# Rock albums that define the 1970s **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 14, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078 "2024-01-14T18:22:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/81 "2024-01-16T06:24:49Z")
You just dump the guy who’s tired of touring and reform. Then you get to have a reunion tour before the next farewell tour. You know how they say that eventually every molecule in your body is exchanged during your life? Old rock bands are like that. If they hang in there long enough, sometimes an old member cycles back in again, making them more ‘legit’. If they really hang in there. their kids can take their place when they go. Like Glenn Frey’s kid. A classic rock band may be the closest thing to eternal life we’ve yet discovered. Five hundred years from now there will probably be a legal fight to be the ‘Legitimate’ Rolling Stones, with legitimacy determined by how many degrees of separation they have from an original band member. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/82 "2024-01-16T07:19:50Z")
I think that was really Steve Miller I saw, though. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/83 "2024-01-16T13:01:40Z")
All I know is that _Get the Knack_ defined the end of the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/84 "2024-01-16T13:56:28Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Gram Parsons? Hugely influential, but did he have a ‘quintessential 70’s album’? Hell, the first albums I thought of when I read the OP were _Quarter Moon In A Ten-Cent Town_ and _Luxury Liner_. Not “Rock” but still extremely influenced by GP. > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Five hundred years from now there will probably be a legal fight to be the ‘Legitimate’ Rolling Stones, with legitimacy determined by how many degrees of separation they have from an original band member. The one with Keith Richards wins. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/85 "2024-01-16T15:30:12Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I think that was really Steve Miller I saw, though. This summer, he played an energetic set at Milwaukee’s Summerfest on a Friday night (on one of the free stages). The next night, Ann Wilson cancelled (Covid), and Steve called up, saying “Hey, me and the guys in the band are downtown in a brewpub. Okay if we play another set?” He was so full of energy, played some bluesy stuff, some of his more psychedelic early songs, and smirked when he did his “hits”. He was clearly having a blast, and ran around the stage fluidly (the dude is eighty!). ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/86 "2024-01-16T16:34:20Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Lots of GREAT albums mentioned. For me, the 70s are split between when I was a kid and my sisters collected 45s in 71-72, when I was in HS 74-78, and when I was an undergrad from 78-82 (ish). The music of those 3 periods are VERY different IMO. It’s funny, and I didn’t even think about this until your post. I’ve been reading this thread and wondering why so many of the choices don’t resonate with me. Not because I don’t think many, if not most, of the picks are excellent albums, but because I divide the 70s up differently. I was born in '68. I think like most kids, things that happened before a certain age, and certainly before birth, all get lumped together into a sort of undifferentiated “past”. So for me, albums that came out in the 1970-1975 period don’t get associated as 70s albums so much as “before” albums. For me, the 70s is the stretch of late '76 or ‘77 to the beginning of 1980, the time when I began to be culturally aware independently of my parents. Corresponds roughly to when I got my first radio in my bedroom.’ So ultimately, I don’t know what albums define the 70s, but I do know the Double Vision album sounds a whole lot like how I experienced the 70s, riding around in my cool babysitter’s car listening to 8 track tapes. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/87 "2024-01-16T16:44:55Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > I was born in '68. Yeah. So for you, the 70s were basically always “oldies.” I was born 8 years earlier and in 71-72 my older sisters collected current 45s, and the radio was mostly AM top-40 tile the late 70s. I did not become aware of WXRT-FM in Chicago until at least 74-75. I got a kick out of the mention of Grand Funk on the 8-track upthread, because when I was a boy scout (early 70s), I remember being driven to events in one older kid’s dad’s car - a white Monte Carlo, with Grand Funk on the 8-track. That was before I had individually gotten into music, and it really seemed cool and almost dangerous to this 12-13 ur old. Bought my first stereo around 76, and bought my first albums from Columbia. 😉 Am almost embarrassed to admit how many of my first albums were Kansas and Styx, before I developed my taste for Queen, Rush, ELP… ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/88 "2024-01-16T16:51:12Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I remember being driven to events in one older kid’s dad’s car - a white Monte Carlo, with Grand Funk on the 8-track. That’s the role that my cool babysitters played. There were four brothers ranging from mid-teens to early-twenties. They basically dragged me around as a mascot in that '75-'82 window. > [@](#): > > Am almost embarrassed to admit how many of my first albums were Kansas and Styx Yeah, well, I did that too. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/89 "2024-01-16T17:05:16Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I got a kick out of the mention of Grand Funk on the 8-track upthread, because when I was a boy scout (early 70s), I remember being driven to events in one older kid’s dad’s car - a white Monte Carlo, with Grand Funk on the 8-track. That was before I had individually gotten into music, and it really seemed cool and almost dangerous to this 12-13 ur old. While for nineties kids, listening to Grand Funk on the car radio was like this. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YXKmsvRXE4A/hqdefault.jpg "Grand Funk Railroad, Homer's Favorite Band") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXKmsvRXE4A) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/90 "2024-01-16T17:41:52Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > While for nineties kids, listening to Grand Funk on the car radio was like this. Or 2000s kids-- my older son was born in 2002. I used to try playing ‘guess the band’ with him when we’d be driving somewhere. A Zep or Stones song comes on the radio… **Me:** “What band is this?” **Sonlost the First:** “idunno”. **Me:** “Come on, you’ve heard this band before. Take a guess.” **Sonlost the first:** _ **“DAD I DON’T CARE!!!”** _ ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/91 "2024-01-16T20:29:13Z")
_London Calling_ is a 70s rock album. The end of the decade was quite distinct from the beginning, with _Born to Run_, _Night Moves_ and _Boston_ solidly in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/92 "2024-01-16T20:38:17Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > _London Calling_ is a 70s rock album. London Calling is an interesting case. It was released in the UK in December 1979, but in the USA only in January 1980, that’s why the album is often listed on best album lists of the 70s _and_ 80s. Musically, it rather foreshadowed and inspired the eclecticism of the 80s and even the 90s than being a conclusion of 70s rock, which it is also to an extent though. Anyway, one of the best albums in history. The perfect transitional album between two pop decades. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/93 "2024-01-16T21:10:13Z")
Another late 70s release that is a pure “seventies” album is, of course, Joe Jackson’s “Look Sharp!” (And jeez, I’m embarrassed it took so long to think of that one. 🤦🏻‍♂️) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/94 "2024-01-16T21:21:17Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > London Calling is an interesting case. It was released in the UK in December 1979, but in the USA only in January 1980, that’s why the album is often listed on best album lists of the 70s _and_ 80s. But - of course - we were all already rocking to The Clash and Give Em Enough Rope, weren’t we? 😉 London Calling is one of only a couple of albums that I remember waiting for and buying on the release date. London Calling was an amazing album. Would likely be on my top 10 of all time. But the first 2 albums weren’t exactly throwaways! IMO, one of the greatest aspects of London Calling was to make clear how melodic the prior 2 albums were. (Also, I was a college band bassist at the time, and those basslines were just KILLER!) > [@Shoeless](#): > > Joe Jackson’s “Look Sharp!” Another album w/ killer basslines one after another. Same w/ Elvis’s albums. Bruce Thomas was a BEAST! Right about then - mix the Clash, Elvis, Graham Parker, John Hiatt, The Pretenders, Joe Jackson, The Police, Ramones, Talking Heads, and a few more, with an assist from Bruce and that pretty much influenced a huge chunk of my lifelong musical preferences. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/95 "2024-01-16T21:37:08Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > I divide the 70s up differently. > I was born in '68. So for me, albums that came out in the 1970-1975 period don’t get associated as 70s albums… Someone may have to start a slew of threads, with titles like: # Rock albums that define January of 1970 **Rock albums that define February of 1970 …** **Rock albums that define the first week of March of 1970 …** **Rock albums that define the Eleventh of March of 1970 …** ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/96 "2024-01-16T21:51:24Z")
Hey! No need to exclude so many options. How about a template that follows this pattern: Rock albums that define March 12, 1972 but came out October 14, 1971 but that you didn’t first hear until February 22, 1973. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/97 "2024-01-16T22:00:49Z")
Dude, you know that bootleg Moby Grape album, too? Bitchin… ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2024, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/98 "2024-01-17T02:42:37Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The one with Keith Richards wins. Forgot about him. Yeah, his dessicated self will get wheeled out once a year like Jeremy Bentham, Then they’ll put a cigarette in his mouth, thus activating him. He will play some killer licks for an hour or so, then get wheeled back into his chamber to finish his smokes and sleep. So not much different than what they do now. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/99 "2024-01-18T10:07:40Z")
The greatest rock albums of the 70s were all released at the tail end (_Unknown Pleasures_, “The Scream”, _Real Life_, _P/I/L-First Issue_, _Never Mind The Bollocks…_, _Marquee Moon_, _My Aim Is True_, _New Boots and Panties!_, _Machine Gun Etiquette_, _Replicas_, _The Second Annual Report_, _Live at the Witch Trials_, _One Step Beyond…_) but they were more about defining the alternative part of the 80s, not the dinosaur 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078/100 "2024-01-18T13:33:20Z")
There’s a scene in Three’s Company in which Jack comes home, excited that he got a copy of Frampton Comes Alive. That is just about the most 70s thing ever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-albums-that-define-the-1970s/996078.md?page=6)