Top 10 for 1975

TheBigBlack's Rock Top 10

Jeff Beck
Blow By Blow

Classic Rock | Album | 29 March 1975

KISS
Alive!

Hard Rock | Album; Live | 10 September 1975

Jimi Hendrix
Crash Landing

Classic Rock | Album; Compilation | ?? March 1975

Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here

Classic Rock | Album | 12 September 1975

Alice Cooper
Welcome To My Nightmare

Classic Rock | Album | 11 March 1975

AC/DC
T.N.T. [A.U. Edition]

Hard Rock | Album | 1 December 1975

Led Zeppelin
Physical Graffiti

Classic Rock | Album | 25 February 1975

Bob Dylan
Blood On The Tracks

Classic Rock | Album | 17 January 1975

After a slew of lukewarm releases in the early 70s no one expected Bob Dylan to return with not only one of the greatest albums of his career, but also one of the best rock albums of all time. Blood On The Tracks is a true masterpiece. It is an album recorded during the break up with his wife Sara, so was born out of raw emotion. As Bob's son Jakob Dylan once stated 'This album sounds like my parent divorcing'. You won't so much hear that in the lyrics, but in the performances themselves. Dylan is a man that rarely reveals who he really is, but this album was created in a moment of true despair, and his voice alone tells of the ghosts of recent times and emotional conversations. Initially recorded over 4 days in September 1974 in New York City, the album was to feature a simple approach to the music. Dylan was accompanied by a bass player and the occasional organist, and the music was as stripped down and intimate as the songs (mostly odes to love both in hand and lost) required. The whole album was recorded in this mellow way, and test pressings of the original 'New York Version' of the album were made - but heading home to Minnesota for Christmas he decided to re-record half the album with a full backing band. The results produced a vastly different final album, with the mood radically changed. Some still stand by the original pressing being the definitive, whilst others say the final released product is better - but regardless the record stands as a powerful statement in either configuration. 'Tangled Up In Blue' opens the album with a powerful start, and a confident Dylan is heard. The song feels more crafted and complete than much of this work (both before or after this album), and a different type of ballad emerges from the songsmith. It feels autobiographical at the same time as feeling like a ludicrous tale, and the listener is left unsure of just what the lyrics are referring to. Fans of Dylan are used to this of course, but this opener feels different. Deeper somehow. 'Simple Twist Of Fate' follows and again the confidence in Dylan's voice is clear. It is like he doesn't just sing these songs, he lives in them, or once did - so knows them with great intimacy. It is a simple acoustic tune, and like many of the songs here is unremarkable on first listen, but it slowly draws you in. On 'You're A Big Girl Now' you hear regret in his voice, and you know this is lived experience. 'Idiot Wind' is an odd song, which in its original form was actually more biting and aggressive than its full band remake. It is Dylan at his tale-telling best, singing a song in first-person - but one that doesn't sound personal. It involves murder, intrigue, but most interestingly paints the protagonist into the role of an arrogant narcissist, who by the end of the tale realises he is as fallible as the other subjects he berates in the song. Digging deep in the lyrics fans can find many self-references here, so is this Dylan's vailed attempt to tell us how he really feels about his own actions? Side A closes with the simple 'You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When you Go', again hiding nothing about its intent and meaning. 'Meet Me In The Morning' opens Side B, and although it is one of the lesser songs on the album, the acoustic blues makes a nice groove to open the side. In a near perfect album you will never get any disagreement if you call out the lively 'Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts' as a misstep. There is no hidden meaning here, just a fun and very convoluted story of a group of bank robbers. The song itself is adequate, but the nearly 9 minute run time with very little musical variation causes it to drag on and when it does find it's end it is more of a relief than a triumph. We now know that there were a number of very worthy outtakes from the sessions, and any of those alternate songs would have been better placed here. It feels like a blizzard in Summer in comparison to the other songs, but Dylan is a man of contradiction, and perhaps liked the unpredictability of it being placed in a bunch of such personal songs. 'If You See Her, Say Hello' is a song of a man living in deep regret, and is possibly the most brutally personal on the album. His voice sounds sad and lost, and the lyrics feel the same. This is pure heartbreak in disguise. As the album winds to a close 'Shelter From The Storm' lifts things, and is possibly the best know song on an album that had little attention from singles. Rightfully so, as it is an amazing song, catching the listener with the hook at the end of each stanza. You only need to hear it once and you will be singing it all day. The album closes with one of the most simple tracks, 'Buckets Of Rain'. It is one of Dylan's most covered songs, and rightfully so, as it is a straight-forward love song. It is an upstroke on a canvas that was mostly painted in strokes downwards, and bookends the regret of earlier songs with the memories of better times and wonderful moments. As an artist that is not known for putting much effort or thinking into sequencing, Dylan nailed this one perfectly, closing one of his finest musical works of art with something wonderful.

TheBigBlack's Rock Honourable Mentions

AC/DC
High Voltage [A.U. Edition]

Hard Rock | Album | 17 February 1975

TheBigBlack's Rock Dishonourable Mentions

Bob Dylan & The Band
The Basement Tapes

Classic Rock | Album | 1 July 1975

TheBigBlack's Metal Top 10

Black Sabbath
Sabotage

Heavy Metal | Album | 28 July 1975