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The THIRD 100 from 1971. #1: Echoes (2 Viewers)

Pip's Invitation

Footballguy
Last year, 50 years after 1971, I said in some of the music threads that I would do a third 100 from 1971 countdown because it was such a deep year and there were a lot of great songs that @timschochet and @Bracie Smathers left off their lists. I in fact decided to do it after @rockaction and @wikkidpissah had mentioned that they thought I had already done that list. So, not wanting to continue the Mandela Effect, I started putting a list together. And then I got swamped with work and real life and fantasy sports and it fell by the wayside. But in the past month I finally got organized about going back and finishing it. So here it is, one year late.

My inclusion criteria are a bit different from Tim's and Bracie's (which are in turn different from each other; their lists are copied at the bottom of this post for reference). To make my list, a song had to not be on Tim or Bracie's list, and to have been released on an album or as a single in 1971. If it was released as a single in 1971 but appeared on an album from 1970 or 1972, it counts. If it appeared on an album from 1971 but was released as a single in 1970 or 1972, it counts. I only allowed songs from live or compilation albums if the song had not been released by the artist previously. In 1971, there were some important songs that fit that description, and some of them will be here. 

I also did not exclude anything due to (real or perceived) obscurity. There are some extremely well-known songs on this list, and some that many of you will not know. And every level in between. 

Oh, and Tim and Bracie went light on prog, so that's going to be very well represented here. 1971 was one of the peak years for the genre, and it deserves its due. If you don't care for prog, just skip those entries and go to the next one, as there is plenty of "classic rock," hard rock/metal, R&B/soul, pop, folk/country and even jazz/rock fusion here. 

Those of you who think of me as the board's resident Neil Young fanatic might be bemused that there are no Neil entries on this list. That is because he spent most of 1971 laid up with back problems and did not release any new material that year. Not to worry, though, there are a few "Neil minus Neil" selections. 

I'll try to keep things moving briskly, though real life and fantasy baseball may be impediments at times. And I promise not to wander in the PSF and get suspended. In a few cases I've grouped pairs of songs together to discuss in one post because they are tied together somehow (or at least the connection makes sense in my head). I hope you all find things worth discovering and discussing. 

