Let me start off on this, my first post of 2024, by saying a belated Happy New Year. Man, 2024… it’s a year that would have sounded like something out of science fiction when I was a kid. As usual it was a lovely Xmas followed by the Rock Chick’s immediate dismantling of all things Holiday around the house. I haven’t seen trees come down that fast outside of oil companies decimating the Amazon in a long time…well, actually when I think about it, since last year, I suppose. The Rock Chick is ruthlessly efficient. New Year’s Eve has never been my thing… this year, after a lovely dinner with close friends, I was in bed and asleep before midnight which rarely happens. I hope your celebrations were all festive and safe. I am a little bummed I didn’t stay awake long enough to hear the gun fire that usually rings in the New Year… oh well, maybe next year.

After the family left and the Rock Chick dismantled the decorations, I was left in that gray space between Xmas and New Years. Work was slow and I was off a number of days. As usual it was a time for leftovers, whiskey and rumination. Many people spend that time, when one year is winding down and another about to begin, looking forward and making resolutions like quitting coffee, joining a gym or taking up walking, or “to be more positive.” I gave up coffee for exactly one day. And I will never be tricked into that whole “Dry January” thing again. I’m actually one of those people who spend the last part of any given year looking backwards. Other than rock n roll, ruminating about the past is my only other hobby.

For the last several years, inspired by a post/playlist I did on the landmark year in rock n roll, 1971, I have started off every year with a playlist that looks back 50 years. Well, I didn’t start off 2022 with my 1972 playlist, but it was posted in January. It wasn’t until last year, 2023, that I decided it was a prime opportunity to start a new year by looking back 50 years, in that case to 1973. Now that my first post in two successive years has been a playlist looking back half a century, can we call it a B&V tradition? I probably need to wait a few more years of doing this before I lay that moniker on this thing. I’ve always been a bit of a musical historian and I’ve really enjoyed looking back in time for the sounds of the 70s over the last few years and this year I’ve turned my focus to 1974.

I’ll be the first to admit for the years 1971 to 1973, I don’t have a lot of recollection of the music or really anything else from those years. I was, as Tom Petty said and I’m fond of repeating, “a boy in short pants.” But I have to admit as I researched this music there was much that came back to me from 1974. I was becoming a little older, although still a kid, and more aware of the world. That was the year two families – the McKenna’s and the Peters (both names changed to protect the innocent) moved into the neighborhood. They were both families with three kids (all boys) and they were all sports obsessed. They were always outside throwing some kind of ball around. Even though prior I’d been a bit of a “stays inside all day” introvert, suddenly I found myself being pulled into the world by these loud raucous sets of brothers. I remember we were all lumped into a “team room” at school that year which meant we had two teachers instead of one. It was a combination of two full classes. I remember Mrs. Frye being somewhat of a thug… clearly she’d been a prison guard in a former life. I also remember being forced to wear polyester leisure suits at family gatherings for holidays… nobody light a match my jacket and huge collar might catch on fire. I remember all of society having an Almost Famous vibe.

It was a heavy time. Watergate finally overcame criminal thug Richard Nixon. He became the first American President to resign the office late that summer. OPEC, which had begun an Oil Embargo against the U.S. in 1973, still held a firm grip on the daily news. But the news item I seem to remember most was the story of heiress Patty Hearst who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army a group of very aggressive far-left terrorists. Pretty soon, she started showing up at bank robberies toting a machine gun. It was like seeing Paris Hilton rob a convenience store. Had she joined the SLA? Was it Stockholm Syndrome? Who can say? Because she was descended from the Hearst media family, believe me it was in the news a lot. There were so many great movies that year: Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein featuring the brilliance of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder. The Godfather 2, The Towering Inferno and The Longest Yard (featuring Burt Reynolds!) were all movies I’d have to wait till I was older to see. At least I had prime Kojak in season 2(!) to keep me entertained… best cop show ever.

