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| Snakeye - 1979 Shape Up Or Ship Out, Deliverance - 1979 Tightrope, Tilt - 1978 Music, Straight Eight - 1980 Shuffle N Cut, Wilson, Dennis - 1977 Pacific Ocean Blue, Lynn Allen - 2007 The Horse You Rode In On, Mott - 1976 Shouting And Pointing, Imperials, The - 1987 This Years Model, Aerosmith - 1977 Draw The Line, Threshold - 2004 Subsurface, Grand Illusion - 2001 The Book Of How To Make It, Reds, The - 1979 The Reds, Bacon, Max - 1995 The Higher You Climb, Dreamland - 2005 Futures Calling, Blanc Faces - 2005 Blanc Faces |
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| Articles: 1977 Articles |
Ace - 1977 No Strings
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One of my guilty listening pleasures is Pub rock, British no nonsense rock 'n' roll of the early to mid 70's and the precursor to punk rock. But as far as worldwide notoriety, it's Ace and their massive hit single 'How Long' that put Pub rock on the map. Try as they might, Ace never had another major hit following 'How Long' on either side of the ocean and like a kiss of death were perceived as a one hit wonder. As a result 'No Strings' would be the final Ace album.
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Aerosmith - 1977 Draw The Line
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If I had to choose one Aerosmith album to take on a deserted Island, 'Draw The Line' would be it.. there is some excellent material found on 'Draw The Line' including the title track with Joe Perry's sleazy slide guitar work.
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Air Supply - 1977 Love And Other Bruises
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'Love And Other Bruises', their first album scored with a hit single (the title track) in their native Australia which was followed by a tour down under with Rod Stewart. There are plenty of early signs of the soft rock genius to come..
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Alessi - 1977 All For A Reason
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In this day and age of media blitz, mass marketing and commercial overkill, identical twins Billy and Bobby Alessi would have been mega stars and bigger than sliced bread had they appeared on the scene some twenty years later. .
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Alexis - 1977 Alexis
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I think this band only sneak onto this website due to the fact that Ron Nevison produced them, and the fact that the cover art is pretty cool. Mostly, we get a concoction of soft rock which will appeal to fans of early Air Supply, Alessi, or even Chicago.
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Alpha Centauri - 1977 Alpha Centauri
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Here's a band best remembered by that one line quote from the International Encyclopedia Of Hard Rock And Heavy Metal. The worlds best undiscovered pomp band. And since then, Alpha Centauri has appeared on everyone's wants list as the ultimate album to obtain. Was the hype worth it?
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American Tears - 1977 Powerhouse
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'Powerhouse' was the final and most satisfying of American Tears trio of albums principally because it was a prototype of the late, great, sorely lamented Touch
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Angel - 1977 On Earth As It Is In Heaven
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Perhaps with the right production this album would have been different? The sound is lifeless and muddy, but it's the songs that matter and in the end they just don't cut it.
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Avalon (Canada) - 1977 Voice Of Life
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Considering this came out in 1977, the quality of this album is staggering by todays standard. What we get here is a rich mixture of fellow Canadians Zon, Queen, and US pomp rockers Starcastle and Styx, with the keyboard effects literally off the scale.
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Babyface - 1977 Babyface
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..unless you are an Axe completist or a glutton for aural punishment, I suggest creating some distance between your money, ears and this record.
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Bad Boy - 1977 The Band That Made Milwaukee Famous
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Bad Boy's debut 'The Band That Milwaukee Made Famous' was the resulting output. Given a strong media run, the album is typical of many mid 70's acts at the time, the guitar oriented sound straddling the fence between pop rock (bordering on power pop in places) and a more gritty style.
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Batt, Mike - 1977 Schizophonia
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For fans of the Alan Parsons Project, Intergalactic Touring Band, Moody Blues and Jeff Wayne's monumental 'War Of The Worlds' album, 'Schizoponia is essential listening.
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Be Bop Deluxe - 1977 Live In The Air Age
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'Live! In The Air Age' is a wonderful document of just how electric these guys were in a live setting.
