This article originally appeared in the Spring/Summer 2023 print issue of Quench Magazine.
The early ‘70s was a particularly fertile time for music.
Part of that was undoubtedly due to the abundance of social and cultural changes unfolding in the world. Advances in musical instrument technology and a rise in freeform radio stations also allowed artists to expand their sound and audience. The result was a period where new genres flourished—think electronic music and punk—and long-standing genres such as country, soul, and R&B expanded in new directions.
Narrowing down a list of the 50 most important and influential albums of 1973 is a particularly daunting and difficult task. You could do a list of top albums from the UK alone; in fact, LPs by Genesis, Faces and Budgie just barely missed out being on this list. As it turns out, 1973 is a year when many future legends began their careers, or icons released albums that would define the rest of their days. Still other artists issued LPs that became influential cult favorites, and only later had an impact.
The 50 albums listed, however, all deserve a place on your turntable or playlist—whether you know them by heart or are just discovering them today.
ICONIC INFLUENCES
Stevie Wonder, Innervisions
Stevie Wonder had more than a decade of hits under his belt prior to releasing Innervisions. The multi-instrumentalist paired this experience with a hunger for experimentation, using advanced musical technologies like the TONTO (The Original New Timbral Orchestra) synthesizer and Hohner clavinet alongside analog pianos and rich percussion. In turn, Wonder paired his warm, futuristic soul and R&B sounds with vivid, thought-provoking lyrics encompassing political critiques, social commentary, love songs, and musings about peace and solace. Buoyed by the funky, galloping hit single Higher Ground, Innervisions built on the commercial success of 1972’s Talking Book and ushered in a new era for Wonder’s genius.
FURTHER LISTENING:
• Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy
• Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon
• The Rolling Stones, Goats Head Soup
• Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
GLAM ROCK GEMS
David Bowie, Aladdin Sane
During the early part of the ‘70s, glam rock glittered and dazzled the hearts and minds of discerning music fans. Appropriately enough, the genre embraced daring chameleons like David Bowie. This enigma killed off his Ziggy Stardust persona at the dawning of the Aladdin Sane era, making room for one of his most iconic album covers—he sports a jagged lightning bolt streaked across his face—and a record full of swaggering guitars and pristine piano theatrics. Mick Ronson is at his best chopping out jagged riffs on The Jean Genie, while pianist Mike Garson brings delicacy to Lady Grinning Soul, and a glammy cover of the Rolling Stones’ Let’s Spend the Night Together hits all the right seductive grooves.
FURTHER LISTENING:
• Mott the Hoople, Mott
• New York Dolls, New York Dolls
• Queen, Queen
• Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure
CLASSIC DEBUT ALBUMS
The Pointer Sisters, The Pointer Sisters
Long before the Pointer Sisters became beloved ‘80s pop stars, the troupe—siblings Anita, Ruth, Bonnie, and June Pointer—were one of the finest vocal groups around. Their self-titled 1973 debut album would’ve been a classic with just Yes We Can Can alone, which boasts subtle grooves, buoyant rhythms, and intricate familial harmonies. Luckily, the LP then kicks into the astounding Cloudburst—a red-hot, lightning-fast jazz number—and the equally impressive Jada, which morphs from a torchy cabaret number into a showcase for the Pointers’ supernatural vocal runs. To this day, it’s still one of the most underrated albums of 1973.
FURTHER LISTENING:
• Aerosmith, Aerosmith
• Barry Manilow, Barry Manilow
• Barry White, I’ve Got So Much to Give
• Smokey Robinson, Smokey
FURTHER LISTENING:
• Eagles, Desperado
• Little Feat, Dixie Chicken
• Tanya Tucker, What’s Your Mama’s Name
• Waylon Jennings, Lonesome, On’ry and Mean
COUNTRY LANDMARKS
Dolly Parton, My Tennessee Mountain Home
Country music evolved significantly during the ‘70s, first soaking up more renegade sounds and attitudes and later easing into the sleek countrypolitan style by the decade’s end. Dolly Parton was no exception—her music embraced disco and pop by the end of the decade—although her 1973 full-length My Tennessee Mountain Home is rooted firmly in bluegrass and classic country. Driven by songs Parton wrote about her family and upbringing in rural Tennessee, the LP is touching and vibrant—a chronicle of resiliency and love that would serve as a template for many future Parton songs and creative endeavors.
SOUL/FUNK SENSATIONS
Marvin Gaye, Let’s Get It On
How did Marvin Gaye follow up his groundbreaking 1971 LP What’s Going On? With a movie soundtrack (1972’s Trouble Man) and then the mighty Let’s Get It On. The LP’s sinewy, lights-turned-low title track is inarguably one of the best seduction tunes of the decade, if not all time. Although it’s just one example of the album’s greatness. Luxurious orchestration, languid tempos, and Gaye’s keening falsetto on tracks such as If I Should Die Tonight and the lust-filled You Sure Love to Ball create a romantic environment where the song’s narrators make their intentions crystal clear.
