Personally, I rated the 1970s highly for music. Perhaps that's because it was my teenage years and music was a huge part of growing up. I think we also saw music itself grow and develop enormously during the decade.
There was so much variation and some amazing records. From heady hippy emerging from the 1960s, through hot and sweaty rock and blues, mix in some prog rock, glam and glitter, and then throw it all back out again as punk rock raged in. There was more than one new wave in all of that.
Some bands shot to brief fame before breaking up, friendly or otherwise, or after the sad demise of a key member. Like many others, Cream, Faces, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Doors, and the Sex Pistols all came and went in relatively short terms. Usually leaving great music, many memories, and in some instances a fair amount of chaos behind them.
Underrated or forgotten 1970s albums
There were plenty of bands that stayed the course and lasted for a good many years. Let's not forget that we've just had a new album from The Rolling Stones. They're still rocking on after hitting the big time first in the 1960s. Although they did have some forgettable albums occasionally along the way.
Among the huge names, the bands and artists still going and those who have long since gone, there were plenty of great albums. And quite a few that now seem underrated. Those may not have had the credit they deserve or may have been forgotten. They maybe aren't the usual go to albums to listen to from the artist's back catalogue. Or other albums from the same artists have overshadowed them completely by comparison.
Here are five absolute gems of underrated albums across a range of genres.
Dire Straits - Communique
Dire Straits' debut self-titled album was huge. It was a slow burner at first, but after their single “Sultans Of Swing” was a hit, success for the album followed quickly. It paved the way for the band to become one of the world's biggest acts and many more hits.
In comparison to that debut album and later hits like Brothers In Arms the band's second release, Communique, often sits quietly in the background. It was released on June 5, 1979, just a year after their first. Notably, it was the last Dire Straits album to feature Mark Knopfler’s brother David after arguments between the pair.
I recall it seemed a quiet and low-key release, it almost seemed to just appear on the shelves. Slick tracks, that distinctive guitar style, and slightly snarled vocals. It was perhaps slightly less raw and somewhat smoother and more polished in its sound than their debut disc.
“Lady Writer” was the only single, it follows on well from “Sultans Of Swing”. “Once Upon A Time In The West” and “Where Do You Think You’re Going” also have a similar style and atmosphere to the previous album. No bad thing!
Others slightly break new ground in places. “Portobello Belle”, for example, is another great song that also seems to signpost the way forward. Its style leans heavily towards the third album, Making Movies.
Perhaps a real bonus and unexpected pleasure from playing the album is that it's refreshing to hear Dire Straits in top form, but not on the usual overplayed tracks. If that appeals, then give this excellent album a play.
Genesis - Trick Of The Tail
Now for a bit of prog rock. This album came out at a very significant transition point for Genesis. They had just lost Peter Gabriel as their lead singer and frontman. His theatrical style on stage and vocals were a key part of the band's style and reputation so far.
It was going to be a huge challenge to replace him. And it didn't go well, auditions came and went unsuccessfully, until someone thought about giving their drummer a try. Phil Collins was persuaded to sing and both his and Genesis’s future changed dramatically.
Trick Of The Tail was released in February 1976 with Collins on vocals. It was still very much a Genesis album, with intricate guitars, quirky lyrics, great songs, and all the usual hallmarks, but without Gabriel. Many of the songs played to the band's remaining strengths. Others were written specifically with Collins' singing style in mind.
Collins also brought some of his love for jazz and drumming into the closing track “Los Endos”, an instrumental co-written by all of the band. The beautiful and intricate “Ripples” along with Collins in chirpy Cockney burglar style on “Robbery, Assault and Battery” are personal favourites on the album.
Trick Of The Tail was awarded gold discs in both the UK and US and was successful in its own right. Genesis continued to evolve over the years. Collins also had an enormously successful solo career alongside the band. It could all have been so different had the album fallen flat.
It does get overlooked now and perhaps its significance is forgotten. Later and bigger hits, or perhaps earlier Gabriel led albums, take the spotlight more. Which is a shame for such a pivotal album in the band's history.
Boomtown Rats - Tonic For The Troops
Is it punk? Rock and roll? New wave? Tonic For The Troops was a blast whatever it was labelled as. Perhaps some of the questions come from the diversity of the tracks on there. For sure it’s a broad mix of some fantastic tunes.
