On That Note: Number 1’s - Album series (Part 1, 1961 & 1971)

[MeanDean]

Welcome to another edition of On That Note. OTN is a weekly music post hosted alternately by @cyclones500, @CycloneRulzzz and yours truly.

As teased by cyclones500 on Sunday, this week we launch our annual albums-by-decade series.

For part 1, post your favorite LPs released in 1961 and/or 1971. (Those years only, NOT the entire decade.)

Include 3 or 4 sound clips. In addition to the tracks, we encourage you to expound on why the album is meaningful, including personal history of your relationship with the record and its music.

If you’re more singles-oriented, you may substitute top singles from either of those years.

Choices should focus on studio albums. Avoid greatest hits/live LPs/compilations. We’ll allow it, but it should be a definitive element of an artist’s body of work that isn’t otherwise available from studio output.

If someone posts an album on your list before you get to it, you still may reference it, but use different song clips.

There are dozens of best/favorite album lists on line. For a starting point this can be used:

https://www.besteveralbums.com/yearstats.php?y=1961

https://www.besteveralbums.com/yearstats.php?y=1971

(In subsequent weeks, we’ll do 81/91 and 01/11)

• Last week’s OTN: When We Get Married

My First Album Selected is from 1971:

Badfinger - Straight Up

Apple recording artists Badfinger were going to be the next Beatles. And they almost were. Pioneers of the 70s power pop genre they had their fair share of hits. But their story turned tragic. Their manager was a crook. And got them in such legal entanglements they could not record or appear live. So bad was it that Pete Hamm committed suicide in 1975 and in his note said that their manager "Stan Polley is a soulless bastard." Tom Evans also hanged himself in 1983.

Big Hit!


Big Hit #2!


My Favorite track on the LP


Another great great track!

 

[MeanDean]

From 1961

Chuck Berry - New Jukebox Hits



For my money, the definitive version of Route 66


One of my favorite underappreciated Chuck Berry songs:

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

No favorite albums from 61 but here is a few of my favorite singles from that year

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

Some historical musical nuggets from 61 and 71

1961 saw the formation of one of music's juggernaut groups The Beach Boys. 1961 also gave up the formation of the trio Peter Paul and Mary who to myself and many are most known for Puff the Magic Dragon.



1971 was an incredible year for group formations. 1971 gave us: The Eagles, Paul McCartney and Wings, Sister Sledge and Manfred Mann's Earth Band to name a few.

 

[CYdTracked]

This is before I was born so I remember the Statler Brothers version of this song before I heard this one

 

[MeanDean]

Some of my favorite singles from that year:

 

[CyclonesFan4ever]

My favorite 1971 album is Carol King's Tapestry.

This is a one of the all-time best albums. This groundbreaking album helped popularize the singer/songwriter genre. It stayed on the American album charts for over six years, selling over 24 million copies worldwide. Until 1976, it was the largest-selling album ever, and until March 29, 1980 when Dark Side of the Moon marked its 303rd week on the Billboard album charts, it had the longest stay on the Billboard Top 200.

In 2020, Tapestry was ranked #25 on Rolling Stone list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

4 Grammy Awards (1972)
Album of the Year
Best Female Pop Performance
Song of the Year - You've Got A Friend
Record of the Year - It's Too Late

The entire album


The following 5 songs are my favorite.

Track 2. So Far Away



Track 3. It's Too Late



Track 7. You've Got A Friend



Track 8. Where You Lead



Tracking 12. (You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman

Carole King - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Official Audio)

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Carole KingListen to Carole King: https://CaroleKing.lnk.to/listenYDSubscribe to Carole King: https://CaroleKing...

www.youtube.com

 

[CYdTracked]

 

[cyclones500]

“Surf’s Up”
The Beach Boys
Released: Aug. 30, 1971

This album is like an extension of “Pet Sounds,” re-tooled for the early-‘70s. Brain Wilson’s involvement was hit & miss, so it’s more of a full-band effort. It still retains elements of Beach Boys strengths (harmony, arrangement), and draws from his mid-'60s experimentation, but it expands it -- socially conscious lyrics, a bit world-weary/dark at times, but not to the point of being too heavy-handed.





Among my favorite Beach Boys songs (and my “most underrated” track from the catalog). Carl Wilson co-wrote and sang lead … he nearly out-Brian’ed Brian. Almost.




More upbeat & playful, to balance the mood:

 

[CyclonesFan4ever]

Who can forget this all-time classic?

Moon River is the theme song of the 1961 Oscar-nominated comedy classic Breakfast at Tiffany's, one of my favorite movies of all-time.

The song was composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It's always my favorite Henry Mancini's piece.

Background: Moon River is a real river in Savannah, Georgia, where Johnny Mercer grew up. His home overlooked the river and he had fond memories of the place. At the time, the river was known as The Back River, but was renamed Moon River in honor of the song, and Johnny Mercer's home along the river became known as the Moon River House.

