Jim's Gems: The best of albums from 1975

The best albums of 1975 came amid war, and with some artists at their own crossroads

Mon, 18 Aug, 2025 - 21:00

Jim Comet

If 1965 was a landmark year musically and culturally, fast forward 10 years and it’s a dramatically different and bleaker landscape.

That original optimism and hope of the ’60s was a distant memory. The civil rights movement had failed, and the fall of Saigon put the spotlight on the utter futility of the Vietnam war; while, closer to home, the Monasterevin siege dominated the news headlines.

Musically a lot of artists were sounding jaded and burnt out... the partying taking its toll for many. There were still some great records and here’s my best 10.

1. Bob Dylan: Blood On The Tracks

By the mid-’70s Dylan was still making good records but the general perception was that his influence had waned.

No longer the voice of a generation he seemed content with life as an ordinary artist.

However, all was not well behind closed doors. His marriage was in serious trouble and Sara had clearly had enough of his shenanigans.

The turmoil inspired Dylan to create what for many is his greatest record.

Recorded in two sessions — one in New York one In Minnesota — Blood On The Tracks is a no-holds-barred, often painful sound of a marriage breaking up.

Admittedly one-sided and sometimes harsh, Idiot Wind probably isn’t on Sara Dylan’s playlist, Dylan has never sounded more open, angry, and hurt. A work of genius.

2. David Bowie: Young Americans

I’m absolutely in awe of this record. The fact that a skinny, white, red-haired guy from Brixton, one with a serious coke habit, made one of the greatest soul albums of the ’70s is one of the greatest musical achievements by any artist.

He called this his “plastic soul” period but it’s far from that. The arrangements on songs like Right and Win are spectacular — in particular the backing vocalists which included a young unknown Luther Vandross.

He also assembled the nucleus of a band that would stay with him for years. All this only three years after Ziggy played guitar.

My only gripe would be the inclusion of Fame at the insistence of the record company because John Lennon co-wrote and played on it. For me it spoils the flow of an otherwise perfect album.

The Who's By Numbers; Neil Young's Tonight's the Night

3. The Who: The Who By Numbers

It’s sometimes said that from complete chaos and turmoil the greatest art often emerges. That’s certainly the case with The Who. By 1975 Pete Townshend was angry, disillusioned, insecure, paranoid, and drinking way too much.

He was also questioning whether The Who were still relevant and where exactly they fitted in. His problem was that he cared too much while the other three didn’t seem to give a damn.

The Who By Numbers gave him an opportunity to vent. Songs like Success Story, Slip Kid, and How Many Friends deal very openly and honestly with the many pitfalls of fame often after the stage lights had dimmed.

Their finest record after Quadrophenia.

4. Neil Young: Tonight’s The Night

Having scaled the heights with Harvest, a number of tragic events off the field combined with an inability to deal with the adulation and expectation that came with the aforementioned record sent Neil Young into a creative tailspin and it brought him to some very dark places both creatively and personally.

This is the third album of what came to be known as the Ditch Trilogy, which pretty much chronicled that dark journey.

Recorded just after Harvest, it couldn’t be more different.

Nobody sings these songs around the campfire. It’s raw and unrehearsed sounding with a very spontaneous feel. And it’s dark as hell. Sometimes it sounds as painful to listen to as it must have done to create. Yet it’s a powerful and brutally honest record and, for a certain section of fans, his best.

Bob Dylan and the Band's Basement Tapes; Patti Smith's Horses

5. Bob Dylan & The Band: The Basement Tapes

In 1967 the greatest ever jam session took place in the basement of the Pink House in Woodstock. Still recovering from his “motorcycle accident” Dylan asked The Band to work with him on some songs he’d written mostly for other projects.

As Dylan’s cast-offs are usually better than most people’s best efforts, what resulted was a treasure trove of songs that harked back to an older roots-based type of American music that Dylan always cherished and felt comfortable with.

And nobody interpreted these songs quite like The Band. This was originally the first ever bootleg album titled The Great White Wonder until Columbia put it out in 1975. An expanded version was released a few years ago, which I’d highly recommend, as part of the Bootleg Series.

6. Patti Smith: Horses

The debut album by Patti Smith and the first album to come out of CBGBs and the fledgling New York punk scene that would give us Television, Talking Heads, and Blondie.

By 1975 Smith increasingly saw music as the best way in which to enhance her poetry, especially having seen Dylan’s Rolling Thunder tour.

She assembled a band, got a residency at CBGBs, and very quickly signed a five-album deal with Arista such was the power and intensity of her live performances.

John Cale produced the album, and they continuously clashed but it’s not evident listening to the record. Birdland is one of the most breathtaking and intense pieces of music you’ll ever hear. She’s touring it this year with her band that includes my second cousin Tony Shanahan.

Tom Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner; Earth, Wind and Fire's That's the Way of the World

7. Tom Waits: Nighthawks at the Diner

Here’s the thing. I love Tom Waits, I’ve been listening to him for many years, but I’ve never seen him live. This album always ticked that box for me.

However, in recent years when I listen to this record I find myself increasingly distracted and annoyed by the affected audience laughter after literally every line he utters. I keep asking myself, ‘Do they not know the words?’

Maybe it’s an in-joke I’m not in on or maybe this is what happens at a Tom Waits concert. Either way it annoys the bejaysus out of me.

My wife Catriona helpfully suggests that maybe I’ve become a grumpy old man, which of course is nonsense. Anyway, I hope I haven’t spoiled this record for anybody else.

8. Earth, Wind & Fire: That’s The Way of the World

When people think about EWF they usually think of those late ’70s and early ’80s disco classics, and that’s understandable because it’s their most successful period, but there’s so much more to them than that.

EWF have been around since the early ’70s. Originally a raw funk band they provided the music for Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetbacks Baadasssss Song— the first Blaxploitation movie.

They then went down the Rotary Connection route. I have a theory that they ‘stole’ their career. They took that unique multi-vocal style, added some jazz, afro , calypso and created this incredible and more radio-friendly sound.

Charles Stepney of Rotary Connection even got on board and produced this record.

The Pointer Sisters' Steppin'; Neil Young and Crazy Horse's Zuma

9. The Pointer Sisters: Steppin’

Back in the day I used to have these discussions with fellow DJs about or The Pointer Sisters. There are two versions of The Pointer Sisters, I explained: The dodgy pop/dance ’80s version that we all know, or the lesser known but vastly superior ’70s version who were steeped in blues, soul, and gospel.

This is the third album so it’s clearly the better version and a gem. The early days of disco saw artists being much more experimental and eclectic; this is such a record.

How Long (Betcha Got A Chick On The Side) and Going Down Slowly have regularly rocked my dancefloors.

10. Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Zuma

With the Ditch Trilogy done and dusted, it was time to get back to business and reintroduce The Horse.

The first album with new guitarist Frank Sampedro replacing the late Danny Whitten giving the band a rockier sound.

Crazy Horse weren’t the best musicians and were often derided by Neil’s musician friends, most notably David Crosby, but they did what Neil needed them to do on certain records.

A part of Neil’s makeup requires him to be on the road in the back of a van with a raw garage band. It’s where he’s happiest because he’s a genuine musician. Crazy Horse fulfil that, and it works.

There’s a classic moment on Barstool Blues where Neil struggles with the high notes. Any other artist would have fixed it in the studio... but not Neil, because he wanted that realism.

Three that didn’t make it