Beyond Kojak, we also had the music. I can remember hearing some of these songs on the radio of my mom’s car and naturally at the pool in the summer over the giant loud speaker. They put a microphone in front of a transistor radio and that was the “stereo” down at the neighborhood pool, but it was better than nothing. Perhaps because of the heaviness of the times, it was year that saw a bit of nostalgia for the 60s. The hippies had left the communes, cut their hair and gone to work at insurance companies. It’s understandable that they showed up in droves to see Bob Dylan reunite with the Band or CSNY back together again at the local baseball stadium. And who can forget California Jam in April that year. Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer headlined… not surprised by Deep Purple, but ELP? Even typing that name makes me feel 1974. Sabbath was there and in the early days of MTV they had all these videos filmed at Cal Jam, rocking hard in front of that big rainbow behind the stage. Ah, what a time.

I have to say, as I assembled the many songs I chose for this playlist, I realized that mellow music had really started to take over the mainstream. It didn’t help that a number of harder rocking bands didn’t put out albums in ’74: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the aforementioned Black Sabbath and Paul McCartney & Wings all sat out that year. The general mellowness, highlighted by a lot of piano and acoustic guitar was almost as if the rock establishment was inviting the Punk movement to spring up. Don’t get me wrong there was still some great, harder rock – Deep Purple, Aerosmith, Queen and Montrose all show up. Great debuts from Bad Company, Kiss, Rush and solo debuts from Ronnie Wood and Robert Palmer. Reading the artists on this list is like a who’s who of 1974: Eagles, Steely Dan, Joe Walsh, Doobies, Ronstadt, the Dead, Bonnie Raitt, Elton. There was also some great soul from Smokey, Aretha, Parliament, Sly Stone, and Al Green. It makes for a pretty good blend. At least, I hope you like it.

As usual with our playlists, I always recommend turning on the “shuffle” or “random,” whichever you like to call the twisty arrow thing. Or you can always listen in order, whatever your vibe dictates. I base these lists on the release date of albums – we’re all about the “long players” here at B&V – and I choose only 1 song per album. I have listed the songs below by Artist, Album Title, “Song Title.” They came to me rather organically so we swing from soul to metal to mellow. If there’s a song that pops up you don’t like, skip it. Or, better yet, if there’s a song I didn’t put on here from an album from 1974, please recommend it in the “Comments” section and I might add it. Here’s the playlist, with my musings on each track below.

1. Big Star, Radio City, “September Gurls” – A classic, classic song that was virtually ignored in 1974. It’s criminal that more people didn’t discover this band back in the 70s. Although admittedly, I only discovered Big Star through the Cinemax series Quarry.
2. Joe Walsh, So What, “Turn To Stone” – From the solo album Joe released right before joining the Eagles. If you listen you can hear Henley and Frey warbling in the background. One of the greatest riffs ever… and yes, this was the second time Joe recorded the song.
3. Grand Funk Railroad, All The Girls In The World, Beware!, “Some Kind Of Wonderful” – While I’ll admit to always getting Grand Funk, Bachman Turner Overdrive and the Guess Who mixed up… I always dug this song. It makes me wanna clap my hands over my head…maybe hold a lighter up in the air. And yes, this sums up my thoughts on the Rock Chick pretty well.
4. The Doobie Brothers, What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, “Eyes Of Silver” – I could have picked a number of songs from this album, including “Black Water” which is on my Playlist of Favorite Country Rock Songs, but I’ve always dug this track.
5. Steely Dan, Pretzel Logic, “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” – Monster hit from the third Steely Dan LP, which heralded the end of their touring days.
6. Bobby Womack, Lookin’ For A Love, “Lookin’ For A Love” – Classic soul track originally done by the Valentino’s. Bobby’s version may be definitive, but I really dig the J. Geils Band version.
7. Bob Dylan (& the Band), Planet Waves, “Forever Young” – Dylan reunited with the Band to record this classic album which I believe is the only studio album the (entire) Band played on with Dylan. Although, I could be wrong about that. Classic track covered by many including Joan Baez and Rod Stewart.
