25 Favorite Albums From 1971

[@neurophile]

Thank you for your Brian Auger and Judee Sill picks. My 25 favorite 1971 albums (in alphabetical order) : Association - Stop your motor Beach Boys - Surf's up Bee Gees - Two Years On Beggars Opera - Waters of change Caravan - In the land of grey and pink Carpenters - (self-titled album) Christie, Lou - Paint America love Crosby, David - If I could only remember my name Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus Focus - Moving waves Gaye, Marvin - What's going on? Genesis - Nursery crime Gentle Giant - Acquiring The Taste Jethro Tull - Aqualung King Crimson - Lizard Lennon, John, & Plastic Ono Band - Imagine Mason, Dave, & Mama Cass Elliot - (self-titled album) McCartney, Paul - Ram Moody Blues - Every good boy deserves favour Pink Floyd - Meddle Strawbs - From the witchwood Stylistics - (self-titled album) Syrinx - Long lost relatives Yes - Album Yes - Fragile

[@kevtruth]

What a terrific year in music. Damn. Yeah I'm pretty burnt on Zeppelin IV but I still love listening to When The Levee Breaks. Great vid.

[@jabbahursty]

i like your lists as there are always a few albums i don't know to go learn about. i'm pushing 60 but still studying albums that are new to me, even some from 1971

[@skewiff11]

What a tremendous list, I will definitely subscribe.😎✌️

[@tomrobinson5776]

Thank you 😉

[@wayneelliott7011]

My Top 30: 30. Untitled (Four Symbols)- Led Zeppelin. 29. Fireball- Deep Purple. 28. If Only I Could Remember My Name- David Crosby. 27. Crazy Horse- Crazy Horse. 26. In Search Of Space- Hawkwind. 25. Free Live- Free. 24. Master Of Reality- Black Sabbath. 23. Rory Gallagher- Rory Gallagher. 22. There's A Riot Goin' On- Sly & The Family Stone. 21. Every Picture Tells A Story- Rod Stewart. 20. At Fillmore East- Allman Brothers Band. 19. Nantucket Sleighride- Mountain. 18. Long Player- Faces. 17. A Nod's As Good As A Wink- Faces. 16. Killer- Alice Cooper. 15. Performance- Rockin' The Fillmore- Humble Pie. 14. Flamingo- Flamin' Groovies. 13. Muswell Hillbillies- The Kinks. 12. Surfs Up- The Beach Boys. 11. Electric Warrior- T.Rex. 10. Brain Capers- Mott The Hoople. 9. Maggot Brain- Funkadelic. 8. Love It To Death- Alice Cooper. 7. Straight Up- Badfinger. 6. Choice Cuts- Masters Apprentices. 5. Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus- Spirit. 4. Teenage Head- Flamin' Groovies. 3. Sticky Fingers- Rolling Stones. 2. High Time- MC5. 1 Who's Next- The Who.

[@total.stranger]

You've got excellent taste, Tom. SUBSCRIBED. Life-long Kinks fan, here.

[@tomrobinson5776]

Nice! Thanks for subscribing. 😉

[@alanrodgers4223]

If I Could Only Remember My Name❤❤❤

[@alanrodgers4223]

Every Picture Tells A Story❤

[@pgh45rpms]

Quite a year for good music. I was in the Air Force, stationed overseas in Turkey in 1971 and bought a component sound system. Bought several lps at the base exchange; most stock was German, Dutch or UK imprints, priced at $2.50 per lp..A lot of what you show is in my collection.

[@tomrobinson5776]

Nice 😉

[@garyolshan4177]

Good list. Agree with the Faces and Stones. Who's Next is my top all-time

[@byronfortier6555]

I think I have 18 of these, on vinyl, from the day. If I Could Only Remember My Name is magical.

[@tomrobinson5776]

It truly is. Took me awhile to realize this.

[@williamvarga4643]

12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus should have been in there , , , , a masterpiece

[@tomrobinson5776]

I agree it’s an awesome record, but it came out in 1970. It’s on my 1970 album favorites video. 😉

[@williamvarga4643]

@@tomrobinson5776 oh OK, thanks !! , , , , my bad on the year , , , , , good on ya with the selection , , , ,

[@joeseibold408]

Solid list .... love that you shine the light on the Kinks ..... the only album I woulda like to have seen on your list (near the top) is McCartney's Ram, simply brilliant (and Paul's "Too Many People" >>>> John's "How Do You Sleep")

[@mattrobbins2268]

I almost mentioned "Perpetual Change" from The Yes Album on your Best '70s Album Closers post. Steve Howe plays some of the greatest rock'n'roll guitar ever during the fade. And what 1971 list would be complete without Tago Mago by Can and Music to Eat by Hampton Grease Band? Two double--that's DOUBLE--albums that sound like transmissions from an alien society from another solar system who wish to communicate with humanity using rock music as they interpret it? If that ain't rock'n'roll...

[@buzzsmith8146]

You are really quite knowledgeable! I've been enjoying your videos.

[@tomrobinson5776]

That’s great. Thank you 😉

[@stevemossholder]

Oh yeah - another masterful disc - Nantucket Sleighride.

[@charlesmurphy1840]

Omg I lovemuswell hillbillies my favorite kinks album and I’m big fan of soap opera two albums that I don’t think get enough respect

[@jimfiscus1248]

1971 is my favorite year in music. Though you can hear the impending specter of soft rock creeping in. Don't forget about Mc5 high times,Flamin Groovies Teenage Head and Alice Cooper 's Killer.

[@wayneelliott7011]

I didn't. Check my List.

[@stevemossholder]

agree 1971 very best. Yes! Killer.

[@williamsadler6467]

A lot of great albums. However, the only one of them that everyone I knew would have considered essential in 1971 was Tapestry. It was the album that everybody had, or had at least heard.

[@nightking-ri8by]

Hey Man new subscriber about a month. You pointed me toward an artist Loudon Wainwright III . Been checking out his stuff and it is absolutely fantastic. Never heard of this guy in my life " I'm 52 " an d this is awesome. FUCKING AWESOME !!!😂

[@tomrobinson5776]

That’s great! Glad you like his music. He’s very unique. I love Album II and Album III as they are titled.

[@dreammachine2013]

Interesting and sometimes surprising choices Tom🎉 I guess most of us would have put Who's Next and Led Zep IV way up higher. However here are some great albums missing from your list: 1. Pink Floyd "Meddle" 2. Allman Bros "Live Fillmore East" 3. Traffic "Low Spark of the High heeled Boys" 4. Crazy Horse 5. Van Morrison "Tupelo Honey" 6. Hawkwind "In Searvh of Space" 7. Mountain "Nantucked Sleighride" 8. King Crimson "Lizard" 9. Jethro Tull "Aqualung" 10. MC 5 "High Time" 11. Strawbs "From the Witchwood" ( feat Rick Wakeman) 12. Rory Gallagher

[@ec6455]

Who's 'most of us'?

[@edwardallan197]

Thanks very interesting! ❤

[@marknewbold2583]

Tago Mago is the greatest album of 1971

[@kurt11110]

love all your choices. and judy sill is brilliant, gives joni a run for her money. no one writes juxtaposition like she does. jesus was a cross maker was a song about j.d. souther, her bf at the time

[@ozmonaut1]

Personally I'd have to have Masters of Reality and Meddle, also Audience's House on the Hill on the list. Fragile was released late '71 too. The trouble is, all through the Seventies there was so much good music released that its really hard choosing favorites

[@tomrobinson5776]

No doubt about it. 😉

[@normanbuffett4642]

I was waiting for Traffic Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

[@Fastnbulbous1969]

A good year indeed, when people can come up with mostly different lists, and all the albums are great. Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality T. Rex - Electric Warrior Funkadelic - Maggot Brain Can - Tago Mago David Bowie - Hunky Dory Nick Drake - Bryter Layter Flower Travellin’ Band - Satori Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers Sly & the Family Stone - There’s A Riot Going On The Who - Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy Yes - Fragile Joni Mitchell - Blue The Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame Al Green - Gets Next To You Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys Yes - The Yes Album The Groundhogs - Split Blackwater Park - Dirt Box Speed, Glue & Shinki - Eve Comus - First Utterance Curtis Mayfield - Roots Pharoah Sanders - Black Unity Pharoah Sanders - Thembi Bill Withers - Just As I Am Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Love And Hate Herbie Hancock - Mwandishi Ornette Coleman - Science Fiction Roy Harper - Stormcock Janis Joplin - Pearl

[@alanrodgers4223]

A Nod Is As Good As A Wink.❤

[@johnfern]

Maggie May is also one of my favorites that never gets old. I heard somewhere that when Marvin Gaye wanted to do that album, his producers were against it. They said he should stay with his pop songs and that his fans wouldn't like the new stuff.