FURTHER LISTENING:
• Earth, Wind & Fire, Head to the Sky
• Isley Brothers, 3 + 3
• Labelle, Pressure Cookin’
• Rufus, Rufus
• Sly and the Family Stone, Fresh
R&B LANDMARKS
Roberta Flack, Killing Me Softly
In early 1973, Roberta Flack was riding high from a 1972 duets album with Donny Hathaway, as well as two Grammy Awards (Record of the Year and Song of the Year) for her The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. The North Carolina vocalist responded to this success by releasing another masterpiece: Killing Me Softly. The title track is perhaps most well-known, thanks to a ‘90s cover by the Fugees, but the rest of the album is a stunning display of Flack’s vocal gifts. On the ballad I’m the Girl, she’s heartbroken yet resolute while singing about being someone’s second choice, while on Jesse, she is tender and persuasive, pleading for a beloved to come home.
FURTHER LISTENING:
• Al Green, Call Me
• Donny Hathaway, Extension of a Man
• The Spinners, Spinners
• Ike & Tina Turner, Nutbush City Limits
FOLK-POP NEW FRONTIERS
Fleetwood Mac, Mystery to Me
Fleetwood Mac spent the first half of the ‘70s trying to settle into a permanent lineup and sound. In 1973, the band was still a few years away from Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joining the group. However, the LP Mystery to Me—the band’s second album released that year—foreshadows Fleetwood Mac’s move toward a more pop-oriented sound. Songwriter-vocalists Christine McVie and Bob Welch trade off penning songs that folk, pop, and rock. Welch’s Emerald Eyes is a spaced-out, mysterious psychedelic rock jam, while Just Crazy Love is the kind of romantic, heart-on-sleeve song at which McVie excelled.
FURTHER LISTENING:
• Judy Collins, True Stories and Other Dreams
• Hall & Oates, Abandoned Luncheonette
• Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, Full Moon
• Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon
SONIC BOUNDARY BREAKERS
Judee Sill, Heart Food
Judee Sill only released two proper studio albums in her lifetime, due to a combination of commercial disinterest in her music and troubles in her personal life. However, in the years since her 1979 death from a drug overdose, countless musicians have expressed appreciation for her “country-cult-baroque” music—a description she often used for her musical style. Sill’s sophomore effort, Heart Food, is indeed the kind of LP that defies categorization, where classical-tinged orchestration dances with lilting pedal steel and other country signifiers. The real star, however, is Sill’s knowing, wizened voice—which is earnest, lively, and spiritual—and lyrics that use references to faith, Christianity, and the occult to illuminate greater truths about our lives.
FURTHER LISTENING:
• The Beach Boys, Holland
• John Cale, Paris 1919
• Yoko Ono, Approximately Infinite Universe
• Lou Reed, Berlin
HARD ROCK HEAVYWEIGHTS
The Stooges, Raw Power
The Stooges didn’t exactly detonate the charts upon the release of their third album Raw Power, though the LP eventually grew into one of the anchors of the looming U.S. punk rock explosion. The secret? Guitarist James Williamson joined forces with howling wildchild vocalist Iggy Pop, and together they wrote eight uncompromising songs brimming with attitude. Search & Destroy is an immediate explosion of distorted guitars, while Gimme Danger starts off quietly seething before descending into noisy chaos, and the title track subverts bluesy ’50s rock ‘n’ roll with modern attitude.
FURTHER LISTENING:
• Alice Cooper, Billion Dollar Babies
• Suzi Quatro, Suzi Quatro
• The Who, Quadrophenia
• ZZ Top, Tres Hombres
KALEIDOSCOPIC POP
Todd Rundgren, A Wizard, a True Star
Todd Rundgren had already lived many lives prior to striking out on his own as a solo artist. Most notably, he wrote the singles Open My Eyes and Hello It’s Me while a member of the late ‘60s band Nazz. As a solo artist, Rundgren also relishes changing things up, as evidenced by the experimental fourth solo album, A Wizard, a True Star. Cosmic and psychedelic, the album is dizzying, driven by sound fragments full of electricity-zap synthesizers, disjointed rhythms, and disorienting vocal effects. Fans of the Flaming Lips will especially appreciate this album.
FURTHER LISTENING:
• 10cc, 10cc
• Various artists, Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack
• Elton John, Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player
• Paul McCartney and Wings, Band on the Run
Annie Zaleski is an award-winning author, journalist and editor with profiles, interviews, and criticism in a variety of publications including Rolling Stone, NPR Music, The Guardian, Salon, Time, and Billboard. She contributed liner notes to the 2016 reissue of R.E.M.’s Out of Time and Game Theory’s 2020 collection Across The Barrier Of Sound: PostScript and wrote Duran Duran’s essay for their 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. Annie has been a radio commentator on various music and pop culture topics and also a talking head in the 2005 movie Punk’s Not Dead and in a 2014 Ovation TV special on the band Blondie.