Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (1976)

Release Date: September 28, 1976

Produced by Stevie Wonder

Side One: Love's in Need of Love Today; Have a Talk With God; Village Ghetto Land; Contusion; Sir Duke

Side Two: I Wish; Knocks Me Off My Feet; Pastime Paradise; Summer Soft; Ordinary Pain

Side Three: Isn't She Lovely; Joy Inside My Tears; Black Man

Side Four: Ngiculela - Es Una Historia - I Am Singing; If It's Magic; As; Another Star

Songs in the Key of Life was the culmination of a succession of Stevie Wonder albums that earned critical and popular acclaim during the mid 1970s.

The album begins with "Love's in Need of Love Today," a song desperately needed in 2020 but anytime really, an anthem against hate and bitterness. A seven minute track full of rich harmony and prescient sentiments. The spiritual and wonderfully "Have a Talk With God" also speaks to loneliness and feeling overwhelmed. "Village Ghetto Land" paints a grim portrait of the inner city, one of starvation, violence, and grief. It's a vision of a place without love. "Contusion" is an instrumental track that serves as a nice interlude into "Sir Duke." A celebration of music as a universal language of hope, Wonder also pays tribute to musicians of the past, "Sir Duke" was Duke Ellington. Driven by horns and Wonder's stirring vocal, the song is an expression of pure joy.

Side two starts out with "I Wish" which recalls Stevie's trouble making days from childhood. Although he gave adults a hard time and realizes it was wrong, it sure was "outta sight" at the time and asks, "Why did those days ever have to go?" "Knocks Me Off My Feet" is a straight up love song that builds up with more stirring harmonies. The influential "Pastime Paradise" looks at the world and laments how many would prefer to live in the past. But many also live in a future paradise, imagining and working towards a better world. "Summer Soft" goes through the cycle of the year through the lens of heartbreak and how the seasons influence our moods. "Ordinary Pain" begins as typically male point of view broken heart lament, but then breaks into funk driven response from the female perspective sung by Shirley Brewer with some harsh truths about the man's wrong headed expectations about the relationship, "go tell your sad sob story."

"Isn't She Lovely" was written for Wonder's young daughter Aisha and instantly become a pop standard. "Joy Inside My Tears" is a soulful that turns into an extended jam of gratefulness. "Black Man" is another song with a progressive message, a call for a more inclusive history, reminding all to remember the accomplishments of all cultures and races throughout history. 

"Ngiculela" is sung in Spanish, Zulu, and English. Like "Love's in Need of Love" the song imagines world harmony set to a catchy calypso beat. "If It's Magic" is almost minimal with a spare arrangement of a harmonica and harp. "As" is a seven minute track celebrating unconditional love that evolves into celebratory encapsulation of all the themes of joy, peace, and understanding on the record. The exuberant final track "Another Star" topped Disco and Easy Listening Charts and lets the album fade out on a mellow note. 

Songs in the Key of Life demands repeated plays. It's melodic production and poignant themes are timeless. It's upbeat, but never shies away from reality or falls into a false optimism. The music never sounds dated, sounding more vibrant than ever. 

Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti (1975)

Release Date: February 24, 1975

Active Members: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham

Produced by Jimmy Page

Side One: Custard Pie; The Rover; In My Time of Dying

Side Two: Houses of the Holy; Trampled Under Foot; Kashmir

Side Three: In the Light; Bron-Yr-Aur; Down by the Seaside; Ten Years Gone

Side Four: Night Flight; The Wanton Song; Boogie with Stu; Black Country Woman; Sick Again

Led Zeppelin's 1975 double album Physical Graffiti marked a creative peak for the band, displaying a range of styles with valuable contributions from all involved. Everything that's great about Led Zeppelin can be found on this album, from their bombastic blues driven rock to mystical folk. About half of the songs were outtakes from previous albums, reworked and given new life on this fantastic record.

