Early 1970's rock: Name some of your favorites

I hate to admit it, but I actually went to a Kiss concert; of course we REALLY went to see the opening act--REO Speedwagon, again, way before "Keep on loving you" cr*p, and left before Kiss even started. Now having said that, I do think that there were some half-decent songs on (I think) the first Kiss album--Black Diamond and Strutter.

Yes, Kiss did have some half-decent songs, and even a half-decent album (Destroyer), but I must be just a couple of years younger than Waltersalas, and I can truthfully say (not pridefully say) that I didn't like them even a little back in the day. However, I was definitely a weird kid: grew up on The Beatles and Elvis, and was buying Howlin' Wolf records by the time I hit junior high school. Most hard rock from the late 60's onward (that I heard) didn't do it for me - in fact it turned me off. When all the other kids were heavy into Boston, Foreigner, Kiss, Frampton, Aerosmith, Bad Company, Led Zep, et al, I was digging back into the early Who and Little Walter. It was only when I first heard "Allison" and "Psycho Killer" on free-form FM that I became interested in what was going on in current rock. Of course, I wasn't listening to Iggy or The Dolls in the early 70's either, but my whole tolerance for hard rock and heavy metal slowly increased as I got more into Zep and especially Hendrix and latter-day Stones during high school (for better or for worse). It wasn't so much the sound (although I don't like guitar-wanking - I like songs and feeling) that kept me away, as it was the whole aesthetic of cock-rock posing and high-times lifestylin'(not to mention stupid lyrics), all of which made me a prime candidate for punk when I finally got exposed to it around the tail-end of the first British wave, which led back to Iggy and Lou, etc. But I still like '67-and-backwards the best, and The Beatles still make everything else sound stupid.

(BTW, one my fav bands as a kid and today, whose heyday began in '69 but covered the early 70's, is I believe not on the list yet: The Jackson Five. No matter what Michael has done since Thriller - J5 forever!)

Some favorites from those years:
Ducan Browne
Mick Abrahams
Spirit -Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
Renaissance -Prologue
Genesis -Selling England by the Pound
Tangerine Dream -Phaedra
David Crosby -If I could only remember my name
Dave Mason -Alone Together
Gentle Giant -Three Friends
Gong -Angels Egg
Arthur Brown -Journey
King Crimson -Lizard
Tonto's Expanding Head Band -Zero Time
Roxy Music
Van der Graaf Generator -Pawn Hearts
Johnny Winter And
Jethro Tull -Stand Up

And just for laughs...Firesign Theater!

Rzemkoski - Join me and "git your ass to the Animal Zoo"

Johnny winter And, nice pick Rzem. One great album most folks do not remember was Jethro Tull Living In The Past, sorry out of print. They replaced it with Living WITH The Past, Not even close. The new one is like greatest hits, vol 5 (like we really need anoth greatest..) They have the Song Living In The Past on the cd, but its not even close to the orginal, what goes through the mind of Tull to have that crummy version put on disc??? Most of the above i remember and like. Especially the song Little Wing by Hendrix performed by Derek & Dominios, great great song. Guitar awesome!!