Stagnant musical forms in 1970?

Yes, I'm unsure as to what Hackett was refering to when he said 'stagnant forms' other than the lack of variation within a genre.

Here is a list of the British album chart entries (highest position thus far on the far left) from beginning January - to end on May 1970. It makes for some very interesting reading.

20 Fairport Convention - Liege And Lief Jan 1970   
22 Andy Williams - Andy Williams' Sound Of Music Jan 1970   
20 Creedence Clearwater - Revival Green River Jan 1970   
26 Deep Purple - Concerto For Group And Orchestra Jan 1970   
30 Incredible String Band - Changing Horses Jan 1970   
27 James Last - Non-Stop Dancing '69/2 Jan 1970   
25 Original Soundtrack - The Jungle Book (re-entry) Jan 1970   
25 Band - The Band Jan 1970   
16 Glen Campbell - Glen Campbell Live Jan 1970   
2 Original Soundtrack - Paint Your Wagon Feb 1970   
16 Peddlers - Birthday Feb 1970   
18 Taste - On The Boards Feb 1970   
8 Canned Heat - Canned Heat Cookbook Feb 1970   
28 Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations - Together Feb 1970   
38 Jose Feliciano - 10 To 23 Feb 1970   
20 Temptations - Puzzle People Feb 1970   
1 Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water Feb 1970   
36 Elvis Presley - Portrait In Music Feb 1970 Notes
9 Frank Zappa - Hot Rats Feb 1970   
8 Black Sabbath - Black SAbbath Mar 1970   
34 Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers Mar 1970   
6 Johnny Cash - Hello I'm Johnny Cash Mar 1970   
29 East Of Eden - Snafu Mar 1970   
3 Elvis Presley - From Memphis To Vegas - From Vegas To Memphis Mar 1970

40 Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - The Brass Are Comin' Mar 1970   
21 Tyrannosaurus Rex - A Beard Of Stars Mar 1970   
16 Jackson 5 Diana Ross - Presents The Jackson Five Mar 1970   
10 Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy And The Poor Boys Mar 1970   
17 Mothers Of Invention - Burnt Weeny Sandwich Mar 1970   
32 Black Widow - Sacrifice Apr 1970   
6 Chicago - Chicago Apr 1970   
10 Nana Mouskouri - The Exquisite Nana Mouskouri Apr 1970   
40 Al Stewart - Zero She Flies Apr 1970   
1 Andy Williams - Andy Williams' Greatest Hits Apr 1970   
12 Doors - Morrison Hotel Apr 1970
9 John Mayall - Empty Rooms Apr 1970   
7 Ringo Starr - Sentimental Journey Apr 1970   
32 Van Morrison - Moondance Apr 1970   
8 Blodwyn Pig - Getting To This Apr 1970   
18 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra - A Memorial 1944-1969 Apr 1970   
4 Tom Jones - Tom Apr 1970   
35 Dusty Springfield - From Dusty…With Love May 1970   
2 Paul McCartney - McCartney May 1970   
21 Sacha Distel - Sacha Distel May 1970   
26 Santana - Santana May 1970   
4 Ten Years After - Cricklewood Green May 1970   
34 Eddie Cochran - Very Best Of Eddie Cochran May 1970   
14 Frank Sinatra - Watertown May 1970 Notes
30 Incredible String Band - I Looked Up May 1970   
3 Jethro Tull - Benefit May 1970

Moogtron III wrote: But what sounds funny to me in retrospect: stagnant music forms in 1970?

Edited by Dick Heath - October 23 2009 at 05:10

Yes, I think that you, Dean and Blacksword, are right. In retrospect things look different, especially for us who focus on prog. And Hackett was right in it at the time.

Man Erg's list is interesting, and maybe does give an indication that there was still interesting music to be made, but on the other hand I can also understand that at the end of the 1960's many people would have had the feeling that the best innovative years were lying behind them.

I taste that feeling also in Dick Heath's post. If I look at the examples in your post, then maybe there was some kind of still point in a tornado, or let's say some sort of break. innovative bands split or seemed to get no further, and from then on several things would happen: the breakthrough of prog on the one had and the decline of some sixties acts on the other hand. Is that a sound theory?

Dean wrote: ^ before Dick posted, one of the first examples of "stagnation" that came to mind was Jo Jo Gunne (though I think their UK success was 1971), a band that didn't progress what had been started in the late 60s.

Dick Heath wrote: Dean wrote: ^ before Dick posted, one of the first examples of "stagnation" that came to mind was Jo Jo Gunne (though I think their UK success was 1971), a band that didn't progress what had been started in the late 60s.   I think I agree with you - although for clarity please note Jo Jo Gunne incuded 3 ex members of Spirit, with great vocals coming from Jay Ferguson who shared singing duties with Randy California in Spirit.  I would include Fleewood Mac, Jefferson Airplane going Starship, maybe the Eagles, later Journey  and perhaps to a lesser extent  Jackson Browne and Warren Zevon, amonst the west coast 70's pop rockers. In many respects these were hippies who were recognising the almighty dollar, so regrouping to go stadium rock and hoping to make lots of money. Look at the ones that didn't make the jump: Randy California, Hot Tuna, remaining members of James Gang with took Tommy Bolin on board, who could be said to have ploughed somewhat separate furrows and were less successful.

I remember Jojo Gunne, and I remember Jay Ferguson also trying to obtain a solo career with quite traditional music.

Jefferson Airplane - > Jefferson Starship also came to my mind. Maybe the innovating sixties acts did the same as a lot of progressive bands five years later: after a fertile innovative period trying to conform to the pop / rock music that was around them?

Moogtron III wrote: I remember Jojo Gunne, and I remember Jay Ferguson also trying to obtain a solo career with quite traditional music.

Edited by Dick Heath - October 23 2009 at 09:21

Dean wrote: The "Jumpin' The Gunne" cover probably qualifies for entry into the Amusing Album Cover Art thread

Interesting thread, maybe i find the first two albums of James Gang very good but after that they went downhill.

Dean wrote: Hackett was referring to what was then the predominant form of music (and still is today) - anything based upon 12-bar blues, the three-chord trick and verse-chorus-verse-chorus song structures (not that there is anything inherrantly wrong with that - it has remained the predominant form of popular music for over 50 years and even today does not look like it is running out of steam, whatever our criticisms of it are, it is a remarkably robust and versatile form for all its simplicity). While from our perspective the era from 1967-73 looked like a time of great inovation in popular music, at the time Prog was still a vangard genre very much in the minority (even taking into account the relative populartity of key bands in the UK at the time), most bands formed at that time were standard pop or rock bands.

Agreed.  Look at all the blues-rock bands of the era.  I list the ones I remember off the top of my head, all of whom were basically mining the same vein, albeit with their own twist:

Edited by jammun - October 23 2009 at 22:47

"Peter Gabriel answered in December 1070 "


I know Genesis sound dated but that is just ridiculous!