Even as disco, punk, and soft rock were all carving out ground in the music scene of 1977, the rock mega-album was still very much in force. These albums demonstrated the ability to dominate at radio as well as with LP buyers.
When considering this quartet of standouts from 1977, it’s not just that they scored commercially and critically back then. You also have to admire how well they hold up today.
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‘Rumours’ by Fleetwood Mac
Rumours didn’t bubble up from thin air. Two years before its release, a self-titled album from Fleetwood Mac introduced a new lineup featuring Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. That album set the new pop-rock tone for the formerly blues-based band. When they made Rumours, they already knew that the formula worked. It’s just that the songwriting ratcheted up several notches because the band was living inside those narratives of wounded love. It also helps the album’s listenability that three different perspectives are coming at you. Nicks and Buckingham are joined on the songwriting front by Christine McVie, who hit a new peak herself on the record as well.
‘The Stranger’ by Billy Joel
Even though many of the songs Billy Joel released on his first four studio albums feel like standards today, he was seen by many as something of a commercial disappointment heading into album No. 5. But The Stranger was relatively predictable if you’d heard Turnstiles, Joel’s stellar 1976 album that somehow didn’t do much business. For The Stranger, Joel teamed with producer Phil Ramone for the first time. Ramone allowed Joel to work with his touring band. That decision made hits like “Only The Good Die Young” and “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” sound like more than just studio creations. When Joel does go for the ornate gusto on “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant”, he knocks that out of the park as well.
‘Bat Out Of Hell’ by Meat Loaf
Long shot of long shots, Meat Loaf had to battle just to find a record company for Bat Out Of Hell. Most execs turned down the album in the nastiest manner possible. But Meat and his partner in gothic rock, Jim Steinman, persisted, found a taker, and unleashed the record on an unsuspecting world in 1977. Steinman wasn’t hiding from the Springsteen comparisons in the writing, even hiring a pair of E Streeters (Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg) to bring the songs to life. Steinman’s embrace of excess makes this album a creation all its own. That’s especially true when you consider Meat Loaf’s stunning interpretations, which take these songs already pitched to the rafters and raise their stakes exponentially higher.
‘Running On Empty’ by Jackson Browne
For most of his career, you probably wouldn’t classify Jackson Browne as a rocker. But on Running On Empty, he turned up the juice for a fascinating experiment. Browne wondered what it would be like to record an album of live songs in front of audiences who hadn’t heard them yet. He also came up with the novel idea of recording some songs on the road but not on stage, meaning that rehearsal areas, tour buses, and hotel rooms were all fair game. Browne also connected with a standout group of instrumentalists to bring his songs to life. Top it all off with the typically high level of his songwriting, and you get perhaps rock’s preeminent album about the highs and lows of the touring life.
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