As some of you may know, I can sometimes be found singing in a 70s rock band. I've been doing this for nearly ten years and in that time we have pretty much stuck to the well known classics. Give the audience what they want as opposed to maybe what we'd like to play. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm an entertainer and I'm being paid to entertain. What does cross my mind is what 70s rock I would sing if I had the choice?
It's a pretty huge field and many would argue that the 70s was rocks greatest and most prolific decade. With that in mind I shall delve in and see what I come up with.
1. That's All You Need - The Faces
When Rod was still cool. The Faces were a pub band par excellence and they wore their laddishness with pride. Guitars were often out of tune, songs often sped up and it sometimes sounded like they were making it up as they went along but I doubt they cared. I certainly don't. This particular track from A Nods As Good As A Wink is typical Faces. Ronnie Wood and Ian McLagan weaving in and out and then the whole thing finishes up with steel drums. Lovely.
2. I'll Be Creepin' - Free
Before you say anything, I know this came out in 69 but I couldn't give a monkeys. It's a bloody great song by a bloody great 70s band so it's going on the list. Paul Rodgers is the greatest vocalist in rock and with Paul Kossoff they had the greatest white true blues guitar player of the era (I'll probably get some flack for that). When I was a kid I had a VHS of various Free live performances and it made a huge impression on me. My laughably limited guitar playing skills are based almost solely on Mr. Kossoff.
3. 30 Days In The Hole - Humble Pie
Humble Pie seem to be kind of ignored nowadays which is a real shame. I must admit that I'm not a fan of all their stuff but when they got it right they were excellent. This is from after Frampton quit and Marriot became the main man. I'm still amazed a man can sing that high. Bloody unfair!
4. Tell The Truth - Derek and The Dominos (All Things Must Pass version)
A track that had it's roots in Claptons time with the Delaney & Bonnie band. It goes along at a fair old lick and I can imagine with all the cocaine flying around back then, it probably got even faster on occasion. I saw Clapton a few years back and he opened with it, which was a nice surprise.
This version has the added bonus of George Harrison and Dave Mason on guitar.
5. Lawyers, Guns & Money - Warren Zevon
He didn't just do 'Werewolves of London' you know. Zevon is a great writer and this is one of my favourites. "Send Lawyers, guns and money. The shit has hit the fan", is as relevant now as it was then. There's something very evocative about the whole record. It's got a great 70s feel.
6. Just Got Paid - ZZ Top
From the righteous album Rio Grande Mud comes a tune with shit-ton of attitude. I love Frank Beards drumming on this. He's a very underrated drummer old Frank. He's the very powerful engine room for one of the all time great three-pieces. I love how they go off at a tangent for the slide solo and then just pull it all back in with that bad-ass riff.
Under no circumstances should you ever listen to Joe Bonamassa's version. It's an abomination.
7. Feelin' Alright - Joe Cocker (Mad Dogs & Englishmen version)
Another great 70s live album. Apparently Cocker was extremely strung-out during the tour but it doesn't show. The band lead by Leon Russell is on song and the diverse range of material makes the album a real one-off. I almost went with 'Space Captain' but I decided that this just pips it to the post because of the guitar solo. If only my band had ten backing vocalists.....
8. Rock & Roll Doctor - Little Feat
I love Lowell George so much. His voice, his slide playing, his dungarees etc. This band had a dirty funk thing going on that I really dig. A lot of very good musicians at the top of their game. No real show-boating but plenty of cool playing. The Waiting For Columbus live album is well worth a few hours of your time. Try and find the expanded, two disc version.
9. Alabama - Neil Young
I was thinking of going for 'Southern Man' but then I remembered this one. This guitar intro has been reused thousands of times but still sounds fresh. Neil is one of those guitarists that you can spot within seconds. He's certainly not the best guitarist ever but who cares? No one else sound like him and that's never a bad thing.
10. Magic Bus - The Who (Live at Leeds)
If there's one thing that this list shows, it's that the live albums often had the best versions. It's certainly the case with this absolute beauty of a track. I doubt any other band will have the power of the Who in their pomp and if you need an example it's right here. I remember my dad sitting me down to play this to me and I was overwhelmed. I loved it even before Moon comes crashing in with those huge drums but when he does.......*gasp*
Honorable mentions to....
I Just Want To Celebrate - Rare Earth
Funky and dirty and all kinds of low-down. It's suffered a bit recently because of its overuse in films and TV ads but it remains a killer track.
Chest Fever - The Band
A wonderful organ intro by Garth leads in to one of the few riff songs in the Bands catalogue. When it was played live the intro would go on for bloody ages so I'd actually plump for the studio take on this one. Having said that, the Last Waltz is another of the truly great live albums/films of the 70s and if you don't already own it, why not?!?!?
I have added these tunes (I had to substitute Neil Young as Alabama isn't available) to the Spotify playlist that can be found here. https://open.spotify.com/user/milospilo/playlist/0yjKElH3UbGkCcKmfzEVPC
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