Record Collecting: 1971 (other notable records)
The contenders (quite a few), the bubble, and your inclusions
I’m building my dream record collection. 30 albums from each year between 1960 and 2020. Five albums per post, one year per month, a round-up of other notable records before I move on to the next. I want to build a personal music collection like a small library of modern art, one in which the album is the medium. You can read my complete thinking here, including links to other entries. No one’s musical knowledge is complete, and neither is mine. Please point out my massive gaps in the comment section!
The year is 1971. The Fillmore East and the Fillmore West close as big name acts head to arenas and stadiums instead of mid-sized theaters. The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour premiers, while CBS purges all of their country-adjacent shows to appeal to more urban and suburban audiences. Queen performs their first public concert. The first Glastonbury Festival takes place on the summer solstice, and the Concert for Bangladesh happens at Madison Square Garden. Lancelot Layne births rapso music. Jesus Christ Superstar opens on Broadway. Jim Morrison is found dead in a bathtub; Duane Allman dies in a motorcycle accident; King Curtis is stabbed to death outside his apartment; and Igor Stravinsky passes. Deep Purple, from across Lake Geneva, watch as the Montreux Casino catches fire and burns during a Frank Zappa concert; the experience inspires “Smoke on the Water.”
See all of the 1970s selections
See all selections listed by artist
1971
Other notable records
Listed alphabetically by album title
The Contenders
the final cuts to the 30 selections
The Pharaohs - The Awakening (Scarab)
Great set of jazz- and avant-garde-informed funk tunes from one hell of a collection of Chicago players, including five different dudes playing percussion. Schooled at Philip Cohran’s Afro-Arts Theater and soon-to-be picked off by Maurice White to form Earth, Wind & Fire, The Pharaohs give Funkadelic a run for their money as the best experimental funk band of their day.
Caetano Veloso - Caetano Veloso (Philips / Famous)
The artist in exile. Veloso, in London, desperately missing his friends, family, and homeland (not to mention, if the album cover is to be believed, the weather) of Brazil. Even Veloso calls it “a document of depression.” Sung mainly in English with his lovely croon, acoustic guitar-led laments, folksy and downcast, strings adding a bit of non-blue colors. Not a top-tier Veloso album, but for an artist this high of caliber, that is still extremely good.
Cluster - Cluster (Philips)
The debut of Cluster spelled with a ‘c’ (aka Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius minus Conrad Schnitzler). It buzzes and whirrs and clicks and whines. Machines making music. More precisely, instruments (organ, cello, Hawaiian guitar) treated with electronic manipulators. An early look at the horizons of experimental electronic and ambient music.
Curtis Mayfield - Curtis / Live! (Curtom)
Between his first two sensational solo albums, Mayfield releases a live set from early ‘71 at The Bitter End. Count yourself lucky if you are one of the 200 or so folks in the house that night. Mayfield and a small band present new versions of Impressions tunes—now slinkier and funkier and sexier, even as they retain their political immediacy—alongside new and solo cuts. Great sound, musically and technically.
George Russell - Electronic Sounds for Souls Loved by Nature (Flying Dutchman)
Russell, always the deep thinker, is an early experimenter with fusion. Recorded live in 1969 outside of Oslo, Russell and a handful of others (including saxophonist Jan Garbarek) react to tape projections of myriad styles, from West African to electronic noise. Jazz experiments with funk, blues, samba, rock, and even a passage about 13 minutes into the first side that sounds like something Tim Hecker would produce. Super-interesting and forward-thinking.
Speed, Glue & Shinki - Eve (Atlantic)
Both a curiosity and a rip-roaring good time. Underneath the Japanese division of Atlantic, producer Ikuzo Orita brings together psych-rock guitarist Shinki Chen with Japanese-American bassist Masayoshi Kabe and Filipino-American drummer/singer Joey Smith (both taking on nicknames based on their drugs-of-choice, i.e. “speed” and “glue”). It is id-rock at its purest, somewhere between acid and proto-metal, topped with Smith’s super-silly lyrics. Very fun, very dumb (in a good way).
Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells a Story (Mercury)
Stewart fulfills his massive potential, successfully blending what he does best: rasp, saunter, plead, romance, and electrify. And it is all atop rollicking roots rock, equal parts folk, blues, and hard-pummeling rock & roll. If that isn’t enough, then there is “Maggie May,” wistful and ornate, sexy and earnest, Rod Stewart at his storytelling best.
Faust - Faust (Polydor)
The legend of Faust begins. It is like one of those art pieces where you are never quite sure if the joke is on the folks that get it or the ones that don’t. Early Krautrock with tape loops, effects, and musique concrète. Just as important, it is packaged on clear vinyl, in a clear sleeve, with liner notes written in red on clear plastic. An excellent extension of the sonic experiments into the physical.
The Chi-Lites - (For God’s Sake) Give More Power to the People (Brunswick)
“I’m gonna give you a five pound box of love / With a million dollar bill on top / Diamonds on every corner / And a big black pearl for a lock.” I dare you to not be swooned by Chicago’s finest smooth-soul vocalists. The quartet go political for the first time, obviously influenced by their citymate Curtis Mayfield, but the real highlight here is “Have You Seen Her?”, co-written by the great Barbara Acklin.
Mickey Newbury - ‘Frisco Mabel Joy (Elektra)
Country singer/songwriter Newbury gets deep in his feelings, interestingly draping his slight twang in keyboard washes and reverb. The mood-setting is as important as the lyrics. It is an intriguing set of progressive country, lovingly produced and all sorts of dramatic.
Marcos Valle - Garra (Odeon)
Irresistible set of clever Brazilian pop. The longtime singer/songwriter and producer harnesses the MPB movement, bridging to the bossa nova world, while layering in elements of sophisticated soul and easy-listening bop. Just when you think Garra is going to layer on cheese, he hits you with a tasty vocal scat or innovative hook (“Minha Voz Virá Do Sol Da América” notwithstanding).
Al Green - Gets Next to You (Hi)
Green and producer Willie Mitchell figure out the formula: Green in all of his rose-in-the-teeth, sweet soul crooning; the unadorned southern R&B of the Hi Rhythm Section slowed down to a saunter; and suggested sex. Suggested, because Green is a wholesome guy (see: rose-in-the-teeth, whatever that outfit is on the album cover), even if tempering this attraction is going to take a firehose of ice water. Thus the power of Al Green.
Merle Haggard & the Strangers - Hag (Capitol)
Haggard sings his concern for the state of the union on Hag, his Bakersfield sound country doused in pessimism: “Like the ancient Roman Empire / This world is doomed to fall.” Despite the attitude though, Haggard’s voice sounds good and his writing is as sharp as always. The Strangers, similarly, are in top form, especially when they do get the opportunity to move a bit faster.
Harlem River Drive - Harlem River Drive (Roulette)
A near-psychedelic Latin soul classic from the Palmieri brothers. It is political and funky, taking a Spanish Harlem sound and stretching it out in all sorts of interesting manners. It boogies as much as it explores, with Bernard Purdie’s drumming forming a throughline to keep you bopping from start to finish.
Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson (Philips)
One wonders if Gainsbourg’s most celebrated record would work just as well—or even better—without his vocals, which are uncomfortably close mic’d and… let’s say sweaty. Does Jean-Claude Vannier’s incredible arrangements, driven by bass and drums, sound just as good without Jane Birkin playing an underage ingénue, giggles and all? Maybe, but perhaps the implied salaciousness of it all, even through the story’s tragic ending, is the entire point.
Tom T. Hall - In Search of a Song (Mercury)
A songwriter who knows how to masterfully tell a story: see “Harper Valley P.T.A.” Here, Hall performs his own songs, a set of affecting country-folk with narratives that fully keep your full attention. For inspiration, he supposedly would just drive around backroads and talk to folks to hear their stories. Based on this record, I totally believe it.