100. Get Down -- Curtis Mayfield

99. Get Down -- War

98. Live My Life Again -- James Gang

97. Without You -- Harry Nilsson

96a. Tomorrow Is a Long Time -- Bob Dylan

96b. Tomorrow Is a Long Time -- Rod Stewart

95. Children of the Grave -- Black Sabbath

94. The Back Seat of My Car -- Paul and Linda McCartney

93. Here Comes the Sun -- Richie Havens

92. Wind Up -- Jethro Tull

91. Downtown -- Crazy Horse

90. Master of the Universe -- Hawkwind

89. Do Yourself a Favor -- Stevie Wonder

88. Keep Playin' That Rock 'N Roll -- Edgar Winter's White Trash

87. Fireball -- Deep Purple

86. Mud Slide Slim -- James Taylor

85. Colorado -- The Flying Burrito Brothers

84. Future Games -- Fleetwood Mac

83. Surrender -- Diana Ross

82. Nathan Jones -- The Supremes

81. Sweet Touch of Love -- Alain Toussaint

80. Stranger in a Strange Land -- Leon Russell

79. Truck Stop Girl -- Little Feat

78. Famous Blue Raincoat -- Leonard Cohen

77. Right Off -- Miles Davis

76. All I Want -- Joni Mitchell

75. Sister Anne -- MC5

74. Statesboro Blues -- The Allman Brothers Band

73. No One to Depend On -- Santana

72. The Musical Box -- Genesis

71. Ezy Rider -- Jimi Hendrix

70. Life Is a Carnival -- The Band

69. Hot Pants (She Got to Use What She Got to Get What She Wants) -- James Brown

68. Mandrill -- Mandrill

67. Melting Pot -- Booker T. and the MGs

66. Heart of the Sunrise -- Yes

65. Man in Black -- Johnny Cash

64. Monkberry Moon Delight -- Paul and Linda McCartney

63. Life's a Gas -- T. Rex

62. Chicago -- Graham Nash

61. Change Partners -- Stephen Stills

60. Cowboy Movie -- David Crosby

59. Free -- Chicago

58. Light Up or Leave Me Alone -- Traffic

57. Sweet Seasons -- Carole King

56. Bad N' Ruin -- Faces

55. Luv N' Haight -- Sly and the Family Stone

54. Strawberry Letter 23 -- Shuggie Otis

53. Did You Go Downtown -- Joy of Cooking

52. Charity Ball -- Fanny

51. What About Me -- Quicksilver Messenger Service

50. Indian Sunset -- Elton John

49. Death May Be Your Santa Claus -- Mott the Hoople

48. Anticipation -- Carly Simon

47. Blue Money -- Van Morrison

46. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart -- Bee Gees

45. Surf's Up -- The Beach Boys

44. Strange Kind of Woman -- Deep Purple

43. Watching the River Flow -- Bob Dylan

42. Chain Letter -- Todd Rundgren

41. 10538 Overture -- Electric Light Orchestra

40. Sandman -- America

39. Harlem -- Bill Withers

38. One of These Days -- Pink Floyd

37. Halleluhwah -- Can

36. I Don't Want to Talk About It -- Crazy Horse

35. My Wife -- The Who

34. Sweet Hitch-Hiker -- Creedence Clearwater Revival

33. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) -- Marvin Gaye

32. Name of the Game -- Badfinger

31. I Don't Need No Doctor -- Humble Pie

30. Into the Void -- Black Sabbath

29. Hello in There -- John Prine

28. Coat of Many Colors -- Dolly Parton

27. South Side of the Sky -- Yes

26. Stormy Monday -- The Allman Brothers Band

25. Just a Sinner -- Carly Simon

24. Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom) -- The Staple Singers

23a. When I Paint My Masterpiece -- Bob Dylan

23b. When I Paint My Masterpiece -- The Band

22. Move Over -- Janis Joplin

21. Liar -- Three Dog Night

20. Nature's Way -- Spirit

19. I Can't Get Next to You -- Al Green

18. Meeting of the Spirits -- Mahavishnu Orchestra

17. Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are) -- The Temptations

16. I'm Eighteen -- Alice Cooper

15. Everybody's Everything -- Santana

14. The Knife -- Genesis

13. The Last Time I Saw Richard -- Joni Mitchell

12. Maybe Tomorrow -- The Jackson 5

11. Over and Over -- MC5

10. Nine Feet Underground -- Caravan

9. Sweet Leaf -- Black Sabbath

8. You Are Everything -- The Stylistics

7. Do Your Thing -- Isaac Hayes

6. Ohio/Machine Gun -- The Isley Brothers

5. Super Stupid -- Funkadelic

4. You Don't Love Me -- The Allman Brothers Band

3. Right On -- Marvin Gaye

2. Yours Is No Disgrace -- Yes

1. Echoes -- Pink Floyd

Tim's list:

100. “Vincent” Don McLean 

99. “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves” Cher 

98. “A Horse With No Name” America 

97. “Long Distance Runaround” Yes 

96. “Outa Space” Billy Preston 

95. “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” Paul & Linda McCartney 

94. “Quicksand” David Bowie

93. “Don’t Pull Your Love Out” Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds 

