For starters, I had to cut Dylan’s The Basement Tapes because well, the music wasn’t really from this era. Sure, it we found Led Zeppelin basement tapes and released them this year it’d be better than 90% of this shit out there, but it’s not the same. Losing them didn’t make this any easier. Fortunately, I found out 1975 isn’t nearly as bad as 1974. Sure Zeppelin maintains there ProgRock with minimal changes decency, but there are some great songs from this year. This had to be the best year of Aerosmith’s lives. Parliament does real well. Peter Tosh strategically releases a reggae album in a year Bob Marley does not. Bob Dylan remembers he’s Bob Dylan even without said basement tapes. In 1976, everything is going to change, I can feel it.
55. P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up) – Parliament (Funk) – 1975
It goes on way too long, but you don’t have The Chronic without it.
54. Fame – David Bowie – (Funk) – 1975
Like Parliament says, “Then I was down South and I heard some funk. With some main ingredients like
Doobie Brothers, Blue Magic, David Bowie. It was cool, but can you imagine Doobie-in' your funk?”
Doobie Brothers, Blue Magic, David Bowie. It was cool, but can you imagine Doobie-in' your funk?”
53. Big Ten Inch – Aerosmith (Rock ‘n Roll) – 1975
52. Jackie Blue – Ozark Mountain Daredevils (Rock) – 1975
51. Legalize It – Peter Tosh (Reggae) – 1975
Though I may agree with this song politically, how high was he when he did this one? It’s one of the slowest reggae songs I’ve ever heard.
50. That’s the Way of the World – Earth, Wind & Fire (Rhythm & Blues) – 1975
49. Why Can’t We Be Friends – War (Reggae) – 1975
48. Pardon My Heart – Neil Young (Folk) – 1975
47. Give Up the Funk – Parliament (Funk) – 1975
This is probably the best album to have on the background of any party, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s great to “listen” to. It’s fun, but how many times exactly am I supposed to listen to them asking for the funk? I’m sure it’s a rhetorical question.
46. Roll Another Number (For the Road) – Neil Young (Alt-Country) – 1975
45. What’cha Gonna Do – Peter Tosh (Reggae) - 1975
44. Shining Star – Earth, Wind & Fire (Funk) – 1975
They tread the line of funk disco more than anyone I’ve seen yet. It’s pretty much impossible to listen to the beginning of this song though and not think of the Elaine Benes dance.
43. Rhiannon – Fleetwood Mac (Smooth Rock) – 1975
42. Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen (Rock) – 1975
Along with “Hey Jude” and “Rock Around the Clock” this seems t o be one of the most critically overrated songs ever. It’s not bad or anything, but with the Boss, you either get him or you don’t. Like Jimmy Buffett, he’s a polarizing character. I don’t mind him, I just don’t think he’s all that great, and the fact that I don’t think he’s all that, somehow puts me on the side of “against”, which I’m not. That’s the problem with polarizing figures. For the record, both him and Buffett seem like great guys to have a beer with.
41. The Wanton Song – Led Zeppelin (Hard Rock) – 1975
40. Black Country Woman – Led Zeppelin (Blues) – 1975
39. Have a Cigar – Pink Floyd (Progressive Rock) – 1975
It’s a decent tune, but I’ve never understood why someone would love such a soulless song.
38. The Pill – Loretta Lynn (Country) – 1975
Like everything else, country starts sucking in the mid 70s, however, Loretta Lynn still sounds like Loretta Lynn.
37. In the Light – Led Zeppelin (Progressive Rock) – 1975
Here Led Zeppelin does their best Pink Floyd impersonation.
36. San Ber’dino – Frank Zappa (Progressive Rock) – 1975
35. King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown – Augustus Pablo (Reggae) – 1975
A true reggae fan would tell me this is dub, and they’d be right.
34. Houses of the Holy – Led Zeppelin (Rock) – 1975
33. Ten Years Gone – Led Zeppelin (Progressive Rock) – 1975
I’m not certain if PhysGraf had any dynamic songs on it, but it’s consistent with pretty good ones.
32. Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen (Rock) – 1975
31. Road Runner – Jonathan Richman (Rock ‘n Roll) – 1975
It’s nice hearing rock ‘n roll in the 70s as punk and new wave are breaking.
30. Love to Love You Baby – Donna Summer (Disco) – 1975
This is the first song I’ve heard with someone having an orgasm in it.
