Summer of 1972
A change of plans… I realized after I posted the playlist for last week’s mixtape that it was going to be a little boring for both you and me if I stuck to a strictly chronological scheme. There is some great music from the summers of the 2010s but, to be honest, this whole project is steeped in nostalgia and it’s not as fun to look back 10 years as it is to go back 30 or 40 years. Keeping that in mind, I’m going all the way back to the beginning for this week’s installment. Since it’s David Bowie’s birthday, let’s check out the summer of 1972!
Since I was born in December 1971, this would have been my actual first summer on Earth – and what a summer it was, musically at least. Of course, I was still just a little peanut and my wonderfully unhip parents were probably playing me showtunes, but now I can see how incredible the soundtrack for this summer was. There’s so much great music that I had to adjust my rules and allow a 100 minute playlist (rather than the standard 90 min cassette length).
Three of the most influential records of the 1970s were released in a two month period that summer – starting on June 6 with Bowie’s THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST followed by the first British pressing of the debut ROXY MUSIC album and then T. Rex’s THE SLIDER on July 21. On top of that the summer kicked off with the release of LIVE AT MAX’S KANSAS CITY. I don’t know how this album was received when it was released but I credit it with being one of the records that really got me into both live music and the Velvets since I remember playing that cassette to death on my walkman in junior high. These little pockets of great releases have been one of the most interesting discoveries during this project.
Beyond the über hip bands there were also great releases from everyone from Gil Scott-Heron to Alice Cooper to Pink Floyd and big hits from The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, and The Temptations. The soundtracks to both SUPER FLY and THE HARDER THEY COME were released. Harry Nilsson put out one of the great kiss-off songs of all time and Big Star hit the scene with #1 RECORD (of course, very few would realize that they even existed for many many years). The only real bummer about this playlist is that there is only one female vocalist on here with Karen Carpenter.
Next week we voyage to the 80s but, for now, dig these Super Seventies Vibes:
