Treble's Best Albums of the 70s

by Treble Staff; intro by Terrance Terich

09.05.2005





Well, here we are. Part deux of our salute to the '70s takes us from 1975 to 1979. From the close of the Vietnam War to the Iran Hostage Crisis, the last half of the '70s had its low points. But it did have its share of greatness as well. America celebrated its bicentennial, and I remember the fireworks extravaganzas that ensued, back when you could still have fireworks in Southern California. What we celebrate here is something else that was great about the '70s — its music.

The style of music most associated with the decade is, of course, disco. But disco was quick to come and go. Having its origins in the late sixties and early part of the seventies, but not really taking off until 1975, disco hit its biggest strides in 1977 with the release of the film and soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever. Studio 54 became the coolest place on the planet and men started buying platform shoes and white tuxedos by the truckload. It was a world of surface. Everything depended on how you looked, how you dressed, and if you could dance. There was bound to be a rebellion.

And rebellion there was in 1976 when a band of fellas who found each other through their love of the Stooges in Forest Hills, New York all took the last name Ramone and released their first album. In 1977 another band with heavy British accents and absolute venom released their first album. And in a few short years, one could trace the history of disco to the reactionary punk, and then to the progressive and arty post-punk.

Throughout this feature we'll see the triumphant return of Bob Dylan, the debut of Patti Smith, and seventies mainstays such as Queen, Led Zeppelin and Bruce Springsteen, and that's just in 1975! David Bowie will appear numerous times as he and another fellow Treble '70s honoree got together to form a legendary relationship. And how mind blowing will it be to see Elvis Costello, the Clash, Wire, Television, the Sex Pistols, Talking Heads and Suicide all see their debuts in the same year that Fleetwood Mac released Rumours? My head hurts.

And then there was a new wave. The Cars, Blondie, Pere Ubu and Devo all joined the musical fray before 1979 came around to introduce post-punk. We hope you enjoy our little musical journey through the latter half of the "Best of the '70s" this week, and invite you to join us next year for our trip into the '80s.

p.s. Since we're doing this feature year by year, and you're just damn curious as to what album got the most votes, making it Treble's #1 all-time 70's album, then you need wait no further than the #1 album of 1979. So tune in everyday until Friday when the truth will be unveiled. As far as vote totals on a weighted scale (and the fact that not one writer didn't have it on their list), nothing else even came close.

For 1970-1974, click here

1975

10. Fleetwood Mac — Fleetwood Mac (Reprise)

Before Rumours, there was Fleetwood Mac, the band's breakthrough piece, the pivotal album resulting from the synergy of two distinctly different bands. From this ingenious merge, the music world was blessed with a kind of radio pop, radio pop that wasn't targeted by high-ratings-seeking executives, or engineered by computer programmers to satisfy the largest demographic.— Nicole Grotepas
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9. Roxy Music - Siren (Atco)

Featuring a then-unknown Jerri Hall slithering on the cover as the titular seductive "siren," Roxy Music's fifth album would be their last great rock `n' roll album, and one of their most rocking ever. On Manifesto and Avalon, the band's more romantic and, quite frankly, cheesy instincts would kick in. But Siren was the band at their peak, rocking out and producing some great singles to boot. "Love is the Drug" and "Both Ends Burning" would both become hits in the UK, and the danceable and surreal art-rock vibe of the remaining songs would make the complete package an enjoyable whole. Though it may not be as famous for being as groundbreaking as For Your Pleasure or Country Life, it should be noted for what it is: a solid, thoroughly awesome record. — Jeff Terich
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8. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (Swan Song)

Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti is an enormous double-album that avoids the usual shortcomings of other double-albums, primarily by not having much in the way of so-so fillers or throwaway tracks. The last of Led Zeppelin's best releases fills its four sides with material recorded over the years providing one last triumphant hurrah for hard rock and roll. — Hubert Vigilla
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7. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (Columbia)

Pink Floyd was never my favorite band, nor would I even say I was much of a fan. I could never get into the space rock theatrics of The Wall, Dark Side of the Moon or the bloated Animals, but I loved their debut Piper At the Gates of Dawn, primarily because of the twisted genius of Syd Barrett at the helm. However, maybe because of its associations with Barrett, I can't help but make another exception for Wish You Were Here. No less ambitious or spaced-out than the above mentioned records, Wish was every bit as druggy and free-roaming as any of the band's other records. Yet, the band intended the record to be something of a concept album about Barrett, and even dedicated the record to him. The weirdness in the instrumental soundscapes of Parts 1-9 of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," in particular, seem strongly connected to the reclusive and mentally unstable icon. But there happened to be a few good pop songs in "Have a Cigar" and the title track. I'm not sure I'll ever come around on Animals, but Wish You Were Here is another story altogether. – Jeff Terich


6. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run (Columbia)

With its various vivid narratives featuring characters determined to find something better and its all-encompassing narrative of heartbreak and hope through escape, Born to Run channels and epitomizes the qualities of those mythic, oft-attempted but oftener still never quite realized entities: The Great American Novel and The American Short Story. — Hubert Vigilla
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5. David Bowie - Young Americans (RCA)

On Young Americans, Bowie sheds the persona of the extraterrestrial glam rock androgyne genie, slipping into the swank garb and glitzy song stylings of Philadelphia soul. This sudden change in identity was dubbed an exercise in plastic soul—a term that can be taken either as a pejorative or a fitting label for the lovingly rendered pastiche. — Hubert Vigilla
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4. Queen - A Night at the Opera (Elektra)

"I see a little silhouetto of a man!" And that man was the incomparable Freddie Mercury. He was larger than life, and so animated that he has to be ranked among the top echelon of frontmen in rock. This album not only solidified Queen's place in history, it also broke barriers, crossed boundaries, and shattered genres. Take that, British establishment! — Terrance Terich
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3. Patti Smith - Horses (Arista)

Prepare to dance and have your mind blown at the same time. Horses, her debut album, presents Patti Smith as poetess of the fractured fringes and rock and roll's "I got to lose control" school…which is really the impetus behind all good, strictly defined, rock `n' roll. — Tyler Parks
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2. Brian Eno - Another Green World (EG)

Consisting of half `rock' songs, as were found in his debut, and half experimental instrumental music, Brian Eno's Another Green World became one of the former Roxy Music member's most praised albums. God Bless Astralwerks for making this, and the other three of his `first' albums available to the public again. — Terrance Terich
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1. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks (Columbia)

Cold on the heels of discussing Exile on Main Street, this 1970s featurette gives me the opportunity to summarize another monolith in Blood on the Tracks. Plenty has already been said about the nature of Dylan's social and marital situation at the time of release, and probably with more conviction than I can believably muster. What matters, when said and done, is how the collection of songs herein stand up away from the essays. — Thomas Lee
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1976

10. Bob Dylan — Desire (Columbia)

Already considered a legend in his own time, Bob Dylan had to come up with a follow-up to his most personal album to date, an album that will forever be in debate as to whether it is his best album ever. So, Dylan threw himself into the work, collaborating with lyrical specialist Jacques Levy, fresh off helping Roger McGuinn. An all-night tequila fueled recording session ensued creating not only one of Dylan's most singularly different albums to date in what was to be Desire, but also some of his most original songs. — Terrance Terich
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9. Tom Waits — Small Change (Asylum)

Tom Waits' fourth album is a mosaic masterpiece of the drunken romanticism of Tin Pan Alley. He may not have started out gravelly in Closing Time, but Waits could sand down a china hutch with his voice in Small Change. Drunks, bums, pirates and pitchmen pepper the aural landscape of Waits' musical world. This is skid row, jazz and scat, beat poetry fusion at its best. It's somewhat strange to put Tom Waits' albums in a `Best of the 70's' list as his compositions seem more at home in the twenties. – Terrance Terich
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8. Flamin' Groovies - ShakeSomeAction (Sire)

When Roy Loney left The Flamin Groovies, the band returned with a new singer/guitarist Chris Wilson and a new name: The Flamin' Groovies (note the important addition of that apostrophe). Sporting a more power pop influenced sound, remaining founder Cyril Jordan and Wilson crafted the best British invasion album released 10 years after those initial British song ships sailed to our shores. – Hubert Vigilla





7. Parliament - Mothership Connection (Casablanca)

Funk was born in three stages. First came James Brown's Live at The Apollo, then Curtis Mayfield's Superfly and then Mothership Connection took it even further. The carnivalesque vibe makes this album the Pet Sounds or even a Sgt. Pepper's to soul music as a whole. You've never really shaken your ass until you have taken a ride on the Mothership. — Chris Pacifico
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6. Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby (RCA)

