Dave's Side One

What made ZZ Top special was how simple yet perfect their formula was: blues riffs, clever lyrics about cars, women, and Texas life, and a relentless rhythm section

They had a raw, bluesy edge with rock muscle and a sense of humor. Walsh’s slide work and wah-wah solos were distinctive, and his songwriting had both swagger and vulnerability

What made Triumph special was their live reputation. They put on massive productions with lasers, pyrotechnics, and a rotating drum riser for Gil Moore. In a decade full of big arena acts, Triumph proved a three-piece could headline arenas and sound enormous

Today, let's sit with the saddest songs of the 1970s — the ones that didn’t need bombast or long solos to break your heart. They used simple arrangements, honest lyrics, and raw emotion to make you feel less alone in whatever you were going through

Journey is bigger than any one singer. It’s the songs, the guitar melodies, the keyboard hooks, and the live experience

The Best Prog Rock Albums of the 1970s. This is completely subjective, of course, but these are the ones that defined the genre for me and still reward deep listening decades later.

Today is Part 4 of our series on progressive rock in the 1970s, and we're talking about Kansas — America's proud contribution to the genre. While Yes and Genesis brought English eccentricity and theatrical flair, Kansas brought Midwestern heart, violin, and a distinctly American ambition to progressive rock

Today is Part 3 of our series on progressive rock in the 1970s, and we're talking about Emerson, Lake & Palmer — the most extravagant, showy, and unapologetically ambitious trio in the entire prog world

Yes took prog to symphonic heights. Jon Anderson’s ethereal high vocals, Steve Howe’s endlessly inventive guitar (acoustic and electric), Rick Wakeman’s virtuoso keyboard runs, Chris Squire’s thunderous bass, and the drumming of Bill Bruford (later Alan White) created music that felt like classical compositions played with rock power

Genesis formed in 1967 at a boarding school in England, and by the early 70s they had become masters of concept albums and live performance art