I love that line from the Simpsons. When Homer uttered those words, it may have just been some simple creative humor on the part of the writers, but I don’t think it’s too far from the truth. I’m an 80s rock guy. Always will be. However, when you consider that 1974 gave us such great rock albums such as Rush’s first album aptly titled Rush, Queen’s Queen II AND Sheer Heart Attack, Aerosmith’s Get Your Wings, The Rolling Stones’ It’s Only Rock and Roll But I Like It, in addition to many others, for us rock n’ rollers you could make this case that this year was a major turning point in rock music and signaled what was to come in the rest of the 70s as well as the 80s.

Ok, so yeah, perfection is subjective … but 1974 was a hell of a good year.

The decade of the 70s in of itself was a banner time for many genres of music, including rock and roll. But before I blabber on about my favorite decade of rock, I want to walk through the evolution that took place in 70s rock and roll as I see it.

Mashin’ It Up

Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter summarized rock in the 1970s pretty succinctly during an interview for the 1995 television series The History of Rock n’ Roll:

“There had been enough time in the Rock n’ Roll timeline to be able to draw from that. There had been enough Rock n’ Roll, the three-chord guys. There was the Rhythm n’ Blues and the Blues of the 40s and 50s. There was the Jazz era. There had been enough Rockabilly. There had been enough Country Music. So now you had the wellspring, you can draw from a lot of different things, and a lot of the bands in the 70s did that.”

This well spring led to a cross-pollination of different styles which in turn led to new sub-genres found throughout rock music during the 70s. As you listen to Clapton, The Eagles, Aerosmith, Queen, etc from the 70s those sounds and styles Skunk references become immediately identifiable by those bands and many others.

Less Bluer Blues

Blues rock saw a marked evolution in the 70s, incorporating the heavier and louder stylings initially brought on by the late 1960s music of Led Zeppelin and Cream. After all, Clapton was arguably the first to give us the sound of the Les Paul-meets-cranked-Marshall on the Beano album, later followed by Jimmy Page with “Heartbreaker” on Led Zeppelin II.

The boogie-woogie and swing from blues collided with louder and louder guitars in bands such as ZZ Top (“Jesus Just Left Chicago”), Pat Travers (“Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)”), and Ram Jam (“Black Betty”), while other bands continued to expand on the evolution that started with Cream, Led Zeppelin and Ten Years After, such as Aerosmith, Foghat and Robin Trower.

Southern rock was also popularized by groups such as The Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The style was marked by its rock and roll, blues, country music and classic R&B influences mixed with styles such as jazz and folk music. The former of these two last genres is reflected in the improvisational nature of the music, with jams that can stretch for hours at a time. I’ve been to my fair share of Allman Brothers shows in the 90s and can attest to this personally. lol

The latter influence is reflected in the lyrical content, eschewing (look at that … I know words! haha) the subject of girls and cars of classic rock and roll for more reflective and storytelling lyrics such as “Simple Man.” Needless to say, I like the words of classic rock a tad bit better. lol

Pop Rock (no not the candy)

A large amount of rock music could be classified more as pop music (at least what pop was perceived to be at the time), continuations of what began with the Beatles and other 1960s groups, pushing the limits of songcraft beyond three chords and some lyrics. For instance, if we look at Fleetwood Mac’s two most significant records from that decade (1975’s Fleetwood Mac and 1977’s Rumours), the band that initially cut its teeth making seminal British blues rock under Peter Green’s guitar and songwriting made a complete 180-degree turn after the arrival of Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, who both came from a more folk-rock background. The results were poppier melodies and arrangements with more sophisticated and biographical lyrics. Rumours was mostly Buckingham and Nicks trading barbs at each other between other songs. A tad bit different than Taylor Swift who writes songs about someone after she breaks up with them. Nicks wrote them about Lindsay and made Buckingham sing them to her. Classic!!!

Elements of theatrics were also sneaking into the genre, from the stage shows of Alice Cooper to the spectacles of Kiss, setting these acts apart from many of their counterparts who had just gotten on stage and played.

In my opinion, you can draw a straight line from artists like these to many of the 80s rock bands what were more theatrical, glam and wanted to put on a show to entertain.