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Billion Dollar Babies - 1977 Battle Axe
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Three members of the Alice Cooper Group say bye-bye to mister nice guy and attempt to go it alone with a half baked hard rock album. This record sold less than zero, BDB headed out on the road topping the bill with UFO and Charlie as support lasted just a week with a handful of dates before the band split never to be heard from again.
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Blue Oyster Cult - 1977 Spectres
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A great album, full of interesting tunes, and written at a time when this band were creatively at their zenith.
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Bow Wow - 1977 Signal Fire
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A classic case of east meets west in the world of melodic hard rock. One of the earliest and arguably best Japanese rock exports out of the seventies.
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Brothers Johnson - 1977 Right On Time
 | | 'Right On Time' was the duo's second LP, and features a veritable 'Who's who' of the L.A session scene. |
Brownsville Station - 1977 Brownsville Station
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Other than 70's Midwest faves REO Speedwagon and Cheap Trick, I can't think of a harder working band than Detroit's Brownsville Station. They will be remembered as a 'One Hit Wonder' and not the hard rocking, fun lovin' and crowd pleasing combo they were over the course of seven albums and hundreds of concert dates.
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Buster - 1977 Buster Live!
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Despite their teeny bopper image, Buster played pure power pop in the American tradition of The Raspberries, Pezband, Rubinoos, The Knack and Shoes with a smattering of The Beatles and The Who.
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Captain Beyond - 1977 Dawn Explosion
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The bands debut is considered a prog rock materpiece by most as is the followup, 1973's 'Sufficiently Breathless'. In 1976 the band reformed, owing their label one more studio album. The result didn't live up to expectations, although it would be unfair to slam this recording, it's a competent late 70's rock outing by all means.
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Cheap Trick - 1977 Cheap Trick
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It's Cheap Trick's self titled debut, the 'granddaddy' of all American power pop records, that set the stage for a stellar career.
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China (UK) - 1977 China
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No, nothing to do with the other two groups calling themselves China that most melodic rock fans are probably more familiar with. Confused? Ok, let's clarify. Three quarters of these guys were Elton John's back-up band at some time or another reunited for a one-off that Captain Fantastic out the goodness of his heart signed to his own Rocket Records.
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Clover - 1977 Unavailable
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Clover presented some of the best Country rock with AOR tendencies you are likely to find and both of their final albums should fit nicely in any serious collection.
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Cordell, Phil - 1977 Born Again
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One of my 'Desert Island Albums', every home should have one. |
Crawler - 1977 Crawler
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This UK outfit Crawler were formed from the ashes of Backstreet Crawler, the band originally put together with ex Free guitarist Paul Kossoff.
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Cummings, Burton - 1977 My Own Way To Rock
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Apparently this is a popular album among Burton fans and while I love the man's voice and his work with The Guess Who, I find this record a major disappointment.
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Daniel Amos - 1977 Shotgun Angel
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This would have to be one of the most adventurous albums from the 1977 year. I found these guys as an entry in my well read (and well worn) copy of the International Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. Just what they were doing there remains a mystery.
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Dee, Kiki - 1977 Kiki Dee
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For this album, Kiki Dee teamed up with Elton John and long time cohort Clive Franks both sharing production chores. With a little help from her friends Kiki offered up a stellar album and quite possibly her best.
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Dees, Stephen - 1977 Hip Shot
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It's Novo Combo that most GD readers will remember Dees, heading up two excellent albums 'Novo Combo' and 'Animation Generation'. Lesser known is Dee's solo album from 1977 which didn't exactly set the world on fire..
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Detective - 1977 Detective
 | | There can be no more colorful personality in all of hard rock than British singer and actor Michael Des Barres. Here we see him with his second major rock band outing.. Detective. |
Doobie Bros - 1977 Livin
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As successful as their 1978 album 'Minute By Minute was, it should not take away the efforts of Michael McDonald's contribution to the two earlier albums he appears on, including this one.. 1977's "Livin' On The Fault Line'.
