The Best of 1971 Fifty Years On

There has been a lot of discussion this year of the music from 1971. And why not. It was 50 years ago, and it was a fine year for music (or was it?). Before I began this post, I went and looked at 1971, but I also looked at 1970 and 1972 to see if there was anything particularly special about 1971. Honestly, it seemed to me that 1970 was just as interesting as 1971, but 1972 did not seem to live up to the 1971 standard. Anyway, it's covid days and distractions are welcome, so let's just say that 1971 was special. I know it was special to me, because I was very into music and I was sixteen years old. Music (and lots of things) from your impressionable teen years can leave a mark. I was surprised just how many of the classics from 1971 I own and still enjoy.

So you can browse the "Best of 1971" sites for yourself, and when you do you'll find many of these classics:

Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers

Joni Mitchell Blue

Marvin Gaye What's Going On

Carole King Tapestry

Allman Brothers At Fillmore East

Rod Stewart Every Picture Tells A Story

T Rex Electric Warrior

John Lennon Imagine

Funkadelic Maggot Brain

Led Zeppelin IV

Harry Nilsson Nilsson Schmilsson

David Bowie Hunky Dory

Beach Boys Surf's Up

Janis Joplin Pearl

Yes The Yes Album, and Fragile

Grateful Dead Grateful Dead (Skull and Roses)

Santana III

 

That does look like an impressive list. In addition to artists, it was an incredible year for engineer-turned-producer Glyn Johns. In 1971 he produced The Who's Who's Next, The Faces' A Nod Is As Good As A Wink (arguably the best records by those two bands), and Boz Scaggs' Moments and Boz Scaggs And Band. He was a busy guy. 

 

And 1971 also included some other bright spots that may not be as well remembered as the classics, but that were no less interesting and/or influential. Some of these include:

 

Can Tago Mago - I didn't get hear Can until many years later, but it amazes me that this record came out in 1971. This music seems so alien to the era, and so different from anything else then, or now.

The Kinks Muswell Hillbillies - Maybe their last great record, and definitely the end of a spectacular five-year run.

Fleetwood Mac Future Games - Bob Welch and Christine McVie head the band in a new direction. Serious candle-lit stoner rock jams.

Laura Nyro Gonna Take A Miracle - Songwriter Nyro, with help from LaBelle, does an all-covers record that stands the test of time. A lesser-known gem that still sounds great.

The Rascals Peaceful World - Although it further alienated their pop fans, this smooth jazz/rock hybrid is a great record that went almost completely neglected.

Elton John 11-17-70 - The big lists like to talk about Madman Across The Water, but this is such a singular and riotous Elton John record, and Madman was only OK.

 

New York Rock Ensemble Roll Over - Great record, great band, should have been, could have been...

The Band Cahoots - Their fourth, and last near-perfect studio album.

 

Poco From The Inside - Paul Cotton's first with Poco, and one of their better ones all things considered.

 

Ten Years After A Space In Time - Again, maybe their last great record at the end of a string of them. Includes the hit I'd Love To Change The World. 

Oh, I almost forgot. 1971 was the year of The Sons Follow Your Heart (the one without horns), the title track of which contains my favorite guitar break, by the fantastic Terry Haggerty.

Santana Caravanserai 1972

Sanatana's fourth album was a beauty. A fairly sharp departure in sound, it featured more jazz-rock fusion than the previous efforts, and was mostly instrumental, with only three songs with vocals.

The core band is still pretty much intact, although Tom Brown (bass) and Michael Carabello (congas) from the original outfit were replaced by this time, and Neal Schon (guitar) had been added on the previous record. After this one, Schon and Greg Rollie (organ) left to form Journey.

The first side plays as one long medley, and its 26 minutes fly by. Waves Within features Rollie's fabulous Hammond B3 organ, and the percussion is particularly well recorded. Song Of The Wind has some great Santana guitar, and All The Love In The Universe is a driving rocker that tries to disassemble itself in jazz-like fashion. With a fine vocal, and the band playing hot and tight, it rocks.  Doug Rauch's bass is a stand-out, as are the guitars and organ.

Side two opens with Future Primitive, a hot percussion workout between Jose Chepito Areas, James Mingo Lewis and Michael Shrieve. It's more of a song than a drum solo. Antonio Carlos Jobim's Stone Flower follows, and features plenty of hot guitar and ensemble playing. It has the more Latin feel of the earlier records, and Shrieve and Santana wrote lyrics for Jobim's melody. La Fuente Del Ritmo is a driving rocker with hot percussion and dueling guitars from Santana and Schon, and some fine electric piano from Tom Coster, who will replace Rollie on the next record, 1973's Welcome. The record ends with Every Step Of The Way, which begins as an airy, ethereal song that eventually explodes into a jazzy, nine-minute workout that features the entire band and more hot guitar.

As cohesive in sound as the debut, but this one holds up much better today. It may well be Santana's greatest moment, and it was certainly the last gasp from the original band. The band will especially miss Greg Rollie after this. It also happens to be extremely well recorded, and sounds amazing. It sold well, and clean vinyl copies show up in used record bins since the record was too jazzy for many fans. Classic.