"Custard Pie" opens the record on a hard rocking note, their trademark blues on steroids featuring an exuberant harmonica solo by Plant. "The Rover" points the way to 80s metal with its vague Sci-Fi landscape and industrial sound. The eleven minute "In My Time of Dying" muses on youth and death, in another feat of epic powerhouse rock. "Houses of the Holy" is a more melodic track, a smooth listen and a come on to Satan's daughter adding a Gothic overtone. "Trampled Under Foot" was inspired by Funk, hard driving and aggressive. "Kashmir" became on of the definitive Zeppelin tracks, inspired by a desert drive Jimmy Page took through Morocco. Its hypnotic rhythms showed off the band's versatility as recording artists.

The second disc begins with the staggering "In the Light," which is more in the prog rock tradition with its synth driven rhythm celebrating pagan themes of nature worship, as if attempting to conjure some ancient magic. "Bron-Yr-Aur" is a soft acoustic folk song, serving as an interlude. "Down by the Seaside"  is another pastoral in the Neil Young mode, Plant's vocal is especially pleasant here. "Ten Years Gone" is an onslaught of surreal riffs, a distant cousin to "Kashmir." 

"Night Flight" is a more traditional rock song with more irresistible riffs. "The Wanton Song" talks of witchcraft, while "Boogie With Stu" is another hypnotic retro blues/rock featuring Ian Stewart on piano. "Black Country Women" hints at exhaustion with life on the road. The closing track "Sick Again" reflects on the sorrows of decadent life when surrounded by groupies. The backstage antics of Led Zeppelin are well covered in Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis.

The double album holds a certain mystique in rock history, the Holy Grail many bands aspired to. Physical Graffiti is one of the masterworks in that tradition, not weighed down by excess nor pretentiousness. The music speaks for itself.

The Albums of 1972: Exile on Main Street

Release Date: May 12, 1972

Active Members: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts

Produced by Jimmy Miller

Side One: Rocks Off; Rip This Joint; Shake Your Hips; Casino Boogie; Tumbling Dice

Side Two: Sweet Virginia; Torn and Frayed; Sweet Black Angel; Loving Cup

Side Three: Happy; Turd on the Run; Ventilator Blues; I Just Want to See His Face; Let it Loose

Side Four: All Down the Line; Stop Breaking Down; Shine a Light; Soul Survivor

Recorded over a three year period in shifting locales including London, Paris (living as tax exiles), to L.A. Exile on Main Street has earned a reputation as the THE STONES album. One explanation for its legendary status could be that it marked the end of an era for the Stones and rock music. The changing musical landscape of the 1970s would allow for a multitude of varying reactions and counter-reactions to the 1960s, staging the cultural divides of the coming decades. Exile on Main Street stands as en enticing marker that's not yet frozen in amber, but suffused with an everlasting vibrancy. 

The album gets off to a rousing start with "Rocks Off", setting the tone for the album's themes: decadence, desire, ennui, exhaustion, and desperation. "Rip This Joint" and "Shake Your Hips" both get to the misty origins of rock and roll. "Casino Boogie" is a call back to the band's R&B roots. "Tumbling Dice" is a signature song on the record with memorable riffs and melodic background vocals. "Sweet Virginia" is drenched in blues and gospel with a memorable chorus - used to great effect in Rian Johnson's 2019 film Knives Out. "Torn and Frayed" was inspired by the country rock of Gram Parsons. "Sweet Black Angel" is a stealth political song, inspired by activist Angela Davis. Jagger's slurred hillbilly lyrics masking its commentary on racial justice. The first disc ends with the soulful balladry of "Loving Cup," not unlike what The Faces were doing at the time. Like any great Stones it builds to a splendid crescendo with a horn section and barrel house piano.

Keith Richards memorably took over on lead vocals with "Happy", a hypnotic rocker. "Turd on the Run," "Ventilator Blues," and "I Just Want to See His Face" form something of a suite and evoke the heady atmosphere from which the album sprang. "Let it Loose" and "All Down the Line" fit more into the classical Stones song category, great rock and roll that would be imitated over and over again."Stop Breaking Down" was written by blues legend Robert Johnson featuring the Stones doing their best to channel the blues. "Shine a Light" and "Soul Survivor" are a welcome one-two punch to end Exile on Main Street, leaving one with the sense of coming through a soul draining ordeal, maybe not yet redeemed, but still alive. 