92. “Day After Day” Badfinger

91. “Mercedes Benz” Janis Joplin 

90. “Walk Away” James Gang 

89. “Northern Sky” Nick Drake 

88. “Crayon Angels” Judee Sill 

87. “Angel from Montgomery” John Prine

86. “You Can Close Your Eyes” James Taylor 

85. “(I Know) I’m Losing You” Rod Stewart and the Faces 

84. “I Am...I Said” Neil Diamond 

83. “Love Her Madly” The Doors 

82. “The Battle of Evermore” Led Zeppelin 

81. “Willin’” Little Feat

80. “Bargain” The Who 

79. “Maggot Brain” Funkadelic 

78. “It Don’t Come Easy” Ringo Starr

77. “Never Been to Spain” Three Dog Night 

76. “Misty Mountain Hop” Led Zeppelin 

75. “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” Traffic 

74. “Sister Morphine” The Rolling Stones 

73. “Jeepster” T-Rex

72. “The Song Is Over” The Who

71. “Wild Night” Van Morrison 

70. “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” Bob Dylan 

69. “Rock and Roll” Led Zeppelin 

68. “L.A. Woman” The Doors 

67. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” John Denver 

66. “Madman Across the Water” Elton John 

65. “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me” The Temptations 

64. “Sway” The Rolling Stones 

63. “Getting In Tune” The Who 

62. “California” Joni Mitchell

61. “Oh My Love” John Lennon 

60. “Sweet Lady Mary” Faces

59. “I’d Love to Change the World” Ten Years After 

58. “Sunshine on My Shoulders” John Denver 

57. “Peace Train” Cat Stevens 

56. “Mother Goose” Jethro Tull 

55. “Rainy Days and Mondays” Carpenters 

54. “So Far Away” Carole King 

53. “Roundabout” Yes 

52. “I Shall Be Released” Bob Dylan 

51. “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” Carole King 

50. “Black Dog” Led Zeppelin 

49. “Happy Xmas (War is Over) John Lennon

48. “Moonlight Mile” The Rolling Stones 

47. “Mr. Big Stuff” Jean Knight 

46. “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” The Hollies 

45. “Theme from Shaft” Isaac Hayes 

44. “Every Picture Tells a Story” Rod Stewart

43. “Locomotive Breath” Jethro Tull

42. “My Old Man” Joni Mitchell

41. “Family Affair” Sly & the Family Stone 

40. “Riders on the Storm” The Doors 

39. “You’ve Got a Friend” James Taylor/Carole King (tie) 

38. “Bang a Gong (Get it On) T Rex 

37. “Morning Has Broken“ Cat Stevens 

36. “Superstar” Carpenters

35. “I’ve Seen All Good People” Yes 

34. “Baby Blue” Badfinger

33. “It’s Too Late” Carole King

32. “Stay With Me” Faces  

31. “Brown Sugar” The Rolling Stones 

30. “Queen #####” David Bowie 

29. “I Feel the Earth Move” Carole King 

28. “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be” Carly Simon 

27. “Respect Yourself” The Staple Singers 

26. “Me and Bobby McGee” Janis Joplin 

25. “Changes” David Bowie 

24. “American Pie” Don McLean 

23. “Aqualung” Jethro Tull

22. “Going to California” Led Zeppelin 

21. “Can You Get to That” Funkadelic 

20. “Tupelo Honey” Van Morrison 

19. “Levon” Elton John 

18. “Oh! You Pretty Things” David Bowie 

17. “A Case of You” Joni Mitchell 

16. “Mandolin Wind” Rod Stewart 

15. “Behind Blue Eyes” The Who 

14. “Imagine” John Lennon 

13. “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” Marvin Gaye 

12. “Wild Horses” The Rolling Stones 

11. “Baba O’ Riley” The Who 

10. “Life On Mars?” David Bowie 

9. “Tiny Dancer” Elton John 

8. “Maggie May” Rod Stewart

7. “Stairway to Heaven” Led Zeppelin 

6. “Won’t Get Fooled Again” The Who 

5. “Ain’t No Sunshine” Bill Withers 

4. “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” The Rolling Stones 

3. “Let’s Stay Together” Al Green 

2. “What’s Going On” Marvin Gaye 

1. “When the Levee Breaks” Led Zeppelin 

Bracie's list:

100. Let That Boy Boogie -- Farm

99. Move on Up -- Curtis Mayfield

98. Country Road -- James Taylor

97. The Coming of Prince Kajuku -- UFO

96. Albert Flasher -- The Guess Who

95. Four Sticks -- Led Zeppelin

94. If You Really Love Me -- Stevie Wonder

93. Laundromat -- Rory Gallagher

92. Cry Baby -- Janis Joplin

91. Longer Boats -- Cat Stevens

90. Tired of Being Alone -- Al Green

89. Joy to the World -- Three Dog Night

88. Sooner or Later -- The Grass Roots

87. She's Got a Way -- Billy Joel

86. The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat) -- The Doors

85. Betcha By Golly, Wow -- The Stylistics

84. Ram On -- Paul McCartney

83. Ruby Love -- Cat Stevens

82. Sunshine -- Jonathan Edwards

81. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? -- Carole King

80. Goin' Mobile -- The Who

79. Hot Rod Lincoln -- Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen

78. Never Can Say Goodbye -- Isaac Hayes

77. Fearless -- Pink Floyd

76. (Find a) Reason to Believe -- Rod Stewart

75. Don't Be Shy -- Cat Stevens

74. Slippin' into Darkness -- War

73. House at Pooh Corner -- Loggins & Messina

72. Heaven on Their Minds -- Jesus Christ Superstar

71. Rain Dance -- The Guess Who

70. Do You Know What I Mean? -- Lee Michaels

69. Apeman -- The Kinks

68. Another Day -- Paul McCartney

67. Where You Lead -- Carole King

66. Your Song -- Elton John

65. Wild World -- Cat Stevens

64. Love the One You're With -- Stephen Stills

63. Hocus Pocus -- Focus

62. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp -- Led Zeppelin

61. River -- Joni Mitchell

60. Bell Bottom Blues -- Derek and the Dominoes

59. Vahevala -- Loggins & Messina

58. I Hear You Knocking -- Dave Edmunds

57. Tangerine -- Led Zeppelin

56. Lucky Man -- Emerson, Lake and Palmer

55. On the Road to FInd Out -- Cat Stevens

54. Our House -- Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

53. Hidden Treasure -- Traffic

52. Rock Steady -- Aretha Franklin

51. Hey, Tonight -- Creedence Clearwater Revival

50. If You Could Read My Mind -- Gordon Lightfoot

49. Samba Pa Ti -- Santana

48. Smackwater Jack -- Carole King

47. Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again -- The Fortunes

46. Knock Three Times -- Tony Orlando and Dawn

45. Danny's Song -- Loggins & Messina

44. Smiling Faces Sometimes -- The Undisputed Truth

43. We've Only Just Begun -- The Carpenters

42. What Is Life? -- George Harrison

41. Moonshadow -- Cat Stevens

40. Bridge over Troubled Water -- Aretha Franklin

39. Sweet City Woman -- The Stampeders

38. Share the Land -- The Guess Who

37. Beginnings -- Chicago

36. Amoreena -- Elton John

35. Rock and Roll Stew -- Traffic

34. Southern Man -- Neil Young

33. In the Summertime -- Mungo Jerry

32. Jump into the Fire -- Harry Nilsson

31. Oye Como Va -- Santana

30. The Changeling -- The Doors

29. Mr. Skin -- Spirit

28. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? -- Chicago

27. Draggin' the Line -- Tommy James

26. Treat Her Like a Lady -- Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose

25. All Day Music -- War

24. Immigrant Song -- Led Zeppelin

23. Jealous Guy -- John Lennon

22. Where to Now St. Peter? -- Elton John

21. The Story in Your Eyes -- The Moody Blues

20. After the Gold Rush -- Neil Young

19. Cross-Eyed Mary -- Jethro Tull

18. My Sweet Lord -- George Harrison

17. Domino -- Van Morrison

16. Gallows Pole -- Led Zeppelin

15. Have You Ever Seen the Rain? -- Creedence Clearwater Revival

14. Proud Mary -- Ike and Tina Turner

13. Brand New Key -- Melanie

12. 20th Century Man -- The Kinks

11. That's the Way -- Led Zeppelin

10. No Matter What -- Badfinger

9. I Just Want to Celebrate -- Rare Earth

8. Lola -- The Kinks

7. Iron Man -- Black Sabbath

6. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen -- Santana

5. Only Love Can Break Your Heart -- Neil Young

4. Sweet Jane -- The Velvet Underground

3. B!tch -- The Rolling Stones

2. Carry On -- Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

1. Layla -- Derek and the Dominos

 
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100. Get Down -- Curtis Mayfield (from Roots)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7FjUnPYbU0

99. Get Down -- War (from All Day Music)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYxNfxK6ngQ

We begin the countdown with two excellent but very different songs by the same name. By reputation, you'd think Mayfield's song was the socially conscious one and War's was the sexy/fun one, but it's the opposite. 

The Mayfield tune is a dance-floor thumper that makes fantastic use of bass, horns, strings and percussion, with stinging guitar leads and orgasmic backing vocals deployed at just the right time. What came to be called disco wouldn't surface for another 3 years, but here are some of its elements percolating already. 

The War tune, equally funky in a different way, implores the listener to get down in a different way, "to find something better." Its finger pointing may seem mild by today's standards, but this verse was extremely controversial coming from a mostly Black band by 1971 standards:

Police and their justice
Laughing while they bust us
You gotta' get down
You gotta' get down


To the point where cops didn't want to provide security for their shows (or let them play at all) if they performed that song. But they did anyway, and an incendiary 20-minute live version was released two years later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W9QvLLnS6E

 
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cant help but be reminded of a now-impolitic joke of the time about so many bruthas gettin killed in Nam cuz when their sergeants yelled "Get down!", they'd start dancing...

played the #### out of Roots cuz Mayfield was feeling what a lot of talented folks were at the time - that music was bigger than "i want you", "i lost you" & "im party anyway" and that scale was a part of that. wish they'd never stopped making "cinematic" music, but those soundscapes got all caught up in complexity & grander purposes and it all turned over on itself like jazz did. there's still a LOT of it out there to be done.

i've mentioned it before, but my comedy mentor was a neurotic Jewish guy who was obsessive, prenaturally pessimistic and generally a mess but, when one got completely sick of his shtick, they could just put on a Mayfield record and he'd turn into a butterfly w nectar all over his face, just soar & glide around the room, kissing faces & boogieing. never failed -