Doug Carn - Infant Eyes (Black Jazz)
The melding of spiritual soul music and modal jazz (or, if you prefer, progressive soul and spiritual jazz) has a storied history, and Infant Eyes is one of its main progenitors. Composer and keyboardist Carn reworks cerebral pieces by John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver, and Bobby Hutcherson, and then shares the spotlight with his spouse, vocalist Jean Carn. Adventurous and compelling.
Herbie Hancock - Mwandishi (Warner Bros.)
Hancock’s Mwandishi sextet debuts. Three lengthy tracks, Hancock expanding on the fusion ideas he is simultaneously exploring with Miles Davis. The compositions are much spacier than anything before under Hancock’s name—with deft use of a Fender Rhodes patched with effects—but retain the intellectualism and creativity for which he is well regarded. Much to get lost in.
Janis Joplin - Pearl (Columbia)
Released posthumously following Joplin’s much-too-early death, Pearl finds the iconic blues-rock vocalist fronting the Full Tilt Boogie Band. It’s a painful listen with so much obvious potential never realized. More refined than her material with Big Brother & the Holding Company, but still imbued with Joplin’s unrestrainable energy.
Roy Harper - Stormcock (Harvest)
Is prog-folk a thing? If so, Stormcock is its epitome. Four lengthy songs, epic in their arrangements, led by acoustic guitars and a country-blues sort of style, treated with uber-slow, flanging-like effects and other painterly enhancements. Bert Jansch meets Pink Floyd meets Leo Kottke. Captivating and often mesmerizing.
The Stylistics - The Stylistics (Avco)
Thom Bell, Linda Creed, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and the sweet, sweet sound of Russell Tompkins, Jr.’s falsetto and the Stylistics’ harmonies. As soon as the french horn hits on “You are Everything,” we are peak Philly soul. If you can’t swoon to this, you may not have a heartbeat.
Miles Davis - Jack Johnson (Original Soundtrack) / A Tribute to Jack Johnson (Columbia)
Two 25-minute pieces of exploratory jazz-rock, equal parts fiery and inventive, blowing away all of the other competition in the hybrid genre. As normal by this time, producer Teo Macero stitches together sessions to form suites, Davis finding angles to insert his knotty solos into fascinating electric guitar work from John McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock. Eccentric and compelling throughout. Original cover is from the documentary that inspires the soundtrack; subsequent ones have the arched Davis.
Willie Nelson - Yesterday’s Wine (RCA Victor)
Nelson is inching toward the full realization of his musical persona. He begins experimenting with concept albums here, soundtracked with his dry, only-what’s-needed progressive country. The instrumentation, while played perfectly well, is beside the point. Instead, it is story—overarching, poetic, catchy, and penetrating—that is Nelson’s superpower.
