1. The Who, Who Are You Let’s start with the bloke seated in the chair there, the one turned around backwards with the instructional message “NOT TO BE TAKEN AWAY” stenciled on it. Keith John Moon celebrated his thirty-second birthday … Continue reading College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 1
2. Van Morrison, Wavelength I saw Van Morrison play live once, as the capper to a day-long festival of mostly Irish artists sponsored, of course, by Guinness. This was towards the end of the nineties, so Morrison was well past … Continue reading College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 2
3. Yes, Tormato The very first lyrics heard on the Yes album Tormato are “In the fountains of the universe: Set time in accord/ Sits the boychild Solomon: Every turning round and round,” sung over electronic trilling that sounds heavily … Continue reading College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 3
4. Linda Ronstadt, Living in the USA In 1978, Linda Ronstadt was about as big as a rock ‘n’ roll performer could get, though most of the superlatives that got flung around centered on her gender. After a slightly belated breakthrough with her fifth studio album, Heart Like a Wheel, Ronstadt started stacking up accomplishments. She became the first solo female to have three straight million-selling albums when her 1976 release Hasten Down the Wind crossed that tally (she eventually could claim nine straight Platinum-certified albums). The 1977 album Simple Dreams spent five weeks atop the Billboard album chart, holding … Continue reading College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 4
5. Heart, Dog & Butterfly Dog & Butterfly was the second Heart album released in 1978. Sort of. The band that famously features the Wilson sisters, lead singer Ann and lead guitarist Nancy, released their debut album on Mushroom Records … Continue reading College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 5
6. Jethro Tull, Bursting Out Look. It’s Jethro Tull, the band that brought flute solos into rock ‘n’ roll. It’s a double live album, because it’s the nineteen-seventies and double live albums were the standard filler on the discography of the bigger bands. If you want to hear it, the whole damn thing is online. Every once in a while in these countdowns, I give myself a pass. I’m giving myself a pass. Previously… —An Introduction –26: Darkness on the Edge of Town –25: Give Thankx –24: Caravan to Midnight –23: Next of Kihn –22: 52nd Street –21: Crafty Hands … Continue reading College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 6
7. Neil Young, Comes a Time Comes a Time, released in October of 1978, was the ninth solo release credited to Neil Young. It was at once a departure and a return to form. After a batch of prickly, complex, … Continue reading College Countdown: The First CMJ Album Chart, 7
I got a call earlier today from my friend Sarah. Long-time listener, not a first time caller. She’s one of the few people I know who still makes radio broadcasting her profession, and she was nearing the end of her … Continue reading College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 8
9. Devo, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! For any up-and-coming band, it’s useful to have some advocates who have already established themselves in the cutthroat music biz. Circa 1978, a band couldn’t do much better than David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Brian Eno. Devo, the brilliantly bizarre art rock outfit from Ohio, had already released a bit of music by the late nineteen-seventies, including a trio of singles that were collected on an EP from the revolutionary British label Stiff Records. The EP, appropriately enough, took the title from the third of those singles: “Be Stiff.” … Continue reading College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 9
10. Talking Heads, More Songs About Buildings and Food I don’t mean to denigrate the very fine–underrated, even!–album Talking Heads: 77 when I note that More Songs About Buildings and Food seems like the real debut of the most important … Continue reading College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 10