 
98. Life My Life Again -- James Gang (from Thirds)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af6t5Wg_1AI

After a second album (Rides Again) packed with winners, James Gang's third album (their last with Joe Walsh) was underwhelming, and only its hit single Walk Away, included on Tim's list, seems to be remembered much today. But album closer Live My Life Again, written by drummer Jim Fox and sung by Walsh, is a compelling tune that shows how well other acts were adapting to innovations from the Beatles (apropos later on when Walsh became Ringo Starr's brother-in-law). There's a little bit of Hey Jude-ism here with how everything stretches out at the end, but the song doesn't just follow that template. It subtly adds new elements each time the title phrase repeats, reaching a blissful climax. I love that kind of stuff and we'll see more of it later.

 
97. Without You -- Harry Nilsson (from Nilsson Schmilsson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dnUv3DUP4E

There were some ubiquitous-at-the-time soft pop megahits from 1971 that were left off Tim's and Bracie's lists. Most of them will be left off mine too. But I made an exception for this one. The main reason is Nilsson's vocal, which displays incredible range and touch. Though I have to imagine that this tune has been absolutely murdered at karaoke bars in subsequent years. 

 
Pip's Invitation said:
98. Life My Life Again -- James Gang (from Thirds)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af6t5Wg_1AI

After a second album (Rides Again) packed with winners, James Gang's third album (their last with Joe Walsh) was underwhelming, and only its hit single Walk Away, included on Tim's list, seems to be remembered much today. But album closer Live My Life Again, written by drummer Jim Fox and sung by Walsh, is a compelling tune that shows how well other acts were adapting to innovations from the Beatles (apropos later on when Walsh became Ringo Starr's brother-in-law). There's a little bit of Hey Jude-ism here with how everything stretches out at the end, but the song doesn't just follow that template. It subtly adds new elements each time the title phrase repeats, reaching a blissful climax. I love that kind of stuff and we'll see more of it later.
kinda missed out on the James Gang for sociological reasons. there was a period of about 3 yrs where righteous hippies were not allowed to hang with "beeries" - jocks, fratboys, rotsies, squares, who apparently were all identifiable by their swilling of suds - nor adopt any practices nor customs of these troglodytes. that extended to the music they listened to - Ten Years After, JGeils Band, Foghat, James Gang. some went so far as to backoff from Zep, Who (when Tommy hit big w beeries), Faces (post Maggie May) but you were grandfathered in if you dug em before their public shame. strange but true

97. Without You -- Harry Nilsson (from Nilsson Schmilsson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dnUv3DUP4E

There were some ubiquitous-at-the-time soft pop megahits from 1971 that were left off Tim's and Bracie's lists. Most of them will be left off mine too. But I made an exception for this one. The main reason is Nilsson's vocal, which displays incredible range and touch. Though I have to imagine that this tune has been absolutely murdered at karaoke bars in subsequent years. 
best pop song of the era, perhaps the best pop vocal of all time

 
Dumb sociological reasons to ignore subgenres of music existed well into my high school years of the late 80s. I didn’t listen to The Cure because their fans creeped me out. 

It’s what youth do. Or did back when they cared about music. 

 
97. Without You -- Harry Nilsson (from Nilsson Schmilsson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dnUv3DUP4E

There were some ubiquitous-at-the-time soft pop megahits from 1971 that were left off Tim's and Bracie's lists. Most of them will be left off mine too. But I made an exception for this one. The main reason is Nilsson's vocal, which displays incredible range and touch. Though I have to imagine that this tune has been absolutely murdered at karaoke bars in subsequent years. 
It's a great song and should probably be higher.

 
96a. Tomorrow Is a Long Time -- Bob Dylan (from Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHG06Q45ziI

96b. Tomorrow Is a Long Time -- Rod Stewart (from Every Picture Tells a Story)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfWCrELKrOo

Dylan wrote Tomorrow Is a Long Time in the early '60s, but its coming-out party really happened in 1971. Dylan finally gave his own version an official release, on Greatest Hits Vol. II. That compilation was the first album appearance for Dylan's versions of several of his songs that had been recorded by others; most of those were freshly recorded by Dylan in early 1971, but Tomorrow Is a Long Time was taken from a 1963 concert. And it also appeared on Rod Stewart's monumental Every Picture Tells a Story, most of the rest of which was picked clean by Tim and Bracie. (See also: Led Zeppelin IV, Sticky Fingers and Who's Next). 

