1971 Grammy Awards Album of the Year poll

S&G by default. This is like the Soft Rock Hall of Fame.

Which Chicago is that? II?

yeah. the sequence is Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago, Chicago III.

Holy Christ. Matos, did you want to strangle us with a pillow?

I like all these except for James Taylor, whose work I find kind of tortuous to listen to. May have to go with S&G anyway.

haha it connects with "Hard Habit to Break" in 1985 Grammy Awards Record of the Year poll

Anyway, the ROTY '71 poll will be even fluffier.

well, ok--AS fluffy

I would actually be interested in listening to the Carpenters, Chicago, CSNY, and S&G TBH.

Perhaps I should download them.

That s/t Elton album is a keeper too.

I listen to both the Elton John and Simon & Garfunkel albums quite often, even if neither is my favorite from their respective catalogs. Went with S&G for a life-long appreciation.

S&G, but I'm not convinced I'd necessarily dislike all of the other four if I actually took time to listen to them. (Been on a Tumbleweed Connection kick lately, so who knows?)

Other five, I mean.

Tumbleweed is his best album. Would pick it over any in this field.

Wow oh wow, do I ever like The Carpenters!

wot!! no Black Sabbath?? @#&%!#$$@!!!

Elton over Simon over Young.

S&G over Déjà Vu. I like the latter a lot but I think it amounts to less than the sum of its parts.

For me, there are four amazing songs found on these--"Close to You," "Fire and Rain," "Country Girl," and "Helpless"--and a few other hits that still sound good, but as albums...I guess Deja Vu, by virtue of the two Neil songs, but basically it's a six-way tie for whatever.

Bridge Over Troubled Water is probably one of the best (if not THE best) folk-pop records of the 70s. Simon would come close to topping it w/ his subsequent solo releases, maybe. But really, is there a bad song on it?

I think the first Simon solo album wipes the floor with . . . everything else he's done, really.

yeah, 1st solo record is fantastic -- but I was listening to Bridge recently and was struck by how wild so many of those arrangements are. "The Boxer" is a really stunning piece that goes all over the place musically, but it's still this total pop hit. totally ambitious but not in a way that detracts from the overall song ...

S&G, JT, CSNY, Elton, Chicago, Carpenters
Soft Rock Heaven or Soft Rock Hell depending on your views of the genre.
Regardless, these are all good records.

the Close to You album walks this for me - it is incredible.

Tumbleweed is his best album. Would pick it over any in this field.

very otm

Anyone who thinks Chicago is soft rock has never ever heard it, there's some killer stuff on there. The "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" is so perfectly composed! And "25 or 6 to 4" is in the top five of all air guitar jamzzz, and if you don't care about air guitar jamzzz then you are a callow whippersnapper.

If you think "25 or 6 to 4" is great you are a callow geezer.

And yes, I know all those early albums because they were totally ubiquitous in my family's houses: my uncles, my grandfather, my mom. I loved 'em then but going back to them as an adult was not a pleasant experience.

Sad 4 U

haha sorry! I'm not mad at anyone here about it either; I just don't like Chicago very much.

Not mad at you either Matos, just kind of feel sorry for you...and the empty place where your heart should be.

Went JT, but only because I think Bridge is the weaker S&G album, and Sweet Baby James is the stronger JT album. Also, that title song on Bridge is really meh.

and the empty place where your heart should be.

awww snoogums, let's go out for ice cream

The pains of being pure at heart.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

title song on Bridge is really meh

Agree with this, btw. But the title song is surrounded by lots of songs which, for some reason, have always hit me as non-meh: "Keep The Customer Satisfied," "So Long Frank Llloyd Wright," "Baby Driver," "The Only Living Boy in New York," etc.

Weird, I coulda sworn BOTW was earlier than '71

The years are when the Grammys are given out. They use an October-to-September calendar rather than a strict one like the Oscars. Hence the jumble of late-'69 (CSN) and '70 (S&G) titles.

70s soft rock is one of my favorite things. I'm voting for Déjà Vu which probably won't get much love here. I don't actually know the Carpenters, Elton John or James Taylor albums in their entirety, though I have obviously heard some songs from them. Bridge Over Troubled Water has some great songs on it, but my mom overplayed my older brother's copy of it years after he moved away from home, and the title track just annoys too much at this point. I need to get a copy of Déjà Vu at some point.

Then again I conveniently repressed the fact that Déjà Vu has "Teach Your Children" on it.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.