August 1974 provided a very impressive bounty of albums that would turn out to be classics. It was a fascinating 31-day period, with artists from a wide variety of genres stepping up with impressive releases.
It’s always fun to look back and take a snapshot of a certain time in history to see the music coming out of that period. Here is just such a glimpse for 50 years ago this month.
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New Skin for the Old Ceremony by Leonard Cohen
Cohen subtly varied his musical approach on this record, produced by John Lissauer, who would return again to produce Leonard on the 1983 album Various Positions. Musically, it is one of Cohen’s most memorable records. For example, “Who by Fire,” with its darting strings, is a wondrous track even when you take the lyrics out of the picture. As was so often the case throughout his career, Cohen’s lyrics hint at the difficulties of romance between people struggling to make sense of their conflicting impulses. “Chelsea Hotel” is the standout, a wistful portrait of decadence-laced heartbreak.
Feats Don’t Fail Me Now by Little Feat
More than most of their records, this LP finds Little Feat generally pulling in the same musical direction, even while trying to indulge the whims of several different songwriters. No matter the point of view, their Cajun-flavored groove never wavers, making this album at times feel like one long song (and a quite funky one at that). Considering the volatility within this band over the years, it’s fascinating to hear them as unified as they are here as they followed up their breakthrough Dixie Chicken. The closing medley “Cold Cold Cold/Tripe Face Boogie” sends the record out on its highest note.
Pussy Cats by Harry Nilsson
Listening to this record can be somewhat of a downer. On opening track “Many Rivers to Cross,” you can pretty much hear Nilsson doing major damage to his once-pristine voice. But there’s something about the ragged nature of the vocals that fits the vibe of the record, which gets some bleary-eyed production from Nilsson’s partying buddy John Lennon. The cover of “Subterranean Homesick Blues” is fun Dylan re-imagining. Then there’s “Don’t Forget Me,” a devastatingly beautiful and sad ballad that suggests that lingering in one’s memory is the next best thing to them still loving you.
Live It Up by The Isley Brothers
You could pretty much set your clock to the Isleys delivering their unique soul-funk stew on a yearly basis throughout the ’70s. That meant you’d get multipart workouts (on this record, three of the songs have Parts One and Two attached). And you’d also get a left-field cover that makes you want to hear Ronald Isley sing every Top-40 song from the past 50 years (on this record, it’s Todd Rundgren’s “Hello It’s Me.”) Compare Live It Up to other Isley Brothers’ records and you might not notice much difference. But compare it to music from their R&B contemporaries of that era, and you’ll understand why they’re legends.
Not Fragile by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
BTO endured a family squabble in between their second and third albums, as Randy and Robbie Bachman’s brother Tim was asked to leave due to his partying lifestyle. New guitarist Blair Thornton came aboard, and the transition was pretty seamless. These guys pounded out hard-rocking riffs as thunderous as those of their competition, but they did it with a charmingly hammy sense of humor—as in the title of this record, which was a sendup of the Yes album Fragile. The big hit was Randy Bachman’s “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet,” while C.F. Turner’s title track can still pummel speakers.
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