Starship Trooper by Yes (1971)

Yes' third album, The Yes Album, was probably their universally accepted peak. For once, I am in alignment with the general listening public. This album included the classic rock radio favorite "Seen All Good People" as well as the much better, but slightly less renowned "Yours is No Disgrace".

The kings of prog would go on to release dozens of studio and live albums after The Yes Album, much of it very good(Owner of a Lonely Heart, notwithstanding).

Getting back to The Yes Album, here is a much lesser known track called Starship Trooper. I love how this song transitions from a very proggy start to a melodic, soulful piece by the end. Starship Trooper was co-written by founding member and bassist Chris Squire, who left this Earth too soon the other day at the age of 67.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKftiJS30Cs

Ditch Queen by Frank Marino (1982)

By the end of the 1970's Canada's Mahogany Rush was morphing into the Frank Marino solo act. Frank is a virtuoso guitar player. Check out Frank's shredding on this track off of his second solo album, Juggernaut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G3qYl01eTE

Foxhole by Television (1978)

A lot of rock critics refer to Television as a punk or proto punk band. This is a bit of a mis-classification.  I mean, the band did have Richard Hell playing bass for them in the early days before breaking off in 1975 and forming the Voidoids. He was definitely punk, but the rest of Television that would go on to record the iconic Marquee Moon in 1977 were way too talented to be considered punk.

Regardless of their classification, Television was a great band. The aforementioned Marquee Moon is still considered to be one of the great rock n roll albums of all time, deservedly so. However, the band's second album, Adventure, often gets overlooked. I don't think it is as good as Marquee Moon, but that was a pretty high bar to surpass. Adventure is a really good album on its own merits. Here is a track off that album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXfzcUXSKbw

So Long by Vinegar Joe (1972)

Long before Robert Palmer was addicted to making boring pop music in the 80's, he put out some decent solo work and made some interesting music in a couple of bands. One such band, Vinegar Joe, also featured the vocal talents of Elkie Brooks. And let me tell you, this band was all about Elkie. She was a belter.

The overall vibe of Vinegar Joe's Rock n' Roll Gypsies album from 1972 was good time rock music. They even dared to cover Jerry Lee Lewis's Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On which Elkie handled well. Here is an original track written by the band's guitarist, Pete Gage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVYulRIeJPc

Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine by Country Joe and the Fish (1967)

Country Joe and the Fish are primarily remembered for spelling out the "F" word in the introduction to their I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag Vietnam War protest song at Woodstock. In addition to that iconic moment, they did put out five studio albums in the space of about 4 years. They started out quite psychedelic, as evidenced here in one of their first singles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUumI-JHSGs

Dreamer by Home (1972)

For a short time in the early 70's, the UK band Home could be seen as an opening act for a number of bands at the time including Argent, Jeff Beck, the Faces, and Led Zeppelin. While Home managed to put out three good albums in that time period, they didn't quite catch on. Bass player, Cliff Williams, did manage to scrape a out a career later on with a little band called AC/DC.

Here is Cliff and the rest of the band in music that is decidedly unlike AC/DC, but much more reflective of the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpg91V1har8

Little Bird by Stan Webb's Chicken Shack (1978)

Over the last fifty years, the only constant member of Chicken Shack(later Stan Webb's Chicken Shack) has been, drumroll..., Stan Webb. This British guitarist has managed to piece together different lineups for his band producing some good ole bluesy rock. At one point in the late 60's, Christine Perfect(later Christine McVie) would play keyboards for the band.

