, 2012 by classicrawker

[dalsh327]

The thing is, where is the entry point for the listener? The people that are already there might roll their eyes or whatever, but depending on your circumstances, it may have been Clapton that did it. And there's probably no shortage of folks who will stand up and say that's where that first contact took place for them. Depends how ambitious to seek out new things the listener is. But the influential artists will still reach a lot of ears with their version of stuff that one might not yet have come across. I mean, how many kids might check out Queen now because Lady Gaga had Brian May on a song?

Entry point varies country to country. American R&B and soul did more to influence reggae than the other way around, but it started gaining some traction in the 70s, "The Harder They Come" became a popular midnight movie, "I Can See Clearly Now" was a big hit, Bob Dylan incorporated some of it into his songs in the late 70s-early 80s (but that was also when he was starting to be considered washed up), and the Stones did "Cherry Oh Baby".

[wasted]

I suppose in the 70s rock became a genre. So everything gets judged against it. It's almost a futile statement because you can't go back and live in the 70s and experience it. It's like 70s rock nostalgia is the best.

[dalsh327]

I suppose in the 70s rock became a genre. So everything gets judged against it. It's almost a futile statement because you can't go back and live in the 70s and experience it. It's like 70s rock nostalgia is the best.

To me, the "Dazed and Confused" soundtrack would be a "typical 70s rock" compilation, but the big advances in the 70s had to do with size and volume, as well as the album productions, and how to bring the more ambitious projects to life. There were a lot of technical mishaps too.

[moreblack]

Some of you guys might remember this series from the 90s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mVNrjKc-E4

[Chewbacca]

It wasn't, well not for everybody. there's only opinions, not facts.

[moreblack]

true, and for a lot of people, it really was.

[izzygirl]

So..yes...the 70s rock was fuckin' great!!!

[Guest Len B'stard]

Bollooockkssss, 70s rock was great if you were a middle class suburban white person, there's an accurate assessment.

[moreblack]

what you were, or who you were is a non factor

[Guest Len B'stard]

what you were, or who you were is a non factor

Course it was my dear, course it was, it was all lovely in the 70s weren't it, holding hands across the world, they was. Try asking some of the poor bastards. Jesus, even right up until the 80s magazines like Rolling Stone didn't want your Jackos of the world on it's front cover cuz blacks don't sell, non factor? C'mon man, honestly, all the hardwork those people put in to get their dues like they did, the demeaningness of things like "the chitlin circuit", people robbing and stealing your music left right and centre, who you were and what you were was a HUGE factor. Had it not mean, you might not've had a punk movement.

Like i said before, it weren't no coincidence that, totally unprompted, classicrawker named a shitload of the best rock bands of the day, something you yourself called a good list and there weren't a single fuckin' black person on it.

Edited November 16, 2012 by sugaraylen