Thank gawd someone mentioned Gilbert O' Sullivan -- His entire songbook of hits from the '70's should be on any list like that --
Dave Barry, the humor writer, did a "worst songs ever" book one time, if I remember correctly. It was published in the early '80's, so 20-years old at least, but I may not listen to enough pop music these days, as I still think his list is much funnier and more accurate than the USA Today --
I saw Airplane as their last tour as "Airplane" in 1972 (Still with Kaukonen and Casidy). They came back with a vengeance, though, on the second Starship albumn (Dragonfly) and were still a wonderfully hot live act well into 1979. Their side projects from that period are great as well: Find a copy of "Baron Von Tollbooth and The Chrome Nun", wherein they still sounded like the Airplane of yore. I know I saw the Starship incarnation at least 6 times from '73 to '79, as they were always playing Virginia/had a huge fan base there. While their live shows were still good at least until '79, I think "Red Octopus"(1975) marks the start of their decline as recording stars, as they defiinitely started getting away from the experimental & risk taking that marked their other records & started going for the pop.
I remember I bought Grace's "In Dreams" and some of their other solo work after that, and really couldn't listen to them.
peter johnson/denny crane
I'm the one who mentioned
GILBERT O'SULLIVAN (
) whose ridiculous records still are very fondly remembered by me!
Most
JEFFERSON aficionados don't count
Blows Against The Empire as a true
STARSHIP album, though much of the lineup was there, but there were also some
GRATEFUL DEAD dudes and one or two others MIA before or after involved with that one... same with
Baron Von Tollbooth and The Chrome Nun.
Right you are about
Red Octopus as a point of departure in decline, which was (in any incarnation) the band's greatest commercial success, but it's a decline only in the sense that it has not faired so well critically as when it was new.
Saw
JEFFERSON STARSHIP also, but only once, probably around 1979; they were a very good live show.
BELA and
Peter, here's a wonderfully hokey
GILBERT O'SULLIVAN '70s flashback,
"Get Down" :
