20 pop classics from the 1970s that should not be called soft-rock

“Brandy” by Looking Glass (1972)

“Brandy” was the first pop song I ever memorized. Ask anyone old enough to remember when it came out and they can probably still sing most of it. It’s a “girl in every port” song from the girl’s POV. Or rather, a boy’s idealization of the fact that his girls in every port always “do their best to understand” why he prefers wandering to her. Perhaps an updated version might pick up the story a week later when another sailor arrives with more of the finest silver for Brandy. Perhaps Brandy saves up enough to buy the bar she works in and …

OK – getting ahead of myself. This was the ‘70s and Brandy just did her best to understand. Besides, I probably shouldn’t be rewriting such pop-rock perfection. I know nothing else about Looking Glass other than seeing original singer/writer Elliot Lurie sing “Brandy” via Zoom with a bunch of younger musicians during COVID and thinking it was very cool. And if nothing else, “Brandy” ended the seemingly endless run that Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally)” had at number one in the Summer of ’72. For that, I am grateful.

“Doctor My Eyes” by Jackson Browne (1972)

Jackson Browne would get pretty big by the end of the decade. Beginning with The Pretender in 1976, he would release four straight top-ten albums. As much as I hate to be one of those guys who says “I prefer his early stuff,” when it comes to Browne, I prefer his early stuff. “Rock Me on the Water,” “Redneck Friend,” “Ready or Not,” and his take on the Eagles’ “Take It Easy” (which Browne co-wrote) are all excellent early ‘70s tunes.

I’m not sure he ever did a song better than “Doctor My Eyes,” which was his first single. It came out of nowhere and hit the top ten, one of just two Browne singles to manage that. (1982’s “Somebody’s Baby,” from the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High, was the other.) “Doctor My Eyes” is a classic soft pop concept. It discusses romantic catastrophes while dressed up in an upbeat tune.

Two-thirds of Crosby, Stills, and Nash provide harmony (the two who could really sing harmony – no offense to Stephen Stills). He has session players supreme Russ Kunkel and Leland Sklar supplying the rhythm. Guitarist Jesse Ed Davis adds a little bit more rock & roll to the mix without detracting from the song’s melodic pop.