Today is a good day to talk about the best albums of 1971. It fifty degrees in the shade is the ideal time to go back in time on account of such a collection of hits that are half a century old. Let’s talk about 9 rock albums that made 1971:
9. Sticky Fingers – The Rolling Stones
Sticky Fingers is the ninth UK and eleventh US studio album by the British rock band The Rolling Stones, released in 1971. This one began to record intermittently from December of 1969 and it was concluded in January of 1971; It was published on April 23 of that year. It was produced by the American Jimmy Miller, in what was his third consecutive work with the group, and for the first time features the full participation of guitarist Mick Taylor as a member of the Stones: on Let It Bleed, the previous studio album by the group, only appeared on a few songs.
8. Aqualung – Jethro Tull
It was the first record that literally scared us. That bum with those hairs. And Martin Barre’s defiant guitar riff. For eternal learners, at the level of Richie Blackmore’s ‘Smoke on the water’. This is absolutely timeless. A rock anthem. An album underpinned in its final stretch by the piano of ‘Locomotive breath’ (which Axl Rose will deny having ever heard).
7. Imagine – John Lennon
Imagine is the album that consists of the title track, written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It was released in 1971 and is the best-selling single of Lennon’s solo career. Over the years, the song has become an anthem of peace and has been recorded by many artists, including Madonna, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder. John Lennon had several hits alongside the Beatles, but the song Imagine is undoubtedly the most famous of his solo career.
6. L.A. Woman – The Doors
The present album by the Doors is their great masterpiece, when listening to this LP you hear an authentic blues-rock band, the dream of its singer and leader Jim Morrison. At a higher altitude they scratch the homonymous song of the album, “L.A. woman”, a song covered by different artists such as Billy Idol and “Riders on the storm”, jewels in the Doors’ discography.
5. At Fillmore East – The Allman Brothers Band
A prodigious live album that from the first roll and the first riff takes you on wings. Rock reaches its maximum expression live and if it’s through the Allman Brothers we don’t even talk anymore. In 1999 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and in 2004, the National Recording Registry selected it for preservation in the United States Library of Congress due to its “cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance.”
4. There’s A Riot Goin’ On – Sly And The Family Stone
It was initially going to be called ‘Africa talks to you’, but changed its name in response to Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’. It was a success despite moving away from the more jovial funk and soul of previous works, since Sly and his people were prey to pessimism and apathy due to the end of the sixties and all that it represented for civil movements.
3. Rock On – Humble Pie
How the fourth Humble Pie album sounds. Heavy blues-rock that is distantly and unknowingly close to heavy. The Steve Marriot and Peter Frampton duo was still working like a charm, although the latter would leave the group shortly after to embark on a successful solo career. ‘Shine on’ sums it all up.
2. Who’s Next – The Who
It’s like a slot machine. The only wheel of fortune that will touch you: to be from the Who. The truth is that the 1971 production sounded much more real than the music today. And let’s not doubt it, no. That’s why we keep talking about that and as far as possible we ignore this. What Keith Moon does on this album is indecipherable.
1. Led Zeppelin IV – Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin IV or Zoso, is the most acclaimed album by critics and fans of this legendary band. The explanation: It is full of extraordinary compositions that transcend the realm of hard rock. Actually, this album has no title, but being the fourth of the Zeppelin discography, it is known under the aforementioned names. It is said that the members of the band never agreed on the title (only four strange symbols appear that would represent Page, Jones, Plant, and Bonham) so the album was officially released without a denomination. That strange and mysterious circumstance did not affect at all the popularity of this masterpiece is considered the best thing the group recorded, since it has a heavier sound than its predecessors.