Awards: Oscar (1962) Best Original Song, 4 Grammy Awards (1962) including Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

The original chorus version by Henry Mancini & Orchestra (Track 1 in the soundtrack album)



Audrey Hepburn sang the song in the movie.



Andy William's cover version



Moon River Cha Cha (Track 12 in the soundtrack album)

 

[cyclones500]

“Imagine”
John Lennon
Sept. 9, 1971

I assume this LP might be on other people’s lists, so I’m limiting myself to 3 samples. I won’t even include the title track.

Almost no weak link on this album, includes a couple of my favorite Lennon solo tunes, has an effective mix of heavy/retro/contemplative/rant/balladry.

 

[cyclones500]

Welcome to another edition of On That Note. OTN is a weekly music post hosted alternately by @cyclones500, @CycloneRulzzz and yours truly.

As teased by cyclones500 on Sunday, this week we launch our annual albums-by-decade series.

For part 1, post your favorite LPs released in 1961 and/or 1971. (Those years only, NOT the entire decade.)

Include 3 or 4 sound clips. In addition to the tracks, we encourage you to expound on why the album is meaningful, including personal history of your relationship with the record and its music.

If you’re more singles-oriented, you may substitute top singles from either of those years.

Choices should focus on studio albums. Avoid greatest hits/live LPs/compilations. We’ll allow it, but it should be a definitive element of an artist’s body of work that isn’t otherwise available from studio output.

If someone posts an album on your list before you get to it, you still may reference it, but use different song clips.

There are dozens of best/favorite album lists on line. For a starting point this can be used:

https://www.besteveralbums.com/yearstats.php?y=1961

https://www.besteveralbums.com/yearstats.php?y=1971

(In subsequent weeks, we’ll do 81/91 and 01/11)

• Last week’s OTN: When We Get Married

My First Album Selected is from 1971:

Badfinger - Straight Up

Apple recording artists Badfinger were going to be the next Beatles. And they almost were. Pioneers of the 70s power pop genre they had their fair share of hits. But their story turned tragic. Their manager was a crook. And got them in such legal entanglements they could not record or appear live. So bad was it that Pete Hamm committed suicide in 1975 and in his note said that their manager "Stan Polley is a soulless bastard." Tom Evans also hanged himself in 1983.

Big Hit!


Big Hit #2!


My Favorite track on the LP


Another great great track!

I admit, I take Badfinger for granted. So many aspects that are present in other power-pop-ish stuff I like -- Raspberries, Big Star, Cheap Trick, Teenage Fanclub, and others.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

Vince Neil, Melissa Etheridge, El Debarge, Boy George, Toby Keith, Billy Ray Cyrus Dave Mustaine, K.D. Lang were among those born in 1961.

Among those born in 1971 were: Mary J. Blige, Kid Rock, Jonathan Davis, Lil Jon, Questlove of the roots, Chilli and Lisa Lopes of TLC, Timbaland, Selena, Method Man, Tupac, Missy Elliot, Tiffany, Snoop Dogg, Ricky Martin are just a few of the names.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

June 14, 1961 – Patsy Cline is hospitalized as a result of a head-on car collision. While she is in hospital, the song "I Fall to Pieces" becomes a big Country/Pop crossover hit for her.

 

[Cydar]

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
Release Date: November 8, 1971

The first Zeppelin album I heard. After that I delved into the rest of their catalogue

 

[Cydar]

The Who - Who's Next
Release Date: August 14, 1971
I heard "Bargain" and "Behind Blue Eyes" on the radio, I had to buy the album.

 

[Cydar]

Yes - Fragile
Release Date: November 26, 1971

If you weren't trying to play "Stairway to Heaven" on a guitar you were trying to figure out at least the beginning of "Roundabout." My introduction to Steve Howe.

 

[Althetuna]

I'll go with Jethro Tull's Aqualung. Tull has a distinctive sound. I've found I either really like a Tull song or really hate it. Aqualung definitely had more songs I loved, including my favorite Tull song Hymn 43.


Cross-Eyed Mary


Aqualung


Locomotive Breath

 

[Althetuna]

I discovered The Kinks' Muswell Hillbillies during the period of time when I returned to school to get my engineering degree. I was working full time, going to class, helping with the kids (when I could), and maintaining our home.

The album's theme of the drudgery of modern life struct a chord. I was stressed, depressed, and just plain exhausted. Commserating with Ray Davies helped get me through.

Complicated Life


Here Comes The People In Grey


Holloway Jail


Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues

 

[CyclonesFan4ever]

Another 1971 album I like is from my favorite pop duo Carpenters.

The same name album is their third studio album and their most successful one. In this 10-track album, three hits song came out on top of the charts.

In Cash Box's Top 100 Albums of 1971, Carpenters was listed as one of the year's ten biggest albums. This is the first album to feature the familiar Carpenters logo.

Track 1. Rainy Days and Mondays



Track 5. For All We Know (a cover but a better version of the Oscar winning song originally from movie Lovers and Other Strangers)



Track 6. Superstar