By 1978, Christine McVie was playing stadiums with Fleetwood Mac. Meanwhile, Stan Webb was putting out some blue collar rock with his album "That's the Way We Are".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCvJpGhwNiQ

Television Addict by The Victims (1978)

Even some young men from Western Australia in the late 1970's could foresee the dangers of television addiction. And they put out their message in a three minute package. Like most punk bands, their existence was short(< 3 years), but they left a mark. Members of the Victims would go on to found the Hoodoo Gurus where the sound became more "developed". Here they are in their purest form.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hsBQjPO2-o

Maid of Sugar, Maid of Spice by Mouse and the Traps (1966)

I guess I was in the mood for some no frills garage rock. This late 60's band out of Texas certainly fits the bill. Mouse and the Traps would only be in existence for about four years during their initial incarnation. They didn't actually release an album, but did manage to put out a number of singles. Here is my favorite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVwHlEliGgo

Hometown Girls by The Strypes (2013)

I know, I know. These teenage Irish boys seem to be trying a bit too hard with the suits and the Ringo drumkit. Still, if you strip out the packaging clearly designed to bridge the generational gap, the music is pretty good. On many of their songs, you can clearly hear the influences of the Yardbirds and the Stones.

It will be interesting to see if their sound develops a la a lot of early sixties' bands, or if they continue in the current style. Here is there video off of their debut album, Meet the Strypes, I mean Snapshot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGOMirYfevA

Truckin' On by Kopperfield (1974)

It cracks me up how bands in the late 60's and through the 70's experimented with the number of people playing the same instrument. There were plenty of bands that used two drummers(Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers for example) and there were other bands that just kept loading up on guitarists.

Here, hard rock/prog band Kopperfield, employed two keyboardists. However, it doesn't sound as you might imagine. I'm sure that it helps that the lead guitar was smoking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e60eAHmXc40

Abra Kadabra by Kadavar (2013)

So, another one of my forgotten bands from 1969? Not quite. Kadavar is a band that only formed five years ago in Germany. However, you would be forgiven if you made that mistake, as they certainly look and sound the part. They sound like a cross between Hawkwind and Blue Cheer...

This is the title track to their second album released in 2013.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qhsFzHXH1k

Dreaming of You by The Coral (2002)

Now this is what pop rock is supposed to sound like, right? At least in my mind it does. The song is cleanly produced, it's got a hook, and an infectious baseline. Not much is missing. I didn't come across this tune in one of the usual ways. I actually first heard this song as a perfectly selected soundtrack song on the TV show 'Scrubs'. See here.This song is played when J.D. and Eliot get together, or back together again. I can't exactly recall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdc6s7gJEfA

Cruisin' for Burgers by Frank Zappa (1976)

Through high school, my only knowledge of Frank Zappa's music was the one off semi-hit "Valley Girl" that was recorded with his daughter Moon Unit. It was a funny comedy song. So, I figured that was what Frank Zappa was about. It was a novelty act. I couldn't really get into that music because I was getting into the  "important" music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones at the time, and their was no room for silliness in my mindset.

It probably took me twenty years to give Zappa another listen. And I'm glad I finally did. He was a phenomenal musician, even if the vocal parts could be silly.  Here is a track without any vocals from his live album, Zappa in New York. I would describe this song as intense, eclectic jazz rock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m22iRg36Pqc

East-West by the Butterfield Blues Band (1966)

I'm not sure what got into Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield, and Elvin Bishop when they recorded the decidedly un-bluesy thirteen minute-plus epic jam song with raga influences. Maybe it was LSD. After all they were hanging out in the Bay Area in a critical period along with the likes of the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane. Who knows?

This track was nothing like the rest of their catalog. It quickly became ingrained in the San Francisco scene, even if the song did not gain much popularity in the rest of the country. Enjoy some expert musicians practicing their craft.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvIUdDtOO9E

Black Lucy by the Cryptics (2014)

I'm not sure how I ended up downloading The Cryptics' Black Lucy onto my computer. I think I probably heard it on college radio, downloaded it the same day, and forgot about it. The iTunes shuffle gods decided to let me listen to this song and it struck me that it was quite good.

