We all know about the greatest albums of the 1970s in the rock genre, but what about the more underrated records? Let’s take a look at a few 1970s rock albums that were way ahead of their time and deserve a thorough listen.
1. ‘Low’ by David Bowie
David Bowie was one of the most forward-thinking artists in history, so virtually any of his rock albums from the 1970s could have made this list. However, there’s something very different about the 1977 album Low.
He pulled away from glam (just a bit) and moved towards new genres like soul and even krautrock for the rest of the 1970s. His “Berlin” period was very special, and nothing marked that era with as much tenacity and uniqueness as Low.
2. ‘Rock Bottom’ by Robert Wyatt
The Soft Machine’s Robert Wyatt was a fantastic drummer, and the tragedy he experienced after an accident left him disabled for life could have easily ended his musical career. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. We got quite an eccentric solo career out of Wyatt, the most notable album of that career being the 1974 record Rock Bottom.
Wyatt was already working on it before the accident, though the bulk of the album feels like a grave walk towards self-acceptance. It’s slow, layered, quiet, and introspective; if Radiohead was around in the 1970s, this could have been their album.
3. ‘Desire’ by Bob Dylan
This 1976 release by Bob Dylan does not get enough attention. Granted, that decade was a rough one for the singer/songwriter. It doesn’t make sense how Blood On The Tracks gets all the love, while Desire gets left on the shelf.
This album is a strong, fearless statement in itself. Dylan crafts a long narrative and experiments with breaking up songs with this release, and it’s like listening to someone recite poetry. We’d be bold enough to say that Dylan never got more emotional than he did with Desire.
[See Bob Dylan Live In Concert]
4. ‘20 Jazz Funk Greats’ by Throbbing Gristle
Repulsive band name aside, Throbbing Gristle was ahead of its time. 20 Jazz Funk Greats from 1979 wasn’t actually a collection of jazz covers, which checks out considering the band’s love of fooling listeners.
It’s a playful, pop-leaning piece of work that takes experimental noise and exotic soundscapes and just kind of mushes them together. It’s like if you took a disco album and dropped it into radioactive sludge. And the fact that it came out in the 1970s? So ahead of their time.
5. ‘The Hissing Of Summer Lawns’ by Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell is far from underrated, and neither is The Hissing Of Summer Lawns from 1975. However, we think this album deserves more love. The album was controversial among Mitchell’s folk-traditionalist fans, and the lead single was kind of a flop because of that.
Still, ever fearless, Mitchell wasn’t afraid to experiment with something new. This album is a jazzy, experimental record that popularized the “wandering” style of singing that big names like Morrissey appropriated in later years.
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