50 of my favourite songs from 1974

Impossible to choose.

Wrong Todd song…

Well the choices for some artists would be liable to switch depending on the day (e.g. Todd, Bowie, even Protheroe - sometimes it'd be Pinball). But this was how I was feeling.

v tempted to go with Autobahn, but can't really disagree with yr #1 here

Bright Lights

https://www.thefandomentals.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/twin-peaks11-300x200.jpg

Richard and... Linda

one of these. really good list! the inclusions i know def make me want to check out the ones i don't. hard to go against "starless" tho

*"one of these" - i initially had a list of a few, but then decided quickly on "starless" lol

BT Express

too many songs I adore. I’ll have to go for pilot because I don’t think pop gets much better and it’s been a huge song for me for most of my life.

Great list. Last summer I made a playlist of catchy weirdo rock songs from 1974 and it has a lot of artist overlap with your list (though I think only one actual song in common). 1974 was quite a year for that kind of thing. Seconding voodoo chili's comment -- definitely going to have to check out the songs I'm unfamiliar with here. Voted "Clockwork Creep."

hard to go against "starless"

My first thought; then I decided to listen to the 18 on the list that I know to make an up-to-date choice...and chose "Starless".

Lots of tracks that wouldn't have been my top choices from their source albums, but it was very refreshing to hear them in this context (especially the progression Can to Kraftwerk to Genesis).

Pleased the list is going down well. Ought to say my fav album of the year is The Psychomodo, and as such the Cockney Rebel choice is probably the most prone of all to change (Ritz one day, Mr. Soft another, and so on).

tough one but I went with "The Drum"

Rock your Baby

Rated X. Sea Song an oh so close second.

i didn't vote for it, but shout-out to "no birds"

Theres quite a few songs on this list I'm not familiar with. Going to go with Rated X

Slapp Happy's "The Drum" a banger too.

Had to go with "Autobahn" but this list contains some of my favourite music (dammit).

I’ve only heard a few of these but The Drum is one of my favorite songs so that.

^ my thoughts verbatim

I'd not heard Slapp Happy and, given the Henry Cow etc associations, that was NOT what I was expecting. Sounds like the Kinks. Also good to be reminded how weird David Essex was.

Still, even with the presence of Miles, think I might have to go with Ronnie Laine.

reflex vote for rock your baby

ah shit i missed the millie jackson tune, that deserved one

Hope I'm not being an insufferable pedant, but note that there are two studio versions of "The Drum," and the one from 1974 is from "Slapp Happy" (later called "Casablanca Moon"). Both are top-notch, but if pressed, I'd say I slightly prefer the more rock-based one from 1973 backed by the Faust rhythm section (from "Acnalbasac Noom"). That said, I voted "Rated X"!

Yeah I assumed it referred to the ‘74 version (as the other one wasn’t actually released until later). It has the better bridge, IMO

It's much better imo.

Yeah I've heard both versions and the rockier one is bettee

No, it's the other one I prefer!

me 2 (but both are pretty great)

Yeah I meant the '74 version. Personal (not always adhered to) rule of thumb with these types of things I think is: was it released at the time? If not I'll likely ignore it for ease (and because it's difficult squeezing things on anyway). As it can seem a bit odd to have something recorded in a certain year (but unreleased for many years) have its recording year count, and then turn around have releases from that year which may have been recorded a year earlier.

Suzi Quatro's Angel Flight, recorded in 1974 and unreleased until 2004, is magnificent.

A 1975 version of this would include Wyatt's Yesterday Man, because it sneaked onto Virgin's V compilation after withdrawn proposed 74 single release, and the album version of Status Quo's Down Down, despite the 7" being from 74 (the differences are too important).

I only recently discovered Yesterday Man and cannot believe it is basically an orphaned single in his discography, what a tune

Too gloomy said Branson.

Kraftwerk just over George M

(a v lazy choice seeing as I don't actually know most of these)

Listened up on the tracks I've never heard before

That Status Quo song is quite different than the heads down (down) boogie that I'm used to from them.

I really like the Mille Jackson & David Ruffin songs

The David Essex song is a bit creepy

Maybe I should listen up on some Lynsey De Paul as that song is nice. She sounded like a cool lady too. I like that Thuderthighs song she wrote too

Re: The Drum, I heard the Acnalbasac version first and liked it (and the rest of the album) so much that I’ve never wanted to hear the Casablanca versions.

You should listen to it, it's great.

“Cavaliers” is a great Harley deep cut, I often use the guitar riff as a finger exercise. Still though, Sparks blew my mind in 1974 and that song is all time.

“Cavaliers” is a great Harley deep cut, I often use the guitar riff as a finger exercise. Still though, Sparks blew my mind in 1974 and that song is all time.

“Cavaliers” is a great Harley deep cut, I often use the guitar riff as a finger exercise. Still though, Sparks blew my mind in 1974 and that song is all time for me.

Shit, sorry. Phone.

voted autobahn over starless

Does "The Drum" have so many fans because it's been covered so often? To me it's no more notable than a half-dozen other songs from that album, I'd be unlikely to single it out.

Starless

hearing it live finally was a dream

George Harrison - I Don't Care Anymore

lol what

So often in life it comes down to Miles Davis vs. Ivor Cutler.

It's got to be Starless by King Crimson for me. Otherwise I'd have voted Ivor Cutler, Miles Davis, Sparks, or Richard & Linda Thompson

Does "The Drum" have so many fans because it's been covered so often? To me it's no more notable than a half-dozen other songs from that album, I'd be unlikely to single it out.

Considering I first encountered it via the Bongwater cover, I can't weigh in on the counterfactual (of having first heard it on the album); but I do think it's an exceptional song, even in the context of the album. (That said, I'm also semi-obsessed with the chain of cover versions, each building on the previous one, which I think I've bored this board with in the past...)

The Drum is tied with several other songs as my favorite from the album. I guess it’s the one that rocks the hardest, at least on the version with the Faust guys.

who else has covered it?? I know Mazzy Star did "Blue Flower" which rules in both orig and cover versions

Bongwater covered the 1974 version, adding "Bongwater" to the lyrics... The Impossibles (somewhat obscure UK duo) "covered" the Bongwater version; retaining the lyric change, and adding a "1-2-3-4..." intro; then Love and Hates (an even more obscure Japanese duo) "covered" The Impossibles version, retaining the count-in.

(...although Love and Hates reverted the lyric back to "but water")

ha that's funny, like Spectrum covering "Indian Summer" thinking it was a Dean Wareham song b/c he had only heard that version

I think it's fascinating how this song that started with a German/UK art-pop band made its way through three different "duos," in various decades and on different continents, in this chain of influence...

stuff where a song gets covered multiple times but some covers retain elements of a previous cover is fascinating to me, kind of like a group art project where everybody adds something to the picture.

kind of like how Blue Suede's version of "Hooked on a Feeling" retains the "ooga chakas" from the Jonathan King version of the song

Yeah, that expresses it perfectly... and I sort of think of "the song" as encompassing all these versions/variations at once.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

The Drum became my favourite before I was aware it had been covered at all

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