1970s: Rock Chronicles

The 1970s signaled the passing of the dreamy excess that was the fabled 60s. During the decade that included the fabled Summer Of Love, Woodstock, the birth of west coast bands like The Byrds, Love, Buffalo Springfield and their northern counterparts in the likes of Moby Grape, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane, there was one dominant and overriding moment – the birth of the Beatles. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr met and formed a band. From that point on, rock/pop music would be forever changed. Everything flowed from the Beatles: the idea of self-contained bands writing their own songs; the concept of lead and rhythm guitars performing orchestrated parts; the actual sound of electric guitar; anything and everything could be attributed to this Liverpool quartet.

So, the 70s was a distillation of what the Beatles wrought – big melodic rock songs, twin guitars working off of each other, and the electricity to fuse all of this together. For the first time, metal or heavy metal or heavy music peeked its horned head over the fence. Led Zeppelin, though they’d been hatched in the previous decade, brought their unique style of blues and rock to an international community.

AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, and Deep Purple would all release albums. The musician as guitar hero would first be crystallized in these very bands, serving notice that Angus Young, Tony Iommi, Joe Perry, and Ritchie Blackmore were on their way to becoming full-blown Guitar Gods (with double capital Gs).

Jeff Beck, already a six-string maestro since his 60s salad days with The Yardbirds and his own self-titled band with then relatively-unknown singer Rod Stewart, would raise the barre chords to an untouchable position with the release of Blow By Blow. In 1975, this will be his first foray into the all-instrumental realm and will signal his departure from any singer-fronted band from this moment on.

"The Beatles"

The Beatles, too, are represented in the 70s; In August 1971, Paul McCartney has formed Wings and will undertake his first tour. Just a few days after the bassist’s headline, co-Beatle John Lennon will issue his Imagine album. And George Harrison, within two weeks’ of his bandmates’ announcements, will appear at his mammoth benefit at New York’s Madison Square Garden. On August 1, 1971, the spiritual Beatle rounds up Eric Clapton, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, and others for his Bangla Desh concert.

On January 18, 1973, David Gilmour and the Pink Floyd will enter Abbey Road studios to begin work on what will become Dark Side Of The Moon. Two months later they’ll have completed this stunning project and see it sitting at Number One on US charts. Over the next 30 years, more than 34 millions copies will find their way onto turntables around the world. As if that statistic isn’t staggering enough, this remarkable record will remain in the Billboard Top 200 charts for 741 weeks (there will be 591 consecutive weeks [if you’re counting, 591 weeks comes out to about 11 years]). Extraordinarily enough, those numbers weren’t adequate enough to secure a Number One spot in England – they had to settle for a runner’s up Number Two.

Guitar playing then, ran wild, ran off the tracks, ran the gamut. It delicately crawled up our spine from Gilmour’s Fender Stratocaster breathing out notes of butterscotch sky; solos all weeping, slowly creeping, delayed, decayed, legato, cavernous, mountainous, shadowy, echoey, symphonic, gigantic, and romantic.

Then it tried to break our backs when Tony Iommi spit up huge globs of electric phlegm on albums like Paranoid and Master Of Reality. His Gibson SG slammed and damned us with violent gut punches. This Englishman with slightly less than 10 fingers – but back in the day, still digits enough to whack the crap out of a local singer calling Ozzy Zig – turned those fists of fury into bare-knuckled riffing machines of mayhem. He choked and bled us. In dungeons the world over, in the very worst places on earth, in the very valley of hell itself, it is Tony’s guitar you’ll probably hear screaming from the in-house PA (assuming hell has electricity). Iommi’s playing is shot through with desperate tension. At times, when it appears that his strings don’t want to bend, he twists and mangles them. There is nothing sublime or subtle about Tony’s playing; his rhythm chops stand up like brute soldiers. They bully their way through the music and many times force the vocal to join in or be mutilated (how many Sabbath songs can you think of where Ozzy simply doubles the guitar riff?). The tonality is decayed and black, serenade for a heart attack; it is fouled and polluted like the Birmingham skies of his youth.