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Doucette, Jerry - 1977 Mama Let Him Play
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This is the successful debut of Canadian guitarist Jerry Doucette, which is a sleek slice of 70's radio rock. The album went platinum in Canada, aided by the title track naturally, which isn't the sound of the album overall, the harder rock sounds competing with precise soft rock for airtime.
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Driver - 1977 No Accidents
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This version of Driver came from Canada, and their one-off album 'No Accidents' has been a favorite among many collectors for years.
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Emerson Lake And Palmer - 1977 Works Part 1
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After 1974's double live opus 'Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends', it was assumed the trio had called it quits. Not so of course. They took a three year hiatus, and returned with 'Works Volume 1', which was one of the biggest events of 1977 for progressive fans.
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Emperor - 1977 Emperor
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From Long Beach, Southern California, these guys are musically in the same house as fellow 70's pompsters Starcastle, Bluebeard and Morningstar.. But they have a feel-good factor to them as well. The music is bubbly bright, not weighed down by too many progressive overtones, and the musicianship is outstanding.
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Flame (USA) - 1977 Queen Of The Neighbourhood
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'Queen Of the Neighborhood' rocks pretty hard and Raymond's voice is a cross between Karen Lawrence and Janis Joplin. Yeah, she definitely had the pipes, but most of this record is pretty standard stuff..
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Foreigner - 1977 Foreigner
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This album was the beginning of a dynasty. That being the assured success of the supegroup Foreigner.
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Fosterchild - 1977 Fosterchild
 | | Fosterchild was the mid 70's collaboration of Vern Wills and Jim Foster. From Calgary, the band released three albums in their lifetime, this is their debut. |
Frampton, Peter - 1977 I'm In You
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Frampton had become the face of the decade with the unenviable position of recording a follow-up album nearly two years after his last studio effort.
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Fringe Benefit - 1977 Fringe Benefit
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Just how a British band - which sounded as if it had its feet firmly planted in the well-read world of 70's British pop - managed to be signed to the American label Capricorn Records, more famous for a roster of Southern Rock bands, is certainly a mystery.
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Furr - 1977 Furr
 | | Kiss rip-offs perhaps? Maybe, but there's more than just a cheesy album jacket and corny music aside. Hard rock meets 70's bubblegum pop. Believe it or not.. |
Gale Force - 1977 Gale Force
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Gale Force was the mid 70's outfit featuring brothers Lennie And Ken Gale..
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Games - 1977 Stargazer
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Games were from Southern California and one of the biggest bands on the late 70's Los Angeles club circuit.
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Gilder, Nick - 1977 You Know Who You Are
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This is the debut from former Sweeney Todd member Nick Gilder.. best remembered for that well-heeled single 'Hot Child In The City'..
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Glider - 1977 Glider
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A big cut-out bin item for many years, it's a shame more AOR fans don't know about Glider, and although it's not up to the classic status of Bighorn, Trillion, Gulliver and the like, it's a fine album and worth picking up.
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Goblin - 1977 Suspiria
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'Suspiria' remains Goblin's most well known work and the stark, haunting synth passages combined with imaginative progressive passages makes for one of the most atmospheric albums of the decade. Mixed with some crucial hard rock elements Goblin truly ran the gamut of prog sensibilities here, a captivating listen.
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Hall And Oates - 1977 Beauty On A Back Street
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It's a shame this album did so poorly, but perhaps it was the dark tone of the album cover. Whatever the case, this is one of Hall And Oates better albums and of their entire catalog.
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Happy The Man - 1977 Happy The Man
 | | I've gone on record on more than one progressive forum/message board - I just don't understand what the fuss is all about with Happy The Man.. |
Head East - 1977 Gettin' Lucky
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My first experience with Head East was their debut album 'Flat As A Pancake', which at the time I thought was aptly named, because it was one of a handful of dud albums in my LP collection. Things are on the improve with their third album 'Gettin' Lucky'. Perhaps this is a band that lives by its album titles?
