Night Moves and Stranger In Town by Bob Seger. Two of the best albums of 1970s mainstream rock, of a genre now called “classic rock.” Seger’s scratchy, emotive voice on truly moving songs like “Night Moves” and “We’ve Got Tonite”; great backup work on guitar and percussion from the Silver Bullet band on songs like “Mainstreet” and “Hollywood Nights,” etc. Against the Wind may have outsold both these albums, but they remain Seger’s best work artistically, and some of the best the decade had to offer.
War and The Joshua Tree by U2. The pattern followed by these two albums is similar to that of Seger above: the first disc displayed a raw talent and power that helped the group break out into a wider audience, while the second fulfilled the artists promise and established lasting stardom.
Anyway, these are the kinds of things one thinks about on boring Friday afternoons. Hope someone else has something to contribute.
The Kinks released five masterpieces in a row: Face To Face, Something Else, Village Green Preservation Society, Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), and Lola vs. Powerman and the Moneygoround.
I hate to nitpick, Lizard, but War and The Joshua Tree weren’t released back-to-back. U2 released The Unforgettable Fire in between those two albums, which I guess wasn’t all that unforgettable. To get really picky they also put out live EP Under a Blood Red Sky a few months after War came out, but I don’t really count that because it’s primarily songs off of War, with a bit of earlier stuff thrown in. I agree that War and The Joshua Tree are both great albums though.
My pick? Out of Time and Automatic for the People by R.E.M.
And an honourable mention for Achtung Baby and Zooropa by U2. Zooropa may not be their best album, but it fits so well with Achtung Baby.
Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks was released in the late 60s, and Moondance was released in 1970. I also like the Band’s early double – Music from Big Pink and then The Band. And I’ll mention more R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant and Document.
Bob Dylan fans will be along eventually, I assure you.
To get really picky they also put out live EP Under a Blood Red Sky a few months after War came out, but I don’t really count that because it’s primarily songs off of War, with a bit of earlier stuff thrown in. I agree that War and The Joshua Tree are both great albums though.