I was a senior in High School in 1974, and two of my friends and I were trading these albums with each other. It was an important year in my jazz listening progression. While we were still true connoisseurs of jazz like the Verve, Atlantic, CTI, and Pablo recordings, this was a way to let our hair down. Fun times and mind blowing stuff! We were way ahead of our peers musically. Great video and memories Andy.

First time I heard "Get Up With It" I was blown away.

Wow, so happy to see Apocalypse appreciated, it was my one of my first Mahavishnu albums and is still among my favourites equal or even higher than the Inner Mounting Flame!

@fishdrew1111

Ай бұрын

IMF was so ground-breaking/mind-blowing but, I agree: some of the later MU albums were much more interesting and compositionally advanced.

1974 Jazz Rock still has momentum - Yes to this!

Spot on list. We played songs and riffs from all those albums. Especially the 11th House. Right on Ya'll

Mike Westbrook Orchestra: Citadel/Room 315. Possibly more Jazz than Jazz Rock, but I don't know the 'rules' - it's on the border I think. It is one of my favourite albums. A pity that no-one notices it. If anyone wants a treat, sit back and be transported by 'Outgoing Song' for a few minutes. (PS: just noticed it was performed in 1974, but not recored til 1975 - oops) Lots of good stuff on your new album - Triggered and Progicide standing out, so far.

I totally agree for your #1 choice. It is a truly astonishing work that seems to get better with age. I listen to my very old copy every so often and it still sounds fresh and totally engrossing. It is an absolute masterpiece of composition, performance and recording.

Thanks for the shout-out for Alphonso Johnson. Much underrated because of the bombastic Jaco but edges it for me because of Alphonso's groove. IMO. Thanks Andy.

@garygomesvedicastrology

6 ай бұрын

Alphonso had a beautiful tone; Jaco, for me, sounded nasal. Great player, but I liked Johnson better. I agree with you about Apocalypse as MO at their best. The original band was incredible, but this was more fully realized.

....excellent.....and I was lucky enough to be listening too and buying these awesome records as they came out....running home clutching these awesome pieces of art, and then immersing myself in them over and over, again and again.... talking with my mates about them......how lucky was I???? And then seeing a lot of these artists 'live'......heady days!!!!

Another thoroughly enjoyable video. I keep making notes from your comments on these amazing albums. Some I know, some I know of and some are new to me. You really unpack these albums and artists well. An album from this year you might like , Looking Through by Passport. Kurt Kress on drums. You pick out drummers really well so you might know him already. This could easily be on this list or honorable mention at least. Thanks again, well done 👍

Romantic Warrior was my second jazz album after Heavy weather

1. Miles Davis - Get Up With It 2. Herbie Hancock - Thrust 3. Return to Forever - Where Have I Known You Before 4. Wolfgang Dauner etc. - Kunstkopgindianer 5. Pekka Pohjola - Harakka Bialoipokku 6. Terje Rypdal - Whenever I Seem to be Far Away 7. Wayne Shorter - Moto Grosso Feio 8. Pat Martino - Consciousness 9. Eleventh House - Introducing 10. Placebo - Placebo Nice change-up with the glasses, Andy! I will argue that the lowering of bass in the mix on Get Up With It likely has to do with the 30 minutes sides of vinyl. I also do like Apocalypse quite a bit and do feel that its quite underrated, but hey my list is my list and it just didn't make it. I'll likely have Visions of the Emerald Beyond topping next year's list.. Same goes with the Stanley Clarke album; its great, it has a fusion dream team on it and its his best solo album, but again, just didn't quite make it. Also, Weather Report has never really knocked my socks off, but I dig them.

@user-ud5qj7dj1q

5 ай бұрын

Moto Grosso Feio was recorded in 1970, can’t be included in this list.

Off topic but as you mentioned Tim Bowness (@2:25), have a great gig at the Hope & Anchor, London on the 27th (Tim Bowness & Butterfly Mind ,ie- Edwards,Stevens, Jowitt,Groucutt plus Theo Travis)❤

Very nice! Certainly a big help to my jazz education....Many thanks!😊

Agree with your number one. The best orchestra/band project with Banco "Di Terra". George Duke "Feel" is also a great 74 fusion album.

