Released: 16 January 1976
Recorded: September - November 1975
Producer: Hunky Dory and Ollie Halsall
Track listing[1]
Side A
Raw Power
Charley's Girl
Guru Banana
She Took a Long Cold Look
Song for Che
Word on a Wing
Charley's Girl
Guru Banana
She Took a Long Cold Look
Song for Che
Word on a Wing
Side B
Gigolo Aunt
Doojiman
Ooohhh Baby
Who Can I Be Now?
Two Goes Into Four
5 Black Notes and 1 White Note
Side C
Crazy Feeling
Alife
Hey Peter
It's Gonna Be Me
Effervescing Elephant
Farewell Again (Another Dawn)
Doojiman
Ooohhh Baby
Who Can I Be Now?
Two Goes Into Four
5 Black Notes and 1 White Note
Side C
Crazy Feeling
Alife
Hey Peter
It's Gonna Be Me
Effervescing Elephant
Farewell Again (Another Dawn)
Hunky Dory's first album under Highway 61 Records was an unusual specimen upon release. It was a double album, but instead of having four sides of music, only the first three sides contained music whilst the fourth side had no music at all. Instead, it had an engraving of... something.
LOU REED: "I still had a bone to pick with RCA when they dumped our asses following Metal Machine Music and The Opel EP. Opel was basically one side of a record spread across two, and so I suggested that we do a three-sided record whilst the fourth side had an image engraved onto it. I didn't know what it would be at the time, but I still thought hard about it whilst we were recording Raw Power." (1995)
DAVID BOWIE: "Lou's credibility was damn near destroyed when Metal Machine Music came out, but he wasn't afraid. Never has been afraid of pissing off people. He wanted to double down on the next Hunky Dory project and send a message. That was where Andy Warhol came in." (2018)
As the recording sessions for Raw Power wrapped up, Reed had called his old friend Andy Warhol, who was also the band's unofficial photographer, and told him as to what he wanted engraved on the fourth side of the record - a big, bold, vulgar middle finger which would serve as a message to RCA Records. What made this even more ridiculous was that all three of Reed's songs were dedicated to his girlfriend at the time, a transgender woman known as Rachel Humphreys (born Richard).
KEVIN AYERS: "That was hands down the maddest thing anyone in the music industry, let alone Lou Reed, could've ever possibly conceived. Maybe except for 'Revolution 9'. We had issues with RCA Records, but Lou was the most outspoken of us. He almost wanted to personally march into their offices and show them the record just to see the looks on the executives' faces when they turned to side D. It's this big, bold 'fuck you' symbol. *laughs*" (2007)
Syd Barrett and Iggy Pop also found the humor of the engraving on side D, but Robert Wyatt expressed concern about this potentially hurting sales for the next album, but Reed was adamant about his message, later admitting to having pulled some strings in order to get the album released on 16 January. Despite the vulgar fourth side, Raw Power (#20 US, #7 UK) was very well received, with some critics calling the engraving on the fourth side "genius" and "unlike anything that's ever come before and might come later."
For CD re-releases, Raw Power was made into a single disc album with Warhol's illustration of the middle finger on the disc itself. The Opel EP was also re-released as part of Raw Power, forming a complete double album.
The Rolling Stones - Red and Black Blues
LOU REED: "I still had a bone to pick with RCA when they dumped our asses following Metal Machine Music and The Opel EP. Opel was basically one side of a record spread across two, and so I suggested that we do a three-sided record whilst the fourth side had an image engraved onto it. I didn't know what it would be at the time, but I still thought hard about it whilst we were recording Raw Power." (1995)
DAVID BOWIE: "Lou's credibility was damn near destroyed when Metal Machine Music came out, but he wasn't afraid. Never has been afraid of pissing off people. He wanted to double down on the next Hunky Dory project and send a message. That was where Andy Warhol came in." (2018)
 |
| Andy Warhol, 1975. |
KEVIN AYERS: "That was hands down the maddest thing anyone in the music industry, let alone Lou Reed, could've ever possibly conceived. Maybe except for 'Revolution 9'. We had issues with RCA Records, but Lou was the most outspoken of us. He almost wanted to personally march into their offices and show them the record just to see the looks on the executives' faces when they turned to side D. It's this big, bold 'fuck you' symbol. *laughs*" (2007)
Syd Barrett and Iggy Pop also found the humor of the engraving on side D, but Robert Wyatt expressed concern about this potentially hurting sales for the next album, but Reed was adamant about his message, later admitting to having pulled some strings in order to get the album released on 16 January. Despite the vulgar fourth side, Raw Power (#20 US, #7 UK) was very well received, with some critics calling the engraving on the fourth side "genius" and "unlike anything that's ever come before and might come later."
For CD re-releases, Raw Power was made into a single disc album with Warhol's illustration of the middle finger on the disc itself. The Opel EP was also re-released as part of Raw Power, forming a complete double album.
23 January 1976
Released: 23 January 1976
Recorded: September - November 1975
Producer: The Glimmer Triplets
Track listing[2]
Side A
Station to Station
Hot Stuff
Cherry Oh Baby
Golden Years
Hot Stuff
Cherry Oh Baby
Golden Years
Side B
Memory Motel
TVC 15
Stay
Crazy Mama
TVC 15
Stay
Crazy Mama
The Rolling Stones' 15th British album (and 17th American album) was recorded at the same time as Hunky Dory's Raw Power album, and it also marked the introduction of Bowie's new - and controversial - character, the Thin White Duke, an extension of Bowie's character Thomas Jerome Newton from The Man Who Fell to Earth, which was due out in March. By this point, Bowie was in the midst of a drug addiction, and it was even more obvious in an interview with Russell Harty for the latter's London Weekend Television talk show in anticipation for the release of Red and Black Blues.
MICK JAGGER: "Man, that interview David did with Russell was a mess. Dave looked like a fucking mess, his sanity was twisted over cocaine and he had lost a lot of weight." (1992)
KEITH RICHARDS: "The Thin White Duke? Seriously? I know there's a difference between the actor and the character they're playing, but it was hard to tell at the time if it really was David or the Duke. The Thin White Bowie, perhaps?" (2005)
Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman had no comment on the subject.
Red and Black Blues reached #1 in the United States but stalled out at #2 in the United Kingdom. The first single released in January was a trimmed version of "Station to Station", backed with "Crazy Mama" (#33 US, #26 UK). The April single, "Hot Stuff" / "Golden Years" (#10 US, #8 UK), did much better, reaching the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic. Following the album's release was a tour lasting from February to May in Europe and North America, and on stage, Bowie portrayed the Thin White Duke with Jagger, Richards, Watts and Wyman portraying the Duke's White Counts.
The tour was successful, but the political controversy could not be ignored, especially after Bowie commented in Stockholm, Sweden, "Britain could benefit from a fascist leader," resulting in he and the rest of the Stones being detained by customs on the Russian/Polish border for possessing Nazi paraphernalia. Another incident took place in London when at Victoria station, a picture of Bowie waving to the crowd was taken and the resulting picture made it look as though he was greeting them with a Nazi salute. It was then later clarified that the photographer had caught Bowie in mid-wave.
The tour finally came to an end at the end of May; shortly afterward, Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg ended up leaving Switzerland following the death of their infant son Tara Richards from respiratory failure. Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, Mick and Bianca Jagger ended up returning to France, leaving Bowie to go alone to Switzerland, blaming his drug addictions and the Thin White Duke on his pro-fascist comments and behavior. Going even further back, he blamed his cocaine addiction on his time living in Los Angeles and later apologized for his statements.
During his time in Switzerland, Bowie found the time to pursue other interests outside his music career such as painting, producing a number of post-modernist pieces. It allowed Bowie the chance to refresh his mind following the Thin White Duke controversies, as it, along with Eric Clapton's drunken declaration of support for former Conservative Party minister Enoch Powell at a concert in Birmingham, eventually led to the formation of the political and cultural movement Rock Against Racism.
The Yardbirds - Achilles' Last Stand
MICK JAGGER: "Man, that interview David did with Russell was a mess. Dave looked like a fucking mess, his sanity was twisted over cocaine and he had lost a lot of weight." (1992)
KEITH RICHARDS: "The Thin White Duke? Seriously? I know there's a difference between the actor and the character they're playing, but it was hard to tell at the time if it really was David or the Duke. The Thin White Bowie, perhaps?" (2005)
Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman had no comment on the subject.
 |
| David Bowie performing live as the Thin White Duke, 1976. |
The tour was successful, but the political controversy could not be ignored, especially after Bowie commented in Stockholm, Sweden, "Britain could benefit from a fascist leader," resulting in he and the rest of the Stones being detained by customs on the Russian/Polish border for possessing Nazi paraphernalia. Another incident took place in London when at Victoria station, a picture of Bowie waving to the crowd was taken and the resulting picture made it look as though he was greeting them with a Nazi salute. It was then later clarified that the photographer had caught Bowie in mid-wave.
