What Makes Seventies Music So Special?The seventies music scene was different than today's. The 1970s were a time of great upheaval and changes in perspective. This was truer nowhere than in rock music. The end of the Vietnam war had marked the end of the 60s and now people wanted to simply have a good time. There were still some bands around that were making political statements, rock music itself was progressing. The first major change on the international music scene was the breakup of the Beatles in 1970. The Beatles had pretty much shaped the 1960s and their fans were looking forward to continued releases in the 70s. Sadly, the untimely passing of iconic legends like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison marked the end of the psychedelic era and fueled the re-thinking of rock music. Here's a video compilation of 1970s rock hits: Progressive rock became the popular genre and was marked by a fusion of rock music with another genre, like opera or classical. Progressive rock (for example, Pink Floyd) fueled the creation of what were called “concept albums”. For one thing, seventies music was better formed and fuller. Musicianship became more important and the quality of the music soared. Many of the harder, heavier bands like Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin incorporated extended guitar solos into their songs. The introduction of classical music had definitely influenced rock music. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin is well known for his use of a cello bow on his guitar. Glam rock came from the UK and brought us names like T. Rex, Gary Glitter and Slade. Their music marked a return to short and catchy rock songs, but brought by musicians with a deliberately extravagant and articial look. David Bowie, Queen and Roxy Music were also regarded as glam rock, but had a more sophisticated sound. Glam rock bands played an important role in my story. Learn more about glam here. The British Invasion also brought bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Uriah Heep came on the scene as well. This was another step towards hard rock and influenced later 80s and 90s bands such as the Big Four of thrash metal; Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. There are so many different types of seventies music that were brought to the table. So a person had a lot of music to choose from depending on their taste. Mine was boot stomping rock and roll. I loved a good show on stage; from Alice Cooper to Deep Purple, then came KISS. The way we wore our clothes and hair also changed; the grown-ups didn't like it though. A lot of us started to experiment with casual drugs such as pot which changed quite a few people. Most people I knew, it changed them for the better. Here's my Top-10 of 70s rock bands Punk rock was also introduced to the world with the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. This type of seventies music was based in the rock of the sixties but with harder edges and heavier guitar riffs. It changed the history of rock 'n' roll once again.
Improvements in guitar pickups, stomp boxes and other effects made it possible for a guitarist to emit hundreds of sounds from a single instrument. Amplifiers had been almost entirely tube amps until the mid 1970s. About 1974 or 75, solid state electronics began to take the place of glass tubes in amplifiers. Also, changes to mixing boards and recording equipment made music releases happen faster and more clearly. The vinyl album gave way to the 8 track tape, which then succumbed to the cassette tape, so our listening pleasure was increased dramatically. So the 1970s were a time of great change and improvement in music quality and the ways we bought and listened to it. They will remain a fond memory in my heart.
As you can tell from my story it was the time of my life.
ROCK ON!
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