I couldn’t agree more with your assessment of Apocalypse. I think it would have been more successful if they had have opened with Vision is a Naked Sword and closed with Power of Love. I love it.

rockin'

Thank you so very much for sharing with us your favorite jazz rock groups / bands I know most of all that were mentioned but I certainly don't know all their albums and listening to your perspective on these albums of given me a lot to think about and wanting to experience these albums I've been a fan of jazz and Jazz Rock for as long as I can remember even though most of my contemporaries weren't drawn to it I've tended musically to March to the beat of A Different Drummer then most one of the things that I love about your videos is your ability to help me appreciate and fall in love more with Prague music then I did before your knowledge is profoundly deep I never have anything to argue and I'm usually overwhelmed with a perspective that I may not have held before but can see it now thank you for what you doing and I hope to find the rest of your videos and I'm so sorry I haven't started much earlier cuz I'm playing catch up now and as a footnote I do believe that he says drummer is heads above all others the complexity of The rhythms and the beauty of the beat that they produce certainly stretches the boundaries of percussion Gene Krupa was probably one of my earliest influences and absolutely fell in love with what he was doing in the early days I've always had a natural tendency to gravitate towards the Blues but jazz has always influenced me as much I'm like a schizophrenic in many ways a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with my musical tastes thank you again

Andy, I love your videos, your knowledge, your musical insight.

@AndyEdwardsDrummer

6 ай бұрын

I appreciate that!

Beautiful choice for No1. Great to hear the blistering guitarwork of Bill Connors mentioned. Get up with it is an incredible album with some strange vibes and engineering. Of the period I have a great fondness for the Lenny White albums Big City and Venusian summer. Great list Andy and very well described!

Quelle belle époque !! Et les jeunes parlaient vraiment de musique et des musiciens !! Je me souviens qu’on avait des discussions passionnées sur tel ou tel musicien… On avait même fait un vote pour savoir quel était le groupe préféré de la classe!!!😮😮😮

I've picked up the Return to Forever, Billy Cobham and Stanley Clarke at recent tevord fairs, all excellent albums. Jazz/rock is a wierd phenomenon in the 70's, i was getting intonit whilet others were championing punk. A friend of mine played me some Billy Cobham, blew my mind, i bought a best of, released about 1975 i think, whichvwas basically hakf of Spectrum and hakf of Crosswinds, that converted me, then albums like Ian Gillan Band - Clear Air Turbulence and U. K just made me want more. Some of the greatest jazz/rock albums were made atvthe height of punk when i was getting into Bill Bruford, Jean-Luc Ponty and Alan Holdsworth My take on it is many prpg fans were looking for music to identify with and jazz/rock was it.

I'm definetly in the minority here but when Al Dimeolo entered the game in "Where Have I Known You Before" I always felt that there was a slight step DOWN in expressiveness from their prior fret-master Bill Connors. Of course as a teen in the 70s it was all about what you first heard while your ears were sensitized by that joint that often made the strongest impact. 😉

Mysterious Traveler's Jungle Book is one of my all time favorite tracks. Great episode. JT

Great list!

Fantastic selection. That Stanley Clark album is one of my favourites of all time.

@flame-sky7148

6 ай бұрын

Yea, it’s a great album as he plays electric and acoustic bass very well. Connors, Hammer and Williams play brilliantly also.

@jazzpunk

6 ай бұрын

I still recall buying SC at the NAVSTA NEX...was a Jazz noob, bought the LP because Clarke just looked CAF on the cover. I bought stuff like BIRDS OF FIRE and MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER because my Downbeat mags were recommending these.

@flame-sky7148

6 ай бұрын

@@jazzpunk Oh yea, I still have a few of some old Downbeat magazines.

@garyh.238

6 ай бұрын

Ditto! In fact is is my #1 favourite.

@sealisa1398

6 ай бұрын

I luv that album…Lopsy Lu all time favorite.