The tour finally came to an end at the end of May; shortly afterward, Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg ended up leaving Switzerland following the death of their infant son Tara Richards from respiratory failure. Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, Mick and Bianca Jagger ended up returning to France, leaving Bowie to go alone to Switzerland, blaming his drug addictions and the Thin White Duke on his pro-fascist comments and behavior. Going even further back, he blamed his cocaine addiction on his time living in Los Angeles and later apologized for his statements.
During his time in Switzerland, Bowie found the time to pursue other interests outside his music career such as painting, producing a number of post-modernist pieces. It allowed Bowie the chance to refresh his mind following the Thin White Duke controversies, as it, along with Eric Clapton's drunken declaration of support for former Conservative Party minister Enoch Powell at a concert in Birmingham, eventually led to the formation of the political and cultural movement Rock Against Racism.
26 March 1976
Released: 26 March 1976
Recorded: November - December 1975
Producer: Jimmy Page
Track listing[3]
Side A
Achilles' Last Stand
Candy Store Rock
Hots On for Nowhere
Royal Orleans
Candy Store Rock
Hots On for Nowhere
Royal Orleans
Side B
Nobody's Fault but Mine
For Your Life
Tea for One
For Your Life
Tea for One
After Robert Plant had suffered from a severe car accident, resulting in him being in a wheelchair for the time being, the Yardbirds were forced to cancel their American tour, due to start on August 23. The accident had inspired Plant to write up new lyrics for the band's twelfth album, and after making plans with Jimmy Page, they returned to the studio with John Bonham and John Paul Jones to begin work on their next album.
ROBERT PLANT: "At the time, we were tax exiles, and I had to recuperate from the car crash in France before heading to Malibu, California. When we did Achilles' Last Stand, I wanted to record in Munich, Germany given that they had state-of-the-art recording facilities." (1985)
JIMMY PAGE: "I took on a lot of responsibility during the recording sessions. I worked for hours on end when it came to recording and mixing, and it wasn't helped by the fact that we'd been booked into the studio just before the Rolling Stones were for the final sessions on Red and Black Blues. I had to negotiate with them just to borrow two days from their session time." (2007)
Most of Achilles' Last Stand was penned by Plant and Page, with "Royal Orleans" being written along with Jones and Bonham. The album marked a return to the band's hard rock sound that they became known for in the late 1960s to early 1970s, with no keyboards or acoustic guitars (barring "Candy Store Rock") in sight. During the sessions, Plant missed his family greatly and began to re-evaluate the priorities of his life, resulting in the Yardbirds going on hiatus for the rest of the year.
Like the five albums before it (barring Stairway to Heaven, which hit #2 in America), Achilles' Last Stand reached #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom, but the sole single "Candy Store Rock" did not chart in either country. The album had received mixed reaction from fans and critics alike, with some critics suggesting that the Yardbirds' excesses have finally caught up with them. Since then, the album has gone on to be critical favorite.
Instead of a tour, the Yardbirds had completed the concert film The Song Remains the Same, featuring the shows recorded July 27-29 at Madison Square Garden, and released a soundtrack album to go along with the concert film. Both received mixed reviews from critics and the film pulled in $12 million at the box office. Sadly, it failed in the United Kingdom, where the band had not performed in the past two years due to their status as tax exiles. The concert film later gained newfound popularity as a document of the Yardbirds at their a newfound peak when it came out on DVD almost thirty years later.
It would be another year before the Yardbirds went on tour again, and another year after that before they returned to the studio to record their next album.
ROBERT PLANT: "At the time, we were tax exiles, and I had to recuperate from the car crash in France before heading to Malibu, California. When we did Achilles' Last Stand, I wanted to record in Munich, Germany given that they had state-of-the-art recording facilities." (1985)
JIMMY PAGE: "I took on a lot of responsibility during the recording sessions. I worked for hours on end when it came to recording and mixing, and it wasn't helped by the fact that we'd been booked into the studio just before the Rolling Stones were for the final sessions on Red and Black Blues. I had to negotiate with them just to borrow two days from their session time." (2007)
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| The rear cover to the Yardbirds' Achilles' Last Stand, released March 1976. |
Like the five albums before it (barring Stairway to Heaven, which hit #2 in America), Achilles' Last Stand reached #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom, but the sole single "Candy Store Rock" did not chart in either country. The album had received mixed reaction from fans and critics alike, with some critics suggesting that the Yardbirds' excesses have finally caught up with them. Since then, the album has gone on to be critical favorite.
