Five from ‘75: Albums That Still Deserve to be Spun 50 Years Later

By Joseph D’Andrea

With this past year being a high point of music for many in pop circles, it’s a great time to look back on the predecessors that may have inspired some of what’s on the radio today and the more indie hits. To recap the best of 1975 in music, here are the five best albums of that year.

#5 “Katy Lied” by Steely Dan For true audiophiles, there’s no better time to listen to this album, with a new remaster released earlier this month. This is worth noting because the Dan’s co-founders, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker — infamous studio idealists — hated how this album sounded when it was completed, with engineering flukes making it unlistenable for them. 

But to my untrained ears — and that of a vast majority of other listeners — I never caught a note of what they complained about. The album has its share of the band’s signature catchy songs about down-and-out or despicable characters, from “Black Friday,” which fades in to kick off the album with depressed stockbrokers “div[ing] from the fourteenth floor,” to the scandalous projectionist in “Everyone’s Gone to the Movies.” That may not sound like the most uplifting endorsement, but if you’re into grooves and lyrics that’ll hook you — and enjoy a fair deal of New York sleaze — this album is right up your alley. My favorite track: “Rose Darling.”

#4 “Fleetwood Mac” by Fleetwood Mac Perhaps Fleetwood Mac’s biggest strength is their ability to capture that “hit” sound. Like “Rumours,” nearly every song on their self-titled album sounds like it could be a single. Even the song with the second-to-least number of Spotify streams on the album, “Blue Letter,” which has a poppy, traveling beat to it, could’ve easily been a radio mainstay, and is one of my most-played songs from the tracklist. The Stevie Nicks-led “Rhiannon” and “Landslide” are undeniable strokes of brilliance and further proof of Fleetwood Mac being one of the most enduring ‘70s bands, and “Warm Ways” — one of the most apt titles out there — is full of sweet earnestness. This album might be overshadowed by “Rumours” but it’s an incredibly enjoyable listen, front to back. My favorite track: “Rhiannon.”

It’s time to rediscover the classics — give a chance to five classic albums from 1975 that prove great music never fades. (Photo credit: Freerange Stock)

#3 “Still Crazy After All These Years” by Paul Simon One of the best parts of this album is the fact that it includes a Simon & Garfunkel song, “My Little Town,” five years after their final studio project together. “Still Crazy” remains Simon’s best solo album. I’m always so charmed by both his singing and speaking voice. How can you talk like that and not become a musician? Imagine if he just ended up having a job pouring concrete or something? The point is if sincerity is what you’re looking for, Simon is your go-to. His lyricism on this album is very simple on the surface but the words and instrumentation still evoke incredible warmth and, just like nearly every other song in his catalog, avoid feeling cheesy. As a bonus, check out Simon’s (attempted) monologue from the Nov. 20, 1976, episode of “Saturday Night Live.” You won't regret it. My favorite track: “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.”

#2 “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd Even though I listen to “Still Crazy” more than this, the background of this Floyd album gives it an extra bump. Conceived as a critique of the music industry and tribute to co-founder and former band member Syd Barrett, the journey this album takes you on is one that’s unforgettable even after only one listen. With lyrics and vocals that stand as some of the Floyd’s best, the concept works arguably better than any other of the band’s story-driven albums, perhaps because it doesn’t feel as overwhelmingly grandiose as something like “The Wall” or the long-running songs on “Animals.” That may seem contradictory considering the combined nearly 26-minute-long “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” that’s split into several parts to bookend this album, but its mellow introspection doesn’t hit you over the head as aggressively as the political messaging of “Animals.” My favorite track: “Have a Cigar.”

#1 “Blood on the Tracks” by Bob Dylan There’s a reason Dylan is considered one of the greatest lyricists in popular music. Although it’s likely not my very favorite of his (it’s still toward the top of my all-time list, though), “Blood on the Tracks” contains what I think are Dylan’s most well-written collection of songs on a single album. Considered one of the ultimate heartbreak albums, the songs will hit you like a train even if you haven’t been through half of the relationship ups and downs that Dylan describes here. Although most of these songs are very straightforward lyrically — “Simple Twist of Fate,” “You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” — he’s never one to leave all the answers in the open, with “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts” garnering all sorts of interpretations. The mystery and creative wordplay that Dylan characteristically delights in can be seen to different extents across the album, but where the peak comes for me is on “Idiot Wind,” in which Dylan’s scorching criticism of his former lover ultimately becomes a track of honest understanding, despite the narrator’s brutal resentment. My favorite track: “Idiot Wind.”

Honorable mention: “Another Green World” by Brian Eno Not only does this give you a sonic background of what came to be some of the best producer-artist collaborations of the late ‘70s (Eno’s work with David Bowie and Talking Heads) but it’s full of tracks that are just as innovative and intricate as they are easy to listen to. With a healthy dose of unique steel-jet-soaring-by-sounding guitar tones and bouncy rhythms and basslines like those heard on Bowie’s “Low,” it’s a great album to have on loop. My favorite track: “Sky Saw.”