Daily Archives: April 20, 2012

100 Best Songs of the 1970s 50 – 41

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100 Best Songs of the 1970s | NME.COM.

50 The Cramps – ‘Human Fly’

Released: July 1978

Produced by Big Star’s Alex Chilton, this was a grotty slice of swamp rock, featuring Poison Ivy’s vine-creeping guitar and Lux Interior’s guzzling vocals uniting to create a two-minute goth-rock diamond.

49 The Clash – ‘Train In Vain’

Released: December 1979

‘London Calling”s catchy, wheezing closer was hardly meant to be there. In fact, it was destined for an NME flexidisc but never arrived – instead it was tacked onto The Clash’s meisterwerk after the sleeve had gone to the printer, making it an unintentional hidden track. Your CD cover lists it now, as do the credits for Garbage’s 1996 hit ‘Stupid Girl’.

48 Bob Dylan – ‘Tangled Up In Blue’

Released: January 1975

The chiming first track on Dylan’s marriage-dissecting ‘Blood On The Tracks’ is a surreal, jump-cutting tale of a relationship from soup to nuts. Crammed with detail – “Working for a while on a fishing boat/Right outside of Delacroix” – none of it directly referencing the failure of his marriage to Sara Lowndes, it nevertheless has a personal quality. And his Bobness sings pretty nicely too.

47 Fleetwood Mac – ‘Dreams’

Released: February 1977

Simple, pretty and aimed like a laser at Lindsey Buckingham‘s guilty conscience, ‘Dreams’ was written by Stevie Nicks as everyone’s marriages and relationships fell to rack and ruin around the recording of AOR phenomenon ‘Rumours’. It doesn’t do a great deal but is mesmeric as it needles away, persuading its target to have a damn good think about “what you lost”.

46 Gang Of Four – ‘Damaged Goods’

Released: December 1978

The lead track from Gang Of Four’s debut EP boasts a riff that could slice through a particularly strong girder, the coldest funk this side of Prince & The Refrigeration and a seedy little lyric about ending an affair that’s become a bit wearing on the physical side. Jon King and Andy Gill trade vocals with all the soul of George Osborne. Brilliant.

45 Blondie – ‘Hanging On The Telephone’

Released: September 1978

One hell of an album opener. Blondie’s 1978 classic ‘Parallel Lines’ blams into life with ‘Hanging On The Telephone’, a pummeling war horse of a track written in 1973 by Jack Lee but first surfacing on his band The Nerves’ debut EP in 1976. Blondie’s version is strung-out, pleading and strident, and it’s impossible to ignore Debbie Harry’ siren call.

44 Deep Purple – ‘Smoke On The Water’

Released: March 1972

A story as legendary as the song’s four-note riff, ‘Smoke On The Water’ was inspired by the, er, smoke floating over Lake Geneva while Deep Purple were recording in their mobile studio. It came from a Frank Zappa gig at the Montreux Casino that caught fire when some chump fired a flare gun, the blaze now forever commemorated by inept guitarists trying to ape Ritchie Blackmore‘s axework.

43 Dolly Parton – ‘Jolene’

Released: October 1973

Dolly Parton’s signature smash actually limped to a mere No.60 in the States but it endures as an oddly jaunty plea to the titular stunner to leave Dolly’s man alone, even though she could take him any time she likes. There’s no artifice here – which is Parton’s main strength. However brassy and unreal she can be, she’s never less than pure-hearted. Later covered by the White Stripes.

42 T. Rex – ‘Get It On’

Released: July 1971

There’s a rice paper’s difference between each T. Rex riff, isn’t there? But who gives a hoot when Marc Bolan can clip them as funky as his work on ‘Get It On’, a chart-chomping monster of an effort that helped form the foundations of T. Rex’s annexation of Britain’s No.1 spot. Covered to lumpen effect by Robert Palmer/Duran Duran/Chic supergroup Power Station in 1985.

41 The Rolling Stones – ‘Tumbling Dice’

Released: April 1972

All ‘Exile On Main Street”s grubby cool is scrunched up into this UK Top 5 hit as Keith Richards plays a riff so loose its trousers are around its ankles and Mick Jagger drawls nonsense about “gambling love”. In actual fact, ‘Tumbling Dice’ had been kicking around for years before its ‘Exile’ completion, only worked into shape once Mick Taylor had been booted off lead.

100 Best Songs of the 1970s 60 – 51

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100 Best Songs of the 1970s | NME.COM.

60 Elvis Costello – ‘Oliver’s Army’

Released: February 1979

Lyrically it couldn’t have been more timely. With political unrest in Ireland, Palestine and further field, Costello’s track about working class army proles exploited by the government seemed right on the money. Steve Nieve’s ABBA inspired keyboard work was the cherry on the top.

59 Curtis Mayfield – ‘Move On Up’

Released: September 1970

Free from The Impressions, Mayfield’s solo debut ‘Curtis’ featured many shining moments – but ‘Move On Up’ was perhaps the finest. The uplifting horns and vocals were the heart of a track that empowered for a generation going hopefully and nervously into a brand new decade.

58 The Modern Lovers – ‘Roadrunner’

Released: June 1972

Written after multiple exposures to The Velvet Underground’s splatter-rock epic ‘Sister Ray’, Jonathan Richman’s laconic drawl perfectly reflected the arid, suburban boredom reflected in the track’s lyrics and repetitive riff. A precursor to the slacker rock phenomenon almost 20 years later.

57 Squeeze – ‘Up The Junction’

Released: May 1979

Inspired by a TV play by Ken Loach, Chris Difford’s lyrics were brilliant street poetry, a kitchen sink drama that zipped along with soap opera like speed via bawdy colloquialisms. The grand keyboard line was just as important as the words in making this a new wave classic.

56 The Velvet Underground – ‘Rock & Roll’

Released: April 1970

Lou Reed could have been singing about himself when he said Ginny’s life was “saved by rock’n'roll.” The guitars and bass sound jangling and groovy, whilst the usually dour Reed sounds positively born again as he intones lines about radio hits making everything “alright” again. From ‘Heroin’ to this in four years? Wow.

55 Junior Murvin – ‘Police & Thieves’

Released: April 1977

Junior’s falsetto vocal and the gentle swish of the instrumental track (produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry) belied the lyrics which spoke of civil unrest and societal tension. Little wonder it was covered by The Clash on their debut album.

54 Elton John – ‘Tiny Dancer‘

Released: February 1972

A beautiful lyric from Bernie Taupin about navigating love on the road with future wife Maxine Feibelman was met by an instrumental that caught John at his singer/songwriter peak, creating a soft rock gem that would resonate with generations to come.

53 Thin Lizzy – ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’

Released: May 1976

With lyrics tense with a Springsteen-ish drama and multiple hooks – the legendary riff, the fist-punching chorus, the twin guitar solo from Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham to the chorus – this track is rife with the smell of summer lawns and the memories of beach parties. No wonder the track was co-opted by Irish rugby teams, jeans companies and Bon Jovi.

52 Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘

Released: October 1975

In a career of classic rock moments, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ still stands out as Queen’s campest and most outlandish. A piano chanson (complete with Brian May’s jaw dropping guitar solo) leaps gleefully into a full blown operatic parody, and the results are legendary.

51 Iggy Pop – ‘Lust For Life’

Released: September 1977

‘Lust For Life’ hums with skid row defiance, wrapped up with a seductive jangle pop bow. Little wonder it was later co-opted by Trainspotting – Bowie and Iggy reference heroin stalwart William Burroughs and dead dealers – but altogether, the song is as life-affirming as a gospel track.