[@stevemossholder]

Great List Capo. 1971 is the very best year for rock/soul/folk IMO. I admit that I've never heard the TRex album (other than the hits), and have never heard the Sly Stone record, and the Wainright 2 album. People have pointed out Killer below, but I cant believe nobody has mentioned an absolutely towing record imo: the best Ten Years After album A Space in Time. I've loved that album since it was out in 1971. Great List. Where's Neil Young? Did he skip this year between 70 and Harvest in 72? I think so.

[@tomrobinson5776]

I’ll have to check out that Ten Years After album. Harvest came out in 1972. Huge Neil fan here. Love all his 70’s output.

[@lupcokotevski2907]

'Save the children' is a prominent line in the song Save the Country (1969) by the great Laura Nyro, sampled by Kanye in Glory. Brian Auger with Julie Driscoll and the Trinity cover Nyro's song on their double album and is the title of side 4. Nyro was ahead of the game. She was to be Asylum's first artist, but she decided to stay with Columbia. David Geffen, her manager, cried for days. Nyro made Geffen a millionaire twice over in 1969 when she was still only 21. Thats what set him up for his future success. Nyro 'probably influenced more successful songwriters than anyone ' Elton John 2007. The New Musical Express review of Joni Mitchell's Blue in 1971 notes the Nyro influence on it. Jim Morrison's favourite female singer was Nyro, I read somewhere. Sorry for the extended trivia, but it is high nutrient. While writing Hunky Dory, Bowie was listening to Harvey Mandel's Cristo Redentor, a significant influence on Dark Side of the Moon. The title song was written by jazzman Duke Pearson in the early 1960's.

[@tomrobinson5776]

I’m a big fan of Nyro. Eli And The Thirteen Confession is an all time fave of mine. Love Auger and Driscoll’s version of Save The Country off the Streetnoise album.

[@TheAnarchitek]

I always thought the best thing on There's a Riot Going On was the cover. I made this list some time ago, nice to see we agree on #1. Best of 1971 01 M U S W E L L H I L L B I L L I E S the Kinks 02 M A D M A N A C R O S S T H E W A T E R Elton John 03 A Q U A L U N G Jethro Tull 04 S T I C K Y F I N G E R S the Rolling Stones 05 E V E R Y P I C T U R E T E L L S A S T O R Y Rod Stewart 06 W H O ' S N E X T the Who 07 Z O S A ( L E D Z E P P E L I N I V ) Led Zeppelin 08 T A P E S T R Y Carole King 09 T H E Y E S A L B U M Yes 10 B L U E Joni Mitchell 11 L E O N R U S S E L L & S H E L T E R P E O P L E Leon Russell 12 L A W O M A N the Doors 13 F R A G I L E Yes 14 R A M Paul & Lindaey 15 R O C K O N Humble Pie 16 H U N K Y D O R Y David Bowie 17 N A T U R A L L Y JJ Cale 18 M O M E N T S Boz Scaggs 19 A S P A C E I N T I M E Ten Years After 20 A T F I L L M O R E E A S T ( L I V E ) the Allman Brothers Band 21 C R Y O F L O V E Jimi Hendrix 22 I M A G I N E John Lennon 23 R O C K ' N ' R O L L I S B I O D E G R A D A B L E Stoneground 24 S U R F ' S U P the Beach Boys 25 B R O K E N B A R R I C A D E S Procol Harum ©BW2023 anarchitek™

[@tomrobinson5776]

I forgot about Naturally by J J Cale and Broken Barricades by Procol. Great records. Glad to see you dig Muswell Hillbillies. 😉

[@TheAnarchitek]

That list has so many of my all time favorites! It was a VERY good year for music. @@tomrobinson5776

[@TheAnarchitek]

@@tomrobinson5776 I've been a Kinks fan from the beginning, through the lean years, and into the later years. I don't care for the last two albums, although there are a couple good pieces on it, but for longevity in creative recording, the Kinks outperformed the Stones, until 1986!

[@tomrobinson5776]

I totally agree. UK Jive & Phobia are pretty weak, but the only ones in that incredible catalog.