8. Graham Nash, Wild Tales, “And So It Goes” – I may need to reevaluate Wild Tales for inclusion on my list of Best CSNY Solo/Duo Albums. I listened to this again and it really sounded great. Clearly further study is needed. Neil Young plays piano on this song and it totally has his vibe all over it.
9. Gram Parsons, Grievous Angel, “Love Hurts” – Nazareth actually might have the more famous cover of this song but I’ve always been partial to this version from Gram’s posthumous release Grievous Angel, probably because he’s singing with Emmylou Harris. Although Roy Orbison’s version is pretty damn good too.
10. Linda Rondstadt, Different Drum, “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” – I love Linda Rondstadt, but I especially love when she covers great stuff written by Dylan, Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon or Lowell George. This is an exceptional Dylan cover that may belong on my Playlist of Favorite Dylan Covers… She really puts the country swing into it.
11. Gordon Lightfoot, Sundown, “Sundown” – Sadly, we lost Gordon last year. Great track from an oft overlooked artist. I heard them use it on the James Spader show The Blacklist a few years ago and immediately put it in high rotation here at the B&V labs.
12. Dolly Parton, Jolene, “Jolene” – With Dolly newly inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, I felt I had the right to include this classic… I also like the covers by the White Stripes and Miley Cyrus (yes, Miley Cyrus, what a voice).
13. Deep Purple, Burn, “Burn” – Along with Sabbath and Zeppelin, Deep Purple were considered one of the Three Horsemen Of the Heavy Metal Apocalypse. I still hear elements of prog in this song…but maybe that’s just me.
14. Kiss, Kiss, “Cold Gin” – From Kiss’ debut. I’m not huge into Kiss but a song about drinking gin had to make it on a B&V playlist. It was on one of my first Playlists, about Drinking.
15. Aretha Franklin, Let Me In Your Life, “Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)” – Perhaps not one of her iconic classics, but not a bad track from the Queen of Soul.
16. Jimmy Buffett, Living In 3 / 4 Time, “Come Monday” – Alas, we lost Jimmy Buffett just a few months ago. I’m not a huge fan but I love what he did for the environment (Save A Manatee Club, https://savethemanatee.org/).
17. Johnny Winter, Saints And Sinners, “Stray Cat Blues” – Great, great Stones’ cover. Johnny was the real deal… on a song about a young girl that is likely not cool.
18. Queen, Queen II, “Seven Seas Of Rhye” – Epic, hard rock from Queen. Great riff but that Freddie Mercury galloping piano always grabs my ear too.
19. Aerosmith, Get Your Wings, “Train Kept A’Rollin'” – Aerosmith covering the Yardbirds. Oh, yes. A track we put on our Playlist: Favorite Train Songs.
20. Rush, Rush, “Working Man” – From Rush’s debut album. I included this one on my Labor Day Playlist… for the working stiff in all of us. Their first truly epic song.
21. Elvis Presley, Good Times, “I’ve Got A Thing About You Baby” – The King, near the end, rattles off this track that was a hit on the country charts. Alas we only had three more years until we lost the King.
22. Smokey Robinson, Pure Smokey, “Virgin Man” – I dig Smokey, but uh, I have to admit this song completely baffles me. Even when I was a virgin, no one thought I was… Great vocal.
23. Eagles, On The Border, “Already Gone” – A song I loved to listen to whenever I went through a breakup… “I will sing this victory song…”
24. Peter Frampton, Somethin’s Happening, “Doobie Wah” – Funky rock song about the joys of smoking pot. I’m more of a whiskey man myself, but to each their own.
25. Dr. John, Desitively Bonnaroo, “Mos’ Scocious” – I just love a little New Orleans flavor on a playlist. Reminds of a trip to the Big Easy where a couple of friends of mine thought the cab driver was a Russian spy… the Cold War was well over? That’s why everyone should avoid Jagermeister.
26. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Second Helping, “Sweet Home Alabama” – Lynyrd Skynyrd’s angry response to Neil Young’s songs “Southern Man” and “Alabama.” Neil responded by writing “Powderfinger” and offering it to them. They declined but the friendship was on.