In researching this band(if you can call a two paragraph blog post the result of "researching"), it became clear to me that there are many bands called the Cryptics today. At least one from Santa Clara, CA, one from Dover, NH, and one from New Jersey. I'm pretty sure this garage rock inspired band is the one from NJ. In any case, enjoy the music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkaepWrfsf4

Afternoon Out by Fuzzy Duck (1971)

Fuzzy Duck was an English psych/prog rock amalgamation of musicians from other semi-popular bands of the time(The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Andromeda to name a couple). They managed to put out one proper album during their existence.

For vinyl collectors, if you ever come across an original pressing of this album, snap it up.They only made 500 of them and are worth a pretty penny today.

Here is a trippy track from that album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxX8zpNK2xI

How Come It Is by Grinderswitch (1974)

For years, my knowledge of "Southern Rock" was as follows: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Bros., Little Feat, and "Flirtin' With Disaster". As it turns out, and as is usually the case, there is a lot more that what sits on the surface.

Grinderswitch, which sounds more like a heavy metal band's name, were from Georgia and they stayed true to their music releasing several albums up until about 1981. Here is a track from their 1974 debut album, Honest to Goodness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpFdCVquMd4

Face to Face by The Call (1983)

When I was a tweener, my only memory of The Call was the mild MTV era hit, The Walls Came Down. I remember liking this song a bit, but not enough to check out any other work by this band. As it turns out, the Call would not have any other big hits, yet still go on to make ten albums over a twenty year period.

It wasn't until recently that I discovered more music by the band. This post new wave track with a marching beat deserves a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBsuYKV3kWI

Til Your Well Runs Dry by Peter Tosh (1976)

Bob Marley was the most important artist to come out of the reggae sound that formed in the 60's and solidified in the 70's. There is no doubt about this. That said, there are a number of other great reggae musicians that were important in the formation of this genre. One of these artists, Peter Tosh, played with Marley for several years before breaking off on his own in the early 70's.

I tend to gravitate to Peter Tosh when I am in the mood for reggae as most of Bob Marley's catalog has been saturated in my brain for years. Here finds Peter Tosh in 1976 on his landmark debut album, Legalize It. Til Your Well Runs Dry sounds like it could easily have been made into a power ballad, but modified for reggae. In any case, it sounds great.

Unfortunately, like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh would be taken from us too soon when he was killed in a home invasion in 1987.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_euoe57iz3k

This Ain't No Saturday Night by Quintaine Americana (1998)

It was sometime in my mid to late twenties when I made the decision that I should try seeing bands live in a club. I'd seen a lot of the big classic rock bands and some current headliners in big arenas or stadiums, but I was always hundreds of yards away with 15,000 of my closest friends. I wanted to experience live music on a more intimate level. I started listening to the Boston Emissions Sunday night radio show on WBCN. I also listened to a bunch of college radio stations. It opened my ears to music I otherwise would not have come across.

I then started to going to club shows in the Boston area. These included The Paradise, TT's, Mama Kin, and most importanly, The Middle East in Cambridge. Here I saw a number of really good live shows from little known bands that I would then start getting into. One of those bands, Quintaine Americana, came on stage one night in the late 90's and played some heavy dirtbag rock. I loved the experience and would see those guys a few more times.

This tune, from 1998's Decade of the Brain, stands out the most for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwmNyPbfqqc

Bring It Easy by Stevie Salas (2006)

When I first heard the music of Stevie Salas, I thought I was listening to a mid 70's rock guitarist who never quite found fame. I was surprised to find out that Stevie's first album wasn't released until 1990. Of course, this made more sense to me that I had never heard of him. It must have been hard to break through with straight ahead rock n' roll when the hair band era was coming to an end and the Grunge era was starting to blow up.

In any case, thanks to the internet, I have discovered this guitarist's music. Check out this track from 2006's Be What It Is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5PvkTkqYKc

If I Say It, It's So by Nils Lofgren (1975)

For anyone who only knows of Nils Lofgren through him being a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, they are missing out on a great deal of his history and some fine music. At the age of nineteen, Nils played on Neil Young's After the Gold Rush album. He subsequently joined Crazy Horse for a short while. He then formed his own band, Grin. Grin would last for about four years and produce some critically, if not financially, successful albums.

