It Was Forty Years Ago Today...

Just Another Gratuitous List Thing

It cannot have escaped your notice that, this year, a lot of (surviving) 1970s artists are celebrating FORTY YEARS since their greatest achievements - for example, I'll be seeing JETHRO TULL (well, some of them) recreate the whole of "THICK AS A BRICK" onstage in May...

1972... hmm, I would have been a spotty be-greatcoated fourteen year old, just starting to discover that there WAS music beyond the weekly singles charts and 'Family Favourites'.

Most of the inmates of my Secondary Modern Boys School were, in the parlance of the day, 'INTO' either Slade or T. Rex (but very rarely both). I was slowly becoming aware of the likes of Genesis, Yes and ELP and - for better or worse - there was no turning back for myself and a small band of like-minded individuals!

I'd be lying if I was to claim that I had any knowledge of most of these albums at the time, but many of them have found their way into my collection since. An equal number of them I STILL wouldn't give the time of day! But it's hard to take in that all the albums on this list (and many more besides) were all originally released within a single twelvemonth period. In conclusion then, 1972 was a cracking year for the pop music. There must have been something in the water.

(NB, this list omits to mention The Osmonds or David Cassidy for some reason)


Agitation Free 'Malesch'
Älgarnas Trädgård 'Framtiden är ett Svävande Skepp, Förankrat i Forntiden'
Alice Cooper 'School's Out'
Allman Brothers Band 'Eat a Peach'
Amazing Blondel 'England'
Arthur Lee 'Vindicator'
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso 'Banco del Mutuo Soccorso'
The Band 'Rock of Ages'
Big Star '#1 Record'
Bo Hansson 'The Magician's Hat'
Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band 'Let's Make Up and Be Friendly'
Budgie 'Squawk'
Can 'Ege Bamyasi'
Captain Beefheart 'Clear Spot'
Caravan 'Waterloo Lily'
Cluster 'Cluster II'
CSNY 'Four Way Street'
Curtis Mayfield 'Superfly'
Curved Air 'Phantasmagoria'
David Bowie 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars'
Deep Purple 'Machine Head'
Elton John 'Honky Chateau'
Emerson Lake & Palmer 'Trilogy'
The Faces 'A Nod's As Good As A Wink...'
Family 'Bandstand'
Faust 'So Far'
Flash 'Flash'
Focus 'Focus 3'
Frank Zappa 'Grand Wazoo'/'Waka-Jawaka'/'Just Another Band From LA'
Genesis 'Foxtrot'
Gentle Giant 'Three Friends'
Grateful Dead 'Europe'72'
Groundhogs 'Who Will Save The World?'
Hawkwind 'Doremi Fasol Latido'
Herbie Hancock 'Crossings'
Jackson Browne '[Saturate Before Using]'
Jan Akkerman 'Profile'
Jerry Garcia 'Garcia'
Jethro Tull 'Thick as a Brick'
Kevin Ayers 'Whatershebringwesing'
King Crimson 'Earthbound'
Klaus Schulze 'Irrlicht'
Kraftwerk 'Kraftwerk 2'
Little Feat 'Sailin Shoes'
Lou Reed 'Transformer'
Mike Westbrook 'Solid Gold Cadillac'
Miles Davis 'On the Corner'
Mott the Hoople 'All the Young Dudes'
Neil Young 'Harvest'
Neu! 'Neu!'
Nick Drake 'Pink Moon'
Paul Simon 'Paul Simon'
Pink Floyd 'Obscured By Clouds'
Popol Vuh 'Hosianna Mantra'
Premiata Forneria Marconi 'Storia di un minuto'
Randy Newman 'Sail Away'
Renaissance 'Prologue'
Richard Thompson 'Henry The Human Fly'
Rod Stewart 'Never a Dull Moment'
Rolling Stones 'Exile on Main Street'
Roxy Music 'Roxy Music'
Santana 'Caravanserai'
Slade 'Slade Alive'
Soft Machine 'Fifth'
Steely Dan 'Can't Buy a Thrill'
Stevie Wonder 'Talking Book'
Sun Ra 'Space Is The Place'
T. Rex 'The Slider'
Thijs van Leer 'Introspection'
Todd Rundgren 'Something/Anything?'
Uriah Heep 'Demons & Wizards'
Van Morrison 'Saint Dominic's Preview'
Various Artists 'The Harder They Come'
Weather Report 'I Sing The Body Electric'
Wishbone Ash 'Argus'
Yes 'Close to the Edge'
etc... etc... etc... etc...