Thank you, nice inspiration to go through my own collection. I have six of them, five of which on vinyl. And then check out the other four. I have some 11th house albums found on second hand markets but not the first one. And for some reason, I never really checked out the headhunters.

Great to see Eleventh House on your list. You should do a video on Coryell’s other stuff from this era.

Great list! I used to own most of these and agree that the Stanley Clarke album is a masterpiece.

Awesome records !!

Lopsy Lou. Wore that track out.

@sealisa1398

6 ай бұрын

I have it downloaded in my car and I still listen to it. Luv that album.

Thank you very much for this, Andy! I have been following you all year long in 2023, I highly appreciate your selections and the way you talk about them. Happy new year!

@bertrandbraunschweig496

6 ай бұрын

... and, by the way, Magma released Kohntarkosz in 1974, and Zappa released Roxy & Elsewhere. Don't you consider these as jazz rock?

@erikheddergott5514

6 ай бұрын

@@bertrandbraunschweig496 I‘d bet he has them on his Progrock List. If not on the Short List, surely on his Long List. Magma for Instance I would not consider as Jazzrock Fusion, but Roxy for sure.

Great rundown! I’m taking your advice and nabbing the Clarke album off the net. I saw the second MO in concert just before the album came out. I had already seen the “Birds” tour at the Mississippi River Festival, but the second blew my girlfriend and me away just as much. “Smile,” in particular. Subtlety can be as impressive as massive sensory overload.

Yes, it was a memorable year for fusion. I own all these albums and more. I was 15 years old . Honorable mention ; Borboletta& welcome by santana !

Great video Andy. These are the albums that changed my life when I was 17 years old. I am surprised that Borboletta and Illuminations didn't make the cut.

@AndyEdwardsDrummer

6 ай бұрын

They nearly did

@jazzpunk

6 ай бұрын

Same time frame for me...was also ~17 when these were being released. Moving from Hard Rock & R&B/Funk into Jazz & Fusion. Great memories... mind blowing & magical stuff to my young ears.

I did not hear Apocalypse until about ten years ago. When I listened to it, I suddenly understood its influence on Aussie fusion band, Ayers Rock's track, Angel in Disguise. When I was young, I found it odd how Angel in Disguise had a very romantic orchestral intro. It was not in character for the band. Now I see that they were deeply influenced by McLaughlin's The Power of Love. They were a terrific band, even if they wore their influences on their sleeve.

Nice Bins! You look a little like Roy Scheider

There are a couple I haven't heard of. Thanks. Peace on earth.

Eponymous SC 1974 favorite album of my listening life. A long time.

Was there listening to them all in 1974, especially your number 1 pick.

Thanks Andy. Great list would have put Stanley Clarke at number one with both Billy Cobham albums at 2&3!

With you on Apocalypse. Now I need to check out the others.

Hi Andy, I stumbled across your channel maybe 12 months ago and I'm really enjoying the content. We are of a similar age and our tastes coincide and diversify regularly, which is the way it should be!! :) You commented on one of the posts (On Alan Holdsworth??) about emotion in music and peoples perception. In a completely different context I've spent a lot of time looking at the emotional response to music and its motivational and de motivational aspects particularly with regards to exercise, sporting and cognitive performance If this is not too nerdy I would welcome the opportunity to take you up on your offer of a Zoom chat to shoot the breeze.

Great list Andy I love MO and was thinking about Little Children paved the way for Blow byBlowand Wired

Billy Cobham twice (Crosswinds over Total Eclipse was the right choice) and Stanley Clarke as #2 was unexpected and welcomed. Great work!

Nice list! I truly appreciate your passion for the albums/music you love as well as your musician's insight into the musicianship involved. Unfortunately, as an "outsider" I can only like what I like; find that first impressions are still overwhelmingly powerful for me. No matter how much I learn, how much I "try" to study and educate myself, I still like what I like more than any intellectual pursuit can persuade of me. Billy Cobham, Tony Williams, and even Alphonse Mouzon can be breathtakingly amazing but their virtuosity is not enough in and of itself to win me over: the song has to have something more than other-worldly technical skill on display; there has to be melody and rhythm to engage me on a visceral level. So, give me Lenny White and Bill Bruford, give me Don Ellis and Burt Bacharach, give me Dave Stewart and Karl Jenkins, give me Scot LaFaro, Doug Rauch, and Tony Levin.

