Pictured above: Pete Townshend, 1971
In 1970, while touring Tommy, Pete Townshend devised a concept and story for the band’s next album, to be titled Lifehouse. As well as being a rock opera, it would be a movie and an interactive concert experience. Townshend became fascinated with the idea of vibrations in music as a way of spiritual enlightenment, inspired by the teachings of Inayat Khan and Meher Baba.
"I’ve seen moments in Who gigs where the vibrations were becoming so pure that I thought the whole world was just going to stop, the whole thing was just becoming so unified."
- Pete Townshend, date unknown
He wanted to form music that could be adapted to reflect the individual personalities of the audience. He envisioned adapting his newly acquired VCS3 and ARP synthesizers, and a quadrophonic PA system, to create a machine capable of generating and combining personal music themes written from computerized biographical data.
The story of Lifehouse was written around a futuristic scene in which rock n’ roll no longer existed. Pollution made it so most people had to live in suits known as “Lifesuits”, which provided them with sustenance and entertainment. In this scenario, an old guru-like figure, later named Bobby, would emerge, one who remembered rock n’ roll music and the effects it had on people. He decides to set up an event so said euphoric effects could be experienced eternally in a form of musical nirvana at a concert house known as the Lifehouse.
Pete Townshend’s plan was for The Who to take over the Young Vic Theatre with a regular audience, who would help them develop the new songs and performances, with Townshend using the communal activity to further develop his concept of the “universal chord”, which would be the culmination of all the audiences’ individual songs.
Sadly, the band had a hard time following along with Pete’s ideas, and the Young Vic audience even less. There was very little interest in Pete’s concept, with audience members just wanting to hear some of the band’s hits and new songs. Matters only got worse as the band’s manager, Kit Lambert, was missing due to an argument with Townshend regarding a script Lambert had written for a Tommy film. Feeling dejected, frustrated, and hurt, Lambert moved to New York, leaving Townshend without an “interpreter” to properly explain his ideas to others. With all this, the future of the Lifehouse project seemed uncertain. After almost attempting to end his life, Pete decided to re-think his approach to Lifehouse.
“The fatal flaw was getting obsessed with trying to make a fantasy a reality rather than letting the story speak for itself. I had to completely change how I was approaching the concept and realize no matter how much I wanted the universal chord and all that to become a reality, it simply was not possible.”
- Pete Townshend, date unknown
Pictured above: Soft Machine, 1971
In October and November of 1970, Soft Machine recorded their fourth album, appropriately titled Fourth. Also included in that album was the piece Facelift, previously recorded in January of 1970. It was not only their first fully instrumental album but the last with drummer Robert Wyatt. Wyatt wasn’t satisfied with the instrumental jazz fusion direction the band was going in, deciding to leave, later forming Matching Mole. He was briefly replaced with Australian drummer Phil Howard.
Fourth
01. Facelift (18:45) [1]
02. Teeth (9:15) [2]
03. Kings and Queens (5:01) [2]
04. Fletcher’s Blemish (4:38) [2]
05. Virtually (20:19) [2]
Released: February 28th, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Third, 1970
[2] - Fourth, 1971
Pictured above: The Beach Boys, 1971
In August 1970, The Beach Boys hired Jack Rieley as their manager, as an attempt to help them further find their footing. One of his ideas was for the band to record songs featuring more socially conscious lyrics. He also proposed the idea of them recording another full ELP, an album that would otherwise need to go on two LPs. There was some hesitation among the group to execute such a plan given the mixed reception of their previous foray into a longer album, Friends, yet they were convinced when Brian Wilson devised a concept which justified the longer presentation.
“The idea for our next album will be two halves based on emotions, one being more happier songs, the other something what you’d consider a downer, but still real soulful music.”
- Brian Wilson, 1971
The album was recorded between September 1970 and July 1971, with it being released a month later on August 30th, 1971, to an almost universal critical acclaim, some critics calling it a finer work than both Pet Sounds and SMiLE, with some applauding Dennis Wilson’s own compositions in particular.
