GigaBlog
A Juicy Bite of the Long Tail
By Mitchell Koulouris
October 1, 2008 -- I’ve always been a statistics, trivia, and little known (some might say “useless”) facts geek. This is especially true for me when it comes to music. I mean I still remember the catalog number for Bruce Springsteen's Born In The USA was 38653! Having spent my formative years as a teenager working in a record store (the then great Tower Records) when it was truly the best, coolest job any teenager could possibly have, I was able to expand my musical horizons in ways I never imagined.
Like most teens who grew up in the mid 70’s, I was influenced by those great bands of the British Invasion era the decade before – The Kinks, Rolling Stones, The Who, and of course The Beatles. For me, the Beatles were God. My musical tastes were heavily influenced by what my older brother listened to. I remember growing up as a young kid barely seven years old hearing Sgt Pepper for the first time and thinking “Wow, this is nothing like 'She Loves You'!”. I would always stare at my brother’s albums leaning against the stereo. Most of these, of course, had GREAT album covers. Aside from Sgt Pepper, Revolver, Rubber Soul, and the White Album, there were a handful that stuck out in my mind. In particular, Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan, Who’s Next by The Who (it wasn’t until years later I would realize what they were doing on that wall and what it all meant), Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake by The Small Faces, and Cosmic Wheels by Donovan.
Growing up as a teenager in the mid to late 70’s and working in a record store was probably as good as it gets when it came to music (and meeting girls). At no time since the British Invasion was there such a flood of great new music. I mean it seemed like every day there was another great new band out with their first album.
The list of what turned out to be important new artists seemed endless – The Ramones, Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, B52’s, Cheap Trick, Blondie, Elvis Costello, Dire Straits, Joe Jackson, The Cars, The Clash, The Police, Nick Lowe, The Pretenders – the list just went on and on. All of these bands and others provided an absolutely overwhelming smorgasbord of great new music. It was a teenage music nut’s wet dream.
And as great as all that new music was, there was so much more that was as good (or arguably, better) but experienced a fraction of the commercial success and popularity. I’ve always been a fan of what I believe are all-time great albums done by artists who you’ve heard of but probably haven’t had the chance to enjoy. And there were as many of these great new artists and albums that came on the scene in the late 70’s as there were the well-known guys I mentioned previously.
I call these artists and albums of this period as "the juicy part of the Long Tail". The great underappreciated artists and albums released in a era of incredible creativity for the music industry. With that said, here are my Top 5 albums that are the tastiest, juiciest, meatiest of the meaty part of the Long Tail of this era:
1. Dwight Twilley Band/Twilley Don’t Mind
The follow up to their much heralded 1975 debut, Sincerely that produced the group's defining hit "I'm On Fire", Twilley Don’t Mind didn’t garner any chart hits for the power pop duo of Dwight Twilley and Phil Seymour. It did, however, contain an entire album’s worth of infectious power pop bangers and ballads such as "Looking For the Magic" (arguably the best song Twilley’s ever written), "Trying To Find My Baby", "That I Remember", "Here She Comes", and "Rock and Roll 47". This one’s been out of print forever, however, Twilley has revisited these and many others in his repertoire in the upcoming retrospective from Gigatone called That I Remember.
2. Crack The Sky/Safety in Numbers
In a time when progressive rock was about to make an exit stage left and give way to the likes of the Rush and the Phil Collins era of Genesis, the little-known Ohio Quintet of prog rockers Crack the Sky released Saftety in Numbers in 1978. Released on Lifesong Records (home of Henry Gross and Dean Friedman), Safety in Numbers was a masterful piece of progressive rock that featured incredible songwriting and even better production. The opening eight minute epic track "Nuclear Apathy" is the poster child for all things prog rock. This track combined with the passionate ballad "Long Nights" and the sarcastic "Lighten Up McGraw" make Safety In Numbers one of the great left-to-right listens ever.
3. Graham Parker/Squeezing Out Sparks
While for fans of Graham Parker, Squeezing Out Sparks is probably heralded as his best work, for the average music nut, they’ve probably never heard of Graham Parker much less Squeezing Out Sparks. For fans of Parker, Squeezing Out Sparks is right up there with his great later works like The Up Escalator and Steady Nerves. But while Parker is king of the singer/songwriters to many, he somehow fell through the cracks that were quickly filled in the late 70's by Elvis Costello. Featuring a delicious fusion of pop, punk, and singer/songwriter passion, Squeezing Out Sparks featured some of Parker’s most memorable work including "Local Girls", "Passion Is No Ordinary Word", "Saturday Night Is Dead", and "You Can’t Be Too Strong".
4. Bram Tchaikovsky/Strange Man, Changed Man
The Power Pop/Brit Pop movement of the late 70’s got an unexpected contribution in the form of Bram Tchaikovsky. Released in 1979, Strange Man, Changed Man was one of those great rock treasures. It was the unforgettable driving power pop guitar sound of "Girl of My Dreams" (if you’ve never heard this song, you need to) that caught people’s attention but it was songs like the title track, "Strange Man, Changed Man", as well as a rockin’ cover of Neil Diamond’s "I’m A Believer" that really brought this record home. The band released one more album (The Russians Are Coming) in 1980 but Strange Man, Changed Man still stand up as one of those great albums you’ve probably never heard.
5. Ambrosia/Somewhere I’ve Never Traveled
Before Ambrosia morphed into recording sappy (although memorable) ballads, the band was a serious newcomer in the mid '70's. Somewhere I’ve Never Traveled was one of those great albums of the 70’s that you loved in every way. The music was terrific and the album packaging, featuring a cool fold out pyramid was even better. The sophomore release from the Los Angeles quartet was a great blend of great songs, high-end production excesses, with a dash of the progressive rock era that was about to come to an end. Ambrosia stormed onto the scene with the top-20 hit "Holdin’ On To Yesterday" from their self-titled debut in 1975. But like the Dwight Twilley Band, their follow up didn’t garner any chart hits but may be a better overall album. With the production mastery of Alan Parsons shining through, Somewhere I’ve Never Traveled is an amazing treasure throughout and features great tracks such as "Danse With Me George", "Can’t Let A Woman", "I Wanna Know", and "Runnin’ Away".
The late 70’s was one of those great periods for the music industry in general and rock music in particular. It was a time when fans everywhere wondered if the Beatles would reunite. Yet out of the ashes of the British Invasion and the post-Beatles era rose a tidal wave of enduring music that would be revered into the new millennium. These five gems just scratch the surface.
Give me your feedback. I'd love to hear from you to comment on this or anything else music.
Mitch Koulouris