Instead of a tour, the Yardbirds had completed the concert film The Song Remains the Same, featuring the shows recorded July 27-29 at Madison Square Garden, and released a soundtrack album to go along with the concert film. Both received mixed reviews from critics and the film pulled in $12 million at the box office. Sadly, it failed in the United Kingdom, where the band had not performed in the past two years due to their status as tax exiles. The concert film later gained newfound popularity as a document of the Yardbirds at their a newfound peak when it came out on DVD almost thirty years later.
It would be another year before the Yardbirds went on tour again, and another year after that before they returned to the studio to record their next album.
Footnotes
- Tracks are sourced from The Stooges' Raw Power, Lou Reed's Coney Island Baby, Kevin Ayers' Sweet Deceiver and The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories, Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, Robert Wyatt's Ruth is Stranger Than Richard and Rock Bottom, and David Bowie's Station to Station and Young Americans.
- Tracks are sourced from Station to Station and Black and Blue.
- All tracks from Presence are utilized and rearranged to have evenly-timed sides.
Author's Comments
At last, we've finally reached 1976, and there's quite a bit to talk about here. The backstory for Hunky Dory's Raw Power, once again, took influence from Auran's Gummaumma in which Lou Reed recorded a double album with only three sides' worth of music with the fourth featuring an engraving of a raised middle finger. Heh, I can only imagine how that would look for real.
Red and Black Blues has an interesting backstory to it; for an earlier draft, Freddie Mercury was part of the Rolling Stones instead of David Bowie, and the second side was as follows - "Somebody to Love", "Hey Negtria", "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy", "Fool to Cry" and "Crazy Mama". I thought it followed surprisingly well, but as time went by, I felt that Freddie being part of the Stones didn't feel right, and so the backstory for both sides were heavily re-written so that Freddie had a solo career alongside Paul McCartney & Smile and David Bowie joined the Rolling Stones in 1969 instead of 1973/4. However, I still liked the title Red and Black Blues and so I reused that for the 1976 Bowie/Stones album and the cover of a roulette wheel with a bluish-purple tint worked really well.
Achilles' Last Stand was pretty easy to put together, mostly due to the small amount of material from that period, but trying to have evenly-timed sides wasn't easy to the length of the songs, but I still managed to keep the opening and closing tracks in their respective places. Oh, and for the first time, there's a back cover to one of the albums. The image I used could fill both the front and back and so I designed the back cover along with the front.
But now, we're getting close to the end of Phase Two, and all I can say is that there's going to be a very heavy emphasis on the Beatles for two of the upcoming chapters, with a third in the middle not relating to them.
At last, we've finally reached 1976, and there's quite a bit to talk about here. The backstory for Hunky Dory's Raw Power, once again, took influence from Auran's Gummaumma in which Lou Reed recorded a double album with only three sides' worth of music with the fourth featuring an engraving of a raised middle finger. Heh, I can only imagine how that would look for real.
Red and Black Blues has an interesting backstory to it; for an earlier draft, Freddie Mercury was part of the Rolling Stones instead of David Bowie, and the second side was as follows - "Somebody to Love", "Hey Negtria", "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy", "Fool to Cry" and "Crazy Mama". I thought it followed surprisingly well, but as time went by, I felt that Freddie being part of the Stones didn't feel right, and so the backstory for both sides were heavily re-written so that Freddie had a solo career alongside Paul McCartney & Smile and David Bowie joined the Rolling Stones in 1969 instead of 1973/4. However, I still liked the title Red and Black Blues and so I reused that for the 1976 Bowie/Stones album and the cover of a roulette wheel with a bluish-purple tint worked really well.
Achilles' Last Stand was pretty easy to put together, mostly due to the small amount of material from that period, but trying to have evenly-timed sides wasn't easy to the length of the songs, but I still managed to keep the opening and closing tracks in their respective places. Oh, and for the first time, there's a back cover to one of the albums. The image I used could fill both the front and back and so I designed the back cover along with the front.
But now, we're getting close to the end of Phase Two, and all I can say is that there's going to be a very heavy emphasis on the Beatles for two of the upcoming chapters, with a third in the middle not relating to them.
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