[@TheAnarchitek]

@@tomrobinson5776 I was a fan of Word of Mouth, in 1984, when the Stones' most recent was Tattoo You, a so-so record at best. The Kinks, or Ray Davies, at least, were still cranking out rock 'n' roll, so I was happy. It didn't last, and Rock has gone into hibernation ("reunion" albums, etc), waiting for a new class.

[@akulinamackenzie4492]

Crosby 💕👍

[@BrixtonTone]

No space for Jethro Tull "Aqualung "??????????? 🙃

[@stevemossholder]

Agree. Aqualung excellent, but I will take the two prior to that one as my two fave J Tull albums.

[@BrixtonTone]

@@stevemossholder Stand Up and Benefit are great albums, but the were released before 1971 🙂

[@stevemossholder]

@@BrixtonTone oh yes I know. I just mentioned them as reasons for not minding the absence of Aqualung. But the TYA I mentioned is a must for my list.

[@jesuschambers]

25. Family - Fearless 24. Focus - Moving Waves 23.Hawkwind - In Search Of Space 22.Mountain - Nantucket Sleighride 21. King Crimson - Islands 20. Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts 19. Santana - III 18. Grin - Grin 17. Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Love And Death 16.Paul & Linda McCartney - Ram 15. Yes - Fragile 14. Crazy Horse - Crazy Horse 13. David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name 12. Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey 11. J.J. Cale - Naturally 10. Uriah Heep - Look At Yourself 9. Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality 8. Pink Floyd - Meddle 7. The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East 6. Rory Gallagher - Rory Gallagher 5. Rory Gallagher - Deuce 4. Ten Years After - A Space In Time 3. Jethro Tull - Aqualung 2. T. Rex - Electric Warrior 1. LED ZEPPELIN - IV

[@paulgoldstein2569]

I reckon your Marvin Gaye album was definitely the best produced album of the seventies, and is Smokey Robinson's favorite album of all times. I never bought it on vinyl. I am now pleased, because the expanded double CD reissue of it is a million times better, as it not only contains the original album mix, but a previously unreleased earlier mix of the album still, that was called The Original Detroit Mix, where you get the same tracks, but in much different stereo mix, with different instrumental separation between the channels. Also, some of the instrumental elements which in the previous vinyl version you could only hear in the background, were pushed more upfront in the Detroit mix, while other instruments that were more upfront, were lower in this mix. All this makes all the tracks sound very different. Parts of the title track in the Detroit mix lacks some of the overdubbed crowd noises. But there was one fault. In both mixes, one track God Is Love was edited to 1:41, whereas, on the various artists CD, Pops We Love You, you get the full 3:15 version. It was a very different version to what he first recorded for the B side of a single two years earlier, which appears among the bonus tracks in Disc 2, but unnecessarily in mono, whereas that version has appeared in stereo on at least one of his compilations. Disc 2, apart from that one track, contains inferior live re-recordings of the album songs, plus a few non-album B sides. As for The Carole King album, I preferred her earlier recorded demos of some of the songs on it, which were on her Legendary Demos CD, including her demo of the single from it, It's Too Late, and the title track, as they just sounded pure Carole King, with just herself on vocals and piano, and no other musicians. Her voice and piano were in full blast, and you could for once hear her full range in both, and the full Soul in her voice. Obviously on her re-recorded Tapestry versions, she had to restrict to make room for the backing instrumentalists, and to make sure they could be heard, to bring these songs into releasable formats. That CD also contained her earlier demos of songs she co-pitched to other artists, such as Pleasant Valley Sunday, So Goes Love, and Just Once In My Life. But what was so illogical about CD reissues of her Tapestry album, is that when first reissued on CD, the original CD just had the 12 vinyl tracks, nothing uncommon there. When reissued again on CD, it was digitally remastered with two bonus tracks, a studio track Out In The Cold, a great outtake from the Tapestry album sessions, and a live re-recording of Smackwater Jack which I thought was a tad better than her original studio version. But when the album was reissued yet again, it was expanded into a double CD, but the studio outtake, Out In The Cold was missing, as the first CD in that set only had the 12 original vinyl tracks. The live track was moved to the second CD in the set which contained entirely live re-recordings of tracks from the original album, the rest of which I did not think were as good as her studio originals. But to me, Carole was more than just Tapestry. She was a great singer/songwriter right from the start. But that album by The Who, which like most of their other albums was reissued in expanded double CD form loads of bonus tracks, is about to be reissued again in box set form with loads of other tracks still, like a few of their other albums.