Western Classical Music was another infiltrating style that crept into 1970s rock. I when I say western I don’t cowboys and Indians. lol The exquisite composition style of western classical music served many bands looking for a bigger sound beyond the bluesy trappings of music past. While it drew from more classic music on occasion it was still more pop then heavy in many cases. And when it came to bands like Queen there were certainly some theatrics as well. Considering the genre’s influences on artists such as Freddie Mercury and Tom Scholz, you don’t need to go far beyond bands like Queen or Boston to hear the influence.

The most evident are the operatic sections of “Bohemian Rhapsody” (though the tragic aspects of the verses could easily fit in), regaling the protagonist’s sad tale in a backdrop of voices that would fit in easily with an operatic chorus.

Listen to “Foreplay” by Boston to see another obvious example. The opening of “Long Time” sounds like Bach if Bach composed some epic rock number.

These aspects were taken wwwaaayyy further than simple songs by those in the progressive rock set, going for long musical themes, full-storied concept albums, and more complex harmonic structures and melodies. Check out the catalogues of Yes, Genesis and Rush for some choice examples.

Not that anyone asked (I’m sarcastic, what can I say?) but Rush was a real game changer for me musically. I didn’t start listening to them until the 80s but I love listening back on their music from the 70s (I was 2 when Rush’s first album came out) and hearing how it drew from other musical styles and evolved all the way through their last album, Clockwork Angels, in 2012.

A Heavier Metal

The heavy rock that began with bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Who continued to evolve during the 1970s, keeping the blues influence but melding it with elements of classical music and fantastic themes in their lyrics. I feel like Black Sabbath in 1970 was the first one to really take it to the next level. Other great examples of this were albums by Deep Purple (Machine Head), Rainbow (particularly the songs “Man On The Silver Mountain” and “Gates of Babylon”) and the Scorpions (“Sails Of Charon”)

Rebellion!

Most musicians were on board with the direction, complexity and pomp that a lot of rock music was taking. Some musicians though wanted to go against the grain and get “back to basics” in music and rock n’ roll attitude. This need gave birth to punk rock, with bands like The Clash, The Sex Pistols and the Ramones leading the fold—short songs with intensity at 11 and a DILLIGAF attitude. The irony is that the genre would influence some more sophisticated genres, and a lot of what happened in the 90s in my opinion, but that’s for a later time.

While it may not be perfect and capture every details hopefully I gave you slight tasty taste of how rock evolved in the 1970s. There is A LOT to expound on during the 70s and I can (and will at some point) go deeper into other genres, such as glam rock, reggae, funk rock, country rock, and singer-songwriter music, which found their audience during that decade. For now, cue up some of your favorite 70s records and try to spot the influences I mentioned above and see how some of your favorite artists took rock music to brave new directions.

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The Synthesizer Steps In

Yes, there was piano in the 70s in a variety of music. For Billy Joel and Elton John, it was at the forefront of their music. Stevie Wonder incorporated it heavily and both Led Zepplin and Queen, among others, certain utilized quite proficiently as well. (Bohemian Rhapsody anyone?) But starting in the late 1970s with artists like David Bowie and bands like Pink Floyd and becoming much more predominant in the 1980s there was a shift from the piano and organ to increased use of synthesizers in rock music. While keyboard instruments had their place for the longest time, synthesizers mainly stood out in progressive rock (Yes, ELP and the like) and some of the more experimental pop and rock bands (Steely Dan, for example). Neither progressive rock or experimental bands were mainstream so the use of synths during the 70s wasn’t as impactful as it was when more mainstream artists incorporated it.

First off, the technology evolved from small-car-sized synthesizers to more portable offerings that were easier to use. Suddenly, a song like Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life” from the Brothers in Arms album in 1985 had a significant synthesizer hook, a 180-degree turn from the guitar hooks in “Sultans of Swing” released only a few short years before in 1978.