The Bubble
other records that rose above the crowd
John Hartford - Aereo-Plain (Warner Bros.) progressive bluegrass
Jethro Tull - Aqualung (Reprise) album rock
Larry Coryell - Barefoot Boy (Flying Dutchman) jazz-rock
George Benson - Beyond the Blue Horizon (CTI) soul jazz
John Martyn - Bless the Weather (Island) progressive British folk
Bonnie Raitt - Bonnie Raitt (Warner Bros.) blues-rock
Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express - Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express (RCA Victor) jazz-rock
Various Artists - The Concert for Bangla Desh (Apple) album rock
Crazy Horse - Crazy Horse (Reprise) country-rock
Blues Creation - Demon & Eleven Children (Denon) hard rock
Earth, Wind & Fire - Earth, Wind & Fire (Warner Bros.) soul-funk
Hamza El Din - Escalay: The Water Wheel (Nonesuch) Egyptian folk
Yoko Ono - Fly (Apple) experimental rock
Anthony Braxton - For Alto (Delmark) avant-garde jazz
Yes - Fragile (Atlantic) prog-rock
Shuggie Otis - Freedom Flight (Epic) psychedelic soul
Melanie - Gather Me (Neighborhood) folk-pop
Laura Nyro / Labelle - Gonna Take a Miracle (Columbia) soul
Eugene McDaniels - Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse (Atlantic) psychedelic soul
Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers - Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers (Alligator) electric Chicago blues
David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name (Atlantic) contemporary pop-rock
Iain Matthews - If You Saw Thro’ My Eyes (Vertigo) British folk-rock
John Lennon - Imagine (Apple) contemporary pop-rock
Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame (Columbia) fusion
Bill Withers - Just As I Am (Sussex) singer/songwriter
Happy End - Kazemachi Roman (URC) Japanese pop-rock
Alice Cooper - Killer (Warner Bros.) hard rock
Link Wray - Link Wray (Polydor) country-rock
Lee Morgan - Live at the Lighthouse (Blue Note) modal jazz
B.B. King - Live in Cook County Jail (ABC) electric blues
Miles Davis - Live-Evil (Columbia) fusion
Charles Earland - Living Black! (Prestige) soul jazz
John Stewart - Lonesome Picker Rides Again (Warner Bros.) folk-rock
Alice Cooper - Love it to Death (Warner Bros.) hard rock
Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (Island) album rock
Pink Floyd - Meddle (Harvest) art rock
Delaney & Bonnie - Motel Shot (ATCO) roots rock
The Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies (RCA Victor) cabaret Americana
Joe McPhee - Nation Time (CjRecord Productions) avant-garde jazz
Earth, Wind & Fire - The Need of Love (Warner Bros.) psychedelic funk
New Riders of Purple Sage - New Riders of Purple Sage (Columbia) country-rock
Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson (RCA Victor) contemporary pop-rock
Faces - A Nod is as Good as a Wink… to a Blind Horse (Warner Bros.) album rock
Art Ensemble of Chicago - Phase One (America) free jazz
Michel Polnareff - Polnareff’s (Disc’Az) psychedelic pop
Pete Seeger - Rainbow Race (Columbia) folk revival
Paul & Linda McCartney - Ram (Apple) contemporary pop-rock
Alan Stivell - Renaissance of the Celtic Harp (Philips) Celtic folk
Sir Douglas Quintet - The Return of Doug Saldana (Philips) country-rock
Todd Rundgren - Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren (Bearsville) contemporary pop-rock
Reuben Wilson - Set Us Free (Blue Note) soul jazz
Isaac Hayes - Shaft (Enterprise) soul-funk
Calvin Keys - Shawn Neeq (Black Jazz) jazz-funk
Johnny Paycheck - She’s All I Got (Epic) country-rock
Brinsley Schwarz - Silver Pistol (United Artists) pub rock
Merle Haggard - Someday We’ll Look Back (Capitol) Bakersfield sound country
Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate (Columbia) singer/songwriter
Johnny Shines - Standing at the Crossroads (Testament) Delta blues
Stanley Turrentine - Sugar (CTI) soul jazz
The Beach Boys - Surf’s Up (Reprise / Brother) contemporary pop-rock
Amon Düül II - Tanz der Lemminge (United Artists) art rock
Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat (A&M) contemporary pop-rock
Flamin’ Groovies - Teenage Head (Kama Sutra) rock & roll
The Last Poets - This is Madness (Douglas) proto-rap
Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey (Warner Bros.) contemporary pop-rock
Alice Coltrane - Universal Consciousness (Impulse! / ABC) avant-garde jazz
The Dramatics - Whatcha See is Whatcha Get (Volt) soul
Stevie Wonder - Where I’m Coming From (Tamla) soul-pop
George Jones - With Love (Musicor) country-pop
Tonto’s Expanding Head Band - Zero Time (Embryo) experimental electronic
The Crowd
your inclusions that I sorely overlooked, updated as suggestions come in
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