What about the 40's? I can't choose a favorite between the 50's, 60's and 70's. They're all tied for me. Too much great stuff in each of those decades. I can't even choose between 60's and 70's Dylan. Some great punk in the 80's and some truly bad stuff that I still love out of pure nostalgia, but I can't put the 80's in the same category with all the great stuff that came before. I couldn't care less about anything from the 90's or the 00's outside of my favorite Houston bands and a few rare exceptions like the Silver Jews.
Batman, have you ever caught Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks? Here's a link to his website... check it out. http://www.danhicks.net/body.htm
Umm, I'm not sure if your mentioning this in response to my post indicates that you think this is what I'm doing. I don't even really know what consitutes a 'mainstream act' from the 70s. Unless you mean Big Star, Wire, the Damned, Television, tons of Stax stuff... There's plenty to recommend the 80s - hell, London Calling is pretty much enough to make the decade - but to think it surpasses the 70s is a real stretch I think. Deckard, you piss me off. The only act I've seen on your list that you have not (and you've seen a zillion that I have not) is Elvis. EP 73! Take that! Ha! What was the deal when you saw Marc Bolan? Was he in full-on bang a gong mode, or was he acoustic with Mickey or what?
I have not. Name's kind of dorky but that doesn't mean much. I went to the site and saw he had Jack Elliot opening for him. That's pretty cool. Ever see the Jack Elliot documentary his daughter made, by the way? It was great. What should I be looking for on the site? What made you think I should check it out?
Right on, as usual. Hard to argue against a decade that gave us Carl Perkins and "Kind of Blue." The poll needs to be amended. DanHiggs, just bought a Box Tops today, add them to yr wonderful list of 60's bands.
I like the Box Tops just fine, however their vocalist, Alex Chilton, formed an even better band in the 70's called Big Star. They are perhaps the greatest power pop band ever, and I highly suggest that everyone pick up a CD that contains their first two albums--#1 Record and Radio City. Imagine The Beatles mixed with 70's southern rock. They are one of my faorite bands of all time.
That said, I voted for the 70s. So dynamic, so all over the place. Hard to argue with 1977, in spite of Fleetwood Mac.
By the way, if you've ever heard the theme song to That 70's SHow, it's Cheap Trick covering a Big Star song. Not one of their best songs, but it gives you a idea of what they sound like.
I'm 23 now, and I don't think I would have made it past 17 without Big Star. I covered "O, My Soul" last night and I'm going to try and pull it off again tomorrow night.
And I'd like to recommend highly a few of his solo records. Don't buy them if you love Big Star (which I do). Buy them if you like weird-ass southern soul. Quirky but unblemished by the pockmarks of the normal world. I commend A Man Called Destruction, Cliches and Set particularly. If you like those, venture further afield. If it's even remotely convenient for you to go see Alex live, GO.
nyrocket, Marc did a tour with Steve Took for "Unicorn" in '69 and another with Mickey Finn for "A Beard of Stars" in 1970. I caught one of them, but can't remember which. I have a buddy in Houston that would remember and if I think of it, I'll ask him. This was when the band was basically a duo. Some people weren't crazy for the early stuff, but I loved it. I saw them again in '71 when they toured and "The Best of T. Rex" was out and they were playing songs from the unreleased "Electric Warrior" ("Get It On/Bang A Gong", etc.) and earlier stuff like "Ride a White Swan". This tour was "full-on bang a gong" mode, for sure. Batman, I have always loved Dan Hick's music. It's very hard for me to catagorize... some of it reminds me of jazzy stuff from the '30's and '40's. (of which I'm no expert at all... just a vibe) The first four albums are all good. Kind of a "best of", with studio and excellent live stuff is Return to Hicksville, if you're interested. And Dan is no hick and it ain't country. He just has a great sense of humor. If you have a record store where you're at that lets you listen to stuff before you buy it (like Waterloo Records here in Austin), then check him out. He just popped into my head when I saw you mention the '40's. (wow, just saw I hit 5000... I post too much)
the 80's baby...MIKE CLINK produced one of the all-time great hard rock albums. Appetite for DESTRUCTION.
Just moved to this town a few months back, so, by myself. My Martin and my voice. My set lists are nuts, none of these kids know the original versions of the songs I'm playing, so I'm getting gig invites left and right. Try to find "Live In London" by AC. Amazing ...
Earlier I picked the 60s...but after reading more of this thread I realized my bias-ness excluded some of the great music of 70's. I literally turned off the radio when disco came out. So I tend to associate Disco with the 70's. BUT, if we're talking about a time frame, 65-75 would do it for me. I lived, sweat and rocked hard back then. My Gibson was permanently attached to my body and the Marshall tethered to my waist.
The music in the 60’s was the best by far. In no other era did you have so many different great bands. Also, a lot of different great styles of music originated in that era: Motown, the British Invasion, Surfin music. Some styles of music peaked in that era. Jazz has never been the same since John Coltrane and Miles Davis played their best stuff in the 60’s. Folk and Soul music peaked in that era also. There have been great bands from different eras: Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, RHCP, Pink Floyd. However, there has never been a band in any era but in the 60’s that had such an impact on the charts that the Beatles had. Every week the Beatles would have 2 or 3 songs on the top 10. Whether you like them or not, you must agree that no other band has made such an impact on the music scene. In no other era did music reflect the culture more than in the 60’s. From protest song of the Woodstock / Haight-Ashbury crowd, to Soul music which moved the Civil Rights crowd. I can’t think of any other era that had so many different styles of great music.
Sixties all the way. Too much amazing music, too many great bads, too much innovation to overlook. Yeah, there was some great music in the seventies, but there was a lot of absolute cr*p too. The punk explosion in 75-76 happened for a reason. It is a shame the fifties is missed off though. Chuck Berry is one of my favourite artists.