29. You Sexy Thing – Hot Chocolate (Rhythm & Blues) – 1975
I’m not sure if I love this song because of its appearance in Boogie Nights or an episode of The Office, but I love it nonetheless.
28. Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Part 1) – Pink Floyd – 1975
27. Mothership Connection – Parliament (Funk) – 1975
So far, Parliament is better than Funkadelic.
26. The Rover – Led Zeppelin (Hard Rock) – 1975
25. You’re My Best Friend (Glam Rock) – 1975
24. Kashmir – Led Zeppelin (Progressive Rock) – 1975
I know it’s a classic ‘n all, but it’s kind of boring, no?
23. Blue Eyes Crying the Rain – Willie Nelson (Country) – 1975
22. Idiot Wind – Bob Dylan (Folk Rock) – 1975
21. 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover – Paul Simon (Pop Rock) – 1975
Paul sneaks a little disco into this one. I love these guys that try to adapt to the times.
20. Tush – ZZ Top (Hard Rock) – 1975
19. Albuquerque – Neil Young (Slow Rock) – 1975
You’re probably not going to believe this, but I spelled Albuquerque right on my first try.
18. Custard Pie – Led Zeppelin (Hard Rock) – 1975
This is one of the best songs on PhysGraf, but I’m wondering if that’s because the Beastie Boys sampled it.
17. Jive Talkin – Bee Gees (Disco) – 1975
I’m certain the likes of Zeppelin and ZZ Top would smack me around if they saw I ranked a Bee Gees song in front of them, but it’s “Jive Talkin!” Led Zeppelin didn’t write tunes everyone liked, they left that to the Bee Gees.
16. Welcome to the Machine – Pink Floyd (Progressive Rock) – 1975
15. Low Rider – War (Latin) – 1975
There’s a reason this song is in every drug induced 70s movie.
14. Rock and Roll All Nite – Kiss (Hard Rock) – 1975
No one has ever professed rock to be rocket science, and in a time when everyone is trying to modify the formula as much as possible, someone needs to get right to the point. That’s why we have Kiss. To do things much worse than Led Zeppelin did several years ago, but in a much more “party” way.
13. Down By the Seaside – Led Zeppelin (Rock) – 1975
Wow, after all these years this is my favorite song on the album. It’s most likely because it has the most changes. Wiki says they never played it live though, which is a bit disappointing.
12. Love is the Drug – Roxy Music (New Wave) – 1975
1975 is the beginning of New Wave. This song sounds sooooooooooo much like the Talking Heads.
11. Unfunky UFO – Parliament (Funk) – 1975
This is my favorite Parliament song because it’s fun the whole way though. It’s got a great groove, a couple changes mixed in, and it doesn’t go on forever like your typical funk song.
10. Simple Twist of Fate – Bob Dylan (Folk) – 1975
Vintage Bob Dylan, gotta love it.
9. It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock’n Roll) – AC/DC – 1975
Anytime you have a duel between electric guitar and bag pipes, it’s going to be awesome … well, as long as the participants know what they’re doing.
8. Tangled Up in Blue – Bob Dylan (Folk Rock)
I’m not exactly sure what happened with Bob Dylan in the mid 70s, but he gets great again for a couple years.
7. Gloria – Patti Smith (Punk) – 1975
This is too classy to be real punk, but the attitude is there. I really love how she builds this one up.
6. At Seventeen – Janis Ian (Pop) – 1975
I can’t get over how much pain she has in this song. It’s beautiful.
5. Walk This Way – Aerosmith (Hard Rock) – 1975
With Toys in the Attic rocking so hard, it’s no wonder the Randall “Pink” Floyd made seeing them his #1 priority of the summer.
4. Hurricane – Bob Dylan (Folk Rock) – 1975
I love this song because it’s not really about Ruben Patterson being guilty or not guilty (okay maybe it is), but it’s more about the cops being racist. It’s almost like NWA without the attitude and much better lyrics.
3. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd (Slow Rock) – 1975
The story I always heard was this song was about Syd Barrett, who had been missing for quite some time. He showed up at the release party, said hello to everyone, and was never heard from again, yet, when he died he was Yahoo’s #1 Search for awhile.
2. Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith (Hard Rock) – 1975
It’s impressive Aerosmith has lasted along as they have. Maybe it helps when you take your best song and re-release it in the early 90s, and maybe it helps even more when you take another one of your best songs and let Run DMC rap over it. Marketing geniuses these guys, marketing geniuses.
1. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen (Glam Rock) – 1975
Dope. Ass. List!
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