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Influential Albums: 1409-1415
Fri., Mar. 22. 2024 6:38pm EDT
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the latest entries in the "albums that influenced me" series I started writing in May 2020.
Note: Just because an album appears on this list doesn't mean I give it a blanket endorsement. Many of the secular albums on this list are mainly there because they wound up being spoofed by ApologetiX.
1409. Rock Artifacts 2 - Various Artists
Originally released in 1991, Rock Artifacts Vol. 2 was reissued with less elaborate packaging in '94. I ordered a copy in August 2005. It's an interesting mix of 16 songs from 1969-78. Five of them were performed by one-hit wonders, artists who never had another Top 40 pop single: "The Letter" by The Arbors (#20), "Rings" by Cymarron (#17), "Please Come to Boston" by Dave Loggins (#5), "Playground in My Mind" by Clint Holmes, and "Magnet and Steel" by Walter Egan (#8). There's also a song by a group that never even had one U.S. Top 40 hit, "Son of the Father" by Chicory, which only made it to #91 on the Hot 100, although it topped the U.K. pop chart for three weeks. There were a number two-hit wonders represented, too, including "We've Got to Get It On Again" by The Addrisi Brothers (#25), "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass (#1), "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone (#5), and "Stand Tall" by Guess Who lead singer Burton Cummings (#10 pop #2 adult contemporary). Another two-hit wonder, Albert Hammond, had both of his hits featured on Rock Artifacts Vol. 2 — "It Never Rains in Southern California" (#5) and "I'm a Train" (#31). I remember hearing the latter on the Captain Kangaroo children's show. Reggae-pop singer Johnny Nash also appears twice on this album, with "I Can See Clearly Now" (#1) and "Stir It Up" (#12). Some people might think he was a two-hit wonder, but those were just his last two; he actually had six Top 40 singles, including a huge hit in the '60s, "Hold Me Tight" (#5). The other two artists on Rock Artifacts Vol. 2 had more Top 40 hits than you'd probably suspect as well: "Wildfire" (#3 U.S. pop, #1 AC, #1 Canada) was one of five for Michael Murphey, and "I Go Crazy" (#7) was one of eight for Paul Davis. At one point, "I Go Crazy" held the record for most weeks in the Hot 100 (40) ... but it wasn't even his highest-charting single. That honor went to "'65 Love Affair" (#6 pop, #5 AC), a later hit I remember fondly from my senior year in high school. I was already familiar with many songs on this collection before buying it, but three that were new to me are among my favorites here: "Son of the Father" (I don't know why it failed here in the States), "The Letter" (The Arbor's unique interpretation of it, that is), and "Rings" (although I'd heard Lobo's version). Meanwhile, "Magnet and Steel" brought back fond memories of the summer I turned 14 ... probably fonder memories than that time deserved. It featured backing vocals by Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Walter Egan has said the song was about Stevie and they were in a relationship at one point. ApologetiX spoofed "Come and Get Your Love" in 2024.
1410. 12 Hits of the '60s, Vol. 2: Five Star Collection - Various Artists
I bought 12 Hits of the '60s, Vol. 2: Five Star Collection for one hit in particular — "Love (Can Make You Happy)" by Mercy, which went to #2 in 1969. It's not one you'll find on many oldies collections, although I like it a lot. That tune could have made it to #1 — it held the runner-up slot on the Billboard, Cash Box, and Record World charts — but The Beatles and their latest single at the time summed up the situation: "Get back to where you once belonged." 12 Hits of the '60s, Vol. 2: Five Star Collection came out in 2002, and I ordered a copy in 2005. For my collecting purposes, it also contained the #3 hit "The Birds and the Bees" by Jewel Akens. Three other tracks I already knew and really liked were "Five O'Clock World" by The Vogues (#4), "Elenore" by The Turtles (#6), and "The 'In' Crowd" by Dobie Gray (#13). The rest of the roster included: "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" by The Casinos (#6), "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)" by Del Shannon (#9), "Run, Baby, Run (Back Into My Arms)" by The Newbeats (#13), "My Pledge of Love" by The Joe Jeffrey Group (#14), "Sugar on Sunday" by The Clique (#23), "All Strung Out" by Nino Tempo & April Stevens (#26), and "Not Too Long Ago" by The Uniques (#66). "Sugar on Sunday" was The Clique's only Top 40 single, a cover of a Tommy James song from the previous year. Interestingly, in 1986, REM covered the flip side that of Clique single, "Superman," and turned it into a #17 hit on the mainstream rock chart.
