New Skin For the Old Ceremony, Leonard Cohen

It's the title word count-up to ten! Six words.

New Skin For the Old Ceremony, Leonard Cohen, 1974, :37

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The sage of carnal Zen's fourth album.  At this point his voice hadn't quite become the skirt-droppingly golden raspy timbre of later years, but it was no longer the Arlo Guthrie-like piping of his earlier stuff. His voice is gruff and assured and, in places, a little more forceful and even aggressive than in other recordings.  With strings added to the typical sparse instrumentation, this batch of songs has a sort of arch dignity.  Cohen himself said of this album that it's no masterpiece, but it's a little gem.  Cohen contains it all, from the sanctified to the profane.  He says to an old lover, "You were Jesus Christ my lord / I was the money lender."  But also, "You were KY Jelly / I was Vaseline."  Make of that what you will... I try.  Favorite tracks: "Chelsea Hotel #2," "Leaving Green Sleeves," "Lover Lover Lover," "There Is a War."

Nightbirds, LaBelle

It's the second Women's week!

Nightbirds, LaBelle, 1974, :36

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

An energetic mix of pop, funk, disco, and R&B, even gospel, this album is apparently LaBelle's best.  I wouldn't know, having never heard anything by them.  Apparently this album helped usher in the disco movement.  The three voices groove and the music never lacks a punch.  Throughout, they sound like they're having fun carrying on the tradition of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Bessie Smith.  Favorite tracks: "Lady Marmalade," "All Girl Band," "Are You Lonely?," "It Took a Long Time."

The Kids & Me, Billy Preston

It's Black Music month!

The Kids & Me, Billy Preston, 1974, :33

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

I can't believe I have only barely heard of this guy; I had no idea he left his fingerprints all over the major musical moments of the 1960s and '70s, and was so intricately connected with the Beatles. As always, a brother is denied the spotlight, and then he died tragically early.   This is a solid funk-rock album, not consistently great, but with plenty of high points. The original version of "You Are So Beautiful," later a hit by Joe Coker, turns out to be super corny, however.  The sludgy instrumental "Creature Feature" could be a Funkadelic track.  Favorites: "Tell Me You Need My Loving," "Nothing From Nothing," "Little Black Boys and Girls."

Al Green Explores Your Mind, Al Green

It's black Music month!

Al Green Explores Your Mind, Al Green, 1974, :30

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Impossibly smooth Memphis soul.  Aside from the soul-spiritual "Take Me to the River," it's not particularly deep (ha!) material, but Green's perfect voice, delivery, phrasing, and enunciation elevate the entirety of the material.  This is definitely not a single-song album.  Check out the slinky funk of "One Nite Stand," for example. Favorite tracks: "Take Me To the River," "One Nite Stand," "Stay With Me Forever."

Radio City, Big Star

Continuing the alphabet of albums, R is for referring to this record in revered tones.

Radio City, Big Star, 1974, :36

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

This album has been spoken of in hushed whispers for decades as a perfect pop album, a forgotten gem, a massive cult icon, revered and imitated by pop practitioners in the know.  To me it's just some nice, buzzy power pop. It's… fine. Very skillfully done. But is it something for a million hipsters to flip their fedoras over?  I just don't hear it.  I'm really not trying to put it down; "Mod Lang" rocks in garage throwback way; "What's Going Ahn" has languid, beautiful vocals; "Life is White" as a sort of hangdog Rolling Stones-as-sung-by-Beatles vibe; "She's a Mover" is neo-Byrds.  It's pretty, but I'm missing the soul and the muscle.  Maybe this is the type of album that I need to hear a few times before it sinks in.  Favorite tracks: "O, My Soul," "She's a Mover," "September Gurls."

Goodnight Vienna, Ringo Starr

Currently doing one album for each year, 1960-2020. Today: 1974.

Goodnight Vienna, Ringo Starr, 1974, :34

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I love how Ringo's solo albums were practically Beatles and Friends side projects. John Lennon wrote the title track and suggested a couple of other songs. Ringo also got a song each from Elton John and Harry Nilsson. Everybody just wanted to help Ringo out! He was the least talented but the most beloved one. Are Ringo Starr albums groundbreaking, or influential? No, they are derivative and fun. He was a Wilbury before there were Wilburys. One of the only songs he wrote on this album is called "Oo-wee," which tells you where he stands.  But you know, on the Roger Miller cover "Husbands and Wives," and on the Platters' "Only You," he turns in strong, serious, sentimental vocals. It’s a pleasant surprise. All told, this is a solid entry in the post-Beatles canon. Favorite tracks: "Snookeroo," "No No Song," the ironic "All By Myself."

Fear, John Cale

Fear, John Cale, 1974, :40

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Some say that John Cale has an uninspiring singing voice.  But I love his deadpan Welsh rasp.  And those gorgeous melodies and enigmatic, poetic, unsettling lyrics!  Cale played a lot of the instruments, but Brian Eno's synths are not to be ignored.  I knew "Fear is a Man's Best Friend" as a Billy Bragg song long before I discovered the Cale original; but this is the better version.  Even if Cale hadn't been in the Velvet Underground, he'd still be one of the great artists of the 1970s based solely on this album.  Favorite tracks: "Fear Is a Man's Best Friend," "Buffalo Ballet," "Barracuda."