I sound like any man watching middle age fly past when I voice appreciation for the past, but it's safe to say there have been few periods in American cultural history as fertile as the late 1960s and early 1970s. Our most popular art forms -- cinema and music -- were crackling with breakthroughs and stupendous debuts.
1971, in itself, was a sterling example. By June of that year, movies like "THX 1138," "The Andromeda Strain," "Vanishing Point," "Bananas," "Billy Jack," "Plaza Suite," "Big Jake," "They Might Be Giants," "Willard," "The Panic in Needle Park," "Le Mans," "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," "Klute," "Carnal Knowledge" and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" had premiered. Still left for the remaining half of the year was "Shaft," "The Omega Man," "And Now for Something Completely Different," "The French Connection," "Play Misty for Me," "The Last Picture Show," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Duel," "Man in the Wilderness," "Brian's Song," "A Clockwork Orange," "Harold and Maude," "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight," "Minnie and Moskowitz," "Dirty Harry" and "Diamonds Are Forever."
Music albums in stores by this point in 1971 were Janis Joplin's "Pearl," "ZZ Top's First Album," Carole King's "Tapestry," "Little Feat," Freddie Hubbard's "Straight Life," "Carly Simon," "The Yes Album," 'Earth, Wind and Fire," Miles Davis' "Tribute to Jack Johnson," Kool and the Gang's "Live at the Sex Machine," Jethro Tull's "Aqualung," "Donny Hathaway," The Doors' "L.A. Woman," The Rolling Stones' "Sticky Fingers," "Thin Lizzy," James Gang's "Thirds," "War," "Weather Report," "Paul and Linda McCartney's "Ram," Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," Rod Stewart's "Every Picture Tells a Story," Bill Withers' "Just As I Am," Allen Toussaint's "Toussaint," Buck Owens' "Ruby," Joni Mitchell's "Blue," "Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren" and "The Flying Burrito Brothers."
Hitting music racks in the last half of 1971 would be The Allman Brothers Band "At Fillmore East," MC5 "High Time," Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain," Black Sabbath's "Master of Reality," Albert King's "Lovejoy," Isaac Hayes' "Shaft," "Al Green Gets Next To You," Mahavishnu Orchestra's "The Inner Mounting Flame," "The New Riders of the Purple Sage," John Lennon's "Imagine," T. Rex's "Electric Warrior," Frank Zappa's "200 Motels," The Who's "Who's Next," Curtis Mayfield's "Roots," Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey," "The Stylistics," "Led Zeppelin IV," Yes' "Fragile," Rory Gallagher's "Deuce," War's "All Day Music," Traffic's "The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys," Harry Nilsson's "Nilsson Schmilsson," King Crimson's "Islands," Badfinger's "Straight Up," David Bowie's "Hunky Dory" and "America."
Not to say there isn't great music or cinema being made now, but viewed in context of what came before and what this represented, it's pretty overwhelming.
1971, in itself, was a sterling example. By June of that year, movies like "THX 1138," "The Andromeda Strain," "Vanishing Point," "Bananas," "Billy Jack," "Plaza Suite," "Big Jake," "They Might Be Giants," "Willard," "The Panic in Needle Park," "Le Mans," "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," "Klute," "Carnal Knowledge" and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" had premiered. Still left for the remaining half of the year was "Shaft," "The Omega Man," "And Now for Something Completely Different," "The French Connection," "Play Misty for Me," "The Last Picture Show," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Duel," "Man in the Wilderness," "Brian's Song," "A Clockwork Orange," "Harold and Maude," "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight," "Minnie and Moskowitz," "Dirty Harry" and "Diamonds Are Forever."
Music albums in stores by this point in 1971 were Janis Joplin's "Pearl," "ZZ Top's First Album," Carole King's "Tapestry," "Little Feat," Freddie Hubbard's "Straight Life," "Carly Simon," "The Yes Album," 'Earth, Wind and Fire," Miles Davis' "Tribute to Jack Johnson," Kool and the Gang's "Live at the Sex Machine," Jethro Tull's "Aqualung," "Donny Hathaway," The Doors' "L.A. Woman," The Rolling Stones' "Sticky Fingers," "Thin Lizzy," James Gang's "Thirds," "War," "Weather Report," "Paul and Linda McCartney's "Ram," Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," Rod Stewart's "Every Picture Tells a Story," Bill Withers' "Just As I Am," Allen Toussaint's "Toussaint," Buck Owens' "Ruby," Joni Mitchell's "Blue," "Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren" and "The Flying Burrito Brothers."
Hitting music racks in the last half of 1971 would be The Allman Brothers Band "At Fillmore East," MC5 "High Time," Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain," Black Sabbath's "Master of Reality," Albert King's "Lovejoy," Isaac Hayes' "Shaft," "Al Green Gets Next To You," Mahavishnu Orchestra's "The Inner Mounting Flame," "The New Riders of the Purple Sage," John Lennon's "Imagine," T. Rex's "Electric Warrior," Frank Zappa's "200 Motels," The Who's "Who's Next," Curtis Mayfield's "Roots," Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey," "The Stylistics," "Led Zeppelin IV," Yes' "Fragile," Rory Gallagher's "Deuce," War's "All Day Music," Traffic's "The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys," Harry Nilsson's "Nilsson Schmilsson," King Crimson's "Islands," Badfinger's "Straight Up," David Bowie's "Hunky Dory" and "America."
Not to say there isn't great music or cinema being made now, but viewed in context of what came before and what this represented, it's pretty overwhelming.
