DAMN THE CANON! It's the Alternate 1970s Albums Poll on ILX — Nominations Thread (Due by 11:59pm GMT, December 7th)

ILX has polled the ‘70s before, and it was reasonably successful. A lot of albums that always populate lists of this type were represented. The order they were represented in may or may not be agreeable five years later, but most of them are there. THIS POLL is not a complete redo, rather an ALTERNATE gathering of albums that represent a deeper, more interesting decade than the one always portrayed in these lists. Everything that ranked in the top 100 of the original poll is off limits for nomination this time. Houses of the Holy? Gone. There’s a Riot Goin’ On? Not this time. Grievous Angel? Try again.

Now you don’t have to waste valuable ballot space voting for albums that we already know we love. This is your chance to do a little more crate digging and make a rich and diverse list of nominees. Even better, the top 10 or 20 (or the entire list, for that matter) shouldn’t be predictable in any way.

Wow us with your personal favorites during the nomination process. Damn the canon!

Various artists compilations and best-of/greatest hits collections are eligible, provided they were originally arranged and released between 1970 and 1979. ALSO, EP'S ARE ELIGIBLE. If they're not accounted for here, then where amirite?

Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns

Oh wait, first of all: how many can each of us nominate (or is it unlimited)?

Unlimited.

The only two albums in that top 100 I'd nominate anyway are Chairs Missing and 154! I mean, I love a whole load of 'em, but those are the only two I'd feel the need to nominate.

Magazine - Real Life
Magazine - Secondhand Daylight
Captain Beyond - s/t
Yes - The Yes Album
Yes - Close To The Edge
Yes - Relayer
XTC - Drums And Wires
Soft Machine - Third
Faust - Faust IV
Joe Jackson - I'm The Man
Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom
Ultravox! - Ultravox!
Ultravox! - Ha! Ha! Ha!
Ultravox! - Systems Of Romance
Van Der Graaf Generator - Still Life
Van Der Graaf Generator - H to He Who Am The Only One
Van Der Graaf Generator - Godbluff
Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts
Van Der Graaf Generator - The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome

...and...

Vivian Stanshall - Sir Henry At Rawlinson End

joni mitchell - hejira
fleetwood mac - tusk
fleetwood mac - s/t
joao gilberto - s/t (white album)
caetano veloso - araca azul
curtis mayfield - curtis
brian eno - before and after science
stevie wonder - fulfillingness' first finale
gal costa - india
steely dan - aja
steely dan - katy lied
harry nilsson - nilsson sings newman
harry nisson - nilsson schmilsson
flatlanders - more a legend than a band
neil young - zuma
al green - the belle album
al green - i'm still in love with you
harmonia - deluxe
neu! - neu! 75
beach boys - sunflower
gilberto gil - refazenda
dr. buzzard's original savannah band - s/t
chic - c'est chic
sly & the family stone - fresh

I don't totally understand the aim of this. Are you discouraging the nomination of big obvious albums that somehow missed the first poll (like, say, Who's Next), or are those fair game along with the more obscure stuff?

The Pop Group - Y
Magma - Udu Wudu
James Chance & the Contortions - Buy
X Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents

more to come

Iggy Pop - The Idiot
Carla Bley - Escalator Over the Hill
Siouxsie & the Banshees - Join Hands
Teenage Jesus & the Jerks - Everything

xp If it didn't make the final 100 the first time around, it's up for grabs this time (regardless of how popular it is). For the most part, though, this list will end up populated with less familiar, more interesting albums. The goal isn't obscurity. Just downplaying familiarity.

OK, cool.

The Who - Who's Next
Little Feat - Sailing Shoes
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
The Cars - The Cars
War - All Day Music
Steely Dan - The Royal Scam
Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger
Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy
Queen - Queen
Prince - Prince

Everything looks like it was a comp assembled and released in 1995. Is this right? RYM shows a 7-song compilation from 1979 that's self-titled. xxxp

Whatever the 1979 one is. or could we just go with:

V/A - No New York

Queen: Queen II
10cc: How Dare You?
Klaatu: Hope
Genesis: A Trick Of The Tail

So all of John Cale's 70s albums EXCEPT "Paris 1919" are viable for this? Cause I'd have to nominate Fear / Slow Dazzle / Helen Of Troy / Sabatoge Live.

satwa- satwa
meic stevens- outlander
witch- lazy bones

Nice, that's 75 albums already!

man tusk didn't make the top 100?