Lou Reed makes a comeback of past sour solo recordings with this gorgeously understated record. The sparseness of Coney Island Baby is refreshing in an era of prog rock and masturbatory soloing and even in contrast to Reed's own work after the legendary Velvet Underground. Uncomplicated songs and straightforward lyrics don't dull Reed's edge though. He sings of strippers, killers with a lust for murder, and that demon that hangs over the head of every man and woman: love. — Molly B. Eichel
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5. Blondie - Blondie (Chrysalis)

Blondie planted its roots in the all-American rock of yesteryear. Debbie Harry's mellifluous lament on the intro to "X Offender" harkens back to the days when melodramatic teen dialogue opened songs like "Leader of the Pack." Just listen to the twangy, surf-guitar solo, or Harry's lilting sighs—this is what American Bandstand would have played if synthesizers were more popular in the mid '60s and Dick Clark had taste. — Andrew Good
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4. Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life (Tamla – Motown)

Apart from being one of Wonder's finest achievements as a pop star and, more so, an artist, Songs in the Key of Life achieves something far greater and more important: The ability to affirm life no matter what happens. Even as heartbreak takes hold, Wonder's voice soars, lending sympathy to those in similar situations. Even as the inevitability of human drama presents itself, there's hope in a horn blow or the promise of a new day. Even as the hates and troubles that life has in store can make you wish you were born in another time or place, love can conquer all whether it manifest itself in a man or woman, in memories or, in the case of the album, in music itself. – Hubert Vigilla
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3. David Bowie - Station to Station (RCA)

"Driving that train, high on cocaine / David Jones you better watch your speed." Okay, yes, these are Grateful Dead lyrics and they refer to Casey Jones not David Jones, later David Bowie, but they might as well be about the Thin White Duke. The opening of Station to Station begins with Bowie "driving that train," and he was on cocaine most of the time. Instead of having "trouble ahead, trouble behind," though, Bowie meditated on love, his and his wife Angela's "Golden Years" and the existence of God. — Terrance Terich
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2. Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers (Berserkley)

Velvet Underground obsessed and dripping teen neurosis, Jonathan Richman leads the Modern Lovers on a rollicking rock and roll odyssey through the city, the suburbs and beyond. Ragged in all the right places and embarrassingly honest, this one just seems to get better and better as time passes. — Tyler Parks
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1. Ramones - Ramones (Sire)

The first band to do what they did, The Ramones inevitably turned heads, inspired other musicians, and even provided a new dictionary of terms: "hey ho let's go," "gabba gabba hey" and "punk," even though they didn't call themselves that. But they're widely recognized as the first ones to do it, and this is their first recorded session of rebellious, silly and altogether fun "bubblegum" rock `n' roll. — Jeff Terich
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Personal Best

Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak (Mercury)

Whether writing about the prowess of The Warrior or the heartbroken tales of the one(s) that got away, Lynott spins yarns that are captivating and honest; fitting Henry Rollins' assertion that the late Lynott was truly one hell of a songwriter. If you're feeling great, there's "Jailbreak" or, of course, "The Boys Are Back in Town." When you're feeling down, there's "Running Back" and "Dancing in the Moonlight," the latter of the two appearing on the band's next album, Bad Reputation. Phil's gonna be there for you, man, and he knows what it's like and he'll sing you a song and he'll make you know that you are not alone. — Hubert Vigilla
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1977

10. Fleetwood Mac — Rumours (Reprise)

I have a great idea for a soap opera. You have a band in the '70s, so it's kind of like That '70s Show, but with musicians. There's five of them, two of them are married, two are seeing each other, and the other one is getting divorced and I think he really wants to be with one of the other ladies. Anyway, they all split up and they make the best music of their lives! Nah, no one would ever buy that story. — Terrance Terich
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9. Suicide - Suicide (Red Star)

While their peers were defining punk music with a sound, Martin Rev and Alan Vega were doing it with an attitude instead. Doing away with guitars entirely, the New York duo played old-fashioned rock `n' roll music, albeit one filtered through paranoid schizophrenia and massive bleeding. Their debut album is a frightening listen, but one with some truly amazing songs. "Cheree" and "Girl" show the duo's more lovelorn side, while "Johnny" and "Ghost Rider" are rocking raveups for the kids who prefer to pogo to something a little faster and more intense. But nothing on earth can prepare you for "Frankie Teardrop," a harrowing narrative of a doomed factory worker, complete with blood-curdling screams that can likely result in nightmares for days to come. Don't listen to this alone. — Jeff Terich

8. Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77 (Sire)

The Talking Heads' first album immediately demonstrated that they were a little tenser, a little smarter, and a little different, from not only mainstream fare but bands in their own scene as well. Talking Heads: 77 is a stark debut that proved that even kids in collared shirts and washed hair could be punk rock. — Molly B. Eichel
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7. Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (Warner Bros.)