27. J.J. Cale, Okie, “I Got The Same Old Blues” – J.J. Cale was such a great songwriter. I love the gravel in his voice here. And yes, this was another track Clapton covered. I get the feeling Clapton just followed Cale around singing what he sang in the 70s.
28. Richard & Linda Thompson, I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight, “When I Get To The Border” – The lead off track from the couple’s landmark album.
29. The Kinks, Preservation Act 2, “Money Talks” – A track that should have been on my Songs About Money Playlist. I may have added it…
30. David Bowie, Diamond Dogs, “Rebel Rebel” – Great riff, great song. We truly miss Bowie. Almost Stonesy.
31. New York Dolls, Too Much Too Soon, “Stranded In The Jungle” – I love this song, but I know more than one person is going to reach out and say, “WTF is this?” The Dolls were sowing the seeds of punk rock that would spring up and shake rock’s foundation in only a few years.
32. Bad Company, Bad Company, “Can’t Get Enough” – From the ashes of Free sprang Bad Co… One of my favorite tracks from their debut. What a riff. And who can get enough?
33. Billy Preston, The Kids & Me, “Nothing From Nothing” – Classic song, one might also think of it as a standard. Billy had played with the Beatles (on Let It Be) and the Stones. The ultimate keyboard sideman!
34. Rufus (Chaka Khan), Rags To Rufus, “Tell Me Something Good” – I just saw Chaka inducted into the Rock Hall. It immediately had me singing this track.
35. Grateful Dead, From The Mars Hotel, “U.S. Blues” – Great track from the Dead. Also on my July 4th Playlist.
36. Elton John, Caribou, “The Bitch Is Back” – I believe Elton may be referring to himself as the titular character.
37. James Brown, Hell, “My Thang” – The real funk. Amazing track.
38. James Taylor, Walking Man, “Walking Man” – Great song from a weak album.
39. Jerry Garcia, Garcia (Compliments), “Let It Rock” – Jerry goes solo and covers Chuck Berry in a way that only he could do. I love this version of the oft covered track.
40. Parliament, Up For The Down Stroke, “Up For The Down Stroke” – My younger brother had a Parliament/Funkadelic album in his crate. George Clinton is a genius. I’m not sure I can comment further on this title as there’s nothing I can say that won’t sound vulgar.
41. Stevie Wonder, Fullfillingness First Finale, “Boogie On Reggae Woman” – “I’d like to see you in the raw, under the stars above.” This song only contributed to my confusion over what the term “reggae” meant. I didn’t realize it was a genre of music…I thought it might be an aphrodisiac like Spanish Fly and I was too afraid to ask my parents. But if it made this woman dance naked, outside no less, I figured it must be powerful stuff. Turns out I was right…
42. Eric Clapton, 461 Ocean Blvd, “I Shot The Sheriff” – Speaking of reggae, Clapton doing the classic Bob Marley track. I think Clapton inadvertently (along with the Stones) helped break reggae to a broader audience.
43. Sly & The Family Stone, Small Talk, “Time For Livin'” – Sly’s prime was behind him but what a great song. “Time for livin’, time for givin’…” Who couldn’t use more time for that.
44. Barry White, Can’t Get Enough, “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe” – I dated a girl over on the East side of town who once called Barry, “the Walrus of Love.” Ouch. Anyway, this is one of the greatest tracks of all time. Put it on next Valentine’s Day and see for yourself…
45. Little Feat, Feats Don’t Fail Me Now, “Rock N Roll Doctor” – I could ride Lowell George’s slide guitar on this song all the way home.
46. Harry Nilsson, Pussy Cats, “Many Rivers To Cross” – John Lennon produced this album and this Jimmy Cliff cover sounds so mid-70s-Lennon to me. It’s a shame Harry blew out his vocal chords during a wasted, late night studio jam with Lennon where McCartney and Stevie Wonder dropped by… A missed opportunity by the two drinking buddies.