@fishdrew1111

Ай бұрын

Also, did you see these guys, Say She She, on Later ... with Jools Holland? They're SO great! kzread.info/dash/bejne/qKaWsq-qpbO6mpc.html&ab_channel=TheSoCalSound

Nice list..i would swap apocalypse with where have i known u before...nyc went nuts when this came out

Where have I Known... is still my fav Chick Corea album. I gave my Cobham Crosswinds to a friend who liked it twice as much.

I always learn something new from you. I didn’t know Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness had a podcast! One to add to my list. I think music stopped being innovative after 2000. As Prince said, party over opps out of time. He meant for music. There’s a handful of good new stuff, but the old stuff is still better.

I believe Bill Connors was on the RTF album Hymn of the 7th Galaxy not Weather Report.

@AndyEdwardsDrummer

6 ай бұрын

ahhhhh...that would be a slip of my tougue

@thrak9

6 ай бұрын

That's what I thought. I'm 67, and I bought all these albums when they came out. @@AndyEdwardsDrummer

Ha ! The only one I dont have is the Like Children, which I was not aware of (how?). Guess whats top of new purchase list.

10) Miles Davis - Get Up With It 9) Jerry Goodman & Jan Hammer - Like Children 8) Eleventh House - Introducing the Eleventh House with Larry Coryell 7) Headhunters - Thrust 6) Return to Forever - Where Have I Known You Before 5) Billy Cobham - Total Eclipse 4) Weather Report - Mysterious Traveller 3) Billy Cobham - Crosswinds 2) Stanley Clarke - Stanley Clarke 1) Mahavishnu Orchestra - Apocalypse

Captain Andy, I see you appear to be embracing the look of charter accountancy - very posh and gentlemanly, I must say - nice!

@AndyEdwardsDrummer

6 ай бұрын

getting old....

@stevemacarthur9660

6 ай бұрын

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Not nearly as old as me ;-)

Yes on Stanley Clarke and the band on that album! Could not agree more with you!

Memory lane for sure! ❤

The sun, the moon and the stars were in perfect alignment the day that Stanley Clarke formed the band for his 1974 solo album. It is my absolute, top #1 jazz rock album of all time. Clarke, Connors, Hammer & Williams.....one would be very hard pressed to find a greater combo of players assembled in the same room at the same time. And, Connors' solo on Life Suite is the greatest fusion guitar solo of all time in my estimation - a slow burn that builds into a firestorm. This clip says it all................ kzread.info/dash/bejne/paGhqNemYr3Ldso.html

The Stanley Clarke brown album is a masterpiece. I really, really, really wish that the great Bill Connors hadn't fallen off the map. He was a monster.

74 IS WHEN PRODUCTION VALUES OF EVEN POP MUSIC MOVED TO STEELY DAN LEVELS....even british shite had great production values...74 was when the whole world stepped up to multi channel 16 track recordings.

Crosswinds, Mysterious Traveler, Apocalypse, Where Have I Known You Before, Timeless, Get Up With It, Thrust, Introducing the Eleventh House, Like Children!

@AndyEdwardsDrummer

6 ай бұрын

Pretty accurate predictions...No Mystery is 1975

@flame-sky7148

6 ай бұрын

Correct, I had to double check. I thought Bundles was 1974, but it was 75 they say? There are so many.

@lobster4501

6 ай бұрын

Thank you for mentioning the 11th house first album!!

@flame-sky7148

6 ай бұрын

@@lobster4501 yea, I love that album

@PerryPapanier

6 ай бұрын

Timeless was recorded in1974 but released in 1975.