Dylan's version shows someone at the peak of his abilities at writing in the Woody Guthrie style. Stewart's version fits snugly into the rustic vibe of Every Picture Tells a Story, adding country and bluegrass trappings and a slightly livelier tempo to the song, and also, given the talents involved, a better vocal. 

Dylan has said Elvis's cover of this song, recorded in 1966, is "the one recording I treasure most." 

 
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some went so far as to backoff from Zep, Who


This was me in the Northeast. I backed off of both Zep and The Who because of the hicks/jock hicks who predominated our school and fought at the sand dunes every weekend. I had never heard The Who and hated them because every burner had drawn that stupid

    W

T  H  E. 

     O

thing on his book cover. 

How far we come. 

 
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This was me in the Northeast. I backed off of both Zep and The Who because of the hicks/jock hicks who predominated our school and fought at the sand dunes every weekend. I had never heard The Who and hated them because every burner had draw that stupid

    W

T  H  E. 

     O

thing on his book cover. 

How far we come. 
I drew that thing, but I wasn't a hick or jock.  :eek:

 
95. Children of the Grave -- Black Sabbath (from Master of Reality)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR1nZLeQl1A

Black Sabbath's 1971 album Master of Reality is a huge influence not only on metal but on stoner rock, sludge rock and grunge. And it was completely ignored on Tim's and Bracie's list, so that will be rectified here. The album featured a much heavier, less forgiving sound than its two predecessors, necessitated by guitarist Tony Iommi having to change his playing style due to a finger injury. He downtuned his guitar to make playing less stressful on his fingers, and bassist Geezer Butler downtuned along with him. 

Children of the Grave, the album's single (!), continues the antiwar lyrics Butler penned on Paranoid songs including War Pigs, and features relentless riffing and guitar squeals that match Ozzy Osbourne's cadences. Bill Ward pounds the hell out of his kit, especially the bass drums. The whole thing is one glorious blood rush. 

 
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97. Without You -- Harry Nilsson (from Nilsson Schmilsson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dnUv3DUP4E

There were some ubiquitous-at-the-time soft pop megahits from 1971 that were left off Tim's and Bracie's lists. Most of them will be left off mine too. But I made an exception for this one. The main reason is Nilsson's vocal, which displays incredible range and touch. Though I have to imagine that this tune has been absolutely murdered at karaoke bars in subsequent years. 
Great song. And Mariah Carey did this song justice with her later remake.

 
95. Children of the Grave -- Black Sabbath (from Master of Reality)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR1nZLeQl1A

Black Sabbath's 1971 album Master of Reality is a huge influence not only on metal but on stoner rock, sludge rock and grunge. And it was completely ignored on Tim's and Bracie's list, so that will be rectified here. The album featured a much heavier, less forgiving sound than its two predecessors, necessitated by guitarist Tony Iommi having to change his playing style due to a finger injury. He downtuned his guitar to make playing less stressful on his fingers, and bassist Geezer Butler downtuned along with him. 

Children of the Grave, the album's single (!), continues the antiwar lyrics Butler penned on Paranoid songs including War Pigs, and features relentless riffing and guitar squeals that match Ozzy Osbourne's cadences. Bill Ward pounds the hell out of his kit, especially the bass drums. The whole thing is one glorious blood rush. 
One of the best openings by a band that made a living out of great openings.

ETA: regarding the bolded above, I do wonder if we'll hear that opening stoner cough later in the countdown. 

 
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This was me in the Northeast. I backed off of both Zep and The Who because of the hicks/jock hicks who predominated our school and fought at the sand dunes every weekend. I had never heard The Who and hated them because every burner had drawn that stupid

    W

T  H  E. 

     O

thing on his book cover. 

How far we come. 
I've never seen that logo before

 
94. The Back Seat of My Car -- Paul and Linda McCartney (from Ram)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKsgckliB84

93. Here Comes the Sun -- Richie Havens (from Alarm Clock)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBmQ3owYEJk

1971 was not the most active year for the former Beatles. George Harrison was basking in the success of the previous year's All Things Must Pass and spent much time organizing the Concert for Bangla Desh. Ringo Starr had released two albums in 1970 and only put out one single in '71 (the great It Don't Come Easy, which appeared on Tim's list.) John Lennon released Imagine, the best stuff from which was taken for Tim's and Bracie's lists. Paul McCartney (in collaboration with wife Linda) released Ram, which was also well represented on those lists. So there is not going to be a whole lot of Beatles presence on this list (@krista4will be dismayed by the prog/Beatles ratio), but here are two of the most memorable Beatles-related tracks from that year.