47. Leonard Cohen, New Skin For The Old Ceremony, “Chelsea Hotel #2” – A track he wrote about Janis Joplin. He always said he regretted letting people know that it was about Joplin and listening to the lyrics it’s easy to understand why he’d feel bad. Kind of a dick move, Leonard. Great track but I get a mean-spirited vibe around the edges. I do love the line, “You told me again you prefer handsome men but for me you’d make an exception…” Sounds like something the Rock Chick would say to me…
48. Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Not Fragile, “Roll On Down The Highway” – If I ever do a Highway Playlist, this track will be on it. I like the Donnas cover as well.
49. Tina Turner, Tina Turns The Country On!, “He Belongs To Me” – Sadly we just lost Tina, and I had to include her doing this Dylan cover to honor her memory. I always liked her earlier stuff but Tina doing Dylan on a country covers album… I’m intrigued.
50. Judas Priest, Rocka Rolla, “Rocka Rolla” – Early, fierce metal from Judas Priest.
51. Ronnie Wood, I’ve Got My Own Album To Do, “I Can Feel The Fire” – The title of this album was a jab at his Faces bandmate Rod Stewart who was fond of saying that to the Faces when he didn’t wanna work on their music. Ronnie wrote this and “It’s Only Rock N Roll” with Mick Jagger during an evening of jamming. Mick talked him into giving him “It’s Only…” and he’d give Ronnie this song. You can hear Mick singing the co-lead/harmony vocal as a thank you.
52. Fleetwood Mac, Heroes Are Hard To Find, “Heroes Are Hard To Find” – I feel like I’ve said this a lot on this playlist, but having lost the wonderful Christine McVie only a year and a half ago, I had to include this great song from her.
53. Randy Newman, Rednecks, “Lousiana 1927” – Randy Newman is Mark Twain with a piano. I considered the title track, but there is something so stately about this song…maybe it’s the strings. I used this on my Virtual Vacation: 50 Songs For 50 States playlist.
54. Jackson Browne, Late For The Sky, “Late For The Sky” – Title track from his best album… a true masterpiece.
55. J. Geils Band, Nightmares…And Other Tales From The Vinyl Jungle, “Must Of Got Lost” – This is, hands down, my favorite J Geils Band song.
56. Electric Light Orchestra, Eldorado, “I Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” – Great ballad from a band that I’ve always thought was derivative of the Beatles… but my friend Doug loves them… so here it is.
57. Joe Cocker, I Can Stand A Little Rain, “You Are So Beautiful” – Joe Cocker singing a song I wish I’d written for the Rock Chick. Stripped down to voice, piano and strings, man what a song.
58. Gene Clark, No Other, “No Other” – Title track from a masterpiece album. What a vibe. If this record couldn’t break Gene Clark commercially, nothing was going to do it. I wish it had.
59. Lou Reed, Sally Can’t Dance, “Sally Can’t Dance” – From Lou’s follow up to Berlin, one of the grimmest records of all time. Surprisingly, this remains Reed’s highest charting album in the U.S.
60. Robert Palmer, Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley, “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley” – Palmer’s solo debut album is one of my favorites from him. When he sings on this song, “Trying to double talk, get myself in trouble talk, catching myself in lies…” I can’t help but smile. We’ve all been in that jam, baby.
61. Bonnie Raitt, Streetlights, “Angel From Montgomery” – Raitt’s version of this John Prine song may be definitive? Maybe I’m just fond of this one…
62. Traffic, When The Eagle Flies, “Walking In The Wind” – This is a touch on the obscure side, but what a great song. I can’t believe I never heard this song on the radio… well, at least in KC.
63. The Who, Odds & Sods, “Long Live Rock” – This epic song was recorded in ’72 but wasn’t released until 1974 on the aptly titled vault release Odds & Sods. “We were the first band to vomit in the bar and find the distance to the stage too far,” pretty much sums up the Who ethos if you ask me.
64. Rod Stewart, Smiler, “Mine For Me” – This album is always maligned and admittedly it’s not up to the standards of Rod’s previous 4 albums, but there are gems like this Paul McCartney written song to be found. I’ve always wondered if there is a McCartney version of this song but I’ve never found it.