Great list Andy. Thanks. After checking out this Top 10 (& your Top 100 from last week) I want to invite your fans to listen to: The Gil Evans Orchestra plays the music of Jimi Hendrix Beautiful orchestrations, solo’s by Dave Sanborn, Lew Soloff, Howard Johnson, John Abercrombie a.o. This album is the fundament for a lot of later albums by (the underrated and overlooked) Gil Evans Orchestra (Live at Sweet Basil pt. 1 & 2, Live at Public Theatre pt. 1 & 2 and Live at Royal Albert Hall pt. 1 & 2) which all have fantastic Jimi Hendrix compositions; from the ‘80’s with the incredible guitarplayer Hiram Bullock. Check it out!

@erikheddergott5514

6 ай бұрын

Thanks for reminding me.

Larry Coryell and Friends with Steve Marcus was a logical predecessor to the Eleventh House (which is the house of Friends in astrology). I quite agree about how underrated Coryell was; he even, to my ears, beats McLaughlin on Spaces. I saw him live twice (and I saw McLaughlin twice). Coryell was certainly on the same level, if not better, to me. I disagree on the ambient trend in music, though... for me, it took the excitement out of music (although I liked it when the Art Ensemble of Chicago introduced long spaces in their music) but to me, it was a valium experience in music. I listened to Eno, Miles and Lamont Young during that time--the only one that impacted me at all was Young. I freely admit I don't get the unquestioning admiration of Davis and Eno. It's non-challenging music based on a cult of personality. Just dull stuff-to me at least. Hammer and Goodman is great. Alphonso Johnson is a beautiful bass player, by the way. I would name Soft Machine 7 and even Isotope's first album among my top ten fusion albums and maybe Hatfield and the North as great fusion albums.

@poempadgett4664

6 ай бұрын

I really wish that they would remaster the Hatfield and the North (and Caravan, as well) albums to make them louder/improve their sound quality, if at all possible. I LOVE the H&tN tunes _Big Jobs #2_ & _Share It,_ (I haven’t yet completely listened through their entire catalog), but both of those awesome songs are just so muffled/low volume even when cranked to the hilt, especially by comparison to the other songs from that same era on my playlists, it’s aurally like night and day, perhaps because the others have been remastered? So frustrating. IDK, but it’s a shame, imo, because they definitely deserve a better, much more voluminous mix. 😶‍🌫️

@garygomesvedicastrology

6 ай бұрын

​@@poempadgett4664I kind of like the mix of those albums, to be honest. You really need to pay attention to hear the details and I like that. I never enjoyed albums that were mixed loudly. Can and Henry Cow and even some Magma was mixed at fairly low volume. I didn't like the production of MO for example. It was too much for me! One of the most unnecessary remixes of that era was when Henry Cow decided to remix Leg End with Geoff Leigh's sax solo replaced by Lindsey Cooper, virtually note for note. Why did they need to do that? I thought the softer production helped the atmosphere--especially for me as they had a kind of sheen to them and subtlety that I really liked. Lots of stuff around 1974, especially underground stuff, was set at lower volume than mainstream product. Selling England for example, was low volume. So was a lot of Can and Faust, for example. I understand your point; I would have loved to have heard Pip Pyle better as he was a great drummer (the best drumming I ever heard Pip do was in the 90s with Absolute Zero, a band formed by a late friend of mine, Enrique Jardines), but even with my own hearing slowly going, I still love those mixes, because it made me focus on them. I get your point; but those albums had atmosphere that I think more volume would have spoiled for me. They were balanced and the bass didn't overwhelm everything else. I like equality in musical mixes. Just my preference...

through the roof in 2024.when the rest of the world finally catches up to US in the know >

Shame! 😂blowing Jimmy out of water means being a better composer engineer and producer of music that you want to listen to and tap your foot to and shake your ass to and creates mental landscapes and architectures … oh and sees you right on a Friday night too😊

Not to nitpick, but there were no "albums" in 1924. LPs did not exist until the 1940s; the concept of what we know as an "album" (a collection of songs presented as a coherent whole) came into public awareness in the mid-60s, although it could well be argued that there were coherent jazz albums back into the 50s.

@erikheddergott5514

6 ай бұрын

I just thought I should mention the same, but then I forgot. Lazy me!