1411. The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 - The Traveling Wilburys
Although Roy Orbison was gone, his fellow Wilburys soldiered on. Orbison died of a heart attack at age 52 on December 6, 1988, just a little over a month after the release date of the supergroup's debut LP, October 25, 1988. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 came out two years later, on October 29, 1990. There was no Vol. 2; Jeff Lynne has said that George Harrison was the one who suggested they misnumber this album. Vol. 3 featured more vocals by Bob Dylan (which was probably disappointing to non-Dylan fans) and Petty (whose vocal style was obviously influenced by Dylan anyway). The band also took on new Wilbury identities; Harrison went from Nelson Wilbury to Spike Wilbury, Lynne went from Otis Wilbury to Clayton Wilbury, Petty went from Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr. to Muddy Wilbury, and Dylan went from Lucky Wilbury to Boo Wilbury. Vol. 3 sold a million copies and got as high as #11 on the Billboard 200 but yielded no pop singles, although three cuts charted on the mainstream rock chart: "She's My Baby" (#2), "Inside Out" (#16), and "Wilbury Twist" (#46). I wasn't actively listening to rock radio at the time, so when I bought this album in 2005, I didn't know what the "hits" were, but those are the same three songs I would have chosen. Others that grabbed me the most were "The Devil's Been Busy," "Cool Dry Place," and "If You Belonged to Me." Harrison (2001) and Petty (2017) have since passed, so only Dylan and Lynne remain.
1412. John Wesley Harding - Bob Dylan
When I was buying all those Bob Dylan albums in the '80s, I somehow skipped his eighth non-compilation LP, even though I'd loved his sixth, seventh, and ninth. Well, as it turned out, I loved this one, too. Released on December 27, 1967, John Wesley Harding was Dylan's first new album in 18 months. That was an eternity for a superstar artist in the '60s. In the meantime, Columbia Records has issued Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits on March 27, 1967, to help bridge the gap. The folksy, stripped-down John Wesley Harding was a departure from the electric Dylan of Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde on Blonde ... and a precursor to the countryfied Dylan of Nashville Skyline. I was familiar with a few of the songs already — "All Along the Watchtower," "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," and "Dear Landlord" — from compilations I'd owned, but the other nine tracks were new to me. My favorites were the opener, "John Wesley Harding," and the closer, "Down Along the Cove." Others I especially enjoyed were "As I Went Out One Morning," "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest," "The Wicked Messenger," "Drifter's Escape," and "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine." John Wesley Harding went all the way to #2 on the Billboard 200 — Dylan's highest-charting LP up to that point — prevented from the peak position by Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra's Blooming Hits, which featured another an all-time favorite song of mine, "Love Is Blue (L'amour est bleu)." That album and single both topped their respective charts for five weeks apiece. No singles were released from John Wesley Harding, although Jimi Hendrix's cover of "All Along the Watchtower" hit #20 on the pop chart in October '68. ApologetiX spoofed that version in 2015.
1413. The 70's Anthology - The Supremes
Motown's most successful act closed out the '60s on top; "Someday We'll Be Together" was the last #1 hit of 1969 and the group's final single with Diana Ross, who would go on to have six additional #1 hits (and 27 Top 40 singles) as a superstar solo artist. The Supremes, however, carried on without her and didn't do too badly themselves. The group's new lead vocalist was Jean Terrelle, who sounded uncannily like Ross and fronted the trio from 1970-73. After Terrelle left, she was succeeded by Scherrie Payne (younger sister of Freda Payne, who'd had a #3 hit with "Band of Gold" in 1970). The one constant from 1959 on was Mary Wilson, who finally decided to disband The Supremes and start her own solo career in 1977. Cindy Birdsong, who had replaced original Supreme Florence Ballard in 1967, stayed with the group through 1976, aside from a brief departure to have her first child. Released October 29, 2002, The 70's Anthology was a two-CD set featuring 42 tracks, including all eight of The post-Ross Supremes Top 40 singles: "Stoned Love" (#7 pop, #1 R&B, #3 U.K.), "Up the Ladder to the Roof" (#10 pop, #5 R&B, #6 U.K.), "River Deep - Mountain HIgh" (with The Four Tops) (#14 pop, #7 R&B, #11 U.K.), "Nathan Jones" (#16 pop, #8 R&B, #5 U.K.), "Floy Joy" (#16 pop, #5 R&B, #9 U.K.), "Everybody's Got the Right to Love" (#21 pop, #11 R&B), "Automatically Sunshine (#37 pop, #21 R&B, #10 U.K.), and "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking (#40 pop, #25 R&B). I liked every one of them, especially the first four, with my favorite being "Nathan Jones." I also really enjoyed some of the less-successful Hot 100 hits — "Your Wonderful, Sweet Sweet Love" (#59 pop, #22 R&B), "You're My Driving Wheel" (#85 pop, #50 R&B), and "I Guess I'll Miss the Man" (#85 pop only). Additional catchy cuts on The 70's Anthology included "Life Beats" and "Function at the Junction" (with The Four Tops). Furthermore, you'll find cover versions of these big hits: "Love the One You're With" by Stephen Stills, "Make It With You" by Bread, "Never Can Say Goodbye" by The Jackson 5, and "Love Train" by The O'Jays.