The Sex Pistols didn't last long, but they made a hell of a statement while they were around. Their one and only studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks was the UK punk movement captured on tape. Steve Jones, playing a bastardized version of Mick Ronson's riffage, coupled with Johnny Rotten's vitriolic social critique and Sid Vicious's mercilessly sloppy bass (he was the only member of the band who couldn't play his instrument) made them the most dangerous band in Britain. They were even banned by the BBC. Only four months after this, two weeks into a US tour, they disbanded, living out their nihilist aesthetic and bringing it full circle. — Jeff Terich


6. Wire - Pink Flag (Harvest)

If punk was meant to be simple, primitive and raw, nobody told Wire. The raw part they had down, but the other two? Well, let's just say that Wire were less of a punk band than a really hyperactive and aggressive art rock band. When one idea got old, they would abandon it completely. Needless to say, Pink Flag is 100% good ideas, and the paradoxically best punk album ever released by a band that was both the epitome and the antithesis of punk. — Jeff Terich
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5. David Bowie - "Heroes" (RCA)

Midway through his Berlin trilogy, Bowie wrote what some (myself included) consider his best song, the title track for "Heroes". Inspired by lovers meeting at the Wall, which was positioned mere yards from the studio's window, Bowie crafted a timeless story of love and rebellion. Throw in some Kraftwerk, some Eno, and some Iggy and you've got one hell of an inspired album. — Terrance Terich
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4. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True (Columbia)

What do you get when you cross the ghost of Buddy Holly, the spirit of punk, a little bit of country, a lot of soul and the wittiest lyrical mind in the biz? You get the answer to why I suppose it's true that one million fans can't be wrong. It just turns out that they were talking about a different Elvis. — Terrance Terich
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3. Television - Marquee Moon (Elektra)

New York music of the late '70s was vibrant, to say the least. While the Ramones were playing as loud and fast as possible, Television was making entire symphonies out of guitar rock. Not necessarily in the same way that Glenn Branca would, though that came shortly later. Television made guitar rock into something more beautiful and fascinating than that of their dinosaur rock forebears. Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd not only made guitar cool again, they practically re-invented the instrument as an instrument more complex and sophisticated. And they wrote some damn good pop songs while they were at it. — Jeff Terich
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2. David Bowie - Low (RCA)

Low is an awe-inspiring album. It's new wave before there was such a thing as new wave, it's Krautrock before the general public even knew there was such a thing, it's ambient without ever slipping into banality. Low is Bowie at his peak and it gives a glimpse inside the mind of an artist at a pivotal point in his career, only to see him come out as a success. Foregoing the traditional pop song structure in favor of uncharted waters, Low could have been awful — a huge failure — but it's anything but. Low is strange and gorgeous and breaks the mold. And that's exactly why we need Bowie in the first place. — Molly B. Eichel
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1. The Clash - The Clash (Epic)

The Clash had everything right from the start. Use punk as a platform for political rebellion, mix it up with a little reggae, douse it with pop harmonies rather than flat out screams, get the coolest name in rock, throw in some of the best album covers ever made, and become punk legends. What could be easier? — Terrance Terich
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Personal Best

Iggy Pop - The Idiot (RCA)

Iggy Pop was the stereotypical burnout, fading fast after a short, five year career in rock `n' roll. But come 1977, he was ready to grow up and show the world he was a new man, one ready to take on the world with a new sound and sense of determination and drive. The Idiot was his first recording after four years away from the limelight and is, arguably, his finest album. Both cold and intense, The Idiot sounds like a man coming back from the grave and, in a sense, it truly was. — Jeff Terich
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Ramones - Rocket to Russia (Sire)