@althomson8782

6 ай бұрын

The concept of the album re recordings dates from the 78 era when a collection of 78s by one artist was bound and sold within a cardboard booklet. I have an album of Willie the Lion Smith 78s, falling apart mind. So album concept evolves from photo album then to album of 78s to an lp that can carry all songs on one disk.

@erikheddergott5514

6 ай бұрын

@@althomson8782 The 78 Folders where usually Empty and were filled with Personal Choices.

@althomson8782

6 ай бұрын

@@erikheddergott5514 interesting. Incidentally the one I have was produced by Commodore with lovely illustrations (golden lion at the piano) and a collection of 7 of his 78s, 'original compositions'.

@user-ud5qj7dj1q

5 ай бұрын

Andy already covered this bit of album history in an earlier video, I think it was the video about concept albums, one of the earliest being In The Wee Hours by Frank Sinatra

Andy , as I said before, a huge fan of your KZread channel and Facebook posts. I think you and some others do not understand the ESSENCE of the great Larry Coryell. You seem to measure his worth and abilities by jazz / rock fusion standards. By doing so you miss the essence of who he was and show that you have not dug very deep into his discography. Larry was a significant influence on early John McLaughlin and was Al DiMeola's main guitar hero. Larry was there first and by being a pioneer on untread ground, some of these earliest experiments were not always entirety successful. So John, Al , and others reaped the benefits of Larry's experiments without getting dirty. The main thing about Larry is that even though considered the Godfather of Jazz /Rock fusion guitar, he remained true jazz guy. First, let me qualify this by saying John McLaughlin is one of the most important musicians for me ,period. John had an early background in bop and post bop forms and has returned to it throughout his stellar career, but he at heart is a jazz rock guy. Larry at heart remained a true jazz dude. If you investigate his huge and eclectic discography, by far most of it is straight jazz. Hollow-body, clean toned playing. And yes, John does well in this area too, but the difference is that Larry lived there. Larry did the deep dive into the musics of Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Ellington, Gershwin, Horace Silver, Stan Kenton, Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Cole Porter and all the post modern takes on all this. All respect to John , who very successfully flirted with it, there is a difference in that and living there. So, naturally he was better suited to function there. Things worked out great for the rest of us that John focused his genius in the jazz rock area. Beautiful results. You do miss out in so much of Larry if you strictly focus on his jazz rock excursions. Harmonically, straight post bop and post modern jazz , can be often be more difficult than jazz rock. You have to live it to understand the intricacies to navigate such harmonic density on the fly. I like any number of others I work at it passionately every day. Compared to Larry, I am a hack. Larry was a MASTER. And he might have also been the most versatile overall guitar player on the planet. Mastered history of jazz and all it's post modern tributaries, classical, gypsy jazz, flamenco, new age, electric blues, acoustic ragtime blues, Indian Classical musics and ..... Ans he wasn't like a good studio player, who could do credible jobs with this. He took deep dives. Just wanted to share. Keep up the good work. Jimmi Angelo

LIKE CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CBS ruined Apocalypse on their Remastered Jazz Classic cds, and a lot of others.

Get up with it suffers from 30 Minutes pressed on every Side of the 2 Records. This diminishes the Sound of a very complex sounding Band. My best Friend rates it much higher then I do. He loves the Music, i have Problems with the Sound. Happily Agharta from 1975 gives a satisfying Record of this Band. That in a Time when a lot of Live Rock Recordings where still not sounding really good.

Who gives a s***t ?

@jimmycampbell78

6 ай бұрын

If you are not interested in the topic I’m at a loss why you are on this video commenting. Or why you even visit a channel that extensively covers music forms from the 1970s in particular. Did you get lost?

@fusionfan6883

6 ай бұрын

Hilarious, you are one of those sad people who take time to go to video you don't like solely to say that you don't care, the phrase "get a life" springs to mind, way to go Einstein.

@AndyEdwardsDrummer

6 ай бұрын

my mum

@erikheddergott5514

6 ай бұрын

Nobody has to care about Entertainment! But everybody is allowed too. For Puritanians like you everything that makes Life fun is s&€t, go live in a Monastry!