Peter Laughner: Box Set

In 2019 SmogVeil Records released a 5 disc set in vinyl (also available in CD and streaming) of Peter Laughner's recordings. Laughner (1952-1977) was a key figure of the Cleveland music scene during the 1970s, playing in numerous bands including the legendary Rocket from the Tombs. Although Laughner never recorded a proper album, he left an indelible mark on the era.

Laughner (pronounced LOCK-NER) remains a something of a cult figure. Fans of Wilco will know Jeff Tweedy lifted his chorus for "Misunderstood" from Laughner's own rock and roll epic "Amphetamine." Laughner's presence also haunts The Cultural Dictionary of Punk by Nicholas Rombes, one of the best books on the era.  Determined to be the next Lou Reed, Laughner wrote rock criticism for Creem Magazine and started several bands, a few of which went on to long careers, most notably Pere Ubu.

This five disc retrospective provides a panorama of Laughner's music consisting mostly of live recordings. As a performer Laughner was self-effacing and displayed a range of styles. The mid-1970s music scene in Cleveland as a forerunner to punk. Bands like The Electric Eels and Rocket from the Tombs, created a nihilistic sound forged inside basement clubs embracing an age of decline and diminished expectations, a sound The Sex Pistols would popularize on their earthshaking 1976 album Never Mind the Bollocks. 

The first disc, Fat City Jive, features Laughner performing for local radio stations around Cleveland in September and November of 1972 with his band The Wolverines. These sets are mostly country and folk. Bob Dylan and Lou Reed covers are also interspersed throughout, including spirited renditions of Dylan's "Please Mrs. Henry" and "Love Minus Zero (No Limit)." Terry Hartman's sad and soulful "Drunkard's Lament" is also on the disc. Thomas Pynchon fans will be pleased to hear Laughner praise the novel V and the haunting song he performs from the book, "The Eyes of a New York Woman."

Disc 2, One of the Boys features live performances from 1974-75 throughout Northeast Ohio.  Consisting mostly of Velvet Underground covers including "Rock and Roll,"Heroin," and "White Light/White Heat." There's also "One of the Boys" by Mott the Hoople and "All Along the Watchtower" from Bob Dylan, which Laughner introduced by saying, "here's an apocalyptic vision for your Saturday night." These performances are sonic, almost operatic, somewhere between The Who and and what would become known as Punk.

Disc 3, Pledging My Time, features a collection of acoustic home recordings, mostly written by Laughner. The lyrics are poetic, clearly influenced by Dylan and Lou Reed. "Baudelaire" is reminiscent of Dylan's "Visions of Johanna", "Down at the Bar" could be a Velvet Underground song. Robert Johnson's "32-20 Blues" appears with the introduction, "it's a really phallic song." Also included are the tender ballads "Sylvia Plath," "(My sister sold her heart to) the Junkman," and the melancholy Cleveland themed "Rain on the City."

The fourth disc Rock it Down features additional live cuts. "Ain't it Fun" was written by Laughner and Gene O'Conner for Rocket in the Tombs, later recorded by the Dead Boys. The version here is more rooted in the Blues, Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors than what would become punk. "Amphetamine" from the "Ann Arbor Tapes" is toned down from the versions floating around youtube over the years, but it's a striking rock epic, in Peter's words, "a song about the place where the river catches on fire."

The fifth disc Nocturnal Digressions features the final recordings of Laughner, performed the night before he died in his bedroom. As accounts of Laughner from his former wife Charlotte Pressler and friend Lester Bangs attest, his refusal to stop drinking alcohol destroyed his health (he died from Pancreatitis). So these recordings are especially tragic and intimate, off the cuff and buoyant including "Slim Slow Slider," "Blank Generation," and "Pale Blue Eyes." "See No Evil," another Television song, are all haunting. 