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Heavy Metal Kids - 1977 Kitsch
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'Kitsch' is a clever mixture of ferocious hard rock with some early AOR leanings, made legendary by Holton's rabble rousing British vocals.
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Hollins Ferry - 1977 Hollins Ferry
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Here's a record that's finally receiving some well deserved attention from collectors and as sure as the sun rises is becoming increasingly expensive. Baltimore, Maryland's Hollins Ferry released just one record of Beatles and Badfinger influenced power pop..
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Hollywood Stars, The - 1977 The Hollywood Stars
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Another project originally created by the legendary Kim Fowley, The Hollywood Stars were supposed to be the West Coast answer to the New York Dolls and for a brief period it seemed the group might have pulled it off..
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Hot Flash - 1977 First Attack! They'll Never Take Us Alive
 | | This album has its moments, but I wouldn't call it a classic. Nice to have though - file away under 'zany pomp rock'. |
Hotgun - 1977 Hotgun
 | | Guinness Records was a subsidiary of the Dellwood label and both were big players in the world of 'Tax Scam' imprints that worked the seedy underbelly of the music business during the 1970's. Hotgun was one of their releases, with next to no info available about it.. |
Hush (USA) - 1977 Hush
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When it comes to pomp rock, the Hush debut is one of my favorite albums. For those who like their progressive rock on the more commercial side - the Hush debut is a clear winner.
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Iguana - 1977 The Winds Of Alamar
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Interesting group from Maryland that released the majority of this album on their own during 1975 and in Quadraphonic no less! Progressive rock meets West Coast is the best way to describe the music of Iguana. Sound good? It is, and if you are a fan of Firefall, Crosby Stills and Nash or Loggins & Messina circa 'Full Sail' then this is an album for you.
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Japan - 1977 Adolescent Sex
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Formed in 1974 at the height of glam rock, the press blew Japan off as a day late and a dollar short when their first album - the charmingly controversial titled 'Adolescent Sex' was released. While the group would collapse early in the 80's decade, Japan's influence and style on modern music can still be felt today.
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Kansas - 1977 Point Of Know Return
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'Point Of Know Return' would become a critical album for them. The symphonic connection was still there, but the Epic/Kirshner label now wondered whether the band could turn up the heat a second time. They needn't have worried because for many (myself included), this album is perhaps their signature symphonic piece of work.
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Kayak - 1977 Starlight Dancer
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Kayak is as good as it gets when it comes to symphonic rock and 'Starlight Dancer' should fit nicely between your Kansas, Styx and Supertramp albums.
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King Harry - 1977 Divided We Stand
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Signed to the largely progressive rock label Harvest records, King Harry released just one album before disappearing in the dust bin of British rock history. This is very much an album for fans of 10cc, City Boy and early Charlie.
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Kiss - 1977 Alive II
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Like its predecessor 'Alive!', this record served the purpose of translating the Kiss live experience to vinyl and leaving a huge impression on teenagers across the globe.
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Kiss - 1977 Love Gun
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'Love Gun' followed close on the heels of the 'Rock And Roll Over' album and the group's first tour of Japan a month before recording commenced.. the end result was rather patchy though..
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Knighton, Reggie - 1977 Reggie Knighton
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A unique talent, Knighton offered a quirky pop sound with humorous and at times bizarre lyrical content.
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Lavender Hill Mob - 1977 Lavender Hill Mob
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Lavender Hill Mob hailed from Quebec releasing two self titled albums on United Artists.
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Legs Diamond - 1977 A Diamond Is A Hard Rock
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This review focuses on their second album 'A Diamond Is A Hard Rock', released the same year as their debut (1977), perhaps their best album, containing a great selection of moody intense rock ballads as well as the normal rock anthems.
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Legs Diamond - 1977 Legs Diamond
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Of the trio of albums they released in the 1970s, the debut epitomised their musical approach which in their own words was 'mean as hell with a touch of class; hard hitting but stylish.
