Ten years after would be a very different world. As quickly
as the young girls had come to the Canyon, they'd left again. New York wasn't
about folk any longer, but about Punk, with CBGBs featuring The Ramones and
Blondie and Talking Heads. Los Angeles was establishing its own punk scene, but
it was heavy metal that would emerge more prominently. The Bee Gees had left behind
any inspiration they'd garnered from The Beatles to become the biggest selling
disco artists of the Stayin' Alive era (as sad as that makes me, we were all
entranced by Travolta's strut down that Brooklyn Blvd.; admittedly the song as
vibrant as ever).
1977 would offer The Sex Pistols and Television, Fleetwood
Mac's Rumours (No. 1 on the Billboard Album Charts for 31 weeks), The Jam, The
Clash and Elvis Costello. Elvis would pass and cassettes would exceed the sale
of vinyl. Still there were remnants of the 60s. The Grateful Dead would
continue a trend first explored on Mars Hotel that added synths and horns
creating an American counterpart to British prog. Terrapin Station would
explore the genre to its fullest; a far cry from the debut in 67.
Pink Floyd’s 1967 debut, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, would evolve
into January 77’s Animals; the Floyd somehow able to follow-up Dark Side with
the often superior Wish You Were Here and then switch gears to create the seminal
rock version of Orwell’s Animal Farm.
Joni Mitchell recorded Songs to a Seagull in late 1967 with
David Crosby as producer. Crosby's experimental recording technique would
backfire leaving the sound quality of the debut somewhat flat and with a lack
of sonic range. By 1977, Joni perfected the sonic soundscape creating
one of the most impressive jazz recordings of the fusion era, with Jaco
Pastorius’s bass a prominent feature on the double LP Don Juan’s Reckless
Daughter.
By '77, most of what was taken for granted in the 60s had
come to pass, the rock era alongside it. We measure our world first in
centuries, but as it turns out, even decades are far too broad. We can divide
the sixties in two, with the first five years exemplified in The Beatles' matching suits, and the latter years by Fu Manchus and hippie moxie. The rock
era overlaps a bit beginning with Rubber Soul and persevering through disco. It’s
startling to note the progress of a generation (twenty years). In 2016, AM’s
excursion through the years touted Days of Future Passed as the most
influential LP for 1967. Five years later, the choice was Ziggy (Five years, stuck on our eyes). In 1977, the album of the year was Elvis
Costello’s My Aim is True, and in 1982, Springsteen’s Nebraska. Finally, to
round out the 20 years, is Guns 'n' Roses’ Appetite for Destruction, which
narrowly beat out The Pet Shop Boys’ Actually for 1987. A lot happens in a
generation.