Elvis Costello - Armed Foreces
Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Elton John - Madman Across the Water
Elton John - Honky Chateau
Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove
Funkadelic - Free Your Mind...And Your Ass Will Follow
John Cale - Vintage Violence
John Cale - Helen of Troy
John Cale - Sabotage/Live

jade stone & luv - mosaics: pieces of stone
dave bixby - ode to quetzalcoatl
the return of the durutti column (this is from '79)
kraftwerk
kraftwerk 2
vashti bunyan - just another diamond day
linda perhacs - parallelograms
judee sill - s/t
judee sill - heart food
room - pre-flight
fotheringay - s/t
the saints - eternally yours
the saints - i'm stranded
these trails - s/t

DEVO - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

The Police - Reggatta de Blanc
Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Talking Heads - Fear Of Music
Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
The Rolling Stones - Black'n'Blue
Led Zeppelin - Presence
Little Feat - Dixie Chicken
Al Green - Al Green Gets Next To You
The Stylistics - The Stylistics

Stranglers - Black and White

I like this kind of party! If polling obscure 70s albums is wrong, I don't want to be right. Many thanks Johnny Fever. Good thing I arranged my iPod by year.

Here are some just from 1971. I had to go back and recheck some of these three or four times because I couldn't believe they were still eligible. Like Who's Next. Or Every Picture Tells A Story. Now, I appreciate Kraftwerk as much as the next dude, but how could some of these not make it the first time around? It's like, gag me with a spoon, people!

xpost--While typing this Who's Next got nominated.

Mott The Hoople - Brain Capers
Jimi Hendrix - The Cry Of Love
Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells a Story really?
John Lennon - Imagine this is just wrong
The Doors - LA Woman
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
John Prine - John Prine
Gene Clark - White Light
Roy Harper - Stormcock
Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey

isaac hayes - black moses
kc and the sunshine band - part 3
parliament - motor booty affair
barry white - the man
barry white - let the music play
love unlimited orchestra - rhapsody in white
steve reich - music for a large ensemble/violin phase/octet
jorge ben - africa brasil
jorge ben and gilberto gil - gil e jorge
james brown - the payback
willie hutch - the mack ost
queen - a night at the opera

Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life
Stevie Wonder – Innervisions
Stevie Wonder – Talking Book
Henry Cow – Legend

Henry Cow!!!

Heatwave – Too Hot to Handle
War – The World is a Ghetto

Dupes are here no doubt while I was typing this.

Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
Devo - Duty Now for the Future
Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East
Frank Zappa - Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Frank Zappa - Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Frank Zappa - Roxy & Elsewhere
Anthony Braxton - Quartet (Dortmund) 1976
Led Zeppelin - Presence
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Talking Heads - Fear of Music
Captain Beefheart - Lick My Decals Off, Baby
Chris Bell - I Am the Cosmos (recorded 70s, released 1992; eligible?)
Circle - The Paris Concert
Miles Davis - Get Up With It
Faust - Faust IV
Hawkwind - Space Ritual
Michael Hurley, The Unholy Modal Rounders, Jeffrey Frederick & The Clamtones - Have Moicy!
Soft Machine - Third
John McLaughlin - My Goal's Beyond
King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
Paul Simon - Paul Simon
Paul Simon - There Goes Rhymin' Simon
Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years
The Who - Live At Leeds
The Who - The Kids Are Alright (soundtrack)
Public Image Ltd - Metal Box
Robert Fripp - Exposure
Fripp & Eno - (No Pussyfooting)
Fripp & Eno - Evening Star
Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt - Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard
Roy Harper - Stormcock
The Rutles - The Rutles
The Specials - The Specials
Todd Rundgren - Something/Anything?