Ram is full of underappreciated (by the general public) gems, and The Back Seat of My Car is certainly one of those. For a while after the Abbey Road medley, Paul was fond of releasing songs that were really mini-suites. The Back Seat of My Car shifts back and forth between smooth piano balladry, lush orchestration and taut rocking, with lovely harmonies throughout. The ambitious, sweeping arrangements and teenage-love-story lyrics remind me of some of Bruce Springsteen's early work. I wonder if this was an inspiration for him. 

One of the most surprising top 20 hits of 1971 was folkie Richie Havens' cover of George's Here Comes the Sun, which recasts the song into something very different from what it was on Abbey Road. Instead of the blissed-out sweetness of the original, we are treated to a driving, percussive arrangement more suited to a late-night coffeehouse than an English garden. An almost raga-like intro takes up the first 1:20 of the track, and not until Havens starts singing do we even realize this is a Beatles song. It does what the best covers do, reinvent a song without compromising what made it great in the first place. This track may have been one of my very first exposures to the Beatles, as I remember Havens performing it on Sesame Street. 

 
92. Wind Up -- Jethro Tull (from Aqualung)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLd7BuiC5co

Aqualung's closer has some of the album's most heavy-handed lyrics (eg, "You can excommunicate me/On my way to Sunday School"), which is saying a lot, but also some of its best music. It progresses from an acoustic lament to a layered midtempo march before bursting into righteous riffage just after the 2-minute mark. And what better way to get impressionable young folk to reject organized religion than through electric guitar wizardry? 

 
91. Downtown -- Crazy Horse (from Crazy Horse)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3p3Uit5Rss

Here is our first case of "Neil minus Neil." Neil co-wrote this song about scoring heroin with Crazy Horse's Danny Whitten, a junkie whose habit would kill him in 1972. A live version from Neil's 1970 tour with Crazy Horse, retitled "Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown," was included on Neil's 1975 record Tonight's the Night, an extended musing on the bad vibes of the counterculture's drug scene and an elegy for Whitten and CSNY roadie Bruce Berry. I included it in my 1975 countdown. The studio version on the first Crazy Horse album without Neil is every bit as good. The record is full of gems and shows that we lost a major talent when Whitten died. In fact, despite its Neil connection, this is not even the best-known song from the album. We'll get to that later. 

 
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91. Downtown -- Crazy Horse (from Crazy Horse)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3p3Uit5Rss

Here is our first case of "Neil minus Neil." Neil co-wrote this song about scoring heroin with Crazy Horse's Danny Whitten, a junkie whose habit would kill him in 1972. A live version from Neil's 1970 tour with Crazy Horse, retitled "Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown," was included on Neil's 1975 record Tonight's the Night, an extended musing on the bad vibes of the counterculture's drug scene and an elegy for Whitten and CSNY roadie Bruce Berry. I included it in my 1975 countdown. The studio version on the first Crazy Horse album without Neil is every bit as good. The record is full of gems and shows that we lost a major talent when Whitten died. In fact, despite its Neil connection, this is not even the best-known song from the album. We'll get to that later. 
Great album - glad you mentioned that additional song will appear.

 
89. Do Yourself a Favor -- Stevie Wonder (from Where I'm Coming From)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oP-eF36hpY

88. Keep Playin' That Rock 'N Roll -- Edgar Winter's White Trash (from Edgar Winter's White Trash)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQoITChoAAI

Stevie Wonder had been bristling at Motown's heavy-handed ways since the late '60s and wanted more artistic control over his records. He achieved that after he let his old contract expire and signed a new one in 1972, but he showed what he was capable of on 1971's Where I'm Coming From, which had some aspects of his older records but on some tracks featured socially conscious lyrics and funkier grooves. The best example of this is Do Yourself a Favor, which would have fit in just fine on his golden-era records of 1972 to 1976. The thunderous bass and rollicking organ match the gravitas of the "educate yourself and get straight" message. 

Edgar Winter was one of many who paid attention. Inspired by Stevie, Marvin Gaye and others, he put together a hard-charging R&B outfit (called White Trash because, well, they were white) that put out a more than respectable album in 1971 that featured the minor hit Keep Playin' That Rock 'N Roll, which tells the story of Edgar's career up to that point set to an arrangement that bounces and stings. It's also notable because the people who wrote Old Time Rock 'N Roll for Bob Seger basically copied it but left out all the snap and energy. 

