The Album Years #29 (1977 Part 2B) ABBA, Peter Gabriel, Godley & Creme, Jethro Tull & more!
Jan 9, 2024
A deep dive into standout 1977 albums, from English folk and pastoral shifts to bleak chamber-prog. They unpack art-pop craftsmanship, lush covers and ambitious double-LPs. Discussion spans experimental sound-design, prog bands flirting with pop and proto-disco touches. A rapid survey of other notable 1977 releases rounds out the musical tour.
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Jethro Tull's Bucolic Reinvention
- Jethro Tull's Songs From The Wood marked a conscious bucolic shift that became seen as the start of a folk-rock trilogy.
- Steven Wilson notes the album is keyboard-heavy and distinctly English, creating an earthy, pastoral atmosphere unlike earlier Tull albums.
Anthony Phillips' Pastoral Prog Escapism
- Anthony Phillips' The Geese And The Ghost channels medieval and Mike Oldfield-like textures to imagine an alternate English past.
- Tim Bowness highlights its rambling 12-string harmonies and Phil Collins guest vocals that make it feel like where Genesis might have gone after Trespass.
Prog's Dark Continental Turn
- 1977 saw progressive rock branch into darker, nihilistic strands exemplified by Univers Zero and Goblin's cinematic darkness.
- Steven Wilson compares Universe Zero's use of bassoons and oboes to medieval textures and calls it oppressively dark like proto-goth.