[@tomrobinson5776]

I have that Carole King Legendary Demos album. Love her version of Pleasant Valley Sunday.

[@davejacquith4960]

One of my faves from ‘71 is Caravan, In The Land of Grey and Pink…also I thought Yes’ Fragile was from ‘71…which is also one of my faves…just checked it out, it was recorded in ‘71, released in ‘72…

[@DMTsmoke]

In the UK, Fragile was released in November 1971.

[@alanrodgers4223]

Joni Mitchell❤❤❤❤❤

[@micheledanieli5002]

Jgon lennon fuori dalla finestra ,neppure se me lo regalano

[@alanrodgers4223]

L.A. Woman.❤

[@alanrodgers4223]

PEARL❤❤

[@alanrodgers4223]

Sticky Fingers❤❤

[@gooddaysahead1]

Blue might be one of the top albums of all time. That's your number one, then. After that, 15 of any of your other choices could have been in your top five.

[@alanrodgers4223]

TAPESTRY❤❤

[@mansonmusicmadness9147]

There’s A Riot Going On is a muddy mess that works.

[@tomrobinson5776]

No doubt about it. 😉

[@alanrodgers4223]

Led Zeppelin 1V

[@kingofallmediums2123]

Not the last Doors record! You forgot Full Circle and Other Voices! AM After Morrison! 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😅😅😅

[@AlterMann57]

I'm so glad you included The Yes Album, followed by Nursery Cryme by Genesis. I love that Yes album because it was the last album featuring Tony Kaye on keyboards, he's the chap on the front cover with the broken leg. Tony Kaye loved playing the Hammond organ, and Yes lost that sound when he left in favour of Rick Wakeman (who came over from Strawb's). I loved the Wakeman sound, especially on Close To The Edge, but Tony Kaye gave the band a bluesy sound with his Hammond work. Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot are two of my favourite albums by Genesis, they were able to write lyrics to songs with a sci-fi background, but they were based on things that were actually taking place in reality. The U.K. was changing drastically at that time, many of the old pre-WWII row homes (those which survived the blitzkrieg), were being demolished in many of the Southern cities, and "modern" apartments were being constructed, as well as the newer elevated highways around the cities. The U.K. was losing some of the pre-war charm, but the cities were a bloody wreck with rubbish from striking rubbish collectors etc., which paved the way for that hard-core Tory twat Maggie Thatcher which took place in the 1980's. I'm also glad to hear you include one of my favourite Led Zeppelin songs "The Battle of Evermore" featuring my favourite female singer Sandy Denny. She was an angel amongst us, and she is the only singer that Robert Plant ever shared the mic with during the Led Zeppelin career. A Nod's As Good As A Wink is probably the best album by The Faces! "You're So Rude" is such a bloody good song from beginning to end, and Ronnie Lane was outstanding. It's a funny song, and a bit cheeky, it also mentions a lady name "Aunty Rennie", (which I have, her first name is Irene, but in typical British speak Irene become's Rennie). You have outstanding taste in albums and songs, this video is 10/10!

[@tomrobinson5776]

Thank you very much. 😉

[@JanVoorbij52]

Wot? No Jethro Tull? Are you kidding?

[@pikebishop215]

Much too low for Who's Next, which is one of the best rock albums ever.

[@paulgoldstein2569]

I agrree. But the double CD reissue with loads of bonus tracks was even better. Look forward to it's forthcoming box set reissue.

[@Cap683]

Timeless. I know that this is much overused but to me Who's Next is absolutely perfection. It is a matter of preference but this album always sounds fresh unlike Led Zeppelin 4. Sorry if I offended die hard Zeppelin fans. Glyn Johns does a fabulous production especially with the drums. He is known for using only three microphones for recording drums and the proof is here.

[@paulgoldstein2569]

@@Cap683 It hasn't offended me as I'm no Led Zeppelin fan.

[@garyolshan4177]

@@Cap683 Who''s Next was the The Who at their pinnacle

[@gregnewman2512]

How can someone say "ive heard Whos Next and Zeppelin IV too many times" and rank them so low bc of it. And then put Sticky Fingers so high (granted it belongs but zo do Zep and Who). Appreciate the Kinks and Faces love though. Does anybody else out there appreciate Little Feat albums? Geezsus.

[@reseda11]

Can TagoMago

[@michaelbeerbados3291]

the yes album...# 1