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Mama's Pride - 1977 Uptown Lowdown
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Upon first hearing, 'Uptown Lowdown' is a less rockier album than its debut predecessor, but still worthy of a decent listen.
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Marmalade - 1977 The Only Light On My Horizon Now
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Those of you of a certain age will remember this Scottish band and their string of hit singles in the late 60's. 'The Only Light On My Horizon Now' is a recommended record for followers of the lighter side.
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Milk N Cookies - 1977 Milk N Cookies
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Milk N Cookies is a gem for not only power pop fans, but those into good music in general. Classic after classic of inoffensive, sugarcoated sticky and drenched in soda pop rock music for young and old alike.
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Miller, Steve (Band) - 1977 Book Of Dreams
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'Book Of Dreams' is one of those 70's blockbuster albums like The Eagles 'Hotel California' and Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumours' that was difficult to escape if you were within earshot of a radio back in the day.
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Money, Eddie - 1977 Eddie Money
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Released in 1977, It's hard to call 'Eddie Money' a pure AOR release as the genre was still trying to find a definitive identity. It is however a strong debut filled with great pieces of straight ahead rock and roll.
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Nektar - 1977 Magic Is A Child
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With 'Magic Is A Child', Nektar moved away from their prog rock origins in search of hard rock and dare we say, AOR pursuits. Naturally this left Nektar fans scratching their collective heads and dismissing this as crap, though those on hard rock boundaries would say otherwise..
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Network - 1977 Network
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This was a New York band comprised of personnel who were already seasoned veterans (The Illusion, Wiggy Bits) prior to the recording of this album.
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Nite City - 1977 Nite City
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Nite City's debut is one of the better mid-70's rock albums you will hear and unfortunately is one of the lesser known.
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No Dice - 1977 No Dice (UK version)
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Indeed, this one great hard rock record very much in the style of The Babys underappreciated debut, Mott The Hoople and related one-off British Lions as well as The Faces and The Rolling Stones 'Black And Blue' album. |
Nova - 1977 Wings Of Love
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With crystal clear production from Narada Michael Walden (Jeff Beck), Nova move effortlessly between celestial progressive pop and funky slap bass fusion with an emphasis on melody.
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Oklahoma - 1977 Oklahoma
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Oklahoma had an ear for a good tune grounded in pop and the album walks a line between southern and country rock without falling too far in either style. Draw any comparisons to Buckacre, Cowboy or Stillwater and you'd be right on the money.
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Oscar - 1977 Cobblestone Heroes
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Owning all three Oscar records I can say with confidence 'Cobblestone Heroes' is their best effort and will have appeal for those into other British bands of the period such as Charlie, Arbre, Krazy Kat and Hudson-Ford.
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Osmonds, The - 1977 Brainstorm
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The Osmonds had definitely outgrown their bubblegum sound with albums like the glam rave-up 'Crazy Horses' and the progressive pop concept 'The Plan', but with punk and disco all the rage in '77, 'Brainstorm' seems a bit behind the times, but charmingly so - at least on some tracks.
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Pablo Cruise - 1977 A Place In The Sun
 | | This is a case of gap-filling. But you know what, this is probably the first Pablo Cruise album we should've reviewed! It is after all where the band's career took off.. |
Paice Ashton Lord - 1977 Malice In Wonderland
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Often lauded as one of the key prog rock groups of the 70's, this is for many the definitive Gentle Giant album and one that looked set to break the band massively in the US yet bizarrely failed to be released in a country that seemed to appreciate the bands significant musical charms more than stodgy England, where the band hailed from.
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Parsons, Alan (Project) - 1977 I Robot
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Perhaps considered to be his darkest album, when one looks at the theme, lyrics, and musical bombast used throughout. The theme (in a nutshell), sees the rise of the robot, and demise of man, where man has created the robot in his image.
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Pearl - 1977 Pearl
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Going back a bit further to the wondrous year of 1977, Leslie Pearl and her sister Debbie released one album as Pearl and while it never moved mountains commercially, it remains a fun listen for pop fans of the era.