The other reason why I grouped these together is that Edgar Winter's White Trash released a ferocious cover of Do Yourself a Favor on their 1972 live album Roadwork: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYAQCf54Wec

 
90. Master of the Universe -- Hawkwind (from In Search of Space)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcWsq4RGXgk

The guitar and bass riffage on this one is momentous. Early Hawkwind had its toes in hard rock/metal and prog, and this song is considered one of the earliest examples of space rock. It both grinds and soars, which is not easy to do. 
And Lemmy joined the band the following year.

 
87. Fireball -- Deep Purple (from Fireball)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q88koeaqrEg

The hard-charging title track of Deep Purple's 1971 album provides a template for the ubiquitous rockers of the following year's Machine Head and is most notable for some phenomenal drumming by Ian Paice, including work on a double bass drum (which he normally didn't employ). 
Nice pull from one of the underappreciated albums of the classic Mark II lineup. Kind of got a bit lost in the shuffle after the mega-success of Machine Head, as you said. Paice is always fantastic, and Roger Glover, who doesn't get as much attention for his acumen as Paice, Blackmore and Lord do in general, really struts his stuff here on bass. 

 
85. Colorado -- The Flying Burrito Brothers (from The Flying Burrito Brothers)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPpnvNlywP8

The first two Burritos albums are legendary, but they weren't commercially successful at the time and the rest of the band grew tired of Gram Parsons' erratic behavior and fired him. For their third album, they replaced Parsons with the then-unknown Rick Roberts (later the leader of Firefall) and produced an album with a more conventional country-rock sound than the first two. The standout from the album (which was also not commercially successful) is Roberts' gorgeous, yearning Colorado, covered 3 years later by Linda Ronstadt

 
I can see why you stuck to the idea of doing this. unburdened by the 200 "greatest" tunes of 1971 is allowing you to really reflect what music's greatest year was all about - the weekly, often daily, gift of releases that one could totally wear out, screw the genre. goodonya - 

 
I can see why you stuck to the idea of doing this. unburdened by the 200 "greatest" tunes of 1971 is allowing you to really reflect what music's greatest year was all about - the weekly, often daily, gift of releases that one could totally wear out, screw the genre. goodonya - 
Indeed, the opportunity to spotlight some songs that really deserve attention 51 years later was a big reason why I did this.

And also because the omission of #1 from the other two lists was egregiously egregious.

 
86. Mud Slide Slim -- James Taylor (from Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPOdspUHKms

One of the better examples of the mellow singer-songwriter thing that was big in '71. Features impeccable acoustic guitar work by Taylor and an indelible melody similar to those written by Taylor's friend Carole King, who plays piano on the track. 


was one of the first albums I ever bought - and the entire thing is awesome.

 
84. Future Games -- Fleetwood Mac (from Future Games)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL6PWUq1vqA

By 1971, just four years after their founding, only Mick Fleetwood and John McVie remained from the original lineup (which still remains the case today). The Future Games album was the first move in their evolution from the blues-based sound crafted by founder Peter Green toward the pop sound that would make them megastars four years later. It was the first to feature singer/guitarist Bob Welch, an American who was living in Paris and was introduced to the band by a mutual friend. Welch made a huge impact right away, contributing the 8-minute title track that's part trippy, part proggy, part mellow, part guitar showcase and all spectacular. 

 
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84. Future Games -- Fleetwood Mac (from Future Games)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL6PWUq1vqA

By 1971, just four years after their founding, only Mick Fleetwood and John McVie remained from the original lineup (which still remains the case today). The Future Games album was the first move in their evolution from the blues-based sound crafted by founder Peter Green toward the pop sound that would make them megastars four years later. It was the first to feature singer/guitarist Bob Welch, an American who was living in Paris and was introduced to the band by a mutual friend. Welsh made a huge impact right away, contributing the 8-minute title track that's part trippy, part proggy, part mellow, part guitar showcase and all spectacular. 
Big fan of the BW version of Mac. This and Hypnotized neck and neck for favorite song

 
83. Surrender -- Diana Ross (from Surrender)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAER_40udiY

82. Nathan Jones -- The Supremes (from Touch)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yOYiwn8RXE

Diana Ross and The Supremes were no longer paired together in 1971, but these songs showed they were doing just fine. Surrender has fantastic dynamics and shows off Ross's range exquisitely. The Supremes were now fronted by Jean Terrell, but on the Nathan Jones single, Terrell, Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong all sang together with great harmony and emotion about a guy that ditched the narrator more than a year ago. 

 

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