There is Ritchie Blackmore’s Marshall-fueled Strat pouring classical gas over rock; Angus Young’s thump-and-grinding Gibson SG (talking about polar ends, listen to Young’s manipulation of the SG versus the sonics of Iommi’s tortured cacophony) and Joe Perry’s raucous, sometimes mawkish, blues-oozing guitar (difficult to associate the Aerosmith guy with any one instrument; he jumps around).

"Jeff Beck"

And somewhere in the middle and on the outside, seeping through the heart and excavating his way through the tissues of the brain is Jeff Beck. He is the most gifted player and probably the least understood. He stood at the doors legends walked through when he assembled the two Jeff Beck Group albums: Truth and Beck-Ola. He, arguably, could have out-Zeppelined Zeppelin, but he broke that Stewart-fronted band up. He could have played Woodstock but he didn’t. Still, for all of his improbable decisions, his strange and dismissive treatment of the press, and the fact that he loves his cars more than his guitars, Jeff Beck is a wizard. The 1975 Blow By Blow album conjures up bluestring dreams and mythic country bends like yelping prairie dogs and the most dramatic and dolorous and atavistic and frangible sounds ever put on record.

Yes, those are a lot of big words but you need big words to describe him because he is a big player; his is a huge presence; Jeff Beck is voluminous. The man with hands like Michaelangelo’s David has created the lingua franca of the electric guitar – he communicates to rockers and jazzers, country gentlemen and fusioneers. His is the most unique voice to be heard here in the 1970s.

The 70s, outside of the 1960s, was the most fertile decade ever for guitar players. There was more experimentation and expansion and evolution; more attempts and attacks; more tones, textures, and techniques. And certainly, there were a lot more players than just the select group here who, during this decade, truly stretched the limits. But the artists mentioned in this introduction (as well as several others) were, by anyone’s standards, shining lights and visionaries. They do represent a ten-year period during which boundaries were pushed and expanded. These musicians were the voices of the 1970s and what they uttered over 30 years ago still has a resonance and bounces around in our brains like the infinite delay setting on a PCM42.

2007 © Steven Rosen

Comments

[Jmoney07]

First Comment. I love Iommi and and Young. Both are freaking awesome. They set the stage for the new age of metal. Like Wylde, Dimebag, and all the other insane masters of the axe

[mimimimi]

Great Article. But to be honest none of these would have started with out ther inspirations, all the credit should go down to the first caveman who banged two rocks together (well you get the idea)

[dusan]

hm...what about Queen?!

[kizum]

it seems that bass didn't exist...

[Killer B Dunc]

I agree, the 70's showcased the best rock music of any decade. If you ever watch some of the old shows from the 70's like the Midnight Special or the Old Grey Whistle Test, you just sit there in awe of the amount of talent that was on those programs. Some of my personal favorites were Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Jimmy Page, and Eddie Van Halen.

[kaptink]

kizum wrote:

it seems that bass didn't exist...

It did but just like in this article it was always pumping away behind the guitar!

[CobenBlack]

no offence but this seemed pointless. it just described guitarists who weve all heard of already.

[zerodeck]

yup, wish I lived then:p

[notoriousnumber]

Gotta love the 70s, man if I was a teen back then it would have been a blast.

[wholovesthesun]

Zappa?

[fluffylump2]

and how is this an interview?

[Tele Echoes]

Gotta love the Gilmour and the Page Master.

Checked

[GuitarNinja12]

This just seems like a big fanboy article. It wasnt very informative at all. It also fails to mention Hendrix who was a huge huge influence in 70's music and beyond....

[screamsoftly]

I guess it isn't fair to assume you can fit every great guitarist in one article... but a little more Zeppelin and a little less Beatles worship would have done well. I can't wait to read this guys interviews, but enough with the articles of information we all know.

[i_eat_souls]

yeah this article kinda sucks

[qotsa1998]

ummm.....Weren't the Who alive during the 70's? idk, because a Townsend mention or an Entwhistle mention wouldve been good. Even with Zep being on here, the other 3 members of the band could have been at least listed, even if they werent commented on. The Beatles arent the best ever, and a lack of Stones was also a bit dissapointing. the interviews shouldd rock tho.

Checked.

[Spiritweaver]

I agree, the 70's showcased the best rock music of any decade. If you ever watch some of the old shows from the 70's like the Midnight Special or the Old Grey Whistle Test, you just sit there in awe of the amount of talent that was on those programs. Some of my personal favorites were Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Jimmy Page, and Eddie Van Halen.