Landlocked
01. Soulful Old Man Sunshine (3:27) [1]
02. Susie Cincinnati (2:58) [2]
03. Games Two Can Play (2:01) [3]
04. H.E.L.P. is on the Way (2:30) [3]
05. Take a Load Off Your Feet, Pete (3:34) [4]
06. My Solution (3:34) [5]
07. I Just Got My Pay (2:19) [3]
08. Good Time (2:51) [6]
09. Back Home (2:21) [2]
10. Fallin’ in Love (3:03) [7]
11. When Girls Get Together (3:21) [8]
12. Looking at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song) (1:58) [4]
13. Sound of Free (2:26) [7]
14. Don’t Go Near the Water (2:41) [4]
15. Long Promised Road (3:32) [4]
16. Disney Girls (1957) (4:10) [4]
17. 4th of July (2:44) [3]
18. Student Demonstration Time (4:00) [4]
19. Where is She? (2:29) [7]
20. Feel Flows (4:48) [4]
21. Barbara (2:59) [1]
22. A Day in the Life of a Tree (3:08) [4]
23. ‘Til I Die (3:39) [4]
24. (Wouldn’t It Be Nice to) Live Again (4:40) [7]
Released: August 30th, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Endless Harmony, 1998
[2] - 15 Big Ones, 1976
[3] - Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys, 1993
[4] - Surf’s Up, 1971
[5] - Several bootlegs
[6] - Custom mix by Teletran
[7] - Made in California, 2013
Pictured above: Led Zeppelin, 1971
Following the release of Led Zeppelin II in October 1970, Led Zeppelin took a break from live performances to focus their energies on recording their follow-up, planned to be called Led Zeppelin III. They turned down all tour offerings and returned to Bron-Yr-Aur to write new songs. Recording sessions for the album began at Island Records’ Basing Street Studios, in December 1970, before moving to Headley Grange, a country house in Hampshire, England, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, with the assistance of engineer Andy Johns and The Rolling Stones’ keyboardist Ian Stewart and guitarist Jimmy Page in the producer seat.
Once the basic tracks had been recorded, they moved to Island Studios in February to record overdubs. Page then took the multitrack tapes for mixing to Sunset Studio in Los Angeles for mixing, with plans for an April 1971 release. The album, however, was delayed due to the band being unsatisfied with the mix, as such after touring through the spring and early summer, Jimmy Page remixed the album in July 1971. The album was once more delayed due to troubles with Atlantic Records and the band’s desire to release the album without a title, instead having four symbols in the inner sleeve and record label. The album was finally released on November 8th, 1971, to overwhelming praise and commercial success.
Untitled (a.k.a. Led Zeppelin III)
01. Black Dog (4:57) [1]
02. Rock and Roll (3:40) [1]
03. Down by the Seaside (5:16) [2]
04. The Battle of Evermore (5:52) [1]
05. Stairway to Heaven (8:03) [1]
06. Misty Mountain Hop (4:38) [1]
07. Night Flight (3:37) [2]
08. Four Sticks (4:45) [1]
09. Boogie With Stu (3:53) [2]
10. Going to California (3:31) [1]
11. When the Levee Breaks (7:08) [1]
Released: November 8th, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Untitled, 1971
[2] - Physical Graffiti, 1975
Pictured above: George Harrison and Pattie Boyd, 1971
In February 1971, The Ravellers flew to Miami, Florida, intending to record their second album with producer Tom Dowd, with band members George Harrison and Billy Preston also contributing to the album’s production. During the sessions, Eric Clapton brought in a song that was intended for his debut album, titled Layla.
“He played the song for us, just him strumming on the acoustic, and I didn’t realize on the first, second, or even the twentieth time he played it... I had some suspicion about who the song was about, but I wasn’t sure until I directly asked him about it in private. And when he told me that it was about Pattie, and he explained to me how he felt despite me being married to her at the time, I was absolutely speechless. I wanted to smash his teeth in, but I knew deep down that it’d just make things way worse. We had a band meeting about the situation, a type that I never really had before. It was honestly more of a group therapy session than anything. While I still do have some apprehensions on the song, it still was a good song deep down.”
- George Harrison, 1987
Recording of the album was also problematic as the band’s time in Miami was marked by all five members’ excessive use of hard drugs. Despite this, recording sessions were prolific and the band found themselves once more with over 20 songs to work with, which were eventually compacted into a 14-track album. After finishing the album, the band flew back to the UK with the master tapes in hand. Everything was set for release, yet beforehand, The Ravellers had a one-of-a-kind project they had to tackle first...
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