The "what if" questions for Laughner are tempting to consider, but mere speculation. A few years younger than Bruce Springsteen, both started out as regional figures and shared a belief in the transcendent power of rock and roll, but not in the macho or spaced out spiritual sense. It was in the music's power to evolve and provide personal liberation, a new poetry. These recordings trace the evolution of an artist with a truncated trajectory embedded with the spirit of a specific time and place. 

The Beatles (The White Album)

Release Date: November 22, 1968

Personnel: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr

Produced by George Martin

Side 1: Back in the U.S.S.R.: Dear Prudence: Glass Onion: Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da: Wild Honey Pie: The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill: While My Guitar Gently Weeps: Happiness is a Warm Gun

Side 2: Martha My Dear: I'm So Tired: Blackbird: Piggies: Rocky Raccoon: Don't Pass Me By: Why Don't We Do It in the Road: I Will: Julia

Side 3: Birthday: Yer Blues: Mother Nature's Son: Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey: Sexy Sadie: Helter Skelter: Long, Long, Long

Side 4: Revolution 1: Honey Pie: Savoy Truffle: Cry Baby Cry: Revolution 9: Goodnight

If Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band marked the pinnacle of popular music during the 1960s, The Beatles recorded over the summer/autumn of 1968 serves as a cultural marker, traversing between the light and the darkness of the decade (and what was to come.) The mysterious white cover hinted at the abstract nature of the album ranging in genres, mood, and style. 

Detractors of the record sort of have a point, the argument being it would've worked better as a single record and that track for track it holds no candle to the previous albums. But let's be honest,  the White Album launched a thousand ships, an unstoppable freight train of imagery and melody. Insular yet inviting, the record serves as a wondrous and sometimes eerie look into the minds of The Beatles. 

The variety of songs spoke to the different directions they were going as individuals. Lennon moved further towards searing personal expressions of memory and angst. Always the most open to writing about himself from early songs like "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" and "Help," to brutal self-examination on "Yer Blues and "I'm So Tired." McCartney would prove himself to be the chameleon, using the studio as a playground for various styles. Harrison's four contributions, especially "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," put him on a level with Lennon/McCartney. Ringo is the constant throughout, although he's not drumming on all the tracks, his distinct style keeps the chaos together. 

There's a myriad number of ways to approach the record, one's as a dialogue between John and Paul. With McCartney being the main influence on Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour, Lennon would assert himself here. His contributions to the record not only equaled McCartney's, but revealed a new undercurrent to his songwriting, honest, surreal, playful. There's a restlessness to Paul's songs as well, a conflict between his more conventional and Avant Garde sensibilities. 

"Back in the U.S.S.R." opened the album appropriately as a sort of meta statement. Mimicking the opening of Sgt. Pepper, the song parodies The Beach Boys and Cold War politics. "Dear Prudence" by John was inspired by India, pop psychedelia evolving into a bliss out of transcendence. John pokes fun at Paul and himself on "Glass Onion" with John referencing past Beatles songs including "Fixing a Hole" and "I am the Walrus."

Paul's "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" famously annoyed his band mates, but he persisted in his affinity for the occasional novelty song. The lyrics tell the story of Desmond and Molly and became a hit single in Europe and Japan. "Wild Honey Pie" is the fragment of a chant concocted by McCartney. John invited Yoko to join him on background lyrics on "Bungalow Bill" in a story song told with his familiar sardonic edge.

Side one ends with two standouts with Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and Lennon's "Happiness is a Warm Gun" each taking the album in a more serious direction. Eric Clapton played lead guitar on "Gently Weeps" in one of the heaviest songs ever recorded by The Beatles. Similar in theme to "Within You, Without You" but more despairing. Lennon put together three songs and made "Happiness is a Warm Gun" into a marvelous production of dark, surreal imagery culminating into a wonderful harmony anticipating Queen by a few years.