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Pepper - 1977 Pepper
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Pepper were three fifths of the post Rascals - pre Fotomaker Gene Cornish/Dino Dinelli band Bulldog. Pepper did present some good material on their only platter from the Bob Seger System and Ian Lloyd influenced gruff, but yet always tuneful forays into good time rock.
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Pezband - 1977 Pezband
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I love this album, a classic case of easy-on-the-ear 70's midwest power-pop with an abundance of melody and radio friendly moments.
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Pierce Arrow - 1977 Pierce Arrow
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Country rock tailor made for AOR radio play lists, Pierce Arrow delivers some great songs on their debut and from the opening 'You Got To Believe' it's clear these guys were on to something quite special. The Eagles meets The Doobie Brothers is a good comparison..
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Player - 1977 Player
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One of AOR's quintessential acts, Player's debut seems to have flown under the radar over the duration of time, the album overshadowed by 'Baby Come Back's number one success that masked an accomplished effort.
Contains video track.
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Procol Harum - 1977 Something Magic
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'Something Magic' has long been derided by fans and even some band members as Procol Harum's 'worst album'. I never quite felt that way since I don't think Harum ever put out a 'bad' album and while it's certainly not in the same glorious league as the monumental 'Shine On Brightly', it's a keeper..
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Queen - 1977 News Of The World
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1977 was a year of change for many. The musical world was changing and Queen had to change with it. 'News Of The World' was their answer.
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Ram Jam - 1977 Ram Jam
 | | One of the iconic songs of the late 70's.. Without a doubt was 'Black Betty', from one-hit wonders Ram Jam. |
Randy Pie - 1977 Fast Forward
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Like Jethro Tull and Max Webster before them, there is no one named Randy in this band - confounding record store owners around the world who agonized if the albums should be stocked under 'R' or 'P'.
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REO Speedwagon - 1977 You Get What You Play For (Live)
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'You Get What You Play For' primarily consists of material from the first two albums, 'R.E.O.', better known as the 'cow' album, and more noticeably just two tracks from 'Ridin' The Storm Out'.
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Riot - 1977 Rock City
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For the period it was released in, 'Rock City' can be seen as a sophisticated set of hard rock, with shades of metal and boogie.
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Rockicks - 1977 Inside
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Rockicks deliver a steamy and at time swampy variation of 70's biker rock, not unlike Black Oak Arkansas, Creedand The Boyzz.
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Rogue - 1977 Let It Go
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For an English band, they sound more like they had been sipping margaritas in Malibu and twirling little pink umbrellas with Glenn Frey. Very lightweight Southern California country sludge is the best way to describe 'Let It Go'
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Rose - 1977 A Taste Of Neptune
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When the story of Canadian pomp rock is revisited, surely mention must be made of the band Rose. By the time this album was released, the band had migrated to a progressive rock style, Rose had moved into the same territory as bands like Prism, Trooper, Crowcuss and Avalon, though their material was more earthy.
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Rough Diamond - 1977 Rough Diamond
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David Byron was one of the best vocalists of his time and with a little more polish and given the opportunity to record a second album, Rough Diamond might have developed into something more than just a minor one-off.
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Runaways, The - 1977 Queens Of Noise
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The Runaways - all young girls who looked and acted exactly like the type mama warned you about! This band was about hard rock in the tradition of KISS and Aerosmith - with a touch of bubblegum and glam. They are certainly worth a listen once again.
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Rush - 1977 A Farewell To Kings
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With 'A Farewell To Kings', we see another evolution, in the writing of carefully crafted pieces with layers and dynamics. For me, this was my first real exposure to the band, and upon hearing their earlier works ('2112' included), this is where it all starts for me.
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Sherbet - 1977 Photoplay
 | | Whoa! I almost let the year go by without a Sherbet review! Yes, its time to take another look at this remarkable Australian band that still does not have a web site presence. |
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