HELL YEAH MIDNIGHT SPECIAL!!! That was probably the best show ever on T.V., it's too bad that people can't come together for the sake of music like that anymore...

[Killer B Dunc]

Instead, they always come together for some politicaly motivated event like Live Earth. I almost yacked watching that mess. You said it Spiritweaver, let's come together for the sake of music. The last thing I need is somebody like Mellisa Ethridge telling me to change my light bulbs and drive an electric car. Kiss my Diesel driving, eating off paper plates ass!

[boxcarblink94]

glad to see someone giving jeff beck more attention. he's my favorite

[Altered_Carbon]

nathanthehippie wrote:

towshend sucked balls
power chords power chords power chords

Yeah...Except no. That's the most ignorant thing I've read all day.
This is only cool for the fact that it super-fellates Jeff Beck, who never seems to get much attention in comparisson to the other gods.

[StinkyShoes]

I am a big Jeff Beck fan, so I was happily surprised to have seen him mentioned in the first article. I also thoroughly enjoy Zeppelin, of course, but one thing I always liked about them besides their sheer talent was their well roundedness. Every song was full of all four musicians' playing, Page, Plant, Bonham, and Jones. You can really hear it in their songs, as I recall reading somewhere about how Page wanted their recordings to be full of such.

[Ali-b912]

the beatles didnt cause modern rock. they didnt invent distortion. its hard to find beatles songs that arent clean. what do you hear on most 70's rock songs. that right you fools think about it for a minute. the beatles influenced pop, which is basically the most lame attempt at a musical genre. they were still an amazing band but they basically had no relation to the 70's best stuff. the way i think is that i am influenced to play guitar by oasis. im influenced to do better then that crap. i think probably alot of guitarists at the time thot, wow those guys are making famous off slow boring rubbish, lets go fast and hard and kick their asses.

[drakebell93]

screamsoftly wrote:

I guess it isn't fair to assume you can fit every great guitarist in one article... but a little more Zeppelin and a little less Beatles worship would have done well. I can't wait to read this guys interviews, but enough with the articles of information we all know.

excuse me, but the zeppelin members weren't even BORN when the Beatles were changing the world. they're not so significant in rock

[drakebell93]

Ali-b912 wrote:

the beatles didnt cause modern rock. they didnt invent distortion. its hard to find beatles songs that arent clean. what do you hear on most 70's rock songs. that right you fools think about it for a minute. the beatles influenced pop, which is basically the most lame attempt at a musical genre. they were still an amazing band but they basically had no relation to the 70's best stuff. the way i think is that i am influenced to play guitar by oasis. im influenced to do better then that crap. i think probably alot of guitarists at the time thot, wow those guys are making famous off slow boring rubbish, lets go fast and hard and kick their asses.

hello you are making the most hellish comment ever if the Beatles werent here you'd be singing stupid skiffles all day long you are so wrong the Beatles are the BEST thing thats ever happened in rockmusic and don't you forget it buster

Checked.

[sus4th]

So amny missing from this article - Allman, Garcia, Betts, May, Howe (how many times was he Guitar Player's Guitarist of the Year?), Lifeson / Lee, Van Halen, etc. etc.

[azdv]

What about the Eagles!

[thewalrus77]

i agree the beatles are the greatest thing to ever hit the music industry

[break-me-in]

drakebell93 wrote:

screamsoftly wrote:

I guess it isn't fair to assume you can fit every great guitarist in one article... but a little more Zeppelin and a little less Beatles worship would have done well. I can't wait to read this guys interviews, but enough with the articles of information we all know.


excuse me, but the zeppelin members weren't even BORN when the Beatles were changing the world. they're not so significant in rock

How are they less significant because of when they were born?! (Besides, they WERE born when the Beatles were around). They still changed music history. Also, the Beatles weren't as big in the 70s, they were a 60s band, and that's why the amount of Beatles in this article is rather disproportionate.

[Pacarazzi]

yeah this needed more zeppelin and less beatles, the beatles did alot but they were more 60s, zeppelin was a HUGE part of the 70s...and HAHAHAHAH what about queen? hahahaha.

[dgme92]

queen are mysteriously absent....