The second side would feature shorter songs, a collection of asides and alternating moods. "Martha My Dear" and "I'm So Tired" contrast each other well. Paul writes a cheerful ditty about his sheepdog Martha set to piano and horns. John wrote a song about insomnia, expressing his agonized state of mind at the time, and Paul's background vocals contribute an added edge. 

Next follows the "animal" sequence of tracks "Blackbird", "Piggies," and "Rocky Raccoon." Paul's metaphorical "Blackbird" and George's Orwellian "Piggies" provided further juxtapositions. "Rocky Raccoon" is a pastiche of a country western ballad, with Paul acting as the narrator.

Ringo wrote the rickety "Don't Pass Me By", punctuated by George's fiddle playing. Paul's bluesy, but under produced, "Why Don't We Do It On the Road," and the soft balladry of "I Will" continued his chameleon streak. "Julia" by Lennon is one of his tenderest songs and the only Beatles track he recorded by himself.

The second disc is heavier and even more experimental. "Birthday" is a traditional rocker but becomes more sonic as it progresses foreshadowing what's to come. Lennon's "Yer Blues" is lacerating and claustrophobic, a foreshadowing of grunge. Paul's "Mother Nature's Son" returns us to another pastoral setting, John wrote a similar song "Child of Nature" that never went beyond the demo stage (later reworked as "Jealous Guy"). John's surreal rocker "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey" exclaims the "deeper you go, the higher you fly - so COME ON!" The equally compelling "Sexy Sadie" offers another one of John's dream like settings serving as an allegory/satire of the messianic voices who arose during the 1960s.

"Helter Skelter" continues to carry a level of ominous undertones because of the Manson case, but it persists as a snapshot of the band at their most unhinged. A garage band assault of guitars continued the more experimental bent of the record, lyrics mean less and less and are dwarfed by the sound. Harrison's "Long, Long, Long" is a favorite of mine and precursor to All Things Must Pass and the Merseybeat piano echoing "Go Now" by The Moody Blues.

"Revolution 1" was the band's almost obligatory statement on the events of 1968. Lennon's non-committal on the youth revolution pleased few, but would be consistent with his personal philosophy: change yourself before trying to save the world.

Paul's nostalgic period piece "Honey Pie" follows "Revolution" in jest. "Savoy Truffle" features George's icy wit backed by a horn section. John's
Cry Baby Cry" is another highlight with its vivid imagery of a dream like world in power pop splendor.  The hidden track by Paul "Can You Take Me Back" serves as a haunting prologue to "Revolution 9."

The sound collage of "Revolution 9" may be less revolutionary today, but any true fan of the record shall never skip it. Lennon allegedly said it was the music of the future and he may have been right. "Goodnight" sends all listeners home with an appropriate lullaby also written by Lennon.

As Ringo said in The Beatles Anthology, "there's a lot information on a double album." Now over 50 years later the album survives on its wealth of content and variety. It is the narrative of the Beatles coming apart, but it is still a Beatles record. They were obviously going their own way, but still capable of amazing collaboration. It will continue to inspire.

The Albums of 1970: The Beach Boys: Sunflower

Release Date: August 31, 1970

Personnel: Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson

Produced by The Beach Boys

Side 1: Slip on Through; This Whole World; Add Some Music To Your Day; Got to Know the Woman; Deirdre; It's About Time

Side 2: Tears in the Morning; All I Wanna Do; Forever; Our Sweet Love; At My Window; Cool, Cool Water

Recorded during a tumultuous time for The Beach Boys, Sunflower proved a critical success but a commercial failure. In addition to some business and financial issues, the dynamics of the band were changing with Brian Wilson stepping away as the central songwriter, resulting in a record with all members making strong contributions. 

"Slip on Through" with Dennis Wilson on lead vocal opens the record on a cool 70s groove, expressing a new maturity from their earlier music. "This Whole World" continues riding the good vibes with its dreamy visions of world harmony, California pop taken to perfection. The good tidings keep rolling with "Add Some Music To Your Day" with the lyric "The World Come Together As One/If everybody under the sun/add some music to your day." 