Harmonia – Musik von Harmonia

abbott!!!!! heatwave and war!!!!!!! x-post :D :D :D

Heldon – Interface

Roxy Music – Stranded
Roxy Music – Country Life

motherfucking Randy Newman – Sail Away

The Residents – Duck Stab/Buster & Glen

Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music

that's a good one, that'll be on my final ballot

Soft Machine – volume 2

steve reich - drumming
philip glass - music in 12 parts

man tusk didn't make the top 100?

oh shit, this one's over.

abbott soft machine 2 was 1969 i think?

philip glass - music with changing parts

what's a ruling on 1970s recordings that were released later? Aside from I Am the Cosmos, I'm also thinking of the King Crimson Great Deceiver box set

Jesus Christ Superstar: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album

complex - s/t
madrigal - s/t
marc mundy - s/t

Wire – 154

Here are some from 1970 that unfathomably didn't make it last time, like Layla and 12 Songs. What's with the kids today?

Derek and the Dominos - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Bob Dylan - New Morning
Bob Dylan - Self Portrait
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
Grateful Dead - American Beauty
Randy Newman - 12 Songs
Van Morrison - Moondance
The Who - Live at Leeds
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

^^^would be in my top 3 probably but it is in the initial top 100

xp to 154

Have we got this one yet?

Lou Reed - Transformer

Goblin – Suspiria

Wire – 154

#68 in prev poll :)

My bad, I was thinking it came out in 1969 for some reason. Just checked and, sure enough, it's from 1970.

(I assume you mean the one with "25 or 6 to 4" on it, aka "II" right?)

damn thats a lot of albums to listen to before voting time comes around

I hope more rap albums will show up in this poll than in the 80s poll, that was a disgrace.

Erm, unless "proto-rap" like Gil Scott-Heron or Last Poets count, I think you might have a bit of a problem with that.

Oh wait! Teacher! I've got one more and it's very important!

Armand Schaubroeck- Ratfucker

prediction: this will be the best G.O.A.T. list

unfortunately most of the nominated albums i have are just canon albums that missed the first list

hoping to check some other stuff out before voting but i don't know if there's anything i'll fall in love with instantly enough to put it on my ballot

This poll will include almost everything I would put in an unrestricted 70s Top 40, tbh! Except for Can. But even with Steely Dan, two out of my top 3 are in this poll.

don't really want to wait 10 more days to start the voting tbh

I don't either. Maybe we can get a mod to change the close date in the title to this next Monday instead?

Okay, changed now to the 7th. Voting begins next week!

some nominations to be added:

Jeff Beck - Wired
Miles Davis - Agharta
Edgar Froese - Aqua
Steve Hackett - Spectral Mornings
Hatfield and the North - The Rotters' Club
Heldon - Stand By
Henry Cow - Western Culture
Michael Hoenig - Departure From the Northern Wasteland
Keith Jarrett - Birth
The Alan Parsons Project - Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Popol Vuh - Hosianna Mantra
Pulsar - Halloween
Renaissance - Scheherazade and Other Stories
Rush - Hemispheres
Santana - Abraxas
Schicke, Führs & Fröhling - Symphonic Pictures
The Stranglers - The Raven
Synergy - Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra
Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs
U.K. - U.K.

added.

I would like to nominate:

The Residents - Meet the Residents
The Residents Present the Third Reich 'n' Roll
Jorge Ben - Forca Bruta
Mayo Thompson - Corky's Debt to His Father
Nara Leão - Dez Anos Depois
Scott Walker - 'Til the Band Comes In
Sparks - Sparks
Sparks - A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing
Kraftwerk - Ralf and Florian

I just realized I missed two of my favorite albums of the 70s:

Secos e Molhados - Secos e Molhados (1973)
Secos e Molhados - Secos e Molhados (1974)

We're at 1,231 now.

I'm done. I promise.

oooh meet the residents was a good call

I'm gonna vote for the obvious (to me) #1 and then 39 unknowns that need more love.

Steve Martin - Let’s Get Small
Nina Simone - Baltimore
Little Feat - Little Feat

Oops! Due to some unfortunate brain farting, I ruined some of the spreadsheet in album additions for the past few (saved as web page at one point, but then neglected to keep saving the .xls). So the web page version of all the nominations up through 1,231 is set in stone and a second page/xls will be made for everything that comes after (including the three most recent albums and the Cornell Campbell albums I missed up above).

Just didn't want anyone to think when I publish the final nominations list next week that I was putting anything in a secondary list ghetto w/o a good reason.

