111. Second Helping – Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974)
Southern boogie was the rock critics’ favourite style for a year or two in the early to mid seventies. The genre was created from the success of the excellent Allman Brothers band. Skynyrd were a no frills blues rock band based to an extent on parts of Free’s repertoire. This album contains the perennial, “Sweet Home Alabama”: (a track that now appears seemingly on every 70s rock compilation album along with Boston’s, “More Than a Feeling” and Blue Oyster Cult’s, “Don’t Fear The Reaper”). My favourite tracks are the cover of J.J. Cale’s “Call Me The Breeze!” and the rockin’, “Workin’ For MCA”.
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112. Everyone Is Everybody Else – Barclay James Harvest (1974)
113. Rolling Stones #1 – Rolling Stones (1964)
This early album is a contender for the title, “Best first album” from any band. This was the raw opposite from the Beatles output. It comprises mostly covers of American R ‘n’ B and blues songs but played with savvy, swagger, panache and innocence. This was a great introduction to me into the world of rock that wasn’t derived from tin-pan alley.
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114. Ash Ra Tempel – Ash Ra Tempel (1971)
A prime example of discovering music in the internet age, this is a contender for the best space rock Kraut album. An album that I had read about but I didn’t get to hear until the mid 2000’s. The album is split into two whole side tracks. The first “Amboss” is a tour de force guitar jam din whereas the second, quieter side “Traummaschine” is spacy and ambient (before the word had been invented!). And, I’ve got the T shirt (of the album’s cover!).
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115. Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
116. Sailin’ Shoes – Little Feat (1972)
I love this! A cult album if ever there was one. As noted on the “Dixie Chicken” comments, the Feat is one of the seventies best kept secrets. The title track is a superb song, and “Willin’” was sung at more than a few parties I attended in the mid to late seventies (I was often pleasantly surprised how many people knew the song let alone the lyrics!!).
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117. Traffic – Traffic (1968)
This is a fine example of “getting it together in the country” to come up with an early progressive classic album (proto-prog?). In its day it was a classy textured album. It's Traffic's second album and includes my favourites, “Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring”, the hippy anthem, “ 40,000 Headmen” and the superb, “Crying To Be Heard”.
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118. Darkness On The Edge Of Town – Bruce Springsteen (1978)
119. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John (1973)
In my opinion, this is Elton’s best collection of songs; it’s also one of his biggest sellers. It includes Elton’s journey into prog rock in “Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” which opens the album - all 11 minutes of it! I had the single, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” which I took to many a party in the mid seventies (along with Quo’s Caroline, The Who’s “5.15” and others). This just about edges out, “Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player” as my favourite Elton album.
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120. L – Steve Hillage (1976)
A much played favourite from ’76. Hillage has a unique guitar style and together with Miquette Giraudy’s glissando and “space vocals” is a beautiful sound to behold. Hillage covers George Harrison’s “All Too Much” and Donovan’s ”Hurdy Gurdy Man”: both are great examples of “space rock”. Other highlights are “Lunar Music Suite” and the exquisite “Hurdy Gurdy Glissando”. Far out and heavenly!
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121. I Wash My Soul In The Stream Of Infinity – My Brother the Wind (2011)
A modern space rock jam recorded in only a few hours the studio from a bunch of Norwegian proggers. I first came to be aware of this from reports on Progarchives (a wonderful site in which to expand your album collection). "Torbjorn Abelli” is beautiful as is the title track. The opening song, a ten-minute jam, “Fire! Fire! was the track that introduced me to the band by way of the You Tube video.
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122. Bridge Of Sighs – Robin Trower (1974)
123. In Absentia – Porcupine Tree (2002)
I had bought “Up The Downstairs” CD not long after it came out, purely on spec, and was impressed. I purchased the Tree’s other albums which led to this, their best effort: modern rock with strong songs and playing.”Blackest Eyes” is a superb heavy riffing number, “Trains” is exquisite and “The Sound Of Muzak” a a superlative track and one of the best of the last 10 or so years that I first heard on Bob Harris’ late Saturday night radio show (not the style of music he usually plays).
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