While the Ramones' debut is rightly considered to be their best, not to mention one of the most influential punk records ever recorded, people can tend to forget that they put out two more albums in just over a year's time. The sophomore effort Leave Home lacked the brutal strength, energy and crafty songwriting that the debut displayed, but Rocket to Russia in both image and substance brought them hurtling back to excellence. (The band purposefully nearly duplicated the cover of the debut to bring back the punk magic). "Cretin Hop" and "Rockaway Beach" still carried echoes of "Blitzkrieg Bop" while "Do You Wanna Dance?" and "Surfin' Bird" became Ramones songs despite the fact they were covers. Best of all though are the new songs "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" and "Teenage Lobotomy." There's almost no better lyric than "Guess I'll just have to tell `em that I've got no cerebellum." Not to mention the fact that this is the last of the three albums that featured the ORIGINAL Ramones. Tommy then stepped behind the scenes to become producer to make way for new drummer Marky for the nearly as good Road to Ruin. — Terrance Terich

1978

10. The Police — Outlandos D'Amour (A&M)

The yellow and black striped sweater story does not need to be told again here. All you really need to know is that the Police were one of the most musically proficient bands of any era and this is where it all started. Punk, reggae, Motown and '60s pop from the "bandits of love." — Terrance Terich
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9. Big Star - Third/Sister Lovers (PVC)

They no longer were on the label that released their first two albums. They no longer were aided by songwriter Chris Bell. And at this point, they no longer had much left of their sanity. Big Star burned out so brightly and quickly, it's hard to believe they actually have a new album due this year. But once upon a time, they were on the verge of collapse, Alex Chilton unleashing his innermost emotional pain on their third and "final" album, one that was both their ugliest and their most beautiful. — Jeff Terich
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8. Wire - Chairs Missing (Harvest)

They were called the "Pink Floyd of the New Wave," a title meant as a compliment, but still one that no self-respecting art-punk would take lightly. Wire may have stretched punk to its limits, no longer resembling the three-chord romp that The Ramones made famous. Instead, Wire's second album, Chairs Missing, finds the energy and abrasiveness of punk rock molded into curiously progressive shapes, resulting in one of the most exciting albums in punk's history. — Jeff Terich
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7. Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance (Blank)

When Mercury Records started "punk" offshoot Blank Records, their first signing was Pere Ubu, a Cleveland outfit that made punk rock into an artsy and bizarre form of rock music. They certainly couldn't have foreseen the first album that resulted, The Modern Dance, a disturbing, funny and altogether strange collection of songs that still sounds original to this day. There were more "difficult" songs mixed in with the catchier tunes like "Non-Alignment Pact" and the title track, but it was art, kids, which is probably why they didn't stay with Mercury too long. — Jeff Terich

6. The Cars - The Cars (Elektra)

No matter how many times you listen to the self-titled debut album from the Cars, you will be surprised and bewildered every time you give it a spin on the ol' turntable. With nine songs that revolved around Ric Ocasek's genuine knack for being a pop architect (duh), Eliot Easton's splintery guitar solos, Greg Hawkes' bumpy synthesizer chops and some all around big-ass harmonies, The Cars spawned three top 40 singles as well as countless weeks on the Billboard Top 200 chart. — Chris Pacifico
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5. Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (Warner Bros.)

Jello-Mold hats, herky-jerky rhythms, 10 minute science fiction film satire, production by Eno, Moog synthesizers, "mongoloids," Rolling Stones covers, accusations of "fascism," de-evolutionary theory, uncontrollable urges, gut feelings and a bewildered and confused public? Brilliant! — Jeff Terich
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4. Blondie - Parallel Lines (Chrysalis)

"Once I had a love and it was a gas" coos the breathtaking Debbie Harry. Although, she doesn't start the album off that way. Instead, Harry belts out the punk Noo Yawk-ish opening lines of "Hanging on the Telephone," saving the disco breakthrough for later in the album. Technically their third album, Parallel Lines was for all intents and purposes their world debut, and although it had "mainstream" written all over it, no one could not like Blondie. — Terrance Terich
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3. Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food (Sire)

More Songs About Buildings and Food had a title to match David Byrne's equally smart and cheeky lyrics, and picked up musically where the Heads left off on their debut the year before. 77's paranoid confessions and neurotic love songs had caught on with a minority audience, but one fan in particular would actually change the band's sound on their return to the studio — Brian Eno. — Andrew Good
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2. The Jam - All Mod Cons (Polydor)