1414. Rock On 1976 - Various Artists
I don't know much about the Quebec-based Canadian label Madacy, but we have them to thank for the Rock On compilation series, which included volumes for every year from 1960-1995, each with a dozen tracks. Some years had more than one volume, but I can't find a comprehensive list anywhere. It looks like the first batch came out in 1996. I owned quite a few of them and picked up Rock On 1976 in 2005. It contained four #1 hits: "Boogie Fever" by The Sylvers, "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" by K.C. & The Sunshine Band, "Saturday Night" by The Bay City Rollers, and "Let Your Love Flow" by The Bellamy Brothers, although that last one was a re-recording (the only one of those on this album). Six other tracks ended up elsewhere in the Top Five: "Love Is Alive" by Gary Wright (#2), "Get Up and Boogie" by Silver Convention (#2), "Moonlight Feels Right" by Starbuck (#3), "Misty Blue" by Dorothy Moore (#3), "Still the One" by Orleans (#5), and "Sweet Thing" by Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan (#5). Of the remaining tracks, "Only Sixteen" by Dr. Hook came close (#6), but "Baretta's Theme (Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow)" by Rhythm Heritage went no further than #20, although it did reach #15 in Canada. Maybe that's why Madacy included that tune. It was the follow-up to "Theme from S.W.A.T.," which topped both the U.S. and Canadian pop charts. ApologetiX spoofed "Love Is Alive" in 2021. Interestingly, "Boogie Fever" by The Sylvers fell to #4 on the Hot 100 the same week "Get Up and Boogie" by Silver Convention rose to #5, so the May 22, 1976 edition of Billboard had back-to-back Sylver/Silver "Boogie" songs. Although "Sweet Love" by The Commodores doesn't appear on Rock On 1976, that single reached its highest chart position of #5 on April 24, 1976, three weeks after "Sweet Thing" by Rufus accomplished the same feat. They were the only songs to peak at #5 that month. Sweet! I love things like that.
1415. Soul Hits of the '70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind! Vol. 15 - Various Artists
Rhino Records' 22-volume Soul Hits of the '70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind! series was the R&B companion to their 25-volume Super Hits of the '70s: Have a Nice Day series. It was initiated a year later, with 16 installments in 1991 and six more in '95. I bought a couple of them in 2005. The 15th volume was the first for me, and it focused on hits that peaked in 1975, with a couple hits from '74 and '75. Eight of the 12 tracks hit #1 on either the pop or R&B charts, and one of them did so on both — "Let's Do It Again" by The Staple Singers, which wasn't an easy #1 song to find back in 2005, when only a limited amount of music was available through legitimate digital sources. The other chart-toppers were "Lovin' You" by Minnie Ripperton (#1 pop, #3 R&B), "Supernatural Thing - Part 1" by Ben E. King (#1 R&B, #5 pop), "Love Won't Let Me Wait" by Major Harris (#1 R&B, #5 pop), "Get Down, Get Down (Get on the Floor)" by Joe Simon (#1 R&B, #8 pop), "Rockin' Chair" by Gwen McCrae (#1 R&B, #9 pop), "It Only Takes a Minute" by Tavares (#1 R&B, #10 pop), and "Woman to Woman" by Shirley Brown (#1 R&B, #22 pop). Three additional selections hit the Top 10 on both charts: "Walking in Rhythm" by The Blackbyrds (#4 R&B, #6 pop), "Once You Get Started" by Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan (#4 R&B, #10 pop), and "Cut the Cake" by Average White Band (#7 R&B, #10 pop). Ironically, the one track that didn't hit the Top 10 on either chart was my favorite of them all: "The Bertha Butt Boogie - Pt. 1" by The Jimmy Castor Bunch (#16 pop, #22 R&B). It's the not the reason I bought Soul Hits of the '70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind! Vol. 15, but it's the reason I kept coming back.
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