The Freaky 70s………..well a bit of it anyway.

I decided to do a random selection and so I set my system to play 7 random tracks and I would post those. This is the result. I really hope you like at least a couple of them.

The first selection comes from 70s Rock legends Queen fronted by the unique, brilliant and much missed Freddie Mercury. It is the final track on their second album Queen II. The completed version served as the band’s third single, and after performing the song on the BBC’s Top of the Pops in February 1974 it became their first hit, reaching number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

Next up we have ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) a band formed from the remnants of Birmingham pop band The Move who were actually the first group to be played on Radio 1 when DJ Tony Blackburn played Flowers in The Rain. ELO were, in their day, one of the most popular bands in the world playing spectacular shows all over the world.

“Rockaria” is a song written by Jeff Lynne. It was the third track on the band’s hugely successful 1976 album, A New World Record. The song features the operatic voice of Mary Thomas during the introduction. On the first recording take, she mistakenly started the vocals too early. However, Lynne elected to use the take (complete with her interjection, “Oops!”) anyway. The song reached Number 9 in the singles charts.

The next selection is probably one of the most popular songs ever written, namely Bridge Over Troubled Water. The song became Simon & Garfunkel’s biggest hit single, and it is often considered their signature song. It was a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, and it also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and New Zealand. It was a top five hit in eight other countries as well, eventually selling over six million copies worldwide, making it among the best-selling singles. It became one of the most performed songs of the twentieth century, with over 50 artists, among them Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, covering the song. Art Garfunkel sings the song on his own apart from some harmony vocals from Paul Simon in the last verse. It is a classic and it’s beautiful.

We get back to the rockier side of things next with Free’s classic All Right Now. The record got to number one in many countries but only got to number 2 in The UK. It contains a fantastic guitar solo from guitarist Paul Kossoff and a terrific vocal from Paul Rodgers. I defy you not to dance or at least tap your feet while you play this.

Boston’s More Than A feeling comes from their eponymous debut album released in 1976. The song reached number 22 in The UK singles chart and has one of the catchiest guitar parts ever. I find it impossible not to get caught up with the whole Air Guitar thing when I hear this song. It also has one of the best rock vocal performance from singer Bradley Delp. Fab stuff!!!!!

Black Magic Woman is a song written by British musician Peter Green, which first appeared as a Fleetwood Mac single in various countries in 1968. The Santana version, recorded in 1970, is a medley with Gábor Szabó’s 1966 instrumental “Gypsy Queen”, a mix of jazz, Hungarian folk and Latin rhythms. The song became one of Santana’s staples and one of their biggest hits, with the single reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1971. It is yet another song that makes you want to dance. The change in pace when Gypsy Queen kicks in gets the Air Guitar aficionados going every time…..lol!

We finish this selection in a much more mellow frame of mind with Carole King’s gorgeous performance of her own song It’s Too Late, a song from her 1971 album Tapestry. It is a very sad song and the minor key just emphasises that. One of the things that strikes me about this song is that the music never really resolves. It ends with a sense of inconclusiveness which contrasts with the lyrics which imply that the singer has fully accepted the end of the relationship. It is a very clever piece of song writing.

I hope this selection interests you. As I said I just let my computer randomly pick seven songs from the thousands available in my collection. I think it did a good job.

Queen – The Seven Seas Of Rye