Continuing the Music I Love: the 70’s series, here are some songs from 1977.
We Just Disagree– Dave Mason
A lot of the songs I’ve chosen are, I would think, pretty well-known. I doubt this one is. But I’ve always really liked this song. I’m a sucker for harmonies and this song has them.
Jet Airliner– Steve Miller
The Steve Miller band. This song was from his Book of Dreams album which had a really cool cover.
In fact, I reproduced the cover in an art project in high school art… on a batiked cloth of all things. It was so cool that another kid, also named Steve Miller, asked me if he could have it for a bit. He apparently thought that meant permanently. My mom wanted it so I when I asked Steve for it, he balked and it took him a while to get it back to me. He finally did and my mom had that thing hanging in her living room for a number of years.
All that was kind of tangential, but while I could have picked any number of Steve Miller songs, I’ve always really liked this one. I usually think of it when I’m thinking about flying somewhere too.
Two Tickets to Paradise– Eddie Money
This song came to be considered somewhat cheesy from being overplayed. But undaunted by the haters, I still include it on my list because I still really like the song.
On and On– Steven Bishop
“Down in Jamaica they got… lots of pretty women, steal your money and they break your heart….”
Country-song lyrics in an easy listening island-y vibe. This wasn’t some lyric that I totally identified with or anything like that, but for some reason, I have always loved this song.
Carry On Wayward Son– Kansas
You’ll love Hagrid singing the opening lines. Proof that prior to MTV, you didn’t have to be great looking to have a hit record. But what a hit record this was. Has the great rock groove, somewhat mystic lyrics, superb drive and harmonies, and even today this song stands up. Though it does have the 70’s gimmick of having several distinct feels in one song.
When I was in song-writing class, just varying a little got me the reproof that “it sounds like two different songs”. Yeah well, I grew up in the 70’s, so there!