The 1970s truly stand as the golden era for the rock album.
It was a time when the LP format matured into an expansive artistic canvas. Record labels, flush with success, often granted bands unprecedented creative freedom, budget, and time to stretch out, explore ambitious concepts, and push musical boundaries far beyond the limits of the radio single. This led to a boom in inventive, long-form musical exploration, where the album artwork and thematic coherence were as vital as the music itself.
While we all know the classics by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac, a wealth of incredible albums from this decade still fly surprisingly under the radar. Here are ten hidden gems, one from each year, that deserve a fresh listen.
1970: Spooky Tooth –The Last Puff
This album is a stunning example of how a band can reconstitute itself for an unexpected triumph. Following the departure of founding members (including Stevie Winwood), Spooky Tooth singer Mike Harrison was undaunted. Instead, joined by members of Joe Cocker’s Grease Band (including Henry McCullough and Chris Stainton), Harrison redefined Spooky Tooth’s sound. The Last Puff is a masterclass in heavy, blues-tinged rock, anchored by Harrison's gospel-inflected, powerhouse vocals.
The album's centrepiece is a haunting, dynamic cover of the Beatles' 'I Am the Walrus', which they transform into a raw, psychedelic epic. This gritty, soulful effort captures the raw power and emotional depth of early 70s rock, often overshadowing their more famous LPs.
1971: Funkadelic – Maggot Brain
This was the year that George Clinton’s Funkadelic delivered their psychedelic masterpiece, Maggot Brain, a record that defies simple genre categorization. It fuses the raw, distorted rock of Jimi Hendrix and Black Sabbath with deep, politically charged soul and funk grooves. The title track, an epic, emotional guitar solo played by Eddie Hazel, is a cornerstone of rock history, reportedly performed after Clinton told Hazel to play as if his mother had died.
The album is a vital, sprawling exploration of social commentary and musical exploration, grounding the fantastical Parliament-Funkadelic mythology in a fierce, acid-rock sensibility. It is a cornerstone of funk and a true psychedelic classic.
1972: The Edgar Winter Group – They Only Come Out at Night
The Edgar Winter Group's debut is often unfairly reduced to two ubiquitous tracks: the blistering instrumental 'Frankenstein' and the smooth rocker 'Free Ride'. Beyond these hits, however, They Only Come Out at Night is a versatile and hard-hitting album that represents a high point of early '70s rock eclecticism. Edgar Winter, an extremely gifted multi-instrumentalist, guides the band through funk, R&B, progressive jams, and hard rock.
The lineup included the powerhouse duo of Rick Derringer (guitar) and Dan Hartman (bass/songwriter), creating a formidable musical unit. The quality of the songwriting and performance across the entire LP makes it one of the strongest debuts of its era.
1973: Gentle Giant – In a Glass House
Gentle Giant’s fifth album is an underrated classic that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with its more widely praised predecessor, 1972's Octopus. This concept album, built around the fragility of appearances, fully embraces the band’s signature complex counterpoint and sudden, dramatic shifts in time and mood.
The album is brilliant for its sheer intensity and structural ambition, featuring dense vocal harmonies and instruments like the violin and vibraphone woven into impossibly tight arrangements. Tracks like 'The Runaway' showcase the Gents' baroque, multi-instrumental virtuosity while maintaining a dynamic edge that is often missing from more academic prog rock.
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1974: Renaissance – Turn of the Cards
Renaissance, featuring the angelic voice of Annie Haslam, perfected their symphonic and folk-infused progressive rock sound on this lush, gorgeous album. Turn of the Cards utilizes intricate, orchestral arrangements with genuine classical music foundations, primarily composed by the team of Michael Dunford (music) and Betty Thatcher (lyrics).
Tracks like the epic 'Running Hard' showcase Haslam’s incredible five-octave range and the band's ability to weave soaring melodies with complex, delicate instrumental textures. It's a remarkably beautiful and refined album that rarely gets mentioned alongside the usual prog giants, offering a softer, more elegant side to the genre.
1975: Heart – Dreamboat Annie
The debut album from everyone's favourite Seattle-based hard-rocking sisters, Dreamboat Annie is one of the mid-70s' most compelling hard rock albums, yet remains relatively underrated compared to their later stadium hits. Led by the sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, the album perfectly balances acoustic folk delicacy (the title track, the intro to 'Crazy On You') with explosive, heavy rock power ('Magic Man').
Ann Wilson’s operatic vocal power and Nancy Wilson’s deft guitar work, which shifts effortlessly from folk fingerpicking to hard rock riffs, established Heart as a rare female-fronted powerhouse in a male-dominated genre. It's a cohesive record showcasing impressive versatility and emotional range.
1976: Be-Bop Deluxe – Sunburst Finish
Sunburst Finish is the high-water mark for British guitarist and visionary Bill Nelson and his band, art rockers Be-Bop Deluxe. This album brilliantly captures the transition from glam rock swagger to the slicker, more ambitious sounds of art rock and new wave. Tracks like the radio-friendly 'Ships in the Night' show their accessible side, while Nelson’s inventive, effects-laden guitar solos (often compared to Jeff Beck’s work) reveal a staggering technical depth.
The album is sparkling, futuristic, and witty, standing out for its sophisticated, clean production and Nelson's knack for blending intellectual lyrics with undeniable pop hooks—a true, gleaming gem of mid-seventies rock.
1977: Peter Hammill – Over
One of the most stunning breakup albums ever made. Peter Hammill, the driving force behind the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, created this stunningly personal and intense solo work following some major personnel changes within the band. That's not the ending, though, to which the album's title refers.
Instead, Over is a raw, emotional concept album dealing with the pain and aftermath of a romantic separation. Musically, it ranges from sparse, acoustic confessionals to moments of dramatic, full-band energy. Hammill’s incredibly unique, quavering voice conveys a deep vulnerability, making the album an almost uncomfortably honest listen. It’s a testament to the fact that not all great 70s albums were about fantasy; some were about unflinching psychological self-examination.
1978: Pere Ubu – The Modern Dance
This debut album by the Cleveland-based Pere Ubu is a crucial, unsettling work of American post-punk that remains wildly underrated outside of avant-garde and indie circles. Led by the unusual vocalizations of David Thomas, the music is jerky, abrasive, and highly experimental, built on repetitive, industrial rhythms, found sounds, and the screeching, unsettling presence of analogue synthesisers.
The Modern Dance is a deeply intellectual and challenging album that captures the confusion and decay of late 70s urban life. It paved the way for future noise rock and industrial music, proving that punk’s spirit could be expressed through complex, modernist dissonance rather than just three chords.
1979: James Chance and the Contortions: Buy
The Contortions' 1979 debut album is a seminal, under-the-radar classic that sits at the intersection of three crucial genres: punk, funk, and free jazz.
Led by the confrontational, saxophone-wielding James Chance, the band pioneered the chaotic No Wave sound of late 70s New York. While most punk embraced simple noise, Buy layered it over complex, hyper-tight funk rhythms, creating a sound that was both intensely danceable and deeply abrasive. Chance's erratic, squawking sax lines inject a discordant, avant-garde jazz fury that subverts traditional rock structures.
Commercially ignored upon its independent release on ZE Records, the album's aggressive, minimalist 'punk-funk' vision became a vital blueprint. It directly influenced countless post-punk, dance-punk, and alternative artists, cementing its status as an influential, yet fiercely underground, masterpiece decades ahead of its time.
Top pic: Edgar Winter Band. All pics: Getty Images