The Rats stormed the UK charts in 1977. Riding the punk wave they grabbed our attention and made us listen. A ploy that Bob Geldof kept using. Tonic For The Troops was their second album, released in June 1978. The critics were mixed in their reviews and the album only reached number eight on the UK charts and barely registered at 112 on the US Billboard 200. That’s definitely underrated in my view given the step up this album made from their first record.
We were all still ready for fast-paced punk, but the album gave us much more than that. “She’s So Modern”, the first single from the album, gave us that frenzy and pace in absolute bucket loads. Follow-up singles “Like Clockwork” and then “Rat Trap” had something different. Especially “Rat Trap” with its underlying story of life on the streets, a sax solo, and great keyboards from pyjama-wearing Johnny Fingers. It had much greater musicality than a typical chord thrash punk song.
Other tracks showed the band and Geldof’s (as the main songwriter) musical growth. The quirky fun track "(I Never Loved) Eva Braun", about Hitler’s relationship with his wife contrasts with the suicide topic of “Living On An Island”. An acerbic and punchy “Don’t Believe What You Read” could have been Geldof forecasting his future life.
The whole album is buzzing with variety and adds some polish to the rawness of their debut album. It's another gem you should play soon.
Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece
This album is a bit like a trade secret. Van Morrison aficionados will know it well and now regard it very highly. Almost everyone else will know little about it and wonder what a veedon is.
The album didn't produce any singles or big hits. Nor was it well received when it was released in October 1974. This was his eighth studio album with much better-known releases Astral Weeks and Moondance well behind him at this point.
To set the scene further, Morrison had just got divorced and was spending some time in Ireland taking a break after intensive touring. Inspired by his time there he wrote most of the album in around three weeks.
Morrison has many musical styles throughout his extensive career. His early days with Them and their hit “Gloria” is often described as garage rock. He's had RnB spells, plus folk, gospel, soul, rock and roll, jazz, big band and blues, amongst others, all followed on. Morrison spent most of 2023 touring his Moving On Skiffle album.
Veedon Fleece drew from his spell in Ireland. The album has an Irish tone to it, mystical and Celtic in style, lighter and acoustic-based. Many fans reckon that lyrically it follows on well from Astral Weeks. The songs themselves may not be well known by most, so I won't cover many of their details here. You can get a great feel of the album from “Comfort You” below.
Enough to say that over time the album has gathered increasing respect, perhaps those early critics were too harsh. This means if you like his music then here's a whole ‘new to you’ album of Van the Man at one of his many peaks. Oh, and by the way, about the title Veedon Fleece. Morrison himself has said he has no idea what it means, it's just something he made up,
Gallagher and Lyle - Breakaway
Some of you reading this will wonder who Gallagher and Lyle are. But you will likely know several of this album's songs. And if you do happen to remember this pairing of singers and songwriters and this excellent album of songs, you’ll do so with warm memories.
Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle are the duo behind the album. They first came to prominence back in 1968 when they were signed by The Beatles to Apple Music to write songs. That led to them being original members of McGuinness Flint, co-writing the band's 1970 hit “When I’m Dead And Gone”. They've also jointly or individually performed with and written for an extensive list of stars. Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood, and Ronnie Lane are just some of those who regard the pair highly.
The album Breakaway came out in 1975 and was a regular play for me. I still have a rather worn out cassette tape of it. It did reasonably well in the UK briefly reaching number six in the charts. The pair also had several hit singles in the UK from Breakaway. “I Wanna Stay With You” and “Heart On My Sleeve” also made it to the US charts.
Gallagher and Lyle’s strength lay in their ability to craft great songs. Aside from those hits above, the album’s title track “Breakaway” was also a huge worldwide hit for Art Garfunkel. Don Williams took another of their songs from Breakaway, “Stay Young”, to the top of the US country music charts in 1983.
The remainder of the album continues in a similar vein with great songs, soft acoustics, and harmonising vocals in an easygoing style. The album doesn't get too many mentions these days. That's a travesty, any album that has so many hit songs on it as Breakaway deserves more recognition.