(Ismael Klata, check your e-mail.)

Haris Alexiou - Ta Tragoudia Tis Haroulas

cluster 71
roedelius - Durch die Wüste
roedelius - Jardin Au Fou
eno/moebius/roedelius - after the heat

Adding a couple more comedy lps. Steve Martin jogged my memory.

Richard Pryor - That Nigger's Crazy
George Carlin - Class Clown
Robert Klein - Child of the 50's

(Rudi - awesome, thanks!)

I just want to say I am having a blast going through this 70s list. I've known I needed to go back to the 70s and dig around for things I missed at the time, or things I've forgotten, or music I like without ever having registered who recorded it (even when it's kind of obvious now that I know). Maybe I'm just in the right frame of mind, but it seems that these leads are more effective than many I've worked with. Translation: there could be a lot of Sweet, T. Rex, Boz Scags, Fleetwood Mac, Charlie Rich, and 10cc in my listening over the next year.

This just confirms the 70s is far and away my favorite decade for popular music (at least English language stuff, but maybe globally).

On the same note, I can't remember the last time I listened to Reed's Coney Island Baby, but it sounds absolutely stellar this morning.

Charles Mingus-Let My Children Hear Music
Exuma-Exuma
Miles Davis-Live Evil
Miles Davis-Dark Magus
Miles Davis-Pangaea

Please add (and incidentally, there is a good chance I will actually vote for this--it's an incredible compilation from 1975):

Ismael Rivera - Eclipse Total

This just confirms the 70s is far and away my favorite decade for popular music (at least English language stuff, but maybe globally).

It's turning out that way for me too, I can already see I'm going to get a lot out of this poll.

Just another day until the vote begins! I'm looking forward to seeing people's ballots.

how long are we going to have to vote for this? there's about 50 albums i want to relisten to before i can come up with a ballot :(

Plenty of time. I'm going to be out of town over xmas holidays, so voting probably won't end until right before or right after New Years.

Suggestion: rather than trying to pick 40 out of 1200+, why not have eliminator heats?

You could run conventional ILX polls of 50 at a time (sorted alphabetically by LP title, rather than artist name, so that not all the Fela and Tangerine Dream albums have to fight each other). The LPs that get 0 votes, say, or just 1 vote are eliminated. Hopefully that will whittle the list down to a more manageable number. You could run all the heats simultaneously for maximum board impact.

The survivors are then eligible for the e-mail poll. It means a wee bit more work for J. Fever but it also means we don't waste points in the final poll on personal touchstones that don't have a prayer.

The heats will also give people a chance to boost said personal touchstones while those polls are running.

Hey, if you can't pick 40 out of 1,200 you have never been to a record fair.

I can do it easily - the question is what sort of results will we get with such a wide field? I'm predicting lots of =99th, 1 Vote, 1 First Place Vote type results.

We'll never know until we know.

Maybe poll the final results?

Yeah, I'm worried about albums with just one first place vote making up a lot of the poll, so we'll need a lot of voters. Maybe encourage people who don't ordinarily vote in this type poll to do so, or maybe we can institute that vote "premium" thing discussed earlier if the results start to turn out that way. I dunno.

The thing is, scrolling through the master list of nominations, I can pretty easily pick out things I want to vote for and many, many other things I'm hoping other people vote for so I can learn more about them.

The voting thread will be a great forum for advocacy of everyone's choices.

What I'd like to see in the voting thread is people telling us what they picked as their #1 and why, especially if it's obscure. I'd be willing to check out a record someone reps hard for, and perhaps vote for it if I like it.

I would like to add Janis Joplin - Pearl.

If you allow everyone to vote for a really huge number of albums, like 50 or even 100, you should be ok so long as you weight it so that one #1 vote doesn't totally overshadow 3 or 4 lower-placed votes.

voting for a huge number of albums would also definitely be keeping with the spirit of this poll. maybe 100 is too many? tho tbh i would willingly list 200 if it was asked of me

No way, sorry. It took me long enough to hammer out a point system for a 40-album ballot.

40 is a good number imo

if everyone votes for 100 all it does is make the long tail longer it won't change the top 100 much

Plus it means I will never sleep.

Alright, voting thread coming soon. No more submissions!