Ten stone cold 1970s bangers that time has forgotten
By Jonathan Eig
“SHE’S A DANCER” – Crack the Sky (1975)
Crack the Sky’s debut album established a small, loyal cult that follows them to this day. Amongst all the songs on it, “She’s a Dancer” inspires the fiercest debate. I will now qualify my opening statement – which I said required no qualifier – to say that if you are among the prog rock fans who only allow for certain styles of experimentation within your prog universe, maybe the slightly funky, not-exactly-disco-but-still-dancey vibe of “She’s Dancer” might not be your particular latte of choice.
It has a jagged rhythm and melody that shimmers through some spacey passages before finishing with some wailing saxes that seem to emerge from nowhere. The late great David Sanborn, who passed away this past May, is one of the guest horns, along with brothers Michael and Randy Brecker. If you bother to listen to John Palumbo’s words, you’ll find a cleverly constructed little story that plays as a prog/jazz/dance bridge between “Lola” by the Kinks and Squirrel Nut Zippers “Danny Diamond.”
“PANIC IN THE WORLD” – Be Bop Deluxe (1978)
Be Bop Deluxe was probably ahead of its time. Had they showed up a decade later, they might have been at the forefront of 1990s Britpop. As it was, they were a band who explored new electronic sounds and song structures, sometimes to the dismay of their early fans. Many of those fans thought a song like “Panic in the World” was a sign of the band selling out to the market forces of New Wave. It was the first single on their final album.
Listening with the benefit of almost fifty years of hindsight, it seems clear that William Nelson and company were covering the same ground as David Byrne and the Talking Heads, and was doing it very well. “Panic…” begins as a throwback to sixties garage rock, but the synths quickly propel it into the future.
Nelson’s voice, which was criticized at the time for sounding cold and mechanized, today sounds like a standard New Wave professional. What you end up with is one of the best New Wave rockers of the late seventies. Nelson bounced around between bands and solo projects after BBD disbanded, continually exploring new sounds.