That brings us to 1975. Nils would then go on to record his first solo album. Like the Grin albums, this was also critically praised for being a great rock/pop-rock album. He would then release several more solo albums before joining the aforementioned E Street Band in 1984.

Here is my favorite track from the first solo album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mppChyAKajA

Sway by the Rolling Stones (1971)

Writing this song-of-the-day blog, I have been careful, so far, not to repeat any bands. I don't intend to do this for a good while more, either. So, when I am thinking about picking a song from an iconic band like the Stones, I weigh my song choice carefully.  Truth be told, there are probably fifteen or so "unheralded" Stones songs that I was considering for a blog post.

So, I have decided to "punt" on my decision and use the fact that Stones are now playing their 1971 classic album Sticky Fingers in its entirety in their latest tour. Even this album probably has two or three songs that could be considered "underplayed".

Listening to this song, Sway, I am reminded of how great the Stones were at their peak with Mick Taylor on lead guitar. I keep wishing that the song didn't fade out at the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ8Bc6jz-W8

Hot Pants by Alan Parker & Alan Hawkshaw (1972)

I discovered the music of Alan Hawkshaw a few years ago. I was listening to some college radio. It was probably WMBR in Cambridge, MA. In any case, I was starting to like the music that the deejay was talking over in between songs, more than the songs he was playing. I eventually found out that some of this music was by an English musician who produced a lot of advertising background music in the late 60's and early 70's. I then downloaded a ton of stuff(almost all of it instrumental). It is great mood music.

I don't know much about Hawkshaw's partner, Alan Parker, on this song. I did find out that he was a session guitarist most notably playing guitar on Donovan's Hurdy Gurdy Man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FIl_J5sI3A

Means to an End by Traffic (1968)

My first exposure to Steve Winwood was in the mid 80's when the popular "Higher Love" was flooding the radio airwaves. Even as a novice listener, I realized that that song was crap. I couldn't stand it and anything that Winwood released subsequent to 'Higher Love'. Therefore, I had no interest in discovering his earlier music. It wasn't until a few years later that I discovered Blind Faith's Can't Find My Home and thought that maybe Winwood wasn't so bad.

Still, I didn't really discover the best work he ever did, with Traffic, until I was in my 30's. And what a collection of great rock music it was. This music has feeling. Winwood also had a distinct, powerful voice that I thoroughly enjoy.

Check out this shorter number from Traffic's second album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgfk_CmbfHs

Rock n' Roll Star by Jane (1974)

1974 probably marked the most guitar-driven period for the Krautrock Prog band, Jane. They have some interesting material and some great covers. If you ever come across any Jane vinyl, pick it up because it is probably worth something. In fact, pick up any Krautrock album you come across, as it is usually very good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epAARudoS_8

Since You've Been Gone by Toe Fat (1970)

It's a shame that Toe Fat lasted only about two years. For some reason, certainly not music quality, they didn't get off the ground. Perhaps it was the name. It is kind of goofy even for the time period. In that time, though, they managed to produce two albums that are each worth repeated listens.

Here is a track off of their second album released in the Fall of 1970.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh24xqQgfrA

Good Times by Nobody's Children (1967)

I don't know much about 60's Texas garage band Nobody's Children (Not to be confused with the late 80's L.A. hard rock hair band of the same name). I do know that this song is the epitome of the garage sound which I love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBMqhpBFghk

Victim of Changes by Judas Priest (1976)

It's hard to believe that Judas Priest has been around since 1969. However, there were numerous lineup changes in the early days. It wasn't until 1974, that the long running ensemble of Rob Halford, K.K. Downing, and Ian Hill came together. Stylistically, the band took a few years to forge their signature sound that would define them in the 1980's and beyond.

Here is a track from their second album with Halford and while the song is longer than later pieces, you can hear that sound developing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKSU1W0ZUmQ