[mrbiscuits315]

Ali-b912 wrote:

the beatles didnt cause modern rock. they didnt invent distortion. its hard to find beatles songs that arent clean. what do you hear on most 70's rock songs. that right you fools think about it for a minute. the beatles influenced pop, which is basically the most lame attempt at a musical genre. they were still an amazing band but they basically had no relation to the 70's best stuff. the way i think is that i am influenced to play guitar by oasis. im influenced to do better then that crap. i think probably alot of guitarists at the time thot, wow those guys are making famous off slow boring rubbish, lets go fast and hard and kick their asses.

werent the beatles the frist band to record feedback?

[Fun_Scum]

Dude you forgot aboput, one major thing, PUNK ROCK!!!!! the 70's wouldn't be the 70's without fast paced, who-gives-a-f*ck rock-n-roll

[Partyboy2k05]

Did anyone read his other introduction for writing this series? Cuz if ya did, you'd understand this is just another intro to his interviews with all these musicians.

[Bluesbreaker7]

drakebell93 wrote:
excuse me, but the zeppelin members weren't even BORN when the Beatles were changing the world. they're not so significant in rock

LOL at this. What, so they were about ten when they released their first album?

Checked again lololol.

[blueskid99]

Ali-b912 wrote:

the beatles didnt cause modern rock. they didnt invent distortion. its hard to find beatles songs that arent clean. what do you hear on most 70's rock songs. that right you fools think about it for a minute. the beatles influenced pop, which is basically the most lame attempt at a musical genre. they were still an amazing band but they basically had no relation to the 70's best stuff. the way i think is that i am influenced to play guitar by oasis. im influenced to do better then that crap. i think probably alot of guitarists at the time thot, wow those guys are making famous off slow boring rubbish, lets go fast and hard and kick their asses.

i'm quoting the autobiography of The Beatles' recording engineer during the recording of "Revolution".
john lennon:"the reason i have my amp turned up so high is because i'm trying to distort the s*** out of it...it's the sound i want."

[RandyMoon]

drakebell93
excuse me, but the zeppelin members weren't even BORN when the Beatles were changing the world. they're not so significant in rock

Hmm...let's see here, the Beatles broke up around 1970...Led Zeppelin's first album was in 1969...they must not have been alive yet when they released that.

[Chiefsaint55]

damn

[patrickdenneyto]

what about RUSH and Queen?

[Ali-b912]

i didnt think i would need to reply to this

mrbiscuits315 wrote:

Ali-b912 wrote:

the beatles didnt cause modern rock. they didnt invent distortion. its hard to find beatles songs that arent clean. what do you hear on most 70's rock songs. that right you fools think about it for a minute. the beatles influenced pop, which is basically the most lame attempt at a musical genre. they were still an amazing band but they basically had no relation to the 70's best stuff. the way i think is that i am influenced to play guitar by oasis. im influenced to do better then that crap. i think probably alot of guitarists at the time thot, wow those guys are making famous off slow boring rubbish, lets go fast and hard and kick their asses.
werent the beatles the frist band to record feedback?

im pretty sure it was the bluesbreakers when they got clapton because he had his volume up full at the recording. and i said invent. i still like the beatles but alot of their stuff was real pop. plus at the end of the beatles career they realised that time was changing. they will say oh i want this but really they probably noticed the beginning of other new different stuff which was catching up.

drakebell93 wrote:
excuse me, but the zeppelin members weren't even BORN when the Beatles were changing the world. they're not so significant in rock

look your obviously quite stupid as everyone has pointed out and also you are 13 or recently 14, but they are actually all about the same age. im not sure how old mcartney is but i know page is well into his 60's.and they had different career paths in music. while the beatles were changing the world jimmy page was working in a studio as was JPJ im pretty sure plant was too and bonham was having his ass kicked out of clubs for breaking things. and hell i would rather the skiffle, to certain beatles stuff. i might be wrong, jimmy page might have pulled a bow into his mum and recorded dazed and confused in the uterus. by the way im only 14 and so is drake bell so we arent going to know alot of stuff from before our times so dont criticize there. but drakebell93 is a stupid arse :P.

[Ali-b912]

lol longest post ever?

[jakethesnakeLP]

what about the eagles or peter frampton's?