And Dire Straights wasn’t the only guitar focused 70s band adding keys. Imagine the shock of ZZ Top fans when they threw on ZZ Top’s 1983 album Eliminator and heard the pulsating rhythm of an arpeggiated synth underpinning songs such as “Legs.” It was a significant shift from the traditional power-trio sound from that little ol’ band from Texas who had 6 guitar driven albums in the 70s. And while Rush’s first six albums in the 70s had a smattering of keys there was a significantly heavier increased presence of keyboards and synths starting with Moving Pictures and then on their subsequent three albums (1984’s Grace Under Pressure, 1985’s Power Windows and 1987’s Hold Your Fire) to the point where some would say it was a little too predominant. While those are just a few examples, but I think you’re keying in (lol I kill me) on what I’m saying. There was a plethora of keys being added into music from classic rock bands such as Aerosmith, Dio, and Van Halen, etc. In fact, Van Halens first number-one hit was the Oberheim-driven song “Jump” that, for me at least, inspired some “air keyboard” playing.

It wasn’t just keyboards and synthisizers though that influenced the sounds of the 80s though. Technology also played a big part in shaping the sound of 1980s rock. Wanting to capture the sound of his rig and records in a compact package, Tom Scholz from the band Boston developed the Rockman Headphone Amplifier. Originally designed as a simple practice device, many bands discovered the colossal sound it created when plugged directly into a recording console. Turn on Hysteria by Def Leppard, and you’d be shocked that the guitar tones were not a stack of amps but a device the size of a Sony Walkman.

I was a sh!tty guitar player in the 80s for a hot second before I switched to bass. (thank god! hahaha) I spent, at the time, a bunch of money on the Eventide H3000 thinking it was going to make me a better guitar player. (please note … it didn’t) But for guitar gods like Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai it added an otherworldly and larger than life character to their already incredible talents.

The Punks Get Sophisticated

The genre that you could say was the antithesis of rock in the late 1970s underwent a similar change at the turn of the decade, going through its evolution. While the DIY ethic of the original movement remained, the desire to branch out and experiment was quite strong.

Many bands that came up during the punk movement found themselves evolving and incorporating different styles into their music, with some including the keyboard sounds that infiltrated rock music.

The implosion of several punk bands led to several different ones that were more exploratory. From the ashes of the Sex Pistols (probably the most influential one-album band), John Lydon formed Public Image Ltd., toying with experimental sounds, dub music and funk. Mick Jones of The Clash formed Big Audio Dynamite, adding hip-hop and reggae elements to his music. Even Dee Dee Ramone stepped into the rap world following his departure from the Ramones.

Along with this came the beginnings of what was called New Wave. Coming from a more experimental side than punk, these kept the DIY ethic and leaned towards a more pop direction. Some early bands, like Devo and Television, had an odd aesthetic, but the music was more accessible to mainstream audiences than their more punk counterparts.

This would eventually morph into a more concrete style of pop music that would permeate the soundtrack of many a John Hughes film and be more removed from its experimental roots. Some bands associated with the genre include Blondie, Squeeze, The Cars and The Knack.

No Keys Here (at least not in the 80s)

Metal music was also alive and well, with two distinct genres emerging during the decade.

One was the heavier metal, which became known as Thrash Metal. This genre was inspired by that other new wave often discussed in late 1970s and early 1980s music, … British Heavy Metal (think Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Tygers of Pan Tang, Venom, etc.). This aggressive sound (and the disillusionment with the direction taken by American metal bands) influenced a new generation of musicians to create groundbreaking metal music. These bands included Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer and their contemporaries, giving fans of aggressive music something new to latch onto.

While some were seeking aggression, others just wanted to party, (this is me raising my hand!) leading to what would be called Glam Metal. While also referred to as “poser” music by some, [c@c#] rock by others (I and the rest of my glam metal cohorts were insulted in a wide variety of ways lol) these were the bands tied closely to the music heard on Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip. What began with bands like Van Halen and Quiet Riot in the late 70s later brought us bands such as Poison, Ratt and Motley Crüe. This music was metal with more of a pop edge and loads of glam that made the bands MTV-ready.

The technology, glam and sound of the 1980s were all larger than life. For me it helped me find myself and many of the songs during that decade not only bring back amazing memories (some of which I can never discuss with anyone hahaha) and also defined many of the pivotal moments in my life. However … that was aaallllll about to change when the 1990s rolled around.

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Oh well, whatever, never mind

In May of 1991, a newly signed band from Seattle stepped into Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, to record some songs for their first major-label record. Their previous Sub-Pop album Bleach caught some attention, leading to their signing with DGC Records. A&R over at the label was confident that the album would sell maybe 500,000 copies (good numbers for a band still relatively unknown).