65. John Lennon, Walls And Bridges, “Scared” – The howling wolf that starts this track sets the tone. Being on Nixon’s “Enemies List” and facing deportation, he was indeed frightened…
66. Montrose, Paper Money, “Connection” – Sammy Hagar’s first band. Always loved their take on this Stones track from Between The Buttons.
67. Billy Joel, Streetlife Serenade, “Los Angelenos” – Great track about Los Angeles… Love the keyboards.
68. Jethro Tull, War Child, “Bungle In The Jungle” – This song divides Tull fans but I always liked it.
69. Tom Waits, The Heart Of Saturday Night, “(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night” – Waits purportedly wrote this song for Frank Sinatra… It would have worked for Ol’ Blue Eyes, but I’m glad Tom kept it. The man knows how to set a mood.
70. The Rolling Stones, It’s Only Rock N Roll, “It’s Only Rock N Roll” – I love this song and the album it comes from. And true, it may only be “rock n roll, but I like it.” Indeed I do.
71. Supertramp, Crime Of The Century, “School” – A track we included on our Songs About School list. One of my favorite Supertramp songs.
72. Bob Marley & The Wailers, Natty Dread, “Lively Up Yourself” – One of the all time great Marley songs. Sadly, it’s not on Legend, but if you dig into Bob’s catalog you’ll find a ton of gems like this song.
73. Van Morrison, Veedon Fleece, “Streets Of Arklow” – An obscure little ballad that makes me feel like I’m in a small village in Ireland. I can almost feel the cobblestones under my feet and the sea breeze in my hair…ghosts of Vikings trailing me… Also later beautifully done by Van and Mick Hucknall as a duet.
74. Al Green, Explores Your Mind, “Take Me To The River” – Al’s original version… later covered by the Talking Heads. I love Al, but the Heads might own this song for me. Don’t get me wrong, this original version is absolutely great.
75. Thin Lizzy, Nightlife, “Still In Love With You” – Great ballad where you can feel the anguish in Phil Lynott’s voice. Searing guitar solo.
76. Queen, Sheer Heart Attack, “Killer Queen” – Queen with their second album of the year. The monster hit still stands up well today.
77. Ringo Starr, Goodnight Vienna, “No-No Song” – I love Ringo, but have never been a huge fan of his music. This song always made me laugh… it’s almost a novelty song. But it’s Ringo, so it’s groovy. Peace & Love.
78. Sweet, Desolation Boulevard, “Fox On The Run” – Hard rocking guitars, a synth, a giant arena rock sound… What isn’t in this song.
79. Ohio Players, Fire, “Fire” – People may forget how huge the Ohio Players were in the early to mid 70s. I remember… probably because of the album covers… I was impressionable. This song is an absolute classic.
80. Linda Rondstadt, Heart Like A Wheel, “Willin'” – Our second entry from Ms. Rondstadt. I love when she sings Little Feat songs! Hearing the lyric “And if you give me weed, whites, and wine
    And you show me a sign I’ll be willin’… to be movin’…” in Linda’s voice just hits me different, in a good way.
81. George Harrison, Dark Horse, “Far East Man” – Harrison voice, much like Harry Nilsson’s on song #46 on this list, was fried. He should have delayed his tour and recorded when his voice was back in shape. I’ve always liked this track which was also recorded by Ronnie Wood who co wrote it.
82. Jimmy Buffett, A-1-A, “A Pirate Looks At Forty” – The perfect track to end our look at 1974 with. A party guy starts to look at 40 and wonder if changes might be in order…

That’s it folks. I know this one was a really long post, but I’ve been sitting around since Xmas listening to 1974’s music and thinking about this for a long time. Other than Guns N Roses new track, “The General,” that’s all I’ve been doing… I might have had a little pent up writing in the ol’ chamber. I hope y’all enjoy this as much as I did putting it together. Again, if there are any great tunes from ’74 I missed, let me know in the comments.

Again, Happy New Year! I think we’ve got some great stuff coming out this year and am really looking forward to another year here at B&V! Cheers!