Dennis Wilson's "Got To Know the Woman" features a Dixieland piano and a soulful vocal. "Deirdre" is a quirky track about a California girl, melancholy in its portrait of an on and off relationship but still dreamlike. Side one ends with "It's About Time", song about an artist having an epiphany borders on cliche rock and roll, but it's still well produced.

Side two opens with Bruce Johnston's "Tears in the Morning," a musing on the aftermath of a relationship. "All I Wanna Do" moves with lots of reverb (adds a calming effect) with Mike Love on vocals is the type of song suitable to be put on a repeating loop. Dennis contributed "Forever," in Brian's words a rock and roll prayer. It's got the directness of a James Taylor song with Paul McCartney's sense for structure, a standout track on Sunflower. "Our Sweet Love" from Brian continues theme of salvation through love. "At My WIndow" by Al Jardine and Brian muses on bird watching and transcendence with the sly lyric, "From Their Eyes/The People Must look like miniature toys."

Sunflower concludes with Brian's "Cool Cool Water," a song intended for the Smiley Smile album. The longest track on the album at five minutes,it moves along like a spaced out reflection at the end of a long peaceful day in the sunshine. That sentiment sums up Sunflower well enough, it's a spirited mature album from The Beach Boys deserving of a wider audience. 

The Albums of 1970: Creedence Clearwater Revival: Cosmo's Factory

Release Date: July 16, 1970

Personnel: John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook, Doug Clifford

Produced by John Fogerty

Side 1: Ramble Tamble; Before You Accuse Me; Travelin' Band; Ooby Doby; Lookin' Out My Backdoor; Run Through the Jungle

Side 2: Up Around the Bend; My Baby Left Me; Who'll Stop the Rain; I Heard it Through the Grapevine; Long As I Can See the Light

From 1968-70, Creedence Clearwater Revivial were on a serious roll! Releasing five albums within a two year period with a slew of hit singles, they oddly never achieved a number one hit, but they reached #2 five times, a standing record to this day. In an era with a multitude of tremendous artists doing their best work, CCR was right in the thick of it. Cosmo's Factory captured CCR at the height of their powers with five hit singles and one of the top selling records of 1970. 

CCR had a range and it's on full display in Cosmo's Factory. "Ramble Tamble" opens the record with a seven minute epic of swamp rock and psychedelia. "Before You Accuse Me" is a Bo Didley cover, showcased the band's R&B influence, present on all their records. "Travelin" Band" was a number two single, a direct homage to Little Richard about chaotic life on the road during the era. "Ooby Dooby" goes into rockabilly territory, providing a nod to the pre rock era. "Lookin" Out My Back Door" is straight up country with surreal lyrics by Fogerty. It's hard to to hear "Run Through the Jungle" and not think of Vietnam movies (required they use this song?). I view it as a haunting barometer of how white working class kids felt about the war.

Side two beings with the familiar riff of "Up Around the Bend", a heavier version of "Proud Mary." "My Baby Left Me," an Arthur Crudup R&B cover is short and sweet. The anthemic "Who'll Stop the Rain" was inspired by the band's appearance at Woodstock, instantly conjuring images from the era. "I Heard it through the Grapevine" offered an extended jam of a Motown hit, running for eleven minutes I wonder if it impressed The Grateful Band, their fellow jam band in the Bay area! Ending with the soulful number "Long As I Can See the Light" - Cosmo's Factory ends on an uplifting note.

 Unfortunately CCR would record only two more albums. Tom Fogerty left the band in 1971, and the magic was mostly absent on their final LP Mardi Gras. John would get involved in a legal battle with Fantasy Records, losing the rights to the music he had written, performed, and produced. During the 80s he began a successful solo career. 

Trends have come and gone, but CCR and their music endures. They sounded unlike anyone else, four guys from the Bay Area who sounded like they were from the bayou of Louisiana, never hip (as the album cover suggests) but Right On in the best sense of the term.