Preceded by the video for the song “Smell Like Teen Spirit” (the band’s first major hit), the album Nevermind sold in the millions, propelling Nirvana to overnight stardom, dethroning even Michael Jackson from the number 1 spot on Billboard and seemingly pulling the plug on every other rock genre out there. The combination of heavy riffs, punk-rock aesthetic and attitude, and catchy melodies appealed to a vast audience.

Goodbye, Glam Metal. Suddenly, Grunge (as it became known) was in.

All eyes turned to Seattle, and bands such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains found themselves ahead of the pack, with most labels trying to capitalize on the Seattle Sound. Arguably, these were also some of the more commercially accessible groups in the fray; the sound coming out of Seattle was hardly that polished. Being mostly isolated from the rest of the industry for the longest time, bands in the area created their sound and style mainly to entertain themselves. Suddenly, every record label descended on Seattle looking for their Nirvana, and the thrift-store flannel shirts everyone wore were now selling for hundreds of dollars in department stores.

(Those wishing to learn more about the Seattle scene should watch the documentary Hype!)

Making The Switch or Mashing Things Up

It was clear that if rock bands from the 1980s wanted to stay relevant, they had to get with the times or fall by the wayside. With this shift, most rock acts either found themselves trying to follow the trend or just calling it a day. Motley Crüe is one example of an 80s band that tried to follow the trend and came out with their John Corabi-fronted self-titled album from 1994 (which for those who care I refuse to listen too).

Sadly (to me and them) many Glam Metal bands just ceased to exist. Others like Aerosmith had continued success with some of their biggest hits being released during that decade (songs like “Crying,” “Amazing,” “Livin’ on the Edge” and “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing” were practically inescapable).

Newer styles were also finding their way into the mainstream, including the unlikely combination of rock with hip-hop elements. There were some previous offerings from the earlier years, such as Run DMC’s version of “Walk This Way” and “Bring The Noise,” a collaboration between Public Enemy and Anthrax, but Rage Against The Machine cemented the genre and brought it to the masses. A blend of hip-hop, funk, metal and social consciousness, the band proved very successful, with Tom Morello becoming an unlikely guitar hero.

The great mashup was part of a larger alternative metal scene that was growing, led by bands such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Sevendust, Coal Chamber and Papa Roach. Here, we had a combination of harder metal elements while incorporating lower-tuned guitars (or 7-stringed guitars in Korn’s case), hip-hop elements such as rhythms and vocal styles, funk influences and a more aggressive sound. Lyrically, many bands were singing about much darker subjects, with the lyrics being sometimes autobiographical. It was loud and aggressive and gave something for the kids to latch onto, especially those who looked for music that spoke to them.

The last bastion of guitar heroes

The 1990s may have been one of the last times that guitar players were lauded, at least for a few years, when technical ability fell out of fashion, starting in the late 1990s and going into the 2000s. A new crop of players from the grunge era, such as Mike McCready and Kim Thayle, still knew how to wail away on the rock side, while Dimebag Darrell and Pantera kept technical guitar playing alive on the metal front.

Blues guitar also saw signs of good health with new players such as Johnny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Some of the old guard also continued to get attention with new music from Pink Floyd (1994’s The Division Bell), as well as a series of new compilations of Jimi Hendrix’s music, notably 1994’s Blues and Live at Woodstock. Shred guitar also got some love with the inaugural G3 tour in 1996, featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson and a cavalcade of guest guitarists, all celebrating guitar mastery. For players and fans, it was probably the last great hurrah for a while.

Most people point at Grunge as the reason why 80s rock died out. My opinion, which I’ll espouse upon in a different blog is that it was a combination of grunge, MTVs shift from videos to TV shows and Beavis & Butt Head (yep those guys) killed the 80s. (I’m not bitter at all lol) That being said rock start long before the 80s and I’d dare to say rock is experiencing quite the resurgence today. The 789s chose these decades to play (the 70s, 80s and 90s) because they show how rock music grew and evolved wildly during those decades. We’re passionate about the artists and songs during these different time periods and connect deeply with the music. Whether you love the 70s more than the 90s, or the 90s more than the 80s or there a bits and pieces you love of each decade we hope you’ll come celebrate the music with us and make new memories together!

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