I am more than tempted to include a joke about how Paul (Weller) was "revered" in Britain. (Get it? ...Paul...revered...huh? huh?) But instead, now that it is too late, I will let you know that the Jam, and specifically the songwriting of Weller, were top shelf. All Mod Cons was the example of Weller firing on all cylinders, a sharp wit and a sweet jangly Rickenbacker by his side. — Terrance Terich
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1. Elvis Costello - This Year's Model (Columbia)

As part of the UK new wave scene, My Aim Is True, Elvis Costello's debut, was something of an anomaly. Rather than playing in true punk fashion, Costello was backed by bar band Clover, later to become Huey Lewis's News. But the follow-up, the rough and tumble This Year's Model, introduced The Attractions to the world, thereby lending a new sound to Costello's bitter songs. Every song has an immediacy and intensity that just kicks more ass with each repeated listen. I say it's his best album, merely because he didn't hold anything back on this one, and The Attractions certainly didn't hurt, either. — Jeff Terich
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Personal Best

Prince - For You (Warner Bros.)

The career of one of my favorite musicians, a long and storied one to be sure, began with this album. His Purple Badness' second album was the one named after him, but this was the debut, bad afro, wispy mustache and all. While this would not be a high watermark in his career artistically or monetarily, it did herald the greatness of what was to come. Standout track "Soft and Wet" laid the groundwork for a bevy of great sexually charged funk, soul and R&B songs to come (no pun intended). Before there was the Revolution, and long before the New Power Generation, before it became 1999, and before he took on the purple coat, his name was Prince…and he was funky.

1979

10. Wire — 154 (Enigma)

Three years, two albums and 154 live performances and Wire was ready to reinvent themselves. Again. Unwilling to stick to convention, even to the point of avoiding old songs at gigs, Wire expanded their sound into uncharted realms of pure art and sonic experimentation. 154 is at once their most accessible and their most difficult record. This record was so giant of a step for them, they had taken their sound so far out that they ran out of ideas shortly thereafter and broke up. — Jeff Terich
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9. Public Image Limited - Metal Box (Warner Bros.)

Public Image Ltd.'s second offering Metal Box is a post-punk masterpiece of epic proportions. Touching reggae and experimental rock, the former Johnny Rotten and Co. prove that PiL is not just some Sex Pistols second act. While not as immediately palatable as Nevermind the Bullocks, those who get past the vast soundscapes, angular and painful guitars, and smooth basslines will find something truly beautiful from a man who championed ugliness and No Future. — Molly B. Eichel
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8. Talking Heads - Fear of Music (Sire)

An album has never been so inappropriately named as the Talking Heads' Fear of Music. If anything, Fear of Music shows that the Talking Heads are ready to face their Demons of
Rock and make one of the greatest albums in their career of great albums. Tackling subjects such as death and war, the Talking Heads prove on their third album that they are one of the best bands to ever grace punk rock, and music in general. And above everything else, they just want to boogie. — Molly B. Eichel
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7. Pink Floyd - The Wall (Columbia)

The Wall's scope and ambition elevated Pink Floyd's hallucinogenic acid-rock to a new level, and delivered a theatrical flourish that few bands could replicate. The Wall doesn't work particularly well if you think of it as a straightforward pop album, but as a performance it draws you in like a whirlpool. Like all of Floyd's albums, it forces you to peer inside your head, and does it with a character and a story rather than just songs. — Andrew Good
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6. The Cure - Three Imaginary Boys/ Boys Don't Cry (Fiction)

Ah, the pink record sleeve and the pictures instead of song titles. All this and clean cut to boot! Before Robert Smith had `the hair' and had been beatified by the goth elite, he was a teenager who liked punk music. In trying to make his own, he found a shockingly accessible mix of pop and post-punk that became hit songs like "Fire in Cairo," "10:15 Saturday Night," "The Subway Song" and "Meathook." Alas, single releases "Boys Don't Cry" and "Jumping Someone Else's Train" didn't make the final UK cut, but a US version called Boys Don't Cry added them to the tracklist. 3IB as it is abbreviated, is the true original, but our staff voted for both, and we were forced to combine the two.
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5. Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady (IRS)

In 1979, there was no such thing as a punk "hits" album, as the genre was too young to have actually amassed many so-called "hits." But The Buzzcocks combined 8 of their seven-inch releases onto one LP, and inadvertently created the quintessential punk rock album. Singles Going Steady works unbelievably well as a cohesive whole, despite the songs being recorded over the course of almost three years. Nonetheless, the fluidity of the album's flow seems almost a little too perfect, like they knew they were going to release them as one complete collection. – Jeff Terich
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4. Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Armed Forces (Columbia)

