Music from 1973
JANUARY
Solid Gold (Easy Action) - T.Rex
Marc Bolan and Mickey Flynn at their best, track goes straight into the action!
The Jean Genie - David Bowie
Great track, not sure I can add much more than that. It is tracks like these that got me into David Bowie and made me an avid Radio listener & TV Watcher.
Gudbuy T'Jane - Slade
Good old fashioned Slade noize! Remember listening to this in the back of my dad's car when on long car journeys.
Shotgun Wedding - Roy C
Classic Ska track, revived from an 1960's release and made popular in the early 70's. Listened to this and may other similar tracks at the Hurst Road Youth Club on a Thursday night.
Nights in White Satin - The Moody Blues
One of a pair of Moody Blues tracks I really liked...
Always on my Mind - Elvis Presley
One of the few Elvis tracks I have always liked, as ever he was best in black & white but nevertheless this was a cool song.
You're so Vain - Carly Simon
This track just seemed to grab my imagination from the start, I remember there was a lot of talk about who this song was about at the time, I always thought it was Mick Jagger.
FEBRUARY
Blockbuster - Sweet
100% Glam Rock, Blockbuster was a standard in of the Genre and was completely over the top!
Papa was a Rolling Stone - The Temptations
The Temptations came out rumps with this track - which became a classic covered by many. The original was by far the best.
Whisky in the Jar - Thin Lizzy
I'd argue the best band out of the Irish Republic, ever. This was Thin Lizzy's first hit and called on a traditional song for inspiration. Phil Lynott was just so cool.
MARCH
Cum Feel the Noize - Slade
Another classic Slade bang 'em out song. Part of my youth.
20th Century Boy - T.Rex
More coolness from Marc Bolan and the T.Rex gang. On of my favourites.
Hello Hurray - Alice Cooper
All that was bad and evil in the world! The press hated him, so I loved it!
Daniel - Elton John
One of only a couple of Elton John songs that live, I always liked teh word to this track and made Daniel a firm favourite name in my head.
Love Train - O'Jays
I became a ware of the O'Jays whilst on holiday in Canada, seeing them on Soul Train and the like there with my cousins. This track is a firm favourite of mine.
If you don't know me by now - Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
Another soul track and I guess maybe for the same reasons as above, we holidayed in Canada almost every year so I saw a lot of this stuff.
Feel the Need in Me - Detroit Emeralds
I'm thinking 1973 must have been a holiday in Canada year! I feel the need...
Killing me Softly with his Voice - Roberta Flack
Of course the other reason might be that I was beginning to realise that most of the music available was formula tosh, put out by the record industry. I lied this song though....
APRIL
No More Mr Nice Guy - Alice Cooper
Hell Raiser - The Sweet
See my Baby Jive - Wizzard
MAY
Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed
This was a great song on the radio, back in the day before the establishment figured out what the song as about!
Rubber Bullets - 10 CC
This one seemed 'dangerous' as it talked about rioting and wrecking your school.
Armed and Extremely Dangerous - First Choice
I remember loving this track - it was played a lot at the Hurst Road Boys Club
JUNE & JULY
Nothing seemed to happen this summer!
AUGUST
48 Crash - Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro seemed to be a breathe of fresh air in 1973, a female rocker, who knew!
SEPTEMBER
Life on Mars - David Bowie
The truly wonderful 'Life on Mars' was the premium release form the Ziggy Stardust Album. I remember seeing my friends with this album and wishing that we had a record player at home that I could use to play music. That would come some months later, in the meantime I liked the fact that on the back of the album was Bowie, standing under a sign for 'K.West', the name of our scary French teacher!
Summer (The First Time) - Bobby Goldsboro
Sloppy sentimental trash but I remember it being played endlessly on the radio and it really got into my head!
OCTOBER
All the way from Memphis - Mott the Hoople
Another of Ian Hunter's & Co's big four tracks from the era. A wall of sound with crisp vocals and red hot guitar from Areil Bender!
The Dean & I - 10cc
10cc were one of those bands that never really grabbed my attention, I liked some of their earlier stuff but then they drifted off to a very syrupy and twee world.
Lets Get it On - Marvin Gaye
I loved this track from the moment I first heard it, great song and great theme.
Angie - The Rolling Stones
Not your usual Rolling Stones type of track, more of a ballad but nonetheless good for it. One of eth last Stones tracks that I liked a they descended into their own world of twaddle!
NOVEMBER
Ghetto Child - Detroit Spinners
One of my favourites from the Detroit Spinners, they were getting a bit old in teh tooth by 1973 but this was a good sound.
Knockin on Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan
From the Sam Peckinpah film 'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid', Bob Dylan had a small part in the film nut this was the stand out track from the film. In 1974 any Western film would have gotten my attention, this was no exception.
That Lady - Isley Brothers
I just liked this track since the first time I heard it, great track from the amazing Isleys...
Nutbush City Limits - Ike & Tina Turner
A real classic from Ike & Tina before Ike was found out to be a tyrant! Great voices and a backing wall of sound.
Ballroom Blitz - The Sweet
Probably the best track released by 'The Sweet' at the height of Glam Rock, interesting to compare these guys to Mott the Hoople, who were a lot less commercial but also less popular.
DECEMBER
Roll Away the Stone - Mott the Hoople
One of Mott the Hoople's standards, the thinking man's Slade or Sweet, where Glam Rock stated to cross over into properly good sounds.
Armoureuse - Kiki Dee
I just liked the sound of this track when it was released, never really got into other music by Kiki Dee and hated the duet she did with Elton John.
Radar Love - Golden Earing
Best track ever by a Dutch band! The driving rhythm is just right for this track, describing how someone is motoring to meat their partner in the rain.
Sorrow - David Bowie
One of Bowie's great ballad tracks, Sorrow is a plaintive cry for company and is executed fabulously!
I wish it could be Christmas Everyday - Wizzard
The other great Christmas classic of the year, I like this song better than the Slade one and youhear it less on the radio over the years. The ids are corny but the sentiment is great!