Beware the olyphaunts! (Or is it heffalumps?) Either way, the cover image of Armed Forces was bold enough to be a warning for what lay within: bold political diatribes set to brilliant pop music, all with Costello's intelligent poison pen. Although its now most famous song wasn't even included on the original track list, the rest more than make up for its absence. "Green Shirt," "Accidents Will Happen" and "Oliver's Army" are just three examples of Costello's pop potency. — Terrance Terich
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3. Gang of Four - Entertainment! (Warner Bros)

Gang of Four didn't sound or look like anyone, they were angry and angular, they dressed like your average bloke, and maybe the coolest thing about Gang of Four is that you can dance to them (I speak from experience, I saw them in May and it was the best show I've ever been to in my life). Each of these things set Gang of Four apart, and each of them would be like a manifesto that carried them through the process of recording their seminal and highly influential debut album. — Christian Conlon
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2. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (Factory)

Martin Hannett's employment of cutting edge studio technology gave Unknown Pleasures a haunted and otherworldly quality that at times makes the songs seem like they comes from another place and age. But while the quality of production was more than above average, it could not stand alone. The four musicians that made up Joy Division's sound each brought unique styles of playing to the band and this record in particular. Their sound would come to define, and ultimately surpass, post-punk, and would set them far apart from the other bands that would come out of Manchester. — Christian Conlon
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1. The Clash - London Calling (Epic)

The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in. Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin. A nuclear era, but I have no fear, because I have London Calling the last album you should listen to, should the apocalypse actually come as Joe Strummer predicted it. It has highs and lows, peaks, but no valleys. It's a perfect double album, an adventure in rock `n' roll, the total abandonment of this thing we call "genre" and the ultimate rock album. London Calling, it should be noted, was not only Treble's favorite album of 1979, but our favorite album of the decade overall. In fact, no other album even came close. This is an essential album if there ever was one. — Jeff Terich
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Personal Best

XTC - Drums and Wires (Virgin)

XTC was once a bouncy, bippity-boppity new wave band with synth-tastic hooks. But that went out the window (for the most part) with Drums and Wires, a fantastic album that saw the band re-invented as a jagged, rockin' post-punk guitar band with better musicianship than basically any of their peers. Containing early hits like "Making Plans for Nigel" and unsung classics like "Roads Girdle the Globe," Drums and Wires was the first of the band's truly essential albums, and unleashed a torrent of intensity long before Andy Partidge became crippled with stage fright and stuck to studio-enhanced orch-pop. — Jeff Terich
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The B-52's - The B-52's (Warner Bros.)

Formed in the mid-70s after a drunken night at a Chinese restaurant, the members of the B-52's had no musical experience prior to their inception. Their sound was crisp and their instruments came straight from the thrift store. But when they cut their self titled, hook-laden, debut album in the summer of 1979, with campy dance-pop sounds that were ahead of their time, it was like the whole world had a window into what was to come for all the campy and kitschy fads of the '80s, now considered "retro." The album went gold with virtually no radio play. Some even say it was the definitive moment as to when the New Wave sound had landed on America's shores. — Chris Pacifico
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Prince - Prince (Warner Bros.)

For You came and went quietly, but Prince's self-titled sophomore album had greater things in store for the diminutive Minneapolis native. It would chart 141 slots higher than its predecessor despite the lack of a chart single. That's not to say it wasn't full of hits. Opener "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (this is before the whole U for you thing, mind u) was and still is a dance floor favorite. Prince's falsetto is never better in this song of unbridled desire. "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" would be the blueprints for a host of early 80's funk bands including some of the man's own protιgιs. Finally, "I Feel For You" became a HUGE hit for Chaka Khan, to the point where I can remember having to dissect frogs in seventh grade science, spinning said frog on his back in a moment inspired by Beat Street and Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo and singing "Chaka Frog…Chaka Frog….Chaka Frog let me rock you, let me rock you Chaka Frog!" But I digress. The point is, people were beginning to see Prince as a heavyweight songwriter, which he would remain for 26 years and counting. — Terrance Terich


Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed our trip back to the '70s